1812. 
GERT. — JULI. — THE AFRICAN AURORA. 
323 
gave their Hottentots brandy whenever they asked for it. This 
language was not to be endured with forbearance, as authority here, 
could be supported by nothing but resolution and prudence. I was 
therefore compelled to order him instantly, and in a peremptory 
manner, away from my waggon : hoping thus to check a spirit which 
otherwise might soon spread among my whole party. 
It was about this time that I began to discover that in Juli I pos- 
sessed a valuable servant, and to perceive symptoms of fidelity which 
gradually gained my confidence, notwithstanding the disappointment 
which, in this respect, the conduct of some of the others had caused to 
me. I had not yet reposed in him greater trust than in any of the rest ; 
but he often deserved it by a conscientious desire which he manifested 
for doing his duty. His manners were steady, without being over 
sedate : he often could be lively and cheerful ; but never allowed his 
temper to approach either extreme. He had not, it is true, that 
degree of animation which had pleased me in Speelman ; but he was 
less irregular in his movements and opinions. In short, he was more 
honest, and less inclined to deceive me or conceal the truth, than 
any other of my Hottentots. 
6th, A nightly watch had first been established at Kosi Foun- 
tain, and from that time, it had been regularly continued. I had 
myself kept the sentries to their duty during the first half of the 
night, as my occupations in the waggon in writing and arranging the 
notes and collections of the day, had always engaged me till after 
that hour. But sometimes, in order to keep them on the alert during 
the latter half, I took my sleep earlier, and rose between midnight 
and daybreak. 
This gave me an opportunity of making a comparison between 
the dawn of an African day, and the superior beauty of that hour 
in Europe. This inferiority of the African Aurora, is occasioned, 
perhaps, by the aridity of the climate and clearness of the atmo- 
sphere. It is to the want of clouds and vapor to receive and refract 
the first rays of the sun while still beneath the horizon, that we must 
attribute the deficiency of those rosy and golden tints, and those 
beams of light, which decorate the morning sky of European 
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