fits.  Tom likes nursing Baby immensely, and croons to him in a strange buzzing way which lulls him to sleep invariably.  He is very anxious, however, to acquire some words of English, and I was much startled the other day to hear in the verandah my own voice saying, “What is it, dear?” over and over again.  This phrase proceeded from Tom, who kept on repeating it, parrot-fashion—­an exact imitation, but with no idea of its meaning.  I had heard the baby whimpering a little time before, and Tom had remarked that these four words produced the happiest effect in restoring good-humor; so he learned them, accent and all, on the spot, and used them as a spell or charm on the next opportunity.  I think even the poor baby was puzzled.  But one cannot feel sure of what Tom will do next.  A few evenings ago I trusted him to wheel the perambulator about the garden-paths, but, becoming anxious in a very few minutes to know what he was about, I went to look for him.  I found him grinning in high glee, watching the baby’s efforts at cutting his teeth on a live young bird.  Master Tom had spied a nest, climbed the tree, and brought down the poor little bird, which he presented to the child, who instantly put it into his mouth.  When I arrived on the scene Baby’s mouth was full of feathers, over which he was making a very disgusted face, and the unhappy bird was nearly dead of fright and squeezing, whilst Tom was in such convulsions of laughter that I nearly boxed his ears.  He showed me by signs how Baby insisted on sucking the bird’s head, and conveyed his intense amusement at the idea.  I made Master Tom climb the tree instantly and put the poor little half-dead creature back into its nest, and sent for Charlie to explain to him he should have no sugar—­the only punishment Tom cares about—­for two days.  I often think, however, that I must try and find another penalty, for when Tom’s allowance of sugar is stopped he “requisitions” that of every one else, and so gets rather more than usual.  He is immensely proud of the brass chin-strap of an old artillery bushy which has been given to him.  He used to wear it across his forehead in the favorite Kafir fashion, but as the baby always made it his first business to pull this shining strap down over Tom’s eyes, and eventually over Tom’s mouth, it has been transferred to his neck.

These Kafir-lads make excellent nurse-boys generally, and English children are very fond of them.  Nurse-girls are rare, as the Kafir women begin their lives of toil so early that they are never very handy or gentle in a house, and boys are easier to train as servants.  I heard to-day, however, of an excellent Kafir nurse-maid who was the daughter of a chief, and whose only drawback was the size of her family.  She was actually and truly one of eighty brothers and sisters, her father being a rich man with twenty-five wives.  That simply means that he had twenty-five devoted slaves, who worked morning, noon and night for him