THOUGHTS OF HOME. 205 
dated June 2d, and a line from Charley, dated June 
4th. It is very delightful to be brought in contact 
with you all once more after so long an interruption 
to communication. I don't believe anything can make 
one appreciate home and friends like a long absence 
from them. Indeed, things we think nothing of at 
home are often dwelt upon in memory when one is 
in the midst of the wilderness. The packet of 
letters, which I have referred to as awaiting me when 
I came here, arrived at Tati before the end of 
August, and the latest written of them bears date 
April 25th; so that, in both instances, about four 
months have elapsed between the time the letters 
were posted in England and that of their delivery 
here. It is the fact of one's moving about that 
makes the communication with home so desultory.^ 
" To-day the rains may be said to have begun, 
but there will probably not be much rain for some 
time yet. However, this morning was dark and 
gloomy enough, though there are now signs of an 
improvement in the weather. I have been here a 
fortnight, and am waiting till certain necessary re- 
pairs are made in my waggon, my idea being to 
spend a few weeks in this neighbourhood before 
finally leaving for Maritzburg. ... In the mean- 
time I mean to give you a little account of my 
doings since my last letter to you, encouraged 
by Charley's assurance that my descriptions of 
1 The time occupied in the transmission of letters has, since the 
above was written, been much curtailed, owing to the establishment, 
through missionary enterprise, of direct postal communication between 
Bamangwato and the Cape. 
