Chap. XXVII. PRESENTS— GUIDES. 559 



made any inquiries from us, we have found that we gave 

 most satisfaction in our answers when we tried to fancy our- 

 selves in the position of the interrogator, and him in that 

 of a poor uneducated fellow-countryman in England. The 

 polite, respectful way of speaking and behaviour of what we 

 call a " thorough gentleman," almost always secure the friend- 

 ship and goodwill of the Africans. 



The presents which, following the custom of the country, 

 we gave to every headman, where we either spent a night or 

 a longer period, varied from four to eight yards of calico. We 

 had some Manchester cloths made in imitation of the native 

 manufactured robes of the West Coast, each worth five or six 

 shillings. To the more important of the Chiefs, for calico we 

 substituted one of these strong gaudy dresses, iron spoons, 

 a knife, needles, a tin dish, or pannikin, and found these 

 presents to be valued more than three times their value in 

 cloth would have been. Eight or ten shillings' worth gave 

 abundant satisfaction to the greediest; but this is to be un- 

 derstood as the prime cost of the articles, and a trader would 

 sometimes have estimated similar generosity as equal to 

 from 301. to 50Z. In some cases the presents we gave ex- 

 ceeded the value of what was received in return ; in others 

 the excess of generosity was on the native side. 



We never asked for leave to pass through the country ; 

 we simply told where we were going, and asked for guides ; 

 if they were refused, or if they demanded payment before- 

 hand, we requested to be put into the beginning of the path, 

 and said that we were sorry we could not agree about the 

 guides, and usually they and we started together. Greater 

 care would be required on entering the Mazitu or Zulu 

 country, for there the government extends over very large 

 districts, while among the Manganja each little district is 

 independent of every other. The people here have not 



