Travels Of Richard And John Lander Into The Interior Of Africa For The Discovery Of The Course And Termination Of The Niger By Robert Huish
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Yet I Immediately Checked The Ill-Natured Construction,
Which I Had Put On Her Looks, And Accused Myself Of Injustice.
For
though, said I to myself, Adizzetta, poor simple savage, may be as
fond of admiration as her white sisters in more civilized lands, yet
her thoughts, for aught I know, might have been very remote from
vanity or self-love.
However, that she smiled I am quite certain, and
very prettily too, for I saw a circling dimple, radiating upon her
full, round cheek, which terminated in a momentary gleam of
animation, and illuminate her dark languishing eye, like a flash of
light; and what could all this mean I had forgotten to say that the
person of Obie's daughter is tattooed in various parts, but the
incisions or rather lacerations are irregular and unseemly. Her bosom
in particular bears evident marks of the cutting and gashing, which
it had received when Adizzetta was a child, for the wounds having
badly healed, the skin over them is risen a full half inch above the
natural surface. By the side of each eye, near the temple vein, a
representation of the point of an arrow is alone formed with
tolerable accuracy. They look a though indigo had been inserted into
the flesh with a needle, and by this peculiarity, with which every
female face is impressed, the Eboe women are distinguished from their
neighbours and surrounding tribes.
"Before breakfast, Adizzetta was employed above an hour in cleaning
and polishing her teeth, by rubbing them with the fibrous roots of a
certain shrub or tree, which are much esteemed, and generally used
for the purpose in her own country, as well as in the more interior
parts. A great part of the day is consumed by many thousands of
individuals in this amusing occupation, and to this cause, the
brilliant whiteness of their teeth, for which Africans, generally
speaking, are remarkable, may be attributed." Such is Lander's
description of an African beauty, and that beauty a queen.
About ten in the morning, a mess of fish, boiled with yams and
plantains, was produced for breakfast. As King Boy was fearful that
the presence of the Landers might incommode the lady, they were
desired to move farther back, that she might eat with additional
confidence and comfort, for alas! they were not placed on an equality
with Adizzetta and her kingly spouse. When they had breakfasted and
swallowed a calabash of water from the stream, the Landers were
served with a plateful, and afterwards the boat's crew and the slaves
were likewise regaled with yams and wafer. In the evening, another
refreshment, similar to this, was served round to all, and these are
the only meals which the men of Brass have during the twenty-four
hours. Before eating, Boy himself made it a practice of offering a
small portion of his food to the spirits of the river, that his
voyage might be rendered propitious by conciliating their good will.
Previously also to his drinking a glass of rum or spirits, he poured
a few drops of it into the water, invoking the protection of these
fanciful beings, by muttering several expressions between his teeth,
the tenor of which, of course, they did not understand.
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