58 
GOD'S BLACK DIAMONDS. 
either sat or knelt on the floor and put their slates 
or their copy-books on the form, and — ^there you 
are ! 
There came a time when we missionaries could not 
keep school ourselves unless other very important 
work was to be neglected. So what do you think 
we did ? We got the Mission Board and Christian 
Endeavourers at home to build a big school, proper 
English fashion," so that Nigerian youths might 
be trained to keep school. From that Training 
Institute at Oron scores have gone to take charge 
of these schools in the bush. Whilst the first batch 
were getting trained we did our best to pick up 
suitable supplies. One of these was named Elijah. 
When I paid a visit to this school, held in one of 
the funniest, pokiest mud buildings I ever set eyes 
on, I was much amused as well as pleased. Elijah 
was teaching them many things besides the three 
R's — amongst the rest, what good boys and men 
never do. I dare not tell you what these were, 
except that good boys and men never dream of 
SMOKING ! 
At another school I had to employ a native 
Christian lady. She knew very little English, but 
she was a good and intelligent reader of Efik, the 
native language. And for quite a long time she 
taught her scholars A B C's, the multiplication 
table, and how to read the New Testament in their 
own tongue. I felt that was far better than nothing. 
When the Rev. W. Chapman* first kept school 
at Nanzela he found that the best way to teach his 
scholars the numeral was to introduce them as Mr. 
* *• A Missionary Pathfinder/* by the Rev. W. Chapman 
(Primitive Methodist Book Room). 
