HERE is a letter, which deserves to be recorded in letters of gold, and one which reads a lesson indeed to us in England.
“Baganda Mengo,
“Jan. 15, 1894.
“Our beloved friends in Christ Jesus, we send you very many greetings, and, after our greetings, we thank you very much for sending us a present good for our souls―the word of God, which possesses life everlasting, that is, the books so beautifully bound which you have sent us.
“Our friends, in this you have shown us your regard for us, for our Saviour Jesus Christ has made us one with you by the death on the cross, although we are black. And you have made us understand that we are one brotherhood in the sight of our Lord, and that we shall reign with you, where there will be no distinctions (between black and white people) in His kingdom when He shall appear.
“We thank you very much, our friends. “We have rejoiced exceedingly many times over. You have sent us a better present than very much gold. How shall we express our thanks to you, for you love us so much. We, too, love you, but you exceed our love, as we have reason to say, for you friends have given us these books that have made us glad, and shown us thereby how much you love us. But we have nothing that we can send you beyond our thanks. If only the journey to Europe was as short as that to Zanzibar we might have come to see you and thank you (in person). But it is enough that we know how much you love us; and if in this world we shall never see you face to face we shall see each other in heaven. So, our friends, we have truly thanked you; you have made us very glad, and we shall never forget your gift you have sent us all our lives long.
“We have sent you a letter that you may see a letter written by our hand. Yet you can only look at it, because you don’t know Luganda, so we have asked our friends who teach us to translate it for you― every word―that you may understand what we say. If God will, we hope that you will send us other books when we have completed a thorough revision, containing no mistakes.
“And now may God he with you, and stretch forth His hands in blessing upon you; may He preserve you alive to be often thinking about us, for Christ’s sake.
“We are your brethren who love you―
HENRY WRIGHT DUTA, ZAKARIA KIZITO, NEKODIMO SEBWATO, SAMWILI NAGANAFA, TOMASI SENFUMA, PAULO BAKUNGA, and the rest of your friends besides, who are many elders of the church, send you very many greetings.”