LETTER GARRIEBS. 109 weekly post, and letters travel with perfect safety and regularity. Generally two soldiers and a native dragoman carry the letters, which are fastened in a small leather bag ; the men walk in single file, the bag being borne by the man in the middle. They travel very quickly ; forty miles, or even more if the post be very urgent, can be accomplished in a day ; once when I sent an extra post the men did 178 miles in four days and a half, although for part of the distance the road was very bad. During the rainy season, or if the post is being sent for a long distance, the letters are packed in a tin box, the joints of which are well stopped with fat or some other kind of grease, to prevent the contents being damaged by the damp. The time at which the man in charge starts, and of his arrival and departure at each subsequent station, is noted on a paper which he carries with him; so that at his destination the exact time occupied on the road can be known. Single letters for a short distance are sent by one runner, who carries them in a split stick in his hand. The runners are very swift, and I know of no instance of letters being lost.

The hopes we had entertained before reaching Lado, that we should find the river reopened for traffic, having been disappointed by Mr. Lupton's arrival and the news of the continued block, we were obliged to give up our intention of returning to Khartoum by steamer. It may not be out of