of centuries, and they continued to be followed, in secret in the towns
and openly in the country districts.

The evil of twin-murder had a terrible fascination for her. A woman who
gave birth to twins was regarded with horror. The belief was that the
father of one of the infants was an evil spirit, and that the mother
had been guilty of a great sin; one at least of the children was
believed to be a monster, and as they were never seen by outsiders or
allowed to live, no one could disprove the fact. They were seized,
their backs were broken, and they were crushed into a calabash or
water-pot and taken out--not by the doorway, but by a hole broken in
the back wall, which was at once built up--and thrown into the bush,
where they were left to be eaten by insects and wild beasts. Sometimes
they would be placed alive into the pots. As for the mother, she was
driven outside the bounds of decent society and compelled to live alone
in the bush. In such circumstances there was only one thing for the
missionaries to do. As soon as twins were born they sought to obtain
possession of them, and gave them the security and care of the Mission
House. Some of the Mission compounds were alive with babies. It was no
use taking the mother along with them. She believed she must be
accursed, for otherwise she would never be in such a position. First
one and then the other child would die, and she would make her escape
and fly to the bush.

Mary realised that the system was the outcome of superstition and fear,
and she could even see how, from the native point of view, it was
essential for the safety of the House, but her heart was hot against
it; nothing, indeed, roused her so fiercely as the senseless cruelty of
putting these innocent babes to death, and she joined in the campaign
with fearless energy.