My own private dread—­to return to that walk home for a moment—­was of stepping on a snake, as there are a great many about, and one especial variety, a small poisonous brown adder, is of so torpid and lazy a nature that it will not glide out of your way, as other snakes do, but lets you tread on it and then bites you.  It is very marvelous, considering how many snakes there are, that one hears of so few bad accidents.  G——­ is always poking about in likely places for them, as his supreme ambition is to see one.  I fully expect a catastrophe some day, and keep stores of ammonia and brandy handy.  Never was such a fearless little monkey.  He is always scampering about on his old Basuto pony, and of course tumbles off now and then; but he does not mind it in the least.  When he is not trying to break his neck in this fashion he is down by himself at the river fishing, or he is climbing trees, or down a well which is being dug here, or in some piece of mischief or other.  The sun and the fruit are my betes noires, but neither seems to hurt him, though I really don’t believe that any other child in the world has ever eaten so many apricots at one time as he has been doing lately.  This temptation has just been removed, however, for during our short absence at D’Urban every fruit tree has been stripped to the bark—­every peach and plum, every apple and apricot, clean gone.  Of course, no one has done it, but it is very provoking all the same, for it used to be so nice to take the baby out very early, and pick up the fallen apricots for breakfast.  The peaches are nearly all pale and rather tasteless, but the apricots are excellent in flavor, of a large size and in extraordinary abundance.  There was also a large and promising crop of apples, but they have all been taken in their unripe state.  As a rule, the Kafirs are scrupulously honest, and we left plate and jewelry in the house under Charlie’s care whilst we were away, without the least risk, for such things they would never touch; but fruit or mealies they cannot be brought to regard as personal property, and they gather the former and waste the latter without scruple.  It is a great objection to the imported coolies, who make very clean and capital servants, that they have inveterate habits of pilfering and are hopelessly dishonest about trifles.  For this reason they are sure to get on badly with Kafir fellow-servants, who are generally quite above any temptation of that kind.

JANUARY 14.

A few days ago we took G——­ to see the annual swimming sports in the small river which runs through the park.  It was a beautiful afternoon, for a wonder, with no lowering thunder-clouds over the hills, so the banks of the river were thronged for half a mile and more with spectators.  It made a very pretty picture, the large willow trees drooping into the water on either shore, the gay concourse of people, the bright patch of color made by the red