There is no part of the behaviour of these people, that has puzzled us
more, than that which relates to their women. Comparatively speaking we
have seen but few of them, and those have been sometimes kept back with
every symptom of jealous sensibility; and sometimes offered with every
appearance of courteous familiarity. Cautious, however, of alarming the
feelings of the men on so tender a point, we have constantly made a rule
of treating the females with that distance and reserve, which we judged
most likely to remove any impression they might have received of our
intending aught, which could give offence on so delicate a subject. And
so successful have our endeavours been, that a quarrel on this head
has in no instance, that I know of, happened. The tone of voice of the
women, which is pleasingly soft and feminine, forms a striking contrast
to the rough guttural pronunciation of the men. Of the other charms
of the ladies I shall be silent, though justice obliges me to mention,
that, in the opinion of some amongst us, they shew a degree of timidity
and bashfulness, which are, perhaps, inseparable from the female
character in its rudest state.
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