They.

The Bofhies-men feem to be almoft à diftin&t race. 'dwell in woods and mountains; and, fo far from imitating the innocent paftoral life of the Hottentots, live on plunder; and fometimes by hunting. They are treacherous and cowardly; for, inftead of attacking the lion in the plain, they fhoot at it from a shelter, with poisoned arrows: they are care lefs and flovenly; for they depend more on the poison than the dexterity of the huntfman, or the excellence of their wea pon. In themfelves, they are often naked, ignorant of agriculture, and inattentive to every thing but plunder; they are fometimes reduced to the greatest extremities, and live on roots, berries, vegetables, and even on infects and fnakes. In this view, the Bofhie-man may be confidered as a beaft; and, left to herd with his brethren; but he declares war also against the more civilized inhabitants. A party of these favages will fometimes attack a farmer, and drive away all his cattle. If discovered, and prevented from the theft, he will kill or maim them. It is not, therefore, surprising, that they are hunted like deftructive beafts, whom they refemble fo nearly in their manners and purfuits. In this conteft, they are either killed or carried into captivity; but the latter event is uncertain, on account of their uncommon fwiftnefs, by which means they escape to the mountains, and hurl vaft rocks down on the heads of their purfuers. When made flaves, they are foon fattened; yet the better diet does not compenfate for the lofs of liberty. The plunderer efcapes; but by fome unaccountable change in his habits, the man who lives by rapine seldom carries away any thing from his mafter. The objects of their theft are indeed commonly eatables in that fituation they feldom are in want, and favages have little forefight. On the whole, this is an unfavourable picture of mankind: we recollect, on reading it, the Ouran Outangs, and the more fabulous Yahoos. Somewhat may perhaps be allowed for rooted prejudices; and, if the Bofhie-man were the defcriber, we might expect a more favourable narrative.

The diftant Caffres differs from both; and it is not very improbable, from fome circumftances, that they have migrated from the neighbouring coafts of India. The Caffres are not fo tall as fome of the Hottentots, but robuft and manly, feemingly not very fond of ornaments. In fome instances, they feem treacherous and cowardly; but, in this refpect, their conduct is not uniform; in others, they appear generous and hofpitable.

The country of the Caffres lies to the east of Great Vifchrivier, next the coaft. Its inhabitants, the Caffres, have no notion of the breeding of sheep, employing themselves only in rearing horned

Ee 3

horned cattle, and, like the Gonaquas Hottentots, wearing cow. hides, which are well rubbed and dreffed with grease, till they become foft and pliable. Their houfes, or huts, are faid to be fmall and fquare, compofed of rods, and covered with clay and cow-dung, which gives them the appearance of small stone houses.

The weapons of the Caffres are merely fhields made of foleleather, and haflagais, or that kind of javelin consisting of a flender and light wooden fhaft, headed with a broad and rather heavy iron plate.

The nation is governed by many different chiefs, who probably have all the property of their fubjects vefted in themselves, and at the fame time have an abfolute unlimited authority over them. As far as I could understand, their fate and power are hereditary. It is faid that they are frequently at war with each other, and that they always kill the prifoners they have taken. But if a chief fhould chance to fall into the enemy's hands, he is not put to death, but is fent back again with admonitions to behave himself more peaceably for the future. The occafion of their wars is generally the fame as in other parts of the globe, viz. either a want of the common fentiments of humanity in one of the contending powers, or their arrogant and rapacious difpofition, or elfe fome bone of contention which they cannot on either fide perfuade themfelves to give up, without thedding their own blood and that of their fellow-creatures. It is ever faid, that a stolen or ftray calf, or one grazing upon territories of a neighbouring country, and other matters equally trifling, will fometimes be fufficient to fet two or more nations together by the ears. Neither of the parties, however, carries their re venge fo far as to extirpate the other, but is fatisfied when the adverfary yields the day and fues for peace.'

We shall conclude our account of the inhabitants, by fe lecting a short extract relating to the customs of the Hotten

tots.

My hoft and hoftefs, who twenty years before had lived nearer to the Cape, viz. at Groot Vaders Bofch, told me they believed the report, that a matter of the ceremonies performed the matrimonial rites, by the immediate confperfion of the bride and bridegroom with his own water, was not without foundation; but that this was practifed only within their craals, and never in the prefence of any of the colonists. My Hottentots, whom I frequently questioned upon this fubject, chofe neither to confefs the fact, nor abfolutely to deny it, fo, that probably this ufage is still retained in fome craals.

That the funeral ceremonies are alike with every different tribe of Hottentots, we are well affured, as likewife that they are conducted in the following manner. The deceased is thruft either naked or with his cloak on, into fome hole in the earth, or fubterraneous paffage, where they generally become a prey

to fome wild beaft. However, they ufually stuff a large bundle of brush-wood, or bushes, into the aperture of this hole or paffage.

"I was very affiduous in my enquiries, in how far it was true, that the Hottentots fecluded from fociety fuch as were old and helpless. The only perfon that could give me any instance of this cuftom being practifed, was my hoft. In his younger days, being out a hunting in Krakekamma, in company with one Vander Wat, with whom I was likewife acquainted, they obferved in the extenfive defert plains of that district, a little narrow flip enclofed with bufhes and brambles. Their curiofity being excited, they rode up to it, and found within it an old blind female Hottentot, who, at first, as soon as she heard the Chriftians coming, endeavoured to crawl away and hide herfelf; but afterwards made her appearance, though with a very four afpect: fhe confeffed, however, that she had been left to her fate by the inhabitants of her clan. But neither did she defire nor receive any affiftance from thefe Chriftians, nor, indeed, had they made any enquiries whether this was done with or against her confent.

Calling afterwards at the craal she belonged to, all the information they got there was, that the old woman had actually been left there in that manner by them. With respect to any conveniencies the might have about her, they could perceive nothing, but a trough which contained a little water.

Another custom, no lefs horrid, which has hitherto been remarked by no one, but which I had fally confirmed to me, is, that the Hottentots are accustomed to inter, in cafe of the mother's death, children at the breaft alive. That very year, and on the very spot, where I then dwelt, just before my arrival, there had been an inftance of it.'

On the vegetable kingdom we do not find much information befides what we have already mentioned. The Hottentots are acquainted with the nutritious quality of the gum arab, and the plant from which it is produced, the mimofa nilotica, is frequently found in the fouthern parts of Africa. We think it might be made a valuable article of commerce, if the Dutch would enlarge their fyftem, and, by extend ing the knowlege of this coaft, extend alfo its advantages. So jealous are they of their fituation, that they conceal the numerous harbours in the fouthern extremity of the world, by the moft narrow and injudicious policy. Every thing is ordered to be conveyed by land, and the only animals employed in drawing their waggons are oxen. This is not only a confiderable impediment to the increase of their colony, but to the trade of the Cape: the inhabitants are fupplied with neceffaries at a greater price; and the goods bought, to carry away on their return, are few and trifling. We ought E e 4

to

to have mentioned, that there is a kind of aloes prepared in this country lighter than the fuccotrine, but feemingly not of fuperior value. Dr. Sparrman relates the method of prepar ing it.

We must now leave our inftru&tive author, not - without thanks to the able tranflator, for his valuable addition to the ftock of English literature. We have received much pleasure and information from the perufal, which we could not communicate; and we must neceffarily refer our readers to the volumes themselves for farther information, which is very plentifully interfperfed among the incidents recorded in a lively and spirited journal.

Thoughts on the Properties and Formation of the different Kinds of Air. 8vo. 5s. in Boards. Murray.

THERE is fome novelty and ingenuity in these Thoughts; but they are much obfcured by an unphilofophical loofeness of expreffion, and, in one or two inftances, by inaccuracy of language. Even in the Preface, vegetation is called a body, and compared in this refpect with water: these two bo dies are faid alfo to purify air from attracting its phlogiston." But we shall give a fummary of the author's fyftem, in his own words.

My general principles are thefe, that fire is matter; and that this matter, like every other matter that we know of, is capable of chemical attraction, or uniting with other bodies in the fame manner as alkalies and acids; that the bodies which it has the greatest attraction for are acids and earths or water; that these bodies by being united together form empyreal air; and that fire when chemically united with other bodies is then to be call ed phlogiston, as in oils, fpirits, bitumens, &c.

The different acids are capable of concentrating different proportions of fire with the earths; the nitrous and vitriolic concentrate it in that proportion as to form empyreal air, which burns with a crackling noife as if it were full of fome combuftible matter. But if the phofphoric or marine acids be employed in the process they will attract a higher concentration of fire, and form inflammable air. And as bodies by being aerilized lofe their power of attraction, fo this empyreal air, when expofed to different bodies, will have its concentrated fire or phlo gifton attracted, and become an acid, the phlogifton which neutralized the acid having left it.

The air is the great menftruum which concentrates the rays of the fun, and conveys it to animal and vegetable life, the former receiving more of the fun's influence by it than by the direct rays falling upon the animal, and being in that manner imbibed.'

In fupport of thefe principles, our author examines actual neutralized, and concentrated fire, Neutralized fire, in his language, is what we have been used to call phlogifton. Our author thinks it is derived from the fun alone, without being aware of the vast quantities of bituminous matters, at a depth where the fun can never reach, unless this earth, as Buffon fuppofes, was once a part of it.

The author next examines the different kinds of air, particularly the inflammable and nitrous airs, the marine and fluor acid vapours, and that fpecies of nitrous air, in which a candle will burn. In all his investigations, he falls into the common error, that airs are composed of the bodies employed to procure them. In general, the air is only separated with different qualities, imbibed from the bodies with which it has been combined, and fometimes in a pure ftate, from those bodies having a fuperior attraction to the ingredients by which it was polluted. The remarks, however, on the nature of the inflammable nitrous air, are fometimes proper.

The Obfervations on Atmospheric Air are connected with the error we have juft mentioned; but our author's method of explaining the appearance of fixed air, after common air has been exposed to phlugiftic proceffes, is ingenious and confiftent with his own principles. It arifes, he fays, from the concentrated fire being attracted by phlogistic bodies, which, as it had neutralized the acid ingredient in the air, in its original formation, now fuffers it to appear in its proper ftate. Our chemical readers, though they will own the ingenuity of the remark, will probably hefitate, with us, in pronouncing it to be juft. Many objections occur to it.

On mercury, our author affords us no very particular satisfaction. This chapter is chiefly composed of the opinions and experiments of others, on its calcination in confequence of agitation in water; a phænomenon not yet fatisfactorily explained. He next enquires 'how different Kinds of Air are affected by, and affect different Proceffes.' This chapter is fo mifcellaneous, the reafoning is fo loofe, and fo often erroneous, that it would lead us too far to abridge, or make any obfervations upon it. The foundation, viz. the compofition of airs, we have already explained.-The Uncertainty of Nitrous Air, as a Teft of the Salubrity of common Air, is a fubject now fufficiently understood.

The following chapter is on Fixed Air; but our author's reasoning refts on a foundation which we think unstable, viz. that pure air is only fixed air, with a greater share of phlogifton neutralizing the acid. Almoft every experiment contra dicts it.