On the Mysterious Lake.

told me tliis water never failed. \ was unable to ascend the difficult mountain slope.

Ain'd l-')t]i. — On tlie evening of the 14th we liad halted near the cascade as the only suitable place, and in fact the surrounding mountains sheltered us from a strong south wind which had risen during the night. In the morning, it continuing to blow hard, I tried with the men to draw our boat up on the strand, so as to place them in safety in case of the Aveather getting worse. In spite of our efforts the operation did not succeed.

The boats of my expedition, although very good, are not exactly suitable for a journey of this kind ; they ought to have decks. The waves here are not so high as in the Mediterranean, but they succeed each other so rapidly that the water comes into the boats. The men are continually drenched, either by the waves breaking over the boat, or by the constant and persistent rains. If the boats had decks, and were well steered, the lake might be crossed in all directions. The Dongolese are very expert on the Nile, but they have no practice on the lake, and always cling close to the shore. At three or four miles from land, if the sky threatens to cloud over, they beg hard to approach the shore. In vain I tried to persuade them that there is less danger in the open, and when I refused their request to approach the land, they united in a group, awaiting death resignedly, and invoking the name of the Prophet.

" For what reason," they said, " should we oppose the will of God and destiny ? If God consents to prolong our lives, wherefore tempt Him ? " Tired of such talk, I once took the first cudgel that came to hand, and beat them soundly, till I thought I had obtained the desired effect, but they were insensible to everything, and unresistingly allowed themselves to be beaten, saying that destiny also sent them these blows.

" Well," I said to them, " so you wish to go