122 NA1TUAL HISTORY. 



mprc thick ; oml tliar, of the few who have undergone 

 neither of tli < .ov, tlons, the features of the coun- 

 tenance art; r; i;o i: ','>ly, the nose is as prominent, and 

 the lips arc r. 1 ? ('flu-ate, as those of the Europeans, 

 ,It appears, however, th;.u nm >n theNegvoesin general, 

 thick lips and a i : . ] ruid iiat, are gifts from na- 

 ture, by which w.; '; : : .-.!iv ir.iroduced, and at length 

 established, their custom of flattening the nose and 

 thickening the iips of such as, at their birth, discovered 

 a deficiency in these ornaments. 



Though the Negroes of Guinea are in general very 

 healthy, yet they seldom attain what we term old age. 

 In his own country, a Negrore at the age of fifty, is a 

 very old man ; and so early as that of forty, he dis- 

 covers all the marks of being so. 



The Negroes in general are remarkably innocent 

 and inoffensive. If properly fed, and not exposed to 

 bad usage, they are contented, joyous, and obliging ; 

 and on their very countenance we may read the satis- 

 faction of their soul. If hardly dealt with, on the 

 other hand, their spirits forsake them, and they 

 droop with sorrow. Alike impressed with a sense 

 of what injuries, and of what favours they have 

 received, to a cruel master they are implacable 

 foes. But to an indulgent one, they are servants 

 who will exert every effort of which human na- 

 ture is capable, in order to express to him their zeal 

 and attachment. To their children, their friends, their 

 countrymen, they are naturally compassionate and ten- 

 der. Contented with the little they have, they com- 

 municate a share to whose who are in indigence, 

 That they have an excellent heart, therefore, is evident; 

 and, in having this, they have the seed of every virtue. 

 Their sufferings demand a tear. Are they not already 



