A ROMANCE OF N'SHABE.* THE vast unknown region of Central
Africa still possesses a charm for writers, and, we may add, readers too. It is the sportsman's paradise, this ; while the fact of a great area over which an intrepid man may wander for years and years with- out so much as touching civilisation, is highly attractive to an Englishman. There is, however, something more stimulating even than mere hunting,—the possible discovery of a mysterious race, some lost link in history, and the final solution of a historical problem. No one knows what may be in store for him. So many travellers' tales have become commonplaces, that unlimited license is allowed the story-teller ; and the story- teller, it must be confessed, makes the most of his opportunity.
A Romance of N'Shabe incorporates the adventures and discoveries of the first-named author for thirty years, and the object, the joint-authors declare in the preface, is to make a relation of travel less tedious than it generally is. We were not aware that the sober relation of travel was unin- teresting. Be that as it may, the writers have certainly avoided the fault of tediousness. The plot of the story is simply this. The narrator of the " Romance " is debarred from his inheritance by the second marriage of his father. He is sitting one day reflecting on his disappointment outside some South African town, when an old hunting-friend greets him and incidentally relates a tradition of Mashonaland that a white race had once lived there, but had retreated into the interior, sending annually pilgrims to worship at the ruined temples, and pray for a return of their ancient empire. Clavering, the hunter, says he has himself seen the round forts of hewn granite. They decide to penetrate the mystery, and a third adventurer, whose wife had been murdered and his daughter kidnapped by bushmen, joins them. The party set out across the Kalahara Desert, and, after exciting adventures, discover the mysterious race living in an in- accessible valley. This race confirms their suspicions of its being identical with the descendants of the Queen of Sheba. The story, in its main lines, is not unlike a very popular romance of a few years ago. The weak part of the book, however, is the identification of Rylston's long-lost daughter with the adopted daughter of the old Queen of N'Shabeland. The ruler is always a woman, and Miss Rylston is to be the next Queen. The Chief Priest, or Edruchi, is a Frenchman who has been dropped in Central Africa from a navigable balloon. We should add that the Frenchman and his companion (killed by savages) were narcotised by an escape of gas for upwards of two days, else we may assume that Central Africa would have been the last place that Monsieur Declus would have navigated his balloon to. These anomalies are in themselves worked into the story with considerable skill, but they will give the ordinary reader a metaphorical douche.
The first half of the book is by far the pleasantest reading. The description of the daily " trek," the scenery of the country, the forests and the rolling veldt, the exhilarating air—all that makes the lot of the African hunter a joyous one—is full of fascination. The impressiveness of a primeval forest is touched upon with a happiness that is admirable. The bush- men are very thoroughly described, four distinct tribes being discussed by the writers. A bushman-hunt is organised to secure some cave-bushmen, who are eventually discovered and smoked out of their cavern. All this is very well done, but the best part of the book is what follows. The pigmies are well treated in the camp and sent home happy, but that night a number of Damara bushmen attack the party. Clavering, the old hunter, predicts that the enemy " will hammer away at us till we are all cut to pieces." A fearful struggle takes place ; rush after rush is made, till a thunderstorm gives the party time to take the waggons to a kloof. The Damaras, however, in spite of the piled-up boulders at the entrance, drive them further up, where they ultimately take refuge in a cavern.
Here an unexpected move on the part of Rylston, who had gone off in a fit of semi-madness on not being allowed to mine
• A Romance of N'Shabe. By A. A. Anderson and A. Wall. With Illustra- tions. London: Chapman and Hall. the Damara advance with dynamite, and who now uses this material with effect, relieves the pressing necessity. It is on these chapters, that treat of the Desert, its dangers and its inhabitants—chapters in which, we presume, it is Mr. Anderson who speaks—that A Romance of N'Shabe must depend for its attraction ; and even the stirring account of the fight is nearly spoilt by the discovery that a Somerset- shire man is in the band of Damaras! But the fight is a most spirited thing, and worth reading.
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