t they think about that "chope." Scent is the one thing
they cannot resist. A tin of sweets on our table may be untouched for
days, few babies being wicked enough to venture upon it in our absence;
but a bottle of scent is irresistible, and scented "chope" on our
washing-stands has a way of growing thin. The baby will emerge from our
bathrooms rubbing suspiciously clean hands, and in her innocence will
invite us to smell them. Then we know why our "chope" disappears. So now
that Yosepu needed something to lift him over the trials of life, we
remembered the gift of a good Scottish friend, and tried the effect of
eau-de-Cologne. It worked most wonderfully. Yosepu held out his two
hands joined close lest a single drop should spill, and then he stood
and sniffed. It would have made a perfect advertisement--the big brown
man with his hands folded over his nose, and an expression of absolute
bliss upon every visible feature. Now, when Yosepu is down-hearted, we
always try eau-de-Cologne.

His first move towards being of use was when some of our children had
small-pox and were put up in a half-finished room which was being built.
"It has walls and it has a roof, therefore it is suitable," was Yosepu's
opinion; and he offered to nurse the children. One evening we heard a
terrible noise; it was like three cracked violins gone mad, all playing
different tunes at the same time. It was only Yosepu singing hymns to
the children. "For spiritual instruction is a thing to be desired, and
there is nothing so edifying as music."

After this he announced his intention of becoming a water-carrier.
"Water is a pure thing and a necessity. The young children demand much
water if their bodies are to be"--here followed Scriptural quotations
meant in deepest reverence. "I will be responsible for the baths of all
the babes." And from that time Yosepu has been responsible. Solemnly
from dawn to dusk, with breathing spaces for meals and meditation, he
stalks across from nurseries to well and from well to nurseries. He is a
man of few smiles; but he is the cause of many, and we all feel grateful
to Yosepu for his goodness to us. Often on melancholy days he comes and
comforts us.

It was so one anxious day before we went to the hills, when we were
trying to plan for the safety of our family. We can only take a limited
number of converts with us, and no babies; the difficulty is then which
to take, which to hide, and which to leave in the nurseries.