414 
A PRETTY BUSH-GIRL. 
30.31 Oct. 
vagance in dress made her perhaps a less desh'able wife in the eyes 
of lier countrymen ; for the immoderate quantity of grease, red 
ochre, buku, and shining powder * with which her hair was clotted, 
would ruin any but a very rich husband : herself and every part of 
her dress, was so well greased, that she must have been, in her 
nation, a girl of good family ; and the number of leathern rings 
with which her arms and legs were adorned, proclaimed her to be 
evidently a person of property : round her ancles she carried about 
a dozen thick rings of this kind, which, added to a pair of sandals, 
gave her the appearance of wearing buskins. 
But the most remarkable piece of affectation with which she 
adorned herself, was, three small bits of ivory, of the size and shape 
of sparrow's eggs, loosely pendant from her hair ; one in front, as 
low as the point of the nose, and one on the outer side of each 
cheek, all hanging at the same length. These dangled from side to 
side as she moved her head, and, doubtlessly, made full amends for 
their inconvenience, by the piquancy they were thought to add to 
the wearer's beauty. The upper part of her head was covered 
with a small leathern cap, fitted closely, but quite unornamented, 
and I should have had a pleasure in gratifying her with a present of 
a string of beads, to render this part of her dress more smart, if I 
had not been fearful that, by doing this, I should excite in her country- 
men, an inclination to beg and importune for what I meant to 
reserve only for the nations further in the interior. Her vanity and 
affectation, great as it was, did not, as one may sometimes observe 
in both sexes, in other countries, seem to choke her, or produce 
any alteration in the tone of her voice, for the astonishing quantity 
of meat which she swallowed down, and the readiness with which 
she called out to her attendants for more, plainly showed her to be 
resolved that no squeamishness should interfere on this occasion. 
* Called Blink-klip (Shining-rock), by the Klaarwater Hottentots, and Sib'ilo 
by the Bichuanas. It is a shining, powdery, iron ore, feehng greasy to the touch, and 
soihng the hands exceedingly, and appears to resemble the mineral called eisenrahm by 
the Germans. The mirie from which it is obtained will be described in the second 
volume. 
I 
