A FANTASIE. 87 article of European manufacture wliicli he uses is a large sunshade, and it is an amusing sight to watch him strutting about with it.

One evening we had a pleasant surprise; after dinner we were invited to go to the large square behind the station, where we found large fires burning, seats arranged, and the Egyptian band drawn up. After we were all seated, coffee and cigarettes were handed round, and the band played several pieces with great skill and precision. Soon after a crowd of natives rushed towards us, leaping and springing, and uttering shrill, piercing cries as they came. They brought with them five large drums, which were placed near an immense fire, as the heat makes them sound better and causes the noise to penetrate to a greater distance. The older natives sat down round the fire, and the rest, some 200 in number, prepared for the dance.

It was as weird a scene as one can imagine. The pale moon, i,n her second quarter, shone just above the huts of the station, the glittering stars seemed each to outvie the others in brilliancy, while the Milky Way spanned the vault of heaven like a diamond zone, with the ever-attractive Southern Cross just above the horizon.

How shall I describe the dancers as they filed before us before beginning their " fantasie " ? The men were stark naked, with erect, powerfully-built forms, having a single string of beads round the