56 THE KAFFIRS' MANNERS. 



men would be sad " pigeons " and regular dunces, were 

 they to show in the ring at Epsom, and few of our 

 celebrated statesmen would be equal to the savage in 

 the crafts necessary in an African forest. The savages 

 rarely make the blunder of choosing the wrong man; 

 they are very excellent judges of character, and conse- 

 quently would not choose a man to fire a long shot or 

 fight a battle because he was a good hand at stringing 

 beads together, or talking at their council- fires. They 

 select the man on account of his fitness for the post. 

 Here savages have a great advantage over civilized men. 

 Amongst the latter, individuals are frequently chosen in 

 the most fantastic way; mere theorists are used for prac- 

 tical purposes ; and men placed in positions where quick de- 

 cision and energy of character are all-important, and where 

 trifles should not be allowed to interfere, because perhaps 

 these men have excelled in the minute details of some 

 office, or are famous for increasing a correspondence 

 already too large. We might as reasonably select a man 

 to ride our racers simply because he had studied and 

 understood the anatomy of the horse. While the learned 

 theorist was arguing about or reasoning on which muscle 

 or nerve ought to be excited, the practical jock would be 

 busy at the " pull and hustle," and would win as he pleased. 

 The Kaffirs, from whom my experience was gained, how- 

 ever low they ranked in savage society, had none of the 

 offensive or presumptuous manners that are met with so 

 frequently amongst the vulgar in civilization. They never 

 pretended to more than they possessed in any way, or by 

 a system of deceit, lying, or false appearance, endeavoured 



