of the porters. He was the most extraordinary grotesque object I had ever seen, I think, and no Moore and Burgess minstrel at St. James's Hall has ever exaggerated a darky's costume more than this man did. On shouting out Benson's name to come up for payment, there was a passage cleared for him in the crowd of porters outside, and Bright, clutching my arm, said: 'Good Lord! do look at Benson.' I just had time to whisper, 'Don't laugh; he evidently fancies himself,' when he stood before us; and really it was most difficult to keep from roaring with laughter at his comic appearance. On his head he wore a sailor hat with 'H.M.S. Blonde' in gold along the ribbon. We couldn't see much of his shirt beyond a dickey; but he evidently had something in the way of a shirt on, for some 9 inches of spotless white cuff protruded beyond the sleeve of his coat. It may have been pinned on inside, or attached to the usual Swahili vest of thin material. The coat was a long black claw-hammer one, the tails of which reached almost down to his calves; whilst his trousers, without any exaggeration, must have been 6 inches too long for him, as they nestled in pleats between his knees and the thick ammunition boots which graced his feet. A flashy brass chain spanned his ample chest lower down-from pocket to pocket of his waistcoat, and on his fingers a cheap ring or two were prominent. Benson was an old friend, for, like Mwinyaheri, my gun-bearer, he had been with us in 1892, so I solemnly congratulated him on the highly respectable figure he cut, and made tender inquiries as to which missionary he had stolen these clothes from-he was a mission boy, a first-class thief, possessed a grand bass voice, and spoke English like a book-he was evidently much pleased at the impression he had created. As soon as he had received his pay and gone, we could contain ourselves no longer, and broke down. After seeing Benson in his get-up no one could say it would be possible to exaggerate a darky's idea of dress.

During our stay at Mombasa considerable excitement was caused by a lion having attacked some natives on the mainland just opposite the Makupa ferry. He was subsequently killed and dragged in triumph through the streets of Mombasa by a howling mob, who treated the body to every conceivable indignity by spitting on it, 'basting' it over the head with sticks, kicking and cuffing it in such a manner that there was precious little fur left on its hide by the time the procession reached the club entrance.

At length all the Mombasa men had been paid off, accounts balanced, and so forth, and on March 17 we boarded our old friend the Canara (which had arrived from Aden a couple of days before), in order to proceed in her to Zanzibar with the 250 odd porters enlisted at that place. How half of them, at least, were not left behind has always been a mystery to me, as many of them were beastly drunk. Yet only one man was found absent when we paid them off, and he was quietly awaiting us on the Mombasa quay when we returned a week later! Leaving Mombasa shortly after 5 o clock that evening, we dropped anchor in Zanzibar Harbour before 10 o'clock next morning. Mr. Nicol, of Smith, Mackenzie and Co., had a large shed, money, etc., ready for us, and we paid away close on 50,000 rupees before night. The next day the remainder of the men were paid off, and we were now free to do a little sight-seeing before Captain Stabb of the Canara intended sailing for Mombasa and Aden. Many delightful drives through clove plantations were indulged in, the island being beautifully wooded in addition with cocoanut palms and fine mango-trees. All the hospitality extended to us I have no room to mention, but everyone, including Sir Lloyd Mathews, Mr. Basil Cave, C.B., the Consul and his wife, and many others, was most kind to us. We were presented by Sir Lloyd Mathews to His Highness the Sultan on March 21, and were most graciously received by this benign-looking old Arab gentleman. We sailed

from Zanzibar on the afternoon of the 24th, were back at Mombasa the following morning, and left again, after many final adieux, on the afternoon of the 26th for Aden. We reached that place on April 3, and here parted with our Sikhs, who had so fully maintained their splendid reputation throughout the expedition. They continued in the Canara to Bombay to rejoin their regiments, whilst we proceeded in the P. and O. s.s. Oceana to Marseilles, and thence travelled overland to London, where we arrived on the evening of April 16, 1899.

APPENDIX A.

EXTRACT FROM COLONEL MACDONALD'S DESPATCH REVIEWING THE OPERATIONS CONDUCTED IN UGANDA SEPTEMBER, 1897, TO MAY, 1898.

19. These operations have extended over seven months, and have involved five engagements, in which we lost over 10 per cent. of the number engaged, seven minor engagements, and thirty-five skirmishes in which loss of life occurred, not to count occasions when shots were exchanged without apparent loss on either side; and, until almost the close of the operations, the odds were on the side of the enemy. Fortunately, our enemies were widely separated, and did not all rise together, or combine their efforts, and an opportunity was thus afforded for beating them in detail. But the work and strain on both men and officers was necessarily exceptionally severe, more especially as the latter could realize that if certain not improbable combinations amongst the enemy were effected our position would be practically hopeless during the earlier half of the struggle.

20. The operations themselves covered a great extent of country. From the Ravine to the borders of Toru was a stretch of 350 miles of longitude, while from the south of Buddu to Shuli was 230 miles of latitude. The total area of the country actually operated in amounted to close on 40,000 square miles. Considering that at the commencement of the operations under my command the total force at my disposal consisted of 17 regulars and some 340 Swahilis, and that even at the close of the operations the total only amounted to 2,000, including all classes, it will be evident that the work was exceptionally heavy and involved much arduous marching. Thus, the fifty-six miles from the Nile to Kampala was covered in two days by Captain Woodward's

column, and later by that of Captain Harrison. Lieutenant Scott, D.S.O., in his forced march to Mruli, accomplished sixtyfive miles in three days, and Captain Sitwell, in pursuit of Mwanga's army, marched ninety-four miles in four days. The Buddu expedition, marching to relieve Masaka and Bija, covered 164 miles in eight days. Headquarters in the month of January marched 390 miles, and in two consecutive months had to traverse 640 miles, while the total distance covered during the operations was 1,300 miles. Part of Captain Barratt's force has marched 450 miles during the operations, and been present in three engagements; while Major Price has covered 400 miles since his arrival, and immediately after a march of 600 miles. When the hilly and swampy nature of most of the country is considered, these performances are the more remarkable.

21. Another feature of these operations is the great distance which the reinforcements had to march to get to the seat of war, and their very creditable rate of march, considering the difficulties of the road, and of the extemporized transport service. Captain Harrison had to march from Machakos to Lubwa's, a distance of 350 miles, and attained an average rate of eighteen miles a day. Lieutenant Scott, D.S.O., with 150 soldiers of the Indian contingent, moved from Mombasa, and had from rail-head to march about 600 miles, yet his average was nearly fourteen miles per day. Captain Barratt and Major Price had both to start from Ndi, 600 miles from Lubwa's. The pursuing column from the Ravine to Mumia's averaged thirteen miles a day, although marching by an old native track, and having to cut a way through the forest of Mau, and bridge two impassable rivers, while the other two columns of the expedition between the Ravine and Lubwa's had to cover 500 miles.

'Captain Barratt's and Major Price's men have in all had to traverse over 1,000 miles, Captain Austin's men 1,400 miles, and the headquarters 1,700 miles, if the distance from rail-head be taken into account.

22. The transport service had to be extemporized from the natives of the country, as, almost without exception, the regular Swahili transport establishments at various stations were armed and turned into soldiers. The Waganda had to some extent carried loads on previous occasions, but the organization and management of a transport corps of from 2,000 to 3,000 porters,