88 HOTTENTOT BEAUTIES. [chap. hi. 



beautiful outline that her back affords, Jonker's wife 

 ranking as the first ; the latter, however, was slightly 

 passee, while Mrs. Petrus was in full embonpoint. I 

 profess to be a scientific man, and was exceedingly- 

 anxious to obtain accurate measurements of her shape ; 

 but there was a difficulty in doing this. I did not 

 know a word of Hottentot, and could never therefore 

 have explained to the lady what the object of my foot- 

 rule could be ; and I really dared not ask my worthy 

 missionary host to interpret for me. I therefore felt in 

 a dilemma as I gazed at her form, that gift of boun- 

 teous nature to this favoured race, which no mantua- 

 maker, with all her crinoline and stuffing, can do other- 

 wise than humbly imitate. The object of my admiration 

 stood under a tree, and was turning herself about to 

 all points of the compass, as ladies who wish to be 

 admired usually do. Of a sudden my eye fell upon 

 my sextant ; the bright thought struck me, and I 

 took a series of obseiTations upon her figure in every 

 direction, up and down, crossways, diagonally, and so 

 forth, and I registered them carefully upon an 

 outline di'awing for fear of any mistake ; this being 

 done, I boldly pulled out my measui'ing-tape, and 

 measinred the distance from where I was to the place 

 she stood, and having thus obtained both base and 

 angles, I worked out the results by trigonometry and 

 logarithms. 



Mr. Hahn gave me a very interesting account of the 

 first establishment of the Damara mission. He was 

 permitted to leave Jonker's place after much trouble, 

 and encamped amongst the negroes in company with 



