[CHAPTER VII.]
MR. STANLEY TAKES THE CHAIR.—DESCRIPTION OF UJIJI.—THE ARAB AND OTHER INHABITANTS.—MARKET SCENES.—LOCAL CURRENCY.—THE WAJIJI.—LAKE TANGANIKA.—STANLEY'S VOYAGE ON THE LAKE.—RISING OF THE WATERS.—THE LEGEND OF THE WELL.—HOW THE LAKE WAS FORMED.—DEPARTURE OF THE EXPEDITION.—SCENERY OF THE COAST.—MOUNTAINS WHERE THE SPIRITS DWELL.—SEEKING THE OUTLET OF THE LAKE.—THE LUKUGA RIVER.—EXPERIMENTS TO FIND A CURRENT.—CURIOUS HEAD-DRESSES.—RETURN TO UJIJI.—LENGTH AND EXTENT OF LAKE TANGANIKA.
When the party assembled in the evening, Frank was not in the place where the others expected to find him; he was among the auditors, and his former seat was occupied by Mr. Stanley. The latter said he had been sleeping during most of the afternoon, and would atone for his indolence by telling the story of a portion of his work after the arrival of the expedition at Ujiji.
HEAD OF UGUHHA WOMAN.
"As you have assembled to hear the story of the Dark Continent," said Mr. Stanley, as soon as all were seated, "you shall not be disappointed. You can imagine that I am reading from the book, and I will keep it in my hands to assist your imaginations."
Without further preliminary the distinguished explorer plunged at once into the midst of his subject and carried his audience, as on the enchanted carpet of the "Arabian Nights," straight to the shores of Lake Tanganika.
