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CHAPTER 26:
Johannesburg is captured by the Imperial forces. It is the chance for everyone to go home but the Black
people find that, without passes, they can go nowhere.
Crispin attempts to help Tom and Reuben but his attempt fails and they are shot by British troops. Crispin
returns to St Matthias, his conscience heavy with guilt.
CHAPTER 27:
Walter is packing to leave Mbokothwe on his way to England when he receives a telegram announcing
the disappearance of Crispin and asking him to help them at St Matthias.
Victor too has returned to St Matthias, and he and Benedict have an argument about the primary cause
of the Pumani brothers' deaths.
HISTORICAL ST MATTHIAS MISSION
In 1857 the Governor of the Cape decided to bring missionaries into the Eastern Cape as a means of
turning the Xhosa people into Black Englishmen. He used the Anglican Church for this purpose.
During the 1850s, the church in the Eastern Cape was ruled from its cathedral in Grahamstown. Indeed,
Grahamstown was the cultural heart of the region, and would remain so until after the 1st World War.
Keiskamma Hoek did not receive a missionary immediately. It would have to wait until about 1858 for that
to happen.
In 1857 the Anglican pastor for the White community at East London -- Reverend Joseph Willson --
was murdered.
His place was taken by Reverend William Greenstock who had a special calling to serve the Xhosa.
Greenstock, however, fell foul of the military authorities and of his Bishop.
While ministering to some Xhosa prisoners at the East London prison, he came across the three men who
had supposedly murdered Reverend Willson.
He converted them to Christianity, heard their confessions and baptised them.
In doing so, he prevented the authorities from extracting a confession from them, because it was still not
certain that all three had in fact committed the murder.
As a result, Greenstock was transferred to Keiskamma Hoek in disgrace, and there he took a leading role
in creating the mission station of St Matthews.
St Matthias Mission in Shades is based upon St Matthews Mission at Keiskamma Hoek.
A picture of Reverend Greenstock even hangs on the wall of the Farborough house.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
Why does Crispin blame himself for the death of the Pumani brothers? (5)
[Need help?]
Consider the following:
- For Crispin, a promise was a promise -- and he had promised the Pumani brothers that he would get
them home to St Matthias;
- It was also he who had suggested that they board the cattle trucks even though they had no
passes.
How would such a failure coupled with their deaths affect one with so tender a conscience as his?
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Explain the significance of the "mphafa" twig. (4)
[Need help?]
One has to go back to the beginning of the novel, to the references of trouble caused by the shades of
people who had died on the battlefields away from their homes.
The shades or spirits would wonder forever, causing mischief. It was important then to lead these shades
home.
This could be accomplished by using the "mphafa" twig which somehow magically or mystically led
home the spirits of the dead.
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Father Charles nodded. "Yes, lad. Brompton died. A greater rest, I think, than he could ever find
among us here."
- Comment on the fateful significance of these words to Crispin. (4)
[Need help?]
Although Crispin was thoroughly depressed after the deaths of the Pumani brothers, one may ask whether
or not he would have committed suicide if his father had not mentioned the death of Hubert Brompton and
the fact that the priest was now at peace.
Crispin was suffering mental anguish from which there was no happiness, no peace. The idea of finding
happiness and peace was therefore most attractive to him.
It was possibly this reference to Brompton and eternal peace, therefore, that pushed Crispin to taking his
own life.
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In this chapter Victor reveals himself as no longer fully in control.
- Can you find instances of this? (5)
[Need help?]
Remember that Victor is under stress from several sources:
- Crispin has disappeared and the probability is that he is dead.
- Victor is worried about his engagement to Frances. Indeed, he has avoided Grahamstown on route
to St Matthias because he could not face seeing her.
- Victor also knows that his forthcoming marriage will be a loveless one, a sham.
Victor therefore has several troubles on his mind, and a troubled conscience to boot.
Added to this comes Helmina's prophecy that Crispin is indeed dead, together with Benedict's direct
accusations of Victor's misconduct, and of course the presence of Walter.
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"Blame him?" Benedict gazed back steadily. "No, I do not blame Crispin . . . only God has the power
to lay blame. Perhaps He might blame you."
- Explain what Benedict means by this comment to Victor. (5)
[Need help?]
Benedict has just finished explaining how Crispin blamed himself for the deaths of the Pumani brothers.
When Victor asks Benedict whether he blamed Crispin for their deaths, Benedict replies that perhaps God
would blame Victor.
Benedict supplies only one reason for this accusation, i.e. Victor's role in recruiting the Pumanis to the gold
mines. Essentially, it was this recruitment that killed them, and it was Victor who was therefore
responsible.
This one reason does, however, get to the heart of the matter: it was the capitalist in Victor that was
ultimately responsible for the deaths of the Pumani brothers.
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"It is not what you do, it is what you fail to do, that has always made you different from Crispin."
- Comment on the accuracy of Benedict's words to Victor. (30)
[Need help?]
Victor was an empire builder who did everything for himself and never considered the consequence of how
his actions would impact on the other person. In answering this question, consider how Victor failed the
following people:
- Frances -- by forcing sex upon her;
- Sonwabo -- when he locked him in the cupboard and for recruiting him to the mines;
- Walter -- there are several instances here;
- Benedict -- by treating him as a servant rather than as a civilized being;
- The Pumani brothers -- by recruiting them to the mines.
Anything else?
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