KAFIR COOKS. 25 



closet, aud one would naturally suppose that 

 he would tell his master when supplies ran 

 short; but no such thing he always waits till 

 the last moment. Perhaps when you are wait- 

 ing for your breakfast the boy will come and 

 say gravely, " Coffee all finish," or wait till 

 dinner is on the table, aud then say there is 

 no wine, or bread, or something equally annoy- 

 ing; and scolding makes very little impression 

 on them. The most common and most irritat- 

 ing instance of this is to hear "No matches" 

 when you are just ready for your much-longed- 

 for and necessary morning coffee. 



It is no use being very harsh with the Kafirs ; 

 for if you are, as it is a rare thing for them 

 to form any real attachment to their masters, 

 or to evince the least gratitude for kindnesses 

 shown them, they run away, as I have said 

 before, without giving you the slightest notion 

 of their intention beforehand; perhaps putting 

 you to the greatest inconvenience. In many 

 of their ways they are painfully like monkeys, 

 squatting about and touching everything with 



