nd
as these people come to maturity very quickly he would be quite a young
man.

After several long arguments the men at length appealed to me, and the
question was this:--"Is it the same moon that comes each month,
gradually grows larger, and then gets small again? or is it a fresh moon
that is born each month, gets full-grown, and then dies?"

I told them it was the same moon, and they then asked me for proof,
which I was quite unable to give; and so, although my statement was
considered of some value, yet it did not convince the opponents of the
theory about a different moon. They argued the subject during several
evenings, and at the end of the discussion the result was not very
dissimilar to that which occurs among a certain type of scientific men:
each party remained of the same opinion with which he commenced the
inquiry. From what I could learn, I found that those who asserted that
it was a fresh moon born every month, had the best of the argument, and
seemed to be most reasonable. There was, however, a peculiarity about
these arguments which I always thought of in after years when I could
compare them with the discussions and arguments in the civilised world
on various questions. The Caffres always seemed to desire truth, and to
argue for the purpose of eliciting it. They would admit the soundness
of an opponent's reasons, and sometimes allow that these could not be
answered. They never indicated that their object was to prove
themselves right and their opponents wrong, no matter what was the
result.

Inyati, talking to me afterwards about the moon, said, "Your white
people believe it always the same moon."

"Yes," I replied, "they know it is the same." Inyati said, "I have
often found that what is true cannot be made by words to appear to be as
true as something else that is false. Talking is no good."

Finding that Inyati now talked to me on many occasions, I took the
opportunity of asking him one day what had become of the things that
they had taken from the men; for I knew there were some guns and other
things which might be of use. He told me that most of them were buried
in a hole near a kraal some miles away; and that the people were afraid
of these things, thinking that they might blow up and kill them. I told
Inyati there was one thing I knew of amongst these which would be of
great use if we could find it, and I could show him what to do with it.
I described this to him, and he then to