Our Boys and Girls
MAY DAY.
By Carrie Primrose.
Radiant is the smiling May time!
Happy birds, and blushing flowers,
And the brooklets loosed from fetters.
Gushing, laughing through the meadows?
'Neath the trees with emerald branches
And the reeds with piercing lances
Where the zephys waft their perfumes
Gathered from the flowers' costumes ?
Brilliant in their rainbow hues,
And decked with diamonds made of dews,
Cheered with sunshine over all,
Gathered here at Spring's first call.
While golden sunbeams all infuse
Everywhere 'tis gala day!
Chosen is the Queen of May;
See she is yon rose so rare,
Nodding sweetly to them there. ,
MPINDA.
"I am going to stay here at Mutoto. My
father, Chief Cimanga, is a Roman Catholic
adherent, "while I am a Protestant." What is
one to do with such a statement from a boy
eleven years old, who comes to you under
such circumstances?
In the village of Cimanga we had had a good
work, till instigated by the priests, Cimanga
had gone into the church one day and broken
up the service, beating tip seven of the wor
shippers and forbidding them to worship any'
more. We sent the affair to the State, but the
State officer, fearing the priests had only sent
Cimanga to us with the request that we arrange
the matter among ourselves. Cimanga had
come and reluctantly agreed to pay damages to
the men whom he had beaten up and also to
allow the 'Protestants to worship God. He had
left my office about 10 A. M. and gone to the
Elder Kacunga's for dinner and as soon as ho
left Mpinda had stepped in wishing to stay at
Mutoto.
Mpinda said that if he went home that his
father, the chief, would not allow him to wor
ship God, but would try to force him to attend
the services of the Roman Catholics, which he
did not wish to do, so he had decided to stay
at Mutoto. T had never seen ah uglier native;
he could not read and so T tried to persuade
him to go home, telling him that we hoped his
father would not persecute them any more.
Finally he left my office and I thought that the
matter was settled.
About 4 P. M. Elder Kacunga came to my
house and said, "What shall T do with Mpinda,
the son of the Chief Cimanga, as he refused to
go back with his father?" When his father
got ready to go, he called to his son, "Mpinda,
come, let's go." But Mpinda said, "No, I am
going to stay here at Mutoto so I can worship
God." His father came and caught him by the
arm, but Mpinda locked his arms and legs
around the veranda post and his father could
not get him loose. After his father had tugged
at him for awhile and could not get him loose,
I interceded for the boy, asking that he be al
lowed to stay, so the father finally agreed and
Mpinda is now at my house."
T took him 011 to work in my garden and he
began going *o school, but there was trouble
ahead. The State man came along about a
month later and fearing that the boy's father
would prosecute us for having his child, we
asked that the State man would give us per
mission to keep the boy. He replied, "The boy
must do as his father orders till he is 21 ; where
is the boy?" We called him and the officer
arrested him then and there in order to send
him hack to his father. The State man had
an eleven-year-old hoy, grandson of Kalamba
the Lulna chief, go along as a messenger.
Mpinda was put in his hands for safe keep
ing.
That afternoon there were services in the
church at 2 P. M. Mpinda asked permission
to go to church, saying that he would return
as soon as church was over. Perhaps his ideas
of the phrase "word of honor" were a bit
vague, as instead of going to church, he made
for the woods, through the woods, struck the
path homewards, and we wondered where
Mpinda was. He met some of his relatives
coming to Mutoto who persuaded him to re
turn with them. About two days later the
State man was hack at Mutoto and we decided
that it was best to surrender Mpinda once
again, which we did, but it did seem like it
was betraying a friend, as we had begun to
like the little chap, always so happy and con
tented. The State man took him on away, and
Mpinda and the little messenger waited 011
the State man's table and (lid little odd jobs
for about two months, till they finally got back
to the State post. Mpinda did not run aWay
any more, accepted the inevitable.
Once back at the State post the State man
said, "I am sending you back to your father
and you must go to the Roman Catholic school,
as your father wishes you to do." All Mpinda
said was, "No, I am a Protestant and am going
back to Mutoto." The State man would re
peat the same thing and Mpinda would repeat
his same reply, "No, I am going back to Mu
toto; I am not going to the Catholic mission."
When he reached home Cimanga said,
"Don't call me your father any more. Your
father died when you were a small child and I
adopted you and forbade my people to tell you
and had always been proud of you, but now
that you have become a Protestant, I do not
want to have anything more to do with you; I
do not even want you to come into my yard ;
get out of here; you are nothing to me." Per
haps Mpinda 's little heart was grieved; every
body was against him. lie turned and walked
out of the place which he had always called
home. He went to an old man in the village
and asked him to tell him the facts in the case.
This old man said, "It is as Cimanga says.
When you were a child your father died and
Ci manga took your mother as his wife and
forbade us to tell you otherwise. Later your
mother died. Now that Cimanga has himself
told you, the secret is out."
One day whom should we see come walking
in but Mpinda, saying, "Well, I have come to
stay." We were so glad to have him 1 uck.
lie began working in the garden and going
to school and learned so fast that within a
year he was reading in the Bible. Having sat
isfied all the requirements he was received
into the church. When he smiles his upper
lip slides up and all his front teeth come out
wards. Possibly he sucked his thumb when
he was small, but we have ceased to think of
him ]>ut as the best native boy we have had
yet.
He was always willing to do a favor aiut
seemed to he a part of our family. When our
son was about three days old he came walking
into the room and gave my wife six eggs and
apologized that he had not a fowl to give her.
A few days later he came in with the fowl.
"While clown at our new station for tlireo
months with another missionary Mpinda was
my personal boy and a good one he was. Tlu re
may be natives who can beat him at ironing or
cooking, but he suited me. lie took good carc
of me. One day he came to me, "There i? a
franc missing out of your money box, did you
get it?" I told him that I had gotten it out
to put into the collection the day before and
he seemed happy, rather relieved. One night
about I) o'clock he came in and waked me up
saying that one of the goats was gone and ask
ing that lie might have the lantern so he might
go and hunt it.
Aft?*r a three month's stay at the new station
we came back, making about forty-five iniles
the last day ? two days' travel in one day. As
1 had hammock men it was not so hard on me.
At the half-way place I said to him, "Suppose
you rest here till tomorrow and then come on
in." Hut he said, "Why? I want to go on in
with you." lie cainc on in, but how he di.l it
I do not know, lie is about as tough as I have
seen yet. He can travel twenty-five or thirty
miles and then cook for me as well as arrant"
my bed.
After we got back from that three month's
trip we had no good goat boy for abont two
months. We had tried two or three, but they
were no good, so we said, "We must have
goat's milk for the baby; it's up to you,
Mpinda." He went for the goats in his usual
way and we never had to bother about milk for
the baby. During that time a good frienjl of
Mpinda 's came to Mutoto for a day or so,
and chided Mpinda for not sitting down to
entertain him more. Mpinda replied that he
had to be looking after those goats. It was a
strenuous life. So after eighteen months we
told him that if he would teach some one else
that work that we would promote him to table
boy and house boy.
Going on an itinerary I always want him
along, as he takes care of me so well and with
out any worry on my part. I have never missed
anything and I do not think that lie steals.
Usually when a boy begins taking small things
the habit grows on him so fast that he has
soon stolen too much and is caught up wlth.
Sometimes on a trip I lock my trunk, but he
usually carries the key, so that he may get
there and arrange things before I get there.
Three times a day he comes and says, "The
food is on the table," or "If you are readv to
eat, I will cook the eggs." I do not know wh*t
we are to have till I go to the table. He is
always on the lookout for some extra difch.
On my last trip we were within an hour of b's
home. He went home and came back with
some fresh corn meal and fresh peas and plan
tains, all of which came in well. Light bread
had about run out and I was wondering what
I would do. The average native would have
said, "I have nothing to cook, what are you
going to eat?" When I am through at one
village I get in my hammock and ride to the
next and Mpinda takes down the bed, packs
up everything, sees thatvthe men bring them
along and then unpacks at the next village.
He gets along well with the men and they
rarely complain to me against his decisions.
One time a man put his end of the load down
and ran away. The load came in, Mpinda car
rying one end of the pile. Then when I am
sending a man back to Mutoto with a letter
he comes along and says, "Suppose you write
your wife to send another tin of lard and a
little coffee and soap, as we will soon be out."
Not long ago, when I got in a village, he came
out to meet me, saying, "When we got here,
the house that they showed me for you was so
bad and the rOof^so rotten that I made them