(and even then it is condemned by public opinion), or to redeem an important member of the clan, as in the following instance: ‘An old fellow at Msumba was seized by the Angoni together with his younger brother, and the joy of the little community was taken away; they had no one to speak for them “in the gate.” Better a few go into captivity than the head of the clan be disgraced.’ A woman and a boy were sent up as ransom, and, it appears, went willingly. ‘Another time a son by a slave woman was paid for the ransom of his father; it was managed by the clan, and the father was not asked.’ One sometimes hears that, though mothers are very fond of their children, the fathers care little about them, and indeed cannot be expected to, because they have so many. This, again, is untrue, and the alleged reason will not hold, as—except chiefs like Mombera and Ramakukane—few men have more than they can easily keep count of. The impression has gained ground partly because, as already remarked, the native parent is not particularly demonstrative, and partly because it is not easy for travellers, even if observant and sympathetic persons, to arrive at the details of intimate family matters like this. Nearly every one who writes on the subject comes across some unmistakable instance of affection, and immediately records it as a remarkable exception. The fathers of my acquaintance were certainly not indifferent to their children. The position of women, too, has been greatly misconceived. I cannot do better than quote the words of a competent observer at a time when native manners could have been very slightly, if at all, modified by European influence. The Rev. H. Rowley, whose experience was gained in 1861, says: ‘The position of the woman with the Manganja and Ajawa was in no way inferior to that of the man.... Men and women worked together in the fields, and the special occupations of the women were thought to be no more degrading than the specialities of our women are to our own women at home. The men seemed to have much kindly affection for the women; such a thing as ill-usage on the part of a man to his wife I did not once hear of. Frequently the position of the woman seemed superior to that of the man; in their religious observances, for instance, the principal performer was generally a woman.’ Some of the native folk-tales give interesting glimpses of everyday experience, and especially of the relations between man and wife. They show the native husband, not as a savage monster, but a very ordinary human being, sometimes selfish, sometimes greedy, very sensitive to ridicule, so that he will make any concessions to his wife rather than be laughed at by the neighbours; and yet again solving the difficulties of domestic life with shrewd good sense. A Nyanja story of ‘A Man and his Wives’ brings out this last characteristic:—