32 
who had, by some offence, incurred her displeasure. How 
shall I describe her appearance? Her figure was of the true 
Dutch cast, tall, fat, and coarse. An unnatural enlargement 
of the thyroid glands, which vied with her cheeks in size and 
colour, gave to her countenance a peculiar, but I cannot say 
an amiable, expression. Her voice resembled the notes of 
an angry Turkey-cock; with her left hand she held Mungo 
by the nape of the neck, while her right hand brandished a 
huge Shambok,* which she applied to his shoulders with the 
skill and perseverance of a dilettante. In the midst of her 
exertions, I could distinguish the epithets * Rascal'—* scoun- 
drel'—* slave ’—and * God d n, uttered with peculiar 
volubility of tongue, and repeated in a sort of measured cadence, 
corresponding with the manual exercise of which they 
formed the accompaniment. I was the more struck with this 
last circumstance, as I knew that Juffrouw understood as little 
the meaning of these flowers of rhetoric, as did the poor cul- 
prit on whom they were so lavishly bestowed. ‘How is this?" 
thought I, * has the Dutch language become so polished that 
it cannot furnish terms sufficiently expressive of the angry 
passions;—or is the English so much more energetic in its 
expletives, that the mere sound, independent of sense, can 
wound the feelings on one side, and assuage the tempest of 
wrath on the other?’ 
* 'The slaves at the Cape are composed of more various 
races than are to be met with in any other part of the world 
where the traffic in human flesh is sanctioned. The coast of 
Guinea, Mosambique, Madagascar, Malacca, and the islands 
of the East, have contributed in their turn to supply the Colony: 
and from the intermixture of this heterogeneous groupe 
aided by a dash of Europæan and Hottentot blood, a mongrel 
race has sprung up, which exhibits an astonishing diversity 
of feature as well as of disposition. Of all the unadulterated 
race of slaves, the Malay bears the most marked character. 
He is cunning, active, and intelligent; but, at the same time, 
* A whip, in use among the Colonists, and made of a strip of Rhinoceros’ 
or Hippopotamus' hide. 
