Mr. Buchanan brought over cattle from Blantyre, which were a novelty to the people here. Few had seen cows before. Yet in many respects Zomba was not so primitive. One day a party visited us on their way from Quilimane to Makanjira’s on Lake Nyassa. They wanted to see whether we had a key that would open their box! Here also we met a man that had seen us a little above Quilimane after our arrival in the country. _Sunday, November 28._—The attendance at the morning service was over 300. _Monday, November 29._—We left Zomba, and as we slept at the end of our first day’s journey, a heavy shower fell. The rain came through our tents and we were obliged to put waterproofs over our beds. A shower here is a perfect waterspout, and when it rains during day the more lively natives avail themselves of the splendid bath. But on the present occasion our dark companions were as much annoyed as ourselves. As each flash of lightning made their figures visible, we could see them huddling together in the corner of a tent. Near our halting place we found the remains of a buffalo which had been killed by a lion. Our school work at Blantyre was much enlivened by competition for prizes, which took the form of blankets. The highest class had written examinations every fortnight. All the little creatures kept working as heartily as English children do in similar circumstances. Various efforts were made to catch elephants with a view to training them as carriers. Several young ones were secured but they all died. On Christmas we had a school trip to Mpingwi. We passed the village that had been concerned in the recent slave raid at Blantyre.[10] On seeing the great band of children in full dress, the villagers all ran away carrying their baskets and mortars with them. The scholars understood the matter and cheered the fugitives. We go in single file, and I was among the last. I had to hurry up in order to check these martial exhibitions, and on our return we found the villagers quite reconciled and coming to offer us food.