Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God."-Ps. Ixviii. 31.

"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert

shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose."-ISA. XXXV. I.

"His large and great dominion shall

From sea to sea extend:

It from the river shall reach forth

Unto earth's utmost end.

"His name for ever shall endure;

Last like the sun it shall:

Men shall be blessed in him, and blessed

All nations shall him call."

--Ps. lxxii. 8, 17.

EXT Sabbath evening the young people anxiously inquired what new mission field they were to enter upon.

"Are we

to take a very long journey to-night, mamma?" said Tommy.

"No, my dear; as Madagascar is so near Africa, I think we shall only take a ship and cross over to the continent."

"Among the Hottentots," said George; "that will be a good variety."

"The people of South Africa are not all Hottentots; there are Bechuanas, Caffres, and other tribes, of whom you shall hear presently. But this evening we may go to the real Hottentots. Mr. Moffat, our celebrated Scottish missionary, considers that the Coranna and Namaqua tribes are of the same nation; and also the Bosjesmans, or Bushmen, a wild savage race; but we may speak of all these under the one general name."

"They are a dirty, stupid people," said George, "not interesting like the Red Indians."

"At least, no novelist has yet written romances about them."

"A Hottentot romance! that would be droll indeed."

"Human nature is in itself much the same everywhere; and, probably, a skilful hand might find the elements of a good romance among the despised Hottentots as well as among your favourites the Red men.

However,
Can

we have to deal with reality at present, not fiction. you tell me the name of our colony at the southern point of the great African continent?"

"Cape of Good Hope. Is not it a fine country and climate ?"

“Yes, in many respects, so that invalids from India often go there to recruit their health, rather than return to England; though now-a-days the overland route makes coming 'home' so easily and quickly accomplished, that those who have friends and relatives here must prefer it."

"I recollect," said Anne, "when we visited the greenhouses at the castle last summer, the gardener told us that those very beautiful bulbs were from 'the Cape.' Do they grow there in the open air?"

"Yes, they are the wild plants of the country, along with a great variety of other beautiful flowers."

"How charming that must be! Are there fine fruits too?"

"Fruits of almost all kinds, except some of strictly tropical climates, either grow naturally or can be easily cultivated. A fine sweet wine called Constantia is made from the vines which were introduced by French emigrants. I have read that strawberries may be found ripe all the year round."

"Strawberries always ripe!" exclaimed Tommy; "how delightful!"

"Well, my dear, perhaps we might tire even of eating strawberries if they were always to be had. I believe we enjoy them, and other good things, much more by having them only sometimes, in the right seasons, as God has ordered for us."

"Does corn grow well?" asked George.

"Yes; but as yet the general agriculture of the district is imperfect. The farmers, principally Dutch, are indolent, and do not make improvements as they might." "How do Dutchmen come to be there?"

"The country was first colonized by the Dutch, about two hundred years ago, and most of the old farms are still held by their descendants. I need not go over the history; but for about fifty years the colony has been under British government. The Dutch farmers are

called Boors."

"Not a promising name," said Mr. Campbell, laughing.

"No; and I have read accounts of their manners and mode of life, which make them appear really a boorish race. However, there must be exceptions, and the name I believe only means a farmer. One thing is too true, that they have in general treated the poor natives with much harshness and cruelty. It is shocking to read of how in former years they were oppressed and tortured, as the slaves of their foreign masters, or else hunted and shot like wild beasts. An English traveller in the end of last century says, that before leaving Cape Town for the interior he heard a boor asked if the savages were numerous or troublesome on the road; and the man replied, that he had only shot four on his journey, 'speaking as composedly as if they had been so many partridges.' The same traveller tells that he heard another person boast of having with his own hands destroyed nearly three hundred of these unfortunate beings." Oh, mamma, that is dreadful to think of! Are they then a fierce, dangerous set of savages?"

66

"No, they are described as a timid, harmless race; indolent by nature, but not stupid; at least, quite capable of instruction and salvation. The wild Hottentots, as Mr. Moffat calls the Bushmen, are indeed a set of marauders, living chiefly by plunder; but even they seem to have been driven to this wild lawless life by cruelty and oppression, rather than from natural fierceness of disposition."