each drummer trying to cap his opponent's last message. Everything that happened was so well known in both camps, that by simply telling a piece of news to one's servant it immediately spread throughout the whole Arab camp. Our arrival at Lusambo was the signal for tremendous rejoicing; for we not only brought the first intelligence from the coast, but were the bearers of the only letters that had been received for seven months.

I was heartily welcomed by de Wouters and de Heusch, two of the nicest men I had met in the Congo Free State. A few hours after our arrival the Commandant Dhanis appeared, having just finished a most successful little campaign against Tippu Tib's slave-raiding agent, Congo Lutete. He brought with him over two thousand prisoners of war and freed slaves. A fete, lasting three days, celebrated the