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ciiap. ix. MISSION STATION AT BLINKWATER. 229 also told us that, a day or two before, he ordered three snakes of the same kind, that had been killed, to he buried lest the children should tread on their bones, adding that the wounds thus caused were difficult to heal. In the evening we attended a meeting of the people in their chapel, which was well filled. George Pit, an English soldier, interpreted what was said into Dutch, and William Kaye, an intelligent Caffre, gave the substance of the address in his native tongue. The former, with whom we had a good deal of conversation, had identified himself with the people, and appeared to be a religious man. He had suffered the loss of one of his limbs in the late war. This was the first time I had heard the Caffre language spoken by a native, and, though some of the sounds were novel and not pleasing, the language, as spoken, was certainly soft and euphonious in an unusual degree. We had much conversation with the people afterwards regarding their temporal circumstances, and could only re commend them to seek from the proper source the redress of the grievances of which they complained. They had suffered greatly from the war and from other causes, especially from locusts, and from the fatal disease amongst their horses and cattle, so that they had not a single horse left, and only nine head of cattle, including cows. Under such cir cumstances some of the families found it difficult to get bread. Early the next morning we again met the people in the chapel, and endeavoured to address to them some words of encouragement. After taking breakfast with Mr. and Mrs. Van Koyer, who are both people of colour and highly esteemed by the authorities, as well as others, we commenced our journey. After we had left the village we observed a number of women standing in front of a cluster of acacia bushes by the road-side, and, as we drew near, they began to sing one q 3