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 17th, I was very anxious to go out and do a little botanizing in the immediate neighbourhood of our waggons; the rain, however, came down so continuously, that I had no chance of indulging my wishes. For the last few days I had been expecting Westbeech, and his non-arrival was giving me some uneasiness, as my small stock of tea, sugar, and salt had come to an end; accordingly it was a pleasant surprise to me when my servants returned from one of their rambles and brought a good supply of honey.

During the night which I had been forced to spend on the bank of the Chobe, my forehead and my hands had been stung all over by some very venomous mosquitoes, and the places now came into pustules, of which I carried the scars for months. I had much to harass me and to contribute to my discomfort, but amidst all my grievances I had the satisfaction of being attended by trustworthy and industrious servants; I could only regret that they were not to be induced to take my breechloader and procure some game from the woods; their assegais were quite unfit for the purpose of killing gazelles, elephants, or buffaloes, which were the animals that chiefly haunted the locality. Only two nights before our arrival a large herd of elephants had passed quite close to the spot where the waggons were stationed.

With the assistance of my people, I took a litle walk on the 19th, and collected some plants and insects. For pressing my botanical specimens I used the only two books that I had saved, and as these were octavo volumes instead of quarto, many of the plants had to be divided under the prospect of being