  We present a study of radial density structure of the star forming globule,
DCld303.8-14.2 (DC303), and a non-star forming globule, Thumbprint Nebula
(TPN), using near-infrared data taken with the ISAAC instrument on the Very
Large Telescope. We derive the extinction through the globules using the color
excess technique and examine the radial density distribution using Bonnor-Ebert
and power-law models. The two globules have significantly different density
structures. The extinction profile of DC303 is best fitted with a single
power-law with an exponent p = 2.29 \pm 0.08. An unstable Bonnor-Ebert model
with a dimensionless parameter \xi_max = 23 \pm 3 provides equally good fit to
data. The extinction profile of TPN flattens at small radii, making the profile
significantly different from the profile of DC303. We are unable to fit the
Bonnor-Ebert model for TPN in a robust manner, but derive the lower limit
\xi_max > 8 for the dimensionless outer edge. The density profile derived for
TPN is typical compared to recently observed pre-protostellar globules, with
high \xi_max value which could be interpreted as the presence of significant
additional support or very slow contraction.
