HOW WE FARED. 207 



so Irish an expression, in the Karroo these abominations 

 are all green, and gorgeous as Brazilian beetles flash 

 like great emeralds in the sunshine. 



Phillis, of course, cannot be trusted to go alone to 

 that open-air larder, for she will invariably leave the 

 bag unfastened, even if by her rough handling she does 

 not tear a yawning rent in its side. In the house too, 

 she does her utmost to further the evil designs of the 

 flies, and, if she uses the meat-safe at all, makes a 

 point of leaving it wide open till a host of "green- 

 bottles" has collected inside ; when she closes it, leaving 

 them in blissful possession of their prize. 



And oh, the house-flies ! Truly the plague of flies 

 is in every Karroo home ; and, next to the servants, it 

 is the greatest bane of farm life. And what flies they 

 are ! Their brethren in other parts of the world, 

 though obnoxious enough, can almost by comparison 

 be called well-behaved. For, except when eatables are 

 about, they do seem to have some idea of keeping to 

 themselves and minding their own business ; which 

 latter usually consists in dancing in the air, and 

 always in the very centre of the room a kind of 

 quadrille of many intricate figures,, the accurate per- 

 formance of which, holding them completely engrossed, 

 keeps them, for a time at least, out of mischief. But 

 the South African fly has no such resources of his own 

 to keep him amused ; consequently he devotes all his 

 energy and the whole of his time to one object that of 

 making life a burden to the unfortunate human beings 

 on whom he has chosen to quarter himself. Not 



