FROM TALI TO TSEKOU 



mules. Our caravan was composed of thirty such, of which six 

 were for the saddle. We mustered si.xteen men, all told. Our 

 two Annamite boys, after a little hesitation, decided to go for- 

 ward with us ; but of the Chinese who entered Tali in our train 

 but two remained — Roux's mule man Chantzeu, and his assistant 

 Fa, a strong, well-conducted lad whom we had taken on at 

 Ssumao. The new makotou was a big, seasoned fellow, about 

 forty years old, who talked little and worked hard, and neither 

 drank nor smoked. Under him were seven mafous, some of 

 them Christians. 



The interpreter was also a Christian, furnished by the Fathers. 

 It was a matter for astonishment to find in this out-of-the-way 

 spot anyone who could act in that capacity. It was still more so 

 when I add that Joseph spoke not a word of French. He was 

 what the missionaries termed a " Latinist." Brought up and 

 taught from early childhood by the Fathers, he had learnt Latin, 

 and even studied philosophy. But not feeling a call for orders 

 he had married, and became, like many of his kind, a trader, 

 setting up a small store with his father-in-law. Never, in all 

 probability, did he suspect that his acquaintance with the lan- 

 guage of Cicero would be lucrative, any more than, I am free to 

 add, I had myself thought to derive direct advantage from the 

 many painful hours erstwhile spent over the Catilines or the 

 ^neid. At first, intercourse was not easy. Our oratorical 

 attempts were hardly brilliant ; there were even times when we 

 were not in touch. By degrees, however, we gained fluency, and 

 in a month had completely mastered each other's idiosyncrasies of 

 expression. But what Latin ! Horresco ref evens ! Solecisms, 

 barbarisms, neologisms, all the "isms" invented might be applied 

 to our jargon. Luckily, we had only ourselves for audience. 

 ^ 145 



