One soon learns to know--
a Bim. That is the name in which they themselves delight, and
therefore, though there is a sound of slang about it, I give it here.
One certainly soon learns to know a Bim. The most peculiar
distinction is in his voice. There is always a nasal twang about it,
but quite distinct from the nasality of a Yankee. The Yankee's word
rings sharp through his nose; not so that of the first-class Bim.
There is a soft drawl about it, and the sound is seldom completely
formed. The effect on the ear is the same as that on the hand when a
man gives you his to shake, and instead of shaking yours, holds his
own still, &c., &c." ("The West Indies," p. 207).
From the above and scores of other authoritative testimonies which
might have been cited to the direct contrary of our traveller's tale
under this head, we can plainly perceive that Mr. Froude's love is
not only blind, but adder-deaf as well. We shall now contemplate him
under circumstances where his feelings are quite other than those of
a partisan.
BOOK I: VOYAGE OUT
[34] That Mr. Froude, despite his professions to the contrary, did
not go out on his explorations unhampered by prejudices, seems clear
enough from the following quotation:--
"There was a small black boy among us, evidently of pure blood, for
his hair was wool and his colour black as ink.
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