Note 470 — THE PIOUS BLACK SLAVE.

According to all races familiar with the negro, a calf like a shut fist planted close under the ham is, like the “cucumber shin” and “lark heel,” a good sign in a slave. Shapely calves and well made legs denote the idle and the ne’er-do-well. I have often found this true although the rule is utterly empirical. Possibly it was suggested by the contrast of the nervous and lymphatic temperaments.