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Colloquial

Zulu
Colloquial Zulu is an easy-to-use and up-to-date guide to the Zulu
language. Specially written for self-study or class use, the course
offers you a step-by-step approach to written and spoken Zulu. No prior
knowledge of the language is required.
What makes Colloquial Zulu your best choice in language learning?

• It’s interactive – it has lots of exercises for regular practice.

• It’s clear – it has concise grammar notes.
• It’s practical – it has useful vocabulary and a pronunciation guide.
• It’s complete – it includes an answer key and reference section.

Whether you’re a business traveller or you work for an NGO, whether

you’re studying to teach or are looking forward to a holiday – if you’d
like to get up and running with Zulu, this rewarding course will take you
from complete beginner to confdently putting your language skills to
use in a wide range of everyday situations. This course is also ideal for
an institution-based setting with its clear language pedagogy, cultural
information and notes.
Accompanying audio material, recorded by native speakers, is
available free online. The audio material will help develop your listening
and pronunciation skills.

Sandra Sanneh is Senior Lector II Emerita at Yale University.

Mary Hammond-Bloem is Lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

 THE COLLOQUIAL SERIES

The following languages are available in the Colloquial series:

Afrikaans German Romanian

Albanian Greek Russian
Amharic Gujarati Scottish Gaelic
Arabic (Levantine) Hebrew Serbian
Arabic of Egypt Hindi Slovak
Arabic of the Gulf Hungarian Slovene
Basque Icelandic Somali
Bengali Indonesian Spanish
Breton Irish Spanish of Latin
Bulgarian Italian America
Burmese Japanese Swahili
Cambodian Kazakh Swedish
Cantonese Korean Tamil
Catalan Latvian Thai
Chinese Lithuanian Tibetan
Croatian Malay Turkish
Czech Mongolian Ukrainian
Danish Norwegian Urdu
Dutch Panjabi Vietnamese
English Persian Welsh
Estonian Polish Yiddish
Finnish Portuguese Yoruba
French Portuguese of Brazil Zulu

COLLOQUIAL 2s series: The Next Step in Language Learning

Chinese Irish Spanish

Dutch Italian Spanish of Latin
French Portuguese of Brazil America
German Russian

Colloquials are now supported by FREE AUDIO available online. All audio tracks
referenced within the text are free to stream or download from www.routledge.com/
cw/colloquials.
Colloquial
Zulu
The Complete Course
for Beginners

Sandra Sanneh and

Mary Hammond-Bloem
First published 2021
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2021 Sandra Sanneh and Mary Hammond-Bloem
The right of Sandra Sanneh and Mary Hammond-Bloem to be
identifed as authors of this work has been asserted by them in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or
other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifcation and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record is available for this title

ISBN: 978-0-415-83717-0 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-0-203-38017-8 (ebk)

Typeset in Avant Garde and Helvetica

by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Access the companion website: www.routledge.com/cw/colloquials
For Professor Msawakhe Hlengwa, "Mashasha", who taught us so
much through his love of the Zulu language, his kindness and his
nobility of spirit. Siyabonga Baba.
Contents

Introduction 1

Pronunciation guide 4

1 Ukubingelela 9
Greetings

In this unit:
Saying hello and goodbye
Greeting names
Linkers
Talking about oneself
Present tense
2 Uvelaphi? 19
Where are you from?

In this unit:
Talking about oneself
More on present tense
Subject markers
Emphatic pronouns

3 Uyaphi? 29
Where are you going?
In this unit:
Where is it?
Going places
Times of day
Saying goodbye
viii Contents

4 Impilo yomndeni 39
Family life
In this unit:
Family routines
Negating
Talking about the future
Days of the week
Week and weekend
5 Kubiza malini? 51
How much does it cost?

In this unit:
How much is it?
Rands and cents
Noun groups: UMU-/ABA-
Noun groups: ILI-/AMA-
Counting 1–10
Wanting and requesting
6 Ukuhlangana nabangane 61
Social life

In this unit:
Being hungry or thirsty
Making a purchase
Object markers
Likes and dislikes
Affirming and negating
7 Umndeni nabangane 71
Family and friends

In this unit:
Family members
Noun subgroups U-/O-
Identifying people by name/occupation
Noun groups: ISI-/IZI-
Describing people
Working
Noun classes
Contents ix

8 Ukugula nokwelapha 85
Being ill and getting treated

In this unit:
Talking about symptoms
Parts of the body
More noun groups
I can’t. . .
You must /mustn’t. . .
Instructions and requests
Using object markers
9 Ukuthenga 99
Shopping

In this unit:
Making requests
Obligations
Precise place adverbs
Making suggestions
10 Ukuthatha uhambo 114
Taking a trip

In this unit:
Weather
Recent past progressive
Common adjectives: predicative
Taking a trip
In the countryside
11 Ukungcebeleka 130
Leisure

In this unit:
Celebrations (birthdays)
Sports
Colour adjectives
Talking about recent past
Passive voice
x Contents

12 Ukuvakashela esiqiwini 143

Visiting a game reserve
In this unit:
Talking about animals
Review of noun groups
Describing characteristics, habits and states
Negative instructions
13 Kudala 156
Long ago

In this unit:
Talking about the remote past
Describing remote times
Talking about childhood
Folk tales
14 Ukuthuthela eGoli 173
Moving to Johannesburg

In this unit:
Talking about future events
Demonstratives
Ka- possessives
15 Amaholidi nezingozi 187
Holidays and accidents

In this unit:
Describing in recent past time
Describing with relative construction
Seasons and months
Impersonal ku- + passive
Describing with ideophones

Reference grammar 198

Key to exercises 239

Glossary Zulu–English 305

Glossary English–Zulu 310
Recorded dialogues 315

Index 317
Introduction

Colloquial Zulu is intended for adult beginners who have little or no

prior knowledge of Zulu. It is designed for learners who wish to study at
home at their own pace, and it can also be used in a classroom setting.
Colloquial Zulu focuses on spoken Zulu and covers the structures
and vocabulary of the everyday situations that you are likely to encoun-
ter in South Africa or other southern African countries, whether you are
on vacation, doing research or engaged in business. In other words, it
is designed to help you to develop communication skills.
The authors have kept the grammatical explanations as clear and as
simple as possible, which means that we have used some of our own
terms and have avoided some contemporary linguistic terminology. We
have aimed throughout to be user-friendly so that you can gradually
gain confdence and establish a solid understanding of the language.
Colloquial Zulu consists of a book with free online audio material
containing dialogues and oral activities.

How the course is organized

The book begins with a pronunciation guide, and this is followed by 15
units, each based on a situational theme. There is a key to the exer-
cises, a reference grammar, Zulu–English and English–Zulu glossaries
and an index of grammatical topics.
2 Introduction

Contents of each unit

• Dialogues – Each unit contains between two and fve dialogues.
These are designed to introduce the key grammar and vocabulary of
the unit. Translations are provided in the key. We recommend that you
listen to each dialogue several times until you can play the role of all
speakers.
• Language points – These give explanations of new structures, with
examples. A more detailed explanation of some topics is given in the
reference grammar. We hope that associating each point with the
unit theme will help you to remember them.
• Exercises – There are exercises associated with the dialogues and
the language points. A key to all exercises is given at the end of the
book.
• Culture points – In each unit, there are brief explanations of cul-
tural conventions and historical background associated with the unit
theme.

Using the recordings

The recordings contain the dialogues and a variety of exercises
designed to build your pronunciation, intonation and communication
skills.
When you frst listen to a dialogue, we recommend that you do so
without looking at the transcription or the translation. Focus your listen-
ing on the following questions:

• Who is talking?
• Where is the dialogue taking place?
• What is the purpose of the conversation?

When you can answer these questions, listen again and focus on words
that you don’t understand. Stop and write them down, and then return
to listening. Then listen with the transcription and compare with the
words you have written. Only look at the translation when you have
tested yourself as far as you can.
We recommend that you also listen to the dialogues when doing
some other activity, so that the phrases and intonation become familiar
to you. You should try to memorize the sentences of each speaker.
Introduction 3

Tips for learning Zulu

Zulu is a language with a grammar system that is quite different from
English, and unlike, say German or French, it has relatively few vocab-
ulary items that are similar to English. However, like any language, Zulu
has names for items and actions, words to describe things and actions
or events, and ways of showing who is acting and who is receiving the
action. It has ways of referring to past events and to events yet to take
place. The more aware you are of how English does these things, the
easier it will be for you to understand how they are done in Zulu.
Here are some tips:

• Set reasonable goals for yourself. Aim to make some progress each
week rather than aiming to complete a unit.
• Short and frequent sessions are better than long and infrequent
ones.
• Go through each unit thoroughly, spending time on the dialogues
and completing all the exercises.
• Organize your notes:
o Create your own fash cards, using library cards or a computer/
smartphone app. The act of writing/typing them will help you to
remember.
o Keep your exercises and notes in labelled folders on your com-
puter or in tabbed sections in a notebook
o Use different colours for different kinds of information, for exam-
ple, parts of speech.
• Look for opportunities to use what you have learned:
o Find another learner to meet or communicate with online.
o Find a Zulu speaker to meet or communicate with online.
o Listen to spoken Zulu on YouTube or elsewhere. You will not un-
derstand at frst, but you’ll get used to the sound of the language.
o Look at online Zulu newspapers. At frst you’ll only recognize a
few words, but gradually you’ll be able to understand the head-
lines.

Sinifsela inhlanhla!
We wish you good luck!
Pronunciation guide

Orthography
Zulu uses the Roman alphabet. The orthography was standard-
ized in the early 20th century and is based on phonetic principles,
which means that each letter – or in some cases each group of
letters – represents a single sound. Letters that are phonetically
redundant (‘c,’ ‘q,’ ‘x’) are used to convey click consonants. Once
you have learned to pronounce these sounds, you will not have
difficulty reading Zulu.

Words and afxes

Zulu consists of word stems or roots that have affixes attached to them.
The stems carry semantic meaning, and the affixes modify that mean-
ing with grammatical or other information. This means that a word can
have many parts, each contributing to the meaning of the whole, and
that a word can be a full sentence.
For example:

-bona see (stem)

Ngiyakubona. I see you.
Bebebonakala. They were visible.
Asibabonanga abantwana. We didn’t see the children.
Pronunciation guide 5

The sounds of Zulu

Zulu has few vowels and a large number of consonants, including click
sounds. Some consonants are written with up to four letters but are
nonetheless a single sound:
For example:

-tsh- English ‘ch’

-ntsh- English ‘nch’ as in ‘enchant,’ but pronounced as one
sound
-ntshw- as above, but with lips rounded

The vowels
Zulu has fve plain vowels:

/a/ as in U.S./U.K. English ‘father’

/e/ as in U.S./U.K. English ‘bed’
/i/ as in U.S./U.K. English ‘sheep’
/o/ as in U.S. English ‘caught,’ U.K. English ‘saw’
/u/ as in U.S./U.K. English ‘too’

The consonants
The following Zulu consonants are pronounced as in English:

/f/, /g/, /h/, /j/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /s/, /v/, /w/, /z/

These consonant pairs may at frst sound the same to English speak-
ers. Those with /h/ are pronounced as in English. Those without /h/
have a tight sound and are close to their voiced equivalent. In English,
these sounds occur at the end of words:

/ph/ as in English ‘put,’ ‘paint’

/p/ as in English ‘cup,’ ‘help’ (almost a /b/)
/th/ as in English ‘take,’ ‘teach’
/t/ as in English ‘hit,’ ‘shirt’ (almost a /d/)
/kh/ as in English ‘cake,’ ‘cool’
/k/ as in English ‘sick,’ ‘block’ (almost a /g/)
6 Pronunciation guide

There are two sounds representing ‘b’:

/b/ This is an implosive sound, which means you suck air in as

you say it, like drawing on a pipe.
/bh/ This is similar to the English /b/, but it is harsher and has a
voiced /h/ sound.

There are two sounds called lateral fricatives. These are produced by
placing your tongue as if for /l/ and then pushing it up towards the roof
of your mouth to create friction. If you pronounce these sounds cor-
rectly, they are continuous. The letters used can be misleading:

/hl/ No voicing
/dl/ As for /hl/ but with added voice. Be sure not to produce
/d + l/.

Some nasal consonants need special attention:

/ng/ This sound occurs in English ‘fnger’ or in ‘English’ but only

mid-word. In Zulu, it occurs at the beginning of a word as
well. Emphasize the /g/ and be careful not to add an initial
vowel: ‘ngi-,’ not ‘ingi-.’
/m/ When this consonant is followed by another consonant, it
becomes a whole syllable, so you must linger on it: ‘mkhulu,’
‘ngiyambona.’

The click consonants

These sounds were originally borrowed from speakers of the Khoe-
San languages, who lived nearby and intermarried with the people
who became known as the amaXhosa. A large number of conso-
nants in the Khoe-San languages are click sounds. Some click
sounds were absorbed into what is now known as Xhosa and later
into languages spoken by clans living farther north, including those
we now know as Zulu.
Zulu orthography uses the phonetically ‘spare’ letters of the alphabet
to indicate click sounds.
There are three click positions:
Pronunciation guide 7

‘c’ The tongue is pushing behind your teeth; the tip of the
tongue can be seen through the lips.The sound is somewhat
similar to the English disapproval ‘Tsk-tsk.’
‘x’ The tongue is pressing on ridge behind your teeth, and air
is released at the side. The sound is similar to the English
children’s ‘giddyap.’
‘q’ The tongue is curled back with its tip pressing on the roof
your mouth; release makes a loud ‘knock’ sound.

Practice these sounds in isolation, and then practice them with each
of the vowels as follows:

ca – ce – ci – co – cu
xa – xe – xi – xo – xu
qa – qe – qi – qo – qu

The three clicks can be modifed to form other phonemes.

For example:

/c/ + extra breath à /ch/

/c/ + voicing à /gc/
/c/ + nasalization à /nc/
/c/ + nasalization and voicing à /ngc/

This means there are fve different sounds/phonemes for each click
position.

Tone
Tone adds an additional layer of meaning to a word, and tonal differ-
ences can be the only difference between two Zulu words. Tones are
placed on the core of each syllable, which is usually a vowel but can be
the consonant /m/.
Zulu has two contrasting tones: high and low. The height of each
tone is relative, not absolute:

High tone (H) is relatively higher than low tone (L).

Low tone (L) is relatively lower than high tone (H).
8 Pronunciation guide

For example:

Bóna! (HL) See! (imperative)

boná (LH) they (emphatic pronoun)
/u-/ (L) indicates 2nd person sg.
/ú-/ (H) indicates 3rd person sg.

Zulu orthography does not mark tone, but we will mark high tone with
/’/ wherever we think it is important to avoid confusion. We encourage
learners to pay close attention to the melody of each word and to imi-
tate it closely.
Note: Tone is not the same as intonation, which is the melody of a
whole utterance.

Stress
In Zulu, the penultimate (second last) syllable of a word carries stress,
giving it extra length. This is the case no matter how long the word.

Hámba! Go away!
Ngikhoná. I’m here./OK.
Uyangizwá? Do you understand me?
Masihámbisáne. Let’s go together.
Unit 1
Ukubingelela
Greetings

In this unit:
• Saying hello and goodbye
• Greeting names
• Linkers
• Talking about oneself
• Present tense

Amagama amasha / New vocabulary

Sawubona/Sanibona hello, hi umntwana child
Yebo yes umntanami my child
umfowethu my brother umnumzana, UMnu. sir, Mr.
umfo brother unkosikazi, UNkk. ma’am, Mrs.
udadewethu my sister unkosazana, UNkz. miss, Miss,
udade sister Ms.
umama [my] mother uthisha teacher
ubaba [my] father

Greetings
Sawubona! Hello!/Hi/!Good day! to one person
Sanibona! Hello!/Hi!/ Good day! to more than one person

This greeting can be used at any time of day and is an acknowledge-

ment of the other person: ‘I see you!’
Greetings usually include a name:
10 Unit 1: Ukubingelela

Language point
Greeting names
All nouns in Zulu – including personal names – begin with a vowel, but
when using a noun in a greeting, omit the vowel:

umfo à Sawubona mfo.

udade à Sawubona dade.
umnumzana à Sawubona mnumzana.
uNkk. Mkhize à Sawubona Nkk. Mkhize.

Greeting 1.1
Themba and Bongani (students):

uThemba: Sawubona mfowethu. Hi, my brother.

uBongani: Yebo, sawubona mfo. Yes, hello brother.

Greeting 1.2
USibongile noZanele (students):

uSibongile: Sawubona dadewethu. Hello, my sister.

uZanele: Yebo, sawubona dade. Yes, hi sister.

Greeting 1.3
Umama nomntwana (mother and child):

The junior person greets frst.

Umntwana: Sawubona mama. Hello, Mum.

Umama: Yebo, sawubona mntanami. Yes, hello my child.

Greeting 1.4
UMnu. Mkhize noNkk. Cele (Mr. Mkhize and Mrs. Cele):

It is polite to use ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma’am’ when greeting a stranger.

uMnu. Mkhize: Sawubona nkosikazi. Hello ma’am.

uNkk. Cele: Yebo, sawubona mnumzane. Yes, hello sir.
Unit 1: Greetings 11

Exercise 1.1
Fill in the appropriate honorifc:
1. A boy greets his father: Sawubona ___________
2. A child greets his teacher: Sawubona ___________
3. A woman greets a male co-worker: Sawubona ___________
4. A girl greets an older male relative: Sawubona ___________
5. A visitor greets a female office worker: Sawubona ___________

Amagama amasha / New vocabulary

u- 2nd person sg.(singu- ku- Impersonal subject
lar), subject marker marker (it/they)
(you) -njani? How?
ngi- 1st person sg., subject -phila be well
marker (I) -ya- Present tense Marker
ni- 2nd person pl. (plural), wena you, sg. emphatic
subject marker (you all)
nina you, pl. emphatic
si- 1st person pl. subject
marker (we)
12 Unit 1: Ukubingelela

Greeting 1.5
UBongani noThemba

uBongani: Sawubona mfowethu.

uThemba: Yebo, sawubona mfo.
uBongani: Unjani mfo?
uThemba: Ngiyaphila. Wena unjani?
uBongani: Ngiyaphila.

Greeting 1.6
Abafundi nothisha Pupils and teacher
Abafundi: Sawubona thisha.
Uthisha: Sanibona bantabami. Ninjani?
Abafundi: Siyaphila thisha

Greeting 1.7
UNkk. Mkhize noMnu. Cele Mrs. Mkhize and Mr. Cele
uNkk. Mkhize: Sawubona mnumzane.
uMnu. Cele: Yebo, sawubona nkosikazi.
uNkk. Mkhize: Ninjani mnumzane?
uMnu. Cele: Siyaphila nkosikazi. Nina ninjani?
uNkk. Mkhize: Siyaphila mnumzane.
Unit 1: Greetings 13

Exercise 1.2

Complete the following greeting dialogues:

1. UThemba noZanele:

uThemba: Sawubona sisi.

uZanele:
uThemba: Unjani sisi?
uZanele:
uThemba: Ngiyaphila.

2. Umntwana nomama

Umntwana:
Uthisha: Sawubona mntanami. Unjani?
Umntwana:

3. UNkk. Mkhize nothisha

uNkk. Mkhize: Sawubona nkosazana.

Uthisha:
uNkk. Mkhize: Unjani?
Uthisha: ?
uNkk, Mkhize: Sikhona nkosazana.
4. Ubaba nabafana

Ubaba: Sanibona bafana.

Abafana:
Ubaba: Ninjani bafana?
Abafana:

Language point
Subject markers

The subject noun is indicated by prefxing a subject marker (SM) to

the verb:

u-njani? How are you?

ngi-ya-phila I’m well, OK.
14 Unit 1: Ukubingelela

ni-njani? How are you (pl.)?

si-ya-phila We’re well, OK.

An informal greeting uses the impersonal SM –ku-:

ku-njani? How’s it?

ku- lungile It’s OK, alright.

Dialogue 1.1
UBongani noJason (Audio 1.1)

Bongani and Jason, both in their 20s, are in line at the coffee shop:

uBongani: Sawubona mfowethu.

uJason: Yebo, sawubona mfo.
uBongani: NginguBongani. Ngivela eThekwini. Ngiyisitshudeni.
uJason: Hho, nginguJason. Ngivela eMelika. Nami
ngiyisitshudeni.
uBongani: Ngiyajabula ukukwazi Jason.
uJason: Nami ngiyajabula ukukwazi Bongani.

Amagama amasha / New vocabulary

-vela come from isitshudeni student
eThekwini in/at/to Durban nami I too
eMelika in/at/from America -jabula be happy, glad
eGoli in/at/from Johan- ukukwazi to know you
nesburg umshayeli driver
eSoweto in/at/from Soweto kodwa but
eNgilandi in/at/from the U.K.
eKapa in/at/from Cape
Town
Unit 1: Greetings 15

Language points
Linkers
To identify a person or item, add the subject marker to the identifying
noun:

SM + noun

In Zulu, there are no double vowels (*au, *ii, *ui, etc.), so add a linker
to separate the vowels. The linker has two forms:

-ng- before a, e, o, u
-y- before i

SM-linker-{noun}

Ngi-ng-uBongani. à I’m Bongani.

Ngi-y-isitshudeni. à I’m a student.
UBongani u-y-isitshudeni. à Bongani’s a student.

Did you notice?

Zulu does not use the verb to be in this structure.

Exercise 1.3
Join the two nouns using the linker:
1. ngi- umshayeli
2. u- umntwana
3. uSipho u- isitshudeni
4. udadewethu u- uthisha
5. umama u- unesi

Exercise 1.4
Where do they come from?

Example: uSipho Cape Town

USipho uvela eKapa
16 Unit 1: Ukubingelela

1. ubaba Soweto
2. umfowethu Johannesburg
3. uBongani Durban
4. ngi- U.K.
5. uJason U.S.A.

Exercise 1.5
Complete the dialogue between Bongani and Vusi. Use the following
information about Vusi:

Name: Vusi Ngcobo

Place of origin: Johannesburg
Occupation: driver
uBongani: Sawubona mfowethu.
uVusi:
uBongani: NginguBongani Cele. Ngivela eThekwini.
Ngiyisitshudeni.
uVusi:
uBongani: Ngiyajabula ukukwazi Vusi.
uVusi:

Dialogue 1.2
UZanele uhlangana noSibongile (Audio 1.2)

Two girls meet at the university cafeteria

uZanele: Sawubona dadewethu.

uSibongile: Yebo, sawubona.
uZanele: Unjani?
uSibongile: Ngiyaphila. Wena unjani?
uZanele: Nami ngiyaphila. NginguZanele Mkhize. Ngihlala
lapha enyuvesi. Ngivela eMlazi, KwaZulu-Natali.
Wena ungubani futhi uvelaphi?
uSibongile: NginguSibongile Cele. Ngivela khona lapha eThekwini.
uZanele: Hho, ngiyabonga. Mina ngenza iB.Comm, ngifunda
unyaka wesibili.
Unit 1: Greetings 17

uSibongile: Mina, ngenza iB.A. Ngifunda umlando. Ngiyajabula

ukukwazi Zanele. Sala kahle.
uZanele: Nawe hamba kahle Sibongile. Sizobonana futhi.

Amagama amasha / New vocabulary

-hlala live/stay umlando history
-vela come from izibalo mathematics
Ungubani? Who are you? -bonga be grateful/thank-
ngingu. . . I am (name) ful
umfundi student/learner nami I too. Me also.
uvelaphi? Where do you nawe You too. You also.
come from? Sala kahle Stay well. Good
eMlazi in/at/from Umlazi bye.
KwaZulu-Natali in/from/to Kwa- Hamba kahle Travel safely. Go
Zulu-Natal well. Good bye.
khona lapha right here umshayeli Driver
-enza do, make sizobonana See you soon!
unyaka wesibili second year

Exercise 1.6
Complete the dialogue between Nathi and Sibongile. Use the following
information, and fll in the blanks:

Name: uNathi Ngcobo

Place of origin: Eshowe
Current place of
Residence: Umlazi
Occupation: Student of history

uSibongile: Sawubona dadewethu.

Unathi:
uSibongile: NginguSibongile Cele. Ngivela eThekwini. Ungu-
bani? Uvelaphi?
Unathi:
uSibongile: Ngiyisitshudeni. Ngifunda izibalo.
Unathi:
uSibongile: Sala kahle Nathi.
Unathi:
18 Unit 1: Ukubingelela

Exercise 1.7

Respond to the following using your information:

1. Sawubona.
2. Unjani?
3. Ungubani?
4. Uhlalaphi?
5. Uvelaphi?
Unit 2
Uvelaphi?
Where are you from?

In this unit:
• Talking about oneself
• More on present tense
• Subject markers
• Emphatic pronouns

Dialogue 2.1
UThemba noSibongile (Audio 2.1)

Two students are talking in the cafeteria on the frst day of classes:

uThemba: Sawubona. NginguThemba Mkhize.

uSibongile: Yebo. NginguSibongile Cele.
uThemba: Unjani Sibongile?
uSibongile: Ngiyaphila, wena?
uThemba: Nami ngiyaphila. Uhlalaphi?
uSibongile: Ngihlala eThekwini. Wena uhlalaphi?
uThemba: Hawu, nami futhi!
uSibongile: Uyayithanda inyuvesi?
uThemba: Mmm. . . Kancane. Wena?
uSibongile: Yebo! Kakhulu!
20 Unit 2: Uvelaphi?

Amagama amasha / New vocabulary

-hlala live -thanda like, love
-phi? where? kancane a little
eMlazi in/at/from Umlazi kakhulu a lot
wena you yourself Angazi I don’t know.
mina I myself inyuvesi university
futhi also, furthermore

Language points
Tone

A high versus low tone contrast is part of the ‘melody’ of Zulu. Tones are
not marked in Zulu orthography, but they will be marked in this text to
indicate minimal pair contrasts such as the following:

Bóna! [high-low] See! u- [low] 2nd person sg.

boná [low-high] them ú- [high] 3rd person sg.

Subject markers (SM)

Subject markers (SMs) attach to the verb and tell you who is doing the
action:

ngi- 1st person sg. Ngivela eMelika. I come from America.

u- 2nd person sg, Uvela eMlazi. You come from Umlazi.
ú- 3rd person sg. Úvela eThekwini. He/She comes from
Durban.

The SM is there with a noun subject too:

UBongani úvela eMlazi. Bongani comes from Umlazi.

Uthisha úthanda ukufundisa. The teacher likes teaching.

Did you notice?

Zulu does not distinguish gender with subject markers: /ú-/ indicates
‘he’ or ‘she.’
Unit 2: Where are you from? 21

Emphatic pronouns
Use these for extra emphasis only:
mina 1st person sg. I myself, as for me
wena 2nd person sg. you yourself, as for you
yena 3rd person sg. he himself/she herself, as for him/her
thina 1st person pl. we ourselves, as for us
nina 2nd person pl. you yourselves, as for you
bona 3rd person pl. they themselves, as for them

Ngihlala eMlazi kodwa yena úhlala eGoli. I live in Umlazi, but she lives in
Johannesburg.
Ngihlala eMlazi. Wena uhlalaphi? I live in Umlazi. Where do you
live?
UZanele yena ufunda kakhulu, As for Zanele, she studies a
lot,
kodwa mina ngifunda kancane. but me, I study a little.

Exercise 2.1

Complete the following:

1. NginguBongani eThekwini.
2. Ngiyajabula Bongani.
3. Nami ukukwazi.
22 Unit 2: Uvelaphi?

4. Ngivela eGoli, kodwa eThekwini.

5. Ngihlala eMelika uhlalaphi?
6. úyisitshudeni?
7. Ngithanda inyuvesi
8. ÚZanele úthanda inyuvesi

Culture note
Ukuhlonipha: showing respect

In Zulu culture, it’s important – particularly for a young person – to avoid

using the personal names of senior men and women in the community.
Kinship terms such as mama and baba are used without any title or
surname. Married people are generally addressed as ‘father of. . .’ or
‘mother of. . . .’ Married women keep their maiden surname as a term of
address and are referred to as MaNkosi (daughter of Nkosi). Men gen-
erally address one another by their praise names. In general, it is good
to avoid using a frst name unless you are invited to do so.

For more on naming, see Adrian Koopman, Zulu Names (Pieter-

maritzburg: UKZN Press, 2002).

Dialogue 2.2
UJason noBongani (Audio 2.2)

Jason and Bongani meet again:

uJason: Hawu! Sawubona Bongani! Hey! Hi Bongani.

uBongani: Yebo sawubona mfo. Usaphila? Oh, hi brother. Are
you [still] alright?
uJason: Yebo ngiyaphila. Wena usaphila? Yes, I’m fine. And
you, are you [still]
OK?
uBongani: Hhayi, ngisaphila. No, I’m [still] fine.
Unit 2: Where are you from? 23

Did you notice?

In isiZulu, people often begin an affirmative sentence with the negative
‘hhayi.’ This indicates a lack of enthusiasm for the following affirmative:

Hhayi, ngikhona. No, I’m OK.

Hhayi, úyaphila. No, she’s/he’s well.

Dialogue 2.3
UNkk. Mkhize esibhedlela (Audio 2.3)

Mrs. Mkhize, a nurse, greets a younger male colleague at the

hospital.

uVinesh: Sawubona Nkk. Mkhize. Hello, Mrs. Mkhize.

uNkk. Mkhize: Yebo sawubona Vinesh. Hello, Vinesh.
uVinesh: Ninjani? How are you all?
uNkk. Mkhize: Sisaphila. Nina ninjani? We’re still well. How
are you all?
uVinesh: Hhayi, sisatotoba nkosikazi. No, we’re struggling
on, ma’am.

Amagama amasha / New vocabulary

-njani? How? hhayi no, not at all (often
-khona be here, present precedes an affirma-
-phila be well tive)
-totoba struggle, walk
unsteadily

Language points
Subject markers (SM)
ngi- 1st person sg. si- 1st person pl.
u- 2nd person sg. ni- 2nd person pl.
ú- 3rd person sg. bá- 3rd person pl.
24 Unit 2: Uvelaphi?

Sihlala eThekwini. We live in Durban.

Nivela eMelika? Do you (pl.) come from America?
Báfunda isiZulu. They’re studying isiZulu.
ku- it (impersonal subject)
Kunjani? How’s it [going]? (informal/familiar
greeting)
Kulungile. It’s OK/It’s going well/It’s good.
Kukhona isikole eMlazi. There’s a school in Umlazi.

Present tense, verb focus 1

When the verb (action, event) is the focus and ends the clause, add –
ya- to the present tense paradigm:

Affirmative: SM-ya-{verb}-a.
ngi-ya-phil-a à Ngiyaphila I’m well.
ngi-ya-fund-a à Ngiyafunda I'm studying/I study.
ngi-ya-totob-a à Ngiyatotoba. I’m struggling on.

Present tense, verb focus 2

When the verb (action, event) is the focus and ends the clause, -sa-
can replace -ya- to indicate ‘still’:

Affirmative: SM-sa-{verb}–a.
ngi-sa-phil-a à Ngisaphila. I’m still well.
ngi-sa-fund-a à Ngisafunda. I’m still studying.
ngi-sa-totob-a à Ngisatotoba. I’m still struggling on.

Culture note
The plural forms ni- (you all) and si- (we) indicate an enquiry about the
whole family and are used to show respect to elders.
Unit 2: Where are you from? 25

Exercise 2.2

Complete the following greeting dialogues:

1. Uthisha nomfundi Teacher and pupil
Umfundi:
Uthisha Yebo, sawubona mfundi.
Umfundi: ?
Uthisha: Sisaphila. Wena unjani?
Umfundi:

2. Izitshudeni / Students
Isitshudeni 1: Hawu Bongani!
Isitshudeni 2:
Isitshudeni 1: Unjani?
Isitshudeni 2: ?
Isitshudeni 1: Hhayi, ngisatotoba.

3. UNkk. Ngcobo noNkk. Mkhize / Mrs. Ngcobo [Cele] and Mrs. Mkhize
[Zondi]
uNkk. Ngcobo: Sawubona MaZondi.
uNkk. Mkhize: ?
uNkk. Ngcobo: Sisaphila. Ninjani nina?
uNkk. Mkhize: .
26 Unit 2: Uvelaphi?

Amagama / Vocabulary
isiZulu Zulu language umthetho law
isiNgisi English lan- isayensi yezilimi linguistics
guage ubudokotela medicine
unesi nurse iTheku Durban
isibhedlela hospital eThekwini in/at/from
esibhedlela at/to/from hospi- durban
tal -sebenza work
-nakekela take care of izibalo mathematics
izingane babies/children umabhalane admin. assis-
-azi know, be able tant, clerk
ezezimali fnances izithombe movies
ibhange bank

Ukuzethula Introducing oneself

UThemba:

Sanibona. Hi, everyone.

NginguThemba Mkhize. I’m Themba Mkhize.
Ngivela eThekwini, eMlazi. I’m from Durban, Umlazi.
Ngiyisitshudeni. I’m a student.
Ngifunda e-UKZN. I’m studying at UKZN.
Ngifunda isiNgisi nesiZulu. I’m studying English and isiZulu.
Unit 2: Where are you from? 27

UNkk. Mkhize

Sanibona. Hi, everyone.

NginguPhumi Mkhize. I’m Phumi Mkhize.
Ngivela eMlazi, eThekwini. I’m from Umlazi, in Durban.
Ngingunesi. I’m a nurse.
Ngisebenza esibhedlela. I work at the hospital.
Nginakekela izingane. I take care of babies.

UMnu. Mkhize

Sanibona. NginguBaba Mkhize. Hi, everyone. I’m [Father]

Mkhize.
Ngivela eThekwini, eMlazi. I’m from Durban, Umlazi.
Ngingusomabhizinisi. I’m a businessman.
Ngisebenza ebhange. I work at the bank.
Ngazi ngezezimali. I know about fnance.

Exercise 2.3

Use the following information to introduce yourself:

1. Zanele Mkhize
• isitshudeni
28 Unit 2: Uvelaphi?

• iGoli
• inyuvesi yaseKapa
• isayensi yezilimi

2. UNkk. Zondi
• uthisha
• iTheku
• inyuvesi
• izibalo

3. S’bu Zondi
• umabhalane
• iKapa
• ibhange
• izithombe
Unit 3
Uyaphi?
Where are you going?

In this unit:
• Where is it?
• Going places
• Times of day
• Saying goodbye

Indaba 3.1
Uyaphi umama? Where’s mother going?

Namhlanje umama uya edolobheni. Ulindela ikhumbi emgaqweni.

Ugibela ekhumbini. Uya ezitolo kuChurch Street. Ufuna ukuthenga
ukudla kwaSpar. Uthatha isinkwa nobisi noshukela namasi. Uyak-
hokha. Ugibela itekisi, uya ekhaya.
30 Unit 3: Uyaphi?

Amagama / Vocabulary
-ya go to amasi soured milk (like
-phi? where yogurt)
idolobha city ushukela sugar
-lindela wait for isinkwa bread
umgwaqo road/street -thatha take
ikhumbi/itekisi taxivan -khokha Pay
izitolo stores ikhaya home
-thenga buy

Did you notice?

Words denoting to/from/at/on/in a place start with e- and end in –ni.
These are added to the noun, replacing the initial and fnal vowels:

edolobheni to town idolobha town

emgaqweni in the street umgaqo street
ekhumbini in the taxivan ikhumbi taxivan

Certain words take only the initial e-. Remember these as exceptions:

ezitolo to the shops izitolo shops

ekhaya (to) home ikhaya home

Language point
Locatives
To indicate direction to/from/at/in a place, replace the initial vowel with
/e-/ and replace the fnal vowel with /-ini/.

The ending changes with the fnal vowel of the noun:

a + -ini à -eni
e + -ini à -eni
i + -ini à -ini
o + -ini à -weni
u + -ini à -wini
Unit 3: Where are you going? 31

Certain words do not change their ending. Note these as exceptions.

The directional meaning is made clear by the context.

Ezinye izindawo Other destinations

uMlazi eMlazi to/at Umlazi
ikhaya home ekhaya to/at home
idolobha city edolobheni to/in the city
iGoli Johannesburg eGoli to/in Johannesburg
inyuvesi university enyuvesi to/at the university
isitolo store esitolo to/at the store
iMelika United States eMelika to/from the United
States

Amagama

Amagama / Vocabulary
-phi? where? imakethe market
-ya go to ibhange bank
inyuvesi university isiteshi bus/train station
ihhotela hotel isikole school

Exercise 3.1
Bavelaphi? Where are they from?
1. uSipho iGoli
2. umfowethu uMlazi
32 Unit 3: Uyaphi?

3. umnumzana idolobha
4. uthisha iMelika
5. umama iTheku

Exercise 3.2
Bayaphi? Where are they going?
1. uBongani isiteshi
2. umfowethu imakethe
3. umnumzana ibhange
4. uthisha isikole
5. umama ihhotela

Culture note
Taxivans can carry up to 16 passengers. They do short runs between
residential neighbourhoods and city centres. Passengers fag them
down with hand signals indicating where they want to go. At the taxi
ranks in the city, drivers tend to wait until they have a full van of passen-
gers before setting off.
Unit 3: Where are you going? 33

Dialogue 3.1

Amagama / Vocabulary
-phuma emerge, come out -dinga need
ikilasi class ukudla food, eating
ekilasini to/at/from class ukufunda studying
manje now

UBongani noThemba (Audio 3.1)

Bongani meets Themba on campus.

uBongani: Hheyi Themba, uphumaphi? Hey Themba, where

are you coming
from?
uThemba: Sawubona Bongani. Kunjani? Hi Bongani. How’s it
going?
uBongani: Hhayi, kulungile. [No], it’s okay/fine.
Kunjani kuwe? How about you?
uThemba: Ngikhona mfo. I’m alright, man.
Ngiphuma ekhaya. I’m coming from
home.
uBongani: Hho. Ngiphuma ekilasini mina. Oh. I’m coming from
class.
Uyaphi manje? Where are you
going now?
uThemba: Ngiya esitolo. Ngidinga ukudla. I’m going to the
store. I need food.
Wena uyaphi? Where are you off
to?
uBongani: Ngiya ekhaya. I’m going home.
Ngidinga ukufunda. I need to study.
uThemba: Kulungile. Hamba kahle. OK. Goodbye
(go well).
uBongani: Hamba kahle nawe. Goodbye. Go well
you too.
34 Unit 3: Uyaphi?

Exercise 3.3

Fill in the missing words:

1. UThemba uphuma
2. UBongani uphuma
3. UThemba uya
4. UBongani uya
5. UBongani udinga

Dialogue 3.2
UNkk. Mkhize noNkk. Cele (Audio 3.2)

Mrs. Mkhize and Mrs. Cele are chatting.

uNkk. Mkhize: Sawubona MakaBongani. Hello Mrs. Cele

[Bongani’s mother].
Ninjani? How are you [all]?
uNkk. Cele: Yebo, sawubona MakaThemba. Yes, hello Mrs.
Mkhize [Themba’s
mother].
Siyaphila. Ninjani nina? We’re fine. How
are you [all]?
uNkk. Mkhize: Siyaphila nokho. We are okay.
Uphumaphi? Where are you
coming from?
uNkk. Cele: Ngiphuma esibhedlela. I’m coming from
the hospital.
Ngiya ekhaya. Wena? I’m going home.
You?
uNkk. Mkhize: Ngiphuma emsebenzini. I’m coming from
work.
Ngiya emakethe. I’m going to the
market.
Sidinga imifino. We need
vegetables.
Unit 3: Where are you going? 35

Exercise 3.4

Fill in the missing words:

1. UNkk. Cele esibhedlela.
2. UNkk. Mkhize emsebenzini.
3. UNkk. Cele ekhaya.
4. UNkk. Mkhize emakhethe.
5. UNkk. Mkhize imifino.

Amagama / Vocabulary
ekuseni in the morning kuze kube to, until
emini at midday, during -buya return from
the day -buyela return to
ntambama in the afternoon -pheka cook
kusihlwa in the evening -lala sleep
ebusuku at night -xoxa chat, converse
ngo-8 at 8:00 abangane friends
ngophasi 8 at 8:30 esithombeni to the cinema/
kusukela from, since movies

Izikhathi zosuku Times of day

ekuseni in the morning
emini at midday
ntambama in the afternoon
kusihlwa in the evening
ebusuku at night

Did you notice?

Some expressions for times of day have the same structure as places.
The e- . . . -ini form therefore indicates location in time or space.
36 Unit 3: Uyaphi?

Indaba 3.2
Usuku lukaZanele Zanele’s day
Ekuseni ngivuka ngo-6. In the morning I wake up at 6:00.
Ngo-7 ngiya edolobheni. At 7:00 I go to the city.
Emini ngiyasebenza. During the day I work.
Ntambama ngibuyela ekhaya. In the afternoon I return home.
Ngipheka isapha ekhishini. I cook supper in the kitchen.
Kusihlwa ngiya ejimini. In the evening I go to the gym.
Ebusuku ngilala ngo-10. At night I go to sleep at 10:00.

Exercise 3.5
Isibonelo: UZanele uvuka nini? Uvuka ngo-6.
1. UZanele uya nini edolobheni?
2. Usebenza nini?
3. Ubuyela nini ekhaya?
4. Upheka nini?
5. Ulala nini?

Indaba 3.3
Usuku lukaBongani Bongani’s day
1. Ekuseni ngivuka ngo-8. In the morning I get up at 8:00.
2. Ngiya enyuvesi ngophasi-8. I go to the university at 8:30.
3. Ngiya ekilasini kuze kube ngu-2. I go to class until 2:00.
4. Ngixoxa nabangane ntambama. I chat with my friends in the
afternoon.
5. Kusihlwa siya esithombeni. In the evening we go to the
cinema.
Unit 3: Where are you going? 37

6. Ebusuku ngiyafunda. At night I study.

7. Ngilala ngo-12. I go to sleep at 12:00.

Exercise 3.6
Isibonelo: Wenzani uBongani ngo-8? Ngo-8 uyavuka.
1. Wenzani ngophasi-8?
2. Wenzani kuze kube ngu-2?
3. Wenzani ntambama?
4. Wenzani kusihlwa?
5. Wenzani ebusuku?
6. Wenzani ngo-12?

Exercise 3.7
Chaza usuku lwakho. Describe your day
1. Ekuseni
2. Ngo-7
3. Emini
4. Ntambama
5. Kusihlwa
6. Ngo-10
7. Ebusuku

Language point
Saying goodbye

The farewell differs according to number and who is staying or leaving.

Farewell 1

One person leaving:

A (to B): Hámba kahlé! Go well!

38 Unit 3: Uyaphi?

Farewell 2
More than one person leaving:

A (to B&B): Hambáni kahlé! Go well [you pl.]!

Farewell 3

One person staying:

B (to A): Sála kahlé! Stay well!

Farewell 4

More than one person staying:

B (to A&A): Saláni kahlé! Stay well [you pl.]!

Unit 4
Impilo yomndeni
Family life

In this unit:
• Family routines
• Negating
• Talking about the future
• Days of the week
• Week and weekend

Umndeni wakwaMkhize

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

1. UMnu. Mkhize ungumkhandi. Ukhanda imishini yomoya kwaBarlow.

2. UNkk. Mkhize usebenza esibhedlela. Ungunesi.
3. UThemba ungumfundi enyuvesi. Ufunda umlando.
4. UZanele naye ungumfundi. Ufunda izilimi. Ufunda isiZulu nesiNgisi.
5. UGogo ungumama kaMnz. Mkhize. Uthanda ukunitha.
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very odd effect. He was given to moralizing, and had those quaint
reaches of fancy that are often found with men whose lives are
passed out-of-doors in gardening, or shepherding, or other
undrudging avocations.
Stella with difficulty refrained from laughter at this summing-up
of the disabilities of her sex.
'I don't think you would like to be a woman, Dunstan?'
'Well, no, Miss Stelly. If so be that such a thing could happen,
and God A'mighty give me the pick to be a female or a worm, I'd say
a worm, if you please; meaning no disrespect to the A'mighty or to
you, Miss Stelly. A worm, to be sure, has a lowly life, and unless it's
cut in two or swallered alive, not much happens in the span of its
days. But what's that to having things allays happening, and each
one worse than t'other? I ought to know. I'm married to my third
wife, and not one of the three ever had six months proper health on
end.'
Dunstan was portioning out further doles of oats and giving
them to the horses as he spoke, so that Stella could enjoy these
reflections without checking the flow of his thoughts. Dunstan
himself seldom laughed, and when others did so at his serio-comic
sayings, it disconcerted and, in the end, silenced him.
'I b'lieve they have had enough; but the poor old karkisses look
so starved,' he said, as the horses set to once more.
'And they are so galled. Dunstan, don't you think if I bathed
their sores with a little warm water—oh yes, I am sure of it.' Stella
hastened away, and soon returned with a china bowl of tepid water
and a soft sponge, with which she deftly bathed one sore after
another.
'They seem to enjoy it just as if they was Christians,' said
Dunstan, and then he went to the kitchen and brought out a pailful
of warm water, as that in the basin soon got discoloured with the
dust and sand. Then he stood by as Stella went from one poor
skinny creature to another, caressing and speaking to them in a low,
fond voice.
Both were so much absorbed that they did not notice the
approach of Hector Courtland and Dr. Langdale, who stood at a little
distance looking on at the scene with faces full of an amused
interest, and some deeper feeling withal, as they watched the girl's
tender ministration on the poor galled scarecrow horses.
'Why, here's Dr. Langdale with the master,' said Dunstan,
suddenly perceiving them. 'It must be serious for the poor female if
she must have two doctors.' Though Langdale was so frequent a
visitor, Dunstan somehow connected his appearance at that juncture
with the event of the day.
'Well, Stella, this little performance of yours caps all your
previous finds,' said Hector, looking at the three horses with beaming
eyes.
 'St. Charity, I would give much to have your picture painted as
you stood here bathing the sores of these horses,' said Langdale,
and as she returned his greeting there was an expression in his face
which made her look quickly away.
'And this is only part of the caravan, sir,' said Dunstan,
addressing his master. 'Besides these horses that the crows would
hardly get a mouthful on, there's the waggon, fit only for firewood, a
cockatoo that would set your hair on end with blasphemy, and a
onfortinate female as can't say a word, good or bad.'
'We cannot permit you to keep the cockatoo, St. Charity,' said
Langdale. 'I understand he is worse than any of the orthodoxies,
consigning people to eternal and entire perdition irrespective of their
opinions.'
'Well, he does swear very badly,' said Stella, smiling. 'We fed
him and put him in exile. He is on a perch in the stable.'
'But who ever heard of a backslider being reformed in a stable?
Look here, Courtland, cannot you suggest a better asylum for a
foundling whose moral nature has been perverted?'
'His native woods, I should think; unless you take him in hand
yourself, Langdale, as well as the "onfortinate female" as Dunstan
calls her.'
'Are you going to look after my patient, Dr. Langdale?' asked
Stella, who stood sponging the roan horse's neck for the second
time.
'Yes—free, gratis, for nothing, unless you are a refractory nurse;
in which case I shall charge you a guinea a visit. Now, if you let me
put a little vaseline on these sore places, your new pets will recover
all the sooner.'
 Stella went immediately to beg a pot of vaseline from Louise.
'There must be a semi-tragic story behind this curious little
adventure,' said Langdale, examining the waggon. And then
Courtland recalled some curious stories that had come to his
knowledge in past years of people who had attempted to make long
journeys with horses or teams of bullocks through unknown country
and came to signal grief. 'But this is the first time I ever heard of a
woman and a blaspheming cockatoo journeying through the Bush,
evidently for months.'

CHAPTER XXXII

There are probably few who have passed their first youth without
indulging now and then in conjectures as to how many would really
befriend them if they were completely stranded in life—say, without
money or position, and under the shadow of some imputed crime.
We begin the world as a rule with pathetic confidence in ourselves
and others. Heaven is full of beneficence, earth crowded with
friends. There is so much that we can do; there are so many whose
eyes will brighten at the prizes we are to pluck by the way. And then
our contests are to be won without stooping to the stratagems of
canvassing; we are to head our polls without the indignity of
hedging. Later on, there is still much to be done; but little quite so
well worth dying for as our own hearts and the poets whispered in
the early days. We begin to suspect, too, that Providence sends
biscuits chiefly to those who have no teeth. Our dearest aims have a
trick of eluding us, and leaving the tedious hours full of the
memories of spent bubbles. The rude breath of experience—that
figmentum malum in the life of man—has shrivelled so many tender
illusions. Life is not so amusing. Some of its most comical jokes are
elaborated at our own expense. This kind of payment impairs one's
sense of humour. And those myriad orbs that were to sparkle at our
feats? Alas! most of the eyes we now know are keen only to detect
that the plumage of our prize-bird is gray rather than white. And so
in our more egotistical moments—and these come to all—the
question may arise, 'If I were entirely defeated in this tiresome
drama, which begins in youth, like the rising of a curtain on a fairy
scene, and goes on like a scene in which there is nothing fairy-like,
save gold, how many would really stand by me?' If one were thus
defeated, in fact as well as imagination, probably the very best thing
that could befall one would be to find one's self in the Australian
Bush not very far from a head-station.
So at least it proved in the case of the poor woman Stella
Courtland had come upon. She was dangerously ill for several days.
During this time, Stella and Langdale saw each other daily, and
drew very near to each other. The woman's first coherent inquiry
was for 'Jack,' which turned out to be the cockatoo. Stella brought
him into the bedroom the woman occupied. He erected his crest,
and fluttered about, muttering imprecations of various kinds.
'He knows me, sure enough,' said his mistress in a gratified
tone. 'You can't think, ma'am, what a comfort it was to hear him
when I was alone. He do swear badly, but it was like having a
Christian body near one to hear him.... He never come back. I didn't
expect he would, after hearing the shots; but, if I live long enough,
Bill Taylor will swing for it.... The saddle—oh, the saddle, Miss Stella!
—was it took care of?' (She started up in bed in great excitement.
Stella assured her it was all right in the harness-room.) 'Oh, but I
must get it—I must see it. I'll put somethin' round me, and go out to
look at it.'
Stella thought this was but a freak of the fever that still lingered
in her brain; and to keep the woman quiet, she sent Maisie for the
saddle, which was old and worn and externally destitute of any
points that would justify one in setting such high value on it. But
appearances are proverbially deceitful.
The woman clutched it eagerly. She had never acquired any of
those amenities that, even among the lower orders of women, help
as a rule to keep social intercourse on a higher plane than the
primeval scramble in which egotism was the sole standard of
conduct. And yet she had many distinctly human qualities.
Maisie went out of the room, and resumed her sewing in the
nursery, where the upper nurse sat with the six-months-old baby in
her arms.
'Is your young lady going out riding this morning?' she asked.
'Indeed, Jane, I cannot tell ye,' answered Maisie with a toss of
her head. 'What Miss Stella's ma would say to her nursing an ill-
mannered person like yon I don't know. Miss Stella should leave her
till us, and then she'd be cured a little of whims and whams. There,
she has that awfu' swearin' cockie in the room, and now a dirty old
saddle, and there comes the doctor. I wish he would cure her soon,
and let her be packing with her duds and screws of horses.'
Servants who are accustomed to the refined courtesy of
gentlewomen resent nothing more strongly than being spoken to
roughly. This, indeed, is one of the causes which often creates a
disastrous barrier between them and men in their own rank.
The sight which met Dr. Langdale on entering the sick-room that
morning was a curious one. The large, dingy cockatoo stood on the
toilet-table, close to the bed, muttering, 'Hang him—hang him!' in a
rough, deep voice. The patient was sitting up in bed, an old saddle
turned upside down before her, the lining ripped open, disclosing
underneath one side a deep layer of extremely soiled bank-notes, on
the other nuggets of gold, ranging from the size of peas to pigeon-
eggs, some embedded in quartz, others with the earth still clinging
to them. Stella stood at the foot of the bed, looking on in silent
wonder. Neither had heard the doctor's tap, and even when he
opened the door, saying, 'May I come in?' the patient went on with a
calculation which absorbed all her faculties.
'Ten—twenty—forty—fifty—fifty-five; yes, that's the one-
pounders—that is right. Then, two, three, four, five, six, seven,
eight, nine, ten——tenners; and five twenties, and two fifties. And
the gold——'
'I fear you do not approve of this proceeding, Dr. Langdale?'
said Stella as they shook hands.
'If anyone is to be blamed it's me, sir,' said the woman, who
seemed to be thoroughly roused by the process of reckoning up the
hoard before her.
The doctor tested her temperature, and found it rather high. 'If
you throw yourself back, you know——' he began, in a grave voice.
'Well, sir, I know it makes my head beat; but it would have been
worse to keep on thinking p'r'aps it was lost. I don't rightly
remember things for days before I got here. That's my marriage
lines, ma'am,' she said, holding out a very soiled slip of paper to
Stella. 'I don't know what makes you so good to me, such an object
as I must have been when you saw me. You couldn't tell what sort I
might be. And I'd like you to know I'm an honest woman. And if
things go wrong——'
'Oh, things will go all right, if you keep quiet,' said Langdale.
'You have an iron constitution.'
'Thank you, sir; but I'd sooner tell the young lady and you how
it was, in case; and then I know I'll feel more restful like. I've laid
here many an hour turning things over when I wasn't able to wag
my tongue. I don't know whether you've heard of Poor Man's
Diggings ever. They don't make no flare, but from seventy to eighty
men have been working there quietly for two years. Jack and me
was there eighteen months—that's my husband. The men called the
cockie after him, because he was a great swearer, and the bird was
the dead spit of him in that way. Jack was a digger, and we had a
little general store and a sly-grog shanty. But he was fined so often,
at last I said to him it would be cheaper to take out a license, and so
he did. But he took to hard drinking and gambling, and six months
ago we left, for we had enough money to go back to our friends in
Sydney. We was both born there. There was no one to take the
license off our hands, so Jack carried away all the grog that was left,
and that was the ruin of him. When we came across any teamsters,
he used to gamble for a couple of days at a time. I've seen him play
at poker and lose two bottles of rum and a five-pound note and one
of the horses all within an hour. And then he'd have to buy his horse
back.
 'At last I took and planted the money and the gold you see
here. It was once when he was drinking very bad, and gambling
with a little man called One-leg Bill. He had followed us from the
diggings—'t any rate, so I believe, though he pretended to come
upon us quite by accident. But none is so surprised as them that
gives their mind to it, and that was the way with One-leg, I'm pretty
sure. Jack was that given to the gamble, when there was no one
else he'd play with me. But then there wasn't enough "go" in it, for if
he lost to me, he could take it from me. Well, One-leg had his horse
and swag and kep us company for near a month, winning a good
deal more money nor he lost. At last, when Jack wasn't by, I told
him to clear, and I'd give him twenty pounds without no playing nor
cheating. He was a unhonest vermin, if ever there lived any!
'Well, he tuk the twenty pounds, but still he hung round, till one
day we camped at a water-hole, and he said he was going to take a
cut off for the nearest railway line to Melbourne in the morning. I
dunno why, but I didn't b'lieve him. Certainly, he never told the
truth, unless he had an accident in speaking like. But it wasn't that
only. In the middle of the night I heard a noise, and I put my head
out quiet-like, and there was One-leg sitting by the camp fire,
polishing up his revolver. That gave me a turn, and I didn't sleep
another wink. Of course, people has to keep their firearms in order
travelling in the Bush, but still——
'Well, in the morning Jack was very drowsy-like, and when he
woke up he didn't seem inclined to make an early start. No more did
One-leg. I gathered up the things and put-to the horses in the
afternoon, and One-leg saddled hisen. Then, just as I thought we
was going to start, they both set off for a little stroll. I knowed well
that what Jack wanted was to gamble. He had took a Bible oath to
me two days afore not to touch a card with One-leg again, and he
was 'shamed to do it before me. Many's the time since I wished I'd
let him alone; but I meaned it for good, though it come out very
crooked. I made signs to Jack to come to me and ast him to take his
rifle. But when a man has been drinking off and on so long, he don't
have his wits about him much to speak of.
'I watched 'em go out of sight in the woods, and all to once I
began to cooey after Jack as loud as I could. But he never turned his
head. One-leg turned round and waved his hand with a grin, and
then hobbled on. He had a wooden leg and used a stick, and there
was his lather bag with the revolver on his back. I waited and
waited, but they didn't come back; and then about sunset I heard
two shots—one after She uther. I went cold all over, and, if you
b'lieve me, I felt is if the blood was running out of my side, and a
horrid, burning pain. I sot where I was in the waggon, not able to
move; and then it went through me like sparks of fire: "One-leg ull
come and put a bullet through me next, and then he'll have
everything, and never a soul to peach on him."
'With that I tuk the reins and made a start, and then I thought,
"If I leave his horse Sambo, he'll overtake me in no time." So I put a
piece of rope round his neck, and tied him to the waggon. He had
got used to following like that when Jack and One-leg sot playing
cards, and I druv. They was all pretty fresh, for there was good
grass round the water-hole, and we had spelled for nearly two days.
Everything was swimming before me, and somehow I tuk the wrong
turn—came back istid of going towards New South Wales boundary.
I thought of turning round, but there was One-leg coming out of the
wood—alone, and yelling after me like mad. I just whipped up the
horses as fast as they would go, and Sambo come on after the
waggon fine. But the way that One-leg run and roared no one would
b'lieve. It made me go cold all over to think Sambo might break the
rope and fall into his hands. But he didn't, and he was soon out of
sight. I travelled all night, and kep the horses up to it as fast as they
would go, and took cross roads. Next day they was so knocked up I
had to spell them.
'But my sleep went off altogether. I was waiting always for One-
leg to come and shoot me. I dunno how long it was—I dunno what
country. I met people now and then—teamsters and hawkers mostly,
and I passed the time of day, but I never ast one a question. I'd got
to be suspicious of men—they seemed, all of 'em I knew, such a
poor mean lot. Sometimes when I passed people I kept up a talk as
if poor Jack was sitting inside. But at night that made me feel
creepy. Jill began to be very raw and knocked up, so one day I put
Sambo in, but 'twas as if the very mischief was in him. He broke the
bridle all to pieces, and ran away with all of us till he couldn't move.
Everything got worn out. When I put the other bridle on him that
was broke too; till I had never a bit—leastways, I had the bits, but
nothing rightly to fasten them to. Not that it mattered much, for
they was now that tame—what with no grass, and very little water,
and going on and on, not knowing where, but hoping always to
come to a little township, but never one. I used to take a track this
way and that—and I think many a time I turned my back straight on
what would have took me to a township with womenfolk and
children and police.
 'At last, when I was getting to know I'd got some sort of fever
on me, I met a hawker, and I asked him the nearest way to a
township, and he said to keep on and I'd come to Narryhoouta, or
some such name. And I kep on, but I lost count of days, and I
hadn't strength to take the horses out of the waggon, and I could
see they wouldn't go much farther. I dozed away like, seeing all sorts
of things, just like poor Jack when he had the horrors. Then it came
like a dream that a young lady looked in at me, and spoke to me so
gentle I couldn't hear what she said. And then I saw more ladies,
but everyone was so kind it seemed all dreams. And then I woke up
at nights, and I thought maybe 'tis true about heaven—but 'twas a
deal more cheerfuller than I've ever heard tell about heaven; what
with one soft light burning, and no crowd, and one kind woman to
attend on me, and nothing to do, not even to sing, but just lie still in
white soft things, and no awful creaking going on and on. And then
in the daytime you come to me—often in white, ma'am. I just used
to shut my eyes and keep still for fear it would all go different. And
then there was you, sir, as kind as anyone, though a man.'
'Yes; but I'll not be kind if you say any more to-day,' said Dr.
Langdale very gently.
'Very well, sir—I'm quite content to lie still now. The money is all
safe, and the young lady and you knows all. Yes, the saddle of
course must go, but if the young lady would put the notes and gold
away till I get about; and if I don't there's the address of my father
and mother on the back of my marriage-lines.'
'That was a curious little story—so characteristically Australian,'
said Langdale, after they had left the sick-room, leaving Mrs. Claude
with the patient, and were strolling toward the orchard, close to
which Stella had discovered a hymenosperum in bloom a few days
previously.
'Yes,' she answered slowly, 'it seems as if there were more
heart-beats in situations that belong essentially to new countries.
That reminds me of a little story I heard from a sick man before I
left home.'
'May I hear it, St. Charity?'
'Yes—that is, if you are good, as the children say.'
'How can I be otherwise when I am with you?'
'A fine for saying that. Friends do not pay each other
compliments.'
'No; nor yet fine each other for telling the truth.'
'Another fine. But seriously, you do not know how bad it is for
me to be made vain.'
'If you wish to malign yourself, St. Charity, you must get a more
sympathetic audience.'
'What has put you into this mood to-day?' she said, laughing in
his face.
'To-day?' he echoed, his eyes kindling. 'Do you think a man can
be privileged to be near you so often, to watch your gracious
kindliness, your perfect courtesy, your varying moods, each one
more charming than the last, without——'
He stopped abruptly—and then Stella, who had grown suddenly
pale, replied in a voice that was a little tremulous:
'Werthester Freund, I remit all those fines; for when you speak
like that I feel as lowly as Dunstan's worm.' At this they both
laughed, for Stella had in due course related the worthy gardener's
reflections and reminiscences on the day she had first dressed the
wounds of the 'caravan' horses, as they were called. Their sores
were now quite healed, and the poor animals were rapidly putting
on flesh in the adjacent stock-paddock. Indeed, Sambo had been
observed to kick up his heels on more than one occasion.
'Hush,' said Stella suddenly; 'there are strange bird-notes,' and
sure enough there were plaintive long-drawn calls heard on the
banks of the swallow-pool, in the Oolloolloo, near which the two
were then standing. Stella stole on tiptoe nearer the bank, and
Langdale followed her as noiselessly as he could. 'Oo-da-warra, oo-
da-warra,' the groves resounded with these cries. They came from
two bronze-winged pigeons on the brink of the pool. It would be
difficult to name any other birds whose plumage forms a more
perfect model of harmonious tints. The wings gleamed more
lustrously than precious stones—dark, and pale-brown feathers, with
iridescent gleams as of mother-of-pearl on the coverts; a deep,
gleaming purplish tint on the breast, and the legs a perfect carmine.
They drank repeatedly of the water, rested for a little, and flew on
their way westward.
'Charming woodland visitors—they drank of our swallow-pool,
rested in the shade of our trees, and then flew away!' said Stella
wistfully. 'Did you notice,' she added, 'what soft appealing eyes they
had?'
The truth was that Langdale had watched her face rather than
the bronze-winged pigeons.
'Yes, they were lovely!' he answered, Jesuitical fashion—
speaking of those he had seen, while his words conveyed another
meaning.
 'So are all pigeons' eyes!' Stella went on, encouraged by her
friend's evident enthusiasm; 'very different from parrots, who have
hard beady eyes—even the sweet little shell parrots, perfect sonnets
as they are in emerald and pale jonquil.'
'And parrots scream rather badly, too; don't they?'
'Yes; but there are times when they warble most musically; not
only the smaller kinds, like the shells, the porphyry-headed, and the
little ones with deep-red faces, but also larger ones, like the rock-
pebblers. We watched some of them in the orchard the other day,
wandering on the ground, picking up seeds and things and making
the gentlest cooing sounds imaginable. The male bird was a
magnificent creature, in scarlet and dark green and yellow and
lazuline blue.'
And while chatting after this fashion, they reached the
hymenosperum, a beautiful tree of Eastern Australia, with glossy
eucalyptus-like leaves and drooping clusters of long slender bell-
blossoms, from eight to twelve in a bunch, ranging in colour from
delicate cream to saffron, and fragrant as orange-flowers. Stella
uttered an exclamation of surprise when she saw the tree arrayed in
opening blooms.
'There were so few out two or three days ago,' she cried, 'and
now they are out in hundreds! But that is always the way in our
spring. It is like what Pliny says of the oak-galls, that they break out
altogether in one night about the beginning of June.'
'But don't forget,' said Langdale, smiling, 'that Pliny the Elder
gave good reason for being styled mendaciorum patrem. But this
tree of yours is perfectly lovely. When your Australian trees do
blossom, they do it in a wonderfully generous fashion—and how
exquisitely scented!'
Then Stella drew his attention to a bee that was struggling hard
to penetrate into the depths of one of the deep flower-bells. It was
too slender for the industrious creature's body, or its thighs were too
heavily laden with wax; for after writhing for some time, with a
muffled half-angry hum, the bee drew out its head and shoulders.
Instead, however, of going to any of the myriad flowers around, it
still clung to the coveted blossom, and began to bite a hole at the
base of the delicate waxen tube, so as to get at its honeyed
treasures from the outside.
'I must put that into my country journal,' said Stella.
'Do you put everything into your journal?' asked Langdale.
He noticed a soft flush mantling in her cheeks as she answered:
'Yes; spiders and bees, when I catch them "writing deep morals
upon Nature's pages." As a special favour you may come and see
our pet spider web; it is in a hawthorn-bush, whose first spray
budded yesterday, that is, on the third of September.'
On their way to this treasure, Stella pointed out wide groups of
her favourite spring-flowers, now in full beauty—here a clump of the
Santa Maria narcissus, blue Apennine windflowers, and other wide
white ones of the Japanese variety; everywhere golden daffodils and
settlements of the velvet-soft many-coloured polyanthus.
'How little notice you take of these brilliant bushes of flowers,
St. Charity!'
'Oh, the petunias and rhodanthes! Well, most of them are so
hard and scentless. With a cunning pair of scissors, wire, and a few
sheets of French-coloured paper, one might turn out basketfuls of
these you would hardly know from the originals.'
'Now, how can you urge that as an objection when you love the
native "immortelle" so dearly?'
'But don't you see the difference between flowers so much
cared for and cultivated, and those that spring up in sandy deserts?
Flowers in gardens are the Hebrews, with prophets and leaders and
angelic visitations. But when Marcus Aurelius says, "If there are no
gods it is ill to live; if there are gods, it is well to die"—that is an
everlasting in the desert.'
'I humbly crave pardon for my foolish objection. Yet I am glad I
made it, for the sake of your answer.'
'This is our spider-web!' said Stella, pausing by the hawthorn-
bush. 'See what a delicate tracery of silk and light it is, with a cloud-
like little woof in the centre. Now, is that to turn into the spiders of
the future?'
'Yes, I imagine so, when the time is fulfilled,' said Langdale,
looking at the web with grave attention. 'Who bent this spray, and
fastened it so as to protect the web?'
'I did. You see, this tiny hammock—the most exquisite baby-
cradle of nature—looked so forlornly exposed to all the caprices of
fate: the wind, and insects, and fowls of the air.'
'Yes; we all live at each other's cost, whether we dwell in
palaces or the crevices of a tree's bark; but the spider has a sterner
struggle than most: he hangs perpetually in suspense, unless St.
Charity devises schemes to protect him. But why does she watch this
little cocoon with so much interest?'
 'I have an incredible curiosity to see one or more infant spiders
of unblemished life, "ere sin could blight or sorrow fade"—even
before they have tasted the blood of a fly. It is a sorrowful thought
that though I have seen so many thousand spiders, I have never
seen an innocent one!'
He laughed, but all the time one who observed him closely
might see that he was becoming more constrained and preoccupied,
as if there were some struggle going on in his mind.
'You have not told me that other little story yet. Suppose you
tell it to me by the hymenosperum tree; and, by the way, you must
say something distinctive about that graceful creature—something
that will go with the image of it when it rises in my memory: tall and
slender, arrayed in pale saffron, like an Eastern bride.'
'I am sure I cannot think of anything more distinctive than that,'
laughed Stella. 'I shall borrow a metaphor and give it to you. "As a
saint is to ordinary good people, so is a hymenosperum to other
flowering trees."'
'Here is our tree,' said Langdale, 'with a little rural seat near.
Now, please tell me your story.'
She told him Thomson's little narrative, not forgetting to give a
rapid, brilliant little sketch of her old friend Mr. Ferrier—'the best little
man in the world; but he is like cheese o'er renneted; so much in
earnest that he can enjoy hardly any of the play of life.'
'I think we may put that down as a thirty-seventh tragic
situation,' said Langdale; 'the poor man trying in his simple fashion
to Christianize the savage mother of his child; and the two breaking
into loud laughter at him in the night.'
 He took out a little pocket diary as he spoke, and with it an
unopened letter.
'Oh, I had forgotten this,' he said. 'The English mail was
delivered as I left the house this morning.'
'Do you put aside letters without reading them?' said Stella in
surprise.
'Well, not as a rule,' he answered, smiling; 'but there were
family letters that kept me occupied till I got here; and then, you
know, at Lull there are things so much more interesting than letters
from one's lawyer.'
'You may read it now—I will excuse you,' said Stella, and she
went to gather clusters of the fragrant hymenosperum blossoms,
picking out those that had just opened, which were pale cream, and
mixing with them a few of those that had been opened a few days,
which had assumed a delicate saffron tint. Then the clear musical
song of a superb warbler rose near, and she saw one on a
laurustinus bush not far off—a little male bird, gorgeous in its spring
attire of shining pale azure and dark blue, its little tail erect as that
of a fan tail pigeon.
Stella was away long enough to permit the perusal of many
pages. But when she returned Langdale still stood engrossed with
his letter. He looked hard at the girl as she drew near to him, and his
face, usually so calm, betrayed curious signs of agitation.
'You have had no ill news, I hope?' said Stella softly.
'Ill news?—no. St. Charity, is it true—— But I have no right to
force your confidence. Only there are affairs that hasten my
departure for England—and there is something I want to know. Will
you think my curiosity an abuse of our friendship?'
 'Oh no, I am sure I shall not,' she answered promptly.
'Then—are you engaged to be married?'
'Certainly not. I was once, for a short time,' she added,
colouring deeply; 'but it was a mistake.'
She saw his eyes suddenly grow radiant.
'Then, sweet St. Charity, I am going to ask a great favour. May I
write to you after I get to England?'
His face was very pale, and his voice shaken. No one who heard
and saw him could deem that the permission he asked was
concerned with the interchange of merely friendly sentiments. Least
of all Stella, whose quick insight played round even indifferent
matters with the fellowship of wide sympathy.
She struggled with some rising emotion. But her voice was clear
and firm as she answered:
'Yes—you may; and here is a little bouquet I have gathered for
you.'
He took it and held it to his lips. And then for a little time, as
they turned homeward, neither spoke. There are moments in life
when speech is an impertinence—when words the most winged and
penetrating are too leaden-soled for the thoughts that rise in endless
succession—swift and golden as sun-rays glancing upon waves.
'I shall write to your mother and Hector, you know, at the same
time,' he said, as they drew near the house.
'But the longest letter must be to me,' she answered, trying to
speak lightly; 'and it must be very wise, and partly in German.'
'When do you leave, St. Charity?'
'On the fifteenth—eleven days from this. And you?'
 'I should like to leave the same day you do, only I must stay till
Morrison gets his assistant. He is overdone and overworked. But he
is advertising in the Melbourne and Adelaide papers. I shall be back
in four months, I suppose, from the time I sail. Will you——'
He stopped abruptly. He was evidently struggling with
conflicting currents of thought. Stella, who, in the tumult of her own
emotion, was keenly conscious of the agitation that betrayed itself in
Langdale's voice and manner, tried in vain to speak of some
indifferent subject. But seeing Louise near at hand among the
shrubs, her courage returned.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

Stella sat that night writing till late, and then for hours, by her open
window, looking into the starry skies, an expression of peaceful
happiness on her face, which for a time was unclouded by even a
passing shadow. She had been sure for many days past that her
ideal friendship was in peril. She knew that, time after time, words
and questions had risen to Langdale's lips which he had kept back.
She had seen that he strove with contending emotions, and once or
twice she had lightly parried one of those leading questions which, if
not turned aside, would have been as the letting in of waters. She
found it so entirely exquisite, the bliss of loving and being loved,
without the gadgrind of outside opinion, without the desperate
seriousness of having to think of the future as a fixed, imponderable,
menacing responsibility; nay, without any avowal spoken by the lips.
And now the precious secret would be hers for four long months to
come. There would be no interchange of vows, no assurances. They
had met as friends, and as friends they would part. She laughed a
low, glad laugh to herself, as she pictured Esther's face when she
would tell her this. It would be quite true—till he returned.
Till he returned? How her heart beat at the thought. If he left in
October, he might be back in March at the latest. The late roses
would be still in bloom, and the chrysanthemums would be coming
in. He loved her to wear great clusters of roses at the throat. What
time of day would it be when he came to the dear old Fairacre
home? She hoped it would be twilight—just before the lamps were
lit. There would be great china bowlfuls of roses in the hall, and
delicate pink and pale cream-coloured Japanese chrysanthemums. 'I
love the Japanese for making a festival in honour of this flower,' she
thought. And then she mused over far-away, strange countries.
Would they see them all together? Oh! what leaps to make! and
they had not yet been betrothed. Yes, in the twilight. There would
be a golden glow lingering in the west, and far above that the
inimitable rose-lilac colour which steals so often into the evening sky,
when the wearying languor of the long summer is over. Rose-lilac?
no, that was a burlesque of the real tint. There was in it the pink of
wet sea-shells, and a faint tinge of a very pale lilac pansy, and over
all a divine haze, as if a great white star had been melted in the air.
What name was there for such a colour as that? None. What name
was there for the flood of happiness that thrilled her through when
their eyes and hands met at parting? Love! But all the dreadful,
commonplace, earthly creatures who ever got engaged took that
word in vain. Come back, ye wandering little imps of thoughts, and
finish this twilight scene. Would she be in the garden when he
came? Of course she would know about what time the vessel would
reach Glenelg. It would be telegraphed first from King George's
Sound, and in less than four days afterwards it would be sighted off
Cape Borda. When Tom went to his office that morning, she would
take him aside, and say: 'Can you keep a secret? I don't suppose
you can. You mustn't laugh, you mustn't cry; you must do the best
you can.'
'What is it, Baby? Have you given away your last half-crown to
Honora, or some other old vagabond, and haven't got a pair of
gloves to put on?'
'No, Tom, it isn't that. But the——' What would be the name of
the ship? The Nepaul or the Lusitania? Some such name very likely.
But she would give it one of her own—the Pâquerette. Where did
that come from? Oh, from some lines her old French master had
taught her, telling of a custom the village maidens had in France for
testing how much they were beloved:

"'La blanche et simple Paquerette,

Que ton coeur consult surtout
Dit: ton amant, tendre filette
J'aime, un peu, beaucoup, point du tout."'

Yes. 'But the Pâquerette is coming in to-day, and I want to know the
exact time she reaches Glenelg. Send me a telegram. Oh! put it in
your official note-book, and, whatever you do, don't forget. Ah, you
are very good; I know you never forget. But this is more important
than the creation of the world, or the Christian era, or anything.' She
wouldn't go anywhere that day, and if any visitors came, she would
retreat into the study—the dear old little library with the pale, sea-
green cretonne curtains, with brown sedges and water-lilies all over
them. She had bought them herself when the green damask ones
had grown so very faded, and she had climbed up on the ladder to
fasten them, and caught sight of a little row of books behind the old
Divinity ones that were never disturbed, and the first one she took
up was Candide. She read twenty pages of it standing on the ladder.
Was there any domain of life so pungently vulgar as those twenty
pages? Or were books like Candide hidden away behind tomes of
Divinity because these last were so fanciful—women and children
might read them—while the others were too true to be left within
reach? Would she ever tell Anselm? Well, perhaps; if he persisted in
calling her St. Charity. What beautiful intonations there were in his
voice when he was talking very gravely, and how deep and steadfast
his eyes were! Would he ever look angrily at her? Sometimes she
had tried to provoke him, but the more she tried the more he was
amused. But then, after years of married life, would not some taint
of marital coldness creep into his manner? Heavens! what a bound
to make—and they had not yet met!
She would retreat into the library if visitors came that day. But
she would be unable to read. Nothing that ever was written could
interest a girl who was waiting for the beloved of her heart—the only
man she ever loved or ever could love. Oh, what a dreadful creature
she had been to think of marrying when her heart had been as
unmoved as the nether millstone. What could have possessed her on
that steel gray day in June, when Ted pressed his suit so ardently,
and laid his thirteen thousands a year at her feet, and told her he
could never care for anyone but herself; and at last she gave a
shuddering half-reluctant consent, and he trembled with happiness,
and she allowed him to kiss her? Great heavens! how could she? She
rose up, and laved her face in cold water as she thought of it.
She wished that no one had ever loved her; and yet how could
she tell that she could not have loved anyone but Anselm if no one
else had wooed her? But then she should not have found it so
amusing. Yes, she knew well she had a thread of the coquette in her.
She liked to know that people thought her charming and admired
her. How unworldly she had been at one time! How incredible it
seemed that her keenest ideal of joy had been to give herself wholly
to God—to the lowliest services of life. What voices were these that
came wandering back, austere with renunciations and sleepless
vigils? Poor earthworm, yearning for security in the contentments of
this fleeting show—a perpetual day-drudge to the delusion of perfect
earthly happiness—consider how slight a breeze may scatter thy
bliss—even as a gust of wind levels a small dust-heap! Hast thou
forgotten what a thankless runaway slave is joy? She had read so
many of the Saints and Fathers, she could have run on in homilies
for hours. But, after all, there was something unreal in their
depreciation of life—they spoke in the hieratic style, as Anselm had
said..... Would she get into the trick of quoting him eternally, as so
many wives did? Wives! Do people ever know how bold girls can be
in their imagination?
No, she could not read while she waited. She would sit in the
chair in which her father always sat when he taught the three of
them—Cuthbert, Alice, and herself. How kind and gentle he always
was—how he taught them to love the best books, and make fast
friends of them, and as far as in them lay to do good to all men.
How brave and pure and just his life had been—how full of kindly
deeds and thoughts; and yet to the last his mind retained that
lambent play of humorous irony—that quick perception of what was
droll or incongruous. She could see the quiet half-smile that played
so habitually round his lips. Only two days before his death, she had
read to him some scenes out of Cymbeline..... That was a strange
awakening before dawn, when, at the last, the end came so
unexpectedly. The cocks were crowing when Kirsty called herself and
Alice, and there was a strange grayness on his face when they
entered the room.
How often since, when she woke at cock-crow, she had gone
over the story of her father's life—thinking even of the day on which
he first saw light—and then his brilliant student days, when he had
won scholarly distinctions; and the long vacation, one summer, when
he met his future bride in the old Surrey deanery where she was
spending the summer. She was nearly twenty-one and he was
twenty-four, and a year later they were married. And now it was all
over; but surely—surely somewhere that spirit, so keen to feel and
love up to the last, was enshrined in a fuller, larger life than that can
ever be where the soul is clogged by a material companion..... Could
Anselm be now content to believe that we became a thread in the
living garment of the Infinite only by being transmuted into lowlier
forms? .... How quickly they had crept into each other's modes of
thought and opinions and most cherished fancies! They never spoke
to others of the things they discussed together. Would they ever
listen to each other with a yawn, and even forget in time the
anniversary of their wedding-day? What, married again—and they
were not yet plighted lovers....
Well, when the visitors were gone, she would go back into the
drawing-room and watch the clock. The sun was setting, and the
Pâquerette had come in at five. Would she stay in the garden till
some one came and told her he had come? Yes, of course, Alice
would know, and her mother; for Anselm was going to write to her
from England. What would she wear? Pink crêpe de chine and
cream-coloured chrysanthemums—no; cream-coloured cashmere
and scarlet fairy roses. She would pluck them at sunset, so that they
would be fresh and fragrant; and at that moment Alice would skim
down the vine-arcade: 'He is here, Stella; your friend has come!' Her
heart beat so loud and hard, that she placed her hand over it. She
went up through the vine-arcade, that bent under its great clusters
of grapes—a white-breasted fantail carolling overhead, mad with
mirth, as though it had sipped some frantic liquor; and now she was
in the hall, her hand was on the door. Stella!—Anselm!—and then
she shrank from his encircling arms with the thought, 'I am glad it
will be yet four months before we meet as lovers!' And then a quick,
sudden fear awoke in her heart. 'Oh, my love—my love, you have
come back, all the way across the salt dividing sea!' and with that
she burst into low sobs: 'Oh, the way is so far—so far; and
sometimes there are dreadful storms!' she moaned. The adder that
lies ever at the heart of passion had awakened, and stung her.
What light was this stealing into the room? She looked at the
stars and found them pale and shrunken; there was no need to turn
to the east for tidings of the dawn. Already the birds had learned the
secret. A Boobook owl gave a loud sad koor-koo, as if the light had
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