ON AN EAST AFRICAN RANCH 41 



to be sung by the father, who holds the little boy or little 

 girl on his knee, and tosses him or her up in the air when 

 he comes to the last line: 



Trippa, troppa, tronjes, 



De varken's in de boonjes, 



De koejes in de klaver, 



De paardeen in de haver, 



De eenjes in de water-plass! 



So groot myn kleine (here insert the 



little boy's or little girl's name) wass! 



My pronunciation caused trouble at first; but I think 

 they understood me the more readily because doubtless 

 their own usual tongue was in some sort a dialect; and 

 some of them already knew the song, while they were all 

 pleased and amused at my remembering and repeating 

 it; and we were speedily on a most friendly footing. 



The essential identity of interest between the Boer 

 and British settlers was shown by their attitude toward 

 the district commissioner, Mr. Humphery, who was just 

 leaving for his biennial holiday, and who dined with us 

 in our tent on his way out. From both Boer farmer and 

 English settler and from the American missionaries also 

 I heard praise of Humphery, as a strong man, not in 

 the least afraid of either settler or native, but bound to do 

 justice to both, and, what was quite as important, sympa- 

 thizing with the settlers and knowing and understanding 

 their needs. A new country in which white pioneer settlers 

 are struggling with the iron difficulties and hardships of 

 frontier life is above all others that in which the officials 

 should be men having both knowledge and sympathy with 



