NO HAPPINESS WITHOUT AN ALLOY. 37 



fastenings to supply this useless luxury ! Un- 

 happily, they were the only pair I possessed. I 

 made her comprehend that the buckles were abso- 

 lutely necessary to me, from which moment she 

 never named them. I found her name difficult to 

 pronounce, disagreeable to the ear, and inapplicable 

 to my ideas ; I therefore renamed her Narina, which 

 in the Hottentot language signifies a flower, de- 

 siring her to retain this name for my sake. She 

 promised to keep it as long as she lived, in remem- 

 brance of me, and in testimony of her love a sen- 

 timent that was no longer a stranger to her heart. 

 This was truly painted in her gentle, unadorned 

 language, which powerfully showed how strong the 

 first impressions of nature are, and that even in 

 the deserts of Africa there is no happiness without 

 an alloy. ... As evening approached, our 

 fires were kindled, and I regaled my people with 

 tea and coffee. Narina liked tea, but the colour of 

 coffee disgusted her. I covered her eyes, there- 

 fore, with my hand, and got her to drink half a 

 dish. She thought it good, but still preferred tea, 

 drinking a great quantity, which much amazed me, 

 for, notwithstanding her assertion that she liked it, 

 she seemed to drink the tea in haste, in order to 

 reach the sugar at the bottom. After this frugal 

 meal, they returned to dancing till midnight, when 

 fatigue obliged them to retire to rest." 



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