“Thou speakest truly, Mazooku; it is even so.” “Yes, we sailed across the black water in the smoking ship, sailed to the land of wonders, which is full of houses and trees, so that a man cannot breathe in it, or throw out his arms lest they should strike a wall; and, behold! there came an ancient one with a shining head wonderful to look on, and a girl Rosebud, small but very sweet, and greeted my father and the Lion, and led them away in the carriages which put the horses inside them, and set them in this place, where they may look for ever at the sadness of the sea. “And then, behold, the Rosebud said, ‘What doth this black dog here? Shall a dog lead Mazimba by the hand? Begone, thou black dog, and walk in front or ride behind; it is I who will hold Mazimba’s hand.’ “Then my father, sinking deep in ease, and becoming a fat man, rich in oxen and waggons and corn, said to himself, ‘I will take this Rosebud to wife.’ And so the Rosebud opened her petals, and closed them round my father, and became a Rose; and now she sheds her fragrance round him day by day and night by night, and the black dog stands and howls outside the door. “And so, my father, it came to pass that Mazooku, thy ox and thy dog, communed with his heart, and said: ‘Here is no more any place for thee. Mazimba thy chief has no longer any need of thee, and behold in this land of women thou, too, shalt grow like a woman. So get up and go to thy father, and say to him, “O my father, years ago I put my hand between thy hands, and became a loyal man to thee; now I would withdraw it, and return to the land whence we came; for here I am not wanted, and here I cannot breathe.”’ I have spoken, O my father and my chief.” “Mazooku, umdanda ga Ingoluvu, umfana ga Amazulu” (son of Ingoluvu, child of the Zulu race), answered Ernest, adopting the Zulu metaphor, his voice sounding wonderfully soft as the liquid tongue he spoke so well came rolling out, “thou hast been a good man to me, and I have loved thee. But thou shalt go. Thou art right: now is my life the life of a woman; never again shall I hear the sound of the rifle or the ringing of steel in war. And so thou goest, Mazooku. It is well. But at times thou wilt think of thy blind master Mazimba, and of Alston, the wise captain who sleeps, and of the Lion who threw the ox over his shoulder. Go, and be happy. Many be thy wives, many thy children, and countless thy cattle! The Lion shall take thee by the hand and lead thee to the sea, and shall give thee of my bounty wherewith to buy a little food when thou comest to thine own land, and a few oxen, and a piece of ground, or a waggon or two, so that thou shalt not be hungry, nor want for cattle to give for wives. Mazooku, fare thee well!” [Illustration: Mazooku’s Farewell.]