This was the coolest day we had as yet experienced on our expedition, the thermometer, in the cool shade of a tree, at half-past one o’clock in the afternoon indicating only 84°. This was probably attributable to the fresh northerly breeze which sprung up about noon; for during the night it was not so cold as we felt it afterwards, the thermometer during this time indicating, at sunrise, between 56° and 59°, and at sunset between 74° and 77°. [Sidenote: Wednesday, January 14th.] We made a longer march than usual, while the character of the country changed entirely, and not, as it seemed, to its advantage; for instead of a fertile landscape, clothed with rich verdure, we entered upon bleak alluvial plains, scantily overgrown with stunted mimosas, and to all appearance almost unfit for producing grain. It was one of those remarkable days in January which, in the whole of Central Africa, form a distinct season by themselves. A thick fog enveloped the whole country, and excluded any distant view, and, while subsequently it helped to increase the dismal character of the country, in the beginning of our march it prevented us from enjoying once more the rich scenery of the preceding day; for we had first to return to the bank of that beautiful clear sheet of water along which our march had led the day before. Its banks here also were quite flat, but the sheet of water was wider than at the place where we had seen it before. Proceeding a little in advance of the army, I obtained a sight of a riverhorse just at the moment when it raised its immense head above the surface of the watery element. But as soon as we left this fine clear sheet of water the character of the country changed entirely, assuming an exceedingly sombre aspect, and we passed a hamlet more cheerless and miserable than any I had seen in the whole of this country. Not a single trace of cultivation was seen on the bleak, black, argillaceous soil; and it was evident that the inhabitants of this hamlet subsisted solely on the fish which they were able to catch; and these may be abundant, as the whole configuration of the ground evidently shows that this entire tract is reached by the inundation during the rainy season. The country preserved the same aspect as we proceeded onwards; and the hamlets which we passed were not of a more inviting appearance than the first. Only now and then an isolated deléb-palm, or kamelútu, raised its magnificent tuft into the air, and served, by the contrast it afforded, to make this spot appear more gloomy. A large piece of ground was entirely covered with aghúl (_Hedysarus alhajji_) which seemed to me not a little remarkable, as I did not remember to have seen this plant, which is so much liked by the camel, since I had left Taganáma.