An article written from the wilds of Africa may be expected to contain long tales of bloody deeds and great perils, of narrow escapes from hungry lions, battles with hordes of gory cannibals, and dramatic rescue in the nick of time, followed by a swift revenge and a grand flourish of trumpets; but as I have never been so fortunate in my travels as to meet with the romantic events that are so common to many travellers, I must ask my readers to be content with some plain facts, set forth in simple prose; and as my mission to Africa is in search of the truth in certain lines, I feel excused from any attempt to paint, in the rosy hues of fancy, such thrilling scenes as some depict. I shall omit some details of travel which are full of interest, but as many of my detours have been over routes that have been travelled by others and described by some, in various tints of truth and fiction, I shall pass, with long strides, over the time since my arrival on the coast to the present. As the chief object of my visit to this wilderness is to study the habits of the gorilla and chimpanzee in a state of nature, I shall confine myself chiefly to them, and to such things as I find among the natives in common with them. After a long voyage of thirty-six days from England, I arrived in Gaboon, the capital of the French Congo, where I was kindly received by the governor and others, and assured of any aid that they could render me. They manifested great interest in my work and anxiety for its success. During my stay of some weeks there I acquired much information, of great value to me, about the distribution of various tribes, and also of the apes. In the meantime I paid a visit to the king of the M'pongwe people, in his country called Denni, lying on the south side of the Gaboon River. The name of the king is Adande Repontjombo, which means _the son_ of Repontjombo, who was king when Paul du Chaillu was in Africa. The dignity of king, in Africa, does not rank with such a title in Europe. Here his powers are but little superior to those of any other native. He works, hunts, loafs, begs and lies just as others do. I must make an exception of the King of Denni, who is, by far, the best of all the royal Africans I have met, much of which is due to a good education, and his contact with white men. King Adande is an intelligent man, and well informed on many subjects. He reads, writes and speaks English and French in addition to his native tongue. A visit to the king, here, is not a matter of so much pomp and ceremony as such a visit to the sovereign of Great Britain, but to me it was novel and full of deep interest.