tied; for if the wife finds a defect in her husband, she can
return to her father by refunding the dowry; whilst the husband,
if he objects to his wife, can claim half-price on sending her
home again, which is considered fair, because as a second-hand
article her future value would be diminished by half. By this
system, it must be observed, polygamy is a source of wealth,
since a man's means are measured by the number of his progeny;
but it has other advantages besides the dowry, for the women work
more than the men do, both in and out of doors; and, in addition
to the females, the sons work for the household until they marry,
and in after life take care of their parents in the same way as
in the first instance the parents took care of them.

Twins are usually hailed with delight, because they swell the
power of the family, though in some instances they are put to
death. Albinos are valued, though their colour is not admired.
If death occurs in a natural manner, the body is usually either
buried in the village or outside. A large portion of the negro
races affect nudity, despising clothing as effeminate; but these
are chiefly the more boisterous roving pastorals, who are too
lazy either to grow cotton or strip the trees of their bark.
Their young women go naked; but the mothers suspend a little tail
both before and behind. As the hair of the negro will not grow
long, a barber might be dispensed with, were it not that they
delight in odd fashions, and are therefore continually either
shaving it off altogether, or else fashioning it after the most
whimsical designs. No people in the world are so proud and
headstrong as the negroes, whether they be pastoral or
agriculturalists. With them, as with the rest of the world,
"familiarity breeds contempt"; hospitality lives only one day;