12 
II. THE JOURNEY 
already been in Africa or in other colonies, so that we 
felt ourselves to be poor untravelled home birds. I 
could not help thinking of the fowls my mother used 
to buy every summer from Italian poultry dealers to 
add to her stock, and which for several days used to 
walk about among the old ones very shyly and humbly ! 
One thing that struck me as noticeable in the faces of 
our fellow travellers was a certain expression of energy 
and determination. 
As there was still a great deal of cargo to come aboard 
we did not start till the following afternoon, when 
under a gloomy sky we drew slowly down the Gironde. 
As darkness gradually set in the long roll of the waves 
told us that we had reached the open sea, and about 
nine o’clock the last shimmering lights had disappeared. 
Of the Bay of Biscay the passengers told each other 
horrid tales. “ How I wish it were behind us ! ” we 
heard at every meal-time, but we were to make full 
proof of its malice. On the second day after starting 
a regular storm set in, and the ship pitched and tossed 
like a great rocking-horse, and rolled from starboard to 
port, and back from port to starboard. With impartial 
delight. The Congo boats do this more than others 
in a heavy sea because, in order to be able to ascend 
the river as far as Matadi, whatever the state of the 
water, they are of a comparatively shallow build. 
Being without experience of ocean travel, I had 
forgotten to make the two cabin trunks fast with cords, 
and in the night they began to chase each other about. 
The two hat cases also, which contained our sun helmets, 
took part in the game without reflecting how badly off 
they might come in it, and when I tried to catch the 
trunks, I nearly got one leg crushed between them and 
