Thinking black; 22 years without a break in the long grass of Central ...

SHUT IN, BUT ALMOST OUT 211
Shunted off thus into a sort of siding, the tide of roaring
life sweeps past us down in the valley of the Capital, an
all-day stream of visitors trickling in to us among the rocks.
Arriving, as we do, almost empty-handed, Mushidi despises
us for our own impecuniosity. In harsh and unembellished
terms he insists that we are no " whites " at all.^
Rooming, as we utter strangers to each other do, in
mud African houses, then, oh ! then is love's crucible, for
often incipient fever makes a good man carp at rough fare
—a good man, that is to say, with a bad body. How
many people in England quote the text about brethren
*' dwelling in unity " who only see them in the busy
street, or at a week-end meeting ? Let them come out to
Africa and learn the trials (and triumphs) of so literally
dwelling in unity in a hot " station." Never out of each
other's sight. In moderation I am bold to suspect my
friend might find me passably or even mildly entertaining,
but in such frequent and overwhelming doses one must
pall on one's poor brother. The trouble is, that one is
tempted far too often to speak one's mind, forgetful of
the fact that in speaking your mind you must also mind
how you speak. Even the most genial of souls soon
surprises himself more than his friend by a snap of irrita-
tion quite foreign to his temperament. This is Africa at
its old trick of fastening on its victim, and tightening the
tropical grip on his soul.
^ So, too, Dr. Moloney ;
in his book he pities us and cannot " help think-
ing that a profound mistake was committed when the Missionaries were
dispatched into this barbarous country hundreds of miles from a European
post."