*V". ' 



1872.] THE WHYDAH BIRDS. ' 189 



When Mr. Stanley's Arab boy from Jerusalem told the 

 Arab bin Saleh that he was a Christian, he was asked, 

 *' Why so, don't you know that all the world will soon be 

 Mohamadan ? Jerusalem is ours ; all the world is ours, 

 and in a short time we shall overcome all." Theirs are 

 great expectations ! 



A family of ten Whydah birds (Vidua purpurea) come 

 to the pomegranate-trees in our yard. The eight young 

 ones, full-fledged, are fed by the dam, as young pigeons are. 

 The food is brought up from the crop without the bowing 

 and bending of the pigeon. They chirrup briskly for food : 

 the dam gives most, while the redbreasted cock gives one 

 or two, and then knocks the rest away. 



2-ith May. — Speke at Kasenge islet inadvertently made 

 a general statement thus : " The mothers of these savage 

 people have infinitely less affection than many savage beasts 

 of my acquaintance. I have seen a mother bear, galled by 

 frequent shots, obstinately meet her death by repeatedly 

 returning under fire whilst endeavouring to rescue her young 

 from the grasp of intruding men. But here, for a simple 

 loin-cloth or two, human mothers eagerly exchanged their 

 little offspring, delivering them into perpetual bondage to 

 my Beluch soldiers." — Speke, pp. 234, 5. For the sake of 

 the little story of " a bear mother," Speke made a general 

 -assertion on a very small and exceptional foundation. Fre- 

 quent inquiries among the most intelligent and far-travelled 

 Arabs failed to find confirmation of this child-selling, except 

 in the very rare case of a child cutting the upper front teeth 

 before the under, and because this child is believed to be 

 "nioiko" (unlucky), and certain to bring death into the 

 family. It is called an Arab child, and sold to the first 

 Arab, or even left at his door. This is the only case the 

 Arabs know of child-selling. Speke had only two Beluch 

 soldiers with him, and the idea that they loaded themselvt* 

 with infants, at once stamps the tale as fabulous. He may 



