The introduction of anything new was always noteworthy. At first the cook-boy caught his fowls about an hour before breakfast, and plucked them before they were dead, because the feathers thus came off more easily. As soon as facts of this kind came under one’s notice improvements were tried. In order that the fowls might not be plucked alive, the cook was asked to get them the night before. He was most carefully instructed in the new part that he had to play, and specially told to “hang up” the fowls in the kitchen. That night the usual stillness was considerably broken. I always valued the evening hours for study: they were so much quieter; but on this particular night it seemed as if some fowl house had been transported to my study window. As the unwonted noise continued, a light was got, and efforts were made to solve the mystery, the kitchen was explored, and several fowls were found hanging on pegs in the wall with their legs tightly bound together, while others similarly secured had fallen down and were struggling on the floor, but all were alive! The boy had faithfully “hung them up,” but he had seen no necessity for killing them! The natives that acted as housemaids had similar interesting experiences. Of course, they had never before seen teapots, cups and saucers, tumblers, forks, or spoons. Forks they called “thorns!” Consequently they were ushered into a new world, and found a pleasure in being permitted to touch the white people’s dishes. They now had at their disposal spoons of all varieties, and it was perhaps in spoons that they were most interested. They have a large _ladle_ of their own for transferring porridge from the clay pot to a wooden platter, but their spoon is an instrument of much greater antiquity. A good idea of its use may be gathered from Mr. Anderssen’s description. A repast was provided for him among the Ovambo. He hesitated as no spoon was to be found. “On seeing the dilemma we were in, our host quickly plunged his greasy _fingers_ into the middle of the steaming mass and brought out a handful which he dashed into the milk. Having stirred it quickly with all his might, he next opened his capacious mouth, and the agreeable mixture vanished as if by magic. He finally licked his fingers and smacked his lips with evident satisfaction, looking at us as much as to say, ‘that’s the trick, my boys’.”