88 A COLONY IN THE MAKING chap. 



clean and doesn't make a habit of it, I would commend 

 a little short-sightedness to this amiable weakness. 

 Swahilis sometimes cook quite fairly. Natives are 

 nearly always villainous, their repertoire being mainly 

 confined to " roasti " and " chopsi," and their kitchens 

 are generally in a state of filth such as makes one 

 shudder to contemplate. The wages of a Goanese 

 cook vary from £$ to £$ a month. A Swahili would 

 be about £2, and a native anything between 105. and 

 a sovereign. While well aware that one must cut 

 one's coat according to one's cloth, I would suggest that 

 cooking is one of the least desirable expenses in which 

 .to economise ; a statement in which, I believe, the 

 male sex will usually concur. The desirability of the 

 settler's wife having herself a knowledge of cooking 

 cannot be too strongly pointed out. 



The next servant wanted will be the butler or head 

 houseboy, on whom, to a great extent, the ordinary 

 comfort of the home will depend. Here we are 

 faced with the same choice, with the addition of 

 Somalis. I would suggest that an Indian is ex- 

 travagant ; moreover, one Indian in the kitchen may 

 be good, but two Indians about the place are a 

 nuisance. Some Somalis are good, and are essentially 

 clean and nice-looking. Against this, however, they 

 are certain to quarrel with the other servants ; nor is 

 honesty by any means their strong card. Let us 

 therefore plump for a Swahili whom we ought to 

 obtain for about 30^. per month. 



The cook will probably have a lad or "toto" under 

 him, and the butler one or two, as the case may be. 

 These three will average 10/- a month. 



Here, then, is a comfortable establishment for a man 

 and his wife : — 



