even in localities where no missionary
lives, religious meetings are regularly held, and children and adults
taught to read by the more advanced of their own fellow-countrymen; and
no one is allowed to make a profession of faith by baptism unless he
knows how to read, and understands the nature of the Christian religion.

The Bechuana Mission has been so far successful that, when coming from
the interior, we always felt, on reaching Kuruman, that we had returned
to civilized life. But I would not give any one to understand by this
that they are model Christians--we can not claim to be model Christians
ourselves--or even in any degree superior to the members of our country
churches. They are more stingy and greedy than the poor at home; but in
many respects the two are exactly alike. On asking an intelligent chief
what he thought of them, he replied, "You white men have no idea of how
wicked we are; we know each other better than you; some feign belief to
ingratiate themselves with the missionaries; some profess Christianity
because they like the new system, which gives so much more importance to
the poor, and desire that the old system may pass away; and the rest--a
pretty large number--profess because they are really true believers."
This testimony may be considered as very nearly correct.

There is not much prospect of this country ever producing much of the
materials of commerce except wool. At present the chief articles of
trade are karosses or mantles--the skins of which they are composed come
from the Desert; next to them, ivory, the quantity of which can not
now be great, inasmuch as the means of shooting elephants is sedulously
debarred entrance into the country. A few skins and horns, and some
cattle, make up the remainder of the exports. English goods, sugar, tea,
and coffee are the articles received in exchange. All the natives
of these parts soon become remarkably fond of coffee. The acme of
respectability among the Bechuanas is the possession of cattle and
a wagon. It is remarkable that, though these latter require frequent
repairs, none of the Bechuanas have ever learned to mend them. Forges
and tools have been at their service, and teachers willing to aid them,
but, beyond putting together a camp-stool, no effort has ever been made
to acquire a knowledge of the trades. They observe most carefully a
missionary at work until they understand whether a tire is well welded
or not, and then pronounce upon its m