SOUTHERN AFRICA. ais 
and diredlngthe adions of the latter. He called it a ghoft or 
fpirit, and faid it was the Kaffer way of fwearing. It appeared 
that if a Kaffer fwore by a deceafed relation, his oath was con- 
fidered as inviolable. A promife was always held facred when 
apiece of metal was broken between the parties ; a pradlice not 
unlike the breaking of a fixpence between two parting lovers, 
ftill kept up in fome country places of England. That thefe 
people haye not bewildered their imaginations fo far with me- 
taphyfical ideas of the immortality of the foul, as the more 
civilized part of mankind have given into, and that their no- 
tions have been little direded towards a future ftate of exift- 
ence, was clear from his replies to various queftions put to him 
on that fubjeft. As little information was likely to be gained 
on fuch abftrufe points through the medium of a Hottentot 
interpreter, the converfation was turned to other fubjcds lefs 
embarraffing, and fuch as came more immediately before the 
fenfes. 
Their (kill in mufic is not above the level of that of the Hot- 
tentots. They have in fa£t no other inftruments except the 
two in ufe among the latter, and a fmall whiffle made of the 
bone of fome animal, and ufed fometimes for giving orders to 
their cattle when at a diffance. They feldom attempt to fmg 
or to dance, and their performances of both are miferably bad. 
A Kaffer woman is only ferious when fhe dances, and at fuch 
times her eyes are conftantly fixed on the ground, and her 
whole body feems to be thrown into convulfive motions. 
A greater 
