Nada the Lily

ed, that the two women came to my huts by stealth, and there kissed and nursed a boy-one of my children. Then Chaka remembered the prophecy of Nobela, the dead Isanusi, and his heart gre

s of the Amaswazi, there to take count of certain of the king's cattle which were in the charge of that tribe, and to bring him account of the

the mother of Moosa, my son, had fallen sick with a wandering sickness, for strange things came into her min

d clung to me. I asked her why she wept thus, and she answered that the shadow of evil lay upon her heart, for she was sure that if I left her at the king's kraal, when I returned again I should find neither her nor Nada, my

by her tears, and the dread of evil crept from her t

evil land, where the very skies rain blood, and let me rest awhile

"None may leave the king's kr

y, my husband, that you love me no longer, that I bear you no more children, and that therefore you

ight, and to-morrow morning meet me at the river bank, and we shall go on

and Macropha went on se

the sun was well up we came to the banks of the river, and there I found my wife Macropha, and with her the two chil

out old hag, and now I take her with me to send her to the country of the Swaz

he king?" as

the king," I sai

haka, who was then a great lad drawing on to manhood,

. Here in this wild place we must sleep, for darkness drew on. Now we soon learned that there were many lions in the rocks around, for we heard their roaring and were much afraid, all except Umslopogaas, who feared nothing. So we made a circle of thorn-bushes and sat in it, holding our assegais ready. Presently the moon came up-it was a full-grown moon and very bright, so bright that we could see everyt

, "I wish that I had one of

ng, "Then, shall I fe

man may take young lions

ather," he answered, laughing. An

rdy, he did not think of the danger which he would bring upon himself and all of us. He knew no fear, and now, as ever, if Nada spoke a word, nay, even if she thought of a thing to desire it, he would not rest till it was won for her. So while we slept Umslopogaas crept like a snake from the fence of thorns, and, taking an assegai in his hand, he slipped away to the foot of the cliff where the lions had their den. Then he climbed the cliff, and, coming to the cave, entered there and groped his way

ng large in the grey mist, stood the lad Umslopogaas, laughing. In his teeth he held the assegai, yet dripping with blood,

e is the dog you seek. Ah! he bite

with joy at the sight of the cub,

"let the cub go before th

five of us with spears, and can we not fight two cats? I was not afraid

nd I ran towards Umslopogaas to take it fr

ng!" And suddenly he seized the head of the cub and twisted its neck; then threw

from the cave in the cliff. The lions had retu

g. We looked up. There, down the side of the cliff, came the lions, bounding on the scent of him who had robbed them of their young. The lion ran first, and as he came he roared; then followed the liones

the men with me to Umslopogaas; "presently I wi

f you can," answered the lad, "and wa

. The lion stopped and sniffed it. Then he roared-ah! he roared till the earth shook. As for the lioness, she

slopogaas, brandishing his spea

the ground. Then suddenly he sprang from it like a bird,

ar into him. But the weight of his charge carried us to the ground, and he fell on to us, striking at us and at the spears, and roaring with pain and fury as he struck. Presently he was on his legs biting at the spears in his

s alone stood up to face her, for he only had withdrawn his assegai from the carcass of the lion. She swept on towards the lad, who stood like a stone to meet her. Now she met his spear, it sunk in, it snapped, and down fell Umslopogaas dead or sensel

Nada in bitter woe. And we ru

and bounded away towards the bush, bearing Umslopogaas in her mouth. We seized our spears and followed; but the ground grew stony, and, search as we would, we could find no trace of Umslopogaas or o

her?" cried Nada

d. "Lost, never t

cry, and fell to the earth saying, "I

ng," said Macr

eep for your son?" aske

dead? Does it, then, bring them bac

ge, but he did not know that Umsl

tarted forward on our journey, sad at heart. In truth, Nada was so weak from grief that she could hardly travel, but I never heard the name of Umslopogaas pass her lips again during that journey. She buried him in her

e kraal where the king's business must be

e part, my daughter; nor do I know when we shall meet again, for the times are troubled and it is for your safety and that of your mother that I rob my eyes of the sight of you. Nada, you will soon be a woman, and you will be fairer than any woman among our people, and it may come about that many great men will s

"do not speak to me of marriage, for I will wed no man, now that Umslopogaas is dead because of my foolis

rother, and it is not fitting that you shoul

it tells me that I loved Umslopogaas living, and, though he is dead, I shall love him alone

one whom she might have married. Only I marvelled that the voice of nature should speak s

ness, my daughter, and its thorns are watered with a rain of blood, and we wander in our wretchedness like lost travellers in a mist; nor do I know why our feet are set on this wandering. But at last there comes an end, and we die and go hence, none know where, but perhaps where we go the evil may change to the good, and those who wer

nto the sky, as they walked upon their journey to Swaziland, and was very sad, because, having lost U