Page:Travels in West Africa, Congo Français, Corisco and Cameroons (IA travelsinwestafr00kingrich).pdf/464

 quantities of ants I say, "Agnes, just throw them away." "What you mean?" says my charmer. "Put 'em outside," say I. She gazes blankly, "Chuck 'em," says I, descending still further in my language. A gleam of comprehension comes to Agnes. "You mean I hev them?" says she. "That's it, heave them," I answer, and she forthwith "hev 'em" out of one of our many windows. I feel it is my duty to go and pay my respects to the Mission; Agnes quite agrees, and off we go among the scattered bamboo-built houses, one of which in a skeleton state she tells me she is building for herself.

The Roman Catholic Mission, the only representative of white men here, is on the southern face of Cape Esterias. Its buildings consist of a small residence and a large church. The church has a concrete floor and wooden benches, the white walls relieved by a frieze of framed prints of a religious character, a pretty altar with its array of bright brass candlesticks, and above it the tinted and gilt figure of the Virgin and Child. Every part of the place is sweet and clean, giving evidence of the loving care with which it is tended. As I pass the residence, the missionary, seeing me, sends one of his black retainers to fetch me in, and leads me on to the verandah, where I am most cordially received by the Père in charge, who has practical views on hospitality, and is anxious for me to have wine and many things else he can ill afford to spare from his own store. I thankfully confine my depredations to some sugar and a loaf of excellent bread, but he insists on handing to Agnes for me a tin of beef and a lot of oranges. As I cannot speak French, nor he English, I do my best to convey my sense of his kindness and bow myself off.

Agnes, who is very proud of the Mission, tells me there is only one Père and one Frère stationed here, but she says "they are very good—good too much." They educate the children, teaching them to read French, &c., and should a child display any aptitude it is forwarded round to Gaboon to acquire a further training in the technical schools there in connection with the headquarters of the Mission. She herself, I gather, was educated primarily by the Mission, but she has continued her studies on her own account, for not only does