518 
AN AFRICAN NAPOLEON. 
that these are not typical Africans any more than typical 
Englishmen, and that the natives in nearly all the high 
lands of the interior continent are, as a rule, fine average 
specimens of humanity. I happened to be present when 
all the headmen of the great chief Msaina — who lives west 
of the south end of Tanganyika — had come together to 
make peace with certain Arabs who had burned their chief 
town, and I am certain one could not see more finely formed, 
intellectual heads in any assembly in London or Paris, and 
the faces and forms corresponded finely with the shaped 
heads. Msama himself had been a sort of Napoleon for 
fighting and conquering in his younger days. He was 
exactly like the ancient Assyrians sculptured on the Ni- 
neveh marbles, as Nimrod and others, and he showed him- 
self to be one of ourselves by habitually indulging in co- 
pious potations of beer, called poinbe, and had become 
what Nathaniel Hawthorne called “Bulbous below the ribs.” 
I do not know where the term “bloated aristocracy” arose. 
It must be American, for I have had glimpses of a good 
many English noblemen, and Msama was the only speci- 
men of a “bloated aristocrat” on whom I ever set eyes. 
Many of the women are very pretty, and, like all ladies, 
would have been much prettier if they had only let them- 
selves alone. .Fortunately the dears could not change 
charming black eyes, beautiful foreheads, nicely rounded 
limbs, well shaped forms and small hands and feet, but 
they must adorn themselves, and this they do — “ oh the 
hussies ” — by filing splendid teeth to points like cat’s teeth. 
It was distressing, for it made their smile — which has so 
much* power over us he donkeys — like that of crocodile 
ornaments, scarce. What would our ladies do if they had 
none, but pout and lecture us on woman’s rights. But 
these specimens of the fair sex make shift by adorning fine 
warm brown skins, tattooing various pretty devices without 
colors, that, besides purposes of beauty, servo the heralding 
uses of our Highland tartans. They are not black, but 
of light, warm brown color, and so very sisterish, if I may 
