144 Wanderings in Eastern Africa. 
then sent him to have it deciphered by my colleague, 
to whom the man was unknown. Full of incredulity, 
the man bore off the inscription, presented himself 
before my friend, pointed to his chest, and demanded 
what had been scratched " there. The name being 
instantly pronounced, the effect was electrical, the 
mans astonishment knew no bounds; he roared 
with laughter, threw himself upon the ground, and 
rolled there in uncontrollable fits. 
In teaching them to read the commencement is 
always the most difficult part. It takes them some 
time to see different shapes in characters that all 
seem shapeless. Then the sounds are equally per- 
plexing. The names of the letters, mere arbitrary 
signs as they are, convey no meaning, and you cannot 
translate them ; while the constant repetition of a, e, 
i, o, u ; of ba, be, bi, bo, bu, etc., seems to them like so 
much childish and even idiotic babble. They repeat 
them to please you ; and for a while get a Httle 
amusement out of what they consider the absurdity 
of the thing ; but they at length grow weary, and 
often throw up in disgust. If, however, you can only 
carry them through this stage, and get into their 
minds the least apprehension of the science of the 
matter, then they become interested ; their dormant 
faculties begin to move ; they apply themselves with 
diligence ; and thenceforward proceed with remarkable 
ease and rapidity. On the whole they exhibit an 
ability scarcely inferior to that of English children. 
But the great object of our life at Ribe is the 
preaching of the gospel. We aim at this in all we 
do. One of the most effectual methods of doing this 
is to live the gospel, that is to say, to exemplify the 
