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 Europaean 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. 



