in a polonnaise, then, not exactly
leading gracefully down the middle, but twining the hands of his
visitors in his, which had very much the appearance of a piebald
affair, showing at the same time an extraordinary inflation of pride,
that a white man should dance with him. But the fate of Lander was
the most to be commiserated; for although it might be the etiquette
of his country, that master and servant should not be quadrilling at
the same time, yet as no such distinction existed in the court of the
old caboceer of Jannah, as far as the sentiments of the female
beauties were concerned, poor Lander led the very devil of a life of
it. He certainly, as it would have been highly unbecoming in him, did
not solicit the hand of any of the expectant beauties, and therefore,
giving him all due credit for his extreme bashfulness and insuperable
modesty, they were determined to solicit his; he was first twirled
round by one beauty, then by another; at one moment he found himself
in a state of juxta position with the old caboceer; at another, his
animated partner was nearly driving him into a state of positive
collision with his own master; in fact he was, like Tom at Almack's,
putting the whole of the dancers into confusion, from his ignorance
of the intricacies of the African dance, and his total inability to
compete with his partner in her gymnastic evolutions. One of the most
graceful movements, according to the opinion of the natives, consists
in a particular part of the body, situated, as the metaphysicians
would term it, _a posteriori,_ coming into contact with a similar
part of the body of the partner, with as much violence as the
physical strength of the female dancer can effect; and if on any of
these occasions the equilibrium should be lost, and the weaker
individual laid prostrate upon the ground, the laugh then sounds
throughout the whole assembly, and the beauty is highly extolled, who
by her prowess could have so well effected the prostration of her
partner. Now it is very possible, that when a person knows of an evil
coming over him, he will be so upon his guard as to prevent any
disastrous consequences arising from it; but Lander not being aware
that any accident could befall him from any movement of the lady who
had selected him, much against his will, as her partner, was footing
it away very composedly and becomingly, when a tremendous blow was
inflicted on a certain part of the hinder portion of his body, whi