NOTIONS OF A FUTURE STATE. 27 



and very ignorant ; he knows nothing. Having ad- 

 dressed them at some length through Whiteboy, the 

 interpreter by whom I was acccompanied, one of 

 them inquired, very shrewdly, " Why God did not 

 destroy the wicked Spirit ? Why suffer him to do 

 evil ? Did you ever see God ? How did he send 

 you the great Word ? Out of the skies ? Are 

 you sure it is his Word?" putting many other 

 similar questions, which I found no little difficulty 

 in answering satisfactorily to their comprehension. 

 After many ineffectual attempts to make them un- 

 derstand some of the leading truths of Chris- 

 tianity, ¥/hiteboy, the Hottentot, turned round and 

 said to me, in a tone of despair and mortifica- 

 tion, " The Gaffers, Master ! are all stupid ; they 

 are blind ;" and closing his eyes, he added, " quite 

 blind." " And were you not once so yourself, 

 Whiteboy?" " Yes, Master," he replied, " that is 

 true." " Then explain to these Gaffers," I said, 

 " that you were formerly blind and ignorant as they 

 are, but that now you can discern the importance of 

 these things." I found by the tear glistening in 

 his eye, that I had touched a chord which vibrated 

 through the heart of this poor unlettered Hottentot. 

 Turning immediately to the Gaffers, he addressed 

 them with a warmth and energy of expression, which 

 it was impossible to witness without feeling deeply 

 interested, whilst he seemed to rivet the attention of 



