190 LODGES IN THE WILDERNESS 



peculiar parliament on earth. It was composed 

 of elderly men, all of a more or less monkey- 

 like physiognomy. Mr. Hein took the chair 

 and filled it with the utmost dignity. The 

 members were restrained in manner, temperate 

 in discussion and logical in all they said. 

 Their delivery was pleasing, the rules of de- 

 bate were strictly observed. Several of the 

 speeches were made in Dutch; those given in 

 the Hottentot tongue were interpreted into 

 Dutch for my benefit. 



The individual who had received the flog- 

 ging was present. He was a young married 

 man with a weak chin, a shifty eye and a vol- 

 uble tongue. His face possessed a certain 

 measure of meretricious good-looks] evidently 

 he was a lady-killer ; one of the cheaper varie- 

 ties of that species. He, an officer of the 

 church, had committed an offence against the 

 moral law. The partner in his guilt was pre- 

 sent, looking sufficiently woe-begone. She did 

 not possess the fatal gift of beauty, at all 

 events according to Caucasian standards. The 

 injured spouse, attired in a goat-skin robe, 

 was present and wept softly at intervals 

 throughout the proceedings. She was dis- 

 tinctly less uncomely than the erring sister. 



The Raad had dealt with the case and sen- 



