Page:Central African Mission.djvu/21

Rh station, near Mombas. They stayed with us about two years, and then returned to their friends. For the rest we have been obliged to depend upon the captures made by English cruisers, and seizures made by the Sultan of Zanzibar. There is of course always a question how far children so chosen may turn out to have any fitness for Missionary work. Our experience has been as follows:—

Our first pupils were five boys taken from a slave dhow by Seyed Majid, the then Sultan. Of these three were chosen as capable, and declared themselves desirous of becoming Missionaries; they were the three subdeacons mentioned above. The fourth boy showed no aptitude for learning, and is now in Dr. Christie's service in the town. The fifth, after many fluctuations, stole some money from the housekeeper, broke out of the schoolhouse at night, and ran away. We are not without hope of his repentance; but, of course, we can expect nothing more for him than that he should get an honest living by his own work.

The next party consisted of nine girls and five boys. Of the girls three were found too old for our work, and they returned to Seychelles. Three others are married to young men from the boys school, and three are still in the girls' school. Of the boys, one (Owen Makanyassa) is the chief worker in the printing office; another (Connop Makunjila) is employed in out-door work on the Mission land; another (Yernon Baruti) is in