

AN EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY. 163 



old, rather than a middle-aged, woman in the chiefs 

 immediate vicinity not to hear the remark, and she 

 opened out such a torrent of abuse upon him that, 

 but for his being a very brazen character indeed, 

 he would have been heartily ashamed of himself. 



While the old lady was working herself more 

 and more into a passion, several young females, 

 whom I deemed to be daughters of the old gentle- 

 man, jabbered, laughed, and clapped their hands 

 with every indication of enjoying the fun, and, 

 would you believe it, the old reprobate encouraged 

 these unseemly actions with many a sly wink or 

 knowing twist of his mouth. The whole proceed- 

 ing was scandalous. Such a want of respect in a 

 husband for the mother of his family, and in children 

 for their parent, I never previously witnessed ; so I 

 inquired from Totty, was that the way young folks 

 treated their mothers in Bechuana-land ? To this 

 question my man tittered, but when he got his 

 countenance back to its ordinarily ugly semi-serious 

 shape, he vouchsafed me the reply, " Him," pointing 

 to a group of five females, the eldest of whom was 

 under twenty " not his daughters ; all wives." 



There is no doubt that many English women 

 have much to put up with from drunken, thought- 

 less, or indolent husbands ; but then they have the 

 sinners all to themselves, instead of, as in this case, 

 a " boom " of younger charmers to support the 

 I transgressor in his iniquity. Should our matrons 



