THOUGHTS OF HOME. 205 



dated June 2d, and a line from Charley, dated June 

 4th. It is very delightful to be brought in contact 

 with you all once more after so long an interruption 

 to communication. I don't believe anything can make 

 one appreciate home and friends like a long absence 

 from them. Indeed, things we think nothing of at 

 home are often dwelt upon in memory when one is 

 in the midst of the wilderness. The packet of 

 letters, which I have referred to as awaiting me when 

 I came here, arrived at Tati before the end of 

 August, and the latest written of them bears date 

 April 25th ; so that, in both instances, about four 

 months have elapsed between the time the letters 

 were posted in England and that of their delivery 

 here. It is the fact of one's moving about that makes 

 the communication with home so desultory. 1 



" To-day the rains may be said to have begun, 

 but there will probably not be much rain for some 

 time yet. However, this morning was dark and 

 gloomy enough, though there are now signs of an 

 improvement in the weather. I have been here a 

 fortnight, and am waiting till certain necessary re- 

 pairs are made in my waggon, my idea being to 

 spend a few weeks in this neighbourhood before 

 finally leaving for Maritzburg. ... In the mean- 

 time I mean to give you a little account of my 

 doings since my last letter to you, encouraged 

 by Charley's assurance that my descriptions of 



1 The time occupied in the transmission of letters has, since the 

 above was written, been much curtailed, owing to the establishment, 

 through missionary enterprise, of direct postal communication between 

 Bamangwato and the Transvaal. 



