Page:Voyage in search of La Perouse, volume 2 (Stockdale).djvu/160

One of the prettiest immediately rose, and we did not fail to applaud her performance. She sang, indeed, nothing but which she continued repeating for half an hour at least; but she displayed so much grace in the action with which she accompanied this air, that we were sorry she finished so soon. She moved her arms forward, one after the other, following the measure, and at the same time raised her feet alternately, though without quitting her place: the time she marked with her fore-finger, which, after having been bent by the thumb, was let go against the middle finger; and sometimes by moving the thumb against the fore and middle fingers. The beauty of these movements depended greatly on the fine shape of the hand and arm, which is so common among these people, and was striking in this young woman. Soon after two other young girls repeated the same air, which they sung in parts, one singing uniformly a fifth to the other; and several men rose to dance to the music of their melodious voices. These marked the time by movements analogousto