AFRICA. 107 
it greatly added to the graces of the female 
who performed on it. 
Tht rabouquinh a triangular piece of board, 
with three firings made of inteftines, fup- 
ported by a bridge, which may be ftretched 
at pleafure by means of pegs, like thofe of 
our inftruments in Europe ; it is indeed no- 
thing elfe than a guitar with three firings. 
Any other perfon but a Hottentot would per- 
haps produce fome mufic from it, and render 
it agreeable : but the latter is contented with 
flamping it with his fingers; and this he does 
without method and without art, and evea 
unintentionally. 
The romelpot is the mofl noify of all the 
inflruments of thefe favages. It is formed 
of a piece of the trunk of a tree made hol- 
low, over one of the ends of which is flretched 
a fheep's fkin well tanned ; on this the per-* 
former beats with his hands, or, to fpeak more 
accurately, with his fifls, and Ibmetimes even 
with a flick This inflrument, the found of 
which may be heard at a great diflance, is 
undoubtedly not a maflerpiece of invention ; 
but in every country it is ufual to fupply by 
noife what cannot be obtained from tafle. 
I have perhaps enlarged too much on the 
dances 
