the coffee or biscuit has to be stopped for a few days, he is ready for mutiny.

ORGANISING AN EXPEDITION.

Size of Party.--The best size for a party depends on many considerations. It should admit of being divided into two parts, each strong enough to take care of itself, and in each of which is one person at least able to write a letter,--which bus servants, excellent in every other particular, are too often unable to do. In travel through a disorganised country, where there are small chiefs and bands of marauders, a large party is necessary; thus the great success of Livingstone's earlier expeditions was largely due to his being provided with an unusually strong escort of well-armed and warlike, but not too aggressive, Caffres. In other cases small parties succeed better than large ones; they excite less fear, do not eat up the country, and are less delayed by illness. The last fatal expedition of Mungo Park is full of warning to travellers who propose exploring with a large body of Europeans.

Solitary Travellers.--Neither sleepy nor deaf men are fit to travel quite alone. It is remarkable how often the qualities of wakefulness and watchfulness stand every party in good stead.

Servants.--Nature of Engagements.--The general duties that a servant should be bound to, independently of those for which he is specially engaged, are--under penalty of his pay being stopped, and, it may be, of dismissal--to maintain discipline, take share of camp-duties and night-watch, and do all in his power to promote the success of the expedition. His wages should not be payable to him in full, till the return of the party to the town from which it started, or to some other civilised place. It is best that all clothing, bedding, etc., that the men may require, should be issued out and given to them as a present, and that none of their own old clothes should be allowed to be taken. They are more careful of what is their own; and, by supplying the things yourself, you can be sure that they are good in quality, uniform in appearance, and equal in weight, while this last is ascertainable.

The following Form of Agreement is abridged from one that was used in Mr. Austin's expedition in Australia. It seems short, explicit, and reasonable:--

"We the undersigned, forming an expedition about to explore the interior of ----, under Mr. A., consent to place ourselves (horses and equipments) entirely and unreservedly under his orders for the above purpose, from the date hereof until our return to----, or, on failure in this respect, to abide all consequences that may result. We fully recognise Mr. B. as the second, and Mr. C. as the third in command; and the right of succession to the command and entire charge of the party in the order thus stated.

"We severally undertake to use our best endeavours to promote the harmony of the party, and the success of the expedition.

"In witness whereof we sign our names. (Here follow the signatures.) Read over and signed by the respective parties, in my presence."

(Here follows the signature of some person of importance in the place where the expedition is organised.)

By the words, "abide all consequences," the leader would be justified in leaving a man to shift for himself, and refusing his pay, if the case were a serious one.

Good Interpreters are very important: men who have been used by their chiefs, missionaries, etc., as interpreters, are much to be preferred; for so great is the poverty of thought and language among common people, that you will seldom find a man, taken at hazard, able to render your words with correctness. Recollect to take with you vocabularies of all the tribes whom you are at all likely to visit.

Engaging Natives.--On engaging natives, the people with whom they have lived, and to whom they have become attached and learnt to fear, should impress on them that, unless they bring you back in safety, they must never show their faces again, nor expect the balance of their pay, which will only be delivered to them on your return.

Women.--Natives' Wives.--If some of the natives take their wives, it gives great life to the party. They are of very great service, and cause no delay; for the body of a caravan must always travel at a foot's pace, and a woman will endure a long journey nearly as well as a man, and certainly better than a horse or a bullock. They are invaluable in picking up and retailing information and hearsay gossip, which will give clues to much of importance, that, unassisted, you might miss. Mr. Hearne the American traveller of the last century, in his charming book, writes as follows, and I can fully corroborate the faithfulness with which he gives us a savage's view of the matter. After the account of his first attempt, which was unsuccessful, he goes on to say,--"The very plan which, by the desire of the Governor, we pursued, of not taking any women with us on the journey, was, as the chief said, the principal thing that occasioned all our want: 'for,' said he, 'when all the men are heavy laden, they can neither hunt nor travel to any considerable distance; and if they meet with any success in hunting, who is to carry the produce of the labour?' 'Women,' said he, 'were made for labour: one of them can carry or haul as much as two men can do. They also pitch our tents, make and mend our clothing, keep us warm at night; and in fact there is no such thing as travelling any considerable distance, or for any length of time, in this country without their assistance.' 'Women,' said he again, 'though they do everything are maintained at a trifling expense: for, as they always stand cook, the very licking of their fingers, in scarce times, is sufficient for their subsistence.'"

Strength of Women.--I believe there are few greater popular errors than the idea we have mainly derived from chivalrous times, that woman is a weakly creature. Julius C aesar, who judged for himself, took a very different view of the powers of certain women of the northern races, about whom he wrote. I suppose, that in the days of baronial castles, when crowds of people herded together like pigs within the narrow enclosures of a fortification and the ladies did nothing but needlework in their boudoirs, the mode of life wasvery prejudicial to their nervous system and muscular powers. The women suffered from the effects of ill ventilation and bad drainage, and had none of the counteracting advantages of the military life that was led by the males. Consequently women really became the helpless dolls that they were considered to be, and which it is still the fashion to consider them. It always seems to me that a hard-worked woman is better and happier for her work. It is in the nature of women to be fond of carrying weights; you may see them in omnibuses and carriages, always preferring to hold their baskets or their babies on their knees, to setting them down on the seats by their sides. A woman, whose modern dress includes I know not how many cubic feet of space, has hardly ever pockets of a sufficient size to carry small articles; for she prefers to load her hands with a bag or other weighty object. A nursery-maid, who is on the move all day, seems the happiest specimen of her sex; and, after her, a maid-of-all work who is treated fairly by her mistress.

Outfit

OUTFIT.

It is impossible to include lists of outfit, in any reasonable space, that shall suit the various requirements of men engaged in expeditions of different magnitudes, who adopt different modes of locomotion, and who visit different countries and climates. I have therefore thought it best to describe only one outfit as a specimen, selecting for my example the desiderata for South Africa. In that country the traveller has, or had a few years ago, to take everything with him, for there were no civilised settlers, and the natural products of the country are of as little value in