The natives are fond of paying compliments, and by this time Kumlomba would tell me that I had finished Yao. I proposed therefore that he should now teach me Chinyasa, but he said, “If you speak Yao for another year, you will understand Chinyasa without learning it”. I found afterwards that the native was not far wrong. It is well for the Missionary not to attempt at first to speak more than one language. Thus he might expect that after seven or eight years’ persistent training he could wield the weapon with considerable effect, though I fear he would fall behind the native orator by an immense distance. We all know what a mess many a man makes of a foreign language after he thinks he has acquired it. But though only speaking one tongue, the Missionary might write as many as he pleases, for the various dialects throw much light on each other. In trying to form a native reading book, I had to grapple with all the difficulties of the native language. Not only so but I required to form a special vocabulary for Theology. Hence the first three months of this year was a time of very hard study, but I succeeded in drawing up a small Reading book, and forming at the same time an extensive vocabulary. From this period, and during my whole stay in Africa, I used at least twenty native words for every English word that I employed, and latterly the English proportion became still smaller. But often in my efforts at translation I had to pause a while in despair, and devote more time to writing down native tales. For a long period we had nothing but English books. This is one great disadvantage that new Missions have to contend with. Had we possessed Yao books at the outset, the great part of the school would have been able by this time to read their own language. As it was, many could read English very fluently—although they did not understand it. A free-thinker who frankly declared that he did not believe in Missions, expressed much surprise on hearing English read by some boys that had not known a single letter a twelvemonth before. Their drill in English was by no means lost for, when our printed matter arrived, we had fifty pupils that could read it without hesitation.