in a circle, with their elbows resting on their knees; the first applies his lips to the mouth of the horn and draws the smoke up until his mouth is quite full, and hands it on to the next, who does likewise; meanwhile, the first has handed to him a pannikin of water, with which he slowly fills his mouth, forcing the smoke down into his lungs; the pannikin he again hands on to the next, and receives in exchange a long hollow reed, through which he proceeds to squirt the water and smoke out of his mouth; and so the whole process is repeated from member to member of the circle. The coughing and choking that now commences is almost incredible, and quite indescribable. Suddenly one of them will be inspired with an oration, and wildly gesticulating will shout at the pitch of his voice, or hiss through his teeth for perhaps an hour at a stretch, and it is not etiquette to interrupt him. At last, tired by his own eloquence and succumbing to the intoxicating fumes, he falls into a state of torpor, and another taking up the theme, so it goes on until the whole company are overcome. A man under the effects of daka does not need an audience to talk to, but will harangue the empty air with as full circle of admiring auditors. influence of this baneful stuff a accountable for his actions; and I have seen the quietest best-behaved boy, insolent, threatening and dangerous after a very few whiffs. It is next to impossible to entirely prevent the boys using it, and it is better to allow it to be smoked openly, and so be able to stop it before the effects take a violent form,

much energy, as a When under the boy is utterly un

than have the boys discontented always and taking every possible opportunity of illicitly indulging in it to excess, whenever they can evade their master's eye. They are very ingenious in their means of using it, and will make a pipe out of anything that may be at hand, from a potato hollowed out and a large stalk of grass, to the fashionable ink-pot; it is quite futile to destroy their pipes, for they will make shift with a hole in a lump of mud or moistened sand, and lay down on the ground with their mouths to it, rather than be deprived of the use altogether.

A boy once asked me, " Boss, why you not smoke Kaffir pipe?"

"Why should I destroy my health, and become quarrelsome and ill like you do?"

Ah, boss! it makes everything seem so small, and so far away, and everything so pretty and warm ; his sweetheart also comes and talks to Kaffir while he smokes daka."

This, in a boy's own words, expresses the effect the daka has upon him; and so no wonder it has an irresistible temptation to them when wet, hungry, tired, and cold.

Nearly all the Kaffirs we met about these parts were more or less clothed, as they are in the habit of going out to work for about six months out of the twelve, either as farm-labourers or house-servants, and in those capacities a certain amount of covering is necessary.

The scenery became far wilder as we advanced. The hills were loftier and more broken up, and here and there covered with thick brushwood. The

veldt itself was strewn with quartz rocks, and rugged boulders. The streams were full of beautiful quartz pebbles, worn smooth by the constant friction. Many of the rocks have streaks of pure iron in them, and on every side are relics of the volcanic action which must have formed the greater part of the whole Transvaal.

We had expected to reach Heidelburg for Sunday; but as it was getting dark, and we were still ten miles away, we outspanned by the side of a clear, deep-flowing stream, in an open space between two masses of ragged reef.

Kaffir Morality.

121

CHAPTER XV.

No Coffee-Birds and Insects in the Transvaal-Heidelburg-An up-country Billiard-room-Wild Ostriches-Riding into Pretoria-Letters from Home-Conflicting IntelligenceMr. White assists us-The Route decided-F. leaves usThe "European"-The Queen's Birthday-Ball at Government House.

Sunday, May 12th.-In the morning there was no coffee ground for breakfast, and the boy whose duty it was to grind it excused himself on the pretext that it was Sunday. This same boy later on in the day had no compunction about leaving the horses to stray where they chose, while he sneaked away to the Macatee krall, and came back intoxicated when he thought we should not observe him, and when called to account did not mind telling lie after lie in his defence. As this was the second occasion on which a boy had attempted to take advantage of our reluctance to work on Sundays, we made an example of him on the spot, which prevented any more skulking on the part of the others.

The various changes in the bird and insect life, as the day passes on, are very marked and curious.

In the early morning all round we heard the cries of the coranne and partridge, and as we went to bathe very likely put up a couple of wild duck, or disturbed

a bôk come down for his morning draught. As the heat of the day comes on, the game of all description retires to the shade, and is neither to be seen nor heard, and the air is full of gorgeous insects of every size and colour, from the large butterfly, flitting from reed to reed, to the sphinxes and sand-flies, whose movements, as they dart and glance through the sunlight, are too quick for the eye to follow. Darting after these, and glancing like little bolts of shiny gold or silver, set with emeralds and rubies, are innumerable brilliantly-plumaged small birds, who again retire into the reeds when the butterflies shut up their wings as the heat of the sun ceases to warm them into activity. But the cooling atmosphere is far from being tenantless; for, as the sun goes down, myriads of clear-winged long-bodied flies swarm up from the ground, and after these there dart out from their hiding-places of the daytime a devouring crowd of blackbirds with white tails, who gobble up the flies by the dozen. A larger kind, with gold feathers in their wings, also assist at the banquet; and a smart little wagtail has a larger share perhaps than either of the others, for he is quicker in his movements, and never misses his dart. When these go to bed later on, owls, night-hawks, bats, crickets, frogs, and jackals, combine together to break the deep stillness of the night with their harsh discordant cries and croakings.

The boys always change their costume for Sundays in some way or other, and they also take the opportunity to wash, dry, and grease themselves. One day Jantze appeared in a red shirt and a pair of boots as