314 UGANDA AND THE EGYPTIAN SOUDAN.

The sun was very hot, and a new and agreeable feature presented itself to us, the deep blue of the sky overhead being lightly covered with fleecy white clouds.

We were all in high spirits at the prospect of so pleasant a day, and chatted with the captain and other officers, who " spun long yarns " for our amusement. There were quantities of ripe bananas lying about, and this was the cause of our hearing an interesting fact in gastronomy. It appears that the second engineer has a weakness for this particular fruit, and whenever he is at Magungo, he indulges his taste to the utmost extent. On this occasion, marvellous to relate, not less than a hundred and fifty bananas were required to satisfy his appetite. He was certainly a phenomenon ; but, sad to relate, he applied to me for pills the following day.

After leaving Magungo, the river narrowed, while the land on each side rose higher and higher, until we entered a kind of gorge. The hills on either side were covered with great trees, clothed with brilliant foliage, and at each bend of the river the eye fell on natural bowers, formed by tropical creepers drooping in graceful festoons from the mighty branches of huge trees, among which monkeys (the first we had seen in Africa) sported and chattered. Overhead flew birds with magnificent plumage, while gorgeous butterflies, fluttering about in countless swarms, added to the charm