SUNDAY SERVICE. 487 



lower lip, winch dangles down about level with the lower edge 

 of the chin : their clothing in front is very scanty. The men know 

 nothing of distant places, the Manganja being a very stay-at-home 

 people. The stockades are crowded with huts, and the children 

 have but small room to play in the narrow spaces between." 



The service of Sunday, which Dr. Livingstone never neg- 

 lected, attracted the attention of the natives, and interested them 

 considerably. Rain was greatly needed, and as they had the 

 impression that he was praying for it, they were probably 

 ■watching for the effects. It must seem very strange to per- 

 sons who though heathen are still so fixed in their peculiar 

 beliefs, that others should account all their cherished creed a silly 

 fiction. The head man of this village was intelligent, however, 

 and seemed to appreciate the instruction he received. He was 

 not enough interested in his visitor to be at very much pains for 

 his convenience. 



Speaking of him the doctor says : " Zeore's people would not 

 carry without prepayment, so we left our extra loads as usual and 

 went on, sending men back for them: these, however, did not 

 come till the 27th, and then two of my men got fever. I groan 

 in spirit, and do not know how to make our gear into nine loads 

 only. It is the knowledge that we shall be detained some two 

 or three months during the heavy rains that makes me cleave 

 to it as means of support." 



But he did not suffer his troubles to interfere with his obser- 

 vation of the customs and country, as we see in the following ex- 

 tracts : "Advantage has been taken by the people of spots where 

 the Lokuzhwa goes round three parts of a circle to erect their 

 stockaded villages. This is the case here, and the water, being 

 stagnant, engenders disease. The country abounds in a fine 

 light blue flowering perennial pea, which the people make use 

 of as a relish. At present the blossoms only are collected and 

 boiled. On inquiring the name, chilobe, the men asked me if 

 we had none in our country. On replying in the negative, they 

 looked with pity on us : ' What a wretched country not to have 

 chilobe ! ' It is on the highlands above ; we never saw it else- 

 where. Another species of pea (chilobe weza), with reddish 

 flowers, is eaten in the same way ; but it has spread but little in 

 comparison. It is worth remarking that porridge of maize or 



