The Sun.
London, England, 1805-08-30 00:00:00

THE NEGROEM 'OF A

A CAYRIOLYi InsCatirrtoN, VROM GAtinalreS TaA-
. vfms CouNTRV.
All the wants of .the ,Negro, hiS ,plea-
sures, are satisfied without costing hitt). • the least
trouble eithor in mind or body ; his soul scarcely
ever quits its
.peaceful iindolettce .; alarms; uneasi-
ness, and violent passiona are almost entirety un--
known to him : in consequence of his fatalism, he
neither hopes for, nor fear*, any eVent,'and; snbmiis
to every thing without a murmur ; in short hia life
passes in cartuness and voluptuous • carelesSness,
which constitute his supreme happiness heece the
Negroes may be reckoned amongst the most favour-
ed people of Nature. _
Such is part of the piaare Of the happy situa-
tion in which the Negro exists on his matefnal soil.
His mind being almost alwayi tratnatil 'and satisfied,
is inaccessible to teditam, that fatal poison whiclr af-
feas only rich, enlightened, ambitious, and vain-
glorious societies. Those men who come nearest to-
simple, nature are exempt from the .fatal etreas of
this venom,' which causes greater disorders and
crimes than can well be imagined. • '
" Like children, the Blacks-1)f a mature acre de-
vote their attention for whole. days together to futile
Occupations, and in conversations, which to us would
appear only gossipping, but which, on that account,'
are inexhaustible : with such conversations these
people incessantly amuse themselves, with a confi-
dence arid gaiety of which our European soeieties
scarcely afford an example.
". In all the'comintries which I visited I saw these
assemblies; that the Africans.call palavers or palabers,
which were formed at sun-rise, and consisted of be-
tween 30 and 40 BlackS of all ages they assembled
either in a large hall, which they call the bentaba, or
beneath the leafy branches of some large and beau.
tiftff tree in the village. • •
"They range themselves in a circle, and the oldest
of the company begins the coeversation-; by reciting
the little events of the preceding evening ; but
these become important by the , applications, reflec-
tions, and remembrances, to which they give rise.
" Sohn after Wards the pipe makes' its:appearance;
for the custom of smoking is doubtless general
amongst all muankiede all these talkers smoke,-not
excepting the ,youngest of the company, and the
prattling succeeds better on till's , aeconnt. The futnes
of the tobacco enliven their brainae and: 'increase
their pleasure; as those of our delieme Wines used
formerly to excites an amiable cheerfulness at our
meals, when the chartn.was still further heightened
by the sweets of friend Ship 'andurbarmity,
" Gaming arrives in its turn, and IWO. of 'the
Most clever in tire .eompany are chosen hi play
against each other ; the general. interest : is 'dhetiett
between. these twO champions, but without jealousy,
ill-nature, or the least ,dissention. .
" There is a kind of game to which I have often
seen them' give preference. It borders a little upon
chess, and contains a degree of complexity which
renders it ,difficuit to be acquired. .The ground, or
the sand, serves fora chess beard ; for this purpose
they prepare a small square surface,, in which they
plant; with a certain degree of order,, some bits of
wood or straw. It is on the clever displacing or
removal of these strips that the issue of the game
•
depends..* • , . . .
The time employed in ..the pleasure of talking,
smoking, and gaming,
.is so seductive
'and attradimmg,
that they cannot prevail on themselves to separate
till dinner-titne, and many would sooner lose their
meals than abandon their amusement'; but the wo-
men, who are "always kind, attentive, and comuplai-
sem, do not fbrget their fathers, husbands, or bm-04.
thers, but bring them kouskou, or rice, to which
they, almost always add some dainty, bits. In, this
manner they pass the whole day, andlowards even»
ing I often observed these coteries in the'same place,
and conduded with the same gaiety and spirit, the
conversation being as animated as' if it had just
begun.
At'length night puts an end to these palavers,
and time company devote etheniaelves to dancing,
which, during the dry season, is performed in the
' open air, and in rainy weather . under the bentaba.
The Negresses are. passionately fond of this amuse-
ment, and it is a fa6l, that for half the night,
throughout the year, 411 the inhabitants' of Africa are'
engaged in dancing, , .
A thatched hut, thee building of which cost
nothing, some ells of common linen, and six pounds
of Millet or rice, every clay, are sufficient for lodging,
feeding, andelothing, a family consisting. of a father,
mother, and fpur or five children; The Negro col--
1 lektilmiluself the • materials necessary for the con 7
#.,struetion of his house, and he is his own builder.—
The women procure the cotton, and manufa6tore
their clothes- e twenty days labour per year are suffi-
cient to ensure an abundant supply of food, so that
the existence of a Negro family maybe said to' be a
gift of Nature granted without expeuce
gratuitous
or fatigue : hence celibacy is scarcely knOwn In
Africa: indeed it is so rare' that it attaches a sort of
shame to those who adopt it, .. .
1.4 It ought to be understood, that in the general,
situation ot the ,Negroes on their natal soil, their life
passes 'Without labeer, chagrin, or even care; flung
always abandoned to a gentle apathy, exempt from
the troubles and agitations which atiliet Europeans,
and their charader being .sober and moderate, the
life of tlieNegroeS of Attica, upon an liVerage, ex-
tends from 0.5 to 70 years, experiencing-only an in-
Sensible alteration in their health and strength ;
alteration which is particularly attributable mei per-
petual and too abundanttronspiratiod ; and when
death arriveS they meet thegrirretyrant Without the
least murmur, and with a perfea submission to their
inevitable fate. They always aubMit, without Com-
plaint, to that fatality, wlneh,, according to them,
deteynaine,i the events. of life and death and they.
support the latter without alarm, or indeed with
pealed trimeuillity."

The PrinCe lioyal or Dennvil'was suddenly ,re-
called from ;i military survey which he lately under,
took of Holitchi, by Dispatches which required his
inunedizae return to Copenhagen. Some movements
of the Troops inliol4tein,.conneEted with the i-
tended review, induced General liiiii.N.thorrt: to
send an.Olficer tb th.; Dani:iliGoeritor to inquire thc
occasion..