Of the incident of the Missionary and the furnace of
logs, it is impossible to speak so certainly. It came to the writer
from the lips of an old traveller in "the Zulu"; but he cannot
discover any confirmation of it. Still, these kings undoubtedly put
their soldiers to many tests of equal severity. Umbopo, or Mopo, as he
is named in this tale, actually lived. After he had stabbed Chaka, he
rose to great eminence. Then he disappears from the scene, but it is
not accurately known whether he also went "the way of the assegai," or
perhaps, as is here suggested, came to live near Stanger under the
name of Zweete. The fate of the two lovers at the mouth of the cave is
a true Zulu tale, which has been considerably varied to suit the
purposes of this romance. The late Mr. Leslie, who died in 1874, tells
it in his book "Among the Zulus and Amatongas." "I heard a story the
other day," he says, "which, if the power of writing fiction were
possessed by me, I might have worked up into a first-class sensational
novel." It is the story that has been woven into the plot of this
book. To him also the writer is indebted for the artifice by which
Umslopogaas obtained admission to the Swazi stronghold; it was told to
Mr. Leslie by the Zulu who performed the feat and thereby won a wife.
Also the writer's thanks are due to his friends, Mr.
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