Next morning we leave Matadi for Boma in the _Heron_. The current is running down through the narrow channel at about ten knots an hour and the water roars and bubbles as though passing over rocks in a rapid. We therefore roll a good deal and travel very fast indeed until we reach Boma just before midday. Stories in the Congo grow with extraordinary rapidity and my attack of synovitis had been converted into a serious illness before it reached the capital. A room had therefore, been prepared at the _Croix Rouge_ in which I was soon comfortably installed. The hospital consists of eight sets of rooms arranged in four buildings, separated from each other, but with the verandahs connected by balconies. In the centre is a building in which the eight sisters live the whole thus forming a "t" with a building at each end of the lines and one where they intersect. The whole is situated on a hill from which a magnificent view can be obtained of the river and country around. Here I remained for nearly a week and was attended with much skill and care by the medical men and sisters. It was necessary to make some calls in the town and a carriage at Boma was placed at my disposal similar to the one at Stanleyville, but travelling in it was more comfortable for the roads are better in the capital. It was very hot and the mosquitoes were terribly hostile, but otherwise my visit was very pleasant and agreeable. On January 6th the German cruiser the _Vineta_ and the gunboat the _Habicht_ entered the Congo and the Governor General gave a dinner to the officers to which I received the honour of an invitation. I am tempted to give the menu to show that although living in the Upper Congo is not good, as a rule, in Boma it is possible to give a banquet worthy of anyone. MENU -- _Potage aux tomates_ -- _Coquilles de crevettes_ -- _Barbue. Sauce câpres_ _Pommes nature_ -- _Filet de boeuf_ _Flageolets. Pommes rissolées_ -- _Asperges de Malines_ _Sauce au beurre_ -- _Pigeonneaux rôtis. Petits pois_ -- _Poulets farcis. Compote de mangues_ -- _Canetons rôtis. Salade russe_ -- _Gâteaux_ _Ananas au kirsch_ _Fruits.--Desserts_ The wines were Oporlo, Hodiheimer, Niersteiner, Pichon Longueville 1893, Château Grand Larose 1893, Corton and Louis Roederer Champagne. The dinner was served admirably by native boys while the band of the Force Publique performed in the garden.