In times of health one enjoyed these amateur cooks and their productions, but when sickness came, the joke was not so well appreciated. After an attack of malarial fever passes away, the invalid often has strange cravings of appetite. Forgetting for the moment where he is, he expresses a wish for “bread and butter”. He can eat nothing else but he fancies he could take this. He is soon reminded that butter cannot be had, and the sour bread alone would hardly tempt even a healthy man. But what about milk? Why not let the poor fellow have a little milk? This is ordered, and the invalid has his hopes raised. After a long time the milk appears. But what makes the sick man hesitate so? He looks as if he were going to ask what the milk was made of. The new-comer may have yet to learn that there are no milk-strainers in this part of the world! Sometimes he may be glad if he get water. The water used on the Mission was taken from the little stream and was very unwholesome. Still it had the advantage of being quite cool in the morning. At Nyassa on the other hand, when a person ordered water he would wonder whether it had been taken from the kettle instead of the Lake, and be tempted to think it must be useful chiefly as an emetic, but after being placed for some time in an earthen pot, it becomes cool and agreeable. There was a certain provision made for sickness but of a very limited description. Beef-tea was in the store; as was also a little wine, but the supply was generally so small that it could not be used except in extremity. At one period there was only a single cork screw on the settlement, so that when the Doctor ordered a bottle of wine the invalid had to wait for the man that possessed the screw! We had two great methods of dealing with the difficulties of housekeeping—training the natives and ordering appliances from home. The education of the natives was slow but it was sure, and in time some of them began to be very useful. Appliances were ordered from home, but often just when we fancied we were about to be properly supplied we were informed that our valuable boxes had been stolen on the way.