OUR "BOYS" AND SWAHILIS IN GENERAL 



Mombasa, hoping to find their officer master return- 

 ing from leave. It is wonderful how they hear 

 that their master has arrived, and turn up to greet 

 him, and ask to be taken on again. 



The Swahili is fearfully immoral, though it is a 

 little difficult to tell where immorality comes in 

 where Mohammedan ethics are concerned ; he is 

 also often an inveterate gambler. Their favourite 

 occupations are eating, sleeping and loafing about 

 the bazaars, with a stick, and cigarette in their 

 mouths, both often belonging to their masters. 

 Our boys took a great fancy to a heavy stick of 

 my husband's, and, although they were forbidden to 

 touch it ; when he wanted it, it always had to be 

 fetched from the boys' room. They are easily 

 amused and pleased, and many are the domestic 

 difficulties we have overcome by ridicule or chaff. 

 Though their masters or mistresses may become fond 

 of them, they never really return the affection, and 

 they are well known for their ingratitude. 



Of relations they have no end — mothers, fathers, 

 brothers and sisters, who usually appear to die off 

 rapidly when first they enter your service. One of 

 my boys wanted to go home as his mother was 

 dead. I let him go as it was the first time, next 

 day I told my head boy to ask him if she were bet- 

 ter or if she would die that day, he guilelessly re- 

 plied that she was very bad and he thought she 



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