THE NATIVES AT HOME. 287 



breasts of the peasants. A careless observer would have 

 deemed tbom apathetic, but this would have been a mis- 

 taken op'r;i<- ; n. They evidently looked on the mighty 

 blaze with calm felicity. Their enjoyment was clearly a 

 matter of fact ; it may have been deep, it certainly wag 

 not turbulent. 



Soon we heard a sound resembling the yells of a pig. 

 This was a violin. It was accompanied by a noise 

 resembling the beating of a flour-mill, which, we found, 

 proceeded from the heel of the musician, who had 

 placed a wooden board under his left foot for the 

 purpose of beating time with effect. He thus, as it 

 were, played the fiddle and beat the drum at the same 

 time. 



Round this musician the young men and maidens 

 formed a ring and began to dance. There was little 

 talking, and that little was in an undertone. They 

 went to work with the utmost gravity and decorum. 

 Scarcely a laugh was heard nothing approaching to a 

 shout during the whole night nevertheless, they enjoyed 



/ 



themselves thoroughly ; I have no doubt whatever of 

 that. 



The nature of their dances was somewhat incomprehen- 

 sible. It seemed as if the chief object of the young men 

 was to exhibit their agility by every species of impromptu 

 bound and fling of which the human frame is capable, 

 including the rather desperate feat of dashing themselves 

 flat upon the ground. The principal care of the girls 

 seemed to be to keen out of the wav of the men and 



