Novel Divorce Proceedings. 
177 
their complaints, troubles and contentions for adjustment before the 
highest tribunal, before Mr. King, whom they all cab'ed “Fiscal,” a term 
which probably was more familiar to them from the old Dutch times than 
the new title “Superintendent.” 
001. This simple legal public procedure, than which neither the Bar 
of England nor France could offer a more interesting spectacle, occupied 
my whole attention: the clean unvarnished truth, and Nature in the 
expression of its most heterogeneous emotions, spreading a peculiar charm 
over the animated scene. Although it might not have been Mr. King’s 
intention to hold Court to-day, he nevertheless considered it necessary, 
owing to the large number of complaints. The chief case was a divorce: 
a young and very beautiful Arawak who had married a Warrau sought 
judicial separation because her husband had treated her so tyrannically 
of late that hardly a day passed without her being beaten, and in addi- 
tion to that he had sold all her property. As Mr. King was just as little 
conversant with the Arawak language as 1 was, Caberalli acted as 
interpreter. 
602. After Mr. King had once more heard the complaint, he called 
upon the witnesses, and every attentive listener, even if he did not know a 
single word of the language, could already gather the whole history of 
joy and sorrow that Ibis young woman had experienced from the tone 
and modulation of voice of those who were called on her behalf. The 
first witness was an oldish woman who, with an admirable flexibility of 
voice, portrayed the complete life-story of the unhappy married creature, 
an echo as it were of her happiness and her suffering. With brisk and 
passionately excited voice she described first of all the beauty of the 
unfortunate creature up to the time when as a girl she would hurry still 
with a light step through the village and all the Arawak youth looked 
at and- longed for her, whereupon she pointed to all the men standing 
aside of her in the circle, who were said to have belonged to the crowd 
of the complainant’s admirers: with equally vigorous and not less proud 
tone she enumerated the presents which she had had heaped upon her by 
the young men: and yet when alone on her way to the field, or when 
hurrying off by herself to the forest, she had not deigned to look at them : 
she had given her smile to none — and now the hitherto fiery and 
animated voice became more subdued and gradually sadder and heavier, 
whereby she probably wanted to express the surprise and astonishment 
caused by the pretty wench disdaining the Arawaks and choosing a 
Warrau. The Warrau, sin* continued, came to the village and found 
favour in the eyes of the prettiest girl in the settlement, and the hitherto 
only suppressed melancholy utterance changed to a deprecating and 
whining note, as she described the parting from her parents and her 
girl friends: until at last, when recounting the rapid change in the young 
people’s matrimonial relations, she let her voice fall into a weeping and 
wailing key. Within a short while the Warrau had then sold his wife’s 
finery, her presents, and her print-cloth, and had beaten and even 
threatened to kill her. It was this threat that had induced the woman to 
leave her husband and run off to her parents. But the man was still in 
possession of her remaining property, of which fie refused to give delivery. 
