164 
AFKICAN HUNTING. 
100 yards, which were, notwithstanding, frequently 
smashed. Horse-racing was another amusement, 
which consisted in letting the bridle loose on the 
horse’s neck, and going at it hammer and tongs, 
legs and arms, and flogging all the way: 1,000 
yards the distance. The Boers are also great musi¬ 
cians, and very fond of dancing, and appear to 
live exceedingly happily. Many of the Dutch 
noes, or young maidens, are very pretty; and 
they are a very moral set of people. They have 
a singular custom of first becoming acquainted. If 
you admire any one in particular, you take the 
first opportunity that presents itself of asking her 
to upsit. Should this be accorded, when the old 
people and all the rest of the household have 
retired, a curtain frequently being all the partition 
between the sitting and bed-rooms, the chosen one 
again appears, with a candle, short or long, accord¬ 
ing as she fancies you or otherwise, and remains 
as long as that burns, all conversation being car¬ 
ried on in whispers, and the fair one being obliged to 
sit very close and talk very low, for fear of disturb¬ 
ing the inmates on the other side of the curtain. 
These upsits frequently last far on into the morn¬ 
ing, and the happy swain is at great pains to 
trim the candle — not let it flicker or flare, or 
get into a draft, and so keep it burning as long 
as possible, for it is imperative to retire when that 
is out. 
I have been present, stretched on the floor, on 
