nce. Ear-rings hang gracefully;
lip-rings stick out horribly."

"H'm! it appears to me that that's a matter o' taste, now. Howsoever, I
do admit that lip-rings is wuss than ear-rings; moreover it must make
kissin' somewhat difficult, not to say onpleasant, but, as I said
before, so I says again, It's all in the principle w'ere it lies. W'y,
look here, sir,--savages, as we call 'em, wear brass rings round their
necks, our women wear gold and brass chains. The savages wear anklets,
we wear bracelets. They have no end o' rings on their toes, we have 'em
on our fingers. Some savages shave their heads, some of us shaves our
faces. Their women are raither given to clothin' which is too short and
too narrer, ours come out in toggery far too wide, and so long
sometimes, that a feller daren't come within a fathom of 'em astarn
without runnin' the risk o' trampin' on, an' carrying away some o' the
canvas. The savage women frizzes out their hair into most fantastical
shapes, till the very monkeys has to hold their sides sittin' in the
trees larfin' at 'em--and wot do _we_ do in regard to that? W'y, some
of _our_ women puts on a mixture o' hairy pads, an' combs, an' pins, an'
ribbons, an' flowers, in a bundle about twice the size o' their heads,
all jumbled together in such a way as to defy description; an' if the
monkeys was to see _them_, they'd go off into such fits that they'd
bu'st altogether an' the race would become extinct in Afriky. No, sir;
it's my opinion that there ain't no such thing as savages--or, if you
choose to put it the tother way, we're all savages together."

Disco uttered the last part of his speech with intense energy, winding
it up with the usual slap on the thigh, delivered with unusual fervour,
and then, becoming aware that the vital spark of the cutty had all but
fled, he applied himself to its resuscitation, in which occupation he
found relief to his feelings, and himself formed a brilliant
illustration of his remarks on savage customs.

Harold admitted that there was much truth in what he said, but rather
inclined to the opinion that of the two sets of savages the uncivilised
were, if anything, the wildest. Disco however, contrary to his usual
habits, had nailed his colours to the mast on that point and could not
haul them down. Meanwhile Harold's opinion was to some extent justified
by the appearance of a young man, who, issuing from the jungle close at
hand, advanced towards them.

Mo