Aide to the Study of Ki.Swahili. By Mervyn W. H.
Beech. (Kegan Paul. Os. net.)—This practical and interesting little book on the chief language of the East African coast contains, besides specimens of good and bad Swahili writing, a number of curious stories, enigmas and aphorisms, and studies of magic in Pemba. " Dawn is delayed on the road," is a good motto for the present time. " The squirrel is not heard in the forest " and " Who talks to himself is never wrong," are of general application. The Swahili, Mr. Beech explains, are either the descendants of Arab and Persian settlers, some of whom reached Africa in the pre-Christian era, or belong to coast tribes which have been converted to Islam. Those of Asiatic descent on the father's side, despite their large admixture of African blood, are careful to distinguish themselves from the pure Africans, though a European can seldom detect any difference between them.
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