174 PUBUC REUGIOUS SERVICES. 



we had settled at Makotsa, when preaching on the most 

 solemn subjects, a woman might be observed to look 

 round, and, seeing a neighbour seated on her dress, give 

 her a hunch with the elbow to make her move off ; the 

 other would return it with interest, and perhaps the 

 remark, ■' Take the nasty thing away, will you ? " Then 

 three or four would begin to hustle the first offenders, and 

 the men to swear at them all, by way of enforcing silence. 



Great numbers of little trifling things like these occur, 

 and would not be worth the mention but that one cannot 

 form a correct idea of missionary work except by examina- 

 tion of the minutiae. At the risk of appearing frivolous 

 to some, I shall continue to descend to mere trifles. 



The numbers who attended at the summons by the 

 herald, who acted as beadle, were often from five to seven 

 hundred. The service consisted of reading a small portion 

 of the Bible and giving an explanatory address, usually 

 short enough to prevent weariness or want of attention. 

 So long as we continue to hold services in the kotla, the 

 associations of the place are unfavourable to soleninity ; 

 hence it is always desirable to have a place of worship as 

 soon as possible : and it is of importance too to treat such 

 place with reverence, as an aid to secure that serious 

 attention which religious subjects demand. This will 

 appear more evident when it is recollected that, in the 

 very spot where we had been engaged in acts of devotion, 

 half an hour after, a dance would be got up ; and these 

 habits cannot be at first opposed without the appearance 

 of assuming too much authority over them. It is always 

 unwise to hurt their feelings of independence. Much 

 greater influence will be gained by studying how you may 

 induce them to act aright, with the impression that they 

 are doing it of their own free will. Our services having 

 necessarily been all in the open air, where it is most 

 difficult to address large bodies of people, prevented my 

 recovering so entirely from the effects of clergyman's 

 sore throat as I expected, when my uvula was excised at 

 the Cape. 



To give an idea of the routine followed for months 

 together, on other days as well as on Sundays, I may advert 

 to my habit of treating the sick for complaints which 

 seemed to surmount the skill of their own doctors. I 

 refrained from going to any one unless his own doctor 

 wished it, or had given up the case. This led to my 



