worked at the Simmer and Jack mine, which was quite a little distance from our school, but he attended the school and services regularly, got under conviction, and one Wednesday evening, at the prayer meeting, peace came to his heart. The witness was quite clear to his conversion, and his testimony afterwards was positive and straight that the great transaction was done. Ever afterwards he was one of our righthand men. He finally went to his home in Zululand, but returned and went to work in another mine some distance from There he attended the services of another missionary and testified to the great salvation.

us.

PAULUS and JOSEFA, whose compound names were Glass and Concertina, were two of the wickedest young men in the New Primrose mine. The compound manager told me he had not seen them go down into the mine to work two consecutive days sober. Paulus was a cousin of King Gungunyana, generalissimo Magigwan (who was finally shot and then decapitated by the Portuguese), and when I first met him he had a broken nose, the result of a Christmas day compound fight. Josefa had killed a man in another compound and had fled to the New Primrose for refuge. Together they were most unlikely men to be found seeking the grace of God; but so it is, in many cases the most unlikely looking ones are not far from the kingdom, while those whom we would naturally expect to take the narrow way draw back unto perdition.

One night, leaving wife in charge of the school, I went down to the compound in search of scholars, and Paulus promised he would come the next night. Of course, I was promptly on hand the next night to bring him along, but he had another excuse, and wished to postpone it again. This, however, I would not consent to; so, seeing I was not to be shaken off, he put on his trousers and came along.

He afterward began to attend school and services regularly and soon was found at the altar as a seeker. He confessed to stealing a small trunk from a Jew's store in the neighborhood, and also to stealing a bucket from the bakery. These matters he made right. When he wished to pay up for the trunk he had me accompany him to the store. The Jew storekeeper was of course greatly astonished at his confession, but told him

he was on the right track and made him the present of a bottle of ginger beer and a loaf of bread, remarking to me in broken English, "He, first drinker in compound,'' meaning that Paulus was the biggest drunkard in the compound.

When Paulus became a partaker of the divine nature he became a real evangelist to his own people in the different compounds. As a policeman he earned about $25 per month and his food, so that he was enabled to save quite a little money. His comrade, Josefa, had a murderous look in his eyes, and

many times our faith wavered as we looked at him, but after his conversion the expression of his face changed and a soft, mellow look came into his eye. Both of these young men were baptized and held steadily on their way to heaven. The compound manager had fullest confidence in them and freely acknowledged the change wrought. At one time he told me that the foreman in the mine wanted to get rid of them both, saying he could make nothing of them, but the compound manager objected to discharging them, as natives being quite flighty, if

he sent these two away their influence would be used in drawing others of their friends from the mine. After their conversion the foreman wanted no better boys than they. At another time he remarked to me that he had a few more hard cases in the compound whom he wished us to "operate upon." We, of course, assured him that we could do nothing; that the Holy Spirit alone could change their hearts and subdue their natures. God did give us some of the hard cases in that compound, which greatly rejoiced our hearts.

Paulus and Josefa continued to walk in the light for about two years, until finally, when the war was about to break out, they were sent to their homes in the Shangan country, between Delagoa Bay and Inhambane. The last time I saw them they declared they were going to preach the gospel at their homes and wanted me to meet them there, which I intend doing.

Another very interesting case was that of DIAMOND, a native of the Shangan tribe-the same tribe that Paulus belonged to. We first met him in the compound of the Simmer and Jack mine. He was a policeman and in charge of a number of new boys who had just come from the east coast to work in the mines.

Diamond was a man about sixty years of age, over six feet in height, straight and powerfully built. He had been a great warrior, had killed four persons and remarked to me once that his eyes were red because he had spilt so much blood. His ankles and wrists were loaded with ornaments. He had a string of medicine round his shoulders, and altogether his appearance was that of a hard heathen. He listened, however, very respectfully to what was said in regard to Jesus and salvation, and a few Sundays afterward he presented himself in the ring of the open-air meeting as a seeker of salvation. We asked him if he would give up his string of medicine, which we knew to be a tap root of his heathenism, and after a short struggle he handed it over. He also tried to take off his ornaments, but they were very tight, so that soap was necessary to make them slip off. He followed us as we led him in prayer, and we felt that the Spirit was working with him. The next morning he brought along to the school about three pounds'

weight of ornaments which he had stripped off, and we gave him in exchange an old pair of pants, which were probably the first pair he had ever worn.

In spite of his age he expressed a desire to come to school, and the rapid progress he made was astonishing. When he would learn a word on the chart he would fairly laugh with joy. He would say, "I love book, I love it here," pointing to his eyes; "I love it here," pointing to his ears; "I love it here," pointing to his breast; "I love it in the morning, and when I go to sleep I dream about incwadi" (book). When he received his pay he purchased a spelling book, Testament and hymn book, and there was not a boy in the school who made more advancement than Diamond did, as his whole soul was bent on learning to read.

Over and over again he would come to me and say, "Now tell me all the indaba [indaba is a word much used among the natives and means story, tale, report, matter, affair, business, etc.]; tell me all about the laws of God and what God says in the Book." So I would have a glorious opportunity of

preaching Jesus to him.

He would many times ask questions as to what about his two wives; what about some young half-sisters who were of marriageable age, and, according to native custom, were to be sold for wives; what about lending money to natives who wished to borrow of him; how much interest was it right to charge, and many other things. Frequently a native would lend one pound to another native for perhaps two or three weeks, and when the debtor received his wages would demand perhaps 10 shillings interest. So I had to explain to Diamond in regard to usury, telling him that if he knew a person wished to borrow money in order to spend it in drink, it was wrong to lend it, no matter how much interest was offered. On the other hand, if a person really was in need it was not according to the law of God to take advantage of his necessity and charge an exorbitant interest. Then the question would come, "What is the exact amount which it would be proper to charge?" and so our old friend would earnestly inquire day after day and day after day again. I endeavored to instil

into his mind, with the help of the Spirit, the necessity of providing for things honest in the sight of all men.

As to the polygamy question, or the matter of Diamond's two wives, it is remarkable how missionaries differ on the subject. Some boldly advocate allowing natives to keep all the wives they have, and will defend polygamy among the natives, and quote God's words to David by Nathan, the prophet, when he said, "I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into the bosom" (2 Samuel 12:8).

Hudson Taylor, of the China Inland Mission, is a strong supporter of this polygamy business, and even the missionaries of the American Baptist Church Foreign Mission in Natal are divided in regard to it, some holding that it is wrong to oblige a man when converted to put any of his wives away, no matter how many he may have. It seems strange that at home men can oppose Brigham H. Roberts, a polygamist, taking his seat in Congress, and yet these same men out here as missionaries would favor receiving polygamists, some of whom have heard the gospel preached almost all their lives, into the church of Christ. Roberts' case would be even a worse one than that of a Kaffir. His wives doubtless looked to him for support, while a Kaffir's wives are supposed to support their husband. We did not mince matters when telling Diamond what the scriptures taught in regard to this, but told him straight that no man could love several women as Christ loves the church.

After working in the compound about nine months Diamond decided to go to his home near the Komati River, north of Delagoa Bay, where I promised to visit him, which I subsequently did, accompanied by Brother A. W. Baker, of Johannesburg.