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FARRi on )UTH TER llOIY IRKNE lEOU iLIGK lEMOR' [E AD CONTENTS. Paok ^TRODUCTION )D SAVE THE QUEEN-LOYAL SONG 13 TARRATIVE OF THE CAMPAIGN IN 1&14, WITH DETAILS OF THE ATTACK ON BERGEN-OP-ZOOM 19 )UTH AFRICA AND ITS INHABITANTS-IN FIVE CHAP- TERS „ 33 IMM Y LINA Y-A SKETCH FROM LIFE [RKNEY BOATMAN'S SONG 217 lEOULD DHRAGOON 219 iLIGION AND LOYALTY-AN ESSAY 231 jEMORY-AN ESSAY 249 [E ADVANTAGES OF BEING UGLY-A SKETCH 261 INTEODUCTIOJSr. In introducing a work to the public, it may seem to be necessary to give some account of the author. It is always somewhat unpleasant to be compelled to speak of oneself, and I would gladly escape the apparent egotism, but as I am compelled by circumstances to court the patronage of the public, it must be done. I may as well plainly state the fact at once, that I look to this little book as a means of support for my wife, now a^anced in years, and myself. All our children are scattered far away from the paternal roof, m the United States and in Canada, and we two are left to procure our subsistence in Canada, where we have lived for many years so happily, in spite of all our troubles. Let not the reader su7pose that we repine at the decrees of Providence. On the contrary, we still trust in Provi- Idence as we have ever done, and with the aid of a kind ■public, we stm confidently hope to be able to procure aU [the absolute necessaries of life. In the following pages, drawn from incidents and adven- tures m Europe and South Africa, for half a century, the reader cannot but perceive how often our very existence has depended on a merciful Providence, and the very life of the author been most wonderfully preserved from the mostimmi- aent danger, during his almost reckless pursuit of adven- ture and excitement. My family name, originally spelled Mudie, is of Norwe- gian origin, and very ancient in Orkney, bemg descended VI INTRODUCTION. * . { ' :!i from the old Norwegian Earls of Orkney. One of the younger sons of one of my ancestors, William Mudie, was Bishop of Caithness in A.D. 1455-1460, and left some lands in Caithness to his brother or nephew in Orkney I am the fourth son of Major James Moodie of Melset- to m the Orkney Islands, who was grandson of Captain James Moodie Royal Navy, a brave and distinguished offieer, who rendered important services to hisoountry, par- tioularly ,„ relieving the town of Denia in Spain while osely besieged by a French army. Having landed with ll^^rrT T'"''^' '^"■'^ ^P"^ *»■" 'te three hne of battle ships he commanded at the time, as commo- dore of the s conceal himself under some straw m one of his tenant's bams. When ledged the murder of the "old commodore," and begged Him to run h.m through the body with his sword. ^ My grandfather, however, told him he must be tried by the laws he had violaW by rebellion and murder ^ sontl trr** '''' ^""^''' "'•» ""^ ^o ^^^, were ^nt to the Tower, where, with the aid of an old seWant, hi» brother bled themselves to -death before trial, and thus saved their property from forfeiture. I give this story, as often narrated to me by my father, as lUffords a lively picture of the times, and ma, amuse fhe '!;s#'. J I I • • • Vlll INTHODDOTION. As may bo BuppoMd, euoh narrations agthoso exerted a powerful mfluenoo on the minds of my father and his ohil- zztztir'' *" '"■^'^ "" """■"'-■" ^ ^0 I shaU now endeavor, as briefly as possible, to give the reader a shght sketch of my scrvioes, milita;y and eivU whioh together, have extended over a period of not les^ lavLU tnirty years. I entered the army as Second Lieutenant of the K. N B Fusihers, or 21st Begimeut of Foot, in 1813, when aboui «xteen years of age, and was present at the nightattack on Bergen^p.Z„om, on 8th March, 1814, where, after enter- mg the works with a small party of soldiers of difi'erent regimenH who had got mixed in the darkness and confu- sion^ I voluntored and succeeded in forcing oi>en the Waterpoort" Gate, and in lowering the drawbridge, in the midst of a sharp fire from the streets of the town On this occasion I was severSly wounded by a musket ball m my left wrist, which disabled my left hand andarm and for which wound I received a temporary military pension/or fiooyeor*. •' In 1819, being on half pay, and having no prospect of employment, I joined my elder brother, Benjamin, who had emigrated to South Africa after trying in vain to save the fomily property m Orkney from the grasp of the creditors, in ISJI I had a very narrow escape from an enraged elephant, near the mouth of the Great Fish River, while hunting this dangerous animal. As an account in detail of. this adventure is given in my narrative, I shall merely state that though at the time I escaped destruction from the feet and tusks of the elephant, it is very probable that IKTRODUCTION. j, the more remote offeota of the rough handling I mot with ph,«cal, have ultimately produced the paralysis of my left mdo, from which I am now suffering. I returned to England in 1829, and in London, at the house of my friend, the late Thomas Pringle, Bsq Seere tary of the Anti-Slavery Society, I met and wf In X married to Susanna Strickland; the author of several popu- lar works m prose and verse, and youngest sister of Agnes Strickland, author of the " Queens of England " l» ^ ^^^V.r'*"''^"""' ^ "PP^' Canada, ™d drew PethrghTr"^'^'''''^*""''''''^''^^''-'''- This was my >,« mistake-viz., in going to Canada .^a of returning to South Africa ; bu!, I'suppos^ J love of adventure, so powerful an impulse with Scotchmen general^, and more particularly with Orkneymen, was too strong for me. i "^ wi ' t ^^ifV^ ""'■ ''™'"'' •" C»"'"l». « " general order" from the "Horse Guards" appeared iu the colonial news- paper eallmg upon all half-pay officers immediately to hold themselves m readiness to go on service or to sell Uieir commissions. In my anxiety to secure some provision for my familv and having already invested all my available money in lands, I too hastily determined to soil my commission Shortly after its publication, however, the "general Llr H s- tT'r ''' '" <"'"^1"«>"=« of «o>ne proceedings n the Bntish Parliament. I had, unfortunately, sold out m rtie meantime, and, still more unfortunately, not being g'fted with prescience, invested the money arising from the a2 z INTKODUOTION. il tome" " '^"°^^' '^^" "^"^ ^"'^'^ "^''y "*"'«> ^ ona "baokwood- farm in Douro, where I continued to work M weU as 1 couid, with m, left arm disabled from the wound already allnded to,_u„til the breaking out of the " rebellion ■• in 1837, wled I immediately offered mv Jjervioes at Toronto, though «.,ffering at the time from having broken the small bone of my left leg I served for several months during the winter of 1837 ^ the Provmo,al Militia at Toronto, and afterwards on the N^ara frontier, until the reduction of "The Queen's <)m>, (m wmoh I hold the rank of Captain,) in 1838 lu the fall of 1838 1 was appointed'capt'n and Pay- master to sAoen Companies of Militia, distributed alol the shore of Lake Ontario and Bay of Quints. During several months, not being allowed a paymaster sergeant, or derk my labor was great while engaged in this duty, durif . Which I paid out moio thjn £30,000. " ^As an evidence that my services met with the approval of the Government, I can only say, that i. No,;ube^ 18c9, I was appomted by His Excellency, Sir 0.orsc Arthur, to the Shrievalty of the District of VictoriT 3 " County of Haiti. jH." wna, now In 1845, during the sitting ofthc Quarter Sessions and Coun^^ Court, which I attond-d as Sheritf, I had a ^^e July 1861 I had an attack of "paralysis" which for a long time deprived me of the use of my Uft arm and left T- is attack was brought on, in part at least, b, great I]*?TRODUCTION. ^j ^ntJ anxiety, during a contested eleotion, followed imme- tn^L'. T""" "^ ^' '"' ^''^^"^ -^W while engaTe^ m the duty of copying the PoU Books. ^ pITT *",""' '""^'^^'^ """^ »f =.y misfortunes. 1^9 ih *T;' "•' "PP"'"'™"' *» the Shrievalty t^ 1839, 1 have had to contend with a succession of suite at W got up by parties " „„ epecuUHon," or with the olttt rf?,, ".?""'"'' '" ""? »®««' ''"oh they tho^ht I generally Reaped the snares laid for me, Aa. j>oor,Zd th t^ar and wear, and anxiety, were undermfning my naturally robust constitution. ^ ^ Dt,-and I am sure no one w say that it is a dishonorable or unworthy one S« T will go on toiling while I have any «hTeft «t!H fasting in, tind Providence for a ha^pf::; '''*' ^"" In conclusion, I will iust „ j . contend of this bool! ^ " "'"■'^' "^'P^^-S *« 18W 'i'^AT /'' ^'^'' " """^'"^ of the campaign of 1814, :a HoUand, with the night attack on Befgcf.;! This was the first article I ever wrofpfnrfi,n m- was published in the ■■ Unite;i:re tl n/" ' I'saf and was afterwards republished in book form by the nrl' oTi t:rc?:STSLrt^' »^'>>-3rdr<,imr; Jhese three narratives were selected C . articles which had previously appeared in « The United Service jlS" XVI INTRODUCTION. I III " South Africa and its Inhabitants" occupies the larger portion of the book, and is chiefly t«ken from my work " Ten years in South Africa," published in 1835 by Richard Bentley, and very favorably reviewed in " Black- «70od" and in the Dublin University Magazine." There are also two or three sketches formerly published in -a Magazine, edited by Mrs. Moodie and me in Belle- ville, which obtained a large number of subscribers, but from which we never received any remuneration as Editors, through the want of capital of the proprietor. In concluding this introduction, I have to return my grateful thanks for the kind support I have met with from the people of Belleville, in particular, who have so liberally subscribed for this work, as well as for their kind sympathy in our mjpfortunes ;-— and also to many friends in Toronto, including His Lordship the venerable Bishop of Toronto, the Honorable Mr. Justice Hagarty, the Honorable Mr. Justice Adam Wilson, the Honorable Mr. Justice William Buell Richards, the Honorable the Chief Justice Draper, the Honorable Mr. Joseph P. Morrison, and to the numer- ous legal gentlemen in Toronto, Cobourg, Port Hope, Belleville, Trenton, and Kingston, who have so kindly inter- ested themselves in obtaining subscribers for my book. (From the Hastings Chronicle, of March 25th, 1863.) We have great pleasure in publishing the following Present- ment of. the Grand Jury, in reference to the retirement of Sheriff Moodie. The document is alike creditable to those who originated it, and to the man to whom it refers. It would be impossible to find another man who has for the same length of time discharged the arduous duties of a public office, who retires with the same universal esteem and respect that Sheriff Moodie does. This reflection will serve in a great measure to INTRODUCTION. XVU compensate him for the distress of mind occasioned by the cruel and vindictive prosecution which occasioned his retirement from office^ It must be gratifying for him to know that his memory wi be fragrant in the minds of the public when they have for- gotten, even to despise, the authors of his misfortune The following is the PRESENTMENT : The Grand Jurors for Our Lady the Queen, Present : rJ^T ^' Tl^"."^*' ^°°'^^'' ^'^'•' ^^^ t^« fi^st Sheriff of this' County and has held that honorable position for the long term twenty-three years. Now that he is about to retire from the d^charge of the duties of that office, we have pleasure in being ab e to state that it is our belief that he does so with few ene mies, and the warm sympathy of many friends. We also believe that he unwi tmg ly transgressed the law in the transaction that has caused his retirement from the position he so long occupied and being innocent of intentional wrong, we think this shouli no militate against his appointment to the discharge of the duties of any other office in the gift of the Crown, and we have reason to believe that his appointment to some office would g^ve general satisfaction to the inhabitants of this County. For Self and Fellows, GEO. NEILSON, Foreman. In «ply,„g to the above, His Lordship, Mr. Justice Hagarty. expressed h,, great satisfaction that the Grand Jury of tie County had not allowed their late SheriiT to retire L„ the eCsion of tie-""''''/" " "^"^ ^^"^ ''"'■»"' «"- ^'"^ expression of their sympathy and regard h«l' T^^ ^.u^'r ^'' ^^" ^^^'^'^' '"«' '''^^S conviction that he o whom this honourable tribute was paid, was emphatically an hones man-that the name of his friends ;as " Legion," and his enemies a very small fraction He would direct their Presentment to the Provincial Secre- tary where, he had no doubt, the recommendation it contained would meet with every consideration. " !i I ft 11. ■I 'I ■I i *■■ ; i .1 '!i/ ' i ! :l ii il! GOD SAVE THE QUEEN. BY J. W. DUNBAR MOODIB. God save the Queen !— The time has been When these charmed words, or said or suuir. Have through the welkin proudly runir • And, heads uncovered, every tongue ' Has echoed back—" God save the Queen !" God save the Queen I It was not like the feeble cry That slaves might raise as tyrants pass'd. With tremblmg knees and hearts downcast, While dungeoned victims breathed their last. In mingled groans of agony I God save the Queen 1 Nor were these shouts without the will, Which servile crowds oft send on high When gold and jewels meet their eye, ' When pride looks down on poverty, And makei the poor man poorer still ! God save the Queen I No I— It was like the thrilling shout— The joyous sounds of pride and praise That patriot hearts are wont to raise- Mid cannon's roar and bonfire's blaze When Britain's foes are put to rout- God save the Queen I For 'mid those sounds, to Britons dear, No dastard selfish thoughts intrude To mar a nation's gratitude : But one soul moves that multitude— To sing in accents loud and clear- God save the Queen I Ovich sounds as these, in days of yore On war-ship's deck and battle plain, ' Have rung o'er heaps of foemen slain • And, with God's help, they'll ring ag'ain When warrior's blood shall flow no more- God save the Queen I God save the Queen ! let patriots cry • And palsied be the impious hand ' Would guide the pen, or wield the brand. Against our glorious Fatherland. Let shouts of freemen rend the sky- God save the Queen !— and Liberty I NARRATIVE OF THE CAMPAIGN IN HOLLAND, IN 1814. There are certain events in the life of every man on which the memory dwells with peculiar pleasure ; and the impressions they leave, from being interwoven with his earliest and most agreeable associations, are not easily effaced from his mind. Sixteen years have now elapsed since the short campaign in Holland, and the ill-fated attack on Bergen-op-Zoom; but almost every circumstance that passGd under my notice at that period, still remains as vividly pictured in my mind as if it had occurred but yesterday. Our regiment, the 21st, or Royal North British Fusi- hers, was stationed at Fort George when the order came for our embarkation for Holland. Whoever has experienced the dull monotony of garrison duty, may easily conceive the joy With which the intelligence was hailed. The eve of our embarkation was spen^) in all the hilarity inspired by the occasion, and, as may be supposed, the bottle circulated with more than ordinary rapidit^?'. Our convoy, Captain Nixon, R. N., in return for some kindness he had met with from my family, while on the Orkney Station, insisted on my taking my passage to Uelvoet Sluys, along with our commanding officer and acting adjutant, on board his own vessel, the Nightrngale, The scene that was exhibited next day, as we were embarking, must be familiar to most military men The 20 *' K f ill! M NARllATIVE OP THE . beach presented a spectacle I shall never forget. While the boats, crowded with soldiers, with their arms glittering in the sun were pushing off, women were to be seen upt^ their middles m the water, bidding, perhaps, a lastfarewell to their husbands ;-.while others were sitting disconsolate on the rocks, stupified with grief, and almost insensible of what was going forward. Many of the poor creatures were pouring out blessings on the officers, and begging us to be Kind to their husbands. At last, when we had got the soldiers fairly seated in their places, whieh was no easy task, we pulled off, while the shouts of our men were eehoed baek in wailings and lamentations, mixed with benedietions, from the unhappy women left behind us. As for the officers, most of us being young fellows, and single, we had little to damp our joy at going on foreign service. 1- <• joj at For my own part, I confess I felt some tender regrets ... parbng w.th a fair damsel iii the neighbourhood, with whom I was not a little smitteni but I was not ofL age to take the^ matters long to heV, being scarcely sixteen at the ime. Poor A- K- has sinoe been consigned, by a calculative mother, to an old officer, who had nearly lost h» sight but accumulated a few thousand pounds in the for Holland. Instead of being crammed into a transport with every circumstance whieh could render a sea voya4 disagreeable, we felt ourselves lucky in being in most oo.n- fortable quarters, with a most excellent gentlemanly fellow for our entertainer in Captain Nixou. To add to our comforte, we had the regimental band with us, who were generaUy playing through the day, when the weather or sea- sickness would allow them. CAMPAIGN IN HOLLAND, IN 1814. 21 Od arriving off Goeroe, we were overtaken by one of the m(x.t tremendous gales I have ever experienced, and I have had some experience of %e elements since. We had come to anchor, expecting a pilot from the shore, between two «aod banks, one on each eide of us, while another extended I between us and the land. The gale commenced towards night, blowing right on shore. Our awful situation may well be conceived when the wmd mcreased almost to a hurricane, with no hope of procunng a pilot. The sea, which had begun to rise Wore the commencement of the gale, was now running mountains high, and we could see the white foam, and hear the I tremendous roar of the breakers on the sand bank astern ot us. Of the two transports which axjcompanied us with the troops on board, one had anchored outside of us, and the other had been so fortunate as to get out to sea before the gale had reached its greatest violence. We had two anchors a-head, but the sea was so high, that we had but little expectation of holding on during the night. I About midnight, the transport which had come to anchor to windward, drifted past us, having carried away her cables. The sea every now and then broke over us from stem to stem and we continued through a great part of ! the night to fire signals of distress. It is curious to observe, on these occasions, the different effects of danger on the minds of men;-the nervous aJarmed too soon, and preparing themselves for the worst hat may happen ;-the stupid and insensible, without fore- though of danger, until they are in the very jaws of destruction, when they are taken quite unprepared, and resign themselves up to despair ; and the thoughtless, whose 22 f t !«■ 1 NARRATIVE OF THE levitj inclines them to catch the^xtomnl expression oi' confidence or fear in the countenancea of those aroundthcm. About one o'clock in the morning, the Captain got into bed, and we followed Iuh example, but had hardly lain down when the alarm was given that one of the cables was gone. We immediately ran on deck, but it was soon dis- covered that the wind had shifted a few points, and that the cable had only slackened a little. As the day dawned, the wind gradually abated, and at ength fell off to a dead calm. A light haze hid the low land from our view, and hung over the sea, which still rolled m huge billows, as if to conceal the horrors of our situation during the preceding night. In an hour or two the fog cleared away sufficiently t., enable us to see a few miles in all directions. Every eye was strained in search of the two transports, with our re >. i; head, excepting when he said grmje. When supper was over, and punch made, which always drew forth the most unquahfied praises of the " Predikaant;" he would lug out a heap of papers from his breeches pocket, inscribed with favourite Dutch ditties, which, so far as I could understend the language, contained political allusions to the state of matters m Europe at the time. The burden of one of the songs I still remember, from the constant recurrence of the words, « Well mag het ue bekoomen;' at the end of each stanza. The jolly priest being no singer, always read these over- flowings of the Dutch muse with the most energetic ges- tures and accent. At the end of each verse, which seemed by its r^yme to have something of the titillating effect of a feather on the sober features of the « Skipper," the reader would break out into a stentorian laugh, enough to have shaken down the walls of Jericho, or the Skdt-huis itself The good "/m«>," whose attention was almost entirely occupied with her household concerns, and who had still more prose in her composition than her mate, would now and then, like a good wife, exhibit some feeble tokens of i pleasure when she observed his features to relax in a more' than ordinary degree. Soon after I had taken up my abode in the house I observed that Johanna had got a Dutch and English gram- mar, which she had begun to study with great assiduity, and as I was anxious to acquire Dutch, this naturally enough brought us often together. She would frequently come into my room to ask the pronunciation of some word for she was particularly scrupulous on this head. On these occasions, I would make her sit down beside me, and i -ml I II CAMPAIGN IN HOLIAND, IK 1814. 29 endeavor to make hor nerfect in „,«!, j • but she found so much Meli?. u -^ '" '"'""^'"" ' into the proper C thtf T'l^^if"! "^'P^''^ «P» app^'h:!:;- th^ th^ irt^rira r'^-'-^ "- eveiystep. '"®'* *° increase at Poor Johanna, notwithstanding this littio i pation, could not, however l^ »,?, 1 T"' """"- affection for the meZT^flT T ^ """"^ '''■'"" ">«' gHef would ofln~'ou1LVr^'2tr^"\^" ^!' w. the case, we had no lesson f^^h^l 2"' ' where therein a^^re f *''' """'»*<"'' "^""f" I the Iette:,"tcHT j;r S2 "'"' r ''^ ^•'"' "'* opportunity u> see moLTthe it? " ' ""' ^'^'^ "^^" whlhlSfwt;'"^!'"''"^'"" *«™' *— f was late 5:\trrr?' "''''" '■"•"'" '^'i^- »«• I' it was LupTed bf a R ^^''' ""' ""' ''^'"S »'"'- ""«' -pH.dSn^^Lt;rh;?rt:;'inT^^^^^ Iffuao'e T /.ahU * to « "J^ *» sentry m a foreign Ian- we::,u„iritTf':hr '"". "•" ""'^' ^'"^ Uod a little EnS. il f„/""'. """"t "?' '''"> ""<'«- e ;-t*r ; 30 NARRATIVE OF THE On desiring to be conducted to his commanding officer, he brought me to the principal house in the town, at the door of which two sentries were posted. The scene in the interior was singular enough. The first object that met my eyes on entering the Colonel's apartment, was a knot of sol- diers in their green jackets and trowsers, lying in a heap, one above another, in the corner of the room, (with their bonnets pulled over their eyes,) like a litter of puppies, and snoring like bull-frogs. These were the Colonel's body guard. The room with its furniture exhibited a scene of the most outrageous deba:ichery. Chairs overturned, broken decanters and bottles, fragments of tumblers and wine glasses lay scattered over the floor and table. Two or three candles were still burning on the table, and others had been broken in the conflict of bottles and other missiles. Taking a rapid glance at the iteof matters in passing, we approached the Colonel's bed, which stood in one comer of the room. My conductor drew the curtains, when I saw two people lying in their flannel shirts ; the elder was a huge broad-faced man, with a ferocious expression of coun- tenance, who I was informed was the Colonel ; the other was a young man about seventeen years Sf age, exceedingly handsome, and with so delicate a complexion, that I actually thought at the time he must be the Colonel's wife. With this impression, I drew back for a moment, when he spoke to me in good English, and told me he was the Adjutant, and begged I would state what I had to commu- nicate to the Colonel, which he would interprete to him, as the latter did not understand English. The Colonel said he would forward the letter by one of :!i!|i f CAMPAIGN tN HOLLAND, IN 1814. 31 his officers, and as I could then return to Tholen, we should proceed to that place next morning. We proceeded accordingly next^morning on our march to Iholen. The Colonel had 8ent on bis light company as an advan- ced guard, some time before us, with orders to halt at a village on the road, until the regiment came up. Whether hey had mistaken his orders I know not, but on coming to the village, no light company was to be found ; and on enquiry, we learned chat they had marched on. The rage of the Colonel knew no bounds, and produced a most ridi- culous and ch.ld.sb scene betwixt himself and the officers With the tears running down bis cheeks, and stamping w.th rage, be went among them : first accusing one, and hen the other, as if they were to blame for the mistake of he advanced guard. Each of them, however, answered h.m m a petulant snappish manner, like enraged pu^-do-^s at the same time clapping their hands to their swords and some of them drawing them half out of their scabbards, Uen he would turn away from them, weeping bitterly like a great blubbering boy all the while. The officers, however, began to pity the poor Colonel and at last succeeds in appeasing his wrath and drvins his tears He proceeded forthwith to order an enormous breakfast to be prepared for us immediately. It was of no use for the innkeeper to say that he had not any of the articles they desired, he was compelled by thrL and curses to procure them, come whence they would As our landlord knew well whom he had to deal with our table soon groaned under a load of dishes, enough appa- rently to have dined four times our number In a 3 ir P :l 32 NARRATIVE OF THE we had everything that could be procured for love or money, and it was wonderful to observe with what alacrity the landlord waited on us, and obeyed the orders he received. He appeared, in fact, to have thrown off his native slug- gishness, and two or three pairs of breeches, for the occa- sion. Before proceeding on the march, I wished to pay my share of the entertainment, but my proposal was treated with perfect ridicule. At first, I imagined that the Rus- sians considered me as their guest, but I could not discover that the innkeeper received any remuneration for the enter- tainment prepared for us. The Russians had many odd customs during their meals, such as drinking out of each other's glasses, and eating from each other's plates ; a compliment, which in England, we would willingly dispense with. They seemed to have a great liking to the English, and every day our men and theirs were seen walking arm in arm about the streets together. The gin, which was rather too cheap in this country, seemed to be a great bond of union between them ; and strange to say, I do not recollect a single instance of their quarrelUng. Notwithstanding the snapping between the commanding officer and the other oflScers, they seemed on the whole to be in excellent discipline in other respects. The manner in which they went through their exercise was admirable, particularly when we consider that they were only sailors acting on shore. There was one custom, however, which never failed to excite our disgust and indignation j hardly a day passed but we saw some of their officers boxing the ears of their men in the ranks, who seemed to bear this treatment with CAMPAIGN IN HOLLAND, IN 1814. 33 the greatest patience, and without turning tieir eyes to the r#t or left during the operation ; but such is the effect of earty hab.U and custom, that the very men who bore this degrading treatment, seemed to feel the same di^ust for ourmihtarypmiishmentof flogging, which however degrad- ing m ite effects on the character of the sufferer, could not at least be inflicted at the caprice of the individual We ma, here observe the different effecte produced on the character of men by a free and a despotic system of Government: It was evidently not the nature, hnt the degree of punishment which shocked the Bussiau preju- We had all become thoroughly sick of the monotony and sameness of our duties and occupations at Tholen when we received orders to march the next day (8th March, 1834) As the attack on Bergen-op-Zoom, which took place on that evenmg, was of course kept a profound secret, the common opinion was, that we were destined for Antwerp where the other division of the army had already had some fighting. 1 hough elated in common with my brother offi- cers, with the prospect of coming to closer quarters with the enemy it wa* not without tears on both sides that I parted with poor Johanna, who had somehow taken a hold moZnt"'''' *^^* ^ """^ ^^'^^^ '""^'^ ^^ *^" *^^s The time left us to prepare for our march I devoted to her, and she did not even seek the pretext of her Eno-lish grammar to remain in my room for the few hours we could yet enjoy together. We had marched some miles before I could thmk of anything but her, for the recollection of her tears still thrilled to my very heart, and occasioned a stiflf n. b2 m 34 NARRATIVE OP THE ■r!i , f M ? II ¥■ r^. sensation that almost deprived me of utterance. But we were soon thrown into a situation where the excitement was too powerful and engrossing to leave room for other thoughts than of what we were immediately engaged in. It was nearly dark when we arrived at the village of Hal- teren, which is only three or four miles from Bergen-op- Zoom, where we took up our quarters for the night. On the distribution of the biUets to the officers for the night, I received one upon a farm house about a mile in thecountiy. I had not been long at my new lodging, when I was joined by four or five officers of the 4th Battalion Royal Scots, who had just arrived by long.marches from Stralsund, and were billet- ed about the country. They had heard that an attempt to surprise Bergen-op-Zoom would be made that same night. It is not easy to describe the sensations occasioned in my mind by this intelligence ; it certainly partook but little of fear, but the novelty (to me at least) of the situation in which we were about to be placed, excited a feeling of anxiety as to the resultofan attempt, in which, from the known strength of the place, we dared hardly expect to be successful. There is also a degree of melancholy which takes hold of the mind at these moments of serious reflection which precede the con- flict. My comrades evidently shared this feeling with me. One of them remarked, as we were preparing to march, " my boys, we'll see something like service to-night," and added, " We'll not all meet again in this world." Poor MacNicol' who made this remark, fell that night, which was the first and the last of my acquaintance with him. I believe every one of us were wounded. Learning from my new acquaintances that the grenadier company of their regiment (Royal Scots), which was com- CAMPAIGN IN HOLLAND, IN 1814. 85 raanded by an old friend of mine (Lieutenant Allan Robertson), and whom I had not seen for some years, was only about a mile farther oflF, I thought I should have 'time to see him and join my regiment before they marched, should they be sent to the attack. However, the party of the Royals whom I accompanied lost their way, from their Ignorance of the road, and we, in consequence, made a long circuit, during which I heard from an Aide-de-camp who passed us, that the 21st were on {heir march to attack the place on another quarter. In these circumstances I was exceedingly puzzled what course to take; if I went in search of my regiment, I had every chance of missing them in the night, being quite ignorant of the roads. Knowing that the Royals would be likely to head one of the columns from the number of the regiment, I took what I thought the surest plan, by attach- ing myself to the grenadier company under my gallant friend. There is something awfully impressive in the mustering of soldiers before going into action ; many of those names, which the Serjeants were now calling in an under tone of voico would never be repeated, but in the tales of their comrades who saw them fall. After mustering the men, we proceeded to the general " rendezvous " of the regiment forming the column ; the Royals led the column, followed by the other regiments ac- cording to their number. As everything depended on our taking the enemy by surprise, the strictest orders were given to observe a profound silence on the march. While we are preceding to the attack, it will not be amiss to give the reader a slight sketch of the situation of Berp-fiu- ^1^ '.r. "V^i 36 NARRATIVE OF THE I I Mil 9 ■'IS' 'If: ' :■ Jl n ill I op-Zoom, and the plan of the operations of the different col- umns, to render my relation of the prooedings of the column I served with the more intelligible. Bergen-op-Zoom is situated on the right bank of the Scheldt, and takes its name from the little river Zoom, which after supplying the defenses with water, discharges itself into the Scheldt. The old channel of the Zoom, into which the tide flows towards the centre of the town, forms the harbor, which is nearly dry at low water. The mouth of the harbor was the point fixed upon for the attack of the right column, under Major General Skerrett, and Brig. General Gore. This column consisted of 1100 men of the 1st Regiment, or Royal Scots, the 37th, 44th and 91st (as far as I can recollect). Lieut.-Col. Henry, with 650 men of the 21st, or Royal Scots Fusiliers, was sent on a false attack near the Steenbergen gate, to the left of the harbour. (I suppose the reader to be standing at the entrance of the harbour facing the town). Another column, consisting of 1200 of the 33rd, 55th, and 69th regiments, under Lieut.- Col. Morrice, were to attack the place near the Breda gate, and endeavor to enter by escalade. A third column under Col. Lord Proby, consisting of 1000 men of the 1st and Coldstream Guards, was to make nearly a complete circuit of the place, and enter the enemy's works by crossing the ice some distance to the right of the entrance of the harbor and the Waterpoort gate. This slight account of the plan of attack I have borrowed in some degree from Col. Jones' Narrative, who must have procured his information on these points from the best sources. However, as I only pretend to speak with cer- tainty of what fell under my own immediate observation, CAMPAIGN IN HOLLAND, IN 1814. 87 I shall return to the right column, with which I served on this occasion. When we had proceeded some way we fell in with a picket, commanded by Capt. Darrah, of the 21st Fusiliers, who was mustering his men to proceed to the attack. Thinking that our regiment (the 2l8t), must pass his post on their way to the false attack, he told me to remain with him until they came up. I, in consequence, waited some time, but hearing nothing of the regiment, and losing patience, I gave him the slip in the dark, and ran on until I regained my place with the grenadier company of the Royals. On approaching the place of attack, we crossed the Tholen- dike, and immediately entered the bed of the Zoom, through which we had to push our way before we entered the wet ditch. It is not easy to convey an idea of the toil we ex- perienced in getting through the deep mud of the river; we immediately sank nearly to our middles, and when, with great difficulty, we succeeded in freeing one leg from the mire, we sank nearly to the shoulder on the other side before we could get one pace forward ; as might be expected we got into some confusion in laboring through this horrible slough, which was like bird-lime about our legs; regiments got intermixed in the darkness, while some stuck fast, and some unlucky wretches got trodden down and smothered in the mud. Notwithstanding this obstruction, a consider- able portion of the column had got through, when those behind us, discouraged by this unexpected difficulty, raised a shout to encourage themselves. General Skerret, who was at the head of the column, was furious with rage, but the mischief was already done. The sluices were opened, .-••■♦•'.i M& 88 NARRATIVE OF THE ! atiii if/ Bl n 1 and a torrent of water poured down on us through the channel of the river, by which the progress of those behind was effectually stopped for some time. Immediately after the sluices were opened, a brilliant fire, work was displayed on the ramparts, which showed every i object as clearly as day Hght. Several cannon and some I musketry opened on us, but did us little harm, as they \ seemed to be discharged at random. At the moment the water came down, I had just cleared the deepest part of the channel, and making a great effort, I gained a flat piece of ice which was sticking edge ways in the mud ; to this I clung till the strength of the torrent had passed, after which I soon gained the firm land, and pushed on with the others to the ditch. The point at which we entered was a bastion to the right of the harbor, and from one of the angles of which a row of high palisades was earned through the ditch. To enable us to pass the water, some scaling-ladders had been sunk to support us in proceeding along the palisade, over which we had first to climb with each other's assistance, our soldiers performing the office of ladders to those who preceded them. So great were the obstacles we met with, that had not the attention of the enemy fortunately (or rather most judi- ^ously), been distracted by the false attack under Col. Henry, it appeared quite impossible for us to have effected an entrance at this point. While we were proceeding forward in this manner. Col. MuUer * of the Koyals was clambering along the top of I * Now of the Ceylon regiment. CAMPAIGN IN HOLLAND, IN 1814. 39 the palisade, calling to those who had got the start of him to endeavor to open the Waterpoort gate, and let down the draw-bridge to our right; but no one in the hurnr of the moment seemed to hear him. On getting near enough, I told him I should effect it if it were possible We met with but trifling resistance on gaining the ram- part j the enemy being panic struck, fled to the streets and houses m the town, from which they kept up apretty sharp fire on us for some time. x- r j i^ I got about twenty soldiers of different regiments to fol- low me to the Waterpoort gate, which we found closed. It was constructed of thin paling, with an iron bar across It about three inches in breadth. Being without tools of ai^ kind, we made several ineffectual attempts to open It. At last, retiring a few paces, we made a rush at it in a body, when the iron bar snapped in the middle like a bit ot glass. Some of my people got killed and wounded dur- ing this part of ihe work, but when we got to the draw- bndge, we were a Httle more sheltered from the firing The bndge was up and secured by a lock in the right hand post of the two which supported it. I was simple enough to attempt to pick the look with a soldier's bayonet, but after breaking two or three, we at last had an axe brought us from the bastion where the troops were entering; with the assis- tance of this mstrument we soon succeeded in cutting the ock out of the post, and taking hold of the chain, I had the satisfaction to pull down the draw-bridge with my own hands. j "« ^ WhUe I was engaged in this business. Col. Muller was .oxuxiug tU Soyals on the rampart where we entered • but a party of about 150 men of different regiments, under >--r'K.-^ij--T^j> ,. — .,- ^ j^ 40 NARRATIVE OF THE ill ii: li f ^ !iii General Skerret, who must have entered to the left of the harbor, were clearing the ramparts towards the Steenber- gen gate, where the false attack had been made under Col. Henry j and a party, also, under Col. Carleton, of the 44th regiment, was proceeding in the opposite direction along the ramparts to the right, without meeting with much resistance. Hearing the firing on the opposite side of the town from General Skerret's party, and supposing that they had marched throu^a the town, I ran on through the streets to overtake them, accompanied by only one or two soldiers, for the rest had left me and returned to the bastion after we had opened the gate. In proceeding along the canal or harbor, which divided this part of the town, I came to a loop-holed wall, which was continued from the houses down to the water's edge. I observed a party of soldiers within a gate in this wall, and was going up to them, taking them for our own people, when I was challenged in French, and had two or three shots fired at me. Seeing no other way of crossing the harbor but by a little bridge," which was nearly in a line with the wall, I returned to the Waterpoort gate, which I found Col. Muller had taken possession of with two or three companies of his regiment. I went up to him, and told him that I had opened the gate according to his desire, and of the interrup- tion I had met with in the town. Not knowing me, he asked my name, which he said he would remember, 'and sent one of the companies up with me to the wall, ah-eady mentioned, and ordered the officer who commanded the company, after he should have driven the enemy away, to Avx^p jt/vpovooiuu ui XI xiuui luriner oraers. J-»>™^<^ ~ -'•'^****21T«^^H0LLAND, IN 1814. 41 On coming to the gk, we met 4th a sharp resistance, but after firing a few rou\ds, and preparing to charge, they gave way, leaving us in p(^ssion of the gate and bridge. Leaving the company he\e and crossing the little bridge, I agam set forward "iilone io overtake General Skerret's party, guided by the firing (^ the ramparts. Avoiding any little parties of the enemyVl had reached the inside of the ramparts where the firing Vs, without its occuring to me that I might get into th^^rong box and be taken pris- oner. Fortunatelj,^T5bs^-ryed a woman looking over a shop door, on one side of the streets; the poor creature, who must have be^ii under the influence of some strong passion to remain in lier present exposed situation, was pale and trembling, ^e was a French woman, young and not bad looking. I asked her where the British soldiers were, which she told me without hesitation, pointing at the same time in the direction. I shook hands with her, and bade her good night, not entertaining the smallest suspicion of her deceiv- ing me ; following her directions, I clambered up the inside of the rampart, and rejoined Gen. Skerret's party. The moon had now risen, and though the sky was clouay, we could see pretty well what was doing. I found my friend Robertson here, with the grenadier company of the^Hoyals ; I learned from him that the party, which was mi commanded by Capt. Guthrie of the 33d regiment, had been compelled by numbers to retire from the bastion which the enemy now occupied, and should endeavor to mamtain the one which they now possessed, until they could procure a reinforcement. He also told me of Gen. Sker- roH. hr- ^ ' - - iPiR? 1 5r»»»'-f-*»« BIS«rft \Atlll ;erougly wounded atid taken prisoner, an i WMmSi 1 K'^^^g^B^j H ■:-Mi^iSt-L I pt^^^ 1 ^^^^ m ''4r^^^ i' 'iS 1 ti ■^M '^^¥^^^91 C^^M^^^B t^^^^^fl \ 'O 'i^p^i^^H ma-' : .'is-ssBv ; ., ■ iW' mSmm ! '^ m^- y iM ®'^'- i" m 42 NARRATIVE OF THE 5?' ;» 1' 11" I I.. m i ■ Sill'.;; m. !- Hi; li irreparable loss to our party, as Capt. Guthrie was igno- rant of the General's intentions. In the meantime, the enemy continued a sharp firing on us, which we returned as fast as our men could load their firelocks. Several of the enemy who had fallen, as well as of our own men, were lying on the ramparts ;--one of our officers, who had been wounded in the arm, was walking about, saying occasionally in rather a discontented manner, *' This is what is called honor; " though I could readily sympathize with him in the pain he sufiered. I could not exactly understand how, if there is any honor in getting wounded, any bodily sufiering can detract from It. We found a large pile of logs of wood on the rampart ; these we immediately disposed across the gorge of the bas^ tion, so as to form a kind of parapet, over which our peo- ple could fire, leaving, however, about half the distance open towards the parapet of the rampart. On the opposite side of the bastion were two twenty-four pounders of the enemy's, which being raised on high plat- forms, we turned upon them, firing along the ramparts over the heads of our party. However valuable this resource might be to us, we were still far from being on equal terms with the French, who, besides greatly exceeding us in num- bers, had also brought up two or three field-pieces, which annoyed us much during the night. There was also a windmiU on the bastion they occupied, from the top of which their musketry did great execution among us. In the course of the night, they made several ineffectual attempts to drive us from our position : on these occasions, which we always were aware of, fron. the shouts they CAMPAIGN IN HOLLAND, IN 1814. 48 ine was igno- raised to encourage each other, as soon as they made their appearance on the rampart, we gave them a dose of grape from our twenty-four pounder, and a party ready to charge them back. I observed our soldiers were always disposed to meet the enemy half-way, and the latter were soon so well aware of our humor, that they invariably turned tail before we could get within forty or fifty paces of them. ^ The firing was kept up almost continuously on both sides until about two o'clock in the morning, when it would sometimes cease for more than half an hour toee- ther. ^ During one of these intervals of stillness, exhausted with our exertions, and the cold we felt in our drenched clothes, some of the officers and I lay down along the para- pet together, in hopes of borrowing a little heat from each other. I fell insensibly into a troubled dozing state, in which my imagination still revelled in the scenes of the night. WhUe I yet lay the firing had recommenced, which with the shouts of the enemy, and the words of those about me, seemed to form but the ground-work of my fitful dream which continued to link imaginary circumstances to reality. How long I might havp Mn in this stupor, between sleeping and waking, I know not, when suddenly I felt the ground shake under me, and heard at the same time a crash, as if the whole town had been overwhelmed by an earthquake ; a bright glare of light burst on my eyes at the same instant, and almost blinded me. A shot from the enemy had blown up our small magazine on the rampart on which we depended for the sunnlv of tha fw. w«.* J 11^ mi 44 I I [•; I: 'M^i ii I m f m i iii fl I; I! 1= 11: NARRATIVE OF THE four pounders which had been of such material use to us during the night. This broke our slumbers most effectually; and we had now nothing for it but to maintain our ground in the best way we were able, until we could receive a reinforcement irom some of the other parties. Immediately after this disaster, raising a tremendous shout, or rather yell, the enemy again ^- -;^d tocrme to close quarters with us, in hopes of our ^^ utterly dis- heartened; but our charging party, which we had always m readiness, made them wheel round as usual. In the course of the night, we had sent several small parties of men to represent the state of our detachment and endeavor te procure assistance, but none of them re- turned, having, we supposed, been intercepted by the enemy Discouraged as we were by this circumstance, we still continued te hold our ground until break of day By this time the firing had entirely ceased in the other parts of the town, naturally leading us, in the absence of all communication, to conclude that the other parties had been driven from the place. However this may have been, the first dawn of day showed in but too plain colors the hopelessness of our situation. The enemy now brought an overwhelming force against us ; but still we expected from the narrowness of the rampart, that they would not be able to derive the full advantage of their superiority; but in this we were deceived. The bastion we occupied was extensive, but only that portion of it near the gorge was furnished with a parapet. At this spot, and behind the logs which we had thrown up our now diminished force was collected. Keeping up an CAMPAIGN IN HOLLAND, IN 1814. 45 incessant fire to divert our attention, the French (who now outnumbered us, at least three to one,) detached part of their force, which, skirting the outside of the ramparts and ascending the face of the bastion we occupied, sud' denly opened a most destructive fire on our flank and rear From this latter party wo were totally unprotected, while they were sheltered by the top of the rampart. We were thus left to defend ourselves from both at once as we best could. But still they would not venture to charge us, and It would have been of little umc for us to charge them for the moment we quitted the parapet, we would have been exposed to a cross fire from the other bastion. The slaughter was now dreadful, and our poor fellows who had done all that soldiers could in our trying situation, now fell thick and fast. Just at this moment, my friend Robertson, under whose command I had put myself at the begmmng of the attack, feU. I had just time to run up to him, and found him stunned from a wound in the head when our gallant commander, seeing the inutility of con- tinuing the unequal contest, gave the order to retreat. We had retired in good order about three hundred yards when poor Guthrie received a wound in the head, which I have smce been informed, deprived him of his sight The enemy, when they saw us retreating, hung upon our rear, keeping up a sharp fire all the time, but they still seemed to have some respect for us from the trouble we had already given them. We had indulged the hope, that by continuing our ZT.f T. w'""^'''^' ^^ ^^^^^^ ^' '^'^ ^ ^ff«et our retreat by the Waterpoort gate, * not being aware that we * Thifl WHS t.ha nnl.. n^t^ x.s-%. . — .^ ^„,^ ^„^^ wmvu wm op^nea auring tlie nigUt fi-^U ''-»» J? k I'* J-~ '.p^ w: 46 NARRATIVE IN TUB 1; fl I m should bo intercepted by the mouth of the harbor. Wo were already at the very margin before we discovered our mistake and completely hemmed in by the French. We had therefore no alternative left to us but to surrender ourselves prisoners of war, or t« attempt to effect our escape across the harbor, by means of the floating pieces of ice with which the water was covered. Not one of us seemed to entertain the idea of surrender, however, and in the despair which had now taken possession of every heart, we threw ourselves into the water, or leaped on the broken pieces of ice which were floating about. The scene that ensued was shocking beyond description. The canal or harbor was faced on both sides by high brick walls; and in the middle of the channel lay a small Dutch decked vessel, which was secured by a rope to the opposite side of the harbor. Our only hope of preserving our lives or effecting our escape depended on our being able to gain this little vessel. Already many had, by leaping first on one piece of ice and then on another, succeeded in getting on board the vessel, wh.<3h tLey drew to the opposite side of the canal by the rope, and thus freed one obstruction; but immediately afterwards, being intercepted by the Waterpoort redoubt they were compelled to surrender. The soldiers, in parti- cular, when they found themselves inclosed by the enemy seemed to lose the power of reflection, and leaped madly into the water, with their arms in their hands, without even waiting until a piece of ice should float within their reach. The air was rent with vain cries for help from the drowning soldier«, mixed with the exulting shouts of the enemy, who seemed determined to make us drain the bitter cup of defeat to the v^ey y dregs. CAMPAIGN IN HOLLAND, IN 1814. 47 Among tho rest I had scrambled down the face of the canal to a beam running horizontally along the brick work, from which other beams descended perpendicularly into the water, to prevent the sides from being injured by ship- ping. After sticking my sword into my belt (for I had thrown the scabbard away the previous night), I leaped from this beam, which was nine or ten feet above the water, on a piece of ice, but not judging my distance very well, it tilted up with me, and I sank to the bottom of the water. However, I soon came up again, and after swimming to the other side of the canal and to the vessel, I found nothing to catch hold of. I had therefore nothing for it but to hold on by the piece of ice I had at first leaped on, and swing- ing my body under it, I managed to keep my face out of the water. I had just caught hold of the ice in time, for encumbered as I was with a heavy great coat, now thoroughly soaked, I was in a fair way -to share the fate of many a poor fellow now lying at the bottom of the water. I did not, however, retain my slippery hold undisturbed, I was several times dragged under water by the convulsive grasp of the drowning soldiers, but by desperate efforts I managed to free myself and regain my hold. Even at this moment, I cannot think without horror of the means which the instinct of self-preservation suggested to save my own life, while some poor fellow clung to my clothes: I think I still see his agonized look, and hear his imploring cry, as he sunk for ever. After a little time I remained undisturbed tenant of tho piece of ice. I was not, however, the only survivor of those who had got into the water j several of them were still hanging on to other pieces of ice, but they one by one let go 1 »,■ 111 t *** ■ * i ::^ I t B"l!i 48 NARRATIVE OP THE ii! M )?i!> t !■::?■ Ii ? I' i i «i t pi ' ..::■,, rt ii tteir hold, and sank as their strength failed. At length only three or four besides myself remained. All this time some of the enemy continued firing at us and I saw one or two shot in the water near me. So intent was eveiy one on eflfecting his escape, that though they sometimes oast a look of commiseration at their drowning comrades, no one thought for a moment of giving us any assistance. The very hope of it had at length so completely faded m our minds, that we had ceased to ask the aid of those that passed on the fragments of ice. But Providence had reserved one individual who possessed a heart to feel for the distress of his fellow creatures more than for his own personal safety. The very last person that reached the vessel m the manner I have already described, was Lieute- nant McBougall, of the 91st regiment. I had attracted his attention in passing me, and he had promised his asfiistanoe when he should reach the vessel. He soon threw me a rope, but I was so weak, and benumbed with the intense cold that it slipped through my fingers alongside ot the vessel J he then gave me another, doubled, which I got under my arms, and he thus succeeded, with the assis- tance of a wounded man, in getting me on board. I feel that it is quite out of my power to do justice to the humanity and contempt of danger displayed by our gener- ous deliverer on this occasion. While I was assisting him in saving the two or three soldiers who still clung to pieces ot ice, 1 got a musket-ball through my wrist; for all this time several of the enemy continued deHberately firing at us from the opposite rampart, which was not above sixty yards from the vessel. Not content with wjiat he had already done for me, my CAMPAIGN IN HOLLAND, IN 1814. 49 kina-hcartcd friend insisted on helping mc out of the vessel; but I could not consent to his remaining longer exposed to the fire of the enemy, who had already covered the deck with killed and wounded, and McDougall fortunately still remained unhurt. Finding that I would not encumber him, ho left the vessel, and I went down to the cabin, where I found Lieutenant Briggs, of the Olst, sitting on one side, with a severe wound through his shoulder blade. The floor of the cabin was covered with water, for the vessel had become leaky from the firing. I took my station on the opposite side, and taking off my neck cloth, with the assistance of my teeth, I managed to bind up my wound, so as to stop the bleeding in some measure. My companion suflFcred so much from his wound that little conversation passed betwixt us. I fell, naturally, into gloomy reflections on the events of the night. I need hardly say how bitter and mortifying they were ; after all our toils and sanguine anticipations of ultimate success, to be thus robbed of the prize which we already grasped, as we thought, with a firm hand. Absorbed m these melancholy ruminations, accompanied from time to time by a groan from my companion, several hours passed away, during which the water continued rising higher and higher in the cabin, until it reached my middle, and I was obliged to hold my arm above it, for the salt water made it ' smart. Fortunately, the vessel grounded from the rccedino- of the tide. ^ Estsape in our state, being now quite out of the question my companion and I were glad, on the whole, to be relieved from our present disagreeable situation, by surrending our- selves prisoners. m 1 1 I 50 NARRATIVE OP !JIE Y € m \ *J » I ' , •ft I' ' I. » ' The firing had now entirely ceased, and the French seemed satiated with the ample ven-cance they had taken on us. As there was negate near us, we were hoisted with ropes over the ramparts, whioli were here faced with brick to the top. A French soldier was ordered to show me the way to the hospital in the town. As wo proceeded, however my guide took a fancy to my canteen which still hung by mv Bide, and laying hold of it without ceremony, was proceed- ing to empty iXs contents into his own throat. Thou-h suffering with a burning thirst from loss of blood, I did not recollect till this moment that there was about two-thirds ot a bottle of gin remaining in it. I immediately snatched It from the fellow's hand and clapping it to my mouth, finished every drop of it at a draught, while he vented his rage m oaths. I found it exceedingly refreshing, but it had no more effect on my nerves than small beer in my present state of exhaustion. ' The scene as we passed through the streets, strewed here and there with the bodies of our fallen soldiers, intermixed with those of the enemy, was, indeed, melancholy; even if I could have forgotten for a moment how the account Stood between the enemy and us, I was continually reminded of our failure, by the bodies of many of our people being already stripped of their upper garments. When wc arrived at the hospital, I found one of the officers of my regiment, who had been taken prisoner standing at the door. My face was so plastered with blood from the prick of a bayonet I had got in the temple from one of our soldiers, that it was some time before he knew me. In passing along the beds in the hospital, the first \iO French Imd taken ►isted with with brick ho way to ^cver, my ng by my 3 proceed- Though I did not wo-thirds snatched y mouth, ontod his g, but it or in my wed here termixed ; oven if account eminded >le being CAMl'AIUN IN HOLLAND, IN 1«14. 61 face I recognised was my friend Robertson, whom I had loft for dead wlien our party retreated. Besides the wound he received in the head, ho had received one in the wrist after he fell. On lying down in the bed prepared for me, I waa guilty of a piece of simplicity which I Imd ample occasion to repent before I left the place. I took all my clothes off,' and sent them to be dried by the people of the hospital, but they were never returned to mo. I was in consequence forced to keep my bod for the three days I remained priso- ner in Borgcn-op-Zoom. The hospital was crowded with the wounded on both sides; On my right lay Ensign Marshall, of the 55th regiment, with a grape shot wound in his shoulder, of which and ague together, he afterwards died at Klundcrt. On my left, in an adjoining room, lay poor General Skerret, with a desperate wound through the body, of which he died next night. It waa said that he might have recovered, had it not been for the bruises he had received from the muskets of the enemy after he foil. This story I can hardly credit. However that may bo, there is no doubt we lost in him a most gallant, zealous, and active oflficer, and at a most unfortunate time for the success of the enterprise. On the opposite side of the hospital lay Capt. Campbell, of the 55th regiment. He had a dreadful wound from a grape which entered at his shoulder and went out near the back bone. He was gifted with the most extraordinary flow of spirits of any man I have ever met with. He never ceased talking from sunrise till night, and afforded all of us who were in a condition to relish anything, an infinite deal of „ ' • 'I ii 4 ^* I if;^" m|f (I I *i"' % If ,&^ (fell V, I ^ 1 -'(li 52 NABRATIVE OF TUB amuscmcut. I had told Campbell. of the trick they had played me with my clothes, and it immediately became with him a oonstan t theme for rating every Frenchman that passed In the course of the next day a French sergeant came swaggermg mto the hospital, with an officer's sash tied round .wV"". Tjuf.""^ *" '*" """"'' '"^'"'*- He boasted that he had killed the officer by whom it had been worn aJriti'^'^" °^ *' '*'''"^'^'^ "^ the hospital went about with buckets in their hands, one containing small by the medical people, while another contained a miserable kind of stuff, which they called ^up, and a third eonta^d W°?w °°^''^*'''^P'«'»=°f"'<"'twastossedoneach bed with a fork in passing ; but the patient had always to make his choi.^ between flesh and bread, and soup JS ad t being thought 1»o much to allow them soupLd meaTat the ^me time. Iwasnever so much puzzled in mylifeas by Hiis a temative. Constantly tormented with thirst T ie^rmented, made me often repent my choice. Wide we lay here we were attended by our own surgeons andhadeyeryattentionpaidusinthis respect thatZTld In the meantime, arrangements were entered into with Gen. Bisanet, the French commander, for an exchangrof^ J Boners, and m consequence the last of the wounded !^Z wreremoyed m waggons to Kozendaal.on thetU rdly after we had been taken. ""ra aay On this occasion I was obliged to borrow a pair of trowsers from one of the soldiers, and a coat from my n'e ighbour M™ CAMPAIGN IN HOLLAND, IN 1814. 53 «hall of the 55th, who being a tall man and I rather little, it reached halfway down my legs. Altogether, I eut rather an odd figure as I started from the hospital. My regimental cap and shoes had, however, escaped the fate of my other hablllmen^ so, considering circumstances, matters might have been worse. But one trial te my temper still remained which I did not expect: theold rascal, to whom I delivered my clothes when I sent them to be dried, had the unparal- leled impudence to make a demand on me for the hospital shirt with which, in place of my own wet one, I had been supplied on entering the hospital. I was so provoked at this unconscionable request, that I believe I should have answer- edhim with a box on the ear, but my only available hand was teo well employed at the time in supporting my trow- sers. There was still another reason for my objecting to his demand : before I was taken prisoner, while lying in the vessel, I had managed to conceal some money which hap- pened to be m my pockets on going to the attack j this I had carefully transferred, with due secrecy, to the inferior mamin . of the hospital shirt, in which it was tied with a garter, when we were preparing to leave the place. This treasure, though not large, was of some importance tome and I determined that nothing short of brute force shou d deprive me of it. My gentleman, however, pertina- ciously urged his claim to the aforesaid garment, and a violent altercation ensued between us, in which I had an opportunity of shewing a proficiency in Duteh swearing, that 1 was not aware of myself till this moment. My friend Campbell came up at last to my assistance, and discharged such a volley of oaths at the old vampire, that he was lairiy beaten out of the field, and I carried away the sliirt m triumph. ^ mMa 54 i H t ! ;■:» • n f>" i lit NARRATIVE OP THE We were marched out of the town by the Breda Gate to Kozendaal, a distance of about fifteen miles, where we arriv- ed thesame night. The French soldiers who had fallen in the conflict had all been removed by this time, but as we proceeded escorted by the victors, many a ghastly corpse of our countrymen met our half averted eyes. They had all been moreor less stripped of their clothing, and were turned on theirfaces. My heart roseat this humiliating spectacle nor could I breathe freely until we reached the open fields beyond the fortifications. All who were unable to march were crowded into the waggons which had been prepared forthem, while those who were less disabled straggled along the road the best way they could As may be supposed, there were no needless compe- titors for the.waggon conveyance, for the roads were rough andeveryjolt of the vehicles produced groansof agony from' the wretched passengers. On arriving at Wouw, which I took in my way, I explain- ed my absence from the regiment to the satisfaction of the commandmgofficer. IsoonheardofthefateofpoorBulteel (2nd lieutenant, 21st regiment), who fell during this iU- s toed enterprise, by aeannon ball, which carried offthe top ot lus head. Never was a comrade more sincerely lamented by his messmates than this most amiable young man. His brother an officer in the Guards, whom he had met only a few days before, fell the same night. The captain of my company, and kind friend, McKenzie, had his leg shattered by a shot on the same occasion, and I was mformed that he bore the amputation without suffering a groan to escape from him. Four others were more sKghtly wounded. The dead had all been collected in the church ! f H ' ''f i CAMPAIGN IN HOLLAND, IN 1814. 65 and a long trench being dug by the soldiers, they were all next day deposited in the earth without parade, and in silence. In a few days I proceeded to Rozendaal, where, for the present, the prisoners were to remain. At this place I had more cause than ever to feel grateful for the kindness of my Dutch landladies and landlords; the surgeon who attended mefindmgit necessary to put me on low diet, and to keep my bed, the sympathy of the good people of the house knew no bounds; not an hour passed but they came to enquire how I was. So disinterested was their unwearied attention that on leaving them I could not induce them to accept the smallest remuneration. After some time we went to Klundert, where we were to remam until our exchange should be effected. ^fore concluding my narrative of the unfortunate attack on Bergen^p-Zoom, the reader may expect some observa- tions relative to the plan of attack, and the causes of its u ti- mate failure ; but it should be remembered, before ventur- ing to give my opinions on the subject, that nothing is more difficult for an individual attached to any one of the different columns which composed the attacking force than to assign causes for such an unexpected result, particularly when the communication between them has been inter- rupted. In a battle in the open field, where every occurrence takes place under the immediate observation of the General or is speedily communicated to him, faults can be soon remedied, or, at least, it may be afterwards determined with some degree of accuracy, where they existed. But m a night attack on a for<,ifip*1 nln^o *!,« ^„„. : different. " ' '"' ^"^ ^'^''^ '~^ '"'^^ 56 NAERAilVE OF THE ir II If As the General of the army cannot be personally pre- sent ,„ the attaek, any blame which may attach to the undertaking can only affect him in so far as the original plan IS concerned ; and if this plan succeeds so far that b»! ^ r,,'' f"^^^ '^^'^- '^^ *« ""'"'ki-g force has actually effected a lodgment within it, and even been lu possession of the greater part of &e place, wiU. a force nearly equal to that of the enemy, n^ candid observer can attribute the-failure to any defect in the 2„T ^^^ fT l^^ '"="'- *" P"'"' «"' '"'rtdn omis. sions which, had the General been gifted with the spirit ot profheoy, m^ght pombt!,, in the existing state of t2„ r u °^'"T' "'" ^ """' ""*■"■' »' moreuncandid rr-hf . .*t -nsuecessful commander, when eveiy possib e turu which things might take was not provided against, and wUle it still remains a doubt how fr*I. remotes proposed by such critics would have succeeded in the execution. Thomas Graham's dispatch, it was directed that the right f'^'^f^'f^T'^"""'^^^'"'' '^^ Brig.-Oe„eral G^re, which entered at the mouth of the harbor, and the left column under lord Proby, which Major-Gen. Cooke accompanied m person, and which attacked between the Waterpoort and Antwerp Gates, should move along the dW nTtT t™ " •'r''""- ^""^ J""«*'»°' however, did not take pla«e, as General Cooke had been obliged to change the point of attaek, which prevented his gaidng the ramparts untU half-past eleven o'elnnt „„ ..„„f .^4 ffS r (f Ml m CAMPAIGN tN HOLLAND, IN 1814. 51 General Skerret entered with the right column ; a large detachment of which, under Colonel the Hon. Geoige Carleton and General Gore, had, unknown to him (General Cooke), as it would appear, penetrated along the ramparts far beyond the point where he entered. The centre column, under Lieut.-Colonel Morrice, which had attacked near the Steenbergen lines, being repulsed with great loss, and a still longer delay occurring before they entered by the scaling ladders of General Cooke's column, the enemy had ample opportunity to concentrate their force near the points in most danger. However, not- withstanding all these delays and obstructions, we * suc- ceeded, as already stated, in establishing a force equal to that of the enemy along the ramparts. But still without taking into account the advantage which the attacking force always possess in the alarm and distraction of the enemy (which, however, was more than counterbalanced by our entire ignorance of the place), we could not, in fact, be said to have gained any decided superi- ority oyer our adversaries. On the contrary, the chances were evidently against our being able to maintain our posi- tlon.through the night, or until reinforcements could come up. " But why," I have heard it often urged, « were we not made better acquainted with the place ?" In answer to this question, it may be observed, that though there can bo no doubt that the leaders of the different columns, at least, had seen plans of the place, yet there is a great dif- ference between a personal knowledge of a place and that derived from the best plans, even by daylight : but, in the nigJit, the enemy must possess a most decided advantage over their aSSailnntfl in flinir infimnfn Vnn-m]aA.^r, ^P «n 4.1,^ 02 mm:M 58 itABRATIVE OP THiJ Ml communications through the town, as well as in th.i Another circumstance, which must have tended m™. matemll:, to the unfortunate result of the ^ta^fc Z that the two parties, which had been detached from 2' nghtcolumn were deprived of their commanderdn^rvet b«g.nnmg of the night, by the faU of Generala SkemtT^ Gore, and Colonel Carleton. ^ ■ h„!^' """*?' "? ^ '■"'""^'^ *" "^o^""' «" our failure by these early calamities alone, need not go far to fi" d mstances in history where the fate of an Imy CbZ decided by the fall of its leader. . "™y ""^ 1^ There are some statemente, however, in the exceUent ^ount pubhshed by Colonel Jones (wL must hrhTd the best means of obtaining information on these pi nS Thot'as «r h ' **"» ""=' •'^^""y *» exonerates^ -Thomas Graham, as well as the General entrusted witi, «. command of the enterprise, from the bCe which ^t unfairly been heaped on them, at the same time seem tollh some degree of misconduct on the part of A^p W r detach^ by General Cooke te support th,S^e„?C hundij^ men under Lieut.-Colonf Muller, TZw^. This battalion, he (Colonel Jones) states, "perceiving the enemy preparing to attack them, after hlvinrZ T ^ tn wl ^ T^" S"'*" "^^ ''■'« lottaBon did no! ftll b^k on General Cooke's force at the Orange basdon The surrender of the reserve at the WateJoorTGate CAMPAIGN IN HOLLAND, IN 1814. 59 seems to have arisen either from some mistake or from ignorance of the practicability of effecting their escape in another direction, for it does not appear that they were aware of General Cooke's situation. The loss of these two parties seoms, therefore, to have been the more immediate cause of the failure of the enterprise ; for had both these parties been enabled to form a junction with General Cooke, we should still, notwithstanding our former losses, have been nearly on an equality, in point of numbers, at least, with the enemy. As matters now stood, after these two losses, which reduced our .force in the place to less than half that of the French, General Cooke appears to have done all that could be expected of a prudent and humane commander in sur- rendering, to prevent a useless expenditure of life, after withdrawing all he could from the place. It would appear, in consequent of the delay that occurred before General Cooke entered the place, and the repulse of Col. Morrice's column, that the plan of the attack had been altered, other- wise it is difficult to account for the proceedings of General Skerret in his attempting to penetrate so far along the ramparts to the left of the entrance of the harbor with so small a force. In Sir Thomas Graham's dispatch, (as I have already noticed),, it is stated that the right column, under General Skerret, and the left under General Cooke, "were directed to form a junction as soon as possible," and " clear the rampart of opponents," From the latter words it is evident that he meant by the nearest way along the ramparts ; con- sequently, according to this arrangement, General Skerret's column, after entering at the mouth of the harbour, should m 60 NAREATIVE OF IDE have proceeded along the ramparte to its right lu this ilTa' ^"'rt*'"'^*"" hadproeeeded Jth 15 J» while General Slcernit pushed along the ramparte inTo opposite direotion; from these eireumstaneejt^fl to conelude that General Skorret despaired of being aMe to sJl"! T'^ '^ ^°''"''' ^"^0'' """""-^t, that General Skerret attempted to fall back on the reserv; at the Walr poort gate, but was prevented by the rising of the Sit the entrance of the harbour Th™,™i, •* i j r this dintnn„„ „<• *• ""'""• i-l^oagb it would be rash at «us distance of time to venture to contradict this state -en , I cannon help thinking that he has been miilS" on this point: for on my joining the party, aZoZf. the Waterpoort gate, I heard nothing of such an Xw uv wtijr oy ine toot brido'e across thp Imri^^,. fihet::! ''"f-'"' -'» Company"^ SeSS " I^taXra? te'whierirrr^" ^ -- from bastion iq ^i. n T ^^^ ^^^ just retired Captein GutLro^lhttdXw"" ~"'''^ "^ we ftZ u^t ? ""^"'^ "^*' ■'«' "^"""'"^ »«•=«' that we arew up he log parapet, which was of such use to ns s4^! i'*; ''"" " *"« '"^ »' «■« ^« VOL Of colonel i^^^T^^^ii-ir^^ CAMPAIGN IN HOLLAND, IN 1814. 61 displayed by this gallant officer, upon whom the command so unexpectedly devolved, cannot be mentioned in too high terms of commendation. In concluding my narrative, it will, I trust, be admitted, that however much we may deplore the unfortunate issue of the enterpnse, and the unforseen difficulties which ten- ded to frustrate the best concerted plan of operations, tJbere have been few occasions during the war in which the courage and energies of British Soldiers have been put to such a severe test, or have been met by a more gaUant and success- ful resistance on the part of the enemy. im' '£iik:li^^'jl ,^wiM M m SOUTH AFRICA AND ITS INHABITANTS. ^CHAPTER L Few subjects are mo-e interesting and instructive than the pecuHarities to be observed in those regions of the earth which greatly differ from those of the country wo inhabit. From our natural self-love and egotism, we are extremely prone to indulge in a habit of despising all countries but our own, and to pique ourselves on the accidental circum- stance of having been born in a locality which we fancy to be superior to all others. In this, aa in many other matters, we are much inclined to value ourselves on a cir- cumstance in which we can have no possible merit. We sometimes hear people say, " Thank God, I am an Englishman : " « Thank God, I am a Scotchman : " "Thank God, I am an Irishman." None are less willing to admit any inferiority in their country than the hardy mountaineers of the North, and none feel more satisfaction m this comfortable prejudice, in Bpiie of the sneer of the weU-fed EngUshman, who may tell them " that they thank God for a very small mercy." We are by no means disposed to quarrel with a prejudice which produces, in a great measure that love of Country or patriotism, which is the prolific source of so many virtues ' and which tends to make us contented with our lot. With- out this happy prejudice in favor of our natal spot, we ^f 64 SOUTH APMCA M ,:ii.i should bo wanderers over the face of the earth, and but httlo bettor than savages. The first step (awards eivili^ation is, when a wandorinR people have been indueed to abandon their migrator; habits and when they have boon indueed to depend on the oult.vat.oa of the earth for their future subsistence. Then their numbers greatly ineroase, because they have more food than was formerly supplied by the destruction of the wants, the meohamoal arts soon begin to take root, and to flounsh among them. The Almighty has wisely implanted IZl ' '"'" "' ^""■'"y °' P»'™««"'> order to instead of mdulgmg .n that egotistical feeUn/which prompts us to treat other countries with contempt, ^o should rMhor thank God for giving us that love of cou;try wS can make a desert appear like a paradise. Wo ofi«n despise the inhabitants of other countries simply because their manners differ from ours. Perh.ans hev w" . • 'T """^ "'"'"S'' ^"^-^'S" Countries as if they were be.ngs of a superior order,-Scarcely taking the ^ublo to conceal the contempt they feel for the 2ple As for assoc.at.ng with them, and adapting themXs to' he.r manners and habits of thinking, in order to get an i^- s.ght mto the.r character, that is a thing rarely thought On the contrary, they seem to wrap their prejudices around them hko a comfortable cloak, as if their very eZ tence depended on them. In the accounts which every traveller gives of foreign AND Its INHAliltANTS. 65 countries, a contrast or parallel U necessarily drawn between the manners and pccularitics of his own country, and of tliat which he is describing, and usually everything is con- sidered bad or wrong, which differs from his assumed standard of excellence. In forming our opinions on such subjects, we should endeavour to establish in our own minds a standard of excellence, founded on the abstract idea of what is good in itself. It is only by such means that just ideas can be formed of foreign countries, or of our own. It is almost unnecessary to make any remarks on the many advantages derived from travelling indifferent Coun- tries. Every man who desires to understand his own Country and to divest his mind of illiberal prejudices, should travel. If the habit of traveUing does not degener- ate into a wandering propensity, there will be no danger of the feeling of patriotism being weakened in his mind. On the contrary, he will love his country the more for the excellencies which his more extended observation has brought more distinctly to his view, and his heart will burn with a desire to see those defects remedied, of which he has become sensible by a comparison of his own with other countries. We generally find that the inhabitants of those countries arc the most liberal and tolerant of the opinions of others, among whom there is the greatest amount of travelling. By means of the increased knowledge obtained in this manner, we soon perceive that many of those peculiarities, for which we have felt inclined to censure the inhabitants of other countries, are the inevitable effects of circuiastan- ces over which they have little control— for the very cli- mate of a country exercises a powerful influence over the character -of the inhabitants. *?r m m 80Vm AFRICA ' 'r^^'li ui tuuse or oanada, that there may be somp Aim situated within Cti^Xar T"^ T""""'' '^''^ "^ The situation of ftet"^t;f\:r " ^"'"' "'*'""'^- for !t« ,.i:,.,„. T . ™°"7' ™ some measure, acconnte Sons of Z ,''^"'? '^ *<> *"* «f fte intert^opiX S aL h !'^T"''«°' «f Afrioa, its cUmato i^ necel ^nly and, bemg beyond the influence of the tropical rZ which recur at regular periods everv v..r ^T / "^ ' can Ll,!- 1 -^ ^ '. ' "" "■"S"'*"' circulation of fluids T. ?n "T^"^''^'*''"' o'S-n-ation and motion. Th, AND IDS IKHABITAlJTS. 67 "He sendeth the springs into the rivers, which run among the hills. All beasts of the field drink thereof, and the wild asses quench their thirst. " Beside them shall the fowls of the air have their habi- tation, and sing among the branches. " He watereth the hills from above : the earth is filled with the fruit of thy works." The heat of the sun in South Africa, must draw up prodigious quantities of water from the ocean: but with- out the aid of extensive mountainous tracts of land to attract and retain the clouds and invisible vapour, their boundless supplies of fertilizing moisture will be borne away on the " viewless winds of heaven." In South Africa there are immense chains of mountains extending parallel to, nnd at dibciinces of from ten to sixteen miles from the coast. These chains extend the whoL^ length of the Colony, like immense walls; but they have no greater breadth than ten or fifteen miles, and, of course, their power of feeding springs and rivers is very limited. The clouds are arrested by the mountains as they are carried by the prevailing south-east winds from the sea, and the rain often descends on the mountains or on the south side of them ; but it does not last long enough effectually to penetrate the hard clay soil, or it is rapidly carried off in torrents to the sea, without adding materially to the fertility of the soil. On those parts of the East coast of the colony where the mountains nearly approach the sea, moisture is always most abundant. This observation applies more or less to all countries. It is a curious fact that while on the south — — - .».,i.iiu uj. iuvwiitrtiiia, ui i,iiin> uuikL i/iie sea, ^M M ep*M 68 SODHt APEICA ^rc », frequent showcBof rain; to the nortk „f fc «^o Cham ram sometimes does not fall for twelv* o fifteen months together. »ea, has the effect of greatly lowering the temneratnJ anStofV r •, S'^'^P^' Wnd mosquitoea, a^ 2! f *?"■" f^'^'^ of moist and warm e)L*e. cumate, that m the summer months the thermometer ranges only from 80 to 90, and in winter from 4076 situatTh? ""^t^ '"'"'""' '■""^'^ ■" South Africa,' the* • bT"' r° ''f '"' *"'■' »f--ntai„san 2d w/th S^; ^ f^ T'''"=' ""^ '='"""'7 is ban. of bushes, scattered here and there over the open countrv and small woods situated in the deep and sheCd avte's' of the mountains. There are also extensive jun.* ow trees and bushes, extending far into the interior, aW the^eep beds of the rivers. The dryness of the cl mate ;"? the violenee of the winds, are both circumstances vj unfavorable to the growth of timber ^ moSnr? Tv' ""\^ ^' ''"* ""^ "'^"^ »^ 'he effect of X South Af ":( '^'PJ'""'' ''y '""^^ unacquainted with South Africa, that the surface of the country mav at Bome former period, have been covered with woods. Tt impos^ble to conjecture with any degree of probabilitv what the cUmato of South Africa may have be^naVS ve„oto period in the physical history of tie trid but there are certainly „o positive indications now rem fn! ing AND ITS INHABITANTS. QQ on ite surface, of the former existence of extensive forests, where they are not found at the present day. Foreste m South Africa are now only found where the lofty mountains approach the sea, and in the deep ravines and fissures of the mountains. Had the open country been formerly covered with wQod asm America, it is probable that some of those indications of ancient forests would still be visible, as in this country particularly as but a very small portion of the surface ha^ I ever been broken up by the plough. In no instance have we observed those little cavities and hillocks which are formed by trees which have been thrown down by the j winds. Had the country ever been entirely covered with " I forests. It is probable that by attracting the clouds and moisture from the sea, a perpetual humidity would have been preserved, and the soil have been rendered more I generally susceptible of cultivation. Another cause of the dryness of the climate, may be found in Its very uneven surface, and the almost total absence of snow. In Canada, during the long winter, inexhaustible stores of moisture are laid up in the interior for summer use. The inclination or slope of the ground to he sea is extremely gradual, and consequently the escape I of the waters is retarded. By this happy arrangement of Divine Providence, Canada is rendered one of the most favored countries in the world, by its capabilities of culti- vation, and of supporting a dense and industrious population In South Africa it has been ordered otherwise; md a number of circumstances conspire to render its soil arid and incapable in its present state, of supporting a large popu^ llation. To most of thns^^ P.nn«ocf «rn i,«„^ -i— j . n , , ,«.,..^.. „^ iicivc iiuuiiuy uiiuaea, m ■■ 'i^n m ^Wi 70 SOUTH AFRICA and we need only further state, in elucidation of this part of our subject, that though rains are unfrequent, when they do fall they are in great quantity, and there would be probably, no want of the moisture necessary fur cultivation were it not for the hardness and impenetrability of the soil and the facility for its escape to the rivers and ocean. Among the peculiarities of South Africa, the wide and deep beds of the, rivers are the most remarkable, when compared with the small quantity of water that runs in them. In travelling along the Eastern coast of the Colony m an open waggon^the usual mode of travelling-a whole day is sometimes spent in crossing one of these deep ravines The extent and breadth of these ravines may be conceived when you are informed that a waggon drawn by twelve of the long legged oxen of the country, usually travels at the rate of twenty-five or thirty miles a day. These river ravines are scooped out to a depth of 400 or 500 feet below the general level of the country ; and the distance between their high banks, in a direct line, is often ^ Jiot less than ten or twelve miles. On reaching the base of one of these high banks, no river or stream of any kind is visible for many miles; but the traveller proceeds along a evel and arid track of land thickly covered with copses of low wood and brushes, until he reaches what is called « the river," in its narrow channel, and in which, for the greater part of the year, there is scarcely sufficient water to turn the wheel of a mill ! Sometimes-perhaps once in nine or ten years -heavy and long continued rains produce a flood m these rivers, when the whole of the flat ground, several miles m breadth, is overflowed. It seems inconceivable that such rivers as are found in I of this part it, when they •e would be, 'f cultivation iy of the soil, ocean. he wide and kable, when hat runs in P the Colony ng— a whole leep ravines. >e conceived, by twelve of avels at the bh of 400 or y; and the ine, is often ; the base of my kind is eds along a h copses of Jailed " the the greater ;er to turn in nine or uce a flood nd, several AND ITS INHABITANTS. 7J elevated h .7 , V t ^^" ""oontainous banks, are devated but a very few feet above the level of the sea part rs "'"^T" ''""^^ ^' ^-«'- f-^ -v"; part of those river fla^ show, beyond a doubt, that thev have for a long time been covered with water. ^ lating these oiroumstances together inotn^^ „p »» • me action of the rivers, we are more inclined to believe that they were formed originally, by some grand cS along he nvers, was produced by the action of the sea when It stood at a higher level than at present. In lu iZil^' """.f "'^ '^'''' "-*» *e land ll these plains was suddenly raised above its level and the -.^gradually formed the smaller channel t^ nl From what has been said the reader will readily perceive hat the chmate of South Africa is as different frrmthll of Canada as it is possible to conceive t ao^ of levated plains far in the interior of the country Id thf^r* -tnown on the high ground.. That trac'' p.ed dunng the summer by the .Outch coloni te with h ir immense flocks of sheep and cattle ; but IwilS M 7:T °"" '"■" ■" ""^ '"^ °^«»*-y. ^ -<^ the cold, and the necessity of fodd^rmo- *»,.;. l[a ! never inquired in othei parferf the" c:;;;;^""^' """* " 73».. SOUTH AFRICA To give a general idea of the surface of thecoi«jtry, in as few words as possible, we shall endeavour to present to your minds a section of the colony, commencing at the seacoast at any point to the eastward of what is more properly called the Cape of Good Hope, which is the Soul^hern extremity of South Africa, and proceeding inland. All along the eastern as well as the western coast of the colony, extend huge chains of sand hills of dazzling white- ness, and in many places not less than three or four hun- dred feet high. The sand is generaUy of a calcareous nature, being formed of the comminuted particles of sea shells' ground into powder by the constant action of the surf' which breaks without intermission on the beach, and with a noise more stunning than that of the Falls of Niagara. The south-east wind throws up the sand in lofty irregular ridges-in some places extending for more than three miles in breadth from the beach to the nearest habitable land. The wind, blowiig almost always in one direction from the sea, is continually adding to the extent of the land along the coast. It^is interesting to observe the progressive steps by which this moving sand is gradually rendered productive by the hand of nature. For some time time the sand hills attain but a moderate elevation; but gradually the ^action of the rain and air seems to decompose the sea shells a little below the surface, where the sand has been rendered more compact by the weight of the superincumbent matter, and thus several thin crusts of soft limestone are formed, which give con- sistency to the mass, and create a foundation for further augmentation, and a repetition of the same process. AND IIS INHABITANIS. 73 While these operations are going on, a variety of creen .„g plants and shrubs take root in the loose sand on Z surface, and binding it together form by their deeav TJ. productive soil. In this manner high hillsl Iv L pTj of the coast have originally been formed. They «e "! mcred with grass and low woods, and often eLTd fi hundred or six hundred feet in height ^"^ No one who has not closely ezamined their structure would suppose that the calcareous sand of whieh Z formed was originally supplied by a colony „fS ZT narrow reef of rocks iu the ocean vJt T • " * Still working stupendous ^J^n ZtZhZ''::^- by means dmost imperceptible U> our senses or Z>n ' Among the productions of these sandhills which' are useful toman, the berri/u,ax ismostworthj of notice tZ le^, u,a. .s much used by the Dutch colonL, Vh n mi!^ with anequal quantity of tallow,for making oodles T^dft « sold m the Capet<,wn market at the same price TtaX j The smaU tree which bears these useful beHeT^m grows above eight or ten feet high. The berries l^S «e of peas, of a dark green colour, and covered ^l hght blue flour. At theproper season skins arespreadrL .and below the bushes, and they are then beaten w'thW *cb, and It appears that the more the bushes ai^^^Lfeen and mangled in this way, the more the tree thrive! ThU puts one in mind of the ungallant English proverb carried down among the lower classes from a barbarous age" "A woman, a spaniel, a walnut tree, The more you Dcat them the better they'll be. " ^r^^ 1 '"'*"'"" ''"■■'""'y °^ *« '^"ie« has been gathered, they are boiled in large nets with w,,.., .,„.,!!" , !i~n- ST' >i ^i. L' t 74 SOUTH AFRICA wax is melted and rises to the surface, when it is skimmed off and put into vessels to cool. The berry wax, when it is cool, forms a hard cake, which rings like iron when struck. It is much more brittle than bee's wax, and it seems to be more of the nature of fat than wax, but its dusky green colour prevents it from being so generally used as it otherwise would be. We are not prepared to say whether this tree is the same as one of similar qualities found in the sandhills of the Southern States of America. . On leaving the sandhills, for forty or fifty miles, you pass through a country covered with hills of a moderate ele- vation. The country, in many places, between the Sand- hills on t:ie coast and the first range of mountains, is entirely composed of ridgy hills, which are known by the expres- sive local appellation of « Ruggens" or " backs," without anything Uke a plain or level tract of ground between them. In some few places the part of this hilly country nearest to the sea is covered with luxuriant vegetation or a ^ass two or three feet high, with a seed resembling 'oat« Where this is the case there is generally a much larger pro- portion of calcareous matter, or pulverized sea shells, mixed with silicious sand. The soil thus acquires the power of attracting a large portion of moisture from the atmos- phere, and of thus resisting the natural dryness of the climate. WMle we resided at the Cape, we had an opportunity of observing the extraordinary and almost ^ credible fer- tihty of this kind of soil. Dutch farmers, who had resided for more than forty years on the coast, near Cape Padron had sown wheat on the same ground every year for the whole of that time without using manure of any kind, and )• AND ITS INHABITANTS. 75 Without any other preparation than one ploughing, and yet hoy reaped erops yielding from forty to ejy fold, and no d,mmut.on of fertility w.« perceptible in the Jl. !„' " Loweyer, the country between the coast and the mountains' though naturally fertile, with the aidof artiBcial irrig Z' ■s parched dunng the summer months, and the wheai 3. ' '" '^'■^«'»»™'=<' «f ''~»ght, every four or fiCe There is generally a great scarcity of water throughout the belt of land between the mountain and the sea Uunng the winter months small streams are found in many of he val eys, but in the dry season they are found tandmg m muddy pools, where the numerous flocks of the farmers are supplied with water. In this tract of country the colonists seldom cultivate anything but wheat, and, i^ many mstanees, they are supported entirely by the produce of the,r flocks. Their supplies of other articles of f^d- s«ch as pumpkins, beans, peas, lentils, and other vegetables -are procured from the farmers who live along the baTof e mounta.ns where the rains and springs are more abond ant. In this tract of country there is little or no fruit on rZ h ?; 'f "^ "■" '"^"^ »^ *^ -'• The I nd ploughed for wheat, which, as we have already observed, .almost the only crop which the farmers attempt to raise at the season when the ground has been softened by the rains. At other times ploughing would be impossible In passing through this hilly and undulating country towards the mountains, you must not imagine that we aJe travelling along a well beaten road, fenced on each side, as m Canada, or that the road is traceable by means of the deep ruts of the waggon wheels. No : frnne. =~ .l~..-t ■ -4 mr ■"Mil . f ■ i'l » ,^ « ■ §^^i mM 76 SOUTH AFRICA unknown in South Africa. Nothing there is fenced in but the gardens, orchards, and vineyards of the farmers. Their grain crops are left without fence of any kind, the farmers taking care to drive their cattle to a distance in the morn- ing, and when they are brouguH) -uje h. the evening they are secured in an enclosure, formed ly drawing mimosa trees, with their long sharp thorns in a circle. These enclosures are called " Kraals" by the Dutch ; and here the manure of the cattle accumulates in a number of years, until it is oft«n nine or ten feet high. The surface of the ground is so hard that the wheels of a heavily laden waggon scarcely leave a mark behind them. Little clumps of low wood are seen scattered here and there with their dense dark green foliage, which the rays of the sun cannot penetrate, aflfording a grateful shade to the tra- veller who has been riding twenty or thirty miles in the scorching sun over these arid hills. Here, if there is no farm-house near, he unsaddles his horse, secures him by tying his neck to one of his fore legs, and turns him out to graze during the heat of the day. The picture we have given of this part of the country may not, at first sight, appear very attractive, but still it has its charms. There is a delightful feeling of boundless freedom in galloping over the fields of South Africa, uncon- fined by fences and " improvements." Nature, in her wildest scenes, is everywhere beautiful and the heart, weary and tired of the artificial, feels a wild, indescribable pleasure in luxuriating on the face of the earth as God made it. As you speed along over hill and dale, you see whole herds of antelopes quietly grazing, with their sentinel on AND ITS INHABITANTS. 77 the look out, to warn them of approaching danger. There a troop of quaggas aro galloping along the slope of a hill ; there a troop of ostriches, with outstretched wings, are scouring along like the wind. The number of these wild animals of the desert the traveller encounters, in a ride of thirty or forty miles, is truly wonderful. We have counted fifty or sixty antelopes in a troop, and of one species of antelopes— the ^'spring hoM'- troops of two or three hundred, and sometimes, in the remote interior, of thousands, are met With every day in some parts of the colony. But we shall not stop in this place to d. ribe the wild animals of Africa. On approaching the magnificent chain of mountains, which extend along the whole eastern coast of South Africa, the scene suddenly changes. Towering up to the^ height of 3500 or 4000 feet above the valley at their base, these mountains present a bold and precipitous fnce towards the sea coast on the south. They may be seen stretching away east and west to an immense distance sometimes overhanging their base, and always presenting a clear and well defined outline against the deep blue and cloudless sky. These mountains are generally united in one continuous range, like a gigantic wall, but divided here and there by wide ravines, with woods and lofty perpen- dicular precipices rising one above another. Deep gorges often penetrate far into the mountain barrier, with perpen- dicular rocks on either hand, rising to the height of 700 or 800 feet, and filled with lofty t es. From these arid ravines and gorges little rivulets pour their fertilizing streams into the valley beneath, where they are utilized for various purposes. In one place an overshot i\ *-, .*1 78 SOUTH AFRICA mill may bo seen, with the white water shiuin- in the sun. In another the water is led out to irri<,^ate a beautiful orchard or vineyaid. There you may see rows of oran-o trees, with their brilliant dark green foliage studded with their golden fruit. So productive are the orange trees in that country that we have seen a whole waggon load of ripe fruit gathered at one time from a single tree, leaving twice as much not yet ripe on the tree. We shall not describe all the varieties of fruit trees found in the South African orchards. We may merely mention the great quantities of peaches, which are more plentiful than apples are with us in Canada, and arc considered of so little value that the wandering Hottentots are often allowed to carry them away in their bags. A beautiful level valley from half a mile to two or three miles in width, watered by numerous rivulets, and studded with pretty white farm houses every two or three miles, extends along the base of the mountains. It is along the base of these mountains that the most beautiful and picturesque scenery is to be found ; and cer- tainly we have seen nothing in any degree comparable to it m any other part of the world. The mountains are gener- ally destitute of wood, with the exception of the small forests found in the deep and almost inaccessible ravines. They are, however, covered all the way up their sides to the very summits with lofty flowering shrubs and heaths, from six to ten feet high, and near the base the air is loaded with the rich and almost oppressive perfume of the luxuriant shrubs of geranium. In ascending the mountains, the pedestrian is often AND ITS INHABITANTS. 79 roused from his reveries amidst these wild solitudes of nature, by the hissing of some poisonous snake at his feet, or by the Pudden harsh bark of a startled troop of baboons,' as they scamper up the steep rocks with their fellows, stop- pmg from time to time to survey, with grave and solemn aspect, the intruder on his savage domain. As he approaches the rooks on the verge of the deep ravines lie may perceive the nimble <' Klip Springer^' or Rock Antelope, gliding along the face of the inaccessible preoi- pice as if by magic, or the " jRock Rahhit'' running up the smooth face of the rocks from cliff to cliff. The conies, or " rock rahbita" of the Holy Scripture, there can bo little doubt, are the rock rabbits found in Palestme, as well as in South Africa, and the wild goats were probably antelopes, similar to those we have been describing. *' The high hills are a refuge to the 'wild goats; and the rocks for the conies ^ The rock rabbit is furnished by nature with a soft, fleshy foot, which enables it to ascend the steepest and narrow- est rocks without slipping. On crossing the first chain of mountains you descend into an elevated plain, many feet higher than the well watered valley on the side next the sea. This plain is nearly level, and of vast extent. The soil is a bright red clay, like burned brick, which is generally called ''Karroo;' being a Hottentot word adopted into the Dutch African dialect. The whole country to the north of the first chain of mountains is generally known by the name of " The Karroo." Wherever springs can be obtained to water the land, the i'*j-i »^] ►K 80 SOtTH AFRICA 'B It * s( il Of the " Karroo" is of extraordinary fertility. One bushel of wheat sown generally yields from eighty to one hundred fold, and it is curious to see waving crops of ereen corn and trees loaded with fruit on one small space of cul- tivated and well watered land, while all around it is a howhng wilderness— all bleak and desolate. Any one unacquainted with the country would not sup- pose, from the appearance of « The Karroo^' that it was capable of furnishing nourishment for sheep and cattle The grass is almost always withered and scorched by the drought and heat of the sun, and verdure is never seen during the summer or dry season, but for a few days after a thunder storm, when the rain has moistened the arid ground. But Providence even here has supplied abundant nourishment to the wild animals of the desert as well as for cattle and sheep. TheKarroois plentifully sprinkled with a kind . low shrubby plant, which the Dutch call '' Spek- hoom:^ or " fat tree." This plant is covered with round fleshy, succulent leaves of an agreeable acid taste, resembling that of the " caper." " When the grass fails, the sheep and cattle subsist on these leaves, and even become fat. Sometimes, however the drought k so great that even the " Spek-hoorrC' fails tj afford sufficient nourishment. Then the cattle die in great numbers, unless they are driven away to better pastures. Many sheep farmers on the " Karroo" plains support their flocks by driving them about from place to place, rest- ing for a few days or weeks, wherever a thunder shower has moistened the arid soil and made the grass to spring AND ITS INHABITANTS. gl up. TheBo farmers, with their wives and children, live in aeir covered waggons, „r sleep on the ground Kke th w^ food, eabng fat mntton at every meal, and usin» goafs flesh with It by way of vegetables. ° ^ thc^'all' *;' '"'"*y '''' '''"''«"' *« wits, as it does the appetite. It may very well be supposed that the soul cannot be very active or brilliant that goes to sLepevrv night and for two or three hours in the middle of thelT on such substantial fare as fat mutton and Lat's flesh ::rr:uSL-;tt''Th*" 't '^ '"- Huge farmers and Z^^Z^ Z'^Z '^Z^^^ to uch an unweildy size, that they could not sit rfdTbvTd! Sanlsltr °^ *^ ^*'""'' """"J »W»i"K races and sparkhng eyes of our countrvmen whn »».„ * grow fat in spite of themselves. ' *" ^ The Cape Dutchfarmer is a torpid slu»rish bein^ R sz 2' 'r^ \^-- n„Urr^^:f, th!: n Tff bl '*' *'* "^"y g'^""? ^^^ to the dig. to desc^r- Ji-:;-- --^ ^^^^^ -lap. in,„ their usual sJte of c^f™:;; ' ^^^ ^'^'"^ While we cannot help feeliug somp tiL^a^ ^ . ror these lordly mountains of inlS^^ r ^ d2 « -<• 82 SOUTH AFRICA Hi' ?;• B' II allow ourselves to blame them too much. The stock farmer of the " Karroo" is not much worse than the circumstances of the country have made him. He inhabits a country which cannot be cultivated by the plough, and which is incapable of supporting a dense population, and, of course, lacks those motives which should call forth his ingenuity and stimulate his industry. It is a principle in human nature that men always endea- vour to live with as little toil or manual labor as may be consistent with their habits or ideas of comfort. It is as vain to preach up industry to those who can live without toil as to tell a man to eat when he has no appetite. ^ Those countries are generally the most advanced in civi- lization where the greatest amount of energy and labor was formerly required to procure constant supply of food. England and France, for instance, owe the industry of their population to the bold and energetic races that poured into them from the rude North ; and, in general, it may be observed, that the progressof a people in the arts of civilized life is invariably in proportion to the facility of obtaining food. We shall not, however, dwell longer on this subject in this place, but proceed with our description of the country. *' The Karroo," or great central plain of South Africa is traversed by several low ranges of hills, running, for the most part, parallel to the mountain ranges. In some quar- ters, however, a very singular appearance is presented, which has given rise to much interesting speculation among the geologists who have visited this remote region. A number of hills arise on these plains quite detached from each other, with tops perfectly level, and all of AND ITS INHABITANTS. 83 exactly the same height, so that horizontal lines drawn from the summit of any one of them, would rest on the flat tops of the others. An inspection of the summits of these hills leaves no doubt on the mind of the geologist that they form parts of what was once a great elevated plain on a level with their summits, but how the land between them has been removed is a question hard of solution. The whole surface of these plains is covered with pro- digious multitudes of the various species of antelopes found in the colony, with numerous herds of other animals. Some species of the antelopes are gregarious : others are only found in pairs. Most of them inhabit the open country but two or three species of them live in the woods, and so' well defined are their peculiar habits that it is almost impos- sible to drive some species of antelopes into the woods, or to drive others out of them. Another remarkable fact is that several species of antelopes inhabit a particular tract of land, as between two rivers, and are never found beyond the range which nature or habit has aasigned them. They seem te have been intended purposely to inhabit a parti- cular locality. Several varieties of this numerous class of animals have been utterly extirpated by the colonists; and some others, in spite of their being protected by law, by severe penalties imposed on their destruction, seem des- tined te disappear from the earth in a few years. The most numerous of the antelope tribe, are the Spring locks," which roam over the " Karroo," in countless herds, despising every obstruction. It sometimes happens that a numerous herd of " spring-bocks " is intercepted in its course by a long string of farmers' waggons, drawn by twelve oxen each, journeying into the interior. When this hap. N i, m*y riil i" .11 |:-''5i'- : '^- 84 SOUTH AFRICA pens, the <' spring-hochs " do not deviate from their course, but leap and bound over the waggons and oxen like grass- hoppers, and the farmers have sometimes shot them while in the air. No dog, however swift, can catch the " spring- bock " ; for though its speed is not very great, the moment a dog is about to seize it, it leaps up in the air to a great height, and his pursuer is thus constantly baffled. On these plains are also found large flocks of Ostriches, Quaggas, and Zebras, and other animals, the names and description of which would be tiresome to our hearers. Tix in the interior, beyond the limits of the colony, the gentle cameleopard or girafie is found browzing upon the leaves of the graceful thorny mimosa, from the rough bark of which the gum arable exudes in considerable quantities. The climate of South Africa, however, is not sufficiently warm to enable the mimosa to produce this gum ii^ great abundance. The gum Senegal, or common gum arable of commerce, being gathered from the trees by the natives of the intertropical regions of that continent. The elephants and buffaloes of the Cape, are generally found in company with each other, near the coast, for water in abundance seems almost essential to their nature and habits. We have seen eighty or a hundred elephants in one troop browzing among the thick bushes on the banks of the Great Fish river and Bosjesman's river; and we have often seen more than four hundred or five hundred buffaloes grazing quietly near the edge of the high woods in the same part of the country. As the country becomes more settled or frequented by man, these animals retire sullenly into the dark shades of the high woods, where it is often very dangerous to attack them. AND ITS INHABITANTS. 85 The Karroo is the native country of the lion, where he follows the steps of the " Spring-boeks " and other animals, or follows the track of the solitary Hottentot, urging on his scared horse in the hope of reaching some pi ce of sffety coast but to make amends for his absence, we have the ele- phant, he buffalo, the wild boar, the leopard, the hjoena and jackall, dl tolerably destructive in their wly, JZe of them such as the elephant, buffalo and leopard, suffi- ciently dangerous to afford the ezcitement which is so tascmatmg to the sportsman. The destructive locusts are generally found spreading desolation over some portions of the arid plains of the inter- lor of the colony. They first appear in innumerable swarms as thick as snow flakes, and darken the sun like a cloud Wherever they alight, every trace of vegetation disappears ma few hours. They devour the grass into the very roote m the ground, and strip the leaves from every tree and bush. The first swarms are somewhat nice and epicuiish m their tastes, selecting the tenderest and sweetest grasses for their repast. The next swarms that succeed them, leave nothing; but devour every green herb or leaf indiscrimina- • tely. Sometime after the mischief is done, they are followed by prodigious numbers of small birds of a particular species who feast on these destructive insects and devour them in' the air with such extraordinary avidity, that they are soon entirely destroyed. These birds t,ake in the whole body of the locust at one snap of thoif Mis. The extended wings of the locusts are cut off at tbr, ^me time, and fall to he earth in a thick shower of glittering flakes, which has a most singular appearance, resembling a snow storm. We (■■* s" . 1* - .1/ * t j 86 SOUTH AFRICA i,.!'" * :.,i I I! ' t, Ct have never, ourselves, witnessed the onslaught of these locust birds, but we have been told by those who have, that they have ridden for miles where the wings of the locusts had fallen so thick on the ground, that their horses hoofs were covered with them. These swarms of locusts once visited the sea-coast where we resided in South Africa which they had not done for forty years before. There, however, they were not followed by the birds, but they were at last swept into the sea by a violent wind,' and we afterwards saw their bodies washed up along the shore, for many miles, two or three feet high. Whenever the sun sets, down drop the destroyers, wher :-fer they may be at the time, and they may be ;seen thickly covering the branches of the trees and shrubs. One year they deposited their eggs m the ground, and the next scupon the young locusts, wi'th- out wings, black, and about an inch long, comm<3nced their destructive progress. On they went in myriads over every obstruction, devouring every thing before them. When their route was intercepted by a small rivulet, the foremost ranks of the marauders were forced into the water, and their bodies formed a bridge for those that followed! In this respect, these insects resemble in no small degree the human race; for every one knows that the boldest and most enterprising in the race of invention and improvement seldom live to reap the fruit of their discoveries, but have to content themselves with having the honor to be used as a convenient bridge, by those who follow, but who are too dull, or too timid to lead the way themselves. Before concluding our observations on the Karroo plains, we may mention the curious fact, that drawings of somo animal, resembling the unicorn, which is looked upon as a |!-|. -". AND ITS INHABITANTS. gy fabulous creation, are found in several cases, executed by theBosjesman Hottentots, who are remarkable for possess- log a great natural genius for drawing and imitation of evoiy kind. The curiosity of theworld has been frequently excited by accounts of the actual existence of the LcoZ m the mterior of India. Similar accounts have often reached the colonists of South Africa from individuals of some of the native tribes of the interior, but this wonderful ammal has hitherto eluded the search of man If It actually exists in any part of the worid. When we reflect on the number of wild animals which have dis- appeared or been destroyed by man since the creation of the worid It by no means seems incredible that such an ammal as the unicorn, entirely distinct from the rhinoceros may have existed in some remote age in the world The description of all the animals that are found in this colony would, we fear, be tiresome; and, to do justice to the subject would require wider limits than would be adm.ssible in a work of this nature. Before concluding however we shall venture to give a short account of the la^e natural Salt Lakes found in some parts of South Africa, but chiefly near the sea-coast. These lakes are found generally within a few miles of he sea, with which, however, they have no visible con- nection They are usuaUy found on flat table-lands, several hundred feet above its level, and are supplied by salt springs running mto or rising beneath their bottoms. The oreat evaporation occasioned by the heat of the sun forms .. thick erust of salt over the whole surface of these lakes, which gives them exactly the appearance of being covered with -ee and snow. The Salt Lakes m often three or four \9 >■ 1 h\- 88 SOUTH AFRICA m '1 miles in circumference, and they yield a large quantity of this necessary article, sufficient for the demands of a large portion of the colony. In most instances, they are the property of the Colonial Government, and a consider- able revenue is raised by the sale of licences to gather salt to the farmers. ^ Abundance of strong, large-grained salt is found at all times of the year, excepting immediately after rains, when the surface of the lakes is covered with water, but which is soon evaporated by the sun. The farmers proceed to the lakes with spades and hoes, and a few hours' labor is sufficient to enable them to load their waggons. In the interior of the colony salt is a valuable article, as they are obliged to procure their supplies from the coast, and some of the tribes of the natives in the interior seem to have as great a relish for salt as our children have for sugar. This salt, however useful and necessary it may be for common domestic purposes, is not well adapted for curing meat which has to be kept a long time, as it extracts too much of its fat and nutritive juices. This is generally attributed to its containing too much nitre or saltpetre. The whole of South Africa abounds in salt or brackish springs, and, in fact, almost all the small streams and rivu- lets in every part of the colony are, more or less, impreg- nated with common salt or with sulphate of magnesia. In no part of the colony, however far removed from the sea- Coast, is it necessary to give salt to cattle, as in Canada. The reason of this is obvious, from what has been said. In this part of my work I have endeavoured to give you a general idea of the country and its appearance, while m. \ n, *i AND ITS INHABITANTS. gQ travelling from the coast U> a central part of it, towardn the stupendous chain of lofty mountains that bounds the most populous part of the colony to the north, and which follows a direction nearly parallel with the coast. As I proceeded however a variety of interesting matter presented itself to my mind, and I found I could not say all I desired with- out too much exhausting your patience. If, however I have been so fortunate as to have in any degree excited your curiosity respecting a country which, from a lon^ residence m my youthful days, has become as ..ar to me as my native country, I shall be happy, in another chapter, to contmue my observations on South Africa and give you a more particular account of its inhabitants, the Dutch, the Hottentots, and of the brave and intelligent Kaffirs, who are now maintaining a desperate and hopeless struggle with the colonists and the British forces. On the present occasion, having brought you to the con- hnes of the wild and desolate Karroo, beyond the lofty mountains, I cannot better conclude this chapter than by reading to you the beautiful and very original poem of my late lamented friend and fellow-colonist in South Africa-! Thomas Pringle— which contains a most vivid picture of the South African Desert. I shall merely observe in this place that Mr. Pringle resided for many years in the interior of the Cape Colony, where he had settled with his whole family, after having for several years devoted himself to hterary pursuits. He afterwards returned to En-land where he became Secretary to the Anti-Slavery Society ' He devoted his whole life-and few lives have been more useful— to a manful and determined resistance of oppres- sion, for which so many of his countrymen have been dis- ;i^.- f^- 90 SOUTH AFRICA -•Jul. t- fi. !;;.:. tinguiHhed, and in zealously advocating the cause of human ity and justice. His health failed him, in conaoqucnee of over-exertion; but he was so happy as to live to see the groat work of emancipation completed. Supported by the no>^lest motives that can actuate the heart of a brave and truly benevolent man, he struggled on against the stream to the last, little regarding the puny attempt of the sordid and mercenary Satrap who would have crushed every noble effort to benefit a colony he then so shamefully misgoverned. He sacri- ficed his life to his principles. Would to God that all could give as good an account of their stewardship : AFAR IN THE DESERT. BY THOMAS PBINQLB. • Afar in the Desert I love to ride, With the silent Busb-Boy alone by my side : When the sorrows of life the soul o'ercast, And sick of the present, I turn to the past ; When the eye is suffused with regretful tears, From the fond recollections of former years ; And shadows of things that have long since fled, Flit over the brain, like the ghosts of the dead ; Bright visions of glory, that vanish too soon ; Day-dreams, that departed ere manhood's noon. Attachments by fate or by falsehood reft. Companions of early days, lost or left ; And my native land, whose magical name Thrills to the heart like electric flame j The home of my childhood, the haunts of my prime ; All the passions and scenes of that rapturous time, When the feel'ugs were young and the world was new, Like the iVesh bowers of Eden unfolding to viuw ; AND ITS rNIIABITANTS. 91 All, all now forsaken, forgotten, forgone! And I, a lone exile remombci •(! of none • My high airag abandoned, my good act3 undone; And weary of all that is under the sun • With that sadness of heart which no stranger rnay scan, 0, fly to the Desert afar from man I ' > Afar in the Desert I love to ride, With the silent Bush-Boy alone by my side • When the wild turmoil of this wearisome life With Its scenes of oppression, co. uption and strife, The proud man's frown, the base man's fear The scorner's laugh, and the sufferer's tear And malice and'meanness, and falsehood and folly Diapose me to musing and dark melancholy ; When my bosom is full, and my thoughts are high, And my soul is sick with the bondsman's sigh, Oh ! then there is freedom, and joy, and pride. Afar in the Desert alone to ride I There is rapture to vault on the champing steed. And to bound away with the eagle's .peed With the death-fraught firelock in my hand- The only law of the Desert land ! Afar in the. Desert I love to ride. With the silent Bush-Boy alone by my side I Away, away from the dwellings of men. By the wild Deer's haunt, by the Buffalo's glen ; In valleys remote where the oribi plays. Where the gnu, the gazelle, and the harte-beast graze And the Koodoo and Eland unhunted recline ' By the skirts of grey forests o'erhung with wild vine- Where the Elephant browses at peace in his wood nd tho River-Horse gambols unscared in the flood And the mighty Rhinoceros wallows at will ' In the fen where the Wild-Ass is drinking his fill. Afar in the Desert I love to ride, With the silent Bash-Boy alone by my side : , '» U\ ^$ » r y. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) '^O % % 1.0 I.I .25 ^1^ 121 ut 1^ |2.2 U 11.6 :| I iJuiLAaaijiiiL Saences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEL.TER,N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 ^ ^. ? 92 SOUTH AFRICA. I ^ ■'■'' O'er the brown Karroo, where the bleating cry Cf the Spring-bock's fawn sounds plaintively ; And the timorous quagga's shrill whistling neigh Is heard bj the fountain at twilight grey ; Where the Zebra wantonly tosses his mane With wild hoof scouring the desolate plain, And the fleet-footed ostrich over the waste Speeds liLe a horseman who travels in haste, Hieing away to the home of his rest ; Where she and her mate have scooped their nest, Par hid from the pitiless plunderer's view In the pathless depths of the parched Karroo. Afar in the Desert I love to ride, . With the silent Bush-Boy alone by my side. Away, away, in the wilderness vast, Where the white man's foot hath never passed, And the quivered Coranna and Bechuan Hath rarely crossed with his roving clan : A region of emptiness, howling and drear, Which man hath abandoned from famine and fear ; Which the snake and the lizard inhabit alone. With the twilight bat from the yawning stone, Where grass, nor herb, nor shrub takes root. Save poisonous thorns that pierce the foot ; And the bitter melon for food and drink. Is the pilgrim's fare by the Salt Lake's brink. A region of drought, where no river glides. Nor rippling brook with osiered sides : Where sedgy pool, nor bubbling fount, Nor tree, nor cloud, nor misty mount, Appears to refresh the aching eye ; But the barren earth, and the burning sky, And the blank horizon, round and round, Spread— void of living sight or sound. And here, while the night-winds round one sigh. And the stars burn bright in the midnight sky, AND ITS INHABITANTS. As I sit apart by the desert stone, Like Elijah at Horeb's cave alone, A still small voice comes through the wild (Like a father consoling his fretful child), Which banishes bitterness, wrath and fear. Saying— man is distant, but God is near I ' 93 CHAPTER II. In the last chapter I could only give you a slight sketch of the most remarkable features of South Africa. I shall now conduct you to Cape Town, the capital of the colony, and endeavour to give you such a description of that prosperous town and the surrounding country as my short residence in that locality will permit. After a long voyage, of nearly three months, from Eng- land, it may be supposed that the sight of any land would be agreeable ; and when to this natural feeling is added that indescribable charm which is always associated with novelty to youthful and sanguine minds, you may readily conceive the unbounded delight with which we surveyed, for the first time, the celebrated " Cape of Storms." Long before we came within sight of any other part of the coast of South Africa, Table Mountain, which rises to the height of 3582 feet, was distinctly visible from the deck of our vessel. As we neared the land, the mountain seemed to rise higher and higher out of the sea, and hill after hill became visible, until the whole magnificent panorama was stretched out and around us. Tbe first aspect of the country was somewhat wild and forbidding. The larger objects first attract our att^ntioo ^! . 94 SOUTH AFRICA. ^^ ! Hi S-' ■!' I '"1 as we approach the land, while the smaller, on which the beauty of a landscape so much depends, escape our notice. At a distance form and outlines are always well defined in the clear and unclouded sky of a warm southern latitude ; but colours are not distinguishable until we are close to the shore. As we sailed into Table Bay, we beheld the beautiful town, with its white flat-roofed houses, laid out in regular streets, on a sloping hill, at the base of the mountain, which towered up in all its grandeur almost immediately behind it. The face of the mountain was exceedingly steep, and terminated at the top in lofty perpendicular crags, with a deep fissure or " kloof" through the rocks near the centre. It is by cJimbing through this wild fissure among fallen rocks and bushes that travellers are enabled to reach the i summit of the mountain. Along the base, facing the town. Table Mountain is skirted with thick woods of the "silver tree." These woods are not lofty, but are very valuable for fire wood, which is scarce and dear in Cape Town. The " silver iree," in its native state, is found in no other part of the world than around Table Moimtain, though it has be«n planted successfully in some other parts of the colony. It is curious to observe, in the construction of Cape Town, that taste for canals and ditches, which seems to be as natural to Dutchmen as water to ducks. In every street there is a deep ditch on each side, wanting nothing but flat ground, stagnant water, and frogs, to render it an exact representation of a Dutch village. The houses are all built two stories high, of stone or brick, plastered smoothly over, and whitewashed with lime. As I roofed, i no detac length has its ] with sea piasterec The I easy circ in the i Dutch m( gowns an cups of C( In pro the town cottages, with the : over head Beyonc cultivatioi growing v studded \ along higl Cape T its origin? '' ginger bi partial in building a elegant sty It was Town, whi ■ J' 5» "^r AND ITS INHABITANTS. 95 As I have already observed, the houses are ahuost all flat roofed, so ft«t in the streets, near the sea, where there are no detached bmldings, a person might walk along the whole length of a street on the top of the houses. Kverjr house has .te promenade or « stoop" along the whole of its frent, w.th seats at each end, built of stone or briek, and neatlJ plastered and ornamented with lime or stucco The Dutch are all early risers ; and if an Englishman in easy oireumstanoes could persuade himself to get up at five ' ra the morning, he would see most of the steady-going Dutchmen qmetly seated on their " stoops" in their moraint gowns and slippers, smoking thoir pipes, and drinking theS onps of coffee or " tea water." rn proceeding along the streets towards the outskirts of the town, ttere are many beautiful houses and pre.., CO tages, with broad verandaH shaded by luxuriant vines' .Itr \7^ ''"^P.^"^ '■™" ^"'^'^ '» ^"SO bunched over head, yielding a delicious coolness. Beyond the town, and all round the mountain, wherever cultivation is practicable, the land is covered with vines - added wiai delightful cottages, covered with vines kd along high frames. Cape Town, even when I saw it in 1819, was fast losing ts onginsi Dutch character; an^, instead of the vulgar gingerbread" ornaments in plaster, to which they are so partuU m their buildings, the English merehante were taUding a number of hand.,ome residences in a pure and elegant style of architecture. It was the mouth of September when I was at Cape iowu, which season in that latitude and hemisphere eo^ ' lit f § ". oq SOUTH AFRICA responds with our winter, or rather spring. In the early morning the summit of the mountain at this time of the year was covered with a slight sprinkling of snow, and the small pools near the town were covered with thin ice, both of which disappeared as soon as the sun was above the mountains. In my morning walks one of the first places I visited was the market place, where a number of farmers from the ' country were assembled, with their waggons covered with canvass, to protect them from the sun, and drawn by twelve, sixteen, or twenty oxen. The farmers, or " Boors," as they are called in Dutch, are a tall race of men, and greatly inclined to corpulency, which takes j^ace with them at an earlier period of life than in colder countries, where, from habits of labor and bodily exercise, the human frame becomes more compact, and the muscular system more rigid. The Cape Butch are gener- ally of a lax fibre, heavy, languid, and clumsy in their motions, a^d their whole appearance indicates that cold, phlegmatic temperament by which their whole race is more or less distinguished. Their common dress, at that time, was a broad-brimmed white felt hat, of native manufacture; a loose round jacket, of coarse duffle cloth, of a light drab colour, and wide trowsers, made of tanned goat or sheep skins, sewed with sinews taken from their cattle, instead of thread. Stock- ings were worn by the farmers only on particular occasions, and, in the country, many of them, instead of shoes, only wore what they called " Feldt-schom" or country shoes, which were made by cutting a square piece from a soft bullock's hide, and sowing up the corners over the feet, •flBF AND ITS INHABITANTS. 97 There was altogether something strange and uneouth in these huge fellows as they stalked about, talking to each other m their harsh, guttural dialcot, in the most solemn manner, on tie most ordinary and oommonplaoe subjeets. They are remarkable for a kind of solemn and formal poUteness to their most intimate acquaintanees and rela- T ^J'y °T' ""*' ^ "equaintance, or even a brother after a short absence, without taking off their hats in the most formal manner, and holding out their huge hands like bowspnto before them. They do not greet eachothcr hear- %, m the British fashion, but their hands meet with the lifeless andolammy coldness of fishes' fins. It is a ceremony which they consider necessary between one white man and another, and nothing more. It must not be supposed that the unpreiending and homely dress of the Dutch " Boors" at the Cape, when I OT them, can be taken as an indication of their poverty Parfromit. Few colonists live more easily and enC more of the rude plenty of the country than the Cape Dul«h • but they are a people who are habitually saving in their iabite, who care little for empty show, and are, moreover Peculiarly slow m adopting the fashions of strangers. The J'utch, in fact are everywhere essentially a domestic people, and to this disposition most of their sterling virtues may be attributed. "-mgyirtues Many of the old colonists are the descendants of French ProtestentB, who settled in •' Prenche Hook," or " French Oomer near Cape Town, albrjthe revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and who introduced the cultivation of the grape into theu- settlement. *^ This is not the only instance where other countries have 98 SOUTH AFRICA 5.*t: a )' been benefited by cruelty and intolerance* These perse- cuted Protestants ^rst introduced the manufacture of silk into England ; and wherever they went their in- dustry and thrifty habits enriched the countries in which they settled, while their own country was proportionally impoverished by the loss of so much productive labor and capital. In this manner a wise Providence inflicts a just pun- ishment on the intolerant, even in this world. My very short stay in Cape Town precludes me from giving a fuller account of their manners. My intercourse with the Dutch portion of the population, in particular, was very limited ; but still some particulars relating to their character could hardly escape my observation. The inhabitants of Cape Town were by no means remark- able for the strictness of their morals. Nor need we wonder at this, when we consider that " slavery" then prevailed among them, and that the moral education of youth was very much neglected. In mentioning the existence of slavery — that blight and bane to all our best and finest feelings — I doubt not, that in every point of view in which it can be regarded by intel- ligent minds, its demoralizing tendency must be obvious, not only as respects the slaves themselves, but the owners also. Indeed, it is hard to say which are most corrupted by sla/ery. It confounds all our Lations of what is right or wrong, just or unjust. Our very reason is poisoned, and our hearts become habitually callous and unfeeling. It has been said that one crime begets another. If so, slavery has a very numerous progeny. When, by our godless and detestable sophistry, we have succeeded in partially AND ITS INHABITANTS. 99 satisfying our minds that slavery is not inconsistent with the spirit of our religion, the dark regions of sin are opened up to us, and crime follows crime in rapid suc- cession, until our very souls have become a living mass of corruption and iniquity. The best moral instruction is utterly vain and useless while our children hve under the same roof with slaves It IS a mockery and vile hypocrisy to speak of Christian bene- Ii ^riT*^''' "^^"^ ""' ^'''' ^° '^' ^'^y PreBence of Almighty God, to hold our sable brethren in bondage There would be no end U> the instances of cold-blooded cruelty aiid injustice, which might be given of colonists towards their slaves, before the colony fell into the hands of the British Government. I well remember seeing a person at Cape Town, who held a respectable position in society, who, only a short time before the conquest of the Cape colony, had deliberately roasted a slave to death in an oven for presuming to smile at his master; yet this man was only subjected to some slight punishment for the deed, and was afterwards received into the society of his countrymen as if nothing of the kind had occurred. Wherever slavery exists, it is almost impossible that the laws can be fairly administered. I shall just give you a few instances, to show the truth of this observation, and how inconsistent slavery is, both with sound morality and good government. Under the BuUih Government, when a slave murdered his master, no punishment was thought too severe for him He was first tortured, and then put to death. This was* done, not so much on any principle of abstract justice but .i"Ht.j i| till !i ^5» "a Enif . ■ i|Hi i-... 1 ' '. » «';::!l) 100 SOUTH AFRICA because it would be a dangerous precedent where the slaves were subjected to such intolerable wrong. If, on the other hand, a master murdered his slave, which frequently happened, capital punishment was never inflicted at the Cape, until long after it became a British colony. It would appear that the loss of the labour of the slave in this case was considered a sufficient punishment for the master murderer. About the year 1821 or 1822, the very first instance occurred of a master being executed for the murder of a slave. I distinctly remember the circumstances of this aggravated case, of which, however, it is not necessary to give a detailed account. This occurrence is the more imprinted on my memory from the deep interest I took in the matter, in common with others, who wished to see equal justice done to all ; and from the great indignation of the Dutch colonists at the daring proceedings, as they considered it, of putting a " Christian" to death for the murder of a black man. It happened, singularly enough, that the murderer was the son of a Dutch clergyman, near Cape Town. He had always been a cruel master, and he had now actually flogged his slave to death. But, for the increasing power of public feeling in the colony, consequent on the introduction of British settlers, unaccustomed to the demoralizing influence of slavery, the murder of slaves by their masters would have con- tinued for many years longer to be regarded as a matter with which the public has little concern, or, at least, the murderers would have escaped with some slight punishment, totally insufficient to check a crime of such atrocity. lift . AND ITS INHABITANTS. 101 Hcforo leaving this painful subject, I shall just mention another instance, to show what fiends of injustice and cruelty men become when, in consequence of the existence of any species of slavery, the evil passions, stimulated by pride and avarice, are allowed to exercise an uncontrolled sway over their -minds. I may here observe that though the Hottentotts in South Africa, under the Dutch law, were nominally free, they were still subjected to a species of qualified servitude-that IS to say, the law allowed them a change of masters, which change, as you may suppose, was often from bad to worse. In a state of absolute slavery, the mind of the slave is dead to hope, and sinks into a state of torpid indifference If not contentment ; but the slavery of the Hottentott was more intolerable, because his hopes were mocked and tanta- lized with the name of freedom. He struggled in his fetters, and they cut him to the bone. Just after the conquest by the British, a Dutch farmer having vainly endeavoured to induce a Hottentott woman to continue m his service after the expiration of her contract with him, he seized his long gun, and deliberately shot her through the heart; with the infant at her breast. What should you think would be the punishment for a crime of such cold-blooded and heartless cruelty ? The criminal was tried at Cape Town, found guilty, sentenced to have the sword of justice'' waved over his head while he knelt on the steps of the court house. I am sure my readers will excuse me for again quotin- from the poetical works of my late friend, Thomas Princrle a sonnet than which there is nothing more powerfull^ expressed m the English language :— *' J' 102 SOUTH AFRICA m ■ I ("' i't •r f,' "i i' !• ^T Mf SLAVERY. ^ ' BY TII0MA8 PRlNUIiK. Oh, slarerj ! thou art ft bitter draught I And twice accursed ia thy poisoned bowl, Which stains with leprosy the white man's soul, Not less than his by whom Us dregs are quaffed. The slave sinks down, o'ercome by cruel craft, Like beast of burthen on the earth to roll. The master, though in luxury's lap ho loll, Feels the foul venom, like a rankling shaft. Strike through his veins, as if a demon laughed ; He, laughing, treads his victim in the dust — The victim of his avarice, rage, or lust. But the poor captive's moan the whirlwinds waft To Heaven — not unavenged : the oppressor quakes With secret dread, and shares the hell he makes. When one slave murdered another slave, the case was rather perplexing ; for, in this case, the Cape Dutch law would have considered the execution of the slave a punish- ment inflicted on the owner of the criminal rather than on the criminal himself. Consequently, the criminal slave generally escaped in such cases. It is obvious, therefore, that where, from any cause, public opinion leans, from self interest to injustice, it is utterly vain to expect that the laws, however just they may be in theory, will be fairly administered. In short, where slavery exists, justice is corrupted and polluted at its very source. In these remarks, I should be sorry to have it supposed that I desire to throw any particular stigma on the cha- racter of the Dutch settlers in particular. Slavery every where produces similar effects. Slaveholders of all nations have the same character in a greater or less degree, :^*.'l;l AND ITS INHABITANTS. 103 according to their particular circumstances ; and, on the whole, I am inclined to believe that in their general system of management, the Dutch at the Cape, while slavery existed there, were in no respect less humane than any other nation. One pecuHarity I remarked about them, which could hardly have been expected, was, that the habitual hard- ness of heart and cruelty which frequently marked their conduct towards their slaves, waa rarely observable in their intercourse with each other, or with Europeans of their own colour. On the contrary, I generafly found them kind and hospitable, and, on the whole, as just and kind to each other as in other countries where slavery does not exist. It is difficult at first to conceive how this can be, but we must examine them a little more closely. Their injus- tice and cruelty to their slaves is just as much the effect of ignorance as religious and political persecution in other times and in other countries. The religious or political bigot would punish his oppo- nents for presuming to differ in opinion from himself in his creed or political principles. He is too ignorant and violent to reason, and, therefore, he does not attempt to persuade, or to wm by gentleness and calm argument, and he looks upon heterodoxy in either aa a wilful crime deserving of punishment. ' It is just so with the ignorant slaveholder. His reason is perverted by self interest, and his passions have become uncontrollable from the possession of arbitrary power. Inflated with pride, he fancies that his color gives him* an immeasurable superiority over his swarthy brethren. HKi V^Hb« '■>!M ^j! IBhL*! Bh^ ' 3.. wB ml. *»-''iS ,„j^ 1 i w m m SOUTH AFRICA !i «ii L a hi He crashes and debases his slaves, or treats them as if they were inoarable of improTement. The Dvitch at the Oape almost universally cod aider the slaves as being of an inferior order. Most of them, indeed, believw that if they escape eternal perdition iA a future state, they can never be permitted to inhabit a heavenly mansion in common with their masters. They had, however, a certain degree of respect for their slaves — founded on the same regard they entertained lor jRny ot^ei' article of property. They like to have intelligent slaves, because they might become good mechanics, aad would thus be more profitable. The poor HottentottB, however, who were free were looked upon with themost unmitigated contempt and scorn. They were constantly spoken of as no better than dogs or cattle; and it is curious that I never once heard the terms usually applied to human creatures used when speaking of Ho*r tentotts. When justice was habxtually perverted with respect to the slaves and Hottentotts, it could hardly be expected that much justice would be done between oiie white man and another. Indeed, at the time I was at the C»pe, the venality of the Dutch judges was notorious ; and I have heard the Dateh farmers coolly reckoning up on their fingers the amoii.iit of bribes distributed to secure their favour by the friends of the criminals wL> were about to be tried. They were at that time entirely dependent for their situations on the Governor Tor the time being, who could remove them at pleasure. They thus became the ready tools of a tyrannical gOT mmcnt. At length, however, the British Government heard the AND TCS INKABITANTS. 106 compluinte of the colonists, a.d a complete change took place jn the internal management of the colony. For some years davery abo, has been abolished, but a generation or two will probably pass away before its demoralizing traces Will be eflfaced. ° In the country, where in each district there was a kind of httle Pasha, called a « Landmst," this habitual injus- fee towards the slaves and Hottentotts was carried to the extreme ; and when contrasted with the kind and bene- volent feelmgs which often influenced the conduct of these local magistrates towards the Dutch settlers, it would some- tmes take a ludicrous form. In a certain district in the interior of the colony there was a Landro.t of a remarkably mild and kindly character. This uniform kmdncss and urbanity, and a disposition to promote good will among neighbours, had made him very popular m his district. On all occasions, when quarrels took place, and when the matter was brought before him in h.8 officia capacity, his first endea-our was to bring .bout a reconcliation between the parties by any means in his power, for he thought it beneath the dignity of whit* men to quarrel and go to law, as it would tend to lower "he fcelmg of respect towards them on the part of the colored It happened that an old Dutchman, residing in the vil- .^-e, had ciuarrelled with his son-iu-law, who occunM theadjoming lot. Hostile neighbours never wait long'f^r subjects of contention. The son-in-law, by way of afgi »tm. the old man, sent his slave into his garden IomL him some oran^s from a tree, to the fruit of which he wm partial. Tne old man vowed vengeance, and well know^^ X2 106 SOUTH AFRICA f^' .1 '? . 'i » that the slave of himself would not have dared to trespass on his premises, sallied out with his long gun and attempted to shoot his son-in-law. The latter became seriously alarmed, and brought his complaint before the Landrost. The kind old man was sadly puzzled, and did not well know what to do. He tried in vain to appease the wrath of the contending parties, each of whom considered himself the injured party. He knew the young man was to blame in the first instance, but then it would never do to say so, for fear of making matters worse between them. Then the old man was a very respectable inhabitant of the village, in which he possessed considerable property and influence. Of course, he could not think of punishing him for his violent assiiult. The son-in-law was still urgent in his appeals for justice, and would not be satisfied unless the old man was punished. At length the worthy man, in his dilemma, fell on the following expedient : — " My good friends," said he, " I have done all in my power to settle the difference between you in a manner that would be satisfactory to both; but I am sorry to find it is impossible. All that now remains for me to do is to order the slave to be severely flogged for taking the fruit. I sincerely trust that you will both be well satisfied with this arrangement, and that you will be good friends for the future." In most cases the parties would have been fully satisfied in this way. In this ^stance, however, the young man, the master of the slave, had a much stronger sense of justice than the worthy magistrate ; but his entreaties were all in vain. The poor slave was accordingly severely flogged at the laiL or " Tromh'' as it is called, in the presence of his Ikld ,<*; AND ITS INHABITANTS. 107 master, who repeatedly begged that the punishment should be inflicted on himself rather than on the slave, who had merely obeyed his commands. As I have been led by my subject to speak of slavery at the Cape of Good Hope, as it existed when I waa there, I have not confined my observations to slavery at Cape Town in particular. I shaU now return to the Dutch at Cape Town, considered by themselves. The Dutch officials at Cape Town were exceedingly pompous in their demeanour towards the other members of the community. The form of government at that period was all but absolute, and the pride and insolence of office descended in regular gradation to the very lowest steps m the ladder, and, in some instances, the pomposity and inflated pride of these officials was ludicrous and grotesque in the extreme. On coming to Canada, in 1832, 1 was much struck with the difference between the manners of the highest officers under Government here, and of those of the officials at the Cape of Good Hope—a country so inferior to this colony in political and commercial importance. I could not but feel that I was now in a country where there were no slaves and where, from the freedom of our institutions, servility IS unknown, and where the poor industrious man can walk erect in the pride of conscious worth and independence. Notwithstanding;the severity of our climate, and the long years of toil which we must encounter before we can attain to independence, we have great reason to thank God that we live in a country where honesty and industry always bring their sure reward, and where no man is despised for his poverty. We have no debasing or demoralizing influ- 108 SOUTH AFRICA %?§■ ences at work, such as slavery and despotism, to raise a barrier in the way of our future progress. Poverty is here robbed of half its attendant suffering, and the sly is already red with the promise of a long and bright day of happiness and prosperity. I shall not attempt to draw a parallel between the state of morals at the Cape of Good Hope and in this colony. Were I so disposed, it would be difficult to come to any certain conclusion on the subject. The character of a people in a great measure depends on their peculiar circumstances, and in all countries a change of certain circumstances produces corresponding changes in their national character. The great source of most of the evil that exists in the world is ignorance ; because through ignorance wo, are incapacitated from looking forward to ultimate results, and from taking a comprehensive view of that line of conduct which would most conduce to our highest and most lasting happiness. Climate has a powerful influence on the character of a people. In a country like Canada, where all must toil and struggle or starve, money or property is the great temptation, because by their means we escape bodily toil, which is always looked upon as an evil. I I a country, such as the Cape of Good Hope, on the contrary, in a luxurious and delightful climate, where there is no winter, and where the necessaries of life are obtained with little labour, sensuality is the strongest temptation. A redundancy of food and many of the luxuries of life naturally lead to sloth and sensuality in all countries. Mankind, in their ignorance and weakness, seek the shortest road to enjoyment, which is too often eagerly embraced at AND ITS INHABITANTS. 109 the expense of more lasting future happiness and comfort even in this world. No man can fairly weigh the moral culpability in either case. He alone who made the heart can decide this point. • Who made the heart— 'tis He alone Decidedly can try us ; He knows each chord— its various tone, Each spring, its yarious bias ; Then at the balance let's be mute— "We never can adjust it ; What's done we partly may compute, But know not what's resisted. One peculiarity in the manners of the Dutch at Cape Town, and which more strongly marks the low state of their morals, is— that it is generally after marriage that both sexes are most noticed for their levity of conduct. At the period to which I allude, in .1819, a stranger, in perusing the Cape newspapers, could not help remarking the great number of separations between man and wife which were publicly announced in them. For instance A. B., after living several years with his wife C. D., discovers that their temprs are by no means suited to each other, so that they are in dread of proceeding to extremities, and, there- fore, have petitioned the "Matrimonial Court" tograntthem a separation. The " Matrimonial Court" established at the Cape takes exclusive cognizance of such matters, and the too great facility of obtaining divorces and separations is at once both the cause and effect of much profligacy. This peculiar evil—the frequency of divorces and sepa- rations—is, however, almost entirely confined to Cape Town and its immediate vicinity* r - Pi . ■ m. 110 SOUTH AFRICA Slavery, however, as I have already observed, is the chief source of demoralization in that colony. While it existed, a slave man could be- sold away from his wife or the wife from the husband. The natural consequence has been a general laxity of manners among the slave population, who constituted a very large proportion of the lower orders in the colony, particularly in the capital. It need not, therefore, be matter of surprise that the child- ren of the colonists, brought up with vice constantly before their eyes, should not escape contamination. Though the Dutch have much of a cold and formal courtesy in their common intercourse with each other, they are generally exceedingly unrefined, and the conversation of both sexes, particularly in the country, is rather coarse. On my arrival at Cape Town, I had delivered a letter of introduction frbm a merchant in London to his partner at Cape Town, who was married to a Dutch lady. The father of this lady had just died of gout in the stomach, and I was invited among others to attend the funeral, which took place after sunset, according to the custom of the place. The company were received at the street door by t^o portly personages, upwards of six feet high, whose full fed rubicund visages expressed anything but sorrow, and showed that they were thinking much more of the sub- stantial supper which would follow than of the melancholy occasion of their meeting. These jolly looking personages were very unlike their brother undertakers in England, with whom a sad and lugubrious countenance constitutes a little fortune in their line of business. After refreshments had been handed about to the com- pany, we proceeded by torch light to the churchyard. AND ITS INHABITANTS. Ill During the procession two young Dutchmen, who walked before me, were talking pretty loudly, discussing the cha- racter of the defunct, in no very measured terms, as well as the symptoms of his disease. At last one of them made some observation which excited a loud coarse laugh amq^g the mourners near them. It would appear that the deceased was a pretty close calculator in money matters, and, on inquiring what the young man said, I was informed that he observed, « That the old gentleman, before he died, could chalk up his accounts on the table with his knuckles," alluding to the chalk which is formed in the knuckles by the gout. Though many local causes have combined to modify the character of the Dutch at the Cape, yet they still retain a strong family likeness, both in their good and bad features, to their European progenitors. Like them, they are fond of money, but they lack their persevering industry and energy in pursuit of gain. To their friends and connec- tions they are often liberal in helping them forward in the world when they are industrious ; and generous in reliev- ing their relatives when distressed through inevitable mis- fortunes. The Dutch, wherever I have met them, I have ever ob- served to be kind, simple, and unaffected in their manners, —hospitable and compassionate. This is the favorable side of their character at the Cape ; and I must say, that but for slavery and its demoralizing effects, this would be as fine a race of men as any I am acquainted with. From the scattered state of the population, and other unfavorable circumstances, they are, of course, far infer- ior in general knowledge and intelligence to the yeomanry of Upper Canada. While the slave trade existed at the 112 SOUTH AFRICA 'Rip ai I mi. Cape, the constant influx of this description of laborers kept their price low;— but as soon as that nefarious trade was abolished their price and value rose rapidly, and those who possessed a number of them became wealthy : many of the inhabitants of Cape Town, who possessed from 100 to 150 slaves, realized a handsome income from their labor. Several of them were taught trades, and their owners, in many cases, lived by the profits they received by hiring them out, without following any particular business them- selves ; leading an indolent, and often useless and profligate life. The descendants of the French Protestant settlers, who came to the colony after the revocation of the " Edict of Nantes," located themselves on grants of land they obtained in the neighborhood of Cape Town. These farmers, as I have already observed, applied themselves to the cultivation of the vine. Their descendants, who have now entirely lost their original language and have become incorporated with the Dutch, own many slaves, and by means of their labor are enabled to make the cultivation of the vine pro- fitable, which it could hardly be with free labor. They lived in great comfort and luxury, and many of them had complete bands of music, the performers being composed entirely of slaves. How these people live now, smce the abolition of slavery, I have no means of knowing. One thing, however, is certain, that if they have suffered in their circumstances, they will be great gainers ultimately in the increased industry of the white population ; for slave labor always tends to destroy the industry as well as the morals of their masters. The population of Cape Town in 1820, wa^ about 20,000, AND ITS INHABITANTS. 118 of whom more than 6,000 were slaves, and probably about half that number free colored persons. Many circumstances combine to render the climate of South Africa more salubrious than that of most other coun- tries. The two prevailing winds, the south east and north west, passing over the ocean, or only partially over the land, preserve a great equality of temperature through- out the year ; moderating the heat of summer, and tempering the cold of winter. The term winter, indeed, is not pro^ perly applicable to South Africa, for what is called winter there, resembles our fine early spring weather in Upper Canada. There are slight frosts at night, but through the day the sky is generally cloudless, and the air warm and pleasant. There are occasional cold rains with a little sleet ; but snow is rarely seen but on the tops of some of the loftiest mountains. The dryness of the climate also, and the openness of the country, exempt it from diseases arising from the decay of vegetable matter, such as fevers and agues. The warm and dry state of the atmosphere gives an elasticity and cheerfulness to the spirits. The diseases of the inhabitants are seldom dangerous. Pulmonary consumption is uncommon among the Dutch and English, but more frequent among the Hottentotts, from a scrofulous taint, and their cTistom of sleeping on the ground. Many of the Hottentotts have a pernicious habit of smoking a plant, called " daccha," a kind of wild hemp, which is well known, even to themselves, to occasion consumption, if the practice is long continued. This plant produces intoxication, or rather stupefaction, and in time weakens the intellect and destroys the nerves. The " dac- cha rookers," or hemp smokers, are held in great contempt 114 SOtJTH AFRICA W0 by the tobacco smokers of their race, who never fail, in their quarrels, to reproach them with this propensity. The climate of the Cape is found to be beneficial to inci- pient consumption, but not in the more advanced stages of the disease. There is another very distressing, but not dangerous disease, which is very common among the far- mers who live in the valleys at the base of the lofty ranges of mountains to the east-ward of Cape Town. This disease is called the " Zinkins," and affects one side of the face and head with pain and swelling. This complaint seldom affects the British settlers, and seems to be occasioned by the habit the Dutch have of sitting, during hot weather, between two Ojpen doors. That dreadful disease, the leprosy, occurs sometimes among the natives of the colony; and in the district of Zwellendam, about 150 miles from Cape Town, there is an hospital for patients afflicted with this malady. It is re- markable, that the very few native Europeans who have been afflicted with this disease, have been addicted to the use of pork and other gross diet. It is worthy of observa- tion that most of the natives of South Africa, the Dutch included, seem to have an inherent dislike to pork as an habitual diet. The Hottentotts have an aversion to it^ and the Kaffirs will not touch it. This aversion certainly does not arise from any religious prejudice or prohibition. I am strongly inclined to believe that pork, as an article of daily food, is not healthy in warm climates, particularly to those who do not work hard. In such matters, msiiwc? is generally, if not always, our best guide ; and where we have a choice of food, it appears to be unwise to despise the suggestions of natural inatinct^ when reason cannot readily be brought to our aid. AND ITS INHABITANTS. 115 As I had only a few days to remain in Capo Town, I was anxious to avail myself of some opportunity of ascending Table Mountain, but it happened at the time that every one was rushing out of the town to see the horse races in the neighborhood, and I could get no one to accompany me. The owner of the house in which I lodged, who was an Englishman, would willingly have accompanied me, but unfortunately, he was, fairly worn out with several long walks we had taken before, and was confined to his bed. I determined therefore, on going alone, notwithstanding the many friendly warnings I received to the contrary. Choosing, therefore, this cool day I set off about twelve o'clock, taking what appeared to be the most direct road. After struggling through a thick wood or plantation of '^silver trees," I emerged near the gorge of a wild ravine, with a narrow foot-path m the bottom, which led by an exceedingly steep ascent, to the summit of the mountain. As I advanced, the ravine became gradually narrower, until it appeared like a huge fissure, as if the mountain had been cloven asunder by an earthquake; the rocks rising in awful majesty and grandeur, perpendicularly on either side, like colossal walls. There was a solemn stillness in the scene, which was interrupted from time to time, by a hoarse roar from a troop of baboons, who were playing their gam- bols among the rocks above me. The baboons inhabit all the rocky mountains in South Africa, and are large powerful animals. Curious stories are told of their feats of strength and sagacity. They are accused of throwing stones at people who venture to molest them, which I think not at all improbable, though I have never seen them act on the defensive in this manner. 116 SOtmi AFRICA John Shipp, in his amusing account of his adventures, tells a story of a baboon, who having managed to steal a soldier's jacket from the barracks at Capo Town, was im- mediately afterwards observed with the red coat on his back to take a lead in the military operations of his baboon com- rades; and who in the capacity of generalissimo of their forces, showed a wonderful knowledge of military tacticg, and gave a -^rcdt deal of trouble to the garrison before he was conquered. This story is seriously quoted in several reviews of Shipp's book, forgetting that old soldiers have their "yar»«" as well as old sailors. But to return to my narrative :— Even the birds had nearly disappeared at the spot I had now reached, and the only living creatnrfs to be seen along the rugged path were some black lizardu running over the stones. It soon became necessary to use ray hands as well as my feet, to make my way among the fragments of rock which had fallen from the side of the chasm, or been washed down by the torrents. The path had do\^' become so steep, that, accustomed as I had been to rocks in my own country, I became almost giddy when I looked back on the road by which I had ascended and *30uld not help feeling some degree of anxiety as to how I sliould get down again. The remaining part of the ascent, however, was not worse than what I had already overcome ; and scrambling on with hands and feet or clinging to roots and bushes, I at last reached the sum- mit of the mountain. The road I had taken was the on'/ practicable ipproach on the side next the town. On reach- ing the top, I carefully marked the spot with some stones, to prevent any mistake in descending,— the neglect of which precaution hm i^ been the occasion of several persons AND ITS INHABITANTS. 117 %> losing their lives by falling from tho precipices which evorj- whcro environ tho top of the mountain. Oil the approach of a south oast wind, a small speck of a cloud is seen on tho flat summit of the mountain by tho people in the town, when they instantly close all thoir doors and windows to keep out tho dust. Gradually this almost imperceptible cloud increases in size until at length it covers the whole summit of Table Mountain like a table cloth, as il is then called. It then rolls down the face of tho mountain, uad bursts on the town in a hurricane of wind of iu(3onoeivable violence, whirling clouds of dust through everjT street. Notwithstanding every precaution, a great quantity of the fine dust finds its way into all the houses. It is this cloud which is so dangerous to periSons who have ascended the mountain, as they can no longer distin- guish objects clearly, and are almost sure to lose their way." Where they are caught in this way it is usual to remain on the top of the mountain all night or until the storm is From an adjoining platform of rock, I enjoyed a splendid view of Cape Town and Table Bay. The square flat- roofed houses of the town looked like little children's white toys under my feet, and the people in the streets like little insects creeping about. About forty miles inland rose the blue mountains of Hottentott's Holland, which intercepted !ie further prospect in that direction. On the other side K ing met Hie eye, but the wild and solitary magnificence of desolate rooks and mountains, and the wide expanse of the boundless ocean as far as the eye could reach. I sat down on a rock and fell into a kind of reverie. I felt for a moment as if I did not belong to the busy hive Hn| ^H|i 1 ^'r'"'.^ 118 SOUTH AFRICA '^>\i i ^^ ' , *tH fit}! lif» :<^ j III im^ of men turmoiling below. Now, I tried to make out the farm-houses scattered at long intervals between Cape Town and the Blue Mountains. Then I watched the diminutive white sails of the ships, which dotted the vast expanse of the ocean. How little and insignificant everything human appears, when you are thus exalted above its petty objeots and interests, and are permitted to hold converse with eternal nature in her w'ld and aoleiim grandeur. It was with a feeling of regret that I retrv^ed my steps to Cape Town. As may be supposed, notwithstanding the danger I descended from the mountain much more rapidly than I ' had ascended, and reached my lodgings by five o'clock, not at all fatigued with my excursion. All ai-ound the base of Table Mountain, and the other mountains of the group that forms the peninsula at the southern extremity of Africa, are situatea beautiful country residences and cottages, inhabited during the summer months by merchants and other residents of Cape Town. The whole southern side of these mountains, on their slop- ing base, is covered with huge rounded masses of roek, or boulders of immense size, frequently overhanging and threatening destruction to the habitations beneath them; and many of these masses of rock seemed to be so inrecurely retained io iheir position that the slightest shock of an earthquake would detach them from their hold in the earth. Eight or nine mile^s from Cape Town, is situated the farm called " Oonstantis, " where the rich sweet wine, so well known under that nauine, is produced. One or two other adjoining farms are no w employed in the production of a similar wit\e^ whicl^ ig in' no respect inferior to the original Constantia. m3 I AND ITS INHABITANTS. 119 I*' [ The country in the vicinity of Cape Town is generally mfenor to the other parts of the colony along the Eastern coast, which gradually improves in verdure and fertility as you advance. The whole Western coast of the colony is very thinly inhabited, and is in fact little better than a sandy desert. The soil of the country to the eastward of Cape Town on tue other hand, is generally a deep clay loam of great natural fertility, requiring only a sufficiency of water to render it exceedingly productive. The country between Cape Town and the " Blaawe Berg" (Blue Mountains) and the lAoun- tains of « Hottentott's Holland" at forty miles distance, is generally composed of sand, or sandy clay of a reddish color. This country is qui te flat and has the appearance of having been formerly covered by the sea. It is, however CTerywhere cohered with luxuriant heaths sometimes ten or twelve feet high, and a variety of other singular and beautiful plants. Great quantities of trunks of trees are dug out of tfte r,and and carried in waggons to Cape Town where fuel is scarce and dear. ' It is remarkable that a country so admirably adapted both in soil and cUmate, for the production of fruits of all kinds, should produce, naturally, so little of a wild kind The " Cape Gooseberry," as it is called, is almost the only wild fruit I have seen which is fit for use in its natural state. This fruit which is equal to the gooseberry in flavor, somewhat resembles the potato apple, in appearance being enveloped in a leaf or cover which protects it from' the heat of the sun. I have seen in Upper Canada a plant veiy much like it, but it is called a species of tomatoe. -" ..onxv pax tK! wx tuu uoiony mere is a species of wild vine '{m:,\v *I* 120 SOUTH AFRICA SUIIII mm km found climbing over the most lofty of the forest trees, but the fruit is exceedingly acid, and only fit for making preserves. I have seen, also, a kind of wild fig in the woods, which, in appearance, greatly resembles the culti- vated species, but the f^uit is quite inferior in flavor and often full of small insects. The soil of the Cape peninsula, with its lofty mountains, is a reddish clay or loam, and the scenery all round the base of the mountains is beautiful and picturesque in the extreme. On the margin of the road, elegant cottages are embosomed^ in bowering trees of the deepest and richest foliage, .with the mountains towering up behind them richly clothed with perpetual verdure. The breezes are laden with peifume of the orange trees, and it seems as if in this delightful climate, mankind had no care or anxiety to cast a gloom over the future; and had only to look forwai'd to a succession of pleasures and perpetual enjoy- ment. Wherever a small stream can be led out from the mountains, gardens, orchards and fertile fields appear as by magic, presenting a delightful contrast with the aridity around them. In such situations most of the fruits both of Asia and Europe grow luxuriantly. Oranges, peaches, figs, pome- granates, citrons, lemons, chesnuts, are the best and most abundant. Apples and pears are also abundant, but alto- gether inferior to those of England or of Canada. In some of the colder or more elevated situations, cherries grow tolerably well. In every part of the colony, the vine grows most luxuriantly, and in no country in the world are the grapes finer, though the wines produced from them are, for some reason, inferior in quality. ^m ? AND ITS INHABITANTS. 121 In proceeding along the Eastern Coast, towards the Kaffir Frontier, along the ranges of lofty mountains, the scenery is almost everywhere grand and beautiful. It would be endless to describe aU the varying beauties of a country of such vast extent, though many of its scenes are still vividly pictured before my mind's eye. I feel a degree of pleasure I cannot describe in recalling these scenes/but Jam unable to paint them to your imagination, without using repetitions which would become tiresome CHAPTER III. I shall therefore proceed to give you some account of Uie Dutch farmers of the interior ; of their habits and mode of life j-and I may here observe that there is a great similarity in the manners of the Dutoh inhabitants of South Africa. They are all related to eaeh other, are constantiy travelhng to visit their friends; their education is nearly Me everywhere, and consequently we seldom meet with those instances of individual peculiarity and eccentricity ^ common in Great Britain. A noveUst would tiierefore be greatJy in want of material to give variety to his characters in describing South African society. Perhaps the best way to give an idea of a farmer of theinterioV or" cattle farmer," as he is called, is to describe his hous^ with all Its animate and inanimate furniture. Most of the houses are built of burnt or jaw brick or wrought clay, postered smoothly over with a mixture' of cow dung and sand, and whitewashed afterwards with llUie, Wooden hnnsAH «ro ♦l,««/* ««i m i .. ,. -""♦V, vxiviv uiiauuvvu. A wo DUlldin^S V r ?r ' ^^\ 128 SOUTH AFRICA m ml wM hv ■■■ who from their position are far removed from schools. They do not hold the " Meester" in any great respect, but consider him good enough to teach the children to read an4 write, and they occasionally appeal to him in any dis- pute about the situation of other countries. He is sole arbi- trator in such matters, in the absence of better authority, and no one would presume to contradict him. However in the presence of any gnest of better education, the poor " Meester" has a difficult card to play to prevent his igno- rance from being exposed before his employers. I remem- ber being asked at a farm house, " whether Europe was not a part of England ?" As this curious question was put to me, I observed the quick anxious eyes of the poor " Mees- ter" fixed on 'me with an indeecribable expression, and no sooner had I cleared up this point in geography, to the great wonderment of the farmer, than he instantly added, (addressing his employer), " Ya, ya, I always told you so, but you would not believe me." The Dutch colonists, if they are without many of the enjoyments of a more refined state of existence, are in a great measure exempted from its passions and sufferings. Love — that passion to which, in the more refined accepta- tion of the term, we owe some of our most generous and delightful sentiments— is almost an entire stranger to their breasts. This passion cannot exist without a certain degree ofsensibility of constitution and purity of manners : but these concomitant circumstances are not to be found in the interior of South Africa. Marriage is considered a matter of convenience, or a mere mercantile transaction, and ma- trimonial alliances are proposed and broken off again as it may suit their respective views, without occasioning any pain or disagreement between the T)arties, AND Its nmAilTANTS. 129 In the course of my antelope shooting excursions towards the sea coast in the district of Zwellendam, where I resided with my brother when I first arrived in the colony I had often stopped at the house of a poor farmer, who generally accompanied me with his long gun. One day on entering his dwelling, I found him looking more serious than usual, and was surprised at not seeing his wife sitting with her tea-pot before her at her little table. « How fares your Prow ?" I asked in the Cape Dutch dialect. "She is dead," answered Jan Niewkerk, shrugging his shoulders and heaving a profound sigh. " Ya, mynheer M., she has been dead for two weeks " he continued, holding up two fingers of his right hand to ^sist my comprehension, "and has left me here with a whole house- fill of young children." Then, after a pause, holding up two fingers again with another deep sigh, he continued : « Two " fine r^ing horses, too, are dead. Oh I yea, ya, so it always goes m the world : One day you have a thing, and another day It IS gone ; and you have all your trouble for nothing- " About a week afterwards, Jan Niewkerk was seen gaflophi^ along the valley towards our house ; and as he flung the bridle overhis horse's head, and stalked into the hall where we were sitting, I observed that he was dressed out in his best clothes consistmg of a new velvetine round jacket and trowsers, with mother of peari buttons, and a broad-brimmed white felt hat with a long pipe stuck through the band. His sorrow had disappeared, and he looked as fresh as if he was bound on his first matrimonial expedition. After the first salutations, he became exceedingly loquacious, and said to us. " One frow is dead, I'm now looking out for another- I've been to ask two, but they won't have me ; I don't know p2 'M* 4 180 BOtJTH APRIOA llpl rsi*: i^ '^'■X'''l ^^ ilF^j • :5ii ill ''M where I'll tary next." " Perhaps, mynheer M.," addresdng my brother, « can give me some advioe ?" " What do you think of the young widow La Roe," asked my brother, " won't she suit you ?" " Oh I ya, that's true, mynheer, she had slipped clean out of my mind; but it's not too late yet." " That's just as you ride," answered my brother, " for she intended to start for Cape Town this morning in her wag. gon, and if you would catch her, you have not much time tolose." "Then, I cannot stay any longer," saysNiewkerk, jumping on his feet and shaking hands with us, and in a minute he was in his saddle, and was off as fast as he could. We saw no more of him till the sun was sinking behind the mountains, when he returned fatigued and somewhat dejeoted. While he was taking the saddle from his jaded beasty he said to ub: " It was too late ; the widow was off in her waggon, and I followed her as far as the * Buffel Yagts River ;' but my horse was tired, and I was sorry for him, and so, I have come back again to mynheer M." Notwithstanding this third disappointment, our friend Niewkerk persevered, and finally succeeded in matching himself to his taste ; and for aught I know to tho oontrary, may be still living very contentedly wifli his new wife, and a fresh brood of young " Africans," eating fat messes, and hunting antelopes and ostriches as formerly^ In speaking of the South African farmers^ it should be understood that they should rather be called " Cattle Breed- ers," or "Sheep Farmers," than cultivators of the soil. Wherever the land is not too dry foreultivation, abundance of wheat and other crops is raised. But their chief wealth consists in their large flocks of cattle and sheep. AND ITS INHABITANTS. 181 The Arms are necessarily very lai^e in consequence of springs of water being often several miles apart, and the largo range of pasture required for their stock. Most of their farms contain at least 3000 or 4000 acres, in which they keep flocks of from 300 to 600 head of catUe and horses, and 3000 or 4000 sheep. In the more arid parts of the country where cultivation is never attempted, several of such farms are often joined together, and there are farmers who own 15,000 or 20,000 sheep. Near the coast, where wheat is raised for the use of the farmers' family, and for sale, the mode of cultivating thesoU and thrashing out the grain is exceedingly simple. The ground is broken up with a huge antediluvian-look- ing plough with two clumsy wheels, and drawn by twelve oxen ; and three persons are required to manage it. The farmer generally holds the plough handle, while a Hottentott or slave drives the oxen, with a long bamboo whip, and a little boy leads the foremost oxen with a thong, the ends of which are tied to each of the foremost oxen. Thia rude implement, however, performs its work very quickly, as it turns over a furrow from 12 to 15 inches in breadth. One ploughing is always sufficient, and generally without manure; the wheat is sown at the rate of about a bushel to one acre and a half; and a succession of annual crops of wheat is raised in this manner. The returns of ^beat vary in differ- ent situations, from 40 to 90 fold. The sowing season lasts four or five months, and the grain is trodden out by 18 or 20 horses, driven round a cir- cular thrashingfloor in the open air, according to the custom in several warm^ and dry climates. When sufficiently trod- den out, the horses are removed from ,.tjie flopr,^ and the hi m if'i ^ , •' '♦!' *.' :m- * 7. *i, •■•5ilJ 132 SOUTH AFRICA : !S , * r wheat is cleaned by throwing it up in the air with wooden shovels, while a strong wind is blowing. It is subsequently freed from the knots of the straw and clods of clay by using an instrument made of strong rushes in the shape of a fan with a long handle. This is probably a similar instrument to that alluded to in the New Testament,—" Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor and gather his wheat into the gamer; and bum the chaff with unquenchable fire.'' In those climates where the cattle can graze the. whole year round, straw and chaff are of little or no value, and both are generally burnt up near the thrashing floor. It is necessary to have seen the operation in order to perceive the aptneM of the scriptural illtistration. In South Africa the wheat is generally stored in the garrets of the farm houses, where the remaining impurities are carefully picked out by the hand. As I have already stated, the Dutch farmers principally rely on their cattle for their profits, and with their butter they pTirchase all the clothing of their families, as it is easily transported in their waggons to Gape Town, which is their chief market. For this purpose they often perform journeys of 200 or 300 miles with their ox waggons, for in that fine climate time is of little value. The Butch do not take the trouble of skimming their milk, but throw it warm into their huge chums, and often when sleeping in a faimer's house I have been wakened up hours before daylight by the sound of these churns, with their pump handles; — and for a moment fancied myself at sea in a heavy gale of wind, until by the fitftd blaze of the fire in the large chimney. I diaoovered two or three half EMM AND ITS INHABITANTS. 138 naked Hottentott women at work,instead of broad shouldered sailors. To give you a particular account of all tJie opera- Uons on a Dutch farm at the Cape, would bo too tedious after haying already sufficiently taxed your patience I shall therefore, conclude by giving you a sketch of a farmer and his wife, which may possibly be more enter- taining. While I resided with my elder brother at « Choot Vader'8 Bosch" or ''Grandfather's wood " near Zwellendam I frequently went alone with my dogs and gun in search of the wild boar,- following some of the long woody ravines m the face of the mountain range in froniof the house. Dunng these solitary excursions I sometimes called at the house of a Prussian setUcr, who had married a Gape Dutch wife, the very opposite of everything elegant, fe- mmme, or refined. She was, in fact, a sort of man-woman with great sinewy arms, and a hard featured countenance' which was moreover well furnished ^th a bristly beard! She was not, however, altogether devoid of the nrilk of human kindness j and unamiable as she certainly was in most respects, her hospitaUty and civility made some amends for her other deftcts. Our conversation often turned on hunting; a subject in which she took great interest; and she related with infinite delight, her feats in destroying the wild boars, baboons and other wild animals, that daily and nightly infested her garden. One moonlight night, she told me, when her husband was from home, her dogs had seized a huge wild boar, that was committing sad ravages among her Indian com and pumpkins. She no sooner heard the screams of -s animal, than buq rushed to the scene of action, armed m Mi ^'^ miHH u jr-* '''iiJHBx^DI ■ < ■ mm ■ ' 1 ra ' ^'pfl^H^H H '^j«'i^nH Hfl "' ' ■ MBHMlg [w 'liH li ' ^>''^^^^^Bi ISH '-^' ^ iaH^H^un? «>. SHmII ' iM^K^m^*' \m In 134 SOUTH AFRICA }fti i ivith k IdQg knife. When she came to the spot, she found h«r enemy seoured by the ears between two of her powerful dogs, making the wild glen resound with his cries. Without Eftopj^ng to reflect on her danger, she instantly sprang on the captive, and plunged the blade of the knife in his heart's blood. As she told her story, she flourished the knife in her hand in the most heroic manner adapting the aetion to the word ; I could not help recoiling from her during this recited, with a mixed feeling of horror and fear, as if sh might have served me as she did the wild boar^ on the slightest provocation. You may natur- ally wish to know what manner of man the husband of this virago might be. Probably you will picture him in your mind's ieye as a weak timid pale faced man, yielding implicit obedience to his stronger half, for nature often seeks ootttrf^ls of this kind. HeynJlul4er, or "old Heyn," as she called him, waa not a person of this description. He stoo4 six feet high, and was ei^aremely* athletio. '<01d Heyn" had never known his master in man or woman; he was hard and unyielding in his^ nature, and cunning and tyrannical to his dependents. The ruling passion of Heyn and of his gentle piirtner was avarice. Every feeling was made to yield to this allrabsorbioig propensity, and the rest of mankind were only r^fffded as^ttmg subjects for its exercise. A simihurity of diilMMition, however, does not always secure tranquillity jn the married state ; and old Heyn's apo«ae eouki not at all times bring her mmly disposition to yield due obedience to the jst^m dictates of her lord. On su^ ocea8ion9, Hey» never &iled to mak0 use of the aU- persuasive powers of a trusty atafl' whioh he always carried AIJD ITS INHABITANTS. 135 ID his hand to quicken the motions of his refractoiy Hot- tent^ts. One day I smpriaed iJie conple in one of their tough«9t qntrrek OW Heyn was standing before his door brandishing his sappUng over his head, while the gentle dame was langhing and taunting him from the branches of an orange tree in frtnt of the house, whither she had fled for seonrily. As I approadied, old Heyn p>it aside his wrath, and came forward to shake hands with me, observmg, " that these rascafly obstinate wires should he taught to know their master." He tiien turned to the oflendmg fair one, who was now descending from her perch, and told her that the teee would not serve her turn agam, for he wortld out it down, rather than she should get the better of him, when he would pay her oflF for old scores. The wife received this deckration with a laugh of scorn, telling me that she knew the old rasoal too well to believe that he would sacrifice one of his best orange trees on 80 slight a provocation. The situation this loving couple had selected for their residence, besides commanding a fine spring to water their garden, was well suited to their unsocial and grasping habits. It lay in a sequestered wood betweoi the mountains, and wasbardy accessible to wheel carnages by a steep and rugged path, up Which no osen but Heyn's could drag a waggon. He had originally come out to the colony as a servant to the Dutch Bast India Company, and had for many years been empfoyed in feUing timber for their use in t&ls wild ravine, wh^ he afterwards took up his abode when the term of his servitude htid expired. Like his neighbours, the hyenas. Old Mulder was feared and hatpil hv fli^ Tinfni. ^^i — :_i_ __i . ^ % n. «... „j ,.„._. ^.«i^v« vujuujeis, wao ana oisen jeit tiie i 136 SOUTfl AFRfCA is' if^ strength of his arm and knew his superior cunning ; and moreover they regarded him as an interloper among them! They called him a " Schelm;' which in their languag^ means something more than a rogue. As Heyn's age increased, he gradually began to be sensible of his lone and friendless condition ; and often lamented to us that after tl^ death of his wife and himself, all his property, which had cost him so much toil to acquire, would be taken by the goTernmentl He often spoke of two nephews he had in Prussia, whom he wished to bring out to the oofony to assist him in his old age, and to inherit his property after his death. Long, however, did his inclina- tion contend with iiis avarice before he could summon resolution to Jjart with a portion of his money to pay the expenses of their passage. i The crafty old Heyn, who had much exaggerated his wealth to induce his nephews to emigrate at their own expense, never dreamt that the young blades might have a spice of his own character. The young men thinking, that if their undo was as wealthy as he represented him- self, he might easily advance the necessary funds ; and they steadily pleaded poverty as the only thing which prevented them from joining " iiieir dear undey At an unlucky moment, Heyn actually put his hand in his pocket, and the nephews made their appearance in the colony. For a few months, all parties were pleased ; old Mulder looked several years younger, and the youths were elated with their prospects ; but the ruling passions and inveterate habits were not thus suddenly to be overcome. Heyn. could not help seeing that he had now acquired a couple of domestic slaves, bound to him by the stroneest of L» >■ ' AND ITS INHABITANTS. 137 all ties-worldly interest-his avarice soon returned, and while he exacted more and more labor from his expecting nephews, his wife gradually reduced the quality of their fare. ,_ For a time they bore aU this patiently ; but inding that their "dear uncle" was not likely to die as soon as they expected, and as the cunning old man had led them to believe their wrath was kindled, and they made the country resound with their injuries. Old Heyn discovered, when it was too Ute, that he hid oyerbent the bow. It was now out of his power to retrace his steps, for the young men had found advisew to put them on a plan of being rev«iged on their uncle. < • The Dutch laws, in those dfays, if they might be made an engine of oppression against the poor and helpless, were no less capable of being turned against the wealthy, with nearly equal effect. The young men were su^wsed to have nothing, aiid old Heyn was believed to be rich The nephews sued him for w««e». Heyn resisted, for he was as obstinate as he was avaricious, and he had to pay th& wages and the law expenses of a protracted law suit, and was ruined. His wealth, which, Hke a true worldhng, he had exaggerated to increase his power, was not so great as supposed; and, as it often happens with mffli who think that learning is wi^om, the very engine which he had used againstothers was at last turned against himgelfwith unerring effect. m.'-l'^. ■f*'. ^pm||!' i JBi^il' i' UralMll L'" Hi I H!l 138 SOUTH AFRICA j?i CHAPTEE IV. In my Isit ofaapter I gave you some sketches of the cha- racter and habits of the aristocracy of South Africa^the lordly " Boom/' who think the ooburof their skin affords them an nnquestionable title to rank as the nobility of South Africa, and who believe that there is nv -"tionandc room in Heaven for their swarthy brethreu aave now to speak of the despised Hottentotts who have been con- quered by, and crushed under, the heavy tread of the ponderous Ba^iavians. •i Bhall not attempt to determine, in this place, whether the character of these expressed and despised races ariaea from an original defect in their mental or bodily confor- mation, or is simply the result of the treatment they ha?e eicperieno^. This always has been, and will probably ever be, a subject for doubt and discussion. One thing is certain, that if the Putehmen at the Gape had desired to degrade their ohamot^r and blast their future prospects of improve- menty they could hardly have fallen on a bettfir plan than the one adopted by them — which has been so emi- nently Buoeenful in some other countries I could mention. l^hete Is something so peculiarly flattering to human prid»iuid vanity in the idea, that even Naturo herself has marked us out by the colour of our skins as the lords of the earth — that it is no wonder that the white man iu the colonies should not only desire to keep up this natural distinction, but even endeavour to make the black man still blacker. There is this peculiarity in the treatment of the Hotten- AND ITS INHABITANTS. 139 totts— that though they are but little darker in complexion than the Indians of this Continent, they have been actually more despised than the negroes of Central Afirica. This contempt obviously arises from their inferiority as laborers, not from any deficiency in physical strength or energy, but from their being a paxtoral people, drawing their subsis- tence exclusively from their flocks of cattle and sheep, and the produce of the chase. It will naturally be inquired, why the Hottentotts are less ac agrieultural people than the natives of Central Africa ? This is my answer : The central portions of Africa possessing the advantages of the tropical rains, which occur regularly at certain seasons, are better adapted for cuHivation ; and the popu- lation has, therefore, long ago passed from the pastoral into the agricultwai state. The country is, therefore, enabled to support a more dense population, which, in its natural increase, has led to greater industry and ingenuity and progress in manufacture. This consideration ihows how unjust It Is to Blame the Hottentoti? too much for their want of industry. Their training under l^e Dutch settlers has been little calculated to improve them in this respect. Hunger, and a fertile well Watered soil, will soon induce men to cultivate the earth,— but driving them to worfc/ar the exclusitfe benefit of white men, is something like trying to make a honse drink when he is not thirsty. Moreover the Cape of Oood Hope, as already stated, is a very arid country, and offers few inducements to cultivate the soik The general appearance of the Hottentotts is so well known that it is almost unnecessary to describe thar per- ^,_.^j ^.„.,.j^„j(j.^„^ xiic^- pusscss 5UUJU VI wie cuarac- y\'. >^il W ' m ii I 140 SOUTH AFRICA ^■: !>«■ '% I <'i ? 1 tcristios, in a less degree, of the negro race, such as the flatnoae and thick lips, but in general aspect and physical character, they seem, in other respects, to be quite distinct. At the period of the first settlement of the colony, the Hottentotts appear to have been among the most barbarous of the savage tribes of Africa; and they do not appear to have had any regular form of government beyond the tem- porary authority of some petty chief in times of danger. We are not, however, too readily to believe all the account* of them which are given by some of the early travellers, to whose credulity there seems to have been no bounds. They have told so many stories of their filthy and dis- gusting habits, that by common consent, the Hottentotts have been considered by all civilized nations as a race sunk to the very lowest state of degradation of which human nature is susceptible. It is not altogether fair to judge of the character of a people from their external habits, and to conclude that they are as much debased in their minds, as they are repulsive in their persons. Were this the case, we should expect to find the Hottentotts of the present day, who are much improved with respect to cleanliness and clothing,— equally improved in morals and intelligence,— but quite the contrary is the fact. It is not a little amusing to read some of the early accounts, of these people, and the curious conclusions to which travellers have been led by their superficial mode of reasoning, as to their capability of being civilized. I think it is Kolben who relates an ingenious experiment made by a Dutch governor to ascertain whether a Hotten- tot « could be tamed " aa he calls it. He mentions that the said learned governor, who seems to have regarded a "wild AND ITS INHABITANTS. 141 Hottentotr in the light of a bahoon or monlcey, had seized upon one of these people when a child, and after sending him to Holland, where he made the most astonishing pro- gress in acquiring the low l>utch language, and the art of wearing manufactured clothes in cold weather,~.hG brought him back to the Cape in order to persuade the rest of his countrymen to wear European clothing, ^nd quietly place their necks under the yoke of the Hollanders. The result of this curious experiment, which was intended to put the question at rest forever, as to tlie natural capa- bilities.of this people, was, that the Hottentot, who seems to have been a very sensible fellow, saw quite enough of the character of the white people, to prefer the society of his countrymen, coupled with their independence, to the luxury and vices of the Dutch. It would have been weU for the rest of his countrymen had they been able to maintain their freedom, with aU its accompanying privations, rather than submit their persons and lands to the arbitrary rule of such masters as European nations have proved to the original possessors of that co- lony. The truly Dutch experiment to which I haveaUuded IS only calculated to excite a smile among sensible people of the present day; but the natural effects resulfcmg from the shallow reasoning that gave rise to it, lead us to more senous reflections. The poor Hottentotts wei« looked upon by the ignorant colonists, as a people incapable of improve. ment, and were treated Uke hprses or oxen, as a part of the property of their conquerors. They were at first possessed of cattle and sheep in abun- dance, and the country teemed with game of aU kinds which together afforded them a subsjstauce proportional t^ .-.-^ K.r.. 142 SOUTH AFRICA I' t ¥• '-V their habits and necessities. They have gradually been robbed or cheated of their flocks and pasture grounds;— and what haye they got in return ? Three words answer the question, viotf poverty ^ and opprestion. 1 ha^e now to describe the character of this people, as it existed, about twenty years ago, when I knew them, — and it is difficult to distinguish between such peculiarities as are original and such as have been acquired from their masters. The Hottentots are possessed of acute though not very powerful (ff durable feelings. Their character is one of sin- gular weakness, in some respects joined to the most lively perceptions of external things. Their reasoning powers are of a mean order. They have but little cunning even when their suspicions are excited, and they are habitually honest, nnoere, and oon£ding ; — and if even dishonest, they are more inclined to steal than to cheat, fi>r cheating is the refinemwt and perfection of dishonesty. I should svappote that this honesty is an original trait in theif oharaoter, for if otherwise it is impossible to ima- gine whence they borrowed it. Theft is very uncommon amoBg them, and they may safely be entrusted with any- iliiog, but intoxicating liquors, a temptation which they are not able to resist. I have been robbed of vrine and brandy l>y them over and over again ; but tfa^ want of art in concealing their depredations, ihoved olearly that dishonesty or deceit^ formed no parl^ of ^heir general character. Sometimes, indeed, th^ wiUateal articles of food to supply their half famished companions, who 9xe travelling along the road, but hardly ever for ti^eq^selv^ I have left all other articles #■ AND ITS INHABITANTS. 143 completely at their meroy, when they might have helped themselves with little chance of discovery ; but I do not recollect a single instance of their robbing me of any arti- cles of clothing, which might have easily been ohan^ for money or brandy. The most amiable trait in the character of these people is their extraordinary sincerity. It is a well known ikct, that a Hottentott, when examined before a court of jtkstice, generally tells the whole truth without disguise, though he ia certain that his own oonviotion and punishment will immediately follow his confession. '^ I now come to the vices of the Hottentotts. Though incapable of lasting resentment, they are passionate, and when under the influence of intoxicating liquor, savi^ an<| cruel to their women and children. The men rarely come to blows in their quarrels; but the unhappy wife generally has to suffer for every temporary resentment of the htsband, whether or not she has been the cause of the quarrel. On these occasions, the brutal husband often beats his wife in the most cruel manner, and uses her in a way which would be death to a more delicate female. It must not, however, be supposed, that the wife on her part shows any deficiency in the natural artilki^ of her sex, or surrenders without a gallant resistance. Th^ soratofa, bite and tear like wild cats until they dink with ^hftus- tion; but the tongue still wags Inth tinabated volubiMty in an overwhelming torrent of contumacious terms^ which only aggravate still more the infuriated husband. These scenes, however, are !Jw»ys oceasloneu by intoxi. cation, to which they are exceedingly addicted. Intoxica- tion has a mor^ infuriating effect on savages than on m: 144 SOUTH AFRICA ^l- i'«' Mam civilized men, becauae the former are loss habituated to self-restraint. There is, however, nothing rude on ordinary occasions in the manners of the Hottontotts. They aro affectionate, and very deUoate in avoiding causes of offenoe never contradicting or interrupting each other in conversa! tion. This observation applies generally to 'harharlans and Polygamy seems never to have been in use among them; and I have often been told by aged Hottentots that adultery was formerly very rare among them, and always punished with death by their laws. I am sorry to say that the almost superstitious respect which they formerly enter. tamed for white men, has been made a powerful means of corruption among them; and European nations, have thus instead of improving their morals, become the active agent^ of their debasement. Most of the ypunger portion of the Hottentotts, within the bounds of the colony, are more or less of a mixed race This clearly shows that the corruption has been progressive and been increasing since the first settlement of the colonists! Almost all nations possess some kind of intoxicating beverage. The Hottentotts have long been acquainted with the properties of a particular plant which grows in some of the mdst arid parts of the interior of the colony, and is only known to a few of them. This plant, as well as the intoxicating drink made from it, is called '' Karree." This root is dug up and dried in the sun ; it is then pounded to a powder between stones, and kept in a bag, which is generally hung up in their huta. When they find any honey in the woods, they dilute it copiously with w^ter AND ITS INIUBIIANTS. J45 I ««i. a little warm, and put it into a pail, covered over with a .0 he hqa.d, which, in a few hours, it throws into a state .f fa,a ntation. So rapid is the process that I have often ta„n them to commence the operation at eight or n ne l.« m the cven.ng, and bo « .ell Urunken" bcfor dT 15 t net mornmg A remarkable eircumstance connected «th th.s p ant ,s, that the quantity of the powder is great ! leased a eaoh brewing. When the liquid is sufficie„7 taonted. It IS poured off ; and the powder nowanadntS h <,»antity is taken out «ad washed in cClat and Iben suspended in a small linen ba- to dry I It is thus that the Hottentotts keep up their ,„n.l v- powder. What they do not r.,„ U of remedies for snake bi^s, 'amolg ^htl : H"-' &>■" the leaves and root of the " MuL" k 1» mentioned. Another specific has b„f f U called the « Sl.n,en ro.e.,^::ta W "^^^ t'pmis," and " Anthemoides." ' "'" I Tie account they gave of the discovery of the virtues of J ^««<« '-:.. « » .. , it 'f.'X 146 SOUTH AFRICA jy ;:li this plant is curious. Two Hottentott girls were herding | sheep at some distance from a farm house in the interior, I when one of them was unfortunately bitten by a venomoas snake. Her companion stayed some time with her to I endeavor to get her to the Dutchman's house where they lived ; but the eflfect of the poison was so rapid that she was obliged to leave her and run home for assistance. When { she returned with some of the other servants, she was sur- prised to find the girl, whom she had left in great pain, sit- 1 ting up and much better. It appeared that in her agony she had chewed a plant which grew by her side without! knowing what she did, and that the juice had the effect ofl counteracting the poison. Thus, by the almost mlraculousl interferencte of a merciful Providence, the poor girl wasj saved from an agonizing death. The Hottentotts often extract the poison from the mostl venomous snakes and swallow it, in the firm belief that itl counteracts the effects of the poison mixed with the bloodj Since the experiments of Spalanzani it is well known that! snake poison may be taken into the stomach with impunityj The belief in the efficacy of this "prophylactic'^ is so general! both among the Dutch and Hottentots, that it would bel unphilosophical to dismiss it at once from the mind as absurdj It does not seem improbable that by inuring the consti tution to the action of the poison in this manner it will bel rendered less liable to suffer from its injurious effects whenl received into the circulation — in the same way a? inocuj lation diminishes the virulence of the small pox. The Hottentotts have a great passion for music, whicli generally accompanies a constitutional sensibility of framej and disposes the mind for the reception of kind and ben& ,?!' ■ Am IIS INHABITANTS. 147 volent feelings. I We often listened, with great pleasore , warn sitting m the cool of a placid Rnnth African evening on fho « c*^ » , « P^'*cia oouth house vrhU.y '^ ^^ P^^*^^^'" before our ne mde of the picturesque valley in which we lived at 'Groove Vuders Boscn." There is sometUng peXh full chorus with Lir d.t^ un" Z ^T^h" mtne servants hut, near the house, pkvin" on tha oftti!^ ^""^^ "^""'^'^ --« the'dirtanTnot This curious instrument is formed by stretching a piece of catgut along a thin round stick, about three feeflZt he manner of a bow and string. At one end the S s tied simply to the end of the stick, but at the otW it I l.ps. The other end of the quill is then secured by a short bit of strmg to the other end of the stick. The int™ iii^iiKrmfnt^rwtjrr^T resembles in sound. ' ^^'"^ ^'^^^^^^ -__ .^...„,,,,, ,, cunsiructeu on the same principle as '1. •I tm 148 SOUTH AFRICA ''I -ill the guitar or hegro " Banjo," which latter it almost exactly resembles. The Hottentott women have naturally very sweet voices, and I have often been astonished at the facility and taste with which they pick up and select any tunes they may hear. Sometimes, when our Hottentott servant girls happened to hear some air played on the flute, which struck their fancy, in a few days afterwards I could hear it sung all over the neighborhood, regularly harmonized by these natural musicians. In those places where the military bands are stationed, it is not uncommon to observe a group of young Hottentotts assembled in a circle performing some piece of music, and imitating every instrument in the band. Some of their native airs are very beautiful, and I took the trouble to note several of them down, which were after- war4s published in my work on the Cape, viz. : " Ten Years in South Africa;' in 1835. There was one sweetly, wild, and plaintive air, in particular, which was never played on the " Ramkee," by an old Hot- tentott woman, but it aflfected many of her hearers to tears, probably from some association of ideas connected with their oppressed condition. On this point they were unusually reserved with me, and I was left to imagine what their feel- ings were by my own, for whether it was from sympathy with their feelings, or the simple pathos of the air, I can hardly tell, but I could never hear this air, but I felt my- self similarly affected. In the following verses in which I have closely followed the wild and irregular measure of the melody, I have attempted to portray the feelings of the poor Hottentotts. AND ITS INHABITANTS. Weary we traverse the boundless Karroo, Where the spring-bock and zebra fly from our view, With wild leap and bound O'er the thirsty ground. In countless herds they speed far away, Far, far away O'er the Ruggens gray In liberty I Our hearts beat high As with glancing eye, At the fleet-footed tribes, we level the "roer" (gun) And think of the « Boer," (farmer,) The cold-blooded " Boer" And liberty ! But our numbers are few, our fond hopes are vain, Our flocks and the land of our birth to regain ; And the wrongs of our race In the sands we trace To be swept by the passing winds away. Far, far away With our liberty. 1 liberty. The lion we dare In his savage lair, And the elephant track through the long summer day : They fall our prey ^Yet we waste away . In slavery. In the wild woods the lordly elephant reigns. The ostrich and quagga sweep o'er the plains. I not more free Than once were we. Till the " Christian" came and each free born soul Was drowned in the bowl The maddening bowl And slavery ! 149 P. '■ 150 SOUTH AFRICA •: «....! t : "ir ■•'';' Btll Of our lands bereft We have nothing left, But the burning heart, and the bitter sigh, As we waste away With our soul's decay And slavery ! Silent we crouch round our evening fire While our young maidens sing to the sweet " Chia" lyre, As each wild note rings O'er the trembling strings Our tears fall fast for times passed away. Far, far away With our liberty I • I liberty.. We may sink to our graves As the white man's slaves ; But our spirits are free, and to bright realms of day They'll speed far away, Far, faraway To liberty I llhVH) m Kb ^Z'<> .V ' CHAPTER V, From what I have already stated, you will be satisfied that so far from being of a rude and brutal character, the Hottentotts are possessed of sensibility, and even of a por- tion of what may be called refinement in their tastes. At the same time, however, they are exceedingly fickle ; quit- ting, on a sudden whim, a place where they have been well fed and kindly treated for months, for another where they know they will be treated in a very diflferent manner. If you ask them, why they wish to leave you, their usual answcf is, " Alamagtig !" mynheer, *' I have beeu here for AND ITS INHABITANTS. 161 a whole year:' If they have liked their situation, they will readily return to you again after they have had their ramble out, and candidly admit that they were great fools to change it ; but that they were tired and wanted to roam a little. The Hottentotts are generous in the extreme to their friends and acquaintances, and can refuse them a share of nothing they possess. This is one cause, with others, of their general poverty. Oppression has drawn the bonds of union closer between them, as is always the case in such circumstances. A Cape Dutchman's sympathies are generally confined to his own family. He knows little of the feeling of friend- ship beyond the circle of his immediate relatives. But the Hottentotts are like one large family, bound together by j common, injuries, common interest, and common feelings. This brotherly union constitutes their happiness ; and of this comfort tyranny cannot deprive them. The Hottentotts have many superstitions which resemble those of the Kaffirs ; but none of them of a gloomy or appalling description. They sometimes talk about ghosts, but have little fear of them or of any other spirits. The superstitions of a country are generally tinctured by the character of the inhabitants, or by that of the climate or natural scenery. In half civilized regiouF, where despotism and priest- craft have reigned paramount, where the climate is change- able, and the scenery wild, inhospitable and gloomy, we find the people most prone to a belief in spirits and super- natural agency. In a country where every natural and artificiai object reminds us of past generations, where ruined 152 SOUTH AFRICA III . ' « 11 'r * edifices formerly inhabited by our aacestors, and tbe trees sighing in the wintry blast excite saddening reflections, it is natural for us to fancy that the spirits of the departed still hover round their original tenements, and watch over the actions of their descendants. Thus every ruined castle has its ghost to scare the benighted traveller, and every dark lane, where a murder has been committed, has its wailing spirit calling out for vengeance. In a newly settled country, on the contrary, where every- thing is changing, and where the same house or district is rarely occupied by three succeeding generations, such superstitions can gain no resting place ; and the injured spirits finding no one interested in their fate, and no suit- able domicile on earth, remain quietly at home, leaving honest people to pursue their usual avocations undisturbed. The Dutch are not without these gloomy phantasies of the brain, but they seem to be pretty exclusively of Euro- pean origin ^ I have thus given you an imperfect sketch of the cha- racter of the aborigines of the southern extremity of Africa. While on this subject, it will not be out of place to make a few observations respecting the complexion, and some other peculiarities of the diflferent races of men. Many persons entertain doubts of the common origin of mankind, founded on these peculiarities ; and it must be confessed that but for the positive authority of the Holy Scriptures on this point, \jq have some apparent cause for scepticism. Were this a mere subject of curious enquiry, it would not be worth while to say much on the subject. But unhappily this scepticism, however sincere it may be with many intelligent persons, is calculated to have a most per- AND ITS INHABITANTS. 163 nicious effect on our own character as civilized and chris- tianized men, while it tends immeasurably to widen the distance between the races, and to retard the improvement of our swarthy brethren. Let us once really believe that we are not all sprung from one common father, and the sympathy between the whites and the colored races is, in a great measure, destroyed. The benevolent white man would still be humane on principle to the colored man, but it would be on the same principle that he was humane to his horse or his ox. Let him once con- sider the negro race as unsusceptible of improvement, and the moral obligation to ameliorate his moral condition is greatly weakened. It is on these grounds especially that I would combat this opinion. There may be doubts as to the correct interpretation of scripture on this head, and I shall therefore merely appeal to common observation, com- mon sense and probability, to establish a fact which I think no candid person should doubt. Some strong arguments drawn from the varieties in color and of the brute creation in different climates and situa- tions, may be adduced in support of our position. The changes in color produced by domesticating wild animals of various kinds is commonly known to us all. The fact that wild animals become variegated in color, by change of cli- mate or on being domesticated shows that this change de- pends on some natural cause. Is it not therefore probable that the same causes may produce similar effects on the human race ? If we cast a glance over the inhabitants of the globe, as a general rule we shall find that the darkness of the com- plexion corresponds to the heat of the climate. In the north g2 V'.'i 164 SOUTH AFRICA :-.» 1 " 1 '-^ ,. p • :' of Europe, we find the fairest complexions, and they gra- dually become darker as we advance to the south. The French are darker than the German races, and the Spaniards and Portuguese than the former. Then come the Moors or Arabs of Africa, who live in the latitude north of the equator, that the Hottentotts inhabit south of it. The complexion of these two races is nearly alike. There may be some apparent deviations from the general rale in respect tx? regions of the north in the old world, as well as in America : such as the dark complexions of the Lapland- ers ; but these deviations may be accounted for by the pro- bable supposition that those races came originally from warmer latitiides. Ages may be required to change the complexion of a race, and the peculiar diet of these people may aflFect the color of their skin. One fact is certain, that no negro race is found far to the south or north of the tropics. The conformity of those facts to the general rule is so remarkable, that it seems irrational to dispute the correctness of the theory, that cli- mate is the primary cause, however remote, of the com- plexion of the different races of men. We may justly consider the complexion of the Hotten- totts as the most unquestionable evidence that can be ad- duced on this head. Situated at the extremity of a vast continent, having no communication, until within the last few centuries, with any other race, and bounded on the North towards the equator, by darker races, how can we account for the diflference of complexion, but by considering climate as the direct cause of it. The Hottentotts have the woolly hair of the negroes, AND ITS INHABITANTS. 155 and also their flat noses, and that they came from the inter- tropical regions of Africa is proved by the number of Hotten- tott names of rivers which still remain in the country of the Kaffirs. The language of the two races is totally distinct, and the Hottentott language is peculiarly distinguished by the cluchj which abounds in it, and of which the KaflSr language is totally destitute. A still more unanswerable argument for the effects of climate may be deduced from the fairness of the complexion of the Bosjesman Hottentotts, when compared with the other Hottentotts in the colony, who use the same language and are originally of the same race. The Bosjesmans live on an elevated tract of country in the same latitude, which produces a considerable difference in the temperature. Their fairness must therefore have been produced subse- quent to the arrival of the Hottentott tribes in that part of the continent. The peculiarities of /oma^iow in different races, may, at first sight, seem to present a greater difficulty connected with this question ; but if we take time to reflect on the subject, the inference drawn from conformation, Will not appear to be better founded. Every day we observe, on a more limited scale, peculiarities of feature and complexion in particular families and individuals of our own race without feeling disposed to question the possibility of their being the offspring of the same common parents. In so far as my own observation has extended, though I have observed a great diversity in the mental faculties of different races of colored men, I must avow my entire con- viction that these differences are totally unconnected with . ?*? * I .^ m Mi J *s i( ■ • J I ■ > 156 ^OUTH AFRICA zambiques, are remarkable for their stupidity, which at the Gape was so well known that it affected their value id the " Slave Market'' Other colored races, again, v^e quick and intelligent. Every generous mind must feel indignant at the absurd argument we hear so often used by Americans in particular: — that because the negroes of Africa have never been civilized, they are therefore not susceptible of improvement and are only fit for being used as slaves to the whites. Such arguments are disgraceful to intelligent beings, and are the strongest proofs of a lamentable defect in the reasoning faculties of those who use them. They forget that our ancestors were once sava- ges, and were not civilized until after the lapse of many centuries of barbarism. Such opinions can only proceed from gross ignorance and prejudice, or the base sophistn of Self interest, and should be held in contempt and abhor- rence by all who are actuated by just and benevolent feel- ings towards the human race. I shall now endeavor to give you some account of the Kaffirs, who, when I knew them, lived in a state of inde- pendence beyond the bounds of the Cape colony. My two brothers and I resided for about a year at a semi-military settlement formed by the officers and discharged soldiers of the Royal African corps with the sanction of the colon- ial government. This settlement which occupied a portion of wnat was called " The Neutral Territory," was intended to protect the other colonists against the depredations of the Kaffirs, — but we were strictly forbMden to hold any intercourse with them excepting what might be absolutely necessary in the protection of our property or lives, both of which WCrfi often in o-ronf rlnnocfir . Mtt -nvinoirnil triAW- V V r_"?ti Xt II--' T AND ITS INHABITANTS. 157 3 once sava- ledge of their manner and character was picked up during my residence in the " Neutral Territory " and a short visit to some of the missionary stations in the Kaffir country. I was accompanied by a Scotch minister of the Dutch Calvanist church of Uitenhage and the District School- master, both of whom were appointed by the British Government,— the Presbyterian being the established reli- gion in that colony. We penetrated about 100 miles into the Kaffir country and visited at the missionary stations. My limits will not allow me to describe the country minutely. Suffice it to say that it was exceedingly pic- turesque, being situated near the base of lofty and well wooded mountains, and intersected by many fine streams, none of which, however, are navigable for more than five or six miles from their mouths, which are all obstructed with bars of sand. As soon as we entered the Kaffir country a new and enlivening scene awaited us. The country, like most parts of the Cape Colony, was open, but sprinkled bore and there with clumps of low evergreens, or the light and graceful "mimosa:' Every few miles we came to little Kaffir vil- lages, composed of round beehive huts, generally arranged in a circulai- form, for the protection of their cattle, acco°rd- mg to the African fashion. Considerable patches of ground, enclosed with light palings, and cultivated with wooden spades by the women, surrounded these hamlets. Frequently we observed that clearings were made in the centre of small clumps of wood for the sake of the greater moisture in such places. They cultivate considerable quantities of millet, French beans, Indian com, and pumpkins. Every Kaffir ^- iiiv> caaie up lo US m the most frank and easy manner. Pi ifm SS'i 158 SOUTH AFRICA ,1^ ^f. t M!h^' : If' 'Ml'' and shook us cordially by the hand, yet without the slight- est appearance of vulgar confidence or forwardness. They evidently showed by their demeanor, which was at once graceful and modest, that they considered us their superiors, but felt at the same time they were— /ree men— and entitled to address us on terms of equality. There was a smile on every swarthy face ; they carried their heads aloft, and a proud joy danced in every eye. What a con- trast to the poor oppressed and despised Hottentotts! Verily wo were now in a land of liberty — a blind man could have told it by the very tone of their voices. None of the men we saw in the fields had any covering except the graceful " carosse,'' made of softened bullock's hide, which hung over their shoulders and depended half way down the leg, like the classic drapery of an ancient statue. Many had not ev^n this covering in the fields. Their necks, wrists, and ankles were ornamented with bright brass rings of their own workmanship, which had a fine efiect con- trasted with their dark skins. Many of them also wore a narrowband of leather round their temples, vandyked with beads in a very tasteful manner, like a crown. They all carried several " assegays," or light javelins in their hands. These elegant missiles are about five feet in length, and the iron points, or heads, are very neatly finished, when we consider that their only tools are Shore stones, of difierent shapes, for hammers, and a flat stone for an anvil. The average stature of the Kafl&rs is not much less than six feet, and many we met were over six feet six inches in height, and perfect models of symmetry. Their legs, in Darticular. were beautifully turned, being AND ITS INHABITANTS. 169 muscular without angularity ; and there is a peculiar ease and dignity in the formation and carriage of the head and ueck. As wo approached any of the villages or " Kraah," the head man, or petty chieftain, always came to meet us^ accompanied by one of his attendants, carrying an earthen pot full of thick milk to regale us. The Kaffirs seldom use sweet milk, but pour it into leathern bags, where it becomes very thick and sour, and in this state it is found to be more healthy and refreshing in warm weather. The earthen pots are formed of fine clay taken from ant-hills and hardened in the fire. They also make baskets of a kind of grass or rush. These baskets are so close in their texture that they are often used for holding water or milk. Millet, Indian corn, beans, pumpkins, and thick milk form their principal subsistence, for they are too economical to kill any of their cattle, but in cases of necessity, or on occasions of rejoicings, such as marriages, or when the youths are first admitted into the society of the men. If we happened to give any beads away at the " Kraals," we were immediately assailed with the importunities of a number of women and children, who followed us, entreating us with their most winning graces for " basella" or presents. This annoyance, however, was confined to the immediate borders of the colony, where the Kaffirs have most inter- course with Europeans. At one place, towards evening, we came to a « KraaV where a number of Kaffirs of both sexes were engaged in celebrating^ the marriage of their petty chieftain. To judge by the mirth and jollity of the assembly, urned, being ■ m^, ^^nU i^o^n i.^^^ i .J i. lOu lO Suppose that they measured 160 SOUTH AFRICA *■ . w ^ ■'.:',: f'*;''' ('■« \'' !'■• the happiness of the bridegroom by the number of his wiveSj which now amounted to five. The men, who were nearly destitute of clothing, were arranged in several lines, like soldiers, with their assegays in their hands. At a given signal, they began jumping up in the air in succession, with- out quitting their ranks, shouting and humming a few wild notes in a deep voice. The women were drawn up at a hundred yards distance ; they sang, clapped their hands, beat a kind of rude drum, formed of a calabash, and showed every token of the most extravagant joy. The chieftain as usual, came forward to welcome us with the thick milk, borne by his attendant, and invited us, with the grace and courtesy of a ' prince, to dismount and share in the feast which they were preparing from a bullock they had killed for the occasion. The Kaffirs practise " circumcision,^^ like the Jews and Mahometans, having probably received the custom from the latter. At one of the ^^ Kraals" we saw a number of youths of 14 or 1 5 years of age penned up within a small enclosure surrounding a hut, where they were required to remain apart from the rest of the people for a certain time, until they should be considered as men, which takes place after a particular ceremony, which we afterwards witnessed at another place. Nothing could be more grotesque and and hideous than the appearance of the youths on this oc- casion. Their faces and bodies were bedaubed all over with white and red clay, and they had huge bundles of rushes or water flags tied around their waists by a girdle and hanging half way down their legs. Each of them car- ried a loner wand in his hand, and their heads were also ornamented with long flags which stuck out two or three AND ITS INHABITANT^. 161 feet behind them. They waddled along in procession atten- ded by crowds of children, teasing and taunting them con- tinually, and whom they belabored with their wands, whenever they approached their line of march. The women were collected in a mass at a little distance, beating their drums and singing. We had not time to witness the con- clusion of the ceremony. My companion the Scotch minister seemed much shocked at the idea of five wives at one time, and began to put a number of questions through our Kaffir interpreter to the old chieftain. The old man who stood erect nearly seven feet high, answered these questions for some time with great candor and good humour. On being asked if he ever went to iiear the missionaries he replied that he had been once or twice, but did not understand what they said, anu therefore discontinued his visits,— though he believed them to be good kind of people, as they never did him any harm. Not satisfied with this answer, my companion assumed some- what of a m^isterial air, in the style of a master question- ing a truant school boy. The Kaffir, now for the first time, appeared a little out of humour, and told the inter- preter to tell his interrogator that he did not want to be bothered as he had other matters to attend to. At one of the Missionary stations we went to see a native Kaffir smith at work. He was busy making ^' assegays'' or Javelins. The double portable beljows was the most curious portion of his apparatus. It was formed of two goat skins, which had been stripped from the carcasses of the goats in such a man- ner that they formed leathern bags open at each end. The seek openings of the bags were fixed into a common tube mi* i III i :§'■ 162 SOUTH AFRICA made of straightened bullock's horn. A hole is bored through one of the large ant-hills which are scattered every- where over the country, and the horn tube placed therein ; and the fire is kindled on the other side of the ant-hill. The openings at the other ends of the bags are contracted to narrow apertures and short pieces of stick sewed to them in such a manner that they may be opened or shut at pleasure by the fingers of each hand alternately. An assis- tant sits down on the ground between the two bags and seizes one of them in each hand. On drawing back the right hand with the bag and opening the fingers the air fills the skin. He then closes the orifice with the fingers of that hand and i forces the air from the bag through the com- mon tube by thrusting forward his clenched hand as if he were boxing. The same motions are then made by the left hand and arm, and so on alternately : by this means a constant blast may be kept up for hours. It would appear by the accounts of travellers that this simple but ingenious contrivance, so well adapted to the habits of a pas- toral and migratory people, is in use all through the inter- ior of Africa. The " assegays " are fashioned in a variety of ways ac- cording to the uses to which they are applied, whether for hunting or for war, most of them are made with blades about twelve inches long and about two inches broad and neatly grooved on each side. These are the assegays used in war, or for killing small animals. Others are formed with long shanks for killing elephants or buffaloes; and some are notched or barbed in a very curious manner. The assegays are used generally as missiles, bein*^ projected from r^v.vTTvv,u iRc iiugciB auu luuuiM Lu t-uu uiriLUiioj 01 niiy or AND ITS INHABITANTS. 163 [sixty yards. Their other weapon is the " Keerie" which ; a stick with a large round knob on one end of it. This Ithey throw with great dexterity and force. When a chief Iffishes to have a hunt, he sends to all his people requiring them to assemble at a particular spot, when they spread I themselves all over the country forming a large circle which is gradually contracted till the game is enclosed within a Inarrow space when they kill great numbers with their ^megays^^ and " Kec7'ies." In hunting the elephant they assemble in great numbers, land when they find one in the open country by himself, jthey set fire to the grass all round him, and pierce him with Jhundreds of "asseffaya" till he falls from exhaustion and jloss of blood. The object of the fires is to save themselves Jfrom the enraged animal, by running through the smoke jwhich destroys their scent. Notwithstanding these pre- jcautions two or three Kaffirs are generally killed on these loccasions, before they can secure their prey. The game had become so scarce in the Kaffir country at Ithe time I am speaking of, that neither elephants nor buf- jfaloes and very few leopards, antelopes or other wild animals jwere to be seen there. In the " Neutral Territory, however, Iwhich had been left without human inhabitants for several jyears after the expulsion of the Kaffirs, numbers of eleph- jants were found by us around the semi-military settlement jthere, and so little di^ they fear man, that troops of them Iwould pass within a lew hundred yards of Fredericksburg, j-the village we built:— or would turn round and look at p while we were working in our gardens. But to return jto the Kaffirs. They believe in a Supreme Being, but their iiioilons of a future state are of course vague and undefined. Im ff km .' 'Hf.r Ml li l! lli I .'Hi I «•' „ ' J ■Till ''I 111''" C »•''• ift -Si »' ,. &t . 'fl |,flll!8^^ '6V 164 SOUTH AFRICA Thej generally swear b^ the "spirit of their fathers," ork their chief. They sometimes pray also when they arc sick but when they are well, they think it best to " let well'l alone." They have a decided aversion to the nesh of swine and can never be persuaded to partake of it. They also have a dislike to fish, except shellfish. This may account for their having no boats or canoes, nets or fishing tackle, which they do not want for skill to construct. Polygamy is common among the Kaffirs, but thepracticel is confined to the more wealthy, — that is to those who possess the greatest number of cattle. It appears that it was not an original custom among them ;— but adopted by them in consequence of the number of males who fell in their wars with other tribes. During these wars after many of the males of +he conquered tribe had been killed, tlie women fell into the hands of the conquerors, which greatly added to the disproportion between the sexes. The women are generally treated kindly by their husbands, and in far as I could ever learn are happy and contented with I their lot,- strange as it may seem. The form of government which prevails among them is I simple and adapted to their habits and state of civilization.] Their chiefs are hereditary but not absolute. No impor- tant measure can be undertaken without the advice of their i counsellors. These counsellors are all inferior chieftains, who command the different subdivisions of the tribe in the I ^'KraaW or pastoral villages. These chieftains exercise a kind of patriarchal authority in the ^^ Kraals,'' where | they settle any disputes which may arise between iadivi- duals, and occasionally assist at the grand assemblies or| rude Parliaments of the tribe. ;&,■■:■ - AND ITS INHABITANTS. 165 The chief or king, by a kind of legal fiction well known I in more civilized countries, is supposed to be the original or sole possessor of the lands and cattle within his territory. The inferior Kafl&rs have no fixed right of property in the lands they occupy, except to the portions they have inclosed for cultivation, all the rest being held as common pasture ffiound by the difierent families of which the " Kraal " is I composed. In the meantime the chiefs, who in all barba- rous countries have more foresight than their people, are anxious to establish a right of property in the soil, while I it is of too little value to be disputed. This assumed or usurped right seems to be one of those steps necessary to the civilization of a barbarous people. Though they have no written laws, the Kaffirs have cer- j tain long established usages, which have almost equal au- thority among them, any infraction of which would be strenuously opposed by their subjects at large. Thus when the tyranny or avarice of a chief leads him to form any scheme of oppreeBion against an individual, he is obliged to avail himself of the superstitions of the rest of the people in order to effect his object. The Kaffirs are great believers in sorcery and witchcraft, and when any one is seized with a malady which will not yield to the common medicines of the female doctors, it is usually attri- buted to the malice of some neighbour — and to sorcery. This horrible superstition is artfully encouraged by the chief, who is always a gainer by the conviction of the offender ; in which case the latter is generally put to death, and his cattle confiscated ' and divided into two equal parts, —one half to the complainant, and the other half is taken by the chief by way of " Court fees.'" There are no law- MUM Uiuuuci, . — 1 J UCiUCCO WUiU UUli Wv ':M Vi'kMa'M 'Pi- \m:.i ■■■■ ,Wi 4 I ■ w'" ■ ■ 1 HK 1G6 SOUTU AFKICA managed better in the most civilized country in Europe Some of the chiefs, in order to increase their power pretend to have the power of bringing rain to moisten th' ground in dry seasons. If their predictions happen to bi fulfilled, their character is established, and they are distin guished by the title of " Rain makers." But if they fail the blame is thrown on the wickedness of the people. In pgint of natural intellect the Kaffirs are a very sum ri r race of barbarians. They are brave and faithful to their engagements. The softness and copiousness of their language indicate cultivation and reflection. I have been informed by the missionaries that they have no less than five or six names for the Supreme Being. Their reasoning faculties ^re powerful and active, and unlike the Hotten° totts, whose weakness of judgment and supine credulity incline them to believe every thing : the Kaffir will believe nothing that he is not fairly convinced of by argument, The following anecdote was told me by one of the mission- aries to shew the natural shrewdness of the Kaffirs. One of the missionaries had long been attempting to persuade one of the principal chiefs to embrace the Christian religion. On one occasion he told the Kaffir that the Supreme Being was omnipotent, and that there were no bounds to his good- ness ; but that there was at the same time an adverse power who continually endeavored to counteract his gracious in- tentions towards man, by hardening his heart and filling his mind with evil thoughts and doubts ; and he concluded by saying that he believed the difficulty the missionaries experienced in converting the Kaffirs was chiefly to be at- tributed to the influence of the Devil. The chief listened to what he said with great attention till he begoo tj AND ITS INHABITANTS. 167 speak of the Devil, when he raised his hand to his face to coaceal a laugh, which might have hurt the feelings of the good missionary ; but instantly resuming his gravity, he turned to the missionary and addressed him in words to the following effect. " You tell me that your God can do as he pleases, and that he is good. All this I can readily believe ; but then you say that the Devil prevents us from being converted to your faith. Now it appears to me, that if you would first pray to God to convert the Devil, you would then have little difficulty in converting us." The late war with the Kaffirs has attracted a consider- able share of attention towards this interesting people, and I will now endeavor to give you a short account of their past state. Of their present condition I know little, but what is to be gathered from the public papers. The first accounts we have of the Kaffirs represent them as a simple inoffensive nation, subsisting by the produce of their nume- rous herds of cattle. They were honest and trustworthy in their dealings and remarkable for fidelity to their enga- gements. Though possessing little of that love of music and power of imitation by which the Hottentotts are dis- ting dished, their language, unlike that of the Hottentotts is remarkably soft and musical, abounding in a melodious combination of vowels and consonants like the Italian. When first known to Europeans they do not appear to have been remarkable for their warlike character; and cruelty and treachery certainly formed no part of it. Their kindness and hospitality to strangers was unbound- ed, and they were confiding and unsuspicious. Alas I we are all the creatures of circumstances. However much our natural dispositions may lead us to benevolence, wiS i^.'.t H'^ f 168 SOUTH AFRICA 11 i!; r > temptations and provocations soon sow the seeds of malig- nity arid vice in the virgin soil, and as we advance in knowledge we also advance in vice. The character of a savage race is necessarily uncertain and evanescent. They are the creatures of impulse, because they have no true religion to impose restraints on evil propensities, and to supply them with a code of moral laws ; and they are moreover, without that well constituted system of govern- ment which gives consistency and stability to the character of a nation. When the Dutch colonists first became acquainted with the Kavars, the latter were scattered over that part of the country of the Hottentotts which bordered the Fish River and from which they had expelled the original inhabitants! The Dutch government at Cape Town claimed the country as far as the Fish river, by virtue of a bargain with a Hottentott chief at the first settlement of the colony, who sold them a tract of country which did not belong to him for a heg of hrandy. At first the Dutch settlers on the frontier were too weak to drive the Kaffirs beyond the Fish river, and besides they wanted servants to tend their cattle. There was plenty of pasture and an open country, and they, therefore, settled quietly among the Kaffirs, who received them kindly. Gradually, however, the Dutch became more numerous, and began to play the master to the Kaffirs, helping themselves to their cattle occasional] - All this the Kaffirs bore with great patience for a longtime; as the Dutchmen studiously endeavored to give some color of jus- tice to their proceedings, something in the style of the Indian traders, who used their hands and feet for weighing the furs bought from the natives. mA AND ITS INHABITANTS. 169 One of their favorite devices was to allow some of the cattle of the Kaffirs to get into their wheat fields, and then seize them for the damage they had done. The cattle were abundant, and this proceeding did not seem unfair to this simple-hearted people; but, growing bolder from impunitv some of the Dutch " Boors" thought it would save trouble to drive the Kaffirs' cattle into their crops. This was a little too much for the patience of the Kaffirs, and finding that they were getting hemmed in, and their cattle gradually disappearing, they formed a conspiracy among themselves to kill all the Dutchmen and get back their cattle. I should tell you that I learned all these particulars from an honest old Dutch neighbor of mine. on the frontier, who used to speak, with tears of gratitude in his eyes, of the kindness of a Kaffir chief who saved him and' his helpless family from destruction, and never left them till they arrived at a place of safety. This Kaffir chief had been in the habit of coming to the Dutchman's house, where he was always kindly treated. The chief had taken a strong liking to the farmer's son, who was a little boy at the time, and used to bring him some little presents'under his leopard's skin " caroae;' or cloak, which all the chiefs wore, whenever he came to see them. The little boy loved the chief nearly as well as his father, and used to climb on his knee and clasp him round the neck whenever he made his appearance. Some time before the outbreak the Dutchmen had observed something strange in the manner of the Kaffirs, which made them somewhat suspicious, but still they had no idea of the fate that awaited many of them. The even- ing before the slaughter was to commence the Kaffir chief came into the farmer's house and sat down, and the little i '.I 'i — *., ^'.Jij wis '1 170 SOUTH AFRICA boy sprang into his arms as usual. The chief looked sad, and soon the big tears gathered in his eyes as he pressed the little boy to his heart. Tho f»ves of the anxious mother were fixed on the KajQEir, auc <*ije baw that something was wrong. She seized the swariuy hand of the Kaffir and implored him to tell her why he wept. The resolution of the chief, who had come to see his favorite child for the last time, gave way, and he told them of the conspiracy, and oflFered his assistance to enable them to make their escape in time. There was little time for preparation. They were not even allowed to warn their neighbors, but set oflf on foot m the darknes« of the night, through a forest towards the sea- coast, with k very scanty supply of provisions, leading some of their children, and carrying the younger ones on their backs. Shunning all the Kaffir " Kraals," they reached the shore, which was skirted by lofty sandhills and beaten by the unceasing surf. They walked along with their feet washed by the surf, in order to prevent the possibility of being followed by their tracks on the sand. In this manner they travelled along for several days, proceeding on their journey after dark, and lying concealed in the bushes through the day. Their provisions being soon exhausted, the chief showed them how to find clams by scraping in the sand. The faithful chief never left them till they were safe among their friends in the more settled part of the colony. Several of^ the " Boors," or farmers, fell by the ^' assegays" of the Kaffirs, but the greater part of them were allowed to make their escape. * A " ComTnando^^' or military expedition, was called out, ••«; &n ; 'lis. 9': leading some ones on their AND ITS INHABITANTS. 171 supported by such portions of the regular troop bddolsas os spared from Cape Town, and the KaflSrs were drivenbeyo ne he Fish Kiver, which, for many years afterwards, continued to be the eastern boundary of the colony. The Fish River runs in a deep bed, with banks four or five hundred feet in height, with long sharp ridges, like ribs, running down to i ;ie river below. These banks are, on both sides, clothed with a thick jungle of small trees or bushes, through which wide paths are formed by the ele- phants, which I have seen in indreds, browsing on the bushes. Along one of these paths a party of Dutch '< Boors " forming part of the " commando," were threading their way, leading their horses by their bridles, for the path wau too steep to ride, and carrying their long clumsy guns on their shoulders. Suddenly they weie stopped by a large tree, which had been thrown across their path, and before they had time to prepare for resistance, a number of Kaffirs who had concealed themselves in pits dug for the purpose sprang upon them with their " assegays." The Dutchmen' finding that resistance would be worse than useless, fell on their knees and begged for mercy. The Kaffirs generously allowed them to return to their friends with their arms on condition that they would not fight against them during that war. The Dutchmen retumt J to the main body of the " commando," and immediately proceeded at the head of a strong reinforcement in pursuit of the noble-minded Kaffirs who had so generously spared f Ar lives ! The party of Kaffirs were, in their turn, surprised, and all who .could not make their escape were shot without mercy. From that fatal moment the Kaffir character was changed. They became cruel and merciless to the Dutch ■ ''mm 172 SOUTH AFRIOA '^■' Yl; i-i in partioular, and to the colonists in general, but never treaeherouH. Cruelty is one of the vices of savages and barbarians, but treachery belongs ratlier to the civilized or half civilized state. It is not so much a vice arising from impulse as from corruption and falsehood. The Kaffirs have a noble and manly way of going to war. Before they attacked Graham's Town, during my residence in the colony, they sent a message to the commanding officer that they would attack the town " on the first full moon" and they kept their word. This is a custom among several barbarous nations, and among the Kaffirs it was con- sidered dishonorable to go to war, without making their enemies aware of their intention. Twenty years ago the Kaffirs were almost entirely unacquainted with the use of fire- arms, and only a few of their chiefs possessed horses. Theo it was not uncommon to see a chief make his appearance at Graham's Town mounted on an ox. Sir John Barrow, in his excellent work on the Cape, written fifty or sixty years ago, describes his first meeting with the principal chief Gaika, mounted in this manner. In his youth, when Bar- row met him, Gaika showed many noble traits of character but has since become distinguished by his low cunning and gross sensuality. During one of my excursions into Kaffir land, about twenty years ago, we met Gaika, who was proceeding to one of the missionary stations in his country. The old man's appearance was far from being prepossessing, for there was an expression of moral debasement and cunning in his countenance which gave him more the air of a run- awa} slave than of an independent and high-spirited chief. He wore an old shabby white felt hat, and a pair of sheep- AND ITS INHABITANTS. 178 ikin trowsers, after the fashion of the Hottentotts, which seemed greatly to restrain the muscular action of his large limbs ; and, to show his rank, he wore a leopard's skin " carosie," thrown over his shoulder, which had no other covering. This motley dress, which is often assumed by the Kaffir chiefs, almost completely destroys the native dignity of their appearance, and lowers them in the estimation of the colonists. Gaika, besides several attendants, was accoia- panied by his son, Makomo, a daring and intriguing young chief, who has lately distinguished himself in the wars with the colonists. Gaika was also accompanied by one of his favorite wives. He had, some years before, carried off this woman from a neighboring chief, which had occasioned a long war among the Kaffir tcibes, in which Gaika was vic- torious, and retained the /aiV subject of contention. The appearance of this Kaffir Helen, whose features were of the most homely description, seemed by no means to justify the bloodshed she had occasioned. Beauty, however, is oaly a comparative term, and the difficulty of attainment of the object generally constitutes a large portion of what is usually termed love. We were informed that Gaika was in the habit of going his rounds occasionally among the Kaffir tribes, over whom he had gained considerable influence, and begging cattle from them. On the present occasion he had been particularly unsuccessful in levying his " benevolences: He lamented his bad luck to us, and used it as an argument for our giving him some presents. This request we were by no means disposed to comply with, and he proceeded sulkily on his journey, followed by his attendants, driving a few miserable looking cattle which he had begged or extorted ' ■ " '^^ '." " i" '• J WW I ^i 174 SOUTH AFRICA from the unwilling Kaffirs. This will afford a pretty fair illustration of taxation in its infancy. What is first asked as a voluntary contribution is subsequently demanded as a right, until the patience of a people and the power of direct taxation is exhausted, and indirect taxation is resorted to in order to support extravagant expenditure on the part of a government. All governments must be supported by some kind of tax- ation, and certainly that kind of taxation is the best which all men can understand and calculate, and which leaves the operations of trade and a healthy competition free and unshackled. This kind of taxation is the direct taxation of King Gaika, who would, no doubt, have had his indirect taxes on imports, like other potentates ; but, unfortunately, his people wore their own manufactures, and drank milk and water, and sometimes honey beer or " karree," instead 01 tea, coffee, rum, gin, brandy and wine, and had, there- fore, no ' mport« to tax. On all occasions the Kaffirs have shown great individual courage, even when opposed to British troops ; but being without order and means of combined action, which distin- guish civilized nations, their attacks were only a succession of vain efforts. Many instances of daring bravery occuiTed, but the masses, from want of discipline, were intractable and unwieldy, and soon thrown into confusion. Still, though fully sensible of their inability to cope with our troops, they, showed no cowardice or panic. They would turn round in their flight and brandish their " assegays" at the soldiers, and tell them laughingly not to shoot them. Many of them behaved in this way during the attack on Graham's Town, already alluded to, and when they were AND ITS INHABITANTS. 175 shot through the body, they would pull a tuft of grass and stick it in the hole made by the b'all, and laugh contemp- tuously at their enemies. At that time they knew so little of fire-arms that, with all their natural bravery, many of them entertained a kind of superstitious dread of these weapons, which they fancied could be discharged as often as their owners pleased. Pistols, also, were then very uncommon, and were rarely used. One of ouf officers told me an amusing story connected with this dread of fire-arms. A Kaffir, during one of their skirmishes, had come to close quarters with him, when, in self defence, he fired a pistol at him and wounded him in the arm. After the con- clusion of the war the officer went to see his former oppo- nents at their " Kraal.'* The people were all very friendly to hin^ and showed him great hospitality, with the exception of one Kaffir, who kept aloof and eyed him with a look of mingled dread and suspicion. The officer fancied that he had seen his face before, and his curiosity was excited by his behavior. Gbing up to the Kaffir he asked him, through his interpreter, why hie shunned him now when they were at peace. The Kaffir replied that though they were now at peace, he could never like a man <' whose hand could shoot like a gun." I have already alluded to the niclody and softness of the Kaffir language, which has been called the Italian of South Africa. The Kaffir has a deep sonorous voice, and their accent in speaking is pleasing to the ear, resembling that of some of the Highland districts in Scotland. The late Mr. Pringle used to tell an amusing story, which shows the dry humour of the Kaffirs. m'i- \h 176 SOUTH AFRICA 'm "' n'm ff ^v;^^' Mr. Pringle, accompanied by his excellent wife, was tra- velling through some part of Kaffir land in a covered waggon, when they saw King Gaika approaching them accompanied by four hundred warriors and his thirty wives in their "caresses," covered with a profusion of buttons glass beads, and other ornaments. Mr. Pringle immediately stopped his waggon to shake hands with him. After some lively conversation with the old chief, his attention was attracted to one of his wives, who was full of animation and very pretty. Pringle, perceiving that the chief seemed no ways offended, but rather pleased with the attention he showed to his young wife, which he, no doubt, took as a compliment to his taste in womankind, asked him what he would take for, her. Gaika replied that he could not think of selling his young wife even to a friend, but as he had already thirty wives, without a single white one among them, and was rather fond of variety, he would have no particular objection to exchange the wife in question for Mrs. Pringle. He accom- panied this speech with an arch and knowing glance at poor Mrs. Pringle, who, feeling the helplessness of her situation, and knowing Gaika's lawless and libertine character, shrunk m terror to the inmost recesses of the waggon. I will give one more anecdote of the shrewdness and foresight of Gaika, and thus conclude my description of the Kaffirs. In the year 1815 an insurrection of the Dutch " Boors" on the frontier took place, which was occasioned by the refusal of a farmer to allow a Hottentott to leave his service after the expiration of his contract with him, or to take away the property he had earned after several years' ser- vice. The Hottentott complained to the Landrost or Dis- trict Magistrate, but the farmer refused to submit to his 1' AND ITS INHABITANTS. 177 decision, and, joined by several of his friends, they broteout into open rebellion against the Government. The farmers fought desperately for some time, until some of their lead- ers, including the farmer who was the cause ot the revolt, were shot down by the military, when they submitted to the mercy of the Government. Before their surrender however, and while the whole district was still in arms against the Government, the conspirators sent a deputation to Gaika to propose an alliance between him and the insur- gents, for the purpose of expelling the Englis*h from the frontier districts. As a bait to tempt the cupidity of the chief, they offered, in the event of success, to leave in his possession the tract of territory now called Albany, to the west of the Great Fish River, from which the Kaffirs bad been recently expelled by the British troops, whilst they (the Boors) would occupy the country on the Kat and Koonap rivers, to the eastward. Gaika, however, showed himself too good a politician to be cajoled by his old antagonists. He told the deputies that he could not believe the colonists were serious in their pro- posal—that he suspected their design was merely to decoy the Kaffirs into the open plains, with the view of more effectually destroying them ; but if they really meant what they said, he considered them to be very foolish men, as there was no probability of their succeeding in such an attempt ; and that, finally, for his own part, he had no incli- nation to place himself, like a silly antelope, between a lion on the one side and a wolf on the other (the English and the Dutch.) He absolutely refused, therefore, to take any part in the quarrel. My notices of the Kaffirs have extended to greater length Pi' «.";"Ji'^r;i^' ;^ ';•*♦: 178 SOUTH AFRICA than I at first anticipated. I shall now, according to my original intention, proceed to give you some account of the wild animals of the country, with a few accounts of encounters with them. ■xV- MM ^ '.•f .T-: r:^^. '?*i». rjifi t#f t CHAPTER V. I shall begin with the elephant, which from his power and sagacity is fully entitled to precedence. Many species of the wild animals of South Africa have been extirpated or driven from the older settlements near Cape Town. Their former existence in these localities is proved by the names of places : — as " Rhinoster FonteirC^ and " Buffel TaagMs Rivier" — the Rhinoceros spring and the Buffalo hunt's river, and many others. In those older districts, however, I have never found any traces of the elephant. This is readily accounted for by the scarcity of extensive forests, which seem to be neces- sary to the existence of these large animals. About twenty years ago great numbers of them were found in all the forests near the frontier, particularly in the low dense bushes along the Great Fish river. There I have often seen them in large troops of several hundreds together, browsing quietly on the tops and branches of the bushes. The scenery there is so wild and on such a grand scale, that at a distance they present much of the appearance of a flock of sheep among the low trees and bushes. They were so dangerous to travellers, particularly in the night time, when they are always on the move, that we had often great difficulty in keeping them at a respectful 'm AND ITS INHABITANTS. 179 distance from our waggons, by burning large fires, cracking our large whips and firing guns till daylight in the morn- ing. People become inured, by habit, to dangers of this kind, until instead of producing alarm or discomfort, they at last only supply a kind of pleasing excitement. My first personal acquaintance with the elephants com- menced you will think, rather roughly, near the village of Fredericksburg, in the semi-military settlement beyond the Great Fish river, which I have already mentioned. After a tedious journey of nearly 600 miles I arrived at our new settlement, where one of my brothers had already estab- lished himself Our conversation among other matters naturally turned upon elephant hunting, and my brother informed me that the party had already shot eight or nine of them. The elephants were generally shy of the habita- tions of man, keeping close in the woods and jungly ravines in the day time ; but in this part of the country, which had remained without inhabitants ever since the Kaffirs had been driven beyond the Keiskamma, they had become bolder, and whole troops of them were often seen quietly browsing among the scattered " mimosas" in the open fields. The mode our settlers adopted of attacking these animals was borrowed from the Kaffirs. Elephants are well known to be afraid of fire ; so when our people discovered a troop of them in the open countrv they set fire to the long grass in several places, so as to en- close them in a circle of flame and smoke, and after firing at them when they gave chase, they sought protection beyond the circle which the elephant. i\'i'.] not venture to cross. Our people, however, were sc li' ^^ acquainted with the most vulnerable parts of the animals, that killing an V' \. 1^' ^1 ^t. : i ■>■ 180 SOUTH AFRICA j^ -■'- elephant was generally the work of several hours, though sometimes seventy or eighty were engaged in the hunt. I was of course greatly delighted with these aooounts and impatient to take part in the exciting sport. I determined, however, to be cautious at first, until I had time to learn something of the manners of this dangerous animal. An opportunity occurred sooner than I expected, for the very next day after my arrival at the village, we had hardly finished our breakfast, when we heard a succession of shots in the valley below the village, and all our people were in- stantly in motion, loading their firelocks and hurrying to the scene of action. My brotl oj- and I soon followed, accompanied by my two Hottentotts, who hjid never seen a wild elephant. We had scarcely taken our station on an eminence above the valley, when the huge animal, which was a female, was seen wading through the bushes, throwing up her trunk in the air and flapping her great ears, which in the African species are much larger than those of the Asiatic, and resemble immense fans, which in warm weather they use in the same manner to cool themselves. A gene- ral discharge was immediately opened on her from both sides of the valley,— when uttering a thrilling cry like the noisy brattle of a cracked trumpet, she plunged into the thickest part of the jungle ;— -where for a time she was partially protected by the trees. Some of the party, sta- tioned on the rocks on the opposite side of the jungle succeeded in driving her into the open ground. My two Hottentotts, who were excellent marksmen, now managed to steal round a corner of the bushes unperceived by the harassed and enraged animal, and each of them taking a different aim, one of them shot her through the eyes while AND ITS INHABITANTS. 181 the other put a ball through her trunk. The poor beast now thoroughly disabled, went on slowly over the plain, while the hunters poured whole volleys of balls into her body. Not being aware of her being blinded at this moment, I was exceedingly alarmed for the safety of my brother, who advancing within thirty paces of the elephant, fired into her head, without any attempt being made on her part to chase him. He, himself, was not aware of her having been blinded, but was encouraged by her apparent stupidity to approach much nearer than any of the other hunters. Shortly afterwards a well directed shot brought her to the ground, and we obtained an easy conquest over our enemy. This the first hunt I had witnessed was attended with less danger to. the assailants than usual ; but the one which succeeded it on the following day, was attended with much greater danger to all concerned in it, and ended in a tragical manner. As an account of this adventure was furnished by me to the « Library of Useful and Entertain- ing Knowledge " in 1831, and also in my work " Ten years in South Africa," published by Richard Bentley in 1835, I shall give it in nearly similar terms. One of our servants having come to inform us ihni a large troop of elephants had been discovered in the neigh- borhood of the settlement, and that several of our people were already on their way to attack them, I instantly set off f.) join the hunters. The beautiful stream called by the Kaffirs the Guabana, after passing the village, took its course through an extensive wood or "jungle," and again made its appearance in an open meadow, running close under the high hills on one side of the valley for several '-ii 182 SOUTH AFRICA P'i.,Jv '.:H »*■'•; m hundred yard^, when it again entered a long strip of jungle. In oonsequeuoe of losing my way in my eagerness, in passing through the jungle, I could not overtake the hunters until they had driven the elephants from their fixed statioji. On getting out of the wood, I was proceed- ing through the meadow to a distant " Kloof" or ravine, when I heard the firing, and had nearly reached the carcass of the elephant which we shot the day before, when I was suddenly warned of approaching danger by loud cries of " pass op " (look out) coupled with my name in Dutch and English ; and at the same moment, heard the crackling of broken branches, produced by the elephants bursting through the wood, and their angry screams resounding among the precipitous banks of the river. Immediately a large female, accompanied' by three others of a smaller size, issued from the jungle which skirted the river margin. As they were not more than two hundred yards ofi", and were proceeding directly towards me, I had not much time to decide on my motions. Being alone, and in the middle of an open plain, I saw that I must be inevitably caught, should I fire in this position, and my shot not take effect. I, therefore, retreated hastily out of their direct path, thinking that they would not observe me, until I should find a better opportunity to attack them. But in this I was mistaken ; for looking back, I perceived to my dismay, that they had left their former course and were rapidly pursuing and gaining ground on me. Under these circumstances, I determined to reserve my fire as a last resource j and turning off at right angles in the opposite direction, 1 made for the banks of the small river, with the view to take refuge among the rocks on the AND ITS INHABITANTS. 183 other side, where I should hare been safe. Before I got within fifty yards of the river, the elephants were within twenty paces of me, — the large female in the middle, and the other three on either side of her, all of them scream^ ing so tremendously that I was almost stunned with the noise. I immediately turned round, cooked my gun, and aimed at the head of the largest — the female. But the gun unfortunately hung fire and the ball merely grazed the side of her head. Halting only for an instant, the animal again rushed furiously forward. I fell — I c> .not say whether struck down by the trunk or not. She then made a thrust at me with her tusk. Fortunately for me, she had but one, which still more luckily missed its mark. Seizing me with her trunk by the middle, she threw me beneath her fore feet, and knocked me about between them for a little space. I was scarcely in a condition to compute the time very accurately. Once she pressed her foot on my chest with such force that I felt the bones bending under her weight ; and then she trod on the middle of my arm, which fortunately lay flat on the ground at the time. Strange as it may appear, during this rough handling, I never entirely lost my recollectioLi, but owing to the roundness of her feet, I generally managed by twisting my body and limbs, to escape her direct tread. While I was undergoing this buffetting, Lieutenant Chisholm, of the Royal African Corps, and Diederick, a Hottentott, fired several shots at her from the side of the neighboring aill, one of which hit her in the shoulder, and, at the same time, her companions, retiring and scream- ing to her from the edge of the forest, she reluctantly left me, giving me a caff or two with her hind feet in passing. li 'I ^'li !!,-(ii''^t.' ll^fifWI 184 SOUTH AFiaCA I rose, picked up my giin, and staggered away as fast as my aching bones would allow me ; but observing that she turned round, as if meditating a second attempt on my life before entering the bush, I lay down in the lo' ^ grass, by which means I escaped her observation. On reaching the top of the steep hill, on the opposite side of the valley, I met my brother, who had not been at this day's hunt, but had run out on being told by one of the men that he had seen me killed. He was, of course not a little surprised at m6eting me alive and in a whole skin, though plastered with mud from head to foot. My face was a little scratched, indeed, by the elephant's feet, which were none of the smoothest. My ribs ached, and my right arm was blackened with the squeeze it got, but these were trifling injuries, considering the ordeal I had gone through. While he, Mr. Knight, of the Cape regiment, and I were yet +;alking of my adventure, an unlucky soldier of the Royal African Corps, of the name of McClare, attracted the atten- tion of ?i large male elephant which had been driven towards the village. The ferocious animal gave chase, and caught him immediately, under the height where we were stand- ing, carried him some distance in his trunk, then throwing him down, and bringing his feet together, trod and stamped upon him for a considerable time till he was quite dead. Leaving the body for a little, he returned again, as if to make quite sure of his destruction, and kneeling down, crushed and kneaded him with his fore legs. Then seizing the body again v ith his trunk, he carried it to the edge of the jungle, and threw it upon the top of a high bush. While ihis tragedy was going on, my brother and I scram- AND ITS INHABITANTS. 185 bled down the bank as far as we could, and tired at the enraged animal, but we were at too groat a distance to be of any service to the unfortunate man. Shortly after this catastrophe a shot from one of the hunters broke the male elephant's left fore leg, which com- pletely disabled him from running. On this occasion we witnessed a touching instance of aflfeotion and sf^acity in the elephant. Seeing the danger f her mate, the female before-mentioned — my personal antagonist — regardless of her own danger, quitted her shelter in the bush, rushed out to his assistance, walked round and round him, chasing away his assailants, and still returning to his side and caressing him ; and when he attempted to walk she placed her flank under his wounded side and supported him. This scene continued nearly half an hour, until the female received a severe wound from the rifle of Mr. Colin Mac- Kenzie, of the Eoyal African Corps, wliich drove her again to the bush, where she speedily sank exhausted from the loss of blood, and the male soon after received a mortal ffound from the same oflBcer. Thus ended our elephant hunt, and I need hardly say that what we witnessed on this occasion of the ferocity of these powerful animals, rendered us more cautious in our dealings with them for the future. This early lesson in elephant hunting pretty nearly cured me of any thoughtless rashness in attacking them. In fact, evei after^yards I generally acted rather on the defensive than the offensive with respect to them : though, without particularly courting adventures, I subsequently made many narrow escapes from them as well as from other dangerous animals, a few of which I shall relate to you. 11 iMfll m ^ >%.^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I ■^ 1^ 12.2 u 110 IL25 11 1.4 i.6 V] yj A- m /; V /# f rf^///,. Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ,^ ^^ 4^ k" 186 SOUTH AFRICA '• I *' ?-t' h.fJ' After leaving the neutral territory, I settled with my brothers in another locality, at some distance from the fron- tier, where we were nearly surrounded by an extensive forest of lofty trees, and our farms, which consisted of a beautiful tract of rich pasturage, were almost entirely enclosed between this forest and the sea-coast. The forest swarmtnl with elephants and buffaloes, to say nothing of the smaller game, such as various species of antelopes. We were also annoyed with leopards, which, pantipg about our house at night, frequently carried off our young calves. Though we generally avoided the elephants, it was impossible to travel much through the woods without frequently meeting them, but my intimate acquaintance with their habits, and my frequent Escapes, at last made me almost careless about them, so that I often led my horse six miles through the woods alone, and in the middle of the night, in returning home from Graham's Town to my place on the coast, near the mouth of tiie Bosjesmau's Kiver, in order to avoid the alternative of sleeping in a Dutchman's house, or of riding twenty miles round the end of the forest. One evening I took one of my servants with me and went into the woods, in the hope of shooting a " bush bock," or wood antelope, as our provisions were neaily exhausted. We ascended a steep grassy ridge, near the sea, and pro- ceeded through the forest for two or three miles, following a broad elephfint's path, where we saw several of their fresh tracks, but without being able to get within shot of the game we were in search of. As we were returning home we missed our way by following the elephant's path too far, which led us past an open savanna on the top of the hill above my farm, where we should have emerged from the AND ITS INHABITANTS. 187 forest. While we were deliberating how to proceed, we suddenly heard a thundering noise, and the branches of the trees breaking with reports like a running fire of mus- ketry. Haying only a small double-barrelled gun, and my companion's gun only loaded with small shot, we were in DO condition for encountering a troop of elephants. We had, therefore, nothing for it but to make for the edge of the woods as fast as we could, when we hoped to make our After a hard run, we succeeded in reaching the and calling to my man to follow me, I turned oflF at right angles along the margin of the forest, in order to get out of their scent, for the wind was blowing directly towards them. After running about a hundred yards, we stopped to draw breath, and to listen for our pursuers ; but hearing nothing, we concluded that they had turned off in another direction. Thinking the danger past. Darby Lanigan, whose name is an index to his country, broke out into an extravagant fit of ezultation, and paid himself and me a huodred compliments on our presence of mind and address, and swearing by the " Holy contingent'' -^2^ sort of mili- tary oath — that " we had done them finely." Darby's eulogiums were soon interrupted, for arf we were creasing the little plain five elephants issued from the woods aad gave chase to us. I succeeded in gaining a round clump of bush in the middle of the plain, and concealing myself behind it, watched the motions of our pursuers with both barrels of my gaii cooked. Poor Darby, however, being short in the legs, was soon exhausted with his exer- tions, and fell down in the long grass, where he had the prudence to lie without motion. The elephants passed him within a tew yards without perceiving him, aad coming 'I \ fe.M 4» ^^t' , ft (•<('■* tfl> '.AtX 1 188 SOUTH AFRICA within thirty or forty yards of my place of concealment stood still for several minutes, during which time my sen- sations were far from being agreeaWe, after the hair-breadth escape I had formerly had from them. 1 was afraid to fire, for in the event of their not being soared away, my retreat would have been discovered. Fortunately the wind had fallen, so that they lost scent of me, and at last returned to the woods. I now discovered Darby's curly head slowly rising above the long grass, and looking round warily to see if the coast was dear. His face looked rather pale with his recent tribulation. At length he got sight of me, and knowing by the signal I made him that the danger was past, his round visage immediately brightened up, and sitting uprigbt, he slapped his hands together and shouted to me, " By the holy, sir, we've done them fairly agin." As we were descending into the valley, near our house he turned round to me, with a knowing look, and said— " We'd better say nothmg about this business to the Dutch- men, or they'll say we were afraid." In dividing our common property with my brother Donald, who lived with me until his marriage, I took for my share of the land, a part of it which was surrounded on every side but one by the forest, and I was employed for several days cutting a waggon road, for the space of two miles, between the farms, preparatory to building a new house for myself. With the help of my Hottentotts, a few days sufficed to erect a temporary hut of long reeds, like the roof of a house, and another close by for my servants. I had got my bed slung by thongs, like a hammock, to the roof of this primitive domicile, to escape the annoyance occasioned during the ''P-'.'tui AND ITS INHABITANTS. 189 night by certain email animals, more active than agreeable, that swarm in South Africa on new settlementa. It frequently happened that on getting up in the morn- ing, we found the tracks of elephants within a few paces of our huts. When we considered the flimsy materials of which they were generally composed, we often wondered that these huge animals never took it into their heads to hock our houses about our ears, which a single elephant oonld easily do in a few minutes. One night I had just fallen asleep, when I was awakened by a loud shriek from one of these troublesome neighbors, and jumping out of bed I saw by the moonlight a large elephant, not ^y paces off, standing near my cattle, which seemed to be in great alarm, snuffing and poking out their noses towards the intruder. My gun not being leaded at the time, I called to my Hottentott to fire off his gun to scare him away, as the creature, from the wind being in ilie wrong direction, might not be aware that his old haunts were now occupied, for the first time, by human beings. On hearing my voice, our visitor retired slowly to the woods, where, contrary to my wish, the Hottentott followed him. The moon was at the full, and he did not like to fire his gun fi>r nothing. Before he entered the margin of the forest, I again entreated aim to return ; but he was too intent on his sport to r^ard my caution. He had hardly disappeared among the trees when I heard a sudden crash, and the harsh discordant scream of the elephant, and the next moment Buiter came running at full speed towards my hut, crying out, " God ! God!" closely followed by the elephant, who seemed bent on his destruction. In- 190 SOUTE AFRICA EH i rii f S'^iit .1,1 (i if id, L K " '. Btantly seizing my gun, which I had just loaded, I ran tc his assistance. Getting within eighty yards of the animal I fired, and just at the same moment one of his dogs, wliich had followed the Hottentott, crossed between him and his pursuer. The elephant instantly wheeled round and pur- sued the dog, which ran towards the forest instead of fol- lowing his master. A few seconds would have decided Ruiter's fate, for the elephant was within fifteen paces of him when I fired. " God 1" Ruiter exclaimed, as he sank exhausted on the ground near me, " I was almost caught. If it had not been for mynheer's shot and that good dog, I should have been trampled to pieces by this time. I have seen plenty of elephants before now, but this is the cunnihgest rascal I ever had to do with. He did not even give me time to fire my gun, for he stood dead still under the shadow of a large Kaffir tree ; then whur-r-r imitating the elephant's scream — the old rascal was after me. God ! Oh God ! mynheer, I shall never go after an elephant in the night again ; I'm fairly done up. I could not have run twenty paces farther if the * Devil' had been after me." I had determined to build a stone house at my new pl&oe, but the difficulty was to get a mason and carpenter down to my wild place. I at length succeeded in getting a mason from the distance of a hundred miles in one direc- tion, and a carpenter from fifty miles distance in another direction. The mason was much afraid of elephants, and my place had got such a bad name on their account that I could hardly induce him to undertake his part of the job. The Dutch farmers in the neighborhood used to call the place " The Eye of the Elephant's Nest," and when AND ITS INHABITANTS. 191 loaded, I ran tc 8 of the animal I his dogs, wliich reen him and his I round and pur- 8t instead of fol- Id have decided I fifteen paces of »xolaimed, as he , " I was almost 's shot and that o pieces by this >re now, but this > with. He did »r he stood dead 3 ; then whur-r-r rascal was after lever go after an f done up. I • if the ' Devil' use at my new n and carpenter ieded in getting les in one direc- ance in another f elephants, and ' account that I art of the job. od used to call est" and when my brother Donald and I went to live there they told us we should certainly be killed by them. However, when I once got my mason there, I was sure he would not leave me before his work was finished, as he would not dare to go alone through the woods. While he was building the house his stock of tobacco being exhausted, he begged me one day as a particular favor, to accompany him through the woods to an old Kaffir " Kraal " where some wild tobacco was still growing. Thinking there was little chance of meetmg a^iy elephants in the day time along the route of the waggon road I had recently cut through the woods, I did not take my gun, which was an incumbrance on horseback. Davie Hume, my mason, had found plenty of wild tobacco at the old " Kafiir Kraal " and had packed up a good supply of it in his pocket handkerchief and we were returning home through the forest, when on entering an open savanna, we saw a herd of three or four hundred buffaloes grazing on the side of a grassy hill at some distance. I asked Davie to stop a moment to observe their motions ; but he instantly ui^ed his old horse, which was not accustomed to take a gentle hint, into something like a gallop, exclaiming : " Ye'U no getm€ to gang and look at them, ae sight's eneugh for me" When I overtook him he had reached a deep woody ravine which lay between the savanna and my farm. Though he would see the grass on the other side of the ravine at only eight hundred yards distance, he was afraid to cross it alone for fear of falling in w'.th more buflfaloes, the dread of these animals being now uppermost in his mind. Going thirty or forty yards before him, I had descended nearly to the bottom of the ravine, when my attention waa attracted by A 192 BOUTH AFRICA I'M-1 some white objects, which were slowly proceeding from beneath the dark shade of the trees, and next moment two large elephants, whose white tusks had first attracted my attention, advanced into the middle of theroad hardly thirty paces from me. I turned my horse as quietly as I could and retreated up the path by which I had descended ; tel' ling my companion in a low voice of his danger as I passed him. On looking back, I perceived that he had succeeded in turning his horse's head half round, and was rising up and down in his saddle, and flogging him with aU his might, but the obstinate brute tired with his late exertions would not move a step from the spot, for he was not aware of his own or his master's perilous situation. At length the poor mason threw hftnself from his immoveable steed, but in his trepidation he got his foot entangled in a leathern thong which did duty for a stirrup, and he lay on his back on the ground kicking vigorous^ to extricate the imprisoned limb, still grasping unconsciously the bundle of tobacco leaves in his left hand. There was a curious contrast between the terror painted on the pallid countenance of the poor mason and the obstinate and phlegmatic indifference of the old horse, which still remained without motion, with his head turned towards his prostrate rider, r^ardmg him with the most philosophic air imaginable. In the mean- time the wind being in our favor, the two elephants did not observe us, and crossing the road entered the woods o^ the opposite side. After several unsuccessful efforts, the mason freed his leg and came running up the road to the spot where I was standing, without venturing to look behind him. The sight of the elephant is imperfect, but nothing can exceed the keenness of his senses of smell and hearing. AND ITS INHABITANTS. 193 With regard to the lion, the tiger, and leopard, and such animals, it is well known that they are generally intimidated by a calm resolute demeanour on the part' of the person who encounters them. I could give many remarkable instances to prove this fact, but I have here confined myself to what I have myself seen. Of lions I have no personal knowledge, because they were not found in that part of the country where I chiefly resided. But during my residence near the Kaffir frontier, 1 shot several leopards, or destroyed them by setting guns in their haunts baited with meat. Shortly after I had established myself on a new farm near the under fiosjesman's River, with my brother Donald, we were nightly annoyed with the depredations of one of these leopards, who had killed two of our calves and dragged them into the woods. One morning at dawn of day we took our guns and dogs and went into the forest in pursuit of him. The dogs soon got on the scent and treed him, when resting my gun on the shoulder of one of our men, I shot him through the body just behind the fore legs. He fell to the ground with a savage growl, and my brother Donald running up, at once discharged a pistol ball into his head. Our farm was situated in a deep valley between high grassy hills opening out towards the sea coast. A small stream from the woods entered the valley at the top, and then disappeared in the sandy ground near the sea. A heavy flood of rain had swelled this little stream to a tor- rent and formed a small lake at the bottom of the valley. Here in the night or even day time, all kinds of wild animals came to drink. Elephants, buffaloes, antelopes, i\ I Mi n1 p i Is h il 194 SOUTH AFRICA ti.. !■ lit wild boars, and leopards, payed it frequent visits to slake their thirst. One evening, after leaving off work, I took a ride alone along this little lake. Proceeding some distance I saw a large leopard slaking his thirst in the water. I immediately dismounted, and sitting down on the grass* to take a sure aim, fired and shot him through the body. He gave a growl and rolled over in the water, I attempted to give him a second shot with the other barrel of my gun, but it burned priming. The leopard now got on his legs, and came growling towards me, laying his ears back and writhing his tail. My first thought was to endeavor to make my escape j but my horse had taken fright and run away to a considerable distance. Not expecting to meet with so dangerous an antagpnist, I had left my knife at home, and was thus left without any means of defence or escape. I therefore determined to try what impudence would do; and waiting till the enraged animal came within twenty paces of me, I ran furiously at him, shouting at the top of my voice, and brandishing my gun over my head. This manoeuvre was attended with complete success; for the leopard immediately altered his course, and ascen- ded the steep side of the valley, and taking his station on a rock near the summit, sat down and watched my motions for some time, while I retreated slowly, still keeping my face towards him. Before I recovered my horse, it was too dark to renew the attack that night, but I contented myself with watching him until I saw him enter a thick clump of bush, were I expected to find him next morn- ing. As soon as it was daylight, taking one of my servants And its inhabitants. 196 it visits to slake with me, and my dogs, I went to pay him a second visit When we came to the bush, into which ho had crawled, the dogs attacked him, and he clambered into a tree for protection. At last I got a sight of his head among the thick foliage, his eyes glaring fiercely at me. Guessing at the position of his body, I fired at him, and he dropped to the ground. The dogs again closed with him, but he bit aod tore them so with his powerful claws that none of them could be encouraged to return to the conflict. The bush was 80 thick that we could not get sight of him without great danger. At length, losing all patience, I crawled into the thicket on my hands and knees, but had no sooner got a view of my enemy than he crawled out at the oppo- site side, and fairly made his escape. My only comfort under my disappointment was, that he could not live long with the wounds he had received. I could relate a great numbcF of similar adventures with wild animals, but which, I am afraid, would become tiresome to the reader. In order, however, still more to illustrate the wild life of a frontier settler, I shall give you a short account of the settlement formed by the officers and discharged soldiers of the Royal African Corps at, Frede- ricksburg, under the auspices of Sir RufaneS. Dunkin,the acting Governor at the Cape of Good Hope, in the absence of the Governor, Lord Charles Somerset. The intention of the acting Governor, in forming this settlement in the neutral territory, was to protect the rest of the colony from the incursions of the Kaffirs. The Royal African Corps, who had just been disbanded, and the officers, were offered farms of four thousand acres each, on condition of employing a certain number of the 196^^ SOUTH AFRICA ill,. privat«B 08 farm servants, whose discharges from the service were made conditional on their serving the officers faith- fully for three years. Their lat^ commanding officer being unpopular, the officers set their minds on having my elder brother, Benjamin, who was a civilian, for their magig trate, and they invited my other brother, Donald, who waa a half-pay lieutenant in the navy, and me, a half-pay officer in the army, to join them on the same conditions. The acting Governor" who was an intimate friend of my elder brother's, at once acceded to this request by the officers. At first all parties were delighted with the new settle- ment, for we were all well armed, and accustomed to discipline, and in order, moreover, to allow us leisure to pursue our building and farming operations, a company of the Cape Corps was stationed at the village we built, and which we had called Fredericksburg, after the Duke of York. Our settlement, however, had some radical defects in its constitution, and it could hardly be expected to be very permanent without women, of whom we had not above five or six among us, who were married to soldiers. On tbe return of the Governor, Lord Charles Somerset he looked with an evil eye on everything done by Sir R. Dunkin in his absence, and, by a series of annoyances, he at last succeeded in breaking up our little settlement. All the officers of the Royal African Corps were offered to he placed on full pay again, and this proceeding, of course, put the finishing stroke to the establishment. All the men deserted us, excepting four or five men, who were persuaded to remain with my brother Donald and me. My elder brother had left ufl some time before. AND ITS INHABITANTS. 197 Afl the Governor could not induce or compel ub to relinquish our claim to grants of land, according to the tarins made with the acting Governor, we determined to remain at all hazards. The company of the Cape Corps had been removed, and we were, therefore, left nearly at the mercy of the Kaffirs, who were led to believe that we were intruders, with no right or title to the land we occupied. Seeing that the set- tlement was occupied by only six or seven*men, the Kaffirs, who had been watching our motions from the hills above the village, determined, if possible, to drive us out. We, on our part, expecting no help from the government, were anxious to make friends with them. However, as they had several times attempted to steal our cattle, we had little expectation of coming to an understanding with them. One day I had ridden out to see if any of them were in the neighbourhood, and was retumii% towards evening by B long steep ridge above the village, when I suddenly heard a rustle in a clump of bush I was passing. Thinking it was a leopard, I drew back a few paces, and alighting from my horse advanced towards the bush, when looking under the branches I saw three Kaffirs sitting on the ground observ- ing the village. The moment they saw me one of them gave a whistle as a signal to his companions, and scrambled down the face of a precipice on one side, while another ran oflf in an opposite direction towards a thick jungle. The third, who had been asleep, was taken so unawares that he knew not what to do, and continued crouching under the bush looking at me, with a bundle of assegays in his hand. I cocked my gun and took aim at him ; but though I well knew how he would have acted in a like case, I could not !!ii m l)H\ R 41^' 198 SOUTH AFRICA \^M ''I'll m m lii Mm ■-!#*< |i:»W mi H':'' hi bring mySdf to shoot a man so entirely in ray power, and taliiing my gun from my shoulder I allowed him to make his escape in the bushes. Notwithstanding my forbearance, that very night they set fire to several of the deserted houses in the village, and made several atten^pls to fire the house next to the one we occupied. However, by the glare from the flames of the burning cottages we continued to fire upon the assailants and thus defeated their object. All our people conducted themselves exceedingly well, as old soldiers generally do in puch cases, excepting one dastardly fellow. On one occa- sion, when we expected to be attacked in the house, he collected all |iis clotlies in a large bundle, and, throwing it over his shoulders, swore that he would stay no longer with me, to be murdered by the Kaffirs, and he would rather take his chance of reaching the military post at Kaffir's Drift, which was about fifteen miles offi Fearing this would be the signal for a general desertion, I told him that he was a cowardly rascal, and that I was sure the rest of his comrades, who knew how to behave like men, would be glad to get rid of him ; but that I was cer- tain, besides, that the Kaffirs would catch him on tt'e way and wouiu serve him as h^ucserved. This had the desired pffect. The other men swore they would not desert me, and the fellow sulkily threw down his bundle and returned to his duty. The Kaffirs evidently expected to buin us out or to scare us from the village, when they might help them- selves to whatever they wanted, but then being exceedingly afraid of the arms and seeing that we kept our ground, they at length desisted from further molestation. The people now declared, that though they would not E' rwari"!! AND ITS INHABITANTS. 199 ho79 it said that thay had deserted me, they would not remain another night at Fredericksburg for all the land in tbe neutral territory, unless I could get a party of soldiers from Kaffir's drift to protect us. I accordingly set off on horseback, for the military post, gome time before day light, in order to escape the observa- ticii of the Kaffirs, who might have intercepted me in some of the narrow paths between the bushes, and rode as hard SB I could until I reached the high woody banks of the Great Fish River, opposite the military post. In des'sending one of the grassy ridges towards the " drift" or ford, I observed on another ridge a number of black things in motion, which resembled men. It was not yet light enough to discern objects distinctly, and I fancied they were a party of Kaffirs making for the jungle along the river, through which the road passed, where they. could easily intercept me. An 1 saw they would reach the woods before me, I hesitated whether' I should proceed in this dir- ection. Dismounting from my horso, therefore, I tied the bridle to a bush^ and lying dow n behind an anthill, I reconnoitred the suspicious objects for some time as they descended the face of the hill. At length they stopped and collected together for consulta- tion, as I supposed. Suddenly one of them uttered a hoarse cry like nothing human, aiid cutting a caper in the air which would have astonished the most expert tumbler in a circus, turned round and set off scampering up the steep bank like devils in the human form. I now began to breathe more freely, for I perceived that what had occasioned me so much anxiety^ was a troop of huge baboons that frequeat such >'. Xj'l >»f ■'-Ml ' «l i m S "I I III 200 SOUTH AFRICA AND ITS INHABITANTS. places in great numbers. I soon forded the river and in an hour or two returned to my men with a strong party of soldiers from the military post at Kaffir's drift. I shall here conclude my reminiscences of South Africa and its inhabitants, and if I have failed in affording my readers any instruction or entertainment, I feel mysdf amply rewarded for my trouble in writing these pages, by the pleasure I have derived from recallii^ scenes and ad- ventures which are still dear to my memory, coupled with the recollection of dear relatives and friends, most of whom have been called to a higher sphere of action in another and a better world* TAMMY LINAY-A SKETCH FROM LIFE. Who does not remember playing off some practical jokes in his youthful days. Boys love tricks, and men love theirs too ; and neither seem to care much about hurting the feelings, or wounding the self love of the hapless wights they have selected as fitting subjects for this kind of amu- sement. These subjects are often either simple hearted, honest and credulous old men, or old maids who have reached that mature time of life when they are no longer to be joked with, and when everything is taken in sober seriousness. One of the most inveterate practical jokers I ever met with, was an old soldier in the Orkney Islands, and well do I remember listening, with my brothers, when we were boys, to the wondrous tales of battles and sieges, which he told us with the gravest face imaginable — more than one- half pure inventions of his fertile brain — ^brought forth on the spur of the moment for our especial edification. But I must give a slight sketch of the individual in question, who stands before me, now, after the lapse of more than half a century, as distinctly pourtrayed " in pro- pria persona," as if I had seen him but yesterday. His name was Thomas, or rather as he was universally called by the people of the island, — Tammy Linay. Tammy was a capital specimen of the old soldier in his appearance and habits. He stood about six feet high, and -ij Ilia £ki -XVV TT X t'xic tc>:U\- tain, however, but as my father was a strict disciplinarian he could not think of placing him above our private tutor. The latter was, therefore, appointed major of the r^ment. He was a tall, long legged, pedantic, middle-aged man, of the Dominie Sampson school. He wore black silk knee- breeches, and white stockings and shoes, and occasionally Hessian boots over the white stockings, in very muddy weather. It was delightful to see the airs and graces with which this long gaunt figure strutted about in his magpie costume on the lower members, while the upper part of his body was covered with a long tailed scarlet coat, with two epaulets, and with a cocked hat and feathers : — " Oh I we'll never see the like again:" I do not remember whether Linay was Sergeant-Major, or Adjutant, — for I was too young to know which was the higher office in the military service. At all events, he was exceedingly active on the occasion, and in all probability performed the duty of both at once. He evidently felt an immeasurable superiority over these raw recruits, and Jst 206 TAMMT LINAT: *;i H Straightening himself up with a proud military air, and thundering forth the word of oommand, while he glanced along the line, with the bold fearless eye of the eagle — the country people looked up to him with a more than usual degree of awe, as if he were something more than human. Orkney men, generally, take to the sea as naturally as ducks, and make cool, brave, and patient sailors, in all situations : — but they are by no means cut out for soldiers; and the fact of my uncle persuading 50 of them to go and join the army in India with him, always seemed to me little less than a miracle : " For their home is on the deep : " And they are melancholy, and pine away, when they are removed out of the sight of the sea, and without a hope of revisiting their native isles. I sometimes fancy, — though I may be doing injustice to a good and kind man, who was universally beloved by his tenantry,— that a little of my father's influence was exerted by way of Strengthening my uncle's arguments, to induce so many fine young men to leave their homes for such a climate. I suppose many of my readers have he. d the story of the reply of the old Highlander who was employed by the wife of the laird, to get recruits on the estate, in order to pro- cure a commission in the army for her son, when she asked one evening, what luck he had had duringjthe day. " Oh ! and please your ladyship, I have gotten four and twenty volunteers, * bounded hand and foot in the bam.' " Our volunteers, on this occasion, though loyal and true to the back bone, certainly did not look much like soldiers, not- withstanding Tammy Linay's repeated exhortations to hold i:i_- uptueir ueaos u&u maUj auu lO iocs siraigiis Dexure u^iu. A SEBTGH FBOM LIFE. 207 Congpiouously preeminent among them was the old High- lander, Hector McKay, whom my father was obliged to idmit to be "no ower auld." He had placed himself on the right flank of the regiment, with a little " perky" Glengary bonnet cooked knowingly on the south-west corner of his head, with his long grey looks hanging in curls down the back of his neck. There he stood, sticking out his stomach and chest like a bent bow, and his heels drawn close together, while sparks of living fire flashed from his quick restless little grey eyes, beneath their shaggy eye brows. While old John Odthae blew up his bagpipes, little Hector's limbs seemed to be aflFected with an universal twitching, and he could hardly be kept in the ranks. His enthusiasm and loyalty went beyond all bounds, and if at that moment the enemies of his king had been pointed out to him, and a good claymore put in his hand, I'll wftrrant you he would have « Made it whistle And arms and legs and heads he'd shred Like taps o' thristle." Fortunately the loyal hearts of the North were not put to the test on this occasion. Those men who about half a centuiy before this period were . in arms against the Government, from a mistaken sense of duty, by kindness and by extending to them a generous confidence had been rendered loyal and devoted subjects of the Qt)vernment. But amidst these pleasing recollections, I am forgetting our trusty friend Tammy Linay. These exciting times passed nway, with their vague and undefined alarms, and Tammy had s^itied down quietly into his every day mode If -', «i 208 TAMMY LIN ay: of life, after oiling and packing away the deadly fire arms in their chests. He had now to find amusement for himself, by making doggerel rhymes,' or telling wonderful stories to those who were always ready to listen to them. I must now, however, introduce another character to the reader, who was an invaluable subject for swallowing down Tammy's most incredible stories, and bearing his constant praoticil jokes. This was a decent honest old man of the name of Benjie Moodie, who from a boy, had been a faith- ful servant to our family, whose name he bore, having been called after my grandfather. Benjie was a venerable look- ing old mamwith regular and handsome features. He wore a broad Scotch lowland bonnet, and his long white hair fell in wavy ringlets down his back. He was a truly excellent and worthy character, and devotedly attached to ihe family, from some one of whose ancestors he was, no doubt, descended. Though by no means deficient in plain common sense, he possessed that simple confiding character so seldom seen now a-days, and believing every one to be as honest as him- self, and having never travelled ten miles from the place of his birth, his credulity was almost boundless, for Benjie could not think he was justified in disbelieving what he could not possibly know to be false. Benjie waa generally employed in thrashing in the barn, where the strokes of his flail might be heard at regular intervals from early dawn until night^faJl, when he returned to his little cottage, about half a mile from our house, to his supper of warm oatmeal bannocks and milk, with his wife Maggy. . A SKBTOH FROM LIFE. 209 9mmoa sense. Oh f poor Benjie ; he is dead and gone many aday ago; but if ever I could envy the happiness of any man, it was his ; for never did T see among rich or poor, a mind so quietly contented, or a heart more virtuous, pious, and benevolent. That tricksy humbugjjing old soldier, Tam- my, loved the old man too, in his way ; but he could not resist the temptation his extreme credulity offered for his practical jokes, and love of fun. When Tammy had no other amusement in hand, he would come stalking up to the bam, and seating himself on a bag of grain, would commence telling Benjie some long rigmaroll story to while the time away. Benjie was right glad to see him, for in that out of the way place, he was as good if not better than a newspaper, for he always had something new to tell. Benjie had been often tricked by Tammy, but then the old soldier could put on such a grave and guileless face, that poor Benjie could never for the life of him believe that he was deceiving him. Benjie in the meantime, would keep on steadily at his work, till Tammy would tell him something particularly surprising, when he would suddenly stop thrashing, and resting his chin on the top of his flail, would give vent to some expression of won- derment, such as, "Eh ! man," and sometimes would shake his head doubtingly, and commence turning the half thrashed grain with the handle of his flail. One day, T^mmy was telling one of his long Seringapar tarn stories, something in the following strain : " Weel Ben- jie, o' a* the battles and scrimmages thou ever heard tell o' in thy born days, that yane at Seringapatam beats a'. By me saul, the cannon balls were hummin' aboot your lugs like bum bees frae a hive ii='jji A hi 210 TAMMY LIN AT: .->,-, ii'i ,«j U lets were na whizzin aboot as thick as midgics tn a summer's evening. Ey Benjio, and then there was the pikes o* them Indifins kittlin' you in the ribs, and their crooked skinii- tars flashin' aboot in the sun." " Skimitars ! what's that Tammy ?" exclaimed Benjie I " Now, you see, Benjie," replied Tammy, " thou does na ken naething aboot the warld ; you're but a poor simple Greater in the wurld. A skimitar is a kind o' a swurd, as crooked as the iron o' a sickle, and as braid as a scytho. Ey 1 an it is as sharp in the edge as a razor, an' a whcen sharper too. By my saul ! I cam near gettin' killed ao day with ane o' them skimitars. I had been feohtin' for aboot twa hours wi' ane o' them black Indian chaps o' Tip. poo Sultan's army, him pokin' at me wi' his lang pike, an me jabbin at him wi' my bagnet. We'el, Benjie, what thinks thou, the chiel does, but he oots wi' his skimitar, and makes a stroke at my head, that nearly took my lug off, but I just put my head on ae side, an' the de'il tak me if the edge o' his skimitar did na tak the whisker as clean an' smooth off my cheek, as if it had been weel lathered wi- soap, all' shaved by a barber." " Eh I ma-a-n ! I never heard the like o* that," exclaimed Benjie : " but hoo did thou get awa' frae him, Tam ?" < Get awa' frae him, sayst thou, Benjie. By my faith, I just gaed him a jab wi' my bagDet, that stuck S(» i wt in his back bane, that I had to put my fut on his • wu* ^ a,n tug wi' baith hands, before I could get her oot again. He was ane o' the twenty 1' killed at Seringapatam." " Eh ! ma-a n," exclaimed Benjie again. *' Weel Biiiijie, it was na long after that — but may be thou'll r^): />£t;>'V«- iiie— but a cannon ball as hi" s& "^qvs A SKBTOH FROM LIFB. 211 in a summer's pikes o' them irooked skimi- imed Benjie I ', " thou does t a poor simple )' a Bwurd, as ) as a soytho. r, an' a wheen btin' killed ae n fechtin' for 1 chaps o' Tip- I lang pike, an Benjie, what his skimitar, took my lug le de'il tak me lisker as clean el lathered wi- at," exclaimed im, Tam ?" By my faith, uck so ikst ii: his • , i*:i ot again. He im. —but may be 1 Kicr aa T/nnr • '"D — J head cam and dang oot ane o' the yaokles in the back o' my jaw-bane." " Eh I Tam, Tam, I doubt thou're leein noo," said Ben- jie, for this was a little too much for his credulity to swal- low. "Na, by my snul, I'm no leein'," answered Tammy, " sure as dc tth, it dapg my yackle clean oot, an' the doctor put a coi:k 2 ane in the place o' her. Na thou need it na shak th 7 head, Benjie ; if thou does na believe me, thou can just put thy finger in my mouth, an' feel for thysel I" Benjie came forward, with his mouth half open with wonder, and innocently placed his fore finger in the old soldier's mouth ; but before he could feel the cork tooth, Tammy closed his powerftil jaws on the unlucky finger, keeping poor credulous Benjie dancing for five minutes to his own music, and roaring, " Tam, Tam, TSammy, thou de'il for leein' ; let go my finger : thou 'It tak my finger clean aff ; oh ! my finger : Tam I Tam I Tara ! — Tam- my ! I! ! As may be supposed, the example of Tammy Linay, and the wicked tricks he played oflF on poor Benjie Moodie, were not thrown away on my brothers and me ; and we found plenty of opportunities of tormenting the innocent old man. T^o first of April, or " April fool's day " which it has been called from time immemorial, was the usual occasion selected for our " Practical Jokes." The Island of Waes or Hoy, in which my father's estate was situated, was nearly separated into two unequal parts by a beautiful bay, about five miles deep, at the head of 4 It !| vhmh mit> rAn Inexrtae^ nroa aani-aA 9 3. \rz\.t ri^*" i.tr-'v /»/\TV»nrfcn »»/1» • i«3 ss-~i^zrj\x., \.~jiij.i3^a;ti\x.j.ziz Hn rk vnAW r^fi m 212 TAMMY LINAY: 1 1 ii& ' the harbour of Long-hope at the outer part of the bay, which was a place of great resort during the war as a " rendez vous," for the fleets bound to westward and north- WRrdj—and round the perpendicular rocks to the sodih ward and westward of our house, the Pentland Firta raged in all its fury, till tbf strength of its impetaous currents was lost in the wide expLnse of the German or Atlautic Oceans. The Southern portion of the Island was a peninsula united to the reat of the Island at about a mile's distance from our house by an extremely narrow Isthmus, called the "air," over the lowest portion of which at spring tides the sea flowed. * At these high tides a very curious phenomeaon is observed at this place. While the ebb tide is still run- ning to the westward in the middle of the Pentland Firth, it has already begun to flow along the shore and in the bays and, consequently, the flood has arrived at his full height on the side of the " air " next to the Pentland Firth. At these times the sea rushes with great impetuosity over the " air," from the bay into the firth, and lives have been lost in attempting to ford this river-like current. My father was fond of making improvements on his property, not always, indeed, the most profitable. Ee had drained a fresh water lake, — a feat which his ancestors would have thought almost impious to attempt, and he had done other things which the poor simple folks of the Island thought little less then miraculous. My father, on his part, was amply rewarded, in his opinion, for the outlay, in finding several 'horns of the "elk" in the marl at the bottom of the lake. Some time before " Anril fool's dav." we had wifh t.hfl i - — ^j ■■ - — J — - — A SKETCH 1?K0M LIFE. 213 assistance of our friend, Tammy Linay, who entered into our schemes with great zest— circulated the report in th<^ neighbourhood that my father intended to drain the bay, and convert it into a fine farm. Of course, this was too absurd an idea to be entertained by any of the people ex- cept by a few such simple souls as poor Benjie Moodie. Benjie's mind was filled with an habitual visneration for my father, and he could not think anything impossible to him, with all his " larnin." When the first of April at length arrived, we informed him that my father had made up his mind to drain the bay, and had directed us to tell him to call the tenants together to cut through the " air" in one day, if possible. I shall never foiget the look of blank wonderment which Benjie's face assumed at this announcement. His eyes and mouth wide open, while he industriously scratched his head with his right hand. Smile on his honest confiding countenance there was none. But his mind was evidently dilated for the first time with a grand idea. At length he became more composed, and" replacing his broad^onnet firmly on his head, he hitched up his trowsers, and assumed an air of great consequence ; — well pleased no doubt, at being entrusted with a mission of such vast impor- tance. He observed to us, with a look of great satisfaction " I'm thinking I'd better warn a ' the north side folk," and taking his long stick, which waa a sort of stafif of office, he trudged ofiF on his errand. We stood watching him with boundless delight till he was fairly out of sight; and it was late in the day before he returned to the house, —some good natured person having at last reminded him that it wflB the " Avat. nf A^r.^l '» - — — ^ — ,y _.^,. ^,,, It was impossible to irritate the kind old man, and he 214 TAMMY LINAY: m seemed almost as much pleased as ourselves, that he had been able to aflford some merriment to the " gentles," as he called our family. " HaUow'een " was another night set apart by common consent for " practical jokes" in Orkney. We had two or three foster brothers among the tenantry, who were our constant companions in all our expeditions on HaUow'een. We laid our heads together and ecu trived all sorts of tricks. Sometimes we got a cow's horn, and filling it with tow, with a coal in it applied it quietly to the key holes of the cottages and soon filled them with smoke. At other times we pulled a lot of cabbages in their " kail yards'" and flung them down their large chimneys into the porridge pot. These were, however, only vulgar tricks. The best trick I remember was one we played on Benjie Moodie. Benjie had no children, and he led a quiet contented life with his old wife, who was called Maggy Mowat — married women in the lower ranks in Orkney being then always called by their maiden names. One Hallow night we had arrived at Benjie's cottage door without being observed. We were consulting together what new trick we would play them, when the idea suddenly struck me, that we would shut up their two little windows, which were merely holes in the rough stone wall about two feet square. After listening some time to the clatter of spoons and plates, while the pair were at their simple supper; we heard them tumble into their box-bed in the wall, and soon after they were both snoring most harmoniously together. All was safe now, and we immediately proceeded to stop up their little windows with sods from the " fail dike," hard by. Not contented with this, we stopped up every A SKBTCH FROM LIFE. 215 chink abont the door where light could be admitted. We then laid a large sod or " divit" over the top of the rude chimney. This last proceeding, however, nearly occasioned a fail- ure of our experiment; for we heard Maggy, who was a Caithness woman, complaining to Benjie of the smoke. They seemed to have awakened, half choked, and we heard her calling to her *' gude man :" " Benjie, Benjie, fat maks a e'reek, get up wi* ye an' see fat ails e' lum ?" We heard Benjie, cravf ling out of bed and flinging some \ater on the fire to put it out. They then settled them- selves to sleep again, when we retired for the night, with the intention of paying them a very early visit in the morn- ing. Long before day-light we were there again, listening at the door. As soon as the first dawn was visible over the sea, the cocks were crowing at all the cottages, but Benjie and his wife still lay in their bed, never dreaming that it was near sunrise. Some time before day break we heard sundry long groans from Benjie, and Maggy seemed somewhat restless, for she kept asking him if it was not near daylight, but poor Benjie had no clock, and trusting implicitly to the sun to regulate his motions, he quietly composed himself to sleep again. " The De'il's in the cocks," says Maggy, " they have bsen crawin' the hale night." The sun was now far above the horizon, but there they lay in bed while all their neigh- bours were at their work. Hour after hour passed by while Benjie and his wife were sometimes dozing, and sometimes talking of one thing or another. At last, about mid-day, Benjie gave a dreadful yawn. " Och-hon-te-got-F' " the De'el's in it, Maggy, m il \\^'\ 13 216 TAMMY LINAY but thi8 is the langest night I ever seed." This was too much for us, and we all broke out in an uproarious fit of laughter, which no doubt alarmed the simple hearted Benjie and his wife, for as we scampered away home we saw Benjie peering out at the door in his shirt, and won- dering, doubtless, how the sun had got so bright withoat his knowledge. m'' THE OBKNEY BOATMAN'S SONG. By J. W. Ddnbab Moodii. The foaming sea is dear to me It bears me on to thee, love ! And what care I though the spume-drift fly It speeds me on to thee, love ! The heart that's true, ne'er dreads the view Of stormy clouds or sea, love ! The curling wave, may scare the slave It ne'er will scare the free, love ! The wintry blast may bend the mast, The sheet I'll ne'er let fly, love ! Till the water o'er the gunwale pour While the squall blows low and high, love ! The waves may roar on the rocky shore And the sea-birds sadly wail, love ! O'er the watery grave, of the storm-toned brave That sink mid the angry, gale, love! The tumbling tide, and the ocean wide Are blithesome sights to see, love I The grey gull's cry in the gathering sky. Is music sweet to me, love ! -Vow, sun-beams smile on the dusky isle And the cot that shelters thee, love ! Through the dashing spray I'll cleave my way, And hasten home to thee, love ! From the beetling cliff, our dancing skiff I With throbbing heart thoul't see love » But your blushing cheek, will gladness speak When fondly pressed by me, love ! With tale and song, we'll drive along The merry hours with thee, love ! I And the morning beams will chase sweet dreams I Of her that's deRr to me. ]< " ' ii m ■' i 1 'i I:' '''••* ■ :; ■I -t^MT t I W'rd lf«Ei #*i. 1 M a -'^iJi ^ ■ P^^ 'fi m ' *'^' W^ ■My 3 ** 'i^ri 1 : W' |||uH| 1 THE OULD DHRAGOON. A VISIT TO THE BEAVER MBXDOW, A SKETCH PROM THE BACKWOODS. Behold that man with lanky locks, That hang in strange confusion o'er his brow'; And nicely scan his garments, rent and patched, In colors varied like a pictured map ; And watch his restless glance— now grave, now gay— As saddening thought, or merry humours flash. Sweeps o'er the deep marked lines, which care hath left As when the world is steeped in blackest night. The forked lightning flashes through the sky, And all around leaps into life and light. To sink again in darkness blacker still. Yes ! look upon that face, lugubrious, long, A3 thoughtfully he stands with folded arms Amid his realm of charred and spectral stumps, Which once were trees- but now with sprawling roots. Cling to the rocks that peep above the soil. Aye ! look again, And say if you discern the faintest trace Of warrior ; bold, the gait erect and proud, The steady glance that speaks the fearless soul. Watchful and prompt to do what man can do When duty calls ? All wrecked and reckless now. But let the trumpet's soul-inspiring sound Wake up the brattling echoes of the woods. Then watch his kindling eye, his eagle glance, While thoughts of glorious fields, and battles won, And visions bright, of joyous hopeful youth Sweep o'er his soul. A soldier now once more Touched by the magic sound, he rears his head. Responsive to the well known martial note, And stands again a hero 'mid hig rags. 'M i um 'If W^'M ■Jfr^ :J m 220 THE OULD DHRAGOON. It is delightful to observe a feeling of contentment under adverse circumstanoes. We may smile at the rude and clumsy attempts of the remote and isolated backwoodsman to attain something like comfort, but happy he who with the buoyant spirits of the light hearted Irishman, con- trives to make himself happy when aU others would be miserable. A certain degree of dissatisfaction with our present cir- cumstances is necessary to stimulate us to secure future comfort ; but where the delusive prospect of future happi. ness is too remote for any reasonable hope of ultimate attainment, then surely it is true wisdom to make the most of the present, and to cultivate a spirit of happy content- raent with the lot assigned to us by Providence. Ould Simpson, or the " Ould Dhragoon," as he was gen- erally called, was a good sample of this happy character ; and I shall proceed to give the reader a sketch of his his- tory, and a description of his establishment. He was one of that unfortunate class of discharged soldiers, who are tempted to sell their pensions often far below their real value, for the sake of getting a lot of land in some remote settlement, where it is only rendered valuable by the labor of the settler, and where they will have the unenvied privi- lege of expending the last remains of their strength lu clearing a patch of land for the benefit of some storekeeper who h^s given them credit while engaged in the work. The Ould Dhragoon had fixed his abode on the verge of an extensive beaver-meadow, which was considered a sort of natural curiosity in the neighbourhood ; and where he managed, by cutting the rank grass in the summer time, to support several cows, wiuun uuuiucu vuc v"»vt »-^T.r:< THE OULD DflRAQOON. 221 of his family. He had also managod, with the assistance of his devoted partner, Judy, to clear a few acres of poor rocky land on the sloping margin of the level meadow, which he planted year after year with potatoes. Scattered over this small clearing, here and there might be seen the hut-end of some half-burnt hemlock tree, which had escaped the general combustion of the log heaps, and now formed a striking contrast to the white limestone rooks which shewed their roimded surfaces above the meagre 8oil. The Ould " Dhragoon" seemed, moreover, to have some taste for the picturesque ; and by way of ornament, had left standing sundry tall pines and hemlocks neatly girdled to destroy their foliage, the shade of which would have been detrimental to the growth of the " blessed praties," which he designed to grow in his clearing, but which, in the mean- time, like martyrs at the stake, stretched their naked branches imploringly to the smiling heavens. As he was a kind of hermit from choice, and far removed from other settlers, whose assistance is so necessary in new settlements, old Simpson was compelled to resort to the most extraordinary contrivances while clearing his land. Thus after felling the trees, instead of chopping them into lengths, for the purpose of facilitating the operation of piling them preparatory to burning, which would have cost him too much labour, he resorted to the practice of "niggering," as it is called ; which is simply laying light pieces of round timber across the trunks of the trees, and setting fire to them at the point of contact, by which means the trees are slowly burned through. It was while busily engaged in vuis interesting operation that I first became acquainted with the subject of this sketch. 222 THE OULD DRRAGOOl^. i $:*U^'r^A ■■■? Some twenty of thirty little fires were burning briskly in different parts of the blackened field, and the old fellow was watching the slow prc^ess of his silent '' niggers/' and replacing them from time to time as they smouldered away. After threading my way among the uncouth logs, blaziDg and smoking in all directions, I encountered the old man, attired in an old hood, or bonnet, of his wife Judy's, with his patched canvass trowsers rolled up to his knees ; one foot bare, and the other furnished with an old boot, which from its appearance had once belonged to some more aris- tocratic foot. His person was long, straight and sinewy, and there was a light springiness and elasticity in his step, which would have suited a younger man, as he skipped along with a handspike over his shoulder. He was sing- ing a stave from the " Enniskillen Dhragoon," when I came up with him. " With his silver mounted pistols and his long carbine gun, Long life to the brave Tnniskillen Dragoon."^ His face would have been one of the most lugubrious imaginable, with his long tangled hair hanging confusedly over it, in a manner which has happily been compared to a " bewitched haystack," had it not been for a certain humorous twitch or convulsive movement, which affected one side of his countenance, whenever any droll idea passed through his mind. It was with a twitch of this kind, and a certain indescribable twinkle of his somewhat melan- choly eye, as he seemed intuitively to form a hasty concep- tion of the oddity of his appearance to a stranger unused to the bush, that he welcomed me to his clearing. He instantly threw down his handspike, and leaving his '' nig- gers," to finish their work at their leisure, insisted on our going to his cabin to get something to drink. THE OUtD DHRAGOON. 228 On my way, I explained to him the object of my visit, which was to mark out, or " blaze," the side lines of a lot of land I had received as part of a military grant," imme- diately adjoining the beaver meadow, ard I asked him to accompany me, as he was well acquainted with the diflferent lots. " Och ! by all manner of manes and welcome, the dhevil a foot of the way but I know as well as my own clearing ; but come into the house and get a dhrink of milk, an' a bite of bread and butther, for sorrow a dhrop of the whisky has crossed my teeth for the last month ; an' its' but poor intertainment for man or baste, I can oflfer you, but shure you're heartily welcome." The precincti^ of the homestead were divided and sub- divided into an infinity of enclosures, of all shapes and sizes. The outer enclosure was a bush fence, formed of trees felled on each other in a row, and the gaps filled up with brushwood. There was a large gate swung with wooden hinges, and a wooden latch to fasten it ; the smaller enclosures were made with round poles, tied to- gether with basswood bark. The house was of the rudest description of "shanty," with hollowed basswood logs, fitting into each other, somewhat in the manner of tiles for a roof, instead of shingles. No iron was to be seen, in the absence of which there were plenty of leathern hinges, wooden latches for locks, and bark strings instead of nails. Here lyas a large fire place at one end of the shanty, with a chimney constructed of split laths, plastered with a mixture of clay and cow dung. As for windows, these were luxuries which could well be dispensed with ; the I 111!) h 224 THE OULD DHRAGOON. 3»- ;■." :rWi ^i open door was an ezoellent Bubstitute for them in the day time, and at night none were required ; when I ventured to object to this arrangement, that he would have to keep the door shut in the winter time, the old man replied, in the style so characteristic of his country : " Shure it will be time enough to think of that when tlie could weather sets in." Every thing about the house wore a Robinson Crusoe aspect, and though there was not any appearance of ori- ginal plan or foresight, there was no lack of ingenious con- trivance to meet every want as it arose. Judy dropped us a low curtsey as we entered, which was followed by a similar compliment from a stout girl of twelve, and two or three more of the children, who all seemed to share the pleasure of the parents of receiving strangers in their unpretending tenement. Many were the apologies that poor Judy oiFered for the homely cheer she furnished us, and great was her delight at the notice we took of the " childer.". She set little Biddy, who was the delight of her heart, to reading the Bible ; and she took down a curious machine from a shelf, which she had " contrived out of her own head," as she said, for teaching the children to read. This was a flat box, or frame, filled with sand, which saved paper, pens and ink. Poor Judy had evidently seen better days, but, with a^humble and contented spirit, she blessed God for the food and scanty raiment their labour afforded them. Her only sorrow was the want of " iddication " for the children. She would have told us a long story about her trials and sufferings, before they had attained their present compara- wari THE OULD DlllU(iOON. 225 of that wlien tivc comfort aud iudepoudeuce, but, as we had a tedious scramble before us, through cedar swamps, beaver meadows and piney ridges, the '< Ould Dhragoon" cut her short, and we straightway started on our toilsome journey. Simpson, in spit€ of a certain dash of melancholy in his composition, was one of those happy fellows of the "light heart and their pair of breeches" school, who, when they meet with difficulty and misfortune, never stop to measure its dimensions, but hold in their breath and run lightly over, as in crossing a bog, where to stand still is to sink. Off then we went, with the " Ould Dhragoon" skip- ping and bounding on before us, over fallen trees and mossy rocks ; now ducking under the low tangled branches of the white cedar, then carefully piloting us along rotten logs, covered with green moss, to save us from the discom- fort of wet feet. All this time he still kept one of his feet safely ensconced in the boot while the other seemed to luxuriate in the water, as if there were something am- phibious in his nature. We soon reached the beaver meadow, which extended two or three miles j sometimes contracting into a narrow gorge, between wooded heights, then spreading out again into an ample field of verdure, and presenting everywhere the same unvarying level surface, surrounded with rising grouuds, covered with the dense unbroken forest, as if its surface had formerly been covered by the waters of a lake, --which in all probability has been the case at some not very remote period. In many places the meadow was so wet that it required a very large share of faith to support us in passing over its sunace j but our friend the Dhragoon, soon brought us safe r2 226 THE OULD DHRAGOOJi. through all dangers to a deep ditch, which he had dug to carry off the superfluous water from the part of the meadow which he owned. When we had obtained firm footing on the opposite side, we sat down to rest ourselves before com- mencing the operation of " blazing," or marking the trees with our axes, along the side-line of my lot. Here the mystery of the boot was explained. Simpson very coolly took it off from the hitherto favored foot, and drew it upon the other. He was not a bit ashamed of his poverty, and candidly owned that this was the only boot he possessed, and he was desirous of giving each of his feet fair play. Nearly the whole of the day was occupied in completing our job, in which the " Dhragoon" assisted us, with hearty good will, enlivening us with his inexhaustible fund of good-i\umour and drollery. It was nearly dark when we got back to his shanty, where the kind-hearted Judy was preparing a huge pot of potatoes and other *' combustibles," as Simpson called the other eatables, for our entertainment. Previous to starting on our surveying expedition, we had observed Judy very earnestly giving some important instructions to one of her little boys, on whom she seemed to be most seriously impressing the necessity of using the utmost diligence. The happy contentment which now beamed in poor Judy's still comely countenance bespoke the success of the messenger. She could not " call up spirits from the vasty deep " of the cellar, but she had procured some whisky from her next door neighbour— -some five or six miles off; and there it stood somewhat ^tentatiouslv on the table in a " crev beard" with a " corn cob" or ear of Indian corn stripped of 11 THE OULD DHRAGOON. 227 its grain, for a cork, smiling most benevolently on the family circle, and looking a hundred welcomes to the strangers. An indescribably enlivening influence seemed to exude from every pore of that homely earthen vessel, diffusing mirth and good-humour in all directions. The old man jumped and danced about on the rough floor of the " shanty," and the children sat giggling and nudging each other in s comer, casting a timid look from time to time, at their mother, for fear she might check them for being over " bould." " Is it crazy ye are intirely, je ould Omadhawn," said Judy, whose notions of propriety were somewhat shocked with the undignified levity of her partner : "the likes of ye I never seed ; ye are too foolidge intirely. Have done wid yer diviltries, and set the stools for the gintlemans, while I get the supper for ye's." Our plentiful though homely meal was soon discussed, for hunger, like a good conscience, can laugh at luxury ; • I and the *• grey beard" made its appearance with the usual j accompaniments of hot water and maple sugar, which Judy had scraped from the cake, and placed in a saucer on the table before us. The Ould Dhra^'oon, despising his wife's admonitions, gave way freely to his feelings, and knew no bounds to his hilarity. He laughed and joked, and sungs natches of old songs picked up in the course of his service at home I and abroad. • At length Judy, who looked upon him as a " raal made when he first came to thecounthry." Of course we li'jl 228 THE OULD DHRAGOON. ardently seconded the motion, and nothing loth, the old man throwing himself back on his stool, and stretchmg out his long neck, poured forth the following ditty, with which I shall conclude this hasty sketch of the " Ould Dhragoon." n'-^ w Mi ..if; DAN SIMPSON'S SONG. Ochl itP here I'm intirely continted, In the wild woods of swate Mericay. God's blessing on him that invinted Big ships fth" our crossing the say I Here praties grow bigger nor turnips ; And though cruel hard is our work, In ould Ireland we'd nothing but praties, But here we hare praties and pork. I live on the banks of a meadow, Now see that my maning you take ; It bates all the bogs of ould Ireland — Six months in the year it's a lake. Bad luck to the beavors that dammed it 1 I wish them all kilt for their pains ; For shure though the craters are clever, 'Tis sartin they've drowned my domains. I've built a log house of the timber, That grows on my charmin estate ; And an illegant root-house erected, Just facing the front of my gate. And I've made me an illegant pig-sty^ Well littered wid straw an' wid hay ; And it's there free from noise of the childer, I sleep in the heat of the day. THE OULD DIIRAl^OON. It's there I'm intively at aise, Sir, And enjoy all the comforts of home ; I stretch out my legs as I plase, Sir, And dhrame of the pleasures to come. Share, 'tis pleasant to hear the frogs croakin' When the suns going down in the sky, And my Judy sits quietly smokin' While the praties are boiled till they're dhry. Och! thin if you love independence, And have money your passage to pay : You must quit the ould counthry intirely. And start in the middle of May. 229 IT 1*^ '••^'i*! 4 ,y f* %\ 3 ''C<~' •^ 'if: p\ >Mr>'A RELIGION AND LOYALTY-AN ESSAY- No terms in the English language are more uncertain, indefinite, 'and circumscribed in the signification attached to them than Religion and Loyalty. They are terms which seem to have the peculiar property of exciting the worst passions of mankind, when they are distorted by the con- flicting opinions of narrow-minded and intolerant men. It seems strange that two word»which should convey the idea of something good and desirable should unhappily produce such discordant eflects. We are ready enough to admit that religious and loyal feelings are highly praiseworthy when directed towards what we consider the proper objects— that^is, towards o»«r religion and our government ; but very few can extend their liber- ality so far as to believe that there is any intrinsic merit in such feelings, irrespective of such limitations. Withr^ard to the first, what is considered religion by one set of men is considered as worse than none by another. The same may be said of loyalty. No one will deny that there must be one true religion, though, perhaps, no portion of the human race have yet professed it in its purity ; and there must be some one form of government superior to all others. In forming our opinions on the religion professed by our- selves, and on that professed by others, we are placed in the [perplexing position of being judges in our own cause, -^ 1 « ana, 01 course, the decision will be in conformity with our prejudices. 232 liELiaiON AND LOYALTY i IP Our religion, in ninety nine cases iu a hundred, has been stamped on our tender and passive minds by our parents long before wc were capable of forming any opinion of our own. The family seal was inherited i - parents f om their ancestors, and we know not whethei ijcars the similitude of the Lamb or of the Devil. With the wisest and best, the question is simply reduced to this : — We believe ourselves to be in the right path, and all others who profess a different faith to be in the wrong- one. It •may seem to some that we are treading on danger- ous ground when we venture to discuss such exciting topics as these ; but, happily, we live in a country where rational and tolerant opinions pervade all classes of the community in a degree surpassed in no country in the world, and where, we may add, we are especially bound to respect the opinions and prejudices of others for the common good. It is not our intention to dwell on the peculiar doctrines of any religious sect, or of any party in politics. Our object is simply to survey the common grounds on which all do or should agree for the good of all. We wish to promote peace, not stir up war. In saying that the minds of men have passively adopted, in most cases, the opinions impressed on them in early infancy, whether true or false, we are far from looking on this as an evil. On the contrary, we hold that almost any religion is better than no religion, and the sooner the ideas of moral restraint are impressed on the mind the better. Taking an extended view of all the different forms of faith professed by mankind, the members of each sect believing conscientiously that they arc walking in the true AN ESSAY. 233 and only road to salvation, and using their utmost efforts to spread the doctrines which in their hearts they believe will lead to future happiness, the question naturally occurs to the reflective mind— is it possible that only one of these sec^a can receive the reward promised to those who faith- fully follow tL. path of duty and rectitude, while all others shall be swallowed up in one common destruction ? We say God forbid that we should entertain such an opinion of His mercy and justice. Should such an exclusive idea continue as of old to hold possession of the minds of men, the consequence necessarily follows that each sect will be arrayed in permanent hos- tility to all others, and the more sincere the professor of any religion may be, the more will he be actuated by this repelling power in his intercourse with his fellow-man of another faith. However secure they may feel in the. saving nature of their own faith, they will dread any intercourse with those whom they consider as infidels, lest mayhap they should be drawn into the dark vortex of unbelief. Should we continue to nurse our prejudices apart from those of a different faith, how, it may be asked, will truth ever penetrate the dark masses of the world ? If we hold the true faith, are we selfishly to leave them in ignor- ance ?— and if thei/ hold the truth, bow are we to find it out ? What should we think of the missionary who, dis- trustful of the reasonableness of his own faith, would be un- willing to mix freely with the people he was sent to convert ? Yet such is the conduct of those who obstinately refuse to meet their opponents on the common ground of reason. We are all missionaries- for, as Christians, it is our duty to do i 'iJiii ji. I', < HI j^' :'J:; ;' % f*' / II n itmi 234 RELIGION AND LOTALTt : all ia our power to benefit others. If we think our faith will nol benefit others, we are insincere in our profession of it. Many men seem to fancy that true religion is like a heap of gold which cannot be bestowed on others without impoverishing its owner. Religion, on the contrary, is more like the widow's cruse, which, the more it is used, the more it is replenbhed. We do not reflect that in thus selfishly hoarding our treasure, like misers, we impoverish our- selves. In all its various forms, and however distorted, there is still one common feeling of religion which is peculiar to no sect. The genuine feeling of religion consists rather in the love of God, &nd in gratitude for all his mercies than in the groveling fear of future punishment, and in that intoler- ance towards other sects, which so often disgrace the pro- fessors of religion. There is an exclusive feeling in all sects towards others, which partakes but too much of the interested jealousy ob- servable in worldly pursuits, where gain is the main object. We are too much disposed to confine our sympathies and intercourse within the narrow limits of our own sects. It is, no doubt, no more than natural that we should give them the first place in our affections ; but while we love our own particular friends, we should not forget that all men are our brothers, whether they be Christians or heathens ; and we should endeavor to hold that friendly intercourse with them which will be most likely to produce that conformity of opi- nions which is so much to be desired. This can only be done by a direct appeal to that reason, which is the univer- sal guide given to all men by the Author of our being. The jealousy, so commonly observed on the part of teachers and AN £SSAt. 235 parents of their flocks getting mingled with the sheep of another fold, is a proof or symptom of a latent distmst of the religion they profess, or at least it shows that they regard human reason as a dangerous opponent of their faith. There is a stage in the history of true religion when such fears are reasonable and justifiable ; that is, when the mass of the people are extremely ignorant, and haye received their religion by the means of a sincere but indiscriminat- ing faith. In the early days of Christianity it would have been in vain to have trusted to reason alone, as a means of estab- lishing the new religion, a religion so unlike all others, in the face of such an impenetrable host of tangled prejudices as then existed in the minds of men. With the learned Jews, our Saviour appealed to their reason, and to the pro- phesies of the Old Testament, which they believed- Their want of faith was not in the prophesies themselves, but in the interpretation given of them by Christ. With the mass of the people, on the contrary, reason and history were less powerful, and miracles were more especially resorted to as the surest means of producing entire conviction on the minds of the ignorant multitude, of the divine mission of the Saviour. When miracles ceased, or whether they have entirely ceased, we have no positive testimony to inform us with any certainty. This much, however, is certain, that among civilized nations, to whom the leading doctrines of the Christian religion have long been preached, and who are capable of weighing the testimony of the Old Testament and of profane historians, where such testimony should fail to bring conviction to their minds, miracles would also jjU' im. /" ki 286 RELIGION AND LOYALTY: i! '♦^ j,w y W^:.7f, Wheu a certaiu aiuouut of knowledge has takeu root Id a country, an enlightened reason takes the place of miracles; and when this is the case, it can no longer be overthrown by imposture. Beligion is never so safe, or in so healthy and vigorous a condition, as when it is established in the hearts and minds of an educated and intelligent people. Should such a people by any means be induced to desert their old path, we should not think it improbable that they have found a better one. Intolerance in every form is unjust and unwise. It is unjust because we may be persecuting those who hold the truth, and^ unwise because it prevents improvement without serving truth. By nursing the narrow prejudices of sects, and declaim- ing against our opponents, we only confirm them in their errors, if they be in error — for the pride of the mind is aroused by every species of intolerance, and conversion be- comes impossible. When these things are duly considered, it appears suffi- ciently evident that reason is the best friend to religion, and can never be its enemy. Reason, certainly, will not explain those truths of religion, which are above human reason ; but the Almighty has given it to us to direct us in our choice of a faith ; and we are no where required to believe what is contrary to reason. When knowledge and reason exercise their full sway, and where the embankments of uncharitable prejudice are once swept away, it will be just as natural for truth to prevail as for water to find its level. As religion is given us to produce certain ej0fects, when our prejudices subside, w> shall be in the most favorable AN ESSAY. 237 and declaim- ter to find its position to judge of each religion by its practical results. Soonerjor later all religions will have to come to this test. In a country like Canada, where few of those artificial embank- ments have been raised to obstruct the free passage of truth between different sects, and a greater intermixture hath taken place, many uncharitable prejudices have already disappeared. Here, perhaps, more than in any country in the world, are we in a position to give our reason free play ; and here, especially, is it our duty and our interest to pro- mote free discussion, and to bear with the adverse buthon. est opinions of others. In the present day, and among an intelligent people, no religious sect requires any peculiar support on the part of the state, which is not extended to others. If we take upon ourselves to say that any particular reli- gion is the only true one, and that all others are in error, and therefore require the state to uphold our religion alone, need we wonder that all other sects will be actuated by a covered hostility to us and to our institutions. One of the strongest arguments for mutual forbearance and charitable feelings towards our opponents in religion in a country such as Canada, is the difficulties religious preju- dices create in the civil government of the country. This will readily be admitted by all who have observed the influ- ence such feelings have in aggravating the evils of political antagonism. In the fulness of their self-sufficiency, each sect may say, " Oi^rs is the true religion, and let others conform to the faith which is taught by the Holy Scrip- tures." Yes ! all Christians appeal to the Scriptures, but no two sects exactly agree as to their interpretation. The members of one great branch of Christians believe that their i 14 1 1 '■ •t-^' '( It r^'. >"»•! ■■'p ' ,1 * r. • ft; ' i '1-.;^'- 288 RELIGION AND LOYALTY : clergy are divinely authorized to interprete Scripture, and thus a great degree of uniformity of faith is ensured. All the other sects, again, disagree, in all manner of ways. It is not for us to venture to say which sect is right • but i t appears to us, that while the minds of men continue to diflfer in capacity and susceptibility of cultivation, it is vain to expect anything like entire uniformity in religious faith, without the soul-d^rading sacrifice of all freedom of thought and action. The state has a great duty to perform in these matters. It has no right, we contend, to make a selection of any par- ticular sect or sects to the prejudice of others. All human governments are instituted for the protection of all their subjects alike in their lives and property, as well as in free- dom of action in every direction, which may not be inju- rious to others. If our lives and property are protected by the state, why should not our re%ion, whatever that maybe, receive the same protection? Our choice of a religion is the result of our natural freedom of thought. It is a species of property to many dearer than life itself. Is it not then the sacred duty of all governments to protect all their sub- jects aKke, in the free enjoyment of their religion ? It is not easy to break through long established usages, and all govemment« have it not in their power to follow the dic- tates of untrammelled reason. In this respect new colonies enjoy a glorious privilege which they should guard as a sacred deposit. In old countries it frequently happens that acknowledged evils will have spread so wide and taken so firm a root, that they cannot be removed with safety to other AN ESSAT. 289 inHtitutions, which are known by ezperience to be good ; that the weeds cannot be removed without uprooting the grain. In a new country which enjoys a liberal govern- ment, the interest of the rulers and of the governed should be identical. If the people do their duty to themselves and their posterity, the government, whatever party may be in power, will perform theirs. A love of freedom, and a praiseworthy zeal for religion, will do a great deal. Each individual and sect will contend for its own interest in the benefits of freedom and tolera- tion ; but without Christian charity and brotherly love be- tween differing sects, what are all the divided efforts of individuals and sects but a rope of sand. Instead of seeking out subjects of difference, and perpetuating the prejudices of a barbarous age, it is time that all sects should " agree to disagree" and unite in the common cause of religious liberty to all. Happily every thing in the worid now indicates a disposition in the minds of men to cast away the religious prejudices that have hith(«rto ensUvsd us, and the absurd and uncharitable opinion so prevalent among all secta, that imputed inmcm/iy to their opponents, is now fast disappearing. It is a common remark that there is more hostility between sects whose doctrines are nearly similar than between religions whose doctrines have no resemblance to each other. On the other hand, when a heathen or Mahomedan stranger comes among us, all sects vie with each other in acts of hospitality and kindness towards him. His religion is forgotten, and next to the desire of pleasing him, each sect seems desirous of show- ing how amiable and liberal they can be when they choose. Now let us suppope for the sake of illustration, that some I i,-i 240 RELIGION AND LOYALTY : calm «nd philosophical traveller from some neighbouring planet should be permitted to visit our world, in order to observe the ways of its inhabitants, what a spectaele would be presented to his admiring eyes in civilized Europe and America? Sect arrayed against sect in bitt«r and nnqnen- chable hostility, or like timid snails distrustfWly stretching out their feelers in all directions, or hastily withdrawing themselves within their hard shells of invincible prejudice, lest their tenderly orthodox orgwis should be wounded. Yet all those sects professing to worship one God, who looks into the Aearto of men; not endeavouring to sink their minor points of difference for the sake of the great and glorious' cause in which they are engaged, but carping about trifles and quarrelling about straws :— each anxious to convert others to what they believe to be the truth—but afraid* to stretch out their hands to save them from perdi- tion, lest they themselves should Ibse their footing and be drawn into the same gulph. Minor differences will continue to exist we believe, while the world endures. The harmony we contend for is the result of the vigorous exercise of reason and of Chistian charity. It is the agreement in essentials, which will in time arise from con- flicting opinions, maintained with temper and moderation, and enlightened by education. When mankind can be brought to regard such minor differences as are insepara- ble from our imperfect nature, with indulgence iM charity, nominal dfctinctions of sects may still exist for a long time, but the limits (rf conformity will be greatly extended in all until no sufficient motive will remain lor the separation and alienation of sects which now disgrace Christianity. This great result can only be brought about by a voluntary AN ESSAY. 241 sacrifice of illiberal prejudices by all sects. Let us then endeavour to raise our minds far above the summits of those mountains of disagreement which separate all reli- ^ous communities by what now appear impenetrable bar- riers, to a height from whence all the inequalities and dif- ferences of the world beneath us will appear like one vast and smiling plain ;— and above all, let us endeavor to reaKze the belief that the Great Creator of the Universe is always ready to receive the prayers and offerings of aZZ sects ^ich flow from pure and sincere hearts. What sincere Religion is to the Deity in this comprehensive sense— Loyalty may be said to be with respect to man and human institutions. As religion has for its object the service of God and fills the heart witfi love and gratitude for His boundless good- ness; so loyalty has for its object the fai«iful performance of the duties which are incumbent on us as good citizens and should also warm our hearts with an ardent attachment to those institutions which guarantee the safety of our per- sons and property, and tend to develope the latent energies and resources of our minds. Loyalty is not a term invented by tyrants, to gild and rivet the chains by which they have bound us. No : it is a feeling which ennobles and exalts the soul, and awakens all its most generous emotitms. It is founded on religion, because religion enjoins the perform- ance of our duties to man as well as to God. To that form of government which we believe to be the best — whether it be a republic or a monarchy, we are bound on every principle of morality and religion, to be faithful and to be loyal. A mere passive obedience to the laws, may make a good and quiet subject, but loyalty makes the hero. Loyalty is nearly allied to love of country^ sad may Hi , i\ mm iiill i'. ' mt ii I P: /,! ! i 242 BBUGION AND LOYALTY exist ind^endently of the respective natural advantages of the land of our birth, or of the freedom of our political institutions. Who does not sympathize with the glorious struggles of the Poles for a government which no enlightened nation would desire to rake from its ashes, — or with the ar- dent loyalty and intense love of country which burns in the heart of the hardy mountainer, or of the native of the bleak and stormy isles of the North? — the North — tlie birth-place of mental energy and freedom ? Who can doubt the noble disinterested loyalty which clung round the expiring authority of the wrong-headed and misguided Charles, ^throwing a glorious halo round one, whose cause was that of irresponsible tyranny, upheld by narrow-minded bigotry. That was an age of intolerance, and he had to contend with those who were as intolerant as himself. Sincerity in political, as in religions faith, always deserves respect. Error in either may be corrected by calm reason, — never by force or persecution. In the heat of party con- tentions, in which antagonistic principles and powers are brought into action, it is too much the practice of the one party to arrogate to itself the exclusive possession of loyalty, — and of the other party to be involuntarily hurried into exi»'essions or actions, which seem to countenance the supposition that they are destitute of a feeling which should be common to both. If we believe that the form of govern- ment under which we live is good in itself, or that it is the best which we can obtain, it is but natural that we. should be loyal to it. If, on the contrary, we believe that the government is bad in principle, this loyalty founded on attachment is both unreasonable and impossible. The loyalty of a barbwous people to a bad and barbarous AN ESSAY. 243 government, is founded only on their belief that their government is good ;— but it is no less sincere. At that penod m the history of Europe when almost aU govern- ments were bad and arbitrary, the feeling of loy'alty was perhaps more ardent and universal than at the present time. If any better form of government existed in some more for- tunate country among them, the people, in general, were too Ignorant to appreciate ite advantages. The perpetual hostUity which prevailed between neighbouring countries while it prevented the spread of knowledge, tended also to increase the strength of the social attachments and love of country, Common feelings and common danger increased the mutual attachment of man to man, and of the whole people to the Sovereign. Hence the feeling of loyalty became naturalized to their minds. When men become more enlightened, and when peace affords them leisure to think B8 well as to feel, they then begin to doubt. Loyalty then ceases to be considered a sort of political religion An undoubting faith which before was so essential to the common weal, seems to lose its virtue. Men begin to con- sider that all governments and political power originally sprung from themselves ; that for the sake of peace, and the admmistration of justice between man and man, they had deputed that power to one or more individuals among them which nature gave originally to themselves. There may be a people without a king or chief: a king or a chief cannot exist without subjects. The people must necessarily have existed before they had a king to rule over them. The idea, therefore, of the divine right of kings is not I founded on common sense or reason, and is only calculated I to buiid up an arbitrary power on the ruins of "a degraded 244 RELIGION AND LOYALTY: people. It may, therefore, be said that the loyalty of a barbarous people is chiefly founded on an indiscriminating faith, while that of an enlightened and civilized people, is, or shoulcKbe, founded on reason. No form of GoverQment, whether free or absolute, can bo long sustained but by the sanction of the majority of the people. When a large number of the people in any country begin to doubt res- pecting the advantages of their peculiar form of Govern- ment, the age of improvement has commenced, and changes soon follow, which soon prove beneficial. The feeling of loyalty during such necessary and desirable changes, must, of course,; be in some degree weakened : but when a certain d^;ree of rational liberty has been attained, the sentiment of loyalty should be stronger and more lasting than ever, because it is constructed on the solid foundation of reason. Antagonistic powers seem to be a necessary condition of all free governments, whether these opposing powers, spring- ing from the people, be a proof of progression in civil liberty, or whether, at a certain point, they wiU cease, we shall not in this place stop to enquire. Suffice it to say that such antagonism (foes exist in all free governments; and it seems to us to be a necessary consequence of the imperfections of our nature, and that it is best calculated to remedy the abuse of power by preserving a continual and reciprocal watchfulness by means of the conflicting intere^ of parties and individuals. When a people is first emer- ging from barbarism, when kings are despotic, and their subjects ignorant — the parties which spring up among them to contend for their rights, are necessarily violent and sanguinary, because the absence of all the limitations estab- lished b'^ the usages of a free BeoT^le leave them no cob- tViATn nn non- AN ESSAY. 246 stitutional means of obtaining redress of grievances. The patriot is then contending merely against a faction which has abused the confidence of the sovereign, and he may still be actuated by the most ardent loyalty,— but we are not now speaking of such contentions. We are at present alluding to the struggles for freedom, on the part of a people, m opposition to despotic power, when they are beginning to perceive the radical defects of their political institutions. For a long time these sanguinary struggles merely result in a change of tyrants, and the repetition of similar abuse of power. Gradually the ebulition subsides ; new powers are formed— limited by circumstances, against which they^ cannot prevail, until parties have lost their character of ferocity, and much of the intolerance of opposition. The people have re-asserted their legitimate Powers, and what lately appeared usurpation or rebellion, has now become an acknowledged power, and is dignified with the name of a constitution. The arbitrary and irresponsible power of the despotic sovereign, is aa much the work of the people, or the result of their will, as the liberal constitution of an enlightened age. They originally chose that form of government which they then thought the best, and as long as they thought so, they were loyal to it. The gradual progress of knowledge and liberty altered, their views, and what at first appeared a good government was now considered a detestable tyranny. The unquestioned possession of arbitrary power for ages, came by habit to be considered as irrevocable, and the ..upuiu uicurji Kii junvme tagiu, was lUveMeU by Blayes tl I iji'iifl ,i mi r \\i 246 RELIGION AND LOYALTt : to flatter tyrants. The majority of the people in all states and at all times determine the particular form of government which is best adapted to their condition. The progress of liberty may be compared to a fluid in a state of fermentation ; at first it is slow, requiring certain circumstances to enable it to ferment at alL The process is then rapid, continuous and turbulent, until all the ele- mentary substances have entered into new combinations and have found their proper place. At this stage it be- comes calm and quiescent ; but still for a long time, a gentle and slow motion of the particles continues to agitate the fluid in an almost imperceptible manner. This fermentation has already taken place in the British 'constitution, and nothing now remains but the gentle mo- tion which is still necessary to prevent apathy and stagna- tion. The fermentation may, indeed, and will assuredly recommence at some period, to remedy certain defects which have descended from our barbarous ancestors ; but the opposition to the great mass of intelligent people will be feeble, and it will not be of long duration. It is obvious that none but such governments as are just and free, can be safe or lasting. The unhappy anta- gonism between a government and the people, shews plainly — either, that the government is not good enough for the people, or that the people are not good enough for the government. In either case, we cannot expect to find loyalty among their virtues. A government should not only be just and good in itself, but also be suitable to the intellectual condition of the mass of the people, to ensure their attachment and loyalty. In Great Brit-ain where the constitution has been of slow AN ESSAY. m i YiQQXl of slow growth, all the parts of the beautiful machine have fallen into their proper places, and perform their proper func- tions with a wonderful harmony between all the apparently discordant members, and in a manner which no human reason could have produced. There, the contention la not really between the government and the people, but between different parties, or members of the great machine, who differ as to the proper place and power of each,' without seeking to destroy or reconstru6t what has pre- served its existence through so many ages. Is it credible that any party, or considerable portion of the people, could be so infatuated as to seek to over- turn a government which so effectually secures the interests and liberty of all classes ? In such a country, loyalty is monopolized by no party in particular. All parties are loyal to the established government, because it is superior to all governments with which they are acquainted. Where the opposition of parties is confined to the dis- cussion of minor principles, or matters of detail, and a deep conviction is entertained by both parties alike, that the principle of the constitution is good in itself, it is equally absurd and wicked to brand one party with the name of t^/rants, and the other with that of traitors. A little reflection should show all men the utter absurdity of applying such or similar epithets to their opponents. Can we for a moment believe, that any large portion of an intelligent people, who have thrown off the galling yoke of irresponsible power, can ever tamely submit to have the chain of the slave rivetted once more round their I necks. The suicide, who rushes blindfold into eternity, at I least hopes that he will sink into a state of unconsciousness RELIGION AlTD LOYALTY : AN ESSAY. and oblivion. Not so, with the political suicide. He may sink into the grave of liberty, but he will feel the worms gnawing his vitals, while he struggles in vain to burst his cerements. On the other hand, can we believe that any large por- tion of the other party can desire to rush headlong into the troubled sea of republicanism, to be borne helplessly along by the ever changing currents of popular excite- ment, they know not whither. It is likely that through the fear of falling under the power of one tyrant, they would madly trust their liberties to a thousand, who are infinitely ^ore fickle, and infinitely more despotic ; because the responsibility is infinitely more divided. Let us then endeavor to entertain moderate and cha- ritable views respecting the motives of our opponents; and let us never forget, that anger is a bad counsellor, and that we have everything to hope from the efibrts of calm reason on the willing minds of an enlightened people. MEMORY-AN ESSAY. There is not one of the faenlties of the human mind more I important than memory. It seems to be almost necessary to our very existence. Without memory, the mind of man becomes in a manner isolated; it receives, but retains noth- ing that comes from without, and is cut off in a groat d^ree from taking its proper share in that Community of thought and in the progressive march of improvement, on which I civilization is founded. In many respects memory resembles the art of writing. I It performs for the individual, what the other does for the human race at large ; with this difference, that the uses of the latter, extend beyond the present generation, for it con- veys the thoughts and discoveries of our ancestors and our- selves to the most remote posterity. But after all, what is the power of reading the thoughts of others, through the medium of the eye, to the unfortunate individual to whom nature has denied the faculty of retaining impressions or memory I He may read and he may listen, his eye and his ear may drink in the thoughts of others, but nothing re- I mains to afford nourishment to his mind. There are minds, indeed, but few in proportion to the Uass, in which original ideas spring up spontaneously, as it were, which are continually forming new combinations, pos- I sessing most of the characteristics of originality of thought, or which are actively engaged in separating the pure metal i from the dross of the world. Such naturally gifted minds l2 ^0 MEMORY— AN ESSAT. may long continue to feed on their own aburdant resources and to enlighten the world of minds around ♦hem, but even to such minds memory is of vast importance, for sooner or later, their natural stores will be exhausted. Then a few imported ideas will set the machinery of their minds again in motion, and an endless variety of new combinations will be formed. With the great mass of numkind, however, originality is not to be found ; but though they may want the creative power of genius, they may still appropriate, compare, ana- liae and reduce to practice the conceptions of others, and thus provte their truth or falsity. Like the light from the sun, genius may shed its bright rays on dark, inanimate matter, but the masses are enlightened and ^-^flect their borrowed light from world to world, and from ».j<^ to age. It is among this numerous class that most of the men of practical ability, the men of business talent, the clever men of the world, as they are called, are found. As in machi* nery, one man invents, but a thousand profit by the d'«oov- ery which they would have turned into ridicule. Memory is essential to the thousands who may learn, but not so necessary to the few who invent or originate ideas. If we could suppose for a moment, that the great mass of mankind were deprived of memory, or the power of adopt- ing or reflecting the ideas of others, into what an inconceiv- able state of dullness and mental darkness would they sink? How many among them whc soared proudly on borrowed pinions would drop to the earth ? Stop the inlets to knowledge, and there would be an end to all progress, and civilization would come to an eternal stand still. MEMORY—AN ESSAY. 251 Happily for mankind, extremely defective memories are very rare, much more rare we believe, than what are called ^reat memoriet. It is very commonly supposed, particu- larly by those who have never felt the inconvenience of a defective memory, that memory is a thing to be acquired like anything else, and that in order to possess this advan- tage to its fullest extent, practice and system only are ne- cessary. No man of common aense, or common observation will deny that memory, like any other mental faculty, may in some degree be improved by exercise, but to suppose that a very defective memoiy may be so improved, as to become a good one, seems ju^t as rational as to maintain, that a lame man might be so trained, as to enable him to equal the best runner is speed. We are all sufficiently disposed to value ourselves unduly on the advantages we possess over others, and it seems to us, that in this instance, the favored possessors of a natu- rally retentive memory, would fain claim merit to them^ selves for that which is due to the Ahnighty <' giver of all good gifts.'* Nothing shews more clearly the diflference between mind and matter than the faculty of memory. Whole reams ot paper may be covered with writing, crossed and re-crossed, and but a faint idea is conveyed to the mind of the capa- city of the tablets of memory. On these wonderful tablets, forms, ideas, colors, sounds, languages, are alike imprinted* A thousand things are thus retained in the mind of an individual, which no human ingenuity could enable him to transfer to another. These " tablets/' if we may continue to use a term a*v I HI: I ii iiii 1 'mm r |H V ;|P II If 11 MM r ill f If ■ mmil ,1^ ' 252 MEMORY—AN ESSAY. plied to matter, to enable us to deiscribe what is essentially immaterial, seem to possess an infinitely elastic property. Bach ohara^stcr, or hieroglyphic inscribed on them is but the index to a vast train of ideas, mysteriously linked to- gether, and connected more or less remotely, with the pri- mary thought or idea. The power of memory, with reference to the particular subjects on which it is exercised, is so various in different persons, that we can hardly form any idea of the extent of the faculty in each instance. It is impossible to ascertain the positive amount of matter, facts, or ideas retained by the memoij. Then, again, memory is greatly influenced by the.peculiar tastes of the individual and the consequent de- gree of attention he may be induced to give to each parti- cular subject. It has been remarked, that a person may be very forget- ful on some subjects, while on others, his memory is reten- tive. This well known fact has led many superficial minds to believe that the power of memory is originally alike in all men, and that what is called a bad memory, simply arises from want of attention. This is one of those facta which have suflGicienfc truth in them to satisfy such minds as are ever ready to jump at a conclusion which they find so near the surface, and are thus saved the trouble of further thought. There can be no doubt that the habit of fixing the atten- tion on any particular subject will tend to strengthen the memory, in so far as that particular subject is concerned ; but it by no means follows that the memory is thus strengthened on other subjects. It is well known that the arms of a blacksmith or of a MEMORY— AN ESSAY. 253 sailor are usually stronger than those of other men, because in such employments the muscles of the arms are brought more into action than those of other parts of the body. We believe it is just the same with memory. What is gained on one point in probably lost on another. The poT/er of body and the power of mind, in whatever they may consist, are drawn oflFfrom the other portions of the body or mind to be concentrated at one point, and thus that point is strengthened at the expense of other points. These facts only prove that the natural faculty or power may be directed to one or two particular points, where there is an object to be gained by so doing. There are instances, without number, to prove that memory, in all cases, does not depend on attention or appli- cation. How often do we meet with people of the meanest intellect, and even with idiots, utterly incapable of appli- cation, who possess this faculty in the highest degree? Many years ago the writer remembers meeting with a blind man at Stirling Castle, in Sec .land, who was almost an idiot, but who possessed the most extraordinary powers of memory. He knew the whole New Testament by heart, and would repeat any chapter that was given him word for word without making a singlis mistake. This we have often witnessed, and uniformly with the same result. Memory with him evidently cost no mental effort. If we consider the subject for a moment, it becomes obvious that the greater the defect of natural memory, the greater will be the effort on the part of the individual to make up for the deficiency by increased attention, in the same manner that we make efforts to escape a quagmire in smith or of a ■ prODOrtion to our annarfint. Hnno-Ar nf ainl-in^ rrui^ :« „ 1 iilVV IJ n ■; ill; t1. fH^T 254 MEMORY— AN ESSAY* of nature, and itseetas strange that any man of common sense or observation can suppose that memory depends en- tirely upon attention. When this faculty is possessed in the highest degree by persons of the highest order of mind, it gives them an im- measurable superiority over their fellow-men, because they are thus enabled to collect, combine, and work up in the laboratory of their own minds the vast amount of treasured knowledge derived from books and men, and to add the results of their knowledge and experience to what they have themselves drawn from the rich mines of thought. Still we are inclined to think that natural memory is usually enjoyed in a larger degree by men of inferior intellect. In support of this opinion, we shall quote a high authority — that of Plutarch— when speaking of Cato the younger. He says, in describing his character : ^' His apprehension was slow, and his learning came with difficulty ; but what he had once learned he long retained. It is, indeed, a common case for persons of quick parts to have weak memories ; but what is gained with labor and application is always retained the longest, for every hard-gained acqui- sition of science is a kind of annealing upon the mind." There is much good sense and truth in these observa* tions, and it seems that the God of nature has gifted men of an inferior order of mind in a greater degree with a faculty which is calculated, in the absence of originality or genius, to make them useful to their kind. Here, however, anotiier reflection occurs to us. As the mind of a man of a great natural capacity necessarily embraces a greater variety of subjects of reflection than that of a man of inferior capacity, does it not, therefore, neces- sarily follow that his mind, being engaged upon reflecting Memory— AN iissAt. 255 upon so many subjects, and in committing those reflections to memory, will lose the power of retaining as many mere facts as the inferior mind? So that, in reaHty, the memory of the latter may be more perfect, simply because it is employed upon a smaller number of subjects. This we merely offer as a conjecture. A common mind is generally engaged in collecting and storing up facts, and reflections acquired from others, while a mind of a superior order is busy creating new ideas and indulging in endless speculations and reflectioas on pre- existing facts. There may in general be lass difference in the actual amount of Tnatter—ytQ use the word for the want of a better— retained in the memory of different individu- als than is commonly supposed. It frequently happens, as already observed, that persons of mean capacity have reten- tive memories for facts, numbers, and other matters which do not involve reflection, while persons of a higher order of mtelleot generaUy require some degree of reflection to aid their memory in recollecting the very facts which give rise to their reflections. Very often the reflections remain after the facts have faded from the mind. It is frequently observed among boys at school that a very dull boy will easily remember everything which has been taught him, without effort or reflection, while a clever boy cannot remember anything without first being made to understand and reflect upon the matter to be committed to memory. Unfortunately, there are a vast number of dull teachers who do not observe or understand these mental peculiarities. Every boy who has a good natural memorv. and can learn ins lessons mechanicaUy, is considered by such teachers as ■-:"ir 1' V- < 256 MEMORY— AN ESSAY. 11 C-'Ift' mm f tt clever, promising lad. The boy, on the other hand, wlio must understand before he can remember, gives the dull mechanical teacher a great deal of trouble, because he de- mands explanatione and illustrations which the unfortunate master is incapable of giving him. He can only convey his knowledge in the way he received it. The ideas, or facts, have been chalked upon his empty mind, and he can only exhibit the board to the pupil. We need not, there- fore, wonder that so many of those boys who were consi- dered clever at school turn out dull '* matter-of-fact men." Once on tl^e great sea of the world, the man who thinks shoots a head of the man who only learns and remembers. In early youth, everything that is seen, heard, or felt, makes a powerful impression on the mind — simply because the mind is unoccupied. The memory is then like a blank sheet of paper, and every character which is traced upon it is clear and l^ble, and often remains indelibly impressed upon our minds to the termination of our mortal lives. What delightful memories —what sweetly sad recoUec. tions are treasured up there, often unknown to ourselves, until, as if bj the spell of a wizard, some trifling circum- stance or association of ideas wafts us back to those happy days of our youth. What blessed visions of departed joy again flit before us in all their dream-like sweetness, caUed forth by the notes of some plaintive air, treasured up in our memory, or by the smell of some simple flowers which we heedlessly crushed beneath our feet in our boyhood. These facts are familiar to every one who can reflect and feel. We need not attempt to reason upon them. The powerful effiect of dreams in recalling our past feel- ings and impressions seems to be deserving of particular MEMORY— AN ESSAY. 257 notice. How does it happen that/orws, sounds, and scenes in particular, which appear to have utterly faded from our memory while awaken should be suddenly revived in all their reality and intensity of impression by sleep ? How comes it that the memory should be more active while the thmking principle is for a time partially inactive ? In sleep we seem passively to yield to our feelings and passions which bear us helplessly along in their wild career, while our reason appears to have become feeble, and to have quitted the helm. When the head of the sleeper is laid on the pillow, the brain becomes partially paralyzed —one portion of its endless organs or convolutions retains some degree of vital activity while the rest has gone to sleep. All this time, the heart beats as freely as when awake, and the blood circulates through all its vessels .with untiring energy. The head — the seat of reason, then is all but dead, while the heart, the seat of the affections and passions is freed from control. This is our theory of the matter, which may be taken until a better one is found. It seems absurd to suppose that sleep brings back im- pressions which have been expunged from the tablets of the memory. It is more rational to suppose, that the impres- sions still remain entire, and that they have been overlaid and smothered, as it were, by newer impressions which oc- cupy car whole thoughts while awakf ; so that for a time the early impressions seem to be lost. All our passions feelings and thoughts during sleep are concentered for the time to one point. Our minds are not then distracted by external impressions, and therefore they act more power- fully in the particular direction they have taken. By this powerful action, the mind having turned towards the past, drags out these long neglected characters traced indelibly 258 MEMORY— AN ESSAY. on the tablets of memory from beneath tbe mass of newer impressions that had obscured them The faces of the dead appear before us, and we wake with their very voices ringing in our ears. We have hitherto considered the faculty of memory phi- losophically. It is now time before concluding our obser- vations, that we should r^rd it steadily in a moral point of vhew. Memory and conscience are nearly allied. They are always in company, and mutually act and react upon each other. If conscience goes to sleep—memory awakes her ; and often when memory becomes oblivious she awakes with the stern searching eyes of conscience looking into her inmost soul. Amidst the bustle and turmoil of the world we may drown thought, conscience and memory for a time — but it is a fact as true, as it is worthy of remark, that however treacherous his memory may be, while reason remains, a nrnn can never forget his erimes; and even his shattered reason is often but a wild dream of guilt and horrors unspeakable. There are two things peculiarly dreadful to the guilty man ; these are sleep and the hour of death— we do not allude to the future. We leave that to divines— we speak of the present. Without exaggeration, we may say, that there are many unhappy men who suflfer tenfold more tortures every day of their lives from the memory and consciousness of crimes, than the gallows could inflict. The memory is a powerful moral agent in this world. How strange that it should be so much overlooked. It is not often usually, during the course of our lives, that imme- diate death seems to threaten us, while we are free from pain and in the full enjoyment of ail our mental faculties ; Memory— AN essay. 259 but it has been stated from experience, by many persons, that in such circumstances the memory of all the sins they have committed during their lives is suddenly revived, and pass rapidly in review before them in all their natural deformity. With the awful prospect of immediate death before our eyes, conscience is awakened, and the memory which had been obscured by the passing events of life is stimulated by her agency to bring before us those recollections in which we are for the time most deeply interested. Sleep has the external semblance of death, and it is hardly possible for any thinking man to retire to his rest at night, without giving a passing thought to that long sleep which ' will terminate all his cares, joys and sorrows— all his sin^ and his repentance in this world. At this period of our every- day life, the mind is natur- ally led to reflect on the acts of the past day, for night is no flatterer. The busy hum of life is hushed, and the clouds of darkness have fallen upon the bright and gay face of nature. Stillness — universal stillness reigns around, and the Almighty has appointed this as the peculiar hour for reflection, repentance and prayer — Memory is undisturbed by passing events, and faithfully performs her part. The good man sinks peacefully to rest, and if he dreams —his imagination untrammelled by cold reason revels in visions of joy ; or aided by memory lives over again the happy days that are past. Night for him is a time for serious reflection, but in the more immediate presence of his God, he casts the load of care from his shoulders, sinks quietly to sleep and ris s refreshed and invigorated for the journey of life. To the guilty and conscience stricken, on the contrary, 260 MEMORY— AN ESSAY. fm night is not the time for rest. ^- The night to such, is like the every-day approach of death. Those dreadful sisters conscience and memory, still haunt him with appalling visions, and banish sleep from his pillow. He may be said to die — and go to his torment at the close of every day of his life. Though for a time he may deceive the world — he cannot deceive himself — for his memory is but too good- misfortunes fall upon him, but he has no consolation. He cannot pray, for how could he approach his Maker with the fruits of Li' iniquity under his cloak — Memory, which to the good is a blessing, is to him a Hell. What is death to such a life ? J To mch, the gallows would be a mercy j and if we may venture to indulge in conjecture as to the kind of punishment, prepared for the wicked in a future state— whi-t tortures can we conceive more intolerable than such as are self-inflicted in this world by the memoiy and con- science of a bad man. This subject recalls to our memory the powerful lines written by an unknown hand in the fly leaf of Rogers' ^* Pleasures of Memory," borrowed from a public library. Pleasures of Memory ! — Oh, supremely blest, And justly prized beyond the poet's praise, — If the pure confines of the author's breast, Contain indeed — the subject of his lays — By me how envied, — for to me The herald still of misery, Memory makes her influence known • By sighs and tears, and grief alone, I greet her as the fiend to whom belong The vultures ravening beak, the raven's faneral song. She tells of time misspent, of comfort gone. Of fair occasions passed for ever by. Of hopes too vvarmly nursed — too rudeJv torn, Of many a cause to wish, yet fear to i v, Lest she beyond the grave resume her reitZ'j And realize the Hell that priests and beldaii' s feign I THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING UGLY-A SKETCH. How little do we poor short-sighted creatures know what is most for our own good ; and were our individual happi- ness to be measured by the apparent happiness of others, how small a share would often fall to our lot, according to the estimation of the world. There are a number of very excellent things in them- selves, which we naturally suppose are admirably calculated to ensure our future happiness, but alas ! it generally hap- pens that without somethmg else to give them actual value, these apparent advantages only tend to show us more clearly that everything in this world is but « vanity," and ends in "vexation of spirit." A handsome fortune, for instance, is, no doubt, a good thing in itself, but then wa may not know how to enjoy it ; for by a singular fatality it gener- ally happens, that those who have the greatest facility in amassing money, are precisely the very persons who enjoy it the least. A handsome person is another advantage in itself, but others may not have the taste to admire us as much as we ourselves do. This is, indeed, unfortunate, for few can content themselves with this kind of solitary admi- ration. The ugly man has this advantage, among many others, that while the handsome men are generally losing their good looks with age, he like an everlasting flower, remains still the same, or rather, he gains what the others lose by the lapse of time, -.'(««*.' 262 THE ADVANTAGES OP BEING UGLY : These preliminary considerations will prepare the mind of the reader for what may appear, at first sight, a some- what startling assertion, that the possession of an ugly face and person, so far from being a disadvantage, is generally a positive advantage to a man. Were I inclined to deal in paradoxical phrases, I am so thoroughly convinced of the truth of my assertion, that I am strongly temptsd to write an essay on the " Beauty of Ugliness /" It is well known that the connoiseurs in dogs consider thoee dogs the handsomest which ordinary mortals would in theirr simplicity thinV the least comely. If this does not prove that there is no such thing as positive beauty, it shows that it is after all but a matter of opinion. Now I am one of those happy men whom nature has especially favored with— what shall I call it ? Ugliness is the word ! My complexion is what a milliner might call whiteg-brown. Something between a dirty white and an unsuccessful attempt to white-wash a negro. I hope the reader will excuse me for not describing my person and fea^txres, for my natural vanity will not allow me to state what ill- natured people have pronounced decidedly ugly. I have but a faint recollection of my boyhood. At this period of my life, I certainly WuB not happy. My parents were among those who fancied that their children should be handsomer than those of others j and they thought the possession of an ugly child entailed an indelible disgrace on the family. I had the misfortune, as it then appeared, of having sev- eral handsome brothers. Of course, when strangers called at our home, I was never produced to excite their admira- tion. I have no rscoilectiou qf any one being polite enough A SKETCH. 263 to call me handsome, for it was evident that my parents would not believe it. Among our visitors there was, however, one benevolent- looking, elderly gentleman, with spectacles, whose attention I happened to attract as I was skulking into some dark comer for concealment. He called me to him, and even patted me on the head. He gently reproached my father for not showing me to him before ; and said that though I was not so " good-looking" (God bless him for the phrase !) as the other boys, I had a look of great intelligence. These few kind words sank deep into my heart. I drank them up as the parched soil absorbs the gentle shower from heaven. This little incident reconciled me, in some measure, to existence, I had been so frequently taunted with my ugliness, that I had begun to think that I had come into the world through some unhappy mistake, or that I had been sent to be a trial to my parents. This kind old gentleman with the spectacles infused a new life inta me, and from this time I began to look abroad for the sympathy I could not find at home. Whether he took a fancy to me through a spirit of contradiction, or that the spectacles, which in my imagination seemed to form a part of his face, enabled him to look deeper into my character, I could not determine. In either case there was kindness and generosity in his behavior towards me. In spite of the opposition I met with on the part of my brothers, who seemed determined to keep me in the back ground, I managed to' throw myself in his way, whenever he came to the house, in order that his notice might draw me out of my painful obscurity, and make me think better of myself. I dared not to express my gratitude to Mr. 264 THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING UGLY: -'m^ Everard, for that was hm name, but he no doubt saw that in my face, whiol^i tol K iry feelings better than words ; for now and then his niiid penetrating eyes would rest on mo for a few monieuts with a calm benignant look — he seldom spoke. The idea about this time occurred +0 me that I might regulate my temper, which as may naturally be supposed, from my treatment, was none of the best ; and that I might cultivate my natural intellect, and thus make amends for my bodily defects. Formerly the preference shown to my brothers by my parents, and consequently by others, had filled my mind with a feeling of bitterness and envy I want words to ex- press. I even dared to murmur in my heart at the injus- tice of Providence, as it appeared to me, which had made me so repulsive in my appearance, without any fault of my own. I now however began to reflect that I had a mind as well as a hody. I knew that I could not blame myself for my ugliness, and I thought how much happier I was than those men who had become deformed in body and mind, through the indulgence of their own vices. To attempt to improve my person was plainly a hopeless case J but might I not succeed in improving my mind f and if I could, how incomparably greater would that inter- nal satisfaction be, arising from the knowledge of its being my own work, than the miserable satisfaction of having an attractive person, in th^' possession of which I could have no possible merit ? These considerations gave me an ardent I desire to excel, which had I been handsome, I should in all j probability have never entertained. There was something about Mr. Everard's manner which! :fii >ttbt saw that A SKETCH. 266 showed plainly that he waa in easy cireumstanoe., if not affluent. He was never in a hurry, and seemed to use no ffort to make himself agreeable. He was evidently .ocus- tomed to ho treated with deference and respeot, and took it as a matter „f „o„,«,. g,„ ,, ^^, „„„^ f^^^^ -Jj "^« " ™yed a whole sentence at o^'flL ' I'l' "««■' ^n- morbidly sensitive to all irn^Z^ I Z' "'''"' "" a person could have to improve hUmind . 77^ """'^^ ■"ind to ^y books withriri'-K ''r"'*^"? comprehended without this key to 11 T" '"r"' *« ogly and despised bov n„^ ^ "!"'*'• ^""'W «claim-the Ly wal' bu! „ '\r"''^ ^ <»'' »»» -panded, and UZ it a S V*^""'* «>"' tenement. S'™' '"*"' its humble I had learned to commnne with nah™ r t , -^»re, and reveUed in her „W Tm L T tl poetry m my soul and wmil^ i, ^^'^^ ^ ^a, My father had i,.«. „ T T ""^ ""'■' ""'^W^ "ight- / """™ IM just cxolaimed, " Cheeltmntz. " ~-.i. f , of undisguised triumph and Mr w?'. T* *'""'' covered his nositinn 11' u '"'"'^ *""* J»»' ^ A quiet, g:>d':rr:dt:.e;rdrer r " "^ ^*'-<^- he said, " Ah it m all 7 ^T '^ countenance as beaten." This ^L L " T' ^ *"" ^'^"^■'-ftWy expression. I wrsuddenr"' ^ ^''''">*''' *» "*'' ^"^ WiUiamseizin/mvrafffi ^^.TT'"™" "^ '«^«'« •'J Here is on of JLiCjl''-'' T '""' o^-"-'"-? cover the likenes" '■ it, "l^'"^ ^'^ y"" ""' <««- ci "iisrepresentation of inv brotlipr'a fK«* t i j utter a word in my own defence ^ '*"''' "'" Mr. Everard and I were Y itl, .,i„„ j • , aay other huZ " LZ' ^ f "'"' ^"-^ '»™'' ^'y^'^ my heart throbLdToL" L '"-' ""•"' ''"" '''''*- o^speeeh, and the terri^rm^^r^ Mr''^ '^''^ " ^'■- ''^'"''"». if you thought that v„,.. ;......_ * if • i» J'H ' !••! 2^0 THE ADVANTAQSS OP BEINS taiY ! r'F i:>''" ^^^^^^^■■'IvR ^^KBM^%if^ ^^^^^^K^^Rl^S W^fjll^'/'^ j'^i J ^^^^KSft^BL'Brf ^ *';^ '^> i ^^^^H^^^^lnl <>i'''u^'-' ^^^^^^^^^^^S ^^i'^ V ^^^^^H^^^oBolir'^''^-' -^ ^■^^^^H|^B^«j|»?k''! ^^^^^HH^Rv^Mi ^^^^nS^Pl^i ^^^H^^^Hs%'^ ^'^ ^^^^BS^^^3M'qPaft^^"-'"^'>'*''i7 to caricature me ; you should not hate been the first id , show it to me— but I am inclined to think "—he continued, turning to me with a look I shall never forget, "your b/other John, has produced a most flattering likeness of me ; and there is a freedom and truth about the drawing, which convinces me that nature has designed him for an artist. I hope he will allow me to retain this excellent sketch for a keepsake." This was too much for me. The man whom I thought I had made my irreconcilable enemy, had become my steady friend and patron. I made my escape from the room, and 'was relieved by a flood of tears, the sweetest tears 1 ever shed. I was about fourteen years of age when this incident occu«ed, — an incident on which so much of my future life and prospects depended. I had now an other definite ob- ject in view, and all my energies were permanently direc- ted to that point. " Nature had designed me for a pain- ter." It is wonderful with what rapidity and facility we learn as soon as we can fully appreciate the important uses to which knowledge can be applied, and when we have a favorite taste to gratify. How much time is lost at school in consequence of the learner being without such a power- ful motive for application. He learns as the slave toils, because he is compelled to do so. He is sent to school to learn Greek and Latin before he has acquired a taste for reading in his own language. There is something more of true philosophy and humanity in the device of the poor Irishman— who placed a sheaf of oats before the nose of his horse, to encourage him to draw, than in the stupid A SKETCH. 271 al W 5 1 *"" '^'»"'™' " '^'''"'»'« fi« I'l-our, and till ^" 'T'"=' "'"''"• '- ••»* <«^' '«>°«n along the advantages to be obtained by persevering induL. In consequenoe of the favorable opinion of Mr. Everard towards me He seemed to listen with more attention What he ealled a sensible observation, it appeared to him as f somethingsupernatural had oeeurred-that a miracle had I sa.d that drew h>s attention; but that anything rational should come from such nn ugly and contemptible being My father, though a well disposed and kind man, in the mam, w^ one of that very numerous class in the world StTf f ^ m' ":'* *° "^'^ "P'"''"'^ tl-^y ««'«■' with Zfl Tr ■ ^""""'^ ^""" ^ ""J-" ^'"f-POB^ession and considerate manner had acquired this ascendancy over my father's mind; without any effort or intention on his part. He was in fact, my father's oracle. fa^l Tfl^'"^ Wressions in my favor, had there- fore .heir full effect, and had wrought a revolution in my My brother WiUiam's indignation, however, hardly knew any bounds ;-but my father would no longer allow him ^ any of the rest of my brother., to ridicule or trlt m^ m& the contempt that had become habitual to them My mother had been dead for many years-had she' been Imng, I am satisfied that my position would have been n 'mm- fM ^(i 272 THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING UGLY : M''Ad , 1 : T :( !■: 5^ -' very different ; for so strong is the sentiment of pity in the heart of woman, that with the mother, especially, the •deformed child is usually the favorite. The reader, there- fore, may readily conceive the relief I experienced in con- sequence of the change in my father's sentiments. Still, a great deal more than this negative kindness, was necessary to restore me to my true position in society. I was oppressed with a painful diffidence in the company of strangers, which I could not overcome by any effort or reflection. I knew that I was not inferior in mental pow- ers, to most of those I encountered of my own age ; but I know not Wherefore, I generally felt this diffidence more in the presence of those boys whose talents were of a lower order, but who were superior to me in good looks and manners. In consequence of this shyness, as well as from ta3t