The redoubtable guard flocked round the veranda, and scrambled to every point where a view of our extraordinary proceedings could be gained, and an aggregate of acres of ivories saluted each movement of the wonderful white men who can do everything. Doors and windows were darkened by grinning happy brown faces, and the crowd of servitors within the room were envied mortals indeed. Ja-Ja himself was served by the heir-apparent or heir-presumptive of his swampy kingdom; but it is wonderful how little difference there is between heirs-apparent and common clay when there is no tailor to accentuate it. The consul seeing the king in so good a temper, broached the subject of a mission-school to be established at Opobó, which Ja-Ja had always refused; but on this occasion he not only promised to allow it, with effusion, but offered to build the house at his own expense. All being arranged about the next palaver at Bonny, which Ja-Ja promised to attend personally or by proxy, we took our leave with many presents and words of good-will. Of our tedious, sickly journey back to Bonny, I say nothing here, only that in it our brave, great-hearted consul, as true an Englishman as ever breathed, caught the deadly fever he had defied so long. The next morning, I found him yellow and delirious; and in three days he died, one more sacrifice of England’s brightest and best to the insatiable fever-fiend of the West Coast. FOOTNOTES: [1] One of these sons died since this was written, and left an English wife and family. IN ALL SHADES. CHAPTER XXXIV. That same afternoon, Rosina Fleming met Isaac Pourtalès, hanging about idly below the shrubbery, and waiting to talk with her, by appointment, about some important business she had to discuss with him of urgent necessity. ‘Isaac, me fren’,’ Rosina began in her dawdling tone, as soon as they had interchanged the first endearments of negro lovers, ‘I send for you to-day to ax you what all dis talk mean about de naygur risin’? I want to know when dem gwine to rise, an’ what dem gwine to do when dem done gone risen?’ Isaac smiled a sardonic smile of superior intelligence. ‘Missy Rosie, sweetheart,’ he answered evasively, ‘le-ady doan’t understand dem ting same as men does. Dis is political business, I tell you. Le-ady doan’t nebber hab no call to go an’ mix himself up along wit politic an’ political business.’ ‘But I tellin’ you, Isaac, what I want for to know is about de missy. Mistah Delgado, him tell me de odder ebenin’, when de great an’ terrible day come, de missy an’ all gwine to be murdered. So I come for to ax you, me fren’, what for dem want to go an’ kill de poor little missy? Him doan’t nebber do no harm to nobody. Him is good little le-ady, kind little le-ady. Why for you doan’t can keep him alive an’ let him go witout hurtin’ him, Isaac?’