heat. In the evening we arrived at Guftamlo, when Mr. Pearce being taken ill, we were under the necessity of leaving him behind.
On the 10th we departed from Guftamlo, at half past five, and travelled over a sandy and parched plain, a few isolated spots alone having been cultivated with mishella, the old stalks of which were still remaining, and measured from nine to twelve feet high. As I was passing through a field of this towering grain, it brought strongly to my recollection a circumstance in Swift's "Travels in Brobdignag," and I could not help feeling myself, for a moment, in a situation similar to that of Gulliver, when lost among the ridges of corn. Near this spot I shot a very rare bird (Cursorius Europæus) which, from its colour, could with difficulty be distinguished from the soil.
After crossing this plain, we came to some irregular hills, so thickly covered with low trees and brushwood, that it was with the utmost difficulty that we could make our way, the road being as bad as can be well conceived, and every bush and tree being covered with terribly large thorns. We managed fortunately, however, to get through without any serious injury, and immediately afterwards descended into a deep sandy gully, which in the rainy season forms the bed of a torrent. This gully strongly resembled the pass from Hamhammo to Taranta, and the same species of trees were found growing in it, chiefly consisting of capers, juniper, tamarind trees, and a large species of Adansonia, called Entata, similar to the one I have before described as common at Mosambique. The fruit of the tamarind tree was in high perfection, and afforded us a grateful refreshment. After another slight descent, a broad expanse of country opened before us, and we found ourselves at a short distance only from the banks of the Tacazze.
I immediately ran forward, prompted by a sort of natural impulse, till we came to the edge of the stream, where, seated on the bank, I remained for some time contemplating with delight the smooth course of the waters gliding beneath. It would be in vain for me to attempt a description of the tumult of ideas which at this moment rushed upon my mind. The various monu-
