SOUTHERN AFRICA. 119 
conspicuously in all their countenances. They appeared 
to us to be modest without reserve ; extremely curious 
without being troublesome; lively but not impudent; and 
sportive without the least shadow of lasciviousness. Their 
personal charms, it is true, were not of a very captivating 
nature, though, getting over the prejudice of color, which 
was that of a dark glossy brown verging on black, several 
of them might be accounted as handsome. The rapid move- 
ment of their dark sparkling eyes gave animation to their 
countenances : their teeth were beautifully white and re- 
gular ; they had neither the thick lips nor the flat noses of 
African negroes ; and the whole contour of the face and 
head was equally well formed as that of Europeans. But 
the most striking feature in their character was a degree of 
sprighthness, activity, and vivacity, that distinguished them 
from the women of most nations that are but little advanced 
in civilization, and who are generally reserved to strangers. 
Bordering upon the country of the Hottentots, their manners, 
their persons, and their whole character, seemed to be as 
widely removed from this phlegmatic race as the equator is 
from the pole. The Hottentot young women had much the 
advantage, however, of the KafFers in point of figure. The 
latter were mostly of low stature, very strong-limbed, and 
particularly muscular in the leg; but the good humor that 
constantly beamed upon their countenances made ample 
amends for any defect in their personal accomplishments. 
The men, on the contrary, were the finest figures I ever 
beheld: they were tall, robust, and muscular; their habits of 
life had induced a firmness of carriage, and an open, manly 
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