said, 'and was free to mix with colored men. This is
far more select, this dorp academy, with its elect Principal and
its supermen-managers.' We nearly had a row about his language.

We came over a rolling down towards the commonage. 'They've kept
free from fires here,' I said. 'Yes,' he said, 'but I'm doubtful
if their vigilance pays, if their game's worth the candle. I mean
if such absence of illumination is worth all their watching
about.' 'It saves waste of life.' I said, 'animal and vegetable,
if you can only keep the fires away.' I appealed to the wisdom of
our laws as well as to the argument of mercy which I appealed to
me. 'And you get that sort of thing.' he said, pointing to the
thick brown tufts of unappetizing feed. 'That's been going more
than a year, hasn't it? 'Oh for a wind and a fire,' say I.

We passed over the commonage, which showed very black with recent
fires. 'It looks rather knocked out,' I said. 'Yet not without
hope,' he answered. We were driving back about the same time next
fore-noon. A great fire was rushing wind-driven over that rolling
upland. 'At last,' he said. I sighed. A mile further on we came
into the smiling green vlei. 'This was black a while back,' he
said. 'Doesn't the fire help a bit after all? Who wants that
moldy stuffy old feed, isn't it parabolic of that fusty Dutch-Anglo
dorp and its prejudices? What are they meant for, and it?
'Fuel of fire,' say I.' I smiled indulgently. Since we had got
into town things had happened. We had had our memorial services
for the Dead that last night, and this same morning. It was the
week of All Hallows and All Souls, a time that often tempts me to
homesickness. One is apt to think of hazy, yellow-leaved, dreamy
times in old England just about then not to speak of old familiar
faces. That night of the first Service was very starry, and the
morning of the second Service was brilliantly clear, the rain
seemed to be very far away for the time being. People had come at
night rather well. Not to speak of one of the school managers
having died quite recently, news of one of our police's death out
scouting had leaked through from German East. I preached Paradise
to that attentive congregation in the iron-roofed church that
natives had been so discouraged from attending. I was glad one
straggled into the back seats I had battled for, just to
demonstrate one's principle of barring out the color-bar. It was
all very soul-soothing, thought I, that Me