Our day at Màrovoày was occupied chiefly in arranging for leaving for Mojangà the same evening, and in transferring all our baggage to one of the dhows lying in the river. There is an extensive view from the upper part of the town, as the country is very flat for many miles round. In the evening we dined with the governor and his wife in the _làpa_, and went down to the river at about nine o’clock. With some difficulty, in the darkness, we transferred ourselves and palanquins, etc., from shore to canoe, and from canoe to dhow, and at last were crowded together as thick as we could sit and lie on the little deck. The ship we embarked in was about thirty-five feet long, by fourteen or fifteen feet beam; the middle portion open to the keel, but with a little deck forward and another aft. This small quarter-deck was about ten to twelve feet square, and when the two large palanquins for the children to sleep in had been placed on either side, there was not much space left for five adults to pack together, in fact we had about as much room as would be found on a good-sized dining-table. Soon after ten o’clock we got under way, the tide having begun to ebb for the previous hour or two. There was no wind, so six men rowed us down the stream, accompanying their work with the most curious weird-sounding songs, in Arabic, I suppose (or perhaps Suahili), some of them sounding very comic. We swept down rapidly with the tide, the trees looking dark and gloomy in the uncertain light, and presently the moon rose. After an hour or two we got into the main river, and in a little time had to cast anchor, as the tide had turned. It was a strange night, and we did not get much sleep, as we had not room to turn, so we waited impatiently for the dawn. Dawn, however, brought with it a cloud of mosquitoes from the low swampy ground bordering the river, which was thick with mangroves and rank vegetation. Just at twilight they surrounded us by thousands; but as soon as the sun rose, they disappeared, a gentle breeze sprang up, and we set sail. The river widened as we proceeded, until it became a large estuary, and gradually opened into the Bay of Bèmbatòka. The breeze freshened as the day advanced, and we sailed at a considerable speed.