Prayers lasted half an hour;then the congregation turned out of doors,and the windows were opened.Some of the people went away,and others waited for the 'allgemeine Predigt'.In a quarter of an hour a much larger congregation than the first assembled,the girls all with net-handkerchiefs tied round their heads so as to look exactly like the ancient Greek head-dress with a double fillet -the very prettiest and neatest coiffure I ever saw.The gowns were made like those of English girls of the same class,but far smarter,cleaner,and gayer in colour -pink,and green,and yellow,and bright blue;several were all in white,with white gloves.The men and women sit separate,and the women's side was a bed of tulips.The young fellows were very smart indeed,with muslin or gauze,either white,pink,or blue,rolled round their hats (that is universal here,on account of the sun).The Hottentots,as they are called -that is,those of mixed Dutch and Hottentot origin (correctly,'bastaards')-have a sort of blackguard elegance in their gait and figure which is peculiar to them;a mixture of negro or Mozambique blood alters it altogether.
The girls have the elegance without the blackguard look;ALL are slender,most are tall;all graceful,all have good hands and feet;some few are handsome in the face and many very interesting-looking.The complexion is a pale olive-yellow,and the hair more or less woolly,face flat,and cheekbones high,eyes small and bright.These are by far the most intelligent -equal,indeed,to whites.A mixture of black blood often gives real beauty,but takes off from the 'air',and generally from the talent;but then the blacks are so pleasant,and the Hottentots are taciturn and reserved.The old women of this breed are the grandest hags I ever saw;they are clean and well dressed,and tie up their old faces in white handkerchiefs like corpses,-faces like those of Andrea del Sarto's old women;they are splendid.Also,they are very clean people,addicted to tubbing more than any others.The maid-of-all-work,who lounges about your breakfast table in rags and dishevelled hair,has been in the river before you were awake,or,if that was too far off,in a tub.They are also far cleaner in their huts than any but the VERY BEST English poor.
The 'Predigt'was delivered,after more singing,by a missionary cabinet-maker,in Dutch,very ranting,and not very wise;the congregation was singularly decorous and attentive,but did not seem at all excited or impressed -just like a well-bred West-end audience,only rather more attentive.The service lasted three-quarters of an hour,including a short prayer and two hymns.The people came out and filed off in total silence,and very quickly,the tall graceful girls draping their gay silk shawls beautifully.
