Life at Banza Nokki . 201 
are never too hot, nor are the moons too cold ; the 
nights fall soft and misty, the mornings bring the 
blessing of freshness ; and I was never weary of en¬ 
joying the effects of dying and reviving day. The 
most delicate sharpness and purity of outline took 
the place of meridian reek and blur ; trees, rocks, 
and chalets were picked out with an utter disregard 
to the perspective of distance, and the lowest 
sounds were distinctly heard in the hard, clear 
atmosphere. The damp and fetid vegetation of 
the Coast wholly disappeared. By the benefit of 
purest air and water, with long walks and abun¬ 
dant palm wine from the trees hung with cala¬ 
bashes, the traces of “ Nanny Po” soon vanished ; 
appetite and sleep returned, nightly cramps were 
things unknown, and a healthy glow overspread 
the clammy, corpse-like skin. When the Lower 
Congo shall become the emporium of lawful trade, 
the white face will find a sanatorium in these 
portals of the Sierra del Crystal,—the vine will 
flourish, the soil will produce the cereals as well 
as the fruits and vegetables of Europe, and this 
region will become one of the “ Paradises of 
Africa.” 
The banzas of Congo-land show the constitu¬ 
tion of native society, which, as in Syria, and in¬ 
deed in most barbarous and semi-barbarous places, 
is drawn together less by reciprocal wants than 
by the ties of blood. Here families cannot dis- 
