He speaks always with real delight of his privileges, and is
very anxious to go to Cape Town to attend some school there of which he
talks a great deal, and where he says he should learn to read the Bible
in English. At present he is spelling it out with great difficulty in
Kafir. This man often talks to me in the most respectful and civil
manner imaginable about the customs of his tribe, and he constantly
alludes to the narrow escape he had of being murdered directly after his
birth for the crime of being a twin. His people have a fixed belief that
unless one of a pair of babies be killed at once, either the father or
mother will die within the year; and they argue that as in any case one
child will be sure to die in its infancy, twins being proverbially
difficult to rear, it is only both kind and natural to kill the weakly
one at once. This young man is very small and quiet and gentle, with an
ugly face, but a sweet, intelligent expression and a very nice manner. I
find him and the other Christian in our employment very trustworthy and
reliable. If they tell me anything which has occurred, I know I can
believe their version of it, and they are absolutely honest. Now, the
other lads have very loose ideas on the subject of sugar, and make
shifty excuses for everything, from the cat breaking a heavy stone
filter up to half the marketing being dropped on the road.
I don't think I have made it sufficiently clear that besides the
Sunday-schools and services I have mentioned there are night-schools
every evening in the week, which are fully attended by Kafir servants,
and where they are first taught to read their own language, which is an
enormous difficulty to them.
Pages:
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276