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PREFACE.

There is an old Italian proverb, which says a man

has lived to no purpose, unless he has either built a

house, begotten a son, or written a book. As I have already complied more than once with the latter of

these requisitions, I must seek to justify the present

repetition thereof, on other grounds. My reasons for

offering this volume to the public are, simply, that

there is room for it. It is the record of a journey which

led me, for the most part, over fresh fields, by paths

which comparatively few had trodden before me. Al-

though I cannot hope to add much to the general

stock of information concerning Central Africa, I may

serve, at least, as an additional witness, to confirm or

illustrate the evidence of others. Hence, the prepara-

tion of this work has appeared to me rather in the light