ns destitute of personal
attractions, which--to do them justice--they exhibited with the most
boundless liberality. They were all possessed of plump well-made
figures; their limbs were, in many cases, very finely moulded; they had
an upright graceful carriage; the expression of their features was
amiable and gentle; and, notwithstanding their rather prominent lips, a
few of them were actually pretty.

One of these damsels, a perfect little sable Hebe, seemed to be greatly
attracted by us, walking round and round the tree to which we were
secured--first at a respectful distance, and then nearer and nearer.
Finally, after studying our countenances intently for nearly a minute,
she boldly approached and laid her finger upon my cheek, apparently to
ascertain whether or no it was genuine flesh and blood. Satisfied that
it was so, she backed off to take another look at us, and I thought an
expression of pity overspread her face. Finally she addressed us. We
were, of course, quite unable to understand the words she uttered, but
her actions, graceful as they were, were significant enough; she was
evidently asking whether we were hungry or thirsty. To this inquiry
Smellie nodded a prompt affirmative, which I backed up with the single
word "_Rather_," uttered so expressively that I am certain she quite
understood me. At all events, she tripped lightly away, returning in a
few minutes with a small finely-woven basket containing about two quarts
of fresh palm-juice, which she presented first to Smellie's lips, and
then to mine. Need I say that, between us, we emptied it? Our hostess
laughed gaily as she glanced at the empty basket, evidently pleased at
the success of her attempt to converse with us; and then, with a
reassuring word or two, she tripped away again. Only to return,
however, about a quarter of an hour later, with the same basket, filled
this time with a kind of porridge, which, though not particularly tasty,
was acceptable enough after our long fast. This, our fair, or rather
our _dark_ friend administered to us alternately by means of a flat
wooden spatula. This feeding process had not passed, it need hardly be
said, unobserved; and by the time that our meal was concluded quite a
large audience of women had gathered round to witness the performance.
The animated jabber and hearty ringing laughter of several of the
younger women and the somewhat abashed yet pleased expression of our own
particular friend see