CHAPTER XVIII.
LANGALIBALELE.
The story of Langalibalele is one which I must decline to
tell with any pretence of accuracy, and as to the fate of the
old Zulu,—whether he has been treated wrongly or rightly I
certainly am not competent to give an opinion with that
decision which a printed statement should always convey.
But in writing of the Colony of Natal it is impossible to pass
Langalibalele without mention. It is not too much to say
that the doings of Langalibalele have altered the Constitution
of the Colony; and it is probable that as years run on
they will greatly affect the whole treatment of the Natives in
South Africa. And yet Langalibalele was never a great man
among the Zulus and must often have been surprised at his
own importance.
Those who were concerned with the story are still alive and many of them are still sore with the feeling of unmerited defeat. And to no one in the whole matter has there been anything of the triumph of success. The friends of Langalibalele, and his enemies, seem equally to think that wrong has been done,—or no better than imperfect justice. And the case is one the origin and end of which can hardly now be discovered, so densely are they enveloped in Zulu customs
