They Are Just Like You!" And All Their Fears
Seemed To Vanish At Once, For They Went Forward Among The Men,
And The Jolly Tars, Acting Much As The Makololo Would Have Done
In Similar Circumstances, Handed Them A Share Of The Bread And Beef
Which They Had For Dinner.
The commander allowed them to fire off a cannon;
and, having the most exalted ideas of its power, they were greatly pleased
when I told them, "That is what they put down the slave-trade with."
The size of the brig-of-war amazed them.
"It is not a canoe at all;
it is a town!" The sailors' deck they named "the Kotla";
and then, as a climax to their description of this great ark, added,
"And what sort of a town is it that you must climb up into with a rope?"
The effect of the politeness of the officers and men on their minds
was most beneficial. They had behaved with the greatest kindness to me
all the way from Linyanti, and I now rose rapidly in their estimation;
for, whatever they may have surmised before, they now saw that I was respected
among my own countrymen, and always afterward treated me
with the greatest deference.
On the 15th there was a procession and service of the mass in the Cathedral;
and, wishing to show my men a place of worship, I took them to the church,
which now serves as the chief one of the see of Angola and Congo.
There is an impression on some minds that a gorgeous ritual
is better calculated to inspire devotional feelings than the simple forms
of the Protestant worship. But here the frequent genuflexions,
changing of positions, burning of incense, with the priests' back turned
to the people, the laughing, talking, and manifest irreverence of the singers,
with firing of guns, etc., did not convey to the minds of my men
the idea of adoration. I overheard them, in talking to each other,
remark that "they had seen the white men charming their demons;"
a phrase identical with one they had used when seeing the Balonda
beating drums before their idols.
In the beginning of August I suffered a severe relapse, which reduced me
to a mere skeleton. I was then unable to attend to my men
for a considerable time; but when in convalescence from this last attack,
I was thankful to find that I was free from that lassitude which,
in my first recovery, showed the continuance of the malaria in the system.
I found that my men, without prompting, had established a brisk trade
in fire-wood. They sallied forth at cock-crowing in the mornings,
and by daylight reached the uncultivated parts of the adjacent country,
collected a bundle of fire-wood, and returned to the city.
It was then divided into smaller fagots, and sold to the inhabitants;
and as they gave larger quantities than the regular wood-carriers, they found
no difficulty in selling. A ship freighted with coal for the cruisers
having arrived from England, Mr. Gabriel procured them employment
in unloading her at sixpence a day. They continued at this work
for upward of a month, and nothing could exceed their astonishment
at the vast amount of cargo one ship contained. As they themselves
always afterward expressed it, they had labored every day
from sunrise to sunset for a moon and a half, unloading,
as quickly as they could, "stones that burn", and were tired out,
still leaving plenty in her. With the money so obtained they purchased
clothing, beads, and other articles to take back to their own country.
Their ideas of the value of different kinds of goods rather astonished
those who had dealt only with natives on the coast. Hearing it stated
with confidence that the Africans preferred the thinnest fabrics,
provided they had gaudy colors and a large extent of surface,
the idea was so new to my experience in the interior that I dissented,
and, in order to show the superior good sense of the Makololo,
took them to the shop of Mr. Schut. When he showed them
the amount of general goods which they might procure at Loanda
for a single tusk, I requested them, without assigning any reason,
to point out the fabrics they prized most. They all at once selected
the strongest pieces of English calico and other cloths,
showing that they had regard to strength without reference to color.
I believe that most of the Bechuana nation would have done the same.
But I was assured that the people near the coast, with whom the Portuguese
have to deal, have not so much regard to durability. This probably arises
from calico being the chief circulating medium; quantity being then
of more importance than quality.
During the period of my indisposition, the bishop sent frequently
to make inquiries, and, as soon as I was able to walk, I went to thank him
for his civilities. His whole conversation and conduct showed him to be
a man of great benevolence and kindness of heart. Alluding to
my being a Protestant, he stated that he was a Catholic from conviction;
and though sorry to see others, like myself, following another path,
he entertained no uncharitable feelings, nor would he ever sanction
persecuting measures. He compared the various sects of Christians,
in their way to heaven, to a number of individuals choosing to pass
down the different streets of Loanda to one of the churches -
all would arrive at the same point at last. His good influence,
both in the city and the country, is universally acknowledged:
he was promoting the establishment of schools, which, though formed
more on the monastic principle than Protestants might approve,
will no doubt be a blessing. He was likewise successfully attempting
to abolish the non-marriage custom of the country; and several marriages
had taken place in Loanda among those who, but for his teaching,
would have been content with concubinage.
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