THE PORTUGUESE. U 



policy, it is always best to appear in one's true character. 

 In travelling through Africa, I might have imitated 

 certain Portuguese, and have passed for a chief; but 

 I never attempted anything of the sort, although endea- 

 vouring always to keep to the lessons of cleanliness 

 rigidly instilled by my mother long ago ; the consequence 

 was that the natives respected me for that quality, though 

 remaining dirty themselves. 



I had a pass from the Portuguese consul, and on 

 arriving at their settlement, I was asked what I was. I 

 said, " A missionary, and a doctor too." They asked, 

 " Are you a doctor of medicine?" — " Yes." — "Are you 

 not a doctor of mathematics too?" — " No." — "And yet 

 you can take longitudes and latitudes." — Then they asked 

 me about my moustache ; and I simply said I wore it, 

 because men had moustaches to wear, and ladies had 

 not. They could not understand either, why a sacer- 

 dote should have a wife and four children ; and many 

 a joke took place upon that subject. I used to say, "Is 

 it not better to have children with than without a wife V 

 Englishmen of education alw r ays command respect, with- 

 out any adventitious aid. A Portuguese governor left for 

 Angola, giving out that he was going to keep a large 

 establishment, and taking with him quantities of crock- 

 ery, and about five hundred waistcoats; but when he 

 arrived in Africa, he made a 4 deaP of them. Educated 

 Englishmen seldom descend to that sort of thing. 



A prospect is now before us of opening Africa for 

 commerce and the Gospel. Providence has been pre*- 



10 



