of imagination, be carried beyond reality.  But, supposing I am deceived, are my feelings the less intense?—­and, in what consists my existence, but in those feelings?  Is it otherwise with those who see?  If it be, I envy them not.  But are those who think themselves happier, in this respect, than I am, sure, that the possession of a more exquisite sense than any they enjoy, does not, sometimes at least, compensate, or more than compensate, the curtailments to which the ordinary senses, and particularly the one of eye-sight, is liable?—­and if they should think so, let them not, at least, deny me the resources I possess.  I shall not, however, persist further in a description of that situation, those circumstances and those consolations, which the all-feeling comprehension of the poet hath so justly caught in one of its diviner moods of inspiration:—­

  And yet he neither drooped nor pined,
  Nor had a melancholy mind;
  For God took pity on the boy,
  And was his friend—­and gave him joy
    Of which we nothing know.

The personal appearance of the females of Fernando Po, is by no means attractive, unless (de gustibus non est disputandum) a very ordinary face, with much of the contour of the baboon, be deemed so.  Add to this the ornaments of scarification and tattooing, adopted by the sex to a greater extent than by the men:  and the imagination will at once be sensible how much divinity attaches to Fernandian beauty.  Like the men, the women plaster the body all over with clay and palm-oil, and also in a similar manner wear the hair long, and in curls or ringlets, well stiffened with the above composition.  The children of both sexes, or those who have not obtained the age of puberty, have the hair cut short, and are not permitted to use any artificial covering to the body.  One trait is, perhaps, peculiar to the women of this country, and may be regarded by some as an indication of their good sense—­that they have no taste for baubles, or, at all events, do not appear to desire them more than the men.  With respect to articles of clothing, they are equally exempt from such incumbrances as the other sex:—­

  Happy the climate where the beau
  Wears the same suit for use and show,
  And at a small expense your wife,
  If once well pink’d, is clothed for life.

Their lords and masters contrive to keep them in great subjection, and accustom them to carry their burdens; they evince also a considerable degree of jealousy, and shew evident marks of displeasure, whenever strangers pay attentions to them.  As, however, this is equally the case whether the lady be young or old, it is not improbable that it may, in some measure, arise from their considering it too great a condescension on their parts to notice persons whom they deem so inferior.  They rarely brought them to the ship, and for some time did not allow them to appear at market.  If we are to credit our people, some of the young women are great jilts, and very expert in wheedling them out of iron and other property, under pretence of admitting them into their favour, and then running away, with a laugh at their credulity.