184 
Return to the River. 
again he remarks : “ Dr. Krap was unable to find 
any word expressing the idea of gratitude in the 
language of all the Suaheli (Wasawahili) tribes 
a fact significant enough as to the total absence of 
the moral feeling denoted by that name.” Simi¬ 
larly the Mpongwe cannot express our “honesty 
they must paraphrase it by “ good man don’t steal.” 
In time they possibly may adopt the word bodily 
like pus (a cat), amog (mug), kapinde (carpenter), 
krus (a cross), and ilepot (pot). 
Such a task is difficult as it is interesting, the 
main obstacle to success being the almost insuper¬ 
able difficulty of throwing off European ideas and 
modes of thought, which life-long habit has made 
a second nature. Take the instance borrowed 
from Dr. Krap, and noticed by a hundred writers, 
namely, the absence of a synonym for “ gratitude ” 
amongst the people of the nearer East. I have ex¬ 
plained the truth of the case in my “ Pilgrimage,” 
and it will bear explanation again. The Wasa- 
wahfli are Moslems, and the Moslem view every¬ 
where is that the donor’s Maker, not the donor, 
gives the gift. The Arab therefore expresses his 
“Thank you!” by “ Mamniin”—I am under an obli¬ 
gation (to your hand which has passed on the 
donation) ; he generally prefers, however, a short 
blessing, as “ Kassir khayr’ ak” (may Allah) “in¬ 
crease thy weal!” The Persian’s “May thy 
shadow never be less !” simply refers to the shade 
