and even the grown-up people, in approaching a better knowledge of High
Dutch. Before 1880 hardly any Boer cared to read a newspaper except,
perhaps, the _Paarl Patriot_, the vernacular journal referred to. High
Dutch and English papers were equally beyond his ready knowledge, but
since then the interest in politics gave an impulse to a reading
tendency, and at this moment the majority of the Boers manage to read
and understand fairly well what is presented in simply written High
Dutch by the local Press. They also are fond of simply written books of
travels, and especially of narratives of a religious trend. With the
Bible they are most familiar from childhood, but literature in High
Dutch is beyond them as yet. Greater pains have of late years been taken
to qualify Boer sons for the administrative service of the Republics,
where imperfect knowledge of High Dutch is an obvious bar to
advancement, and Hollanders would otherwise continue to monopolize the
better positions.

Taking the fairly educated Free State and Transvaal youth, the average
proficiency in English compared to that in High Dutch is as two to one,
whilst many possess even a literary mastery in English whilst quite poor
in the other language.

In the Cape Colony the above comparison among the Boer section is still
more in favour of English.

It may be judged what an important _rôle_ the educated Hollander group
can take in those Republics, and are yet aiming at in the Colonies.

It is also worthy of reflection why and how the Dutch language has been
raised to equality with English in the Cape Colony, seeing English was
more generally understood by the Boers there than High Dutch, and none