midnight
In each of our towns there is generally a large building , where the elder part of the society are accustomed to meet in the shade of the evening , and converse upon a variety of subjects . The young and vigorous divert themselves with dances and other pastimes , and the children of different ages amuse themselves with a thousand sports and gambols adapted to their age ; some aim their little arrows at marks , or dart their light and blunted javelins at each other , to form themselves for the exercises of war and the chase ; others wrestle naked upon the sand , or run in sportive races with a degree of activity which I have never seen among the Europeans , who pretend to be our masters . `` I have described to you the building of our houses ; simple as they are , they answer every purpose of human life , and every man is his own architect . A hundred or two of these edifices compose our towns , which are generally surrounded by lofty hedges of thorns , to secure us from the midnight attacks of wild beasts , with only a single entrance , which is carefully closed at night '' -- `` You talk , '' said Tommy , `` of wild beasts ; pray , have you many in your country ? '' `` Yes , master , '' said the Black , `` we have them of many sorts , equally dreadful and ferocious . First , we have the _ lion _ , which I daresay you have heard of , and perhaps seen . He is bigger than the largest mastiff , and infinitely stronger and more fierce ; his paws alone are such that , with a single blow , he is able to knock down a man , and almost every other animal ; but these paws are armed with claws so sharp and dreadful that nothing can resist their violence .