The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1882-06-29
A SCHOLARSHIPS IN THE TRANS.
VAAL.

-4W0-TearS ago L was travelling on
horseback through a part of the country
which was unknown to me. I had ar
rived rather late at the house of a WELL
to-do Africander farmer, who gave me a
hearty welcome, told me to tie up nv
horse under the trees of the garden, and
ordered his boys to give him as much
forage as he wanted. al am sorry I
cant put him in the stable,'' he said.
but you're the second arrival this even
ing. There's a little French fellow in
the d~ining-room now, who has got four
horses to his SPIDER and precious fine
horses. too, and they have filled the
stable,
After seeing my horse blanketed and
fed, l joined the party in the dining
ROOM. 1t was a cheerful-looking room,
the faces in it were pleasant, and there
was a good supper of meat and hot
scenes on the table, whilst a tea tray
with all its paraphernalia lay before the
kindly hostess. When 1 said that the
faces were pleasant, / ought to have ex-
cepted one of them, that of the French
man. He was a short thick-set man,
with short cropped black hair, very
black eyebrows, bead-like black eyes,
and a black mustache. His law was
heavy and square, and the expression
communicated to his face by this con-
formation somewhat contrasted with the
~vivacity of his manner My hosts wife
and three daughters, ranging from
about ten to sixteen, completed our
party.
1t is very refreshing to come across an
English Africander in ones j%ourneyinos.
Not only the language, but all the sur
roundings in the house remind one of
home, and there is an air of refinement
amongst them unknown to the Beers.
On this occasion, however, the con-
versation was conducted in Boer patois.
for the Frenchman could speak no En-
glish and the Africander no French. As
1 listened to the little man I wondered
where he had learned his patois. He
spoke it 1uently, but with amost curious
accent. and used very coarse express
slons, more so than an ordinary Boer
would generally indulge in.
He told us that he had lost his way.
that he was an hotel keeper in Port
Elizabeth, and that he was driving
through the Transvaal in order to see
whether it would be likely to be a good
field for speculation. His account of
whence he had come, and whittier he
was going, when he lost his way, struck
me as curious, and 1 thought he shuf1ed
when | remarked upon its singularity.
He told us that he had been one of the
defenders of Paris during the Franco
German war, and said that he had been
sixyears in Port Elizabeth. 1 remarked
that it was curious that he had never
learnt English, but he assured me that
it did not come in his way to hear il
much spoken, as he traded mostly with
the Beers.
We then adjourned to the sitting room.
In which there was a piano. [ asked
whether the eldest girl could play. and
after a little hesitation she opened the
instrument and performed a simple piece
of music with considerable taste. after
which she and her sister PLAYED a duet.
The piano was not at all bad.
Mine host now asked me If I could
play, upon which I sat down and PLAYED
the Marseillaise. L thought it would be a
treat to the Frenchman. I took a side
long glance at him before 1 finished: he
was listening as phlegmatically as if it
had been an ordinary song. Then T
doubted his veracity, for what French
mar who had fought on the ramparts of
Paris but would have felt his heart swell
at hearing the fine old tune in a far and
a foreign land.
You know that well" said I, turning
to him as Tended.
He replied in the affirmative, but as if
puzzled by my remark.
After a time the conversation tagged.
and soon there came a short silence, then
my host and hostess began talking to
each other in English.
now spoke to the Frenchman in
French. He started slightly, and looked
st me without speaking.