PURCHASING CATTLE. 49 



at his own request, and be charged with it afterwards, 

 or asked to take a seat in his carriage to visit his 

 country estate, when you were safe to find a bill from 

 the livery-stable next morning. The first time I drove 

 with him we traversed miles ; every few furlongs he 

 quietly and seriously murmured, " All mine," and by 

 the time I got home " millionaire " was no term for the 

 affluence I believed him possessed of; but the stable- 

 boy at bath -time tendered me the bill for horses and 

 carriage. From that time forth my eyes were opened, 

 and I saw things in a new light. To leave joking on 

 one side, his charges were most moderate ; nothing was 

 a trouble that he could do to serve us, and he was 

 invariably courteous, and ever entertaining. The eccen- 

 tricities I have alluded to deserved no other name. In 

 our selection of cattle, horses, &c., he aided us much, and 

 prevented us from being imposed upon. I repeat I like 

 Mr. Prefer, and if I do wrong in narrating these tales 

 of him, my excuse is that it mattered not who was 

 present he told them of himself. 



Holly, about whom I have lately been silent, con- 

 tinued to sing with almost additional vehemence, 

 " Red, White, and Blue ; " but as our cattle must 

 be bought, and a start made, it became necessarj 

 to make him pull himself together. At length he 

 selected a team of black Zulus at ten pounds a head. 

 Without exception they were very handsome and in 

 excellent condition. For safety they were nightly 

 placed in the pound, for which a small sum is demanded. 

 This should never be neglected, and it ought to be one 

 of the golden rules engraved upon the mind of the up- 

 country African traveller. At Durban I had made several 

 offers for horses, but the vendor would listen to none, 

 E 



