quantities of ants I say, “Agnes, just throw them away.” “ What
you mean?” says my charmer. “ P u t ’em outside,” say I.
^ e gazes blankly, “ Chuck ’em,” says I, descending still further
^an§uage- A gleam of comprehension comes to Agnes.
You mean I hev them ? ” says she. “ That’s it, heave them,”
I answer, and she forthwith “ hev ’em” out of one of our many
windows.^ I feel it is my duty to go and pay my respects to
t e ission, Agnes quite agrees, and off we go among the
scattered bamboo-built houses, one of which in a skeleton
state she tells me she is building for herself.
The Roman Catholic Mission, the only representative o f
w ite men here, is on the southern face of Cape Esterias.
Its buildings consist of a small residence and a large church.
Ih e church has a concrete floor and wooden benches, the
white walls relieved by a frieze of framed prints of a religious
character, a pretty altar with its array of bright brass
candlesticks, and above it the tinted and gilt figure of the
Virgin and Child. Every part of the place is sweet and clean,
giving evidence of the loving care with which it is tended. A s
I pass the residence, the missionaiy, seeing me, sends one o f
his black retainers to fetch me in, and leads me on to the
verandah, where I am most cordially received by the Père in
charge, who has practical views on hospitality, and is anxious
tor me to have wine and many things else he can ill afford to-
spare from his own store. I thankfully confine my depredations
to some sugar and a loaf of excellent bread, but he
insists on handing to Agnes for me a tin of beef and a lot o f
oranges. As I cannot speak French, nor he English I do
my best to convey my sense of his kindness and’ bow
myself off.
Agnes, who is very proud of the Mission, tells me there is
only one Père and one Frère stationed here, but she says
“ they are very good— good too much.” They educate the
children, teaching them to read French, See., and should a
child display any aptitude it is forwarded round to Gaboon to'
acquire ^a further training in the technical schools there ira
connection with the headquarters of the Mission. She herself,
I gather, was educated primarily by the Mission, but she has
continued her studies on her own account, for not only does
she speak French grammatically, as the natives are taught to,
and read and write it, but also Englis oa g
doubt, but comforting to the wanderer U U j L f t
while she claims an equal knowledge of Spanish, no mean
range of accomplishments for a lady. I return to my abode
and have a square meal and sugar in my coffee thanks to the
missionary, and so to bed, as Mr. Pepys would say. I am
sure, by the way, Mr. Pepys would like Agnes, she is quite
his style of beauty, plump and pleasant ; I don t expect h
would care for my seaweed bed though, unless he
broken into it by African travel, for Mr. Pepys had great
ideas of being comfortable in a conventional way.
August 11th.— Agnes rouses me from my thalassic couch an
suggests Mass at 5.30 A.M. It seems a very proper suggestion,
so I carry it out. I find the rest of the inhabitants already on
their knees in the church, singing their Salve Maria responses
in that musical, metallic twang the Latin seems tc» bring; ow
so strangely in the African voice, usual y so u a .
I endeavour to follow properly, and when my whoie attentio
is absorbed in so doing, a terrific tug at my skirts alarms .
I look carefully round and see Agnes on her knees behind m .
“ What’s the matter?” I ask. She whispers something Salve
Maria,” I say, joining the congregational chorus
add in a whisper “ I no fit to hear you speak them t g
softly, softly,’’- s h e then emits a hissing whisper, full of earnest
meaning but incomprehensible as to detail, a v
comes again and I , feeling frightened that I am doing so -
thing awfully wrong somehow, answer a n x i o u s l yW a h
and then right out loud and clear, Agnes says, I be his Jack
wash.” “ Salve Maria,” say I, with the congregation. The
we have an explanation outside, and it seems she does
reverence’s washing, and f e e l i n g , j u s t l y enough, proud of t
white lace petticoats which he was displaying before the altar
she was compelled to communicate the fact to me and cla
her share in their beauty. Vanity, thy name is Woman .
I take leave of Agnes with gifts, and of my host, the owne
of the house, giving him a present He is more ^ satisfied
I but explains this must be regarded as a gift and not as p y
for the hire of his house— it not being the fashion of his