328 ETHNOLOGY 



and I have on many occasions witnessed unmistak- 

 able acts of tenderness towards her children on her 

 part by which I have been greatly and agreeably 

 impressed. 



Let me here indite a word of advice to those 

 who may one day find themselves in the midst of 

 a strange native village which has not quite made 

 up its mind whether to be civil or unfriendly. 

 Never mind the men ; leave the women alone 

 altogether, and make love to the children — to the 

 small boys and girls of four, five, or six years old. 

 For this purpose I invariably carry in my provision 

 cases a goodly supply of sweets — barley-sugar, 

 tojffee, and others. You will be seated in the 

 middle of the centre space of the small community 

 at the end of a long, wearying day ; you have been 

 trying unsuccessfully to negotiate for the purchase 

 of some millet flour for your carriers, or of some 

 fowls for yourself, and have been met with signs 

 of sulkiness almost amounting to hostility. Pre- 

 sently, under the thatched eaves of a neighbouring 

 hut, your eye will alight upon a small group of 

 children, regarding the unwonted spectacle of a 

 white man with wide-open eyes of supreme wonder. 

 Now is your opportunity. You get out a tin of 

 barley-sugar and smilingly beckon to them, holding 

 a piece the while between your fingers. After a 

 moment's hesitation, each nudging the other 

 forward first, a small, timid form sidles up to you, 

 and puts out both hands together, the slightly 

 hollowed palm uppermost. You give him a piece, 

 and beckon to the others, who grow gradually 

 bolder, and approach with more courageous steps. 



