driving a railway train would be to an Englishman. As to food, the boarders were supplied with what was usual in the country. The staple was “porridge,” and one woman was hired to cook it. This functionary in times of scarcity held a delicate position. The boys accused her of not making enough of porridge, and she accused the storekeeper of not giving her enough of flour! The porridge was made without salt, and eaten along with vegetables. Salt was a great luxury here; while many people hardly used it at all, others obtained it by burning plants. From Lake Chirwa, whose waters are salt, we could always obtain a good supply for the children after we had a Mission at Zomba, but at first it could rarely be got. Some say that the last point in which we should change a native’s habit is in food—as he soon becomes fastidious, and looks down on the simpler fare of his countrymen. But these boys did much mental work, which was a new thing for a native. Hence several proposals were formed for improving their diet. For a time all the extra soup and fowls left at European meals went to the school table. But this required the co-operation of all the white men, and many gave these things to the boys that washed their own plates and brought their dinner. We expected some help from the dairy, but even if there had been no native superstition against milk, there was never a supply sufficient for the few Europeans. Even when well supplied with meat, the natives that lived in our own house seldom used it in any quantity, eating it only in small portions along with their porridge. In the season of scarcity there was difficulty in getting native flour, and it became necessary to store some for the month or two that preceded the rains. At that time the women gathered the leaves of shrubs, while the boys and girls of the native villages were sent out to forage for themselves and might often be seen breakfasting on beetles! It was much easier to maintain order among a large number of native lads than it would have been among a corresponding number of English boys. The native children were most obedient and docile. So long as they all belonged to the same tribe there was seldom any strife among them. When they stole from each other, they did not, as a rule, complain to the schoolmaster. Some of them appealed to the sorcerer at once. The following extracts from letters sent home at the time will throw light on other details:— _Saturday Visits in the Neighbourhood._ “On _February 14th_, I went to Ndilande in company with John MacRae. First, we reached the home of one of our Blantyre pupils, called Mpakata, a dear little fellow. I went there to dress his mother’s shoulder, which had been severely burned. The natives keep a big log smouldering in the hut all night: and often come into contact with it while asleep. Accidents by burning are frequent, especially among children, and it is chiefly at night that they take place.