Besides stealing articles that were on the way to the Mission, the natives gave considerable annoyance by pilfering at the station itself. Before becoming accustomed to the heat of the country, we preferred to sleep with the windows open. At Quilimane our landlord would not permit this, but bolted all the window shutters “to prevent the blacks from coming in”. But at Blantyre we ventured for some time to keep a window open at night, and, strange to tell, no one came in. Becoming more used to the climate, we shut our windows; but one night thieves broke into our house, and took everything that was of value to them. Most of our goods they carried outside and spread before the window. Then they selected everything that was made of cloth. Many things that we could hardly have done without, such as waterproofs, &c., they fortunately left. Books also escaped, while they carefully placed some silver articles off the table, in order that they might carry off the tablecloth. Anything that has the appearance of “calico” at once appeals to the natives’ cupidity. When we were honoured by the visit of a great chief, our royal guest carefully felt first the tablecloth, then the window-blinds, and after that the paper on the walls! It was not our neighbours that had committed the theft, for they had long seen the windows kept open all night, and had not entered. All who had been in the Mission during the previous thefts blamed the Anyasa people. After this, two night watchmen were employed, and bamboo shutters were fixed on the windows. But for many months the station was beset with thieves, who had been encouraged by this success. It was chiefly by windows that they tried to enter, though occasionally they pushed the doors till the rafters of our little houses cracked. Each night before retiring to rest we piled empty tins behind every window, so that they might fall and frighten the robbers. But to our great annoyance, the rats frequently knocked these down. We had no ambition to catch a thief in the act, for in that case we should have likely felt the sharpness of his assagai. For a long time we were in a miserable condition. While we had the hardest work during the day, we could never enjoy a night of undisturbed repose. On one occasion nearly all the cloth windows in two of the houses were cut by thieves. It almost seemed that a band of housebreakers had encamped near us, for the express purpose of besieging the station. They carried on their operations with great coolness, for when they laid hold of a tin of split peas, they opened it and left it beside the house. They were too knowing to trouble themselves with the carriage of anything that was unsuitable. They would at times plait a ladder to reach a store window, and go off leaving the ladder beside the wall. The watchmen were of no service; they sometimes became plunderers themselves, and disappeared before morning. The first parties that were employed as watchmen came