NO HAPPINESS WITHOUT AN ALLOY. 37

fastenings to supply this useless luxury! Un-
happily, they were the only pair I possessed. JI
made her comprehend that the buckles were abso-
lutely necessary to me, from which moment she
never named them. I found her name difficult to
pronounce, disagreeable to the ear, and inapplicable
to my ideas; 1 therefore renamed her Narina, which
in the Hottentot language signifies a flower, de-
siring her to retain this name for my sake. She
promised to keep it as long as she lived, in remem-
brance of me, and in testimony of her love—a sen-
timent that was no longer a stranger to her heart.
This was truly painted in her gentle, unadorned
language, which powerfully showed how strong the
first impressions of nature are, and that even in
the deserts of Africa there is no happiness without
an alloy. . . . As evening approached, our
fires were kindled, and I regaled my people with
tea and coffee. Narina liked tea, but the colour of
coffee disgusted her. I covered her eyes, there-
fore, with my hand, and got her to drink half a
dish. She thought it good, but still preferred tea,
drinking a great quantity, which much amazed me,
for, notwithstanding her assertion that she liked it,
she seemed to drink the tea in haste, in order to
reach the sugar at the bottom. After this frugal
meal, they returned to dancing till midnight, when
fatigue obliged them to retire to rest.”