SOUTH AFRICA 15 
it—in fact, I think our sole qualification was unbounded en- 
thusiasm. 
At this stage we were perhaps fortunate in hearing of a store- 
keeper in the Transvaal whose hobby was collecting birds and 
who had amassed a large number during the war, of which he 
now wished to dispose. They were all in large and beautiful 
aviaries, and had been well cared for by a man who was obviously 
an expert on the subject. Being well seasoned to captivity, they 
were all delightfully tame, and I shall never forget my first view 
of so many different species of South African waxbills, bishop 
birds, whydahs, weavers and lovebirds, all busily feeding, bath- 
ing, displaying, preening, or making nests. 
We were not long in coming to terms, and so I took the lot by 
train, over a thousand miles, to the Cape. 
In September, 1919, a few months after our arrival back in 
South Africa, I embarked on a Union Castle boat on my way 
back to England with the entire collection. The financial outcome 
of the venture was in the air, so to speak, as I had not the vaguest 
idea what such a collection was worth, and was not even sure 
where I could dispose of them. To save expense, and in the hope 
that all would go well, my brother remained behind to build up 
another collection with the help of our storekeeper friend. 
My birds, all in suitable wooden traveling cages, were stowed 
on the boat deck—the uppermost—which was private as far as the 
passengers were concerned. An enormous crowd had assembled on 
the Cape Town docks to see us off. A band played and streamers 
were flowing in hundreds from the decks to the quayside. As the 
tugs slowly pulled the vessel away and the streamers strained and 
broke, there was a tremendous burst of cheering. At this moment 
I felt constrained to leave my birds for an instant to gaze on the 
animated scene below. To my embarrassment everyone seemed to 
be looking up at me and cheering. Surely my departure after so 
brief a stay could not occasion such an outburst of approval! A 
glance to my left showed that, standing by the rails at the end 
of the next lifeboat, was a solitary distinguished figure. He an- 
swered the crowd’s cheers with repeated hand-waving and obvi- 
ous emotion. As we pulled out and got under way, he turned 
from the land he had served so well—for he was none other than 
