23rd May, 1872.—­There seems but little prospect of Christianity spreading by ordinary means among Mohamadans.  Their pride is a great obstacle, and is very industriously nurtured by its votaries.  No new invention or increase of power on the part of Christians seems to disturb the self-complacent belief that ultimately all power and dominion in this world will fall into the hands of Moslems.  Mohamad will appear at last in glory, with all his followers saved by him.  When Mr. Stanley’s Arab boy from Jerusalem told the Arab bin Saleh that he was a Christian, he was asked, “Why so, don’t you know that all the world will soon be Mohamadan?  Jerusalem is ours; all the world is ours, and in a short time we shall overcome all.”  Theirs are great expectations!

A family of ten Whydah birds (Vidua purpurea) come to the pomegranate-trees in our yard.  The eight young ones, full-fledged, are fed by the dam, as young pigeons are.  The food is brought up from the crop without the bowing and bending of the pigeon.  They chirrup briskly for food:  the dam gives most, while the redbreasted cock gives one or two, and then knocks the rest away.

24th May, 1872.—­Speke at Kasenge islet inadvertently made a general statement thus:  “The mothers of these savage people have infinitely less affection than many savage beasts of my acquaintance.  I have seen a mother bear, galled by frequent shots, obstinately meet her death by repeatedly returning under fire whilst endeavouring to rescue her young from the grasp of intruding men.  But here, for a simple loin-cloth or two, human mothers eagerly exchanged their little offspring, delivering them into perpetual bondage to my Beluch soldiers.”—­Speke, pp. 234,5.  For the sake of the little story of “a bear mother,” Speke made a general assertion on a very small and exceptional foundation.  Frequent inquiries among the most intelligent and far-travelled Arabs failed to find confirmation of this child-selling, except in the very rare case of a child cutting the upper front teeth before the under, and because this child is believed to be “moiko” (unlucky), and certain to bring death into the family.  It is called an Arab child, and sold to the first Arab, or even left at his door.  This is the only case the Arabs know of child-selling.  Speke had only two Beluch soldiers with him, and the idea that they loaded themselves with infants, at once stamps the tale as fabulous.  He may have seen one sold, an extremely rare and exceptional case; but the inferences drawn are just like that of the Frenchman who thought the English so partial to suicide in November, that they might be seen suspended from trees in the common highways.

In crossing Tanganyika three several times I was detained at the islet Kasenge about ten weeks in all.  On each occasion Arab traders were present, all eager to buy slaves, but none were offered, and they assured me that they had never seen the habit alleged to exist by Speke, though they had heard of the “unlucky” cases referred to.  Everyone has known of poor little foundlings in England, but our mothers are not credited with less affection than she-bears.