from the good. "Are your laws and your God so good, that you send
teachers to benefit us, and yet you cannot get your own men to obey
them?" was the question of a young Kaffir to me, after he had seen a
drunken Englishman in the streets of Pietermaritzburg during the day.

It too frequently happens, that in our eagerness to civilise the savage,
as we term it, we but impart to him the vile qualities that are common
amongst the white men. The natural equilibrium of the savage mind is
thus upset, and only those instructions are retained that agree with the
man's own inclination. I once met a Kaffir whose clothes gave evidence
of his having lived near white men. When asked to do some work for me,
he refused, stating as his reason, that the black man was as good as the
white, and he did not think, therefore, one ought to work for the other.
He was sitting down at the time drinking and smoking. Upon
investigating this case, I found that a missionary, endeavouring to
instil religious principles into this savage, and give him a motive for
becoming a Christian, had assured him that in the sight of the Creator
there was no difference between a black and a white man. This fact was
enough for our friend, he jumped at the offer of baptism, answered to
the name of Lazarus, professed belief in everything, and sat down with
the comfortable idea of being as good as the best white man that he had
ever seen. This man, of course, would do more harm than good amongst
his fellows; they could discover the false reasoning, but would conclude
that it had been taught by the missionary, and would reject, in
consequence, all religious instruction. All these Kaffirs seemed to
have a capacity for appreciating the beauties of their country, wild and
graceful as it is to the English eye, which gazes with delight on the
sweet-scented evergreens and graceful vines. The glories of the
European conservatory are here but a common tree or an overgrown weed.
Amongst scenes like these, the men I employed as aids in hunting had
received their instruction. The heavens and the stars were their
wonders and puzzles, spooring, throwing the assagy, and tending the
cattle, their courses of study; the wild animals that they frequently
encountered had infused into them a dash of their own savage natures;
their barters and ambitions were limited to a few cattle, a blanket, and
a gun.

Every man of whom I inquired, appeared to believe in a future state, and
t