rolled, and rain fell like a torrent. The display of Divine condescension produced a powerful effect on the minds of the people, and many were the eyes that wept tears of gratitude. I went out of my hut, where I had been nearly blinded by the vivid glare of the lightning, and witnessed Kobus comforting his wife, who was not a believer, while she seemed terror-struck at the tremendous peals which even yet were rending the heavens, and making the very earth to tremble beneath. He asked her how she could be afraid of a God so kind, and who could send down the rain of his grace, with equal abundance, on dry and parched souls; and, falling on his knees, he adored God for the blessings of salvation. At this time, another interesting event greatly encouraged me. The subject was a venerable mother, a member of the church, and one of the fruits of Mr. Anderson's labours, when on the Orange River. Entering her hut, and asking her how she felt, looking upwards with an expression of sweet composure, "I am looking for the coming of the Lord Jesus," was her reply. Observing me addressing her unbelieving daughters, who were weeping around her bed, she remarked, "Yes, I have called them, that they may see a Christian die :" and a few hours after, she was called to the bosom of her God.

CHAPTER IX.

THE state of the people, and the impossibility of the spot on which we lived becoming a permanent missionary station, -for, instead of its being a Jerusalem, as Mr. Ebner called it, it might, from its general character, be compared to the mountains of Gilboa, on which neitheir rain nor dew was to fall, gave rise to much inquiry respecting a locality more suitable. It was accordingly resolved to take a journey to the north, and examine a country on the borders of Damaraland, where it was reported fountains of water abounded; but I had only one wagon, and that was a cripple. We had neither carpenters nor smiths on the station, and I was unacquainted with these trades myself. The Orange River

was impassable; and even had it been fordable, the wagon was incapable of being conveyed to Pella, where it might be repaired. After ruminating for a day or two on what I had seen in smiths' shops in Cape Town, I resolved on making a trial, and got a native bellows, made of goat's skin, to the neck end of which was attached the horn of an elk, and at the other end two parallel sticks were fastened, which were opened by the hand in drawing it back, and closed when pressed forward, but making a puffing like something brokenwinded. The iron was only red-hot, after a good perspiration, when I found I must give it up as a bad job; observing to the chief, if I must accompany him, it must be on the back of an ox. Reflecting again on the importance of hav ing a wagon for the purpose of carrying food, when game happened to be killed, (for our sole dependence was on the success of hunting,) and Africaner evidently not liking, on my account, to go without a wagon, I set my brains again to work, to try and improve on the bellows; for it was wind I wanted. Though I had never welded a bit of iron in my life, there was nothing like "Try." I engaged the chief to have two goats killed, the largest on the station, and their skins prepared, entire, in the native way, till they were as soft as cloth. These skins now resembled bags, the open ends of which I nailed to the edge of a circular piece of board, in which was a valve; one end of the machine was connected with the fire, and had a weight on it to force out the wind, when the other end was drawn out to supply more air. This apparatus was no sooner completed, than it was put to the test, and the result answered satisfactorily, in a steady current of air; and soon I had all the people around me, to witness my operations with the new-fangled bellows. Here I sat, receiving their praises, but heartily wishing their departure, lest they should laugh at my burning the first bit of iron I took in my hands to weld. A blue granite stone was my anvil; a clumsy pair of tongs, indicative of Vulcan's first ef forts; and a hammer never intended for the work of a forge. My first essay was with some trepidation, for I did not like so many lookers-on. Success, however, crowned my efforts, to the no small delight of the spectators. Having finished what was necessary for the wagon, I was encouraged to attempt the repair of some gun-locks, which were as essential for the comfort and success of the journey as the wagon In doing this, I began with one which I thought I could not spoil, should I not succeed; and accomplishing that, I was able to put the others in order. But in doing this, I had, for

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the want of steel, to sacrifice two of my files, which, in my isolated situation, was a sacrifice indeed. Every thing be ing in readiness, we started, with thirty men, leaving Jacobus in charge of the affairs of the station, and of the people, -the majority of whom were females, the men having removed to a distance on account of their cattle. On my ob jecting to the formidable appearance of so large a party, which included Titus, and other brothers, as well as Africaner himself, Jacobus remarked, "I am concerned for your safety; and a large party will have the tendency of preventing any thing like an attack being made, more than if it were small, as you desire." In this I found afterwards he was perfectly right. I shall not trouble the reader with the mo notonous detail of an African journey,-daily inyoking and unyoking, sand here, and stones there, and dreary plains following. I shall confine myself to some of the most striking incidents.-The country over which we passed was sterile in the extreme, sandy from the abundance of granite. Iron. stone was also to be found, and occasionally indications of copper. Slaty formations were also to be met with, and much quartz, filling up large fissures occasioned by former convulsions, and the hills in some places presenting a mass of confusion; the strata bending and dipping from the per pendicular to the horizontal, and in others extending in a straight line from one hill to another. Native iron, in a very pure state, is procured in these regions; and, from the account given by the natives, I should suppose some of it is meteoric.

The plains are invariably sandy, and there are even hills of pure sand. I also found, near some of the mountains, large pieces of trees in a fossil state. Zebras abounded, and wild asses, though less numerous than the former. Giraffes were frequently met with, sometimes thirty or forty together. Elks, koodoos, and the smaller species of antelopes, were also in great numbers. The rhinoceros (the kenengyane, or black chukuru of the Bechuanas) is also to be found, but scarce. Buffaloes had nearly disappeared, at least in the region I visited. We had a tolerable supply, chiefly of the flesh of zebras and giraffes: the latter, when fat, was preferred, though nothing came amiss to hungry travellers. When one of the larger animals was shot, we generally remained a day to cut the meat up into thin pieces, which, spread on the bushes, soon dried. The best parts were always eaten first; and when pressed with hunger, recourse was had to the leaner portions, which had been stowed away

in the wagon; and to make it palatable (for it much resembles a piece of sole leather) it was necessary to put it under the hot ashes, and then beat it between two stones till the fibres were loosened; and then it required hard chewing to masticate and many a time have I risen from a meal, with my jaw-bone so sore, I felt no inclination to speak. Meat prepared in this way, or fresh, with a draught of water, was our usual fare. I had a small quantity of coffee with me, which, as long as it lasted, I found very refreshing. may think that this mode of life was a great sacrifice; but habit makes it much less so than they suppose. It is true, I did feel it a sacrifice to have nothing at all to eat, and to bind the stomach with a thong to prevent the gnawing of hunger; and thus, under these circumstances, to break the bread of eternal life to the perishing heathen. Water was in general very scarce; sometimes in small pools, stagnant, and with a green froth; and more than once we had to dispute with lions the possession of a pool. One day our guide (for it was a country without roads) led us towards a ravine which presented an animating appearance, from the sides of the hills being covered with a lovely green; but, on our reaching them, scarcely anything was to be seen but a species of euphorbia, useless either to man or beast, and through which we with difficulty made our way. Being hot, and the oxen worn out, we halted; and some of the men having been successful in finding honey in the fissures of the rocks, we ate with no little relish, thinking ourselves fortunate, for food was scarce. Shortly after an individual complained that his throat was becoming very hot; then a second, and a third, till all who had eaten felt as if their throats were on fire. A native coming up, and seeing our hands and faces besmeared with honey, with the greatest simplicity said, "You had better not eat the honey of this vale; do you not see the poison bushes, (euphorbia,) from the flowers of which the bees extract the honey, and the poison too?" Every one had recourse to the little water that remained in the vessels, for the inward heat was terrible; and the water, instead of allaying, only increased the pain. No serious consequences followed; but it was several days before we got rid of a most unpleasant sensation in the head as well as the throat. We occasionly met with a Namaque village, where we always remained a day or two, in order to give the inhabitants the benefit (to many for the first time) of hearing the everlasting Gospel. Their ignorance, though to a calm reasoner on the subject, not to be wondered at, was distressing in the

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extreme, and perfectly confounding to my preconceived notions about innate and intuitive ideas, and what some term natural light. I was determined not to be driven from the sentiments entertained by a vast majority of the respected advocates of religion in my native land of light,-sentiments, which I preferred even to those of the late venerable Roby, of Manchester, at whose feet I sat for a short season. I had with me one of the best of interpreters, himself a child of God, and I tried one native after another, to make my own point good. Sometimes I would even put words into the mouth of Africaner, and ask, "Does he not mean so and so?" In some there was a glimmering of light; but again I found, to my mortification, that this had been received from the "hatwearers," as they called the people from the south, or from Mr. Schmelen's station at Bethany, whom they denominated, "the people that talked about God." By visiters to Warm Bath, the instructions of the Albrechts had extended far, till they melted away in the obscurity of heathen gloom. I have often had to labour for hours before I could make them understand what I meant or wished to know. It would be more amusing and ludicrous, than instructive, to give the result of all my enquiries; and perhaps I cannot do better that to repeat the substance of a conversation between our missionary, Mr. Schmelen, and a native, on this subject. Mr. S. had at that time better opportunities than any other man of becoming acquainted with the views of the Namaquas in their native state; and it would appear from his journal, whence the following extract is taken, that he spared no pains to elicit their ideas.

In his journal of the 23rd of May, 1815, which the author has seen since his return to England, Mr. S. writes thus:"Addressing a Namaqua, I asked, Did you ever hear of a God?" "Yes, we have heard that there is a God, but we do not know right.” "Who told you that there is a God?" "We heard it from other people." "Who made the sea?" "A girl made it on her coming to maturity, when she had several children at once: when she made it, the sweet and bitter waters were separated. One day she sent some of her children to fetch sweet water, while the others were in the fields, but the children were obstinate, and would not fetch the water, upon which she got angry, and mixed the sweet and bitter water together; from that day we are no longer able to drink the water, but people have learned to swim and run upon the water." "Did you ever see a ship?" "Yes, we have seen them a long time ago.” "Did you ever