In Afric’s Forest and Jungle 
visited them in their homes whenever 1 was well 
enough to do so. Generally my reception was 
polite, but sometimes I would get into a house 
where the people did not conceal their dislike for 
the innovations of civilization and of Christianity. 
The reader may imagine me surrounded by a 
crowd of men, women and children, sitting on a 
grass mat in a low piazza of a native compound. 
Sheep, goats, chickens, pigs and dogs are run¬ 
ning around everywhere. After calling for the 
bale and exchanging the ordinary salutations with 
him, I request permission to “ sawraw Orloroon,” 
that is, “talk the word of God.” This being 
permitted, for courtesy’s sake I address myself to 
the bale, though it is understood that I am talk¬ 
ing to all within the sound of my voice. The 
greater number pretend to listen, but I am 
frequently interrupted by the children who, 
while pressing around to hear and to see, manage 
to get up a dispute among themselves. Then 
about half of the grown people reprove the little 
offenders while the remainder try to explain the 
cause of the trouble. Things being quiet, I get 
along very well for five minutes or less, when I 
am stopped by the yell of a woman who has de¬ 
tected a thievish goat, sheep or dog taking some¬ 
thing from her market calabash. The rogue 
102 
