But hitherto the African, as will
presently appear, has not had fair play. The petting and pampering
process, the spirit of mawkish reparation, and the coddling and
high-strung sentimentality so deleterious to the tone of the colony, were
errors of English judgment pure and simple. We can easily explain them.
The sad grey life of England, the reflection of her climate, has ever
welcomed a novelty, a fresh excitement. Society has in turn lionised the
_marmiton_, or assistant-cook, self-styled an 'Emir of the Lebanon;' the
Indian 'rajah,' at home a _munshi_, or language-master; and the 'African
princess,' a slave-girl picked up in the bush. It is the same hunger for
sensation which makes the mob stare at the Giant and the Savage, the Fat
Lady, the Living Skeleton, and the Spotted Boy.
Before entering into details it will be necessary to notice the history of
the colony--an oft-told tale; yet nevertheless some parts will bear
repetition.
[Footnote: The following is its popular chronology:--
1787. First settlers (numbering 460) sailed.
1789. Town burnt by natives (1790?).
1791. St. George's Bay Company founded.
1792. Colonists (1,831) from Nova Scotia.
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