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 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 AT THE 
 
 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE; 
 
 TO WHICH IS SVBJOINFD, 
 
 A JOURNEY 
 
 FROM 
 
 CAPE TOWN TO BLETTENBERG'S BAY, 
 
 BY ROBERT SEMPLE. 
 
 SECOND EDITION, ENLARGED. 
 
 *' Mountains on whose barren breast 
 *' The labouring clouds do alway rest." 
 
 LONDON t 
 
 PRINTED BY A^D FOR C. AXD R. BALinvr 
 NEW BRIDGE-STREET. 
 
 1805.
 
 TO LORD VISCOUNT MELVILLE, Etc. 
 
 MY LORD, 
 
 IN dedicating this work to your Lordship, I camiot 
 le accused of adulation ; for a work so small could 
 not flatter even a mind totally unused to it. Neither 
 can I le suspected of less worthy motives, as a de- 
 dication which can confer no honour, can expect no 
 recompense, 
 
 I have leen induced to request the permission ofpre- 
 Jixing your Lordship's name hereto, solely from the 
 conviction that no man in Great Britain has paid so 
 much attention to the affairs of the Cape, or has so 
 intimate an acquaintance with every sulject relative 
 to that Colony, as your Lordship. Should the follow- 
 ing sheets not add to that stock of information, I 
 trust, at least, that they if ill not le found altogether 
 barren of interest, and that should they fail to in- 
 struct, they may at least tend to amuse. 
 
 I am, with great respect, 
 
 Your Lordship's 
 Most oledient humlle Servant, 
 . ' THE AUTHOR.
 
 ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 1 N presenting to the world a second Edition of this little 
 work, I have embraced the opportunity which it afforded 
 me, of rendering more complete t^e plan which I had for" 
 mrrly marked out. With this view I have added a chapter 
 on the Hottentot, without which every work relating to the 
 Cape must be considered as imperfect, and likewise made 
 those additions to the Journal of which it appeared to me 
 susceptible. 
 
 I also take the opportunity of adverting to the various 
 criticisms of which so small a production has been deemed 
 worthy. Amongst others, the cant of sentiment has been 
 attributed to me, a cant which, notwithstanding the autho- 
 rity of Sterne, is to me still more tedious than that of cri- 
 ticiam. On a sober review of the whole, however, I must 
 allow that the chapter on the Lion Hills, and that on the 
 Reed Valley are liable to this censure, but concerning all 
 the rest, I plead " not guilty," and throw myself on the 
 judgment of the Public. 
 
 R.S. 
 
 London, March, 1805.
 
 TO THE READER. 
 
 JL HAVE often read, and sometimes heard, 
 of the anxifety of an Author, on the Publica- 
 tion of his Works, and now, for the first 
 time, experience that anxiety. I find, that 
 however trifling be the production, and how- 
 ever uninteresting it may prove to the public 
 mind, the Author views it with a parent's 
 partiality, and ushers it into light with a 
 parent's fears. The bantling of his brain, he 
 fondly trusts, possesses some beauties never 
 seen before ; some attractions which may keep 
 it afloat amid the ever shifting tides of pub- 
 lic favour. For my own part, I am not so 
 sanguine. Should the following SKETCHES, 
 " strut and fret their hour upon the stage, and 
 then be heard no more," it will be all that can, 
 or at least, all tharought to be expected. 
 
 While sitting in my closet, full of hopes 
 and fears on this subject, an intimate friend
 
 VI TO THE READER, 
 
 entered, and demanded the cause of my pen- 
 si veness. I told him my anxiety, and that 
 moreover I was in want of a Preface, without 
 which, I understood, no Book, however 
 
 small, could appear. And is that all ? said 
 
 he, smiling, depend upon it, my Friend, there 
 is nothing like putting a bold face upon the 
 matter, and telling the world that you do not 
 care one straw for their opinion. So saying, 
 he took the pen out of my hand, and dashing 
 a large P by way of encouragement, gave 
 it to me again. Accordingly, with a most 
 fierce countenance, as if I had been going to 
 frighten every body into reading my Book, 
 but, at the same time, with a palpitating heart 1 
 I wrote the following
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 JL HAVE always been fond of walking 
 and lately, very much so of solitary walking 
 It is such a healthy exercise : besides, a 
 man's legs seem almost to have been made 
 for the express purpose. If there are many 
 Great People in the world who think dif- 
 ferently, what /business is it of mine ? 
 
 But I wish not to quarrel with any class of 
 men, especially in my Preface ; not even 
 with those who are not fond of walking. But, 
 kind Reader, be so good as to put on your 
 boots seat yourself down in your arm-chair, 
 and take a walk with me. If you do not like 
 the first walk, you need not take a second, 
 but may go and ride with somebody else. 
 
 But when I call you kind Reader, do not 
 imagine that I want to coax you to read my 
 Book. Indeed I look upon the words 
 " Courteous Readers," " craves the indul- 
 gence of a generous Public," and so forth;
 
 S PREFACE. 
 
 with which Prefaces generally abound, to be 
 .mere matter of course, and matter of non- 
 sense for if the Public like the Book they 
 xvill read it, and if they do not, they will 
 let it alone and so there is an end of the 
 matter. 
 
 THE AUTHOR.
 
 WALKS AND SKETCHES. 
 
 AT THE 
 
 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 CAPE TOWN. 
 
 Sept. 5, 1300. 
 
 (jrOING out this morning to take my usual 
 walk, I observed upon the top of the Lion's 
 Rump, a signal hoisted for a vessel from the 
 north-west quarter, and when I had got out 
 of town, could plainly discern a ship standing 
 in for the Bay, and which was already past 
 Roben Island. As I had for some time ex- 
 pected one of my most intimate acquaintances 
 from England, I was strongly impressed with 
 the idea of his being on board ; having accord- 
 ingly returned and dispatched the business of 
 the morning, about mid-day I went again to 
 the water side, whence I saw the ship just at 
 that moment dropping anchor. Having step- 
 ped into a boat, we pushed off, and to my 
 great joy, before we reached the side I heard
 
 10 WALKS AtfD SKETCHES 
 
 myself saluted by the well-known voice of my 
 old schoolfellow, who was looking around him 
 at every object with the utmost curiosity.* As 
 I climbed the ship's side, he eagerly reached 
 down his hand to grasp mine. Those who 
 know what friendship is may judge of our 
 satisfaction at seeing each other in good health 
 after a longer separation than we had ever be- 
 fore experienced ; and those who do not, need 
 read no farther. 
 
 Some hours were spent in talking of our 
 old acquaintances, in one last meal on ship- 
 board, and in preparations for going on shore: 
 
 * In presenting to the world a second and enlarged 
 edition of this little work, 1 embrace the opportunity 
 which it affords me of replying to a question which my 
 friends have repeatedly asked. " Who was Charles of 
 whom you talk with so much warmth, and who is so 
 constantly the companion of your walks ?" 
 
 To this 1 reply, that in fact no friend ever accom- 
 panied me in the excursions which I have particularly 
 described. 1 thrice ascended the Table Mountain alone ; 
 alone I stood upon its highest pinnacle j alone I looked 
 up to heaven, and felt my heart overflow with grati- 
 tude. Yet the idea of a friend who is now dead was 
 ever present with me, and I conceived myself perfectly 
 at liberty to embody what I know would have been his 
 thoughts, and his mode of expression had he indeed ac- 
 companied me. Such was the origin of Charles.
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 11 
 
 About six o'clock we left the ship ; the wind 
 was lulled ; the water smooth and clear, and 
 reflecting a blue and unclouded sky ; my 
 friend had been for three months out of sight 
 of land, and of course the whole was to him 
 delightful and exhilarating in the highest 
 degree. 
 
 After looking for some time at our boat- 
 men, who rose to every stroke of the oar and 
 fell back on their seats alternately, according 
 to their custom, he cast his eyes towards the 
 shore, and desired me to explain to him the 
 various objects as they struck his attention. 
 " I need not to be informed," said he, " that 
 the range of wooden piles to which we are 
 approaching is the wharf; nor that yonder 
 square tower, with its blue slated pinnacle and 
 a weathercock on the top is the church 
 steeple ; nor that yonder lofty mountain, with, 
 its level summit is Table Mountain ; but I 
 would know what large white building that 
 is away to the left so full of windows, and 
 which bounds the town on that side." " These 
 are the barracki*," replied I, " and that walled- 
 in spot which you may see not far from them, 
 is the place of public execution ; and close 
 to the water's edge yonder is the prison, used 
 B 2
 
 12 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 chiefly for slaves, and called here theTronk." 
 " Stop, stop," said my friend, " I have been 
 now for three months in a kind of prison my- 
 self, and cannot bear to hear even the name 
 of one, and truly when I look at that neat 
 town, the houses of which are mostly white, 
 and which is so well sheltered by the sur- 
 rounding hills ; when I behold the gardens 
 which are spread along the foot of Table 
 Mountain, and see around so many boats glid- 
 ing through the water, I feel inclined to talk 
 of any thing but prisons and places of exe- 
 cution." 
 
 Mean time we approached the wharf, but 
 not caring to stop there, our boatmen rowed 
 us to the shore. Charles leaped first out of 
 the boat, and was almost ready to kiss the 
 earth, so overjoyed was he to find it once 
 more beneath his feet. " Hail Africa," said 
 he, " for the first time my feet have touched 
 thy ancient shores ; receive kindly, I beseech 
 thee, a stranger who comes to pay thee a 
 short and transient visit." Having thus said, 
 he took me by the arm, and we proceeded 
 upwards to the town, crossing the parade to- 
 wards the Upper Fountain, where the slaves 
 come to draw water. Having stopped a little
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 13 
 
 to see them bustling and filling their water 
 casks, I brought my friend to a house where 
 a chamber was appropriated to him, and 
 where having seen his baggage safe, I left 
 him to enjoy a night's repose, and prepare 
 for the exercise of the ensuing day. 
 
 Calling on Charles next morning, I found 
 him quietly reading in his apartment. " How 
 then, Charles," said I, " have you lost your 
 relish for walking, of which you used to be so 
 fond, that I find you in the house this fine 
 morning?" " Not at all," said he, " not at all; 
 on the contrary, I intend, if you will accom- 
 pany me, to visit every creek and corner about 
 the Cape, to climb its highest hills and de- 
 scend into its wildest and most solitary ca- 
 verns ; in a word, I have about a month to 
 spend here, and of that, it shall be your fault 
 if a day is thrown away without my seeing 
 something new." " I will do my best, my 
 friend," said I ; " and, if you please, the 
 first day or two shall be employed in viewing 
 the town, which can, in that time, easily be 
 done. We will then proceed to other ob- 
 jects." 
 
 The following description may be consider- 
 ed as the fruit of our two days rambling.
 
 14 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 Cape Town is, upon the whole, neat and 
 regularly built, the streets crossing each other 
 at right angles, and the houses being mostly 
 all white. It lies at the foot of three hills, 
 which surround and protect it on every side, 
 except towards the bay, upon the edge of 
 which it begins with clusters of low and poor 
 fishermen's huts, which stand close to the 
 water. The Lion Hill is a ridge of high 
 ground, running from N.N.W. to S.S.E. 
 and rising at the South East end into a co- 
 nical precipice called the Lion's Head. It 
 forms nearly a perpendicular with Table 
 Mountain, to the west end of which it is 
 joined by a ridge of ground of a gravelly na- 
 ture. The Table and Devil Hills, though un- 
 der two names, may, in effect, be considered 
 as one ; they forming one great mass, and 
 being only separated by a cleft at the summit. 
 It is principally at the foot, and along the 
 first slope of the Lion Hill, that the town is 
 built; Hottentot Square being considerably up 
 the ascent, and the slope of the hill not being 
 lost till you arrive at the street which runs in 
 a straight line from the water side to the gate 
 of the Company's garden, and forms in its 
 course the western side of the Grand Parade.
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 35 
 
 Though the outlines of the town be irre- 
 gular, the body of it may be considered as 
 forming, in its present state, an oblong, mea- 
 suring about 840 paces from the upper side of 
 Hottentot Square to the barracks, and 550 
 from the gate of the Company's-gardens to 
 the water side. The gardens which now 
 bound part of the town towards Table Hill, 
 is likely in the course of time to form the 
 center of Cape Town ; for as ever since its 
 foundation it has been going rapidly on in- 
 creasing in size, and is likely to increase still 
 more rapidly under its present possessors, it 
 will doubtless, in time, spread to the very 
 roots, and even some way up the ascent of 
 all the surrounding hills, which inclosing it 
 like an amphitheatre on every side, it will form 
 as singular and picturesque a spectacle as any 
 city in the world. 
 
 The principal public buildings of Cape 
 Town are the two churches, the Stadt- 
 house, the barracks, the lodge for the govern- 
 ment slavesp and the prison. There is a 
 steeple to the principal church, which forms 
 the only object which overtops the rest, and 
 is therefore conspicuous in all views of the 
 town. The church itself is neat,, but in no 
 5
 
 1(5 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 wise remarkable either for its elegance or de- 
 fects. Instead of pews, the body of the church ^ 
 is filled with chairs, and the pillars are a- 
 dorned with the escutcheons and arms of such 
 men of eminent families as have died at the 
 Cape, mostly, if not all, in the service of the 
 company. Two wooden lions support a neat 
 pulpit, upon which is carved an anchor, em- 
 blematic at once of the hope of a Christian, 
 and of the name of the colony. These lions 
 gape and grin in a most formidable manner, 
 and exhibit their teeth in the true Dutch taste ; 
 but the whole is not badly executed. The 
 church is likewise furnished with a tolerable 
 organ. 
 
 The Lutheran chapel stands at the upper 
 end of Strand-street, at the north-west en- 
 trance of the town ; it is without a steeple, 
 but is adorned externally with three or four 
 chubby figures which seem to have perched 
 themselves rather clumsily upon the roof. 
 An ostrich is carved out over the door ; and 
 in the interior of the church the figure of this 
 'bird is thrice repeated : once where with 
 short outstretched ^wings it forms the reading 
 desk of the clerk ; upon the body of the pul- 
 pit ; and, lastly, above upon the sound board.
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 17 
 
 The pulpit is supported in front by two well- 
 carved Herculean figures, coloured to resem- 
 ble bronze ; and the organ, which fronts it at 
 the opposite end of the chapel, stands upon 
 pillars stained in imitation of marble. The 
 general internal structure of this chapel re- 
 sembles that of most of the country churches 
 in England, being an oblong divided by two 
 rows of heavy arched pillars, running nearly 
 the whole length of the building. The cen- 
 tre division between the pillars forms the 
 body of the church. Chairs are likewise used 
 here instead of pews, a custom which has 
 probably arisen from the scarcity of wood in 
 this colony when at its first foundation every 
 man provided his own seat. 
 
 The Stadthouse is a clumsy building of 
 red stone, in the market square, about the 
 center of the town. Here the burghers *of 
 the Cape assemble on particular occasions, 
 though it be now but seldom used. It is or- 
 namented with pilasters and a portico, which 
 may be called the slave's portico ; for here 
 when unemployed, especially in rainy wea- 
 ther, or towards the close of the summer 
 evenings, they assemble together in groups,
 
 18 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 and talk over the hardships of a life of 
 slavery. 
 
 Upon the eastern side of the town stand 
 the barracks, a long white building with 
 wings capable of holding three thousand men. 
 It is in length about five hundred feet, and 
 two hundred in depth, and being full of win- 
 dows and standing detached, it cannot fail to 
 strike the eye of a stranger from shipboard. 
 The English have surrounded it with a wall, 
 and made some other improvements. 
 
 The lodge for the government-slaves is a 
 large, plain, oblong building, about eighty 
 paces long, and twenty broad, with an area 
 in the center. It stands between the church 
 and the Company's garden, and has nothing 
 in its structure worthy of notice, being des- 
 tined solely for the habitation of the slaves 
 belonging to the government, they having 
 been formerly in the service of the Dutch 
 East India company. 
 
 The last public building which we shall 
 notice is the Tronk, or prison ; it stands by 
 the water side, and is at once the Bridewell, 
 the Old Bailey, the Newgate, and the Doc- 
 tors Commons of Cape-town ; here the trials
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 1Q 
 
 of life and death are held ; hither delinquent 
 slaves are sent to be corrected ; and here pri- 
 soners are confined, and are led thence to 
 the place of execution. Its only ornament 
 is a small turret with a bell, which seldom 
 tolls but on the last of these melancholy oc- 
 casions. The office of the commissary of the 
 Court of Marriages is likewise here, and to 
 which every person must apply for a permis- 
 sion previous to marrying. Insomuch that 
 whether a man be going to be married or to 
 be hanged, he must first pay a visit to the 
 Tronk. 
 
 The Company's garden is situated six hun- 
 dred paces from the water side ; close by the 
 entrance is the town guard-house, the archi- 
 tecture of which, and of the garden gate, is 
 in a purer taste than that of any other public 
 building in the Cape. A walk planted with 
 oaks and hedges of myrtle on each side, leads 
 from one end of the garden to the other, and 
 measures in length nearly one thousand paces. 
 The whole is divided by rows of trees into 
 square plots, between each of which is a 
 shady walk. At the upper end of the garden 
 is a walled-in spot, where formerly the me- 
 nagerie was kept, consisting of such animals
 
 20 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 peculiar to this colony as are deemed rare in 
 Europe, but there are at present none kept 
 here ; and the place of course -is in a neg- 
 lected state. 
 
 The garden forms the park of Cape 
 Town, being much frequented by the inha- 
 bitants, especially in the summer evenings, 
 when the trees being full of leaves the shadi- 
 ness of the walks is agreeable. The gover- 
 nor's house stands half way up the garden. 
 
 As to the streets, those in the lower part of 
 the town are well paved, and kept in good 
 order ; but those in the upper are, many of 
 them, in a wretched condition ; without pave- 
 ment, or worse than without, rugged portions 
 of the rock appearing so plainly that the di- 
 rection of the strata may be perceived. The 
 English, however, who are every day improv- 
 ing and beautifying the town, will, no doubt, 
 before long, cause all such defects to be rec- 
 tified. The streets are not lighted at night, 
 nor is there a foot pavement as in the English 
 towns, this being in some measure prevented 
 by the manner in which the houses are built 
 with little terraces, or as they are called here, 
 stoops, which run the whole length of the 
 house, and of which we shall speak hereafter.
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 21 
 
 There are three squares in Cape Town ; 
 Church Square, the Market Square, and Hot- 
 tentot Square. The first is in the lower part 
 of the town, so called from the church, the 
 wall of which, together with the front of the 
 government slave-lodge, forms nearly one side 
 of the square. In la'ying the foundation of 
 many of the houses in this square, especially 
 those near the church, several tomb-stones 
 with Portuguese inscriptions were dug up, 
 and which probably covered the remains of 
 the first European settlers at this celebrated 
 point of Africa. 
 
 The Market Square is about the center of 
 Cape Town, and is sometimes called Stadt- 
 house Square, from the town house which 
 stands here. The houses are mostly all shops, 
 and it is likewise the great place of resort for 
 the slaves, who assemble sometimes in such 
 numbers as to fill great part of the square : 
 here likewise is exposed to sale fruit of all 
 kinds, besides ostrich eggs, feathers, and 
 other articles of African produce. 
 
 Hottentot Square is built upon the slope of 
 the Lion's Rump, insomuch that the upper 
 side of the square is considerably more ele- 
 vated than the opposite one. It is irregularly
 
 22 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 built and not paved. The English have lately 
 caused a well to be dug here, where, if they 
 succeed in finding good water, the inhabit- 
 ants in the upper part of the town will be 
 greatly benefited, having been formerly ob- 
 liged to send down to the very lowest part 
 for water. Hottentot Square is the place 
 whither come almost all the waggons of the 
 country people, where they may be often 
 seen drawn up side by side in ranks, with Hot- 
 tentot servants, from the most distant part of 
 the colony, and of the most singular appear- 
 ance, lying in them asleep, or basking about 
 in the sun. The upper side of this square 
 may be considered as the western boundary 
 of the town. The parade, or as it is called 
 by the Dutch, the Hecre Graght, may be 
 termed an open oblong, two sides of which, 
 namely to the west and south, are regularly 
 built, but open on the east end towards the 
 castle, and irregularly built towards the water. 
 The houses on the parade belong to the most 
 respectable inhabitants of the Cape. From 
 it there is a clear view of the blue mountains 
 of Hottentot Holland ; and since a great fire 
 which took place here in Sept. J79 8 ? and 
 consumed a long range of government stables ?
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 23 
 
 the view is open towards the Bay, and the op- 
 posite hills. The open space is intersected 
 with ditches, and on the west side are two 
 square fountains, from which till lately all the 
 water of the town was drawn. It does not 
 rise here, but is brought in pipes from the foot 
 of Table Mountain to these fountains, from 
 each of whose sides it issues in a perpetual 
 stream. This water in its quality is pure and 
 excellent, and free from all saline or mineral 
 taste ; an important circumstance, springs of 
 perfectly fresh water being exceedingly scarce 
 in all parts of the colony. 
 
 The great road leading to the interior of the 
 country, runs along one side of the parade 
 and winds round the castle ; not however 
 without bringing you close under the place of 
 public execution, surrounded by a square wall, 
 and where gibbets, wheels, and stakes of im- 
 palement are exposed to public view'; objects 
 over which English humanity and delicacy 
 ought long before this period to have thrown 
 a veil. We come lastly to the castle which 
 may be considered as a little town of .itself. 
 It stands close to the Bay, and its fortifications 
 are in a pentagonal form. Within its walls 
 are almost all the public offices. The Secre-
 
 24 WALKS AXD SKETCHES 
 
 tary's, the pay-master general's, the office of 
 the Vice- chamber, the post office, &c. here 
 also the courts of admiralty are held, and all 
 the records and registers of the Colony kept ; 
 in a word, considering that the whole public 
 business of the country, circulates through 
 the Castle, it may be considered as the heart 
 of the colony. 
 
 With respect to climate, that of the Cape 
 is upon the whole exceedingly temperate and 
 agreeable, but liable to sudden changes from 
 heat to, cold ; neither are there those gradual 
 transitions from one season to another, that 
 are experienced in Europe. The year is 
 divided into two seasons by the periodical 
 winds. In the summer from the montfi Octo- 
 ber to March the wind blows generally from 
 the south east, and when it is violent brings 
 along with it clouds of sand and dust, and 
 forms the most disagreeable part of the cli- 
 mate of the Cape. The air is filled with a 
 line dust which penetrates, and covers every 
 thing, and which is carried off to sea in such 
 quantities and with such violence, that it has 
 been perceived on board of vessels many miles 
 from the coast, and as hath been asserted, 
 even out of sight of land. During the winter 
 monsoon, on the contrary, north west winds
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 25 
 
 prevail, and bring in with them from the sea 
 fogs and clouds and lightning and rain. 
 The clouds are stopped and collected by the 
 high hills of the Cape, before they break and 
 descend in rain, and the rolling noise of the 
 thunder, echoed and re-echoed by the sur- 
 rounding hills is grand and awful. During 
 the rains, the weather is sometimes cold and 
 chilly even to an Englishman, who looks in 
 vain for the comforts of an English fireside. 
 To him the seasons here are reversed ; in 
 December, oppressed by the heat, he calls to 
 remembrance the cool and shaded walks of 
 his own country ; whilst in July he has to 
 regret the want of blazing fires, pleasing 
 society, and those thousand other little com- 
 forts which beguile the winter hour, and to 
 which the blast that howls without serves only 
 to add a dout/le relish.
 
 26 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 CHAPTER It. 
 THE INHABITANTS. 
 
 Reddere qui voces jam scit Puer, et pede certo 
 Signal humum, gestit paribus colludere, et iram 
 Colligit ac ponit temere, et mutatur in horas. 
 
 HORACE. 
 
 rp 
 
 JL HERE is perhaps no set of people on the 
 
 face of the globe, whose character is more 
 difficult to catch or to describe, than that of 
 the inhabitants of the Cape at the present 
 day. To draw the outlines of their lofty 
 mountain, with its covering of clouds, their 
 Lion Hills, and their Bay, requires no extraor- 
 dinary pencil. But who shall hold the mirror 
 up to Nature, and shew the very body of the 
 times its form arid pressure, if that form be 
 but indistinct and faintly marked ? As yet 
 the people of the Cape are only about to 
 assume a character. They are neither Eng- 
 lish, nor French, nor Dutch. Nor do they 
 form an original class as Africans, but a sin- 
 gular mixture of all together, which has not 
 as yet acquired a consistence, and is therefore 
 almost impossible to be exactly represented,
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. If 
 
 A mild climate, abundance of nourishment, 
 and a happy political situation, have contri- 
 buted to render the external appearance of the 
 white inhabitants of the Cape pleasing and 
 attractive. Their features are for the most 
 part regular ; their hair and eyes light, and 
 their complexion fair. This however is only 
 to be understood of such families as are al- 
 most free from a mixture of colour ; I say al- 
 most, because such are the genial effects of 
 the climate, or mode of living, that in many 
 instances where the colour is very perceptible 
 in the father or mother, no trace of it is to be 
 found among the children of either sex. 
 
 In raising their children there is little of 
 that domestic education, those maternal or 
 paternal precepts which form the infant mind 
 in England to habits of obedience, affection, 
 and application, far beyond what is inculcated 
 and learnt as a task at school. The child 
 learns its lessons of French or English, ac- 
 cording to the disposition of the parents, 
 scrawls a few lines with its school-fellows, 
 and then returns home to mingle and converse 
 with slaves. Seldom is a mother heard to 
 say, " My child you have lied, why do you 
 disgrace yourself ? you have done amiss, why 
 c 2
 
 28 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 will you make your parents blush for you ?" 
 On the contrary, by treating almost every 
 thing with indifference, except when under 
 an occasional fit of peevishness or affection, 
 the parent imprints upon his child no fixed 
 rule of morality, but leaves it like himself to 
 the dangerous and uncertain impulse of every 
 passion which can agitate the human breast. 
 
 Happily this indifference to good, this 
 want of virtuous enthusiasm, extends its influ- 
 ence towards the passions, and meliorates 
 their violence, which would otherwise be ir- 
 resistible. Hence if warm friendships be un- 
 common or unknown, violent and open enmity 
 is almost equally so : in its place is substitu- 
 ted a cold rancour, which vents itself in ex- 
 pressions of hatred and contempt, but does 
 not excite to acts of violence or revenge. 
 From this same indifference it happens, that 
 most domestic quarrels have their set and fixed 
 remedies provided by the laws. If a husband 
 and wife disagree, it is easy to separate. *If a 
 young man disobeys his parents, he is taken 
 before the Fiscal, or Chief Magistrate, and 
 by him rebuked ; and in the female world, if 
 one be spoken ill of by another, the delinquent 
 may be brought before the same tribunal,
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 2Q 
 
 and made to prove the assertion or suffer for 
 its falsehood. 
 
 From the little taste for reading which pre- 
 vails amongst them, they are universally given 
 to dancing, in which they display all the ele- 
 gance and liveliness they possess. It is at a 
 dance that the women of the Cape are seen to 
 best advantage. Their dresses of Indian 
 muslin, their nodding feathers, their graceful 
 motions, and their countenances, in general 
 beautiful, animated by the lively music of the 
 violin, contribute to place them in the most 
 favourable point of view. No coarseness of 
 manners, no indelicacy of expression, no sel- 
 fishness of heart are then apparent, and the 
 European stranger, who has just traversed a 
 watery waste of ten thousand miles is trans- 
 ported to find himself amidst a scene, which 
 calls to his remembrance the manners and 
 amusements of his own country amid the 
 mountains of Africa. 
 
 The women are sometimes married here 
 very early, sixteen years may be fixed upon 
 as almost the general age at which they be- 
 come wives, and often mothers ; and ten, 
 twelve, and even eighteen children are not 
 uncommonly the produce of one marriage.
 
 30 WALKS AXD SKETCHES 
 
 Perhaps the laxity of authority, which per- 
 vades their system of education, is greatly 
 owing to such youthful marriages and such 
 numerous offsprings. For if either of these 
 causes singly may be supposed detrimental to 
 the right education of children, how much 
 more when united together ? 
 
 The women seldom suckle their children j 
 the most prevailing practice is to consign 
 them over in a manner to a faithful female 
 slave, who suckles them, overlooks them, 
 brings them up; in a word, becomes a second 
 mother to them, without however acquiring 
 much influence over them in their maturer 
 years. Happy are they, and reason have they 
 to be grateful, who have not sucked the milk 
 of slavery, nor found it necessary to divide their 
 affections between the mother who gave them 
 birth, and theonewhopreservedtheircxistence. 
 
 In their families, the members of them do 
 not pay that attention to their dress, nor pre- 
 serve that proper respect for each other, 
 which form the great bonds of domestic hap- 
 piness in England. But perhaps it is not fair 
 to draw the comparison with the English, as, 
 from what I have seen and heard, I much, 
 (ioubt if any nation on the globe cap be com-. 
 
 7
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 31 
 
 pared to them for attention to those little de- 
 licacies, which arise from every individual 
 thinking highly of himself, and yet not 
 meanly of his neighbour. 
 
 The tables of the middling ranks are gene- 
 rally well covered, and their feasts are mere 
 exhibitions of fish, flesh, and fowl, heaped 
 together with the utmost profusion. The 
 wines of Europe are the most esteemed, but 
 those of the Cape, mixed with water, forgi 
 the universal table drink : beer of all sorts 
 being only used as a luxury. They do not sit 
 to drink after dinner, but retire to sleep, a 
 practice common both to men and women, 
 and which contributes not a little to give 
 them that general tendency to grow fat, 
 which often takes place at a very early period 
 of life. 
 
 There exists not at the Cape that marked 
 difference in the manners of the two sexes 
 which we find in Europe. In conversation 
 the women are free and unreserved, and 
 very often not only listen to, but make use 
 of expressions by no means to be recon- 
 ciled with English ideas of decency and 
 propriety. They are not the disciples, they 
 might be the models, of the school of Mrs,
 
 32 WALKS AND SKETCHES. 
 
 Wolstonecraft ; they call every thing by 
 its right name, and seem in general to think 
 that actions which men may perform with 
 impunity ought equally to be allowed to 
 themselves. Yet with all this, they are more 
 humane, more affectionate, more disinterest- 
 ed than the men, whose manners they serve 
 to soften and refine ; and thus do they still 
 support the natural excellency of the female 
 character, which the man of observation in 
 every clime must have seen, and every man 
 possessed of a heart have felt. 
 
 Religion has but little effect upon the man- 
 ners of the generality of the inhabitants. 
 They profess Christianity it is true, but the 
 spirit and happy effects of its doctrines seem 
 to be but coldly felt and little understood. 
 They go to church at the stated hours ; they 
 dress in black on sacramental days ; they 
 sing ; they stand up and they sit down with 
 the utmost propriety ; but they do not seem 
 to perceive the admirable adaptation of the 
 precepts of Christianity to every situation of 
 common life; it is with them, as with too 
 great a proportion of the Christian world, a 
 religion made for Sundays, but not for any 
 other day in the week.
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE; 33 
 
 Their ideas are almost entirely commercial; 
 their general conversation is of buying and 
 selling, and the best friends will sell to each 
 other, and with a view of gain. No sooner 
 are two or three met together, especially fe- 
 males, than the words dear, cheap, rix-dollars, 
 so many schalins per ell, &c. are sure to strike 
 the ear. The merits of every commercial 
 man in the place are discussed, from the first 
 merchant to the smallest trader, and the dar- 
 ling theme is continued day after day, with 
 unwearied delight. A good housewife is 
 esteemed here, not so much from her attention 
 to her household, as from her knowledge of 
 the prices of different articles of merchandise, 
 and in what quarter of the town to look for 
 them ; and the rearing of children or the 
 management of the slaves is in comparison 
 but a secondary consideration. 
 
 The houses are in gneral built much upon 
 the same plan. On the ground floor a passage, 
 on each side of which are apartments, leads 
 to the hall where the family generally dines, 
 notwithstanding the number of doors which 
 open out of it on all sides, and render it very- 
 disagreeable as a winter dining place. The 
 houses are built with more attention to cool-
 
 34 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 ness than the climate seems to require. The 
 rooms are lofty and not plastered in the ceil- 
 ing, which particularly strikes the eyje of a 
 stranger; the floors are not carpeted, and few 
 are provided with chimnies. In summer they 
 are fond of darkening the rooms by half clos- 
 ing the shutters, in order to exclude the heat 
 and the flies, which last are sometimes very 
 numerous, and at meal times troublesome. 
 
 With respect to the slaves, they are lodged 
 sometimes in the house, but most generally 
 in small apartments connected with, or but 
 slightly separated from the main building ; 
 their mode of living is left to themselves, and 
 their food consists principally of what is left 
 from the tables of their masters. It may be 
 here observed, that the whole heathen mytho- 
 iogy is ransacked to find them names, which 
 are in general bestowed in a manner not the 
 most honourable to those deities at whose 
 altars one half of the human race formerly 
 bowed down. Thus Jupiter cleans the shoes, 
 Hercules rubs down the horses, and Juno 
 lights the fire. Yet is not this done through 
 any disrespect towards these once remarkable 
 names, as those in Scripture are applied with 
 as little ceremony, and in as unappropriate a
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 35 
 
 manner, Sampson being daily sent for water, 
 and Solomon up to the Table Mountain to 
 cut firewood. 
 
 The amusements of the Cape are few: balls, 
 private parties, cards, and visiting, constitute 
 almost the whole ; the theatre which the 
 English are engaged in building not being as 
 yet to be considered under that head ; but the 
 great, the universal enjoyment of the inhabi- 
 tants is walking the streets in parties, during 
 the beautiful moonlight evenings of this cli- 
 mate. These parties laugh aloud, talk, joke, 
 salute each other as they meet, and sometimes 
 continue their diversion till midnight. This 
 they significantly call street-walking. The 
 English have not yet acquired a relish for this 
 mode of passing a summer evening, although 
 it be not without its charms, especially when 
 the night is clear, when scarcely a breeze dis- 
 turbs the surface of the Bay, and its waves 
 break one after another in almost noiseless 
 Accession on its sandy shores.
 
 36 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 THE SLAVES. 
 
 Disguise thyself as thou wilt, still, slavery, 
 Still thou art a bitter draught. 
 
 STEUXE. 
 
 AN presenting even a slight sketch of the 
 Cape, it would be very defective if the slaves 
 occupied no part of it ; their numbers, their 
 varieties, their dress, and the manner in which 
 they are in general treated, are subjects not 
 to be passed over in silence ; and in some 
 points of view they present, as we shall 
 quickly see, an object which can hardly fail 
 to touch and to interest. 
 
 Domestic slavery has at all times and in all 
 nations been productive of much evil. A 
 pampered slave is insufferably insolent ; an 
 oppressed one is N constantly trembling and 
 cringing, and by the daily sight of either, 
 the heart of youth is necessarily hardened and 
 depraved. The children of the family min- 
 gle with the young slaves. They play with 
 them one moment, and the next they see 
 them beaten and in tears ; but through habit 
 the child thinks nothing of it, and waits with 
 great coolness till his companion has done
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 37 
 
 \veeping to renew his play. Hence too often 
 arises in early youth hardness of heart, a 
 feeling for self alone, and a checking of all 
 the best emotions of human nature. Alas ! 
 the best of men, as they advance in life, and 
 behold every day ingratitude, greediness of 
 riches, and selfishness, are but too apt to con- 
 tract their hearts. What must it be, when 
 the child is reared in insensibility, and is 
 permitted to make his fellows at once the 
 companions of his sports and the objects of 
 his tyranny and caprice ? 
 
 But these reflections belong more properly 
 to our view of the inhabitants and their man- 
 ners. Let us confine ourselves at present to 
 the slave alone. No situation can be more 
 adapted for collecting those of every nation 
 than the Cape of Good Hope. It lies in the 
 very bosom of slavery. On either side of it 
 are extended the coasts of Africa, in every 
 age the mother of an unfortunate race, and 
 all to the eastward here and there clusters of 
 islands furnish an endless variety. At the 
 Cape they are collected into one. There 
 they are no longer merely Malays, or Mala- 
 bars, or Natives of the coast of Mozambi-
 
 38 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 que ;,4hey are slaves. Let Us first take & 
 rapid view of them as such. 
 
 In general the slaves of the Cape are not 
 ill treated, are well clothed, and well fed. If 
 now arrd then an instance be found to the 
 contrary, that affects not the general charac- 
 ter. A man may use his slave ill ; but the 
 slaves at the Cape are well treated ; or he may 
 lodge him badly, but the slaves of the Cape 
 are well lodged ; or he may half clothe or 
 half feed him, but the slaves of the Cape are 
 well clothed and fully fed. 
 
 In our view of the inhabitants, it may be 
 seen that the slave lodges in general under 
 the same roof as his master. He is fed with 
 what comes from his table, mingling with it 
 however a greater proportion of rice. His 
 clothing generally consists of a short blue 
 cloth jacket, a light waistcoat, and loose blue 
 trowsers. On his head he wears either a 
 coarse hat, or a handkerchief tied round it 
 like a turban, but he is in general without 
 either shoes or stockings; the collar of his 
 shirt is open, and a blue or red handkerchief 
 is tied loosely round his neck. Sometimes 
 however you meet a slave beau : his ears are
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 3Q 
 
 ornamented with rings, a red shawl is wrapped 
 round his neck, a plume of common ostrich 
 feathers wave in his hat, he treads lightly 
 along, nodding his feathers, and looking 
 proudly round him. He is lifted above the 
 ground, and has totally forgotten that he is a 
 slave. 
 
 In their marriages they use few or no cere- 
 monies, if indeed the manner in which the 
 male and female slaves associate deserve the 
 name of marriage. No long services engage 
 affection; no priest bestows his benediction 
 on the nuptial bed ; no parent gives away his 
 daughter, and assembles his friends on the 
 happy day; slavery lights the marriage torch; 
 slavery leads them alone and unattended to 
 the marriage bed. The husband visits his 
 wife as he can find opportunities, and leaves 
 her when he pleases to take another, without 
 ceremony and without reproach. And what 
 else can be expected, when he knows that he 
 himself is the property of one man, his wife 
 perhaps of another, and his children liable to 
 be. given to a third or fourth ? It is slavery 
 it is slavery in all its stages and all its shapes 
 which depraves the mind, and debases human 
 nature. 
 

 
 4O \VALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 On the birth of a child, however, maternal 
 affection springs up in the heart of the female 
 slave. She forgets for a time her other cares, 
 and begins to experience the solicitudes and 
 the joys of a mother. The child is dressed 
 out, and its head covered with a cap which 
 sits close, and in shape exactly resembles that 
 which we see represented in many of the an- 
 cient Egyptian statues. The master looks 
 upon the infant as a new accession of property, 
 and even if he be at other times severe, now 
 relaxes his authority ; hence great rejoicings, 
 feasts, and dancing among the slaves, and a 
 night spent in merriment. By degrees, how- 
 ever, all this is forgotten, the feastings are 
 over, and the mother returns to her former 
 occupations. It is in these dances that the 
 slaves show themselves off to best advantage. 
 The women display much taste and even ele- 
 gance in their dress, nor are their dances wild, 
 irregular, or unaccompanied with proper mu- 
 sic. They are faithful imitators of what they 
 see daily performed among the white inhabi- 
 tants, and display an easiness of motion, and 
 a justness of ear which never fail to surprize 
 and please an European unapprized of this 
 circumstance.
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 41 
 
 Having thus taken a view of the slave 
 under the authority of his master, let us at- 
 tend him to that hour when he escapes 
 the chain, when he lays him quietly down, 
 and hears no longer the voice of his oppres- 
 sor. Even the slave must not be committed 
 to his native dust without a tear; and perhaps 
 were we to find that he too had a wife, and a 
 brother, and a friend, and behold them weep- 
 ing over his grave, we might not be ashamed 
 to sit down with them, and pay our tribute 
 likewise to his memory. 
 . As soon as the breath has left the body of 
 the sick man, the women who surround the 
 bed, burst out into tears and lamentations, 
 and communicate the infection of sorrow to 
 the men. The corpse is dressed out not with- 
 out much weeping, and a clay is allowed for 
 the assembling of his friends to mourn over 
 his remains. The Malay expresses his grief 
 by sitting beside his dead friend in profound 
 silence, and with downcast and pensive look; 
 but the natives of Malabar and Mozambique 
 break into sudden and violent floods of sor- 
 row, which they often seem to begin and end 
 in concert. On the day of interment, the 
 friends again assemble and follow the bier to 
 D
 
 42 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 the place appointed ; here the body is com- 
 mitted to the earth with more or less cere- 
 mony, according to the religion or piety of 
 the tribe : all express sorrow, but with the 
 greater part, this sorrow is of no long dura- 
 tion. The Malays alone extend their care 
 and seem to cherish their grief. On the 
 third, seventh, tenth, fortieth, and hun- 
 dredth day, they again assemble- round the 
 grave, pour sweet-scented waters upon it, and 
 strew over it the choicest flowers. They bid 
 the earth lie lightly on the breast of their 
 former companion, and for the last time min- 
 gle their tears together over him. Having 
 thus performed the last duties of friendship 
 and affection, they return and feast together, 
 well assured that their friend is happy. 
 
 How many tears doth this pleasing hope 
 wipe away, and how does it lighten the bur- 
 den of the afflicted ? Who can sufficiently 
 admire the extensiveness of its influence ? 
 Ancient and modern nations; those inhabit- 
 ing hot, and such as live in cold climates; 
 nations warlike and nations effeminate, civi- 
 lized and ignorant, separated by rivers, by 
 continents, by seas, yet join in the fond hope 
 that all perishes not in the dust, but that the
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 43 
 
 hand of friend shall again be joined to that of 
 friend, and the father meet his departed child 
 in another and a better world. 
 
 Having thus given a general sketch of the 
 Cape slaves, I proceed to relate in what man- 
 ner these ideas were suggested to me, and to 
 add some further particulars. 
 
 In one of our morning walks about the 
 town, observing a considerable crowd before 
 the door of a house, my friend and I went 
 up and inquired what was going forward, and 
 were informed that it was a pablic sale of all 
 the effects of a colonist deceased. Scarcely 
 had we joined the crowd, when the auctioneer 
 mounted upon a chair and struck for some time 
 upon a round plate of brass, as a signal that 
 the auction was going to begin. Immediately 
 all was attention. Numbers of articles were 
 put up and disposed of; till, growing tired of 
 the scene, we were going away; a short pause, 
 however, and then a murmur in the assembly, 
 announced that something else than trifles 
 was going to be produced. We accordingly 
 waited a moment, and soon saw a black man 
 coming forward through the crowd; " Ah!'* 
 said Charles, " they are going to dispose of the 
 Yamily slaves, let us stop a little longer." 
 D 2
 
 44 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 The first that was put up was a stout native 
 of the Mozambique coast. His look was sad 
 and melancholy, his hands hanging down 
 clasped together as if they were bound, and 
 his eyes fixed upon the earth. When he 
 heard that his lot was determined, and that he 
 was sold for six hundred rix-dollars, he raised 
 his eyes up heavily to look for his new master, 
 and followed him out of the crowd without 
 speaking a word; but we thought that his 
 cheek was wet with tears, and perhaps we 
 were right; for the purchaser told us with 
 some expressions of compassion, that he had 
 been a great favourite of his deceased friend. 
 Many more were put up, the household of 
 the deceased having been very numerous, but 
 on the countenances of all of them sorrow 
 and the humiliation of slavery were the pre- 
 dominating features. At length an object was 
 presented which almost made us weep : a 
 mother was brought forward with a little girl 
 of three years old clinging to her, which they 
 wished to tear from her, whilst she, dreading 
 the threats of her owners, feebly told her 
 child to leave her, at the same time that she 
 folded her arms round it. " Put them up 
 together, put them up together/' said every
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 45 
 
 voice ; it was consented to, and the woman 
 kissing her child and leading it by the hand, 
 advanced to the spot appointed. Whilst 
 they were bidding for her, she looked anxi- 
 ously round in every countenance, as if im- 
 ploring compassion. Her price was bade up 
 to seven hundred dollars, which the auc- 
 tioneer repeated a long time without any body 
 seeming willing to say more.- " The man 
 who has bought her and the child," said one 
 who stood next to us, " has the reputation 
 of being very cruel to his slaves. " Has 
 he?" said Charles, whilst the blood rushed 
 into his face, " but he has not got them yet." 
 ff Seven hundred and ten," cried he with a voice 
 trembling with eagerness. Every body turned 
 their eyes upon us, and the mother and the 
 little child looked full in Charles's face. 
 " Seven hundred and twenty,", said the man, 
 starting up; " fifty," said the other; " eight 
 hundred," bade Charles ; the man bit his lips ; 
 a long pause ensued ; " eight hundred and 
 one," said a mild looking old man whose 
 humanity I was well acquainted with ; Charles 
 drew back, and the poor slave was allotted 
 to a mild master. 
 
 When we had got into the street, I could
 
 4(5 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 not help remarking how lightly Charles walk- 
 ed along, and how his eyes glistened with the 
 pleasing reflection of having done a good 
 action. Every now and then also he ex- 
 claimed to himself, <( poor child ! poor child ! 
 I have saved you some stripes however," and 
 then he would walk on so fast that I could 
 scarcely keep up with him. After he had 
 given some vent to his feelings, he began to 
 converse about the slaves, and expressed his 
 astonishment at the great variety amongst 
 them : " Come, my friend," said he, " put 
 on your philosopher's countenance ; as we are 
 two Peripatetics, explain to me these different 
 varieties in your best manner, not in a cold 
 style, but as if you were addressing a nume- 
 rous audience." " Agreed," said I, " Charles, 
 for I know that when you represent the au- 
 dience, I shall find it a very partial and for- 
 giving one. 
 
 " Behold that slave coming towards us 
 bending beneath the weight of two cords of 
 wood suspended to the ends of a bamboo 
 which he balances across his shoulder. His 
 black complexion, his curly hair, his thick 
 lips, and his tattoed forehead, announce him, 
 from the coast of Mozambique, his strong
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 47 
 
 make shows him capable of fatigue, and in 
 his inoffensive and humbled countenance, 
 you may read that he has often submitted to 
 blows and unmerited reproaches without for 
 a moment thinking of revenge ; he performs 
 the task which is set him without objections 
 and without inquiry. You see him now 
 walking slowly along oppressed with his load, 
 and perhaps you pity his fate ; follow him to 
 the next corner, there sits one of his compa- 
 nions playing on a Jew's-harp. He stops ; he 
 listens ; pleasure steals into his soul he 
 throws off his load- he beats the ground 
 with his heels raises his hands clasped above 
 his head gives himself up to the wildest and 
 most inconsiderate joy, and, occupied only 
 with the present, thinks neither of the hours 
 of bitterness which are past, nor of those 
 which are yet to come. 
 
 " Observe the one who comes next. Even 
 at a distance his upright form, his nervous 
 make, his free step, announce the Malay, or 
 native of the Island of Java, the king of slaves. 
 As he approaches, mark his long, coal black 
 hair which hangs half down his back, his 
 yellow complexion, his glancing and jealous 
 e ye, which looks askance upon slavery. He
 
 48 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 knows well that from his class are formed the 
 house-painters, the musicians, the ingenious 
 workmen of the Cape. He is proud of this 
 distinction, and glories in the name of Ma- 
 lay. He exacts some deference from his mas- 
 ter; his gestures, his speech, sometimes slow 
 and sedate, at others rapid and violent, seem 
 to say, * I know that I am your slave, but be 
 cautious how you use your power.' A re- 
 proach stings and irritates him ; a blow 
 wounds his proud heart ; he hoards it up in his 
 remembrance, and broods upon his revenge. 
 Time passes on, the master forgets that he 
 has given the blow, but the Malay never. At 
 length the bad part of his character is cruelly 
 displayed: he intoxicates himself with opium 
 and the madness of revenge, he rushes upon 
 his unguarded master with his kris or crook- 
 ed Malay dagger, and stabs him once, twice, 
 ten times. The unfortunate wife and chil- 
 dren are not safe if they cross his way, he 
 sallies out into the street, and running madly 
 along, sacrifices all that he meets, till over- 
 powered by numbers he is brought to sutler 
 the punishment of his crime. 
 
 " Follow him to the place of execution. 
 ome clays are past, and the intoxication of
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 49 
 
 opium is over, but do you observe his counte- 
 nance in the least changed by fear or remorse? 
 Not at all. He is bound to the wheel the 
 executioner breaks all his limbs one after 
 another but not a tear, not a groan escapes 
 him a t length nature is exhausted perhaps 
 he breathes the name of Hali his Prophet, 
 and expires with the consolation of having 
 had his revenge. 
 
 " What a contrast is presented to this cha- 
 racter in the sla^e whom you see there fol- 
 lowing his master. His features of the Eu- 
 ropean cast, his slender but well formed shape, 
 his mild and inoffensive looks, and his black 
 hair curled but not woolly, announce the 
 harmless native of the Malabar Coast. He 
 is in all respects the best of the household 
 slaves. Without the inactivity or dulness of 
 the Mozambiquer, or the penetrative genius 
 of the Malay, he forms an excellent medium 
 between the two^ More intelligent, more in- 
 dustrious, and more active than the former; 
 more docile and more affectionate than the 
 latter, he unites steadiness with vivacity, and 
 capability of instruction to winning manners. 
 Expect not from him violent opposition 
 While the native of Mozambique often grows
 
 I 
 
 5O WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 obstinate, and hardens under the lash ; whilst 
 the Malay frowns and prepares to sharpen his 
 dagger, the Malabar bends to the blow, and 
 endeavours to avert it by tears and entreaties. 
 Never is he brought to justice for crimes of a 
 heinous nature ; never are his feeble hands 
 stained with blood ; but if, through a false ac- 
 cusation, or a disposition too liable to be made 
 the tool of knavery, one of this class is 
 brought to suffer death, he shudders, and 
 turns away his head at the sight of the place 
 of execution ; he shrieks aloud whilst the 
 blow is yet suspended and before it falls, and 
 with tears and groans he implores compassion 
 till his life and sufferings are at an end. 
 
 <e But come, let us leave scenes of blood, 
 the place of execution, and its wheels and 
 engines : behold yon light waggon advancing 
 so rapidly* upon us, drawn by fourteen or six- 
 teen oxen, and led by a Hottentot who runs 
 before them; see with what dexterity the 
 master, sitting in the front of the waggon and 
 cracking his long whip, directs the whole. 
 The Hottentot, as you would observe, has 
 on him nothing of what in England would 
 be called clothes ; an undressed sheep skin is 
 fastened round his reck, and hangs down be-
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 51 
 
 hind him like a cloak ; at every motion of his 
 body it flies back and exposes his tawny skin, 
 his meagre make, and his small and active 
 limbs ; before him hangs a small pouch fas- 
 tened round his loins with a leathern thong. 
 With not a single other article of dress, 
 without hat, without shoes, he leads his oxen 
 through sun and wind and rain, over stones 
 and hot sandy roads. Sometimes he puts on 
 a pair of undressed leathern sandals, which are 
 fastened round the ankles; and sometimes an 
 old tattered hat protects his head from the rain 
 or sun ; but neither of these is universally 
 worn; and in general the one which has passed 
 us may serve as a specimen of all the rest. 
 It is true, he has not the name of slave, but 
 his condition is not on that account in the 
 least more desirable ; by the laws of the co- 
 lony he is only bound to serve till the age of 
 five and tyventy, after which he becomes free. 
 This his ignorance generally prolongs till late 
 in life, and his master may then cast him off 
 to seek his bread elsewhere. 
 
 *' These may be reckoned the four princi- 
 pal stocks of the slaves of the Cape. The 
 Malay, the native of the Mozambique and 
 Malabar coasts, and the colonial- born slave. 
 7
 
 51 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 It must not be imagined, however, that these 
 different races are anxious to preserve them- 
 selves unmixed. In this place they are quickly 
 mingled together, and many a slave can boast 
 of an European father. Hence results the 
 most complete variety of features and shades 
 of colour, that is perhaps to be met with in 
 any part of the globe. Yellow, jet black, 
 white and copper- coloured are kneaded to- 
 gether into a masj. Every face that passes 
 us is of a different colour from the one that 
 went before it, and the eye is continually 
 amused by a strange and unceasing variety. 
 
 " The different females preserve likewise in 
 their domestic occupations something of the 
 character of their nation. The female Malay 
 takes care of the house, gives an account of 
 every article, arranges the linen and clothes 
 in the presses, is intrusted with several of 
 the keys ; and, having finished her work, she 
 coils up her long black hair on the crown 
 of her head, where she fastens it with a silver 
 bodkin, and then sits down to knit at the feet 
 of her mistress. 
 
 " The Malabar female, mild and gentle, is 
 like her husband, employed in every kind of 
 the lighter domestic occupations. No blows
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 53 
 
 are required to induce her exertions; a threat 
 terrifies her. She redoubles her activity, is 
 anxious to show herself attentive to the in- 
 terests of the family, cleans and arranges the 
 furniture; and in the evening, having kissed 
 her children and put them to sleep, she brings 
 her knitting needles and seats herself by the 
 side of her companions. 
 
 " The female of Mozambique, generally 
 stronger than her fellows, yet at the same 
 time sufficiently active and intelligent, is 
 sometimes employed in works of drudgery, 
 and sometimes in those of a lighter kind. 
 According to the will of her owners, some- 
 times you may see her carrying on her head a 
 large bundle of linen to wash in the brook 
 which runs from Table Hill. Sometimes 
 nursing the children of the family, and ad- 
 vanced to honour ; but in either occupation, 
 she is always found, like the male, patient, 
 performing what is set to her, and no more ; 
 pleased with praise, but not over anxious to 
 obtain it, and going through her task more 
 through the wish of seeing the end of it than 
 the desire of performing it well. 
 
 " The female Hottentot contents herself 
 with the lowest class, and is indeed seldom
 
 54 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 employed by the families at the Cape, being 
 chiefly and indeed almost only to be found in 
 the farm houses and at some little distance 
 from the Cape. The Hottentot character, 
 both male and female, is said to be the least 
 engaging of the whole. They neither make 
 themselves so useful as the Malay, nor do 
 they possess the affectionate disposition of the 
 natives of Malabar or Mozambique. They 
 labour only through absolute necessity, and 
 would quickly sink into profound indolence if 
 not perpetually incited to action. After re- 
 maining many years with a family, and being 
 kindly treated, they will leave it with great 
 indifference ; and indeed, Charles, to say the 
 truth, I have seen so many instances of cold 
 ingratitude among those of this nation, that 
 it cannot be denied the charge is not altoge- 
 ther without foundation: yet, at the same 
 time, having seen many instances to the con- 
 trary, let us reserve their character for a par- 
 ticular discussion." 
 
 Here I paused to take breath, and Charles, 
 who had listened to me with great attention, 
 waited for some little time, and then asked 
 me, if I had any thing more to say ? for that if 
 I had not, it was alino.st two o'clock. " I un-
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 5$ 
 
 derstand you," said I smiling, f{ your walk has 
 done you good. Come then, let us return 
 and eat together." We accordingly turned 
 round in the Company's garden where we 
 were then walking, and conversed on indif- 
 ferent subjects till we reached the house.
 
 56 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 WALK ROUND THE LION HILL. 
 
 Hinc atque hinc vastae rnpes, geminique minantiir 
 In coelum scopuli. VIRGIL, 
 
 JLlAviNG determined upon surveying the 
 Lion Hills, we took our departure about half 
 an hour before sun-set, taking a path that led 
 in the direction between the head and the west 
 end of the Table Hill. The houses and gar- 
 dens, which extend in a straggling line to the 
 foot of the surrounding hills, amused our at- 
 tention till we had now passed the last house, 
 and were descending into a sort of large hol- 
 low, which lies between the two hills. At 
 the bottom of this valley runs a small stream 
 of water, where we slacked our thirst, and then 
 began to climb the ridge which connects the 
 head with Table Mountain. We found it 
 formed of a kind of gravelly stone, in which 
 the torrents coming down from the hills had 
 formed long and narrow chasms about six or 
 eight feet in depth, and two or three feet in 
 width, and which gave us no small inconve-
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 57 
 
 niehce in our progress. As we were com- 
 pletely in the shadow of the Lion's Head, 
 and as the sun was now near setting, we has- 
 tened our footsteps, and just reached the top 
 of the eminence in time to see the upper part 
 of his broad disk above the surface of the 
 water. 
 
 In this country, in the summer seasori after 
 a sultry day, the grateful coolness of the air 
 that generally takes place immediately after 
 sun-set is extremely agreeable; a brc-ze from 
 the sea blew gently in our faces, and diffused 
 freshness and comfort over us. On our right 
 hand was the lofty precipice of the Lion's 
 Head, and on our left the western end of the 
 Table Hill, which here terminates abruptly ; 
 at our feet lay the small flat valley of the 
 Camps Bay, bounded on one side by high and 
 craggy hills running in a S.E. direction, and 
 on the other by the sea stretched out before 
 us as far as the eye could reach. The western 
 hemisphere seemed to glow with fire^ but 
 where we were, all was shade, the air was 
 cool and refreshing, and we halted for some 
 minutes to enjoy the prospect, and prepare 
 for pursuing our route. 
 
 In continuing our walk, we had not pro- 
 E
 
 58 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 ceeded far before we again halted to examine 
 and admire a large chasm which seemed to 
 cut into the very heart of the Lion Hill, 
 and betray the secrets of its internal structure. 
 It appeared to Charles to be a mass of solid 
 stone sundered by some far remote convulsion 
 of nature ; the harsh and more striking fea- 
 tures of which had been softened by the in- 
 fluence of time. I, on the contrary, was rather 
 inclined to attribute the formation of this 
 chasm to the mere influence of the heavy rains 
 of the winter season. This he disputed; I 
 replied, and turning our eyes to a stratum of 
 black mould mixed with sea shells, now far 
 above the level of the sea, we presently lost 
 ourselves in conjectures on the remotest 
 epochs of time and nature. 
 
 Meanwhile, we had advanced a consider- 
 able way on the road that leads round the 
 Head. This road, which has been cut by the 
 English out of the side of the hill, is bounded 
 on the right by the Mountain, but it is open 
 and unguarded towards the sea, upon which 
 you look down as from an immense artificial 
 mound ; the sides are so steep, yet so regularly 
 sloped. Great masses of stone lie both above 
 and beneath the road, many of which by
 
 At tttE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 5Q 
 
 their position seem to threaten every instant 
 to fall, and roll still farther down into the sea* 
 These masses appear for the most part to be 
 formed of gravel or small stones, which are 
 Cemented together, and have evidently fallen 
 from the upper part of the hill; the nucleus 
 of which, however, seerhs formed of a solid 
 stone, which may defy to the end of the world 
 the injuries of time. To cover the original 
 nakedness of this rugged scene, Nature has 
 scattered with a prodigal hand wild flowers 
 and shrubs of the most agreeable scent and 
 appearance. Every cleft wherein was any 
 moisture, was adorned with large water lilieSj 
 whose cups of a snowy whiteness formed a, 
 strong contrast with the dusky sides of the 
 mountain. The geranium, the myrtle, and 
 a great variety of other odoriferous plants, 
 grow here spontaneously, and in great abun- 
 dance, and the air was perfumed to a consU 
 derable distance all round with their mingled 
 scents. When to this are added the stillness 
 and coolness of the evening, the murmuring 
 of the water breaking amongst the rocks be- 
 neath our feet, the rising moon, the charm 
 of friendship, and the enthusiasm which the 
 mind feels, in being rapt into past or future 
 K 2
 
 6O WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 epochs; it will not appear singular that 
 Charles and I were delighted with the scene 
 and with! the moment. Yes, my good reader, 
 and I do truly believe, that had you been 
 with me at that moment, and felt your heart 
 lifted up towards the Creator, as mine always 
 is, at an interesting view of nature, your 
 blood would have began to run more kindly 
 through your veins, and you would have been 
 the better man for it, for a week to come. 
 
 My friend and I walked cheerfully along 
 till we had now turned what is properly called 
 the Head. We then stopped and looked down 
 upon a small house built close to the shore, 
 named the Society House. The land here 
 projects a small way into the sea, and presents 
 a barrier of rocks to stem the fury of the whole 
 Southern Ocean which breaks upon this shore 
 with immense impetuosity. The wind, which 
 was beginning to freshen up from the west, im- 
 pelled this great body of water with increased 
 violence; it rolled in upon the shore enormous 
 waves,whichasthey approached the land seem- 
 ed to collect all their force, till rising to a tre- 
 mendous height, they began to curl at the top, 
 and instantly descended with a noise like thun- 
 der, and a force that shook the ground ; the
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 6l 
 
 glittering of the water in the moonlight, as it 
 broke over the rocks, formed a brilliant scene 
 beneath our feet, whilst the dark clouds rising 
 heavily up from the westward, spread a gloom 
 over the distant part of the sea. The picture 
 was grand and striking, and we enjoyed a full 
 view of it during the whole time that we de- 
 scended the hill until we reached the plain 
 which lies between the Lion Hills and the sea. 
 All along this shore, however, which is bold 
 and rocky, the waves broke with a dazzling 
 brightness and a " sullen roar" which gratified 
 at once the eye and ear. It would seem that 
 the scene had disposed us both to silence, for 
 we advanced without speaking till we reached 
 the race ground at Green Point ; following 
 the course, it brought us round by a deserted 
 battery, originally constructed for the defence 
 of a small bay or inlet, which it commands. 
 This point, which is extremely favourable for 
 the landing of boats, is almost entirely neg- 
 lected by the English ; a few anchors cast 
 into the sand, and which perhaps are meant 
 to operate against boats, in the same manner 
 as crow-feet against cavalry, being all that is 
 appointed for its defence. At low wat?r the 
 rocks here extend some distance into the sea, 
 5
 
 on which, on Sundays, numbers of slaves may 
 be seen busy in catching a small delicate rock- 
 fish named clip-fish, both with the rod and 
 Jine, and with baskets, which they let down 
 into the water, with a bait at the bottom, and 
 bawl up one after another by a long hooked 
 pole, As, we continued to follow the circle 
 of the race ground, it brought us again to the 
 public road, into which we passed, and conr 
 tinued our way towards the town. On our 
 left hand lay the batteries, constructed along 
 shore to defend the entrance of the bay. Of 
 these, the Amsterdam battery is the chief, be- 
 ing large, well faced with stone, and originally 
 built with caserns beneath for firing two tier 
 of cannon, though these are now bricked up 
 or formed into windows to air the prison rooms 
 underneath. The Rogge Bay battery is sur- 
 rounded by fishermen's houses. On the edge 
 of the town, and on the other side of the Am- 
 sterdam battery, lies the Chavone's battery, 
 the walls of which are built upon a rock, and 
 washed by the waves. Close under this bat- 
 tery is a round hole, pretty deep, where the 
 water is always still, much frequented in the 
 hot weather by the English gentlemen for the 
 purpose pf bathing. These batteries are all
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 63 
 
 open in the rear ; a great defect, since an 
 enemy has only to silence the guns of 
 the first, where he might land, and, for any 
 defence that they could make, take the rest 
 easily ; a single battery of two guns, and a 
 kind of block-house surrounded by a wall, 
 being all that is appointed to defend the 
 plain, and the first too high placed to answer 
 that purpose effectually. 
 
 Whilst I was giving my friend a description 
 of these batteries, which did not seem to in- 
 terest him very much, he interrupted me ra- 
 ther earnestly, with " What are these small 
 stones, some of them dark and others white, 
 which shine in the moon light, and seem not 
 to have been set there by chance ?" They 
 were not indeed, Charles, said I. ts Tread 
 lightly, tread lightly, my friend, we now 
 approach a region sacred to silence and deep 
 repose. These black and white stones are 
 memorials of the dead and of the neg- 
 lected dead. Yonder is the slaves' burying 
 ground." 
 
 To this, my friend answered not a word : 
 at the mention of the slaves' burying ground, 
 he stopped suddenly, and then as quickly 
 walked on. We soon reached the spot, where
 
 64 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 it was plain, from the number of little hil- 
 locks, and the disposition of the stones, that 
 it was indeed a burying ground : a mournful 
 silence reigned around us : Table Bay was 
 hushed, or at most, a faint murmur was heard 
 upon its shores the moon was muffled up 
 in the spreading clouds, and we remained as 
 if rivetted to the earth in silent meditation, 
 when we heard the sobbings of some one at 
 a little distance ; we turned round and be- 
 held the bended form of a female sitting by 
 a newly closed grave. 
 
 It is impossible to describe the impression 
 which this object and the scene made upon 
 us. Was it a father, a mother, a child or a 
 husband, whose fresh remains lay buried 
 there ? we dare not ask. " Perhaps it was a 
 friend," said Charles, squeezing my hand. 
 " Perhaps it was," said I, with a voice half in- 
 terrupted ; and we stood with tears in our eyes 
 to look at the female slave mourner. 
 
 She was sitting by the side of the grave 
 with her head supported between her knees ; 
 but when she heard us approaching, and still 
 more, when she saw us gazing upon her, 
 she smothered her sighs, and lifting up her 
 head, endeavoured to appear as if tqssing
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 65 
 
 about the little crumbling bits of earth with 
 indifference : but in doing this, it seemed to 
 rccal the idea of what lay beneath, and she 
 turned now and then aside for a few moments 
 to weep. Her long, black hair, instead of 
 being neatly rolled up on her head according 
 to the mode amongst the female slaves at the 
 Cape, hung dishevelled upon her shoulders ; 
 her dress was loose, her form light, small, 
 elegant, and her whole figure was rendered 
 doubly interesting by the mingled ideas of 
 sorrow and oppression, for she was a female, 
 a mourner, and a slave. 
 
 How long did Charles and I remain look- 
 ing at this unfortunate female? I know not; 
 the feelings count not the~Tnoments as they 
 pass. We walked slowly away, and on turn- 
 ing round, the mourner appeared to have 
 taken no other notice of our absence than by 
 again bending her head between her knees, 
 and remaining in that posture till we were 
 out of sight. 
 
 The slaves' burying ground is close by the 
 road, and perfectly open ; beside it, near to 
 the town, are two burying places belonging 
 to particular inhabitants, and walled round. 
 In approaching the town upon this side, the
 
 66 "WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 only public building that strikes the eye is 
 the Lutheran church, which stands at the 
 entrance of the town : it is a building not al- 
 together devoid of fancy, a description of 
 which has already been given, ornamented 
 with figures which certainly were not cut by 
 the hand of a Praxiteles. We entered by the 
 Strand Street, which runs nearly parallel to 
 the Table Hill, and leads directly down to the 
 castle. As we were now near our home, 
 " What will you do with yourself to-mor- 
 row ?" said Charles to me, " At your service, 
 my friend." " Very well then, we will visit 
 the Table Land. " That is good," said I, 
 " but it must be done in the morning, the 
 heat of the day will otherwise render the 
 climbing of the hill a disagreeable task." " As 
 to that," said Charles, " let us set off two hours 
 before day break; we shall have the last of the 
 moon's light, and as she sets, from the top 
 of yonder mountain we will enjoy the sub- 
 lime spectacle of the sun's beginning his daily 
 race." <f Your idea is good, Charles," said 
 I; " let us retire soon to rest, and to-morrow 
 morning we will see who is first a foot." 
 Agreed; " Good night, Charles." Good 
 night, my friend.
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 67 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 TABLE MOUNTAIN. 
 
 Jamque ascendebant collem, qui plurimus urbi 
 Imminet, adversasque aspectat desuper arces. 
 
 VIRGIL, 
 
 W HENCE arises this pleasure which I feel 
 in my breast, when I recal to my remem- 
 brance what I have seen ? Why does the cur- 
 rent of my blood glide so swiftly through my 
 heart, from the recollection of material ob- 
 jects? I have enjoyed an extensive prospect 
 from a lofty mountain, I have seen beneath 
 my feet earth, and sea, and clouds. I have 
 seen the moon lose her pale light, in the im- 
 petuous beams of a majestic globe of fire, 
 which arose in the East, and spread his light 
 over the world. I have seen all this, but 
 had I seen nothing more than earth and sea, 
 and clouds, the moon's waning light, or the 
 sun's rising beam ; why do I recal them to 
 my mind with delight? or why did I pro^ 
 strate myself before the Great Being who 
 made them all, and adore in silence his wis- 
 dom and his power I
 
 6S WALKS AJJD SKETCHES 
 
 No. It was the sentiment of an infinitely 
 wise mind, directing the worlds which I saw 
 moving around me, that touched my heart, 
 and still delights to linger in my remem- 
 brance. Unhappy is he who binds himself 
 to the material objects around him, without 
 endeavouring to rise from them to their 
 Great Author. I have been contemplating 
 huge mountains, whose cloud-covered tops 
 seemed to raise me nearer to Heaven, and I 
 admired his power ; but on their loftiest sum- 
 mits a patch of flowers, or a mantle of green, 
 recalled the idea of his benevolence. In a 
 word, from the top of Table Mountain I 
 discovered ten thousand objects to excite my 
 gratitude and reverence towards God, and 
 their constant concomitant, good will to- 
 wards men. If my reader has a heart any 
 way susceptible of these impressions, let him 
 prep.ire to accompany me ; if he has not, I 
 am sorry for it, as he will find the trouble of 
 climbing the Table -Mountain but poorly re- 
 warded by the mere prospect he will enjoy 
 from it. 
 
 After nearly four hours sound sleep, I awoke 
 refreshed in body, and with my mind in a 
 state of calmness and repose. According to
 
 AT T&E CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 69 
 
 my constant custom, I remained a few mi- 
 nutes in this state of delicious tranquillity, 
 from which I awoke upon hearing the church, 
 clock strike two. I arose, and opening the 
 shutter, saw that it was a fine moon-light 
 morning ; and pleasing myself with the idea 
 of being first afoot, I hastened to equip my- 
 self for the expedition. I had already taken 
 my staff from behind my bed, and was open- 
 ing the chamber door, when I heard the noise 
 of a small pebble rattling against the window. 
 " Holloa, lazy-boots," said Charles to me, on 
 my looking out, " not yet ready ? if you do 
 not make haste you will not see the sun rise 
 from the top of the hill." " I will be with 
 you directly, Charles," said I. So coming 
 down stairs, and shutting the door gently 
 after me, for fear of waking the family, I 
 joined him in the street. 
 
 Having shaken hands, and mutually wished 
 each other a friendly good morning, we set 
 off, bending our course upwards through the 
 town, where every thing was buried in sleep 
 and silence. Our footsteps sounded as we 
 stepped along through the empty streets, and 
 being braced by the coolness of the morning 
 air, and the town withal of no very great
 
 ?6 WALKS AND SKETCHES. 
 
 extent, we soon reached its outskirts. " Now 
 you must know Charles/' said I, " this is 
 likewise my first visit to the Table Hill, and of 
 course I am not positive as to the shortest 
 road to the top." We accordingly held a 
 short deliberation, when seeing on our left 
 hand a pretty deep ravine, which seemed to 
 lead towards the center of the mountain ; 
 and being moreover bounded on our right by 
 a long white garden wall, we agreed to follow 
 the course of the ravine, which, indeed, as it 
 afterwards appeared, was the best guide we 
 could have chosen. With this resolution we 
 continued our course upwards, and as the 
 moon shone remarkably clear, not closely fol- 
 lowing the windings of the ravine, but making 
 every now and then a short turn from one 
 angle of its bends to another. In this man- 
 ner , after turning sometimes to this side and 
 sometimes to that, in order to avoid the 
 larger fragments of rock which lay scattered 
 about in our way, and trampling over stones 
 and stunted prickly shrubs, we arrived at the 
 last house in this direction out of the town. 
 The water in the ravine was here collected in 
 quantity sufficient to turn a mill-wheel, 
 which, however, was now, like the inhabitant*
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE! 71 
 
 of the house, at rest; and we heard nothing 
 but our own voices and footsteps, till having 
 passed a small hillock, upon which stood a 
 white tomb-stone, the great house dog came 
 running out and barked at us till we were out 
 of sight. 
 
 Having proceeded a little farther, we found 
 our road lead us into the ravine, whose blanks 
 now became high and steep, and obliged us 
 to walk along their slope, clinging every now 
 and then to the roots and shrubs which ad- 
 hered to the large stones scattered about in 
 our path. .After creeping and groping our 
 way in the shade of the bushes and rocks, 
 vipon turning an angle formed by a dark pro- 
 jecting rock, our eyes were struck by a beau- 
 tiful sight. The rock rose pretty steep before 
 us, and being the course which the water 
 takes in coming down from the hill, was 
 washed perfectly bare. Over this smooth 
 stony surface, which from the bottom to the 
 summit is nearly fifty feet in length, the rivu- 
 let spread itself into a broad thin sheet of 
 water, which shone like silver under the 
 moonlight, and descended with a gurgling 
 noise into a deep hole at the bottom. Its 
 uniform half- melancholy sound ; its perpe-
 
 72 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 tual and rapid gliding, true image of life, 
 together with the solemnity and silence of 
 every object around us, tempted us to halt a 
 few moments, and drink of the cold and lim- 
 pid water : thus refreshed, we clambered up- 
 wards on its stony bed within a few feet of 
 the rivulet, and in a short time reached the 
 spot where it began to flow more upon a level, 
 and again confined within banks. Here we 
 crossed over upon two or three large stones, 
 and as the path every moment became more 
 and more steep, we gradually slackened our 
 pace and proceeded with less eagerness. And 
 now indeed nothing remained in our path but 
 large stones, fragments of the mountain, 
 which, broken off at different and far distant 
 periods by the destructive hand of Time, had 
 rolled down, and now lay scattered in all di- 
 rections, at the bottom and on the declivity. 
 We continued however to ascend, in silence, 
 against all obstacles, and had reached nearly 
 half up the hill, when Charles stopped short, 
 and panting for breath, cried out, " Plague 
 upon this Table Mountain, I had no concep- 
 tion it was such hard work to get to the top 
 of it." " Nay," said I, laughing, " we are not 
 half way there yet: but let us rest a little, and
 
 AT 'THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 7 3 
 
 then see' what is to be done." So seating 
 ourselves upon a large stone, we cast our eyes 
 downward into a deep glen cfh our left hand, 
 from which issues the water which descends to 
 the town. As the moon was now on the de- 
 cline, the bottom of the glen was perfectly 
 dark, but there was to be heard the rushing 
 of water; and a little lower down, out of the 
 shade of the steep sides of the glen, the 
 stream issued, of a silver brightness, producing 
 a singular effect as it ran between its dusky 
 banks. On turning our eyes Upwards, we 
 could clearly discern, even by the moon- 
 light, that cleft in the center of the hill, 
 called the door, or gate of the 'Table Moun- 
 tain; it being indeed, asissaiS, the oiily pas- 
 sage by which, on this side, you ran ascend 
 to the top. The sight of this -redoubled our 
 spirits. " Come.," said Charles^spritiging up, 
 " now I am ready ; huzza, for the trip." I fol- 
 lowed him smiling, and we ascVhded as fa5t 
 as the rocks and stones would permit tYs. 
 
 And now, my good Reader, having em- 
 ployed two or three pages to get ourselves and 
 you half way up the hill, and as there re- 
 mains nothing more in our way. but stones ana 
 rocks, and long dry grass and prickly shrubs;
 
 74 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 and you are perhaps not so tired with your 
 walk as I was when there ; you might be 
 displeased should I hoist you from the middle 
 to the top in two lines. I must therefore beg 
 you to lend me a little assistance, and by the 
 help of your imagination, to fill up an equal 
 quantity of two or three pages with huge 
 fragments of rocks, shrubs, and long dry 
 grass. Imagine yourself inclosed in the re- 
 entering angle of a majestic mountain, which 
 rises in a solid wall of granite on both sides 
 of you, on which, however, are cut out and 
 carved by those ingenious and industrious 
 workmen of Time, the Wind and Rain 
 dark caverns, massy columns, long pillars, 
 and light slender arches, and the whole 
 adorned and connected with all the fantastic 
 fret -work of gothic architecture. 
 
 Or perhaps, my good Reader, to speak 
 without flattery, your imagination is none of 
 the brightest, and cannot embody all this ; 
 you have in that case no other resource than 
 to seat yourself, two pages farther on, with 
 Charles and me upon a large stone, still how- 
 ever some distance from the top, breathless, 
 panting, our mouths parched with thirst, look- 
 ing with longing eyes towards the top, when
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 75 
 
 all at once we hear something drop, drop, 
 dropping upon the rock a little way above us. 
 "Water! "cried I " Water!" said Charles! 
 Up we start it was who could get there first; 
 and we soon discovered a little basin of about 
 two feet in diameter, worn out in a large stone, 
 which received the water as it trickled down 
 the sides of the cold rock. After having drank, 
 I lamented that I had brought nothing with 
 me to eat. " I never was so hungry in my 
 life before," said Charles. So with great gra- 
 vity putting his hand into his pocket, he 
 brought out a most comfortable large piece of 
 bread, which he brake in two, and giving me 
 the half " Eat, eat," said he, in a fcone half 
 serious, half pleasant, " and thank that gra- 
 cious Being who gives you your daily bread." 
 " I do thank him, (said I) and sincerely too ;" 
 for indeed my heart was moved at the tone in 
 which Charles spake to me. And there, seat- 
 ed together upon the same rock, we ate our 
 bread, and drank our wholesome beverage out 
 of the same cup of stone ; and, having finish- 
 ed, we thanked God for all his benefits. Thus 
 refreshed, the road lost all its ruggedness. 
 We proceeded cheerily, helping one another
 
 ?6 WALKS AXD SKETCHES 
 
 over the stones, and in about twenty minutes 
 arrived at the top of the hill. 
 
 We were both much surprized to find the 
 summit, which from below appears smooth 
 and level, intersected by deep hollows and 
 craggy rocks, whose bare tops, almost con- 
 stantly assailed by rude winds and heavy rains, 
 xvere worn into an endless variety of fantastic 
 shapes. But what had the rude wind and rain 
 to do with the present scene of calmness ? 
 Charles and I mounted upon the highest of 
 the rocks, where, having stood a little, and 
 cast our eyes all round, both, as if by an in- 
 voluntary movement, took off our hats at the 
 same instant, and looked up towards Heaven. 
 After a short pause, " How do you feel, 
 Charles ?" said I. " Calm," answered he, 
 " perfectly calm : but at the same time my 
 heart is running over with gratitude to Hea- 
 ven." "" I find our hearts are in unison," re- 
 turned I ; so advancing to a little crag, that 
 was still two or three feet higher than the 
 body of tire rock, with our hats still, off, and 
 arm in arm, we admired the solemn grandeur 
 of the scene before us. 
 
 Already the eastern horizon was marked by
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 77 
 
 it body of pure white light, which seemed to 
 break from behind the dark hills of Hottentot 
 Holland, and spread itself on all sides. The 
 waning moon seemed gradually to be absorb- 
 ed, and every moment shone fainter and 
 fainter. The stars in the west still sparkled 
 brightly, but those in the zenith and to the 
 eastward shared the fate of the queen of 
 night, and were, with her, gradually lost in 
 the mild splendour of dawning day. By de- 
 grees the light shot up towards the zenith, 
 and there melted into pale blue. The dark 
 mountains of Hottentot Holland, whose 
 craggy outlines were now clearly distinguish- 
 able, bounded the view to the east, but far 
 below our feet to the westward the sea spread 
 out its vast watery floor, over which the mists 
 of night still rolled, .and collecting into great 
 clouds, seemed to linger in the extreme 
 boundaries of the west. Moving our eyes 
 round towards the north, and still looking 
 downwards, beneath us lay the town, with us 
 gardens, its terraces, and white flat roofed 
 houses ; the Table Bay, with a surface 
 smooth and unruffled by the slightest breeze, 
 bearing on its glassy bosom numerous vessels 
 of every nation, riding together peaceably- a.t
 
 78 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 anchor. On the opposite side of the Bay, the 
 high hills, somewhat inland, presented their 
 tops covered with snow, and continuing to 
 move ourselves slowly round, we observed in 
 succession, once more the dark mountains of 
 Hottentot Holland ; the flat sandy space be- 
 tween the Table and False Bays ; the False 
 Bay opening outwards to the Indian ocean ; 
 the mountainous south eastern peninsula of 
 Africa, on whose highest pinnacle we seemed 
 to stand, stretching from north-west to south- 
 east, and presenting a broken scene of moun- 
 tains, precipices, and chasms. Beyond it ap- 
 peared the Indian Ocean, now faintly en- 
 lightened by the beams of the morning, and 
 round again nothing but sea, sea, sea, till we 
 once more came to the Lion Hills, the town 
 with its white houses, Table Bay with its nu- 
 merous vessels, and a little farther out Roben 
 Island, in the mouth of the Bay. 
 
 To this outline might be added some little 
 particulars : The vulture rising from his aerie 
 amongst the rocks, and soaring above our 
 heads till lost to our sight,' The buzzard 
 sailing in mid-air with out-stretched wing, 
 and steering towards its distant prey. The 
 faint roar of the water breaking along the
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 79 
 
 rocky coast, scarcely heard so high : the re- 
 freshing coolness of the morning air : and 
 lastly, two young friends standing on the 
 summit of a craggy rock, forming the center 
 of this great circle, with minds not incapable 
 of perceiving its magnificence, and hearts not 
 cold enough to perceive it with insensibility. 
 Perhaps, likewise, the moral views which 
 the different quarters of the prospect pre- 
 sented, had their share in increasing the inte- 
 rest of it. In looking towards the mountains 
 of Hottentot Holland, by means of that in- 
 tellectual power which God has bestowed on 
 man, we winged our way to their highest 
 summits, and thence discovered with asto- 
 nishment, in the inmost recesses of Africa, 
 hordes of undiscovered and undescribed sa- 
 vages, prostrate before the light of new-born 
 day. Beyond the waves of the Indian ocean, 
 the nations of Asia with their pagodas, their 
 white-robed bramins, their inoffensive man- 
 ners, and their antique superstitions. In the 
 distant bosom of the southern ocean, we be- 
 held clusters of peaceful islands, defended 
 by reefs of coral, over which the waves slowly 
 broke, and the friendly inhabitants asleep 
 under the shade of their cocoa nut trees. 
 
 5
 
 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 'With rapid thought we passed the shores' of 
 the Brazils and Spanish America, stained 
 with innocent blood, and where the murmur 
 of the waves upon the shore was mingled with 
 the crack of the task-master's lash- the cries 
 of the feeble Indian and the noise of his 
 mattock as he dug for gold. On the banks 
 of the majestic rivers and lakes, and in the 
 bosom of the forests of the western world, we 
 beheld, with pardonable pride, English laws 
 and institutions, English manners and men, 
 firmly rooted; and pleased ourselves with the 
 thought, that our language would thereby one 
 clay become the most extended that has per- 
 haps ever been spoken upon the face of the 
 globe. Then reverting towards the north, 
 \ve lingered amidst the various cities, the 
 polished arts, and the domineering policy of 
 enlightened Europe ; and fixing upon our 
 o.vn happy island, we forgot, for a short mo- 
 ment., all ideas of grandeur and sublimity, 
 and melted at the recollection of the ties by 
 which we felt connected with it. 
 
 With hearts thus attuned, and in the midst 
 of a scene so interesting and so magnificent, 
 we long remained in silent wonder and grati- 
 tude. But as Nature began to assume mo r e
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 81 
 
 animation, and from every bush and every 
 cleft in the rock issued up a matin hymn to 
 Heaven finally, when the sun broke in un- 
 clouded majesty over the top of the highest 
 eastern hill then it was that Charles, in a 
 moment of enthusiasm, grasped my hand, and 
 raised his right towards Heaven! -Then it 
 was, perhaps, that these wild solitudes were 
 first taught to re-echo the sacred name of 
 God to the sound of the human voice. They 
 had before been trodden by the footsteps of a 
 French disciple of atheism and materialism, 
 and to him these lofty mountains conveyed 
 the idea of blind matter, and the roar of the 
 waves upon the rocks that of death and sub- 
 sequent annihilation. But what a different 
 sensation was conveyed to my heart, when 
 Charles grasped my hand, and exclaimed in 
 an energetic and affecting tone of voice- 
 
 These nre thy glorious works, Parent of Good. 
 
 Almighty! Thine this universal frame 
 
 Thus wondrous fair! Thyself how wondrous then! 
 
 Unspeakable! ! ! 
 
 Yv'ho sitt'st above these Heavens to us invisible ! 
 
 Or dimly seen in these thy lowliest works j 
 
 Yet these declare' thy goodness beyond thought, 
 
 And power uivine.
 
 82 V7ALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 When he pau?ed, the rocks for a long time 
 re-echoed to his voice. All Nature seemed to 
 join in the morning hymn of our great Poet. 
 The lark ascended, bearing in its notes and 
 on its wings his praise. The wild buck 
 bounded over the distant rocks, and innume- 
 rable tribes of beautiful winged insects began 
 to buz about from bush to bush. Thus from 
 a scene of lonely silence all became animated ; 
 all seemed to be born to new life, and to 
 breathe in ten thousand different tongues the 
 praise of the Author of Nature. 
 
 Having at length sufficiently gratified our 
 eyes with the grandeur of the scene, we des- 
 cended from the crag, afrer first cutting out 
 the initials of our names upon it. We then 
 wandered about the top of the hill for up- 
 wards of an hour, always however keeping 
 sight of some object by which to direct us 
 back again to the door of the Mountain, there 
 having been instances of the colonists them- 
 selves being detained on the top, enveloped in 
 sudden mists and clouds, without being able 
 to find their way down for two clays. We 
 had also heard much of the runaway slaves, 
 who live in the holes and clefts of the hill 
 but we saw none, nor any traces of them,
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 83 
 
 except a small fire extinguished, and some 
 parched grains of Indian wheat scattered 
 about it. And now, as the sun had been more 
 than an hour up, it began to grow warm, and 
 we set about descending, which we found 
 more troublesome even than the ascent, re- 
 quiring greater precautions to prevent our 
 slipping and bruising ourselves amongst the 
 stones. We reached home about nine o'clock, 
 not a little fatigued, and with our shoes worn 
 quite thin through the sharpness of the rocks 
 and stones. Having bathed our feet how- 
 ever, and breakfasted, we quickly forgot our 
 fatigues, and thought only of the pleasing 
 objects which we had seen, Charles advised 
 me to commit the whole to paper, and agree- 
 ably to his advice I wrote the above. 
 
 Besides what is to be -seen from the summit 
 of the Table, the hill itself presents at all 
 times a grand object. It is pleasing in a sum- 
 mer morning, to see the rays of the rising 
 sun striking first its highest crags, and gra- 
 dually spreading and illuminating the whole 
 mountain. Then are likewise seen the va- 
 pours collecting on its edge, and hanging 
 down in long cottony festoons, or shooting 
 away into the pure atmosphere. At other
 
 4 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 times dark clouds roll over its summit, poiv 
 tending wind and storm. In the winter sea- 
 son, the shelving parts of the Mountain are 
 often white with hail and snow, whilst on its 
 top all is dark and wet. If however the wind 
 changes to the south-east, and the clouds are 
 driven back from off the land, they collect on 
 the top of the Table and Devil Hills, before 
 they are blown away to sea. A noise is heard 
 among the mountains, and the wind comes 
 down in furious gusts ; but there is no rain ; 
 and if perchance in the evening the moon 
 arises and shines through the clouds, the 
 dark hills appear as if covered with crowns 
 of silver. 
 
 Finally, after a long tract of dry weather* 
 the runaways often set fire accidentally, or 
 with design, to the brush and underwood 
 which grows along the face of the hill. In 
 the darkness and stillness of the night, it is 
 pleasing to observe long and waving lines of 
 fire, which burn silently, enlightening the 
 whole mountain-, but adding tenfold to the 
 darkness which reigns around ; especially at 
 that hour when all is hushed, and no eye is 
 awake to observe, except what is prevented 
 from sleep by contemplation or sorrow.
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 85 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE HOTTENTOT. 
 
 Cur non sancitis ne eodem itinere eat? LIVT. 
 
 HE scenes which we had witnessed at the' 
 sale of slaves, and the conversation occasion- 
 ed by them, had not failed to make a; deep 
 impression on my friend's mind ; and he ac- 
 costed me rather abruptly on the morning of 
 the ensuing sabbath. " You have shewn 
 me,'' said he, " the patient and obedient 
 natives of Malabar and Mozambique, and 
 the proud and jealous Malay-^but of the 
 Hottentot you have given only an imperfect 
 outline. I wish to hear his character from 
 you. Vaillant it is true represents him as a 
 human monkey, and every colonist to whom 
 I have hitherto spoken of these savages has 
 only repeated their name with expressions of 
 derision and contempt but why should you 
 leave his portrait so unfinished, whilst the in- 
 truders upon his native land have been drawrr 
 at full length : he is vet the lawful owner of 
 

 
 86 WALKS AXD SKETCHES 
 
 this ancient soil these venerable mountains 
 and wide spread plains are his, and all the 
 motley crew that now inhabits here with us 
 Europeans at their head, are but usurpers of 
 his undoubted rights." " For a good reason 
 my friend." returned I, " these intruders, as 
 you term them, have been drawn in a group : 
 he shall stand alone ; we will dedicate the 
 evening of this sacred day to an examination 
 of his character, and perhaps we shall not 
 find him so despicable as false philosophy 
 and base colonial prejudices may have led us 
 to expect." 
 
 Towards the evening my friend called on 
 me a second time. We went out together, 
 and, traversing the whole breadth of the town 
 from the water fountains up to the highest 
 side of Hottentot Square, we soon came to 
 the quarries at the bottom of the Lion's 
 Rump, whence all the stone has been ob- 
 tained, and still continues to be taken for 
 building the town. In the principal quarry 
 was a great crowd of slaves, which on ap- 
 proaching nearer we found to consist princi- 
 pally of Malays. Loud shoutings, a mighty 
 bustle, and the crowd fluctuating to and fro, 
 like an immense wave of the sea, indicated
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 87 
 
 that some spectacle highly interesting to 
 them was exhibiting. All the upper side and 
 the borders of the quarry were likewise fall 
 of slave spectators, who testified by their 
 eager gestures, and the clapping of their 
 hands, how deeply they were interested in 
 what was going forward. We were not long 
 ignorant of the cause, for having climbed a 
 little way up the hill we looked down, and 
 beheld in the middle of the quarry two game 
 cocks fiercely engaged, whilst the whole as- 
 sembly seemed to hang upon their every mo- 
 tion. We did not await the issue of the 
 contest, but continuing to ascend straight 
 upwards, we presently came to a winding path 
 which we followed, and in a quarter of an 
 hour found ourselves on the top of that part 
 of the Lion's Hill called the Rump, and 
 whence on the approach of vessels signals are 
 made to the town below. We walked back- 
 wards and forwards several times, along the 
 ridge of this hill from the signal post to the 
 foot of the precipice, which forms the Lion's 
 Head, till having sufficiently gratified our 
 eyes with the prospect of the town, and the 
 Table Mountain on one side, and the bound- 
 less ocean on the other, my friend interrupted
 
 88 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 a long silence by putting me in mind of my 
 promise respecting the Hottentot, whose per- 
 trait I had left unfinished, and which he 
 eagerly desired to see filled up. " We could 
 not have a better opportunity," said he ; " the 
 sun is already set, and the watchman at the 
 signal post has descended, and left us entirely 
 alone upon the ridge of this hill : presently 
 the heavens will glow with unnumbered stars j 
 and the moon will threw her silver light over 
 yon ancient mountain, that dark precipice to 
 which we are now approaching, and the im- 
 mense ocean which faintly roars below. To 
 me, my friend, your voice is only wanting to 
 add new interest to this solemn scene, and fix 
 it for ever in my remembrance. The sighing 
 of these winds may again greet my ear, but it 
 will be far hence on the bosom of the deep. 
 I may again hear the noise of distant waves 
 breaking on the rocks, but you will not be 
 there : and you, my friend, may traverse this 
 pathless ridge alone may at no very distant 
 period again survey this precipice, those stars, 
 and that boundless ocean, whilst I perhaps 
 lie stretched, unburied, and unwept, on some 
 distant and unknown shore." 
 
 " I see clearly, my friend," replied I,
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE; 8Q 
 
 tc that the interest which your heart takes in 
 the cause of the Hottentot has awakened it 
 to other sympathies : but dismiss, I pray you, 
 such melancholy presages, and yield the 
 same attention which you paid to me some 
 days ago when describing the varieties of the 
 slaves of the Cape. You remember no doubt 
 the circumstances under which we then be- 
 held the Hottentot his covering of sheep- 
 skin, his sandals, and his bare head exposed 
 to all the heat of the sun. These very cir- 
 cumstances mark the first trait in his charac- 
 ter which is a mildness almost approaching 
 to apathy. He is not easily provoked, and if 
 provoked he is soon appeased : yet he is no 
 coward threatening or ill usage does hot 
 terrify him so much as it renders him melan- 
 choly, and he seems more fearful of giving 
 offence from his natural mildness than from 
 a dread of punishment. When spoken to 
 he generally answers in a submissive tone of 
 voice, and if called by his proper name as a 
 sign of reproach, he seems to acquiesce in 
 the justice of it as such, and owns with some 
 shame that he is only a Hottentot. He does 
 not boast of his nation so far from it that 
 he is eager to connect himself with the slaves 
 
 G
 
 QO WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 which are imported into his native country, 
 and considers himself as advanced in the 
 scale of man by alliances which a greater 
 energy of character should have taught him 
 to despise. 
 
 " It is evident that such a disposition must 
 include a large share of indolence and in- 
 deed in cases of insults offered to him, it is 
 often difficult to ascertain whether his for- 
 bearance of vengeance arise from the laziness 
 or the goodness of his disposition. He is 
 violent for a moment, and threatens despe- 
 rate revenge, but the words are scarcely from 
 his lips before he is calm, and he concludes 
 by muttering to himself a long string of in- 
 coherent threats, without the smallest inten- 
 tion of ever putting one of them into execu- 
 tion. He detests constraint, and yet he sub- 
 mits to it almost without a struggle. It may 
 be said that a slender cord becomes to him 
 fetters of iron, not because he wants the 
 strength necessary to burst it asunder, but 
 the energy tp make the attempt. 
 
 " Yet to all this indolence he unites at 
 times an activity far beyond that of any of 
 the tribes of slaves at the Cape. Not one of 
 them can endure like him the fatigues of
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPEi Ql 
 
 the chace, or will submit with so little re- 
 luctance to all its privations. Throughout 
 the country he is the only huntsman em- 
 ployed by the colonists, or trusted by them 
 with arms, and it is in the natural and pri- 
 mary occupation of man that he displays all 
 his good qualities. Inexhaustible patience ; 
 unwearied activity ; a mind fertile in expe- 
 dients, and a surprizing agility render him 
 thus truly useful. Sometimes with his mas- 
 ter, sometimes, alone, he climbs the steep 
 passes of almost inaccessible mountains, or 
 traverses the sandy plains of the Carroo in 
 search of spots where game may be found. 
 His power of abstinence is shewn by the 
 small quantity of food with which he is pro- 
 vided on these occasions, and he will wander 
 all day beneath a burning sun and over hot 
 sands without a drop of water to quench his 
 thirst. His keen eye, and unerring aim sel- 
 dom deceive him ; yet sometimes after hav- 
 ing been thus exposed, he returns in the 
 evening with a sorrowful heart from want of 
 success, whilst perhaps his bloated master 
 standing at the door of his hut, and seeing 
 him approach without provision, demand?, 
 in an imperious tone, " what the lazy Hot- 
 G 2
 
 p2 WALKS AND SKETCHES. 
 
 tentot has been doing the whole day." He 
 thinks himself fortunate should he escape 
 without further punishment. 
 
 " If his occasional activity renders him thus 
 adapted to the chace, his habitual indolence, 
 the groundwork of his character,, renders 
 him equally proper for the daily avocations 
 of a pastoral life, and the active and indefa- 
 tigable huntsman of yesterday becomes the 
 indolent and sleepy herdsman of to-day. 
 Yesterday every sense was awake, he was all 
 eye to observe, all ear to listen, all life in 
 the pursuit to-day stretched out beneath a 
 thorny bush of which he always takes care to 
 chuse the sunny side, he scarcely at intervals 
 lifts up his languid eyes to glance them over 
 the wide and arid plains where his cattle 
 range. Sometimes raising himself from the 
 ground, he stands leaning on his long staff 
 as if absorbed in profound meditation, when, 
 in fact, he is nearly asleep yet in these oc- 
 casional glances he sweeps the whole extent 
 of the horizon, and marks with the utmost 
 precision in what direction the most distant 
 of his oxen are straying. In the evening he 
 makes an exertion, collects them together, 
 and brings them back to their inclosures,
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. Q3 
 
 " When he has an object to accomplish, 
 and after a vast exertion of thought has 
 formed his scheme, such as it may be, he 
 has no idea of varying it according to the 
 change of circumstances that may arise, but 
 persists blindly in it until its impracticability 
 is grossly obvious even to himself. If he at- 
 tempts to change it he only makes worse 
 blunders, and becomes soon so confused that 
 no longer knowing how to proceed he reverts 
 to his first principle, and tries the same 
 scheme over and over again. A Hottentot 
 after suffering for a long time the most severe 
 and cruel usage from an unjust master, de- 
 termined to kill him. His scheme was to 
 desert, and join a party of roving Hottentots 
 then in that part of the country, and with 
 them to return and accomplish his purpose. 
 Ten times in a day he might have found op- 
 portunities to slay his tyrant and escape ; in 
 hunting when generally alone with him, and 
 behind he needed only to have put the gun 
 to his shoulder, and stretched him dead at 
 his feet ; but this was not his scheme, and 
 he accordingly left the boor by night, and 
 joined a party of marauding Hottentots." 
 And did he return and murder his former 
 4
 
 4 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 master ? interrupted Charles. " I know not 
 my friend/' replied I, " but if not instigated 
 by his new companions, I should rather 
 think that in conformity to the general tenor 
 of his character, he would rest contented 
 with having acquired his liberty, and take no 
 further measures to gratify his revenge. 
 
 u Such then is a faint outline of the cha- 
 racter of the Hottentot which presents upon 
 the whole many contradictions. He is sim- 
 ple, credulous, and easily imposed upon, yet 
 withal, at times shrewd and cunning. It is 
 easy to lead him, but sometimes without your 
 being aware of it, he leads you : he is indo- 
 lent, yet capable of violent exertions; mild, 
 and timid, yet displaying at times great reso- 
 lution. Observe, however, that I speak only 
 of the Hottentot as he appears within the 
 precincts of the colony and in the service of 
 the planters. I know nothing of him in his 
 natural state, and perhaps he presents a very 
 different character where he is accustomed to 
 call the mountains and plains his own, or to 
 dispute their sovereignty with the fiercest ani- 
 mals of the desert." 
 
 " But you have told me nothing of his 
 heart all this time/' said Charles. " Is he
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. QB 
 
 faithful, affectionate, endearing? You said 
 when we last spake of him, that you had 
 seen many instances of cold ingratitude in 
 those of his nation, and that after having 
 been kindly treated by a family for years, a 
 Hottentot will leave them with great indif- 
 ference. Are you still of the same opinion, 
 or are you now more disposed to do justice to 
 his good qualities ? perhaps what that family 
 called kindness, the stupid ^Hottentot deemed 
 cruelty ; perhaps the ungrateful wretch did 
 not consider the prime of his life sacrificed 
 to the service of his master as sufficiently re- 
 paid with food and blows. But waving all 
 inquiries of this kind, if the Hottentot be 
 not grateful by nature is he likely to learn 
 that virtue here ? I beseech you most earnestly 
 to lay your hand upon your heart, and tell 
 me if the gratitude of a Dutchman were 
 placed in one scale, and that of a Hottentot in 
 the other, which upon your conicience do 
 you suppose would kick the beam ?" I could 
 not help smiling at my friend's earnestness, 
 at the same time that I felt the full force of 
 his remark. I began to recall to tnind a 
 thousand instances which I had heard related 
 of unshaken fidelity and undaunted courage
 
 96 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 on the part of Hottentots. I reflected tha'c 
 at that very moment a small battalion of 
 them, commanded by an English officer, 
 was encamped near the Cape, and which per- 
 formed its evolutions with the utmost exact- 
 ness ; at the same time I recalled to mind 
 that a Frenchman had compared them to 
 monkies at a fair, jostling each other and 
 playing a thousand antics on the word of 
 command being given, and my anger kindled 
 at this odious and unjust comparison. After 
 musing a little : (C Your observations," said 
 I, *' are not without foundation, for now I 
 remember that the English, who have em- 
 ployed Hottentot servants, give a very dif- 
 ferent character of them from that of their 
 Dutch masters. They speak of them as 
 faithful and affectionate in a high degree, and 
 I leave it to you to determine by which de- 
 cision you will abide." 
 
 " Thank heaven, then," said Charles, with 
 great emotion, " my decision is already made. 
 1 have been anxious to see some justice done 
 to the character of this race, so long and so 
 much misrepresented ; and although your ac- 
 count of them does not, I must confess to 
 you, equal my expectations, it yet accords so
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. Q7 
 
 exactly with my own few observations, that I 
 am inclined to think it correct, as far as it 
 goes. It is now perfectly clear to me why 
 they have been so grossly calumniated. The 
 Hottentot, as presented by the French piiilo- 
 sophists, was necessary to their systems as the 
 lowest link in the chain, which according to 
 them connects man xvith the brutes that pe- 
 rish. As degraded by them, he could claim 
 little title even to the " human face divine ;" 
 but amongst the other real triumphs of my 
 country, I trust this will be one, to be the 
 first to rescue the character of this unfortunate 
 race from such unfounded calumnies, and in 
 time to assign them that rank in the scale of 
 man which they ought justly to hold." 
 
 Such was the conclusion of our conversa- 
 tion on the Hottentots. We had walked up 
 and down for several hours, during which the 
 moon had been obscured by mists; but 
 scarcely had Charles concluded, when a sud- 
 den flood of silver light burst on the upp&r 
 part of the Table Mountain, and irradiated 
 far and wide its lofty crags. The Lion Head, 
 at the foot of which we then stood, was still 
 obscured, and only a few scattered rays were 
 thrown on the bosom of the dark and ever-
 
 98 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 heaving deep, whose waves scarcely inter- 
 rupted the solemn silence which reigned 
 around. Charles and I stood for some time 
 wrapped in contemplation, and, after a long 
 pause, left with reluctance this impressive 
 scene which we were doomed never to see in 
 company with each other more.
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. QQ 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 REED VALLEY. 
 
 Qualibus in tenebris vitae, quantisque periclis 
 Degitur hoc aevi, quodcumque est 
 
 LUCIIET. 
 
 L HE curiosity of Charles had been excited 
 by hearing mention made of Reed Valley, and 
 he desired that our next walk should be there. 
 We accordingly left Cape Town about mid- 
 day, following the high road for upwards of 
 two miles, when we turned off to the left and 
 gradually descended upon the sandy flats of 
 the Salt River. As we approached the River 
 we beheld a horrid spectacle. Upon the sand 
 were erected a number of stakes and gibbets, 
 upon which were the remains of upwards of 
 a -dozen malefactors who had been executed at 
 the Cape at different periods. Some were sus- 
 pended by the feet, decapitated; others were 
 laid across the narrow wheel on which they 
 . had been racked, bent double and hanging 
 down on each side, whilst many seemed to 
 preserve, by the attitude in which they were
 
 ]OO WALKS AND SXETCHES 
 
 placed, the last writhings of pain and approach- 
 ing death . We were shocked at this sight, and 
 hastening to get away from it, were carried 
 across the river, one after another, by a slave 
 who was about to wade through. We soon 
 found our walk very tiresome, being presently 
 engaged among little sand hills which reflected 
 the heat of the sun in a violent degree, whilst 
 the sand giving way at every step fatigued us 
 greatly. The only green that we saw to refresh 
 the eye was near two or three windmills, which 
 grind almost all the wheat used in Cape Town : 
 Everywhere else around nothing was to be seen 
 but a barren waste, with ranges of sand hills, 
 diversified here and there with a little spot of 
 coarse sickly-coloured grass, and scanty pools 
 of brackish water. Conversation and friend- 
 ship, however, supplied the place of external ob- 
 jects, and diverted a walk of three hours, which 
 we should otherwise perhaps have been induced 
 to relinquish. To our great mortification we 
 found nothing at Reed Valley to compensate 
 for our fatigue. Two or three huts, rather 
 than houses, where were stationed a few Dra- 
 goons, were the only habitations that we saw. 
 The Reed Valley itself was nothing but a flat 
 marshy piece of ground overgrown with
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 10) 
 
 rushes, and the water, of which we asked for a 
 little, was so brackish that neither of us could 
 drink it with any satisfaction, notwithstanding 
 our thirst. In short, we began to repent 
 heartily of our walk, when the officer on duty 
 therearrived,and with much hospitality pressed 
 us to stop. His invitation came too season- 
 ably to be refused, and our dinner and some 
 good Cape wine restored onr spirits. At six 
 we took leave of our entertainer, and bent our 
 way back to the Cape. Being tired of the 
 sand hills, however, we soon turned off :o the 
 right, and in a little time found ourselves on 
 the hard sandy beach of Table Bay, which we 
 determined to follow all the way into town. 
 It was now twilight, and as that died away we 
 began to see our shadows on the sand, and, 
 looking up, beheld the moon, which was just 
 past her first quarter. Never was there a more 
 delightful evening. The heat which we had 
 suffered in the morning made us inhale with, 
 greater pleasure a cool westerly breeze which 
 blew in from the sea, gently ruffling the sur- 
 face of the water, which scarcely broke in small 
 waves at our feet. As the evening advanced 
 we discerned a train of fires which had been
 
 102 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 lighted to burn the brushwood on the oppo- 
 site side of the bay. From these arose' co- 
 lumns of white smoke, which, by their slow 
 motion to the eastward, indicated the feeble- 
 ness and direction of the wind. The coolness 
 of the air, the murmuring of the water, the 
 fine beach beneath our feet, the moonlight, 
 every thing, in short, was in perfect contrast 
 with our morning's walk, and we impercepti- 
 bly arrived at the mouth of the Salt River, 
 whilst we thought ourselves still at some dis- 
 tance from it. How to cross it was the diffi- 
 culty, and we were just about to turn off to 
 the left when we perceived a party of slaves 
 at a small distance very busily employed in 
 collecting shells to burn for lime. Having 
 hailed them, we were carried across and con- 
 tinued our walk along the sand till we came 
 in a line with Craig's Tower, a small fort near 
 the shore and within three miles of the town. 
 Here Charles made a sudden halt, having per- 
 ceived on our right a large part of a wreck 
 half covered by the sea. Struck with this ap- 
 pearance, he asked me if I knew to what ves- 
 sel it had belonged. " Alas my friend," re- 
 plied I, " is our walk of this day then to be-
 
 AT THE GAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 103 " 
 
 gin and end with sights and tales of horror ? 
 You ask me to relate one of the most melan- 
 choly events that ever took place in this bay. 
 " That is a remaining portion of a British six- 
 ty-four, the Sceptre, which was driven ashore 
 here in a gale of wind and went to pieces; the 
 greater part of the crew perished with her, 
 and many of their bodies are at this moment 
 buried beneath the wreck. I was present al- 
 most from the moment of her striking, and, if 
 you are inclined, can give you some details of 
 the catastrophe which ensued." "Since I have 
 been so inquisitive," said Charles, "letmeknow 
 the whole. I shall listen if not with pleasure, at 
 least with attention." "Know then, my friend," 
 replied I, tf that it was on the 5th November 
 last that this melancholy event took place. 
 Early in the morning of that day the wind be- 
 gan to blow .fresh from the north-west, a 
 circumstance almost unheard of before as: 
 such a time of the year, accompanied with a 
 heavy sea rolling into the bay. No danger, 
 however, was apprehended till after mid-day, 
 when the wind and swell of the sea continuing 
 to increase, a large American vessel from Bom- 
 bay parted her cables and drove ashore not far 
 from the castle. This was soon followed by 
 an American brig which went ashore with two
 
 104 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 or three sails set, by which means, being dri- 
 ven far up on a good sand., the hull was saved 
 from being much beaten about by the waves. 
 " At six o'clock I went down to the sea side, 
 about which time the Sceptre and a Danish 
 sixty -four, bound to the eastward, began to 
 lower their flags and fire guns as signals of 
 distress, and soon afterwards the Sceptre ap- 
 peared to drive from her anchors, as yet but 
 slowly. At seven, the spectators who had as- 
 sembled on the beach began to disperse, as it 
 was raining hard, until being left alone, I ran 
 along the shore, the vessel still continuing to 
 fire at intervals, and from the deeper sound of 
 each succeeding gun through the repercus- 
 sion of the hills, it was evident that she was 
 drawing nearer and nearer to the bottom of 
 the bay. About eight I arrived alone upon 
 the spot. It was now dark, for although the 
 moon was up it was very cloudy, yet not so 
 much so but that I could plainly perceive a 
 large vessel aground with all her .masts gone, 
 at no great distance from the shore. I was 
 about to return to Cape Town to communi- 
 cate this intelligence, when I saw a number 
 of people coming towards the spot attended 
 by slaves with lanterns. These proved to 
 be the officers of the Sceptre, who happened
 
 AT THE- CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 105 
 
 to be on shore together with some other na- 
 val officers, and with them I returned to the 
 place. There was at first some dispute whe- 
 ther it was the Sceptre or not, till at length 
 we discerned the broad pennant flying at the 
 stump of the mizen, which put an end to all 
 doubt. Perhaps however, Charles, I am re- 
 lating circumstances, which, however impor- 
 tant they appeared to me at the time, may be 
 uninteresting to you?" " By no means," re- 
 turned my friend, tf pray continue." 
 
 " As the officers seemed much concerned 
 for the fate of their comrades on board, I en- 
 deavoured to cheer them, by representing 
 how near the ship was to the shore, and the 
 great probability of her keeping together till 
 day light, at which some seemed comforted, 
 but the greater part, more experienced, only 
 answered, " she is an old ship, she is an old 
 ship." We set to work however, collecting 
 all the loose planks that were floated ashore, 
 and clubbing our handkerchiefs for tinder, 
 we soon made a large fire, and gave three 
 cheers as loud as we could to encourage those 
 on board. At ten o'clock, however, it came 
 on to rain so hard that the vessel could no 
 longer be seen ; a dismal cry was, however,, 
 H
 
 106 WALKS AND SKr" CHES 
 
 plainly heard, and before eleven, such a num- 
 ber of planks began to be thrown upon the 
 beach, together with chairs, tables, and other 
 articles, that it became but too evident that 
 she had fallen entirely to pieces. 
 
 tk The distress of the officers, and of every 
 man present at this afflicting sight, may be 
 conceived, but cannot be described. Pre- 
 sently some of the crew came on shore half 
 <lead, and who would for the most part have 
 been washed back again had they not been 
 assisted, by those on the beach. They gave 
 information that the stern of the vessel had 
 first broken off, when the captain advised 
 every man to stand ready to jump into the 
 sea in case she broke further. In less than a 
 quarter of an hour a great wave struck her 
 amidships, when she fell, as it were, directly 
 to pieces. It was at this time that the dis- 
 mal cry was uttered which we heard from the 
 shore. The scene of horror that ensued was 
 covered with the veil of night. 
 
 " About four o'clock the rain ceased and 
 the wind fell ; but when day broke, a scene 
 was presented certainly the most afflicting 
 that ever my eyes beheld the shore for three 
 hundred yards thickly covered with planks,
 
 AT tHE CAfi 6tf GOOS ttOPE. 
 
 yards, and all the ruins of an English mafi o 
 war, intermixed with the bodies of more than 
 two hundred brave fellows, who died, not 
 fighting for their country, nor even the sai- 
 lor's watery death, but absolutely murdered 
 and dashed to pieces amidst the vast quantity 
 of wood which was floating about ; upwards 
 of one hundred more perished with them, 
 the bodies of the greater part of which were 
 buried beneath the guns and the portions of 
 the wreck. Among the bodies washed on 
 shore were those of several women ; one of 
 them with her infant clasped to her breast was 
 thrown up close to that little rock covered 
 with weed which we have just passed. Even 
 at this moment I can scarcely refrain from 
 tears at the recollection of this afflicting in- 
 stance of maternal tenderness, whom even 
 death could not constrain to let go her hold.'* 
 Charles at this burst into tears, and begged 
 me to go no further. " I have done," said I. 
 4< A subscription was set on foot for the pur- 
 pose of erecting a monument to the memory 
 of the dead, as near to the spot as circum- 
 stances would permit, and although carried 
 to some extent was afterwards laid aside, for 
 what reason I know not." 
 H 2
 
 1O8 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 By this time we had passed the hull of the 
 Danish man of war which had been driven 
 ashore nearer to the lines, and which, by 
 withstanding the fury of the waves, had 
 saved the lives of the crew. Presently we 
 beheld the remains of the large American 
 vessel, and in a short time, turning to the 
 left, we entered the castle, and through it 
 came upon the parade, which we crossed to 
 the town. Charles had not listened to my 
 recital unmoved ; and the remembrance of 
 so melancholy an event having damped my 
 spirit, we parted for the night under rather 
 sorrowful impressions.
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, 10Q 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 ROAD TO SIMON'S TOWN. 
 
 Stat sua cuique dies : breve et irreparabile tempus 
 Omnibus est Vitae. 
 
 VIRGIL. 
 
 last excursion was to Simon's Town. 
 Intending to prolong our walk by visiting seve- 
 ral of the principal estates on our road, we set 
 off by break of day. A mile from Cape Town 
 we passed the lines, a range of redoubts and 
 blockhouses, upon a ridge of rising ground, 
 connected by a ditch and rampart, and ex- 
 tending from the edge of the Bay to the 
 highest accessible part of the Devil's Hill. 
 Having passed the lines, the road winds ra- 
 ther to the right, and in about half an hour 
 brought us through an avenue of trees to 
 Rondybosch, the seat of the Lieutenant Go- 
 vernor of the Cape. A little beyond Rondy- 
 bosch we ascended a small rising ground to- 
 wards the right, and continuing to approach 
 still nearer to the hills, arrived at the Brewery, 
 the estate of D. Van Reenen, as well known 
 and as famous at the Cape as that of Con-
 
 110 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 stantia : and here we stopped to take some 
 refreshment. 
 
 The house of Mr. Van Reenen, though 
 not yet compleated, is by far the most elegant 
 of any building, public or private, in the 
 whole colony. It was planned by Mr. Thi- 
 bault, a French engineer, who built the Am- 
 sterdam battery. Behind the house a copious 
 spring of pure water gushes out at the foot 
 of the Devil's Hill, and which together with 
 the springs of Nieuweland form the begin- 
 ning of the salt river ; adjoining is a wood 
 of silver trees, so called from the glazed sil- 
 very appearance of the leaves. The bark re- 
 sembles that of the beeeh, with numerous, 
 horizontal fissures, and the wood is of little 
 value except for firing. In a landscape min- 
 gled with other trees of a dark green foliage 
 they produce a singular and beautiful effect. 
 Behind the brewery is a path by which per- 
 sons acquainted with these hiils can reach the 
 summit of Table Mountain ; it is even said 
 to be easier of access on this side than by the 
 passage in the face of the mountain towards, 
 the town. 
 
 At eight o'clock we left the brewery,, pre- 
 cedd by a slave who shewed us a nearer
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. Ill 
 
 road than that with which we were ac- 
 quainted, and brought us to the back of the 
 camp at Wynberg, a small hill which forms 
 a healthy situation for troops, and a good mi- 
 litary post between the two bays. Here we 
 dismissed our guide, and after passing the 
 camp reached an eminence whence We had a 
 view of the False Bay, the pass of Muysen- 
 berg, and the opposite hills of Hottentot HoU 
 land. These views, joined to what we had 
 before observed suggested the following ideas: 
 
 First. The flatness and sandy nature of 
 the ground which separates the two bays 
 seemed clearly to indicate that they had been 
 formerly united, in which case the present 
 peninsula of the Cape must have formed an 
 island separated from the main continent of 
 Africa by a strait of from ten to fifteen miles 
 in breadth. 
 
 Secondly. The strait must have been 
 shallow ; for had the water been deep and the 
 current consequently strong, the middie part 
 of the channel could not have been filled up 
 as it now appears, by the deposits of the 
 ocean and the soil washed down from the 
 hills. 
 
 Thirdly. The steepness of the ranges of
 
 112 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 great mountains appeared to have arisen from 
 some sudden sinking or washing away of the 
 intermediate soil, and not by the gradual re- 
 treat of the sea. For if it be owing to this 
 latter cause, why has it stopped at a certain 
 point and left any soil between the two bays ? 
 And why, where the mountains bordering 
 upon the sea are lofty, is the depth of water 
 close in upon the shore likewise in propor- 
 tion ? Let us study those mountains whose 
 steep bases are still covered with water, and 
 say what gradual corrosion, what lapse of 
 ages hath worn away such huge masses of 
 stone to a depth where the plummet of man, 
 in many instances, hath never yet reached ? 
 
 Fourthly. At the bases of many of those 
 great or primary ranges of mountains we 
 noticed smaller hills running in nearly a simi- 
 lar direction, but totally different in shape, 
 being of no great height, rounded off into 
 regular forms, and covered with vegetation ; 
 whereas the first were steep, lofty, craggy 
 from half way up to their summits, and irre- 
 gular in their appearance. 
 
 And lastly, We observed that the direction 
 of the hills of the two bays, and in general 
 of all the great ranges of mountains in this
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 113 
 
 part of Africa was from north- north-west, to 
 south-south-east. 
 
 Musing and conversing upon these sub- 
 jects, we arrived at Constantia, after ascend- 
 ing and descending several rising grounds, 
 and crossing a small brook which winds 
 round the foot of the Wynberg and falls 
 into the salt river. The estate called Con- 
 stantia lies at the foot of the Pletteberg, or 
 Flat Mountain, one of the Cape hills, which 
 are here steep but not very lofty ; a long 
 avenue of tall trees leads up to the house, 
 and from the terrace there is a fine view of 
 False Bay. The soil, which produces the 
 famous Constantia grape, is of a light sandy 
 nature, or rather a mixture of clay and sand. 
 The vines are planted in rows like currant 
 bushes in England, being always kept close 
 pruned, and not suffered to grow higher 
 than three or four feet, which indeed is the 
 only mode of treating the vine in all parts of 
 the colony. The wine itself is of two kinds, 
 red and white; and though the flavour be 
 somewhat similar, there is said to be a great 
 difference in their properties ; the red declin- 
 ing in colour and flavour with age, whilst the 
 white continues to improve. It is fit only to
 
 114 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 be used as a sweet and high flavoured cordial, 
 and, although so much talked of, is inferior 
 in many respects to several wines which Eu- 
 rope produces. 
 
 We dined with the proprietor, Mr. Henry 
 Cloete, and were afterwards shewn a large 
 building behind the house where great leagers 
 filled with Constantia wine were piled up in 
 long rows. I could not help thinking it 
 would form a most excellent temple ; and 
 Charles, surveying the gigantic proportions 
 of our host, whispered in my ear, that if put 
 astride one of his own leagers he would prove 
 a capital Bacchus Africanus. 
 
 A stone's throw from Upper Constantia, is 
 another estate, called Little, or Lower Con- 
 stantia ; they constituted formerly one propri- 
 etary, though now divided, the wine pro- 
 duced upon Lower Constantia being thought 
 inferior to the other in quality. 
 
 At three o'clock we bade adieu to our kind 
 entertainer, and after passing several estates 
 on our right hand, along a sandy road, we ar- 
 rived upon the border of a small lake which 
 seemed to extend quite to the foot of the 
 hills, and was likely to arrest our progress ; 
 we were soon however relieved by the ap-
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOP HOPE. 115 
 
 proach of a light Cape waggon, which we ^ 
 ascended, and were carried across the lake, 
 which we found to be of no great depth, 
 being chiefly formed by the rains from the 
 hills, and the salt water filtrating through the 
 sands from False Bay. Immediately after 
 passing the lake, we arrived at the narrow 
 pass of Muysenberg, at the bottom of the Bay. 
 The sea advances here so close to the foot of 
 the hills, that only a narrow sandy road is left 
 between them, and which a handful of men, 
 having possession of the high grounds, might 
 defend against a multitude. The remainder 
 of the road continues the same, a mixture of 
 sand and large stones, and close confined 
 between the mountains and the sea. After 
 passing the toll-bar of Muysenberg, we had a 
 view of Simon's Bay, and thought ourselves 
 almost there ; but were much disappointed on 
 proceeding a little farther, to find the sea 
 running inland and forming a bay called the 
 Fish-hook, which we were obliged to coast, 
 as also to wade through a small stream which 
 here falls into the bay. The Cape peninsula 
 appears here to be cut through as it were, the 
 hills being very low, and more like mounds of 
 sand than iolid rocks. The whole of this
 
 116 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 range indeed may be divided into three great 
 portions. Of these the Table Mountain with 
 its appendages will form the first; the Muy- 
 senberg the second; and the third will com- 
 prize the whole peninsula south of the Fish- 
 hook bay. Of this great, and indeed striking 
 division, Vaillant has taken notice, and which 
 may be classed among the very few truly just 
 observations which the whole of his travels in 
 Africa contain. 
 
 In the evening we reached Simon's Town : 
 of all the places either of us had till then 
 seen, the least deserving of the name of a 
 town, it not consisting of more than twenty 
 houses scattered along the side of the Simon's 
 Berg, and overlooking the Bay of that name. 
 Here vessels anchor during the months when 
 north-west winds prevail, and render the an- 
 chorage in Table Bay unsafe, Simon's Bay- 
 being sheltered on that side by the high lands. 
 Two or three miles beyond the town the road 
 ends, and the traveller must then ascend the 
 hills to arrive at the most southern point of 
 the peninsula. However, neither our time 
 nor our fatigue allowed us to thmk of this 
 excursion for that evening. 
 
 The following day, being near the full
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 117 
 
 moon, we waited till the cool of the after- 
 noon, and then prepared to climb the Si- 
 mon's Berg: the ascent was by a slanting path 
 rugged and full of stones, which, towards the 
 summit, seemed loosely embedded in a 
 whitish clay. In three quarters of an hour 
 we reached the top, having stopped twice to 
 breathe, and survey the shipping in the Bay, 
 now far beneath our feet. 
 
 We found the summit much more regular 
 than that of Table Hill, which, even from 
 this point of view, preserves the flat appear- 
 ance of its summit, sloping upwards from its 
 base, whereas towards Cape Town it is nearly, 
 perpendicular. We endeavoured to consider 
 this singular mountain in every direction, and 
 to impress its different appearances upon our 
 memory. Yet all around the spot where we 
 stood were not wanting strong; vestiges of 
 
 ,O O D 
 
 times now far removed. Huge masses of 
 granite, worn into a thousand fanciful shapes, 
 and appearing like the ruins of antique build- 
 ings, scattered here and there over the whole 
 surface of the plain. 
 
 Whilst we were wandering about in all 
 directions, forming a thousand conjectures, 
 and finding a thousand resemblances among
 
 US WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 these decaying rocks, the time which we 
 had allotted for our excursion had insensibly 
 elapsed. Our giant shadows, which began to 
 be cast to a great distance before us over the 
 rocks, shewed us that the moon was up, and 
 turning our eyes to the westward, we observed 
 her just emerging from behind a dark cloud, 
 though quickly obscured again by one still 
 darker. As we were now at a considerable 
 distance from the path by which we had as- 
 cended, and were alike strangers to the sum- 
 mits of these hills, we retraced our footsteps 
 as well as we were able, and after various 
 trials reached the commencement of the decli- 
 vity. Being now sure of not entirely missing 
 our path, we looked round for the highest 
 rock near us, and having ascended one which 
 overhung the town, looked with a kind of 
 serious pleasure on all around us. 
 
 For now the moon, from behind her veil 
 of dark clouds, began to shed at a distance 
 her trembling beams over the agitated waters of 
 the False Bay, which, raised into great billows 
 by the force of the wind, rolled towards the 
 shore, and broke upon the rocks along the 
 coast with a noise like distant thunder. The 
 bottom of the Bay was clearly marked by a
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 1 1Q 
 
 long winding line of dazzling white, formed 
 by the waves breaking on the sands, as was 
 also the opposite coast by the dark shades of 
 the Hottentot Holland Hills; the high land 
 of the Hang Lip and part of the entrance of 
 the Bay being the only portion of the land- 
 scape enlightened by the moon. Every thing 
 else was covered with a dim light, and rocks 
 and- precipices, lofty mountains and sandy 
 plains, were seen in so faint a manner, that 
 we almost wondered that they were distin- 
 guishable at all. Charles and I lingered long 
 on the top of this rock. I knew it to be pro- 
 bably our last excursion at the Cape, and 
 Charles, as if through a presentiment of its 
 being our last together in this world, felt 
 impressed with an unusual mixture of serious- 
 ness and tenderness. In vain the wind rush- 
 ed at intervals along the summits of the hills, 
 and bent, even to their roots, the tough and 
 stunted trees which grew on the edges of the 
 precipice. In vain the increasing darkness of 
 the clouds and rolling of the sea announced 
 an approaching storm. Holding my hand 
 fast in his own, he seemed unwilling to quit a 
 scene, the solemnity of which accorded but 
 too well with the gloomy presages of his own
 
 ,, 12O WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 . 
 
 heart. Twice he essayed to speak to me 
 twice a few incoherent words escaped his lips, 
 and he pressed my hand fervently without pro- 
 ceeding. I caught his melancholy, and, with- 
 out knowing wherefore, we both shed tears. 
 Alas ! had I known that this was indeed the last 
 of our excursions together, bitter would have 
 been the tear which I then shed still deeper 
 the sigh which unwillingly escaped from my 
 bosom and mingled with the wind. Our 
 hearts were equally in unison as when we 
 stood together on the top of the Table Moun- 
 tain, but they were now struck to a deeper 
 chord, and we remained like the mournful 
 spirits of two departed friends, to whom, 
 whilst together, even gloom and storms are 
 welcome. 
 
 It was some time before this temper of 
 mind subsided sufficiently to allow us to think 
 of departure. At length, induced by the in- 
 creasing violence of the wind, and the rain 
 which began to fall, we descended the hill, 
 and entered our lodging just as the storm 
 became violent. All night long the wind 
 blew in furious gusts, and the rain fell in tor- 
 rents. Towards break of day, however, the 
 storm suddenly abated, and at sun-rise the
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 121 
 
 whole surface of False Bay was like that of 
 an immense lake undisturbed by the slightest 
 breeze. 
 
 Such, and so sudden, are often the changes 
 of human life. Some days afterwards I saw 
 my friend embark in a vessel bound to the 
 eastward : a few months had scarcely elapsed, 
 when, being in daily expectation of hearing 
 from him, I received the news of his death ! 
 Even at this distance of time I often pay the 
 tribute of a tear to his memory, and recal 
 with a sigh, our wanderings and conversations 
 on - the summits of the hills of Southern 
 Africa.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 JOURNAL PROM CAPE TOWN TO BLETTEIC- 
 BERG'S BAY. 
 
 JLN less than a year after my Friend's depar-r 
 ture, and whilst my mind was still occupied 
 with him, a brother merchant of the Cape re- 
 ceived intelligence that a coasting vessel in his 
 employ had been driven ashore in Bletten- 
 berg's Bay, during a violent gale of wind. He 
 imagined that his presence would be useful 
 there, in stimulating the crew to make greater 
 exertions to get her afloat; and having de- 
 termined upon the journey, requested me to 
 accompany him. Having long wished to see 
 the interior of the Colony, I willingly agreed, 
 being induced moreover by the hopes of 
 chasing away the melancholy ideas which 
 began to take possession of my mind. An 
 intimate acquaintance of mine joined the 
 party, which was quickly made up.. Each 
 provided himself with a horse. Besides seve- 
 ral changes of linen, we carried with us two 
 guns, with powder, shot, and a few balli. 
 
 2
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 123 
 
 Thus properly equipped, we left Cape Town 
 on Saturday, the eighth of August, 1801, 
 about eleven o'clock. 
 
 We had not ridden far, when one of my 
 comrades began to complain of the weight of 
 his gun, and having met a slave going to 
 the town, he gave it to his charge, by which 
 means mine was now the only gun in com- 
 pany. Four miles from the Cape we crossed 
 the Salt River, which was at this time of no 
 great depth. This stream is very trifling 
 rises at the back of the Devil's Hill, and falls 
 into the bottom of Table Bay. As the shore 
 is here flat, the tide flows up and renders the 
 water salt; whence its name. Between the 
 range of the Cape Hills, of which Table 
 Mountain is the principal, and those of Hot- 
 tentot Holland, lies a flat sandy plain, except 
 about the centre, and towards False Bay, 
 where the force of the winds has raised sand- 
 hills. This plain we crossed in an oblique 
 direction in about five hours, and a little after 
 sun-set reached the house of William Morklo, 
 in Hottentot Holland, after passing the Eerste 
 or first river, which was up to the flaps of our 
 saddles. At Morkle's, we heard that the Pal- 
 mites river, on the other side of Hottentot 
 I 2
 
 124 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 Holland's Kloof was full, and that we should 
 be obliged to swim our horses across. We 
 supped upon a fine large Steinbrass fish, and 
 went soon to rest. 
 
 Sunday 9. At seven o'clock leave Mor- 
 kle's, and after crossing two small streams, in 
 less than an hour's time reach the foot of the 
 Kloof. This is the only pass across this chain 
 of hills, without going much farther to the 
 northward, and we had heard much of it; in- 
 deed to see and pass this Kloof was no incon- 
 siderable object of our curiosity. 
 
 The road which goes slanting up the side 
 of the mountain to the Kloof (or cleft) is dis- 
 tinguishable at a long distance by the red clay 
 colour of the lower part of it. In ascending, the 
 view is closely confined on the left by steep 
 hills ; but to the right we looked down upon 
 the fertile district of Hottentot Holland, the 
 False Bay, the flat ground between the two 
 Bays, and, beyond all, the high hills of the 
 Cape, running in a direction exactly corres- 
 ponding to that of the chain which we were 
 ascending, bounded the view. Meanwhile 
 the steepness and roughness of the path 
 obliged us to alight from our horses, which 
 we led up the hill. It seemed as if a flight of 
 
 4
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 125 
 
 rude steps had been cut in the rock, and the 
 intervals filled tip, and rendered somewhat 
 smooth with sand. Over this, in the summer 
 season, it is possible, though not easy, for 
 waggons to pass; but immediately after the 
 rainy season it-is, that this sand being partly 
 washed away, the loaded waggons in their 
 descent, bound from stone to stone with great 
 shocks, sufficient to shatter, or at least to 
 loosen even those of the strongest construc- 
 tion ; several have also been lost in conse- 
 quence of their overturning and dragging the 
 oxen down the precipice. As we approached 
 the summit, though our breath failed us, our 
 eagerness to be there redoubled. It appeared 
 to us as the door to a new African world. 
 From the top of the Kloof we were to see 
 lions and tigers, and flocks of ostriches, and 
 troops of baboons sufficient to furnish us with 
 conversation for many a long winter evening 
 in our own country. 
 
 At length we reached the summit, where 
 the rocks, whose strata are here inclined about 
 forty-five degrees to the horizon, close in, 
 and leave only a narrow pass, where two wag- 
 gons cannot go abreast. A small projecting 
 angle still coniined our view: we hastened ta
 
 126 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 turn it, and then beheld yes then it was 
 that we beheld new wastes of sand, barren 
 rocks which we had never seen before ; in 
 short, a wild open country, without a house, 
 a tree, or a liviwg being in sight to enliven 
 the dreary scene. 
 
 After descending the hill, we found the 
 road composed of a deep white sand, over 
 which we could travel but slowly, and which 
 continued till we reached the banks of the 
 Palmites river, about eleven o'clock. 
 
 We found the information true which we 
 had received at Morkle's concerning this 
 river, it being unfordable. There was, how- 
 ever, a flat bottomed boat, with two upright 
 beams, through which a rope was reeved, 
 which passed across the river, and was made 
 fast on each side. We put our saddles into 
 the boat, and taking our seats, were pulled 
 across by means of the rope, each one holding 
 his horse by the reins. This being our first 
 swimming adventure, we were greatly pleased 
 when we found ourselves safe on the other 
 side ; we had, however, no time to stop, as 
 it began to rain smartly, we therefore proceed- 
 ed about two miles to a small farm house, 
 where we stopped to eat, and refresh
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 127 
 
 horses : for the latter we could obtain no- 
 thing but a little straw; we ourselves were 
 more fortunate, the dogs having the day before 
 caught a young riebuck, on which, though 
 miserably dressed in grease, we made a most 
 delicious meal. Whilst our horses were rest- 
 ing, we threw away several charges of powder 
 and shot in firing at a mark, which might 
 have been reserved for better purposes. 
 
 The road, as has been observed, between 
 Hottentot Holland's Kloof and the Palmites 
 river is sandy ; directly on crossing this river, 
 however, the soil changes to a fine gravel, 
 forming excellent roads, which run chiefly 
 along the sides or over the tops of small hills, 
 as far as the bottom of the great Hou Hook 
 Mountain, over which our road lay. On the 
 top of this mountain is a number of large 
 stones or rocks of various fantastic shapes, to 
 which names have been given according to 
 their supposed resemblance to different ob- 
 jects. In descending, the road becomes a 
 deep sand, and continues so as far as the Bott 
 River, a small stream which runs at the bottom, 
 and discharges itself into False Bay. Having 
 crossed this river, which we found full of holes 
 and clumps of palmites or palm reeds, we
 
 128 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 found once more a gravelly road, and which 
 continued so the remainder of the day. To- 
 wards evening we saw a herd of deer, which 
 continued gazing at us for some time, and 
 then scampered away with great swiftness. It 
 was after sun-set before we reached I. Rade- 
 meyer's, at the warm baths ; and with great 
 difficulty, with the assitance of some dra- 
 goons quartered here, procured a good feed 
 for our horses; for ourselves we always ob- 
 tained sufficient refreshment, and at night 
 something in the shape of a bed to sleep on. 
 
 The baths are about a mile from Rade- 
 meyer's; the path passes over a large lava 
 rock, the surface of which being a little 
 mouldered, forms an earth as fine and black 
 as pounded charcoal. This rock is immedi- 
 ately above the baths, which consist of seve- 
 ral springs of water mostly warm, some of 
 which are suffered to run to waste; others 
 are collected into old wells and pits for the 
 slaves; and one which runs out of the side of 
 the hill, is conducted by an open trough into 
 a small house of one chamber, which is divided 
 into two parts by a low partition of stone, 
 The inner division contains the bath, which is 
 about five feet square and three and a half in
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 12() 
 
 tiepth ; a kind f bed frame, on which a buf- 
 falo's skin is stretched out and nailed, serves 
 the patient to lay his mattress on. Having 
 descended very gradually into the bath, which 
 is too warm to admit of an immediate total 
 immersion, the circulation of the blood be- 
 comes soon so accelerated as to produce, in 
 most instances, a strong panting for breath. 
 Having soaked himself as long as he thinks 
 proper., the patient wraps himself up in his 
 blanket, and stretched out upon the mattress, 
 enjoys all the .pleasure of a copious perspira- 
 tion. He then cools himself gradually, a 
 plug is pulled up, the bath is emptied in a 
 few minutes, and in less than half an hour is 
 again rilled up sufficiently to admit a fresh 
 visitor. The country round the baths is bar- 
 ren and wild ; towards the sea a range of 
 desolate mountains rear aloft their bare and 
 stony summits, whilst those close to us were 
 only covered with long weeds of a sickly yel-' 
 low. After the rains, however, in the months 
 of September and October, the country in 
 many parts wears a very different aspect. 
 Nature spreads over the ground a carpet of 
 green, and interweaves it with a thousand 
 flowers, whilst the rocks are covered with
 
 13O WALKS A.ND SKETCHES 
 
 creeping plants, which wave their long fes- 
 toons in the passing breeze. 
 
 Monday JO. Various accidents prevent 
 us from leaving the baths till near ten, when 
 the sun was already very hot. Travel slowly 
 along the foot of the bath hills, which we 
 leave on our left till mid-day, when, seeing a 
 small farm to our right, stop and rest our 
 horses about two hours during the heat of the 
 day. In the afternoon, travelling more 
 briskly than heretofore, reached the house of 
 I. Riedlickhousen just before sun- set. Our 
 first inquiries were here, as indeed they al- 
 ways were, respecting our horses ; and, to our 
 great joy, notwithstanding there was no 
 stable, we found that he had still some dry 
 barley, which is always given to the horses at 
 the Cape in place of oats : having therefore 
 drawn a waggon parallel to the gable end of 
 the house, we contrived to make up some- 
 thing like a stable, into which we put our 
 horses, and gave them their barley: the peo- 
 ple themselves seemed to think we took ava:t 
 deal of unnecessary trouble; and indeed, even 
 when travelling, the colonists take very little 
 care of their horses, but after a hard day's ride, 
 turn them loose to pick up what they can,
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 131 
 
 first taking the precaution however to tie their 
 neck close down to the fore leg to prevent 
 their wandering too far. Our host treated 
 us with the utmost hospitality, giving us 
 plenty of good bread, mutton, and boiled 
 milk, without, however, wine or spirits of 
 any sort. After supper, he showed us into a 
 room where were two clean beds, leaving us 
 to ourselves to divide them as we thought 
 proper. 
 
 At Riedlickhousen's the country begins to 
 assume a different appearance. High moun- 
 tains on our left, at the foot of which runs the 
 river Sender End, or Endless River. On our 
 right, small hills covered with coarse grass ; 
 between these two and before us, a remark- 
 ably flat country, with every appearance of 
 fertility if properly cultivated. 
 
 Tuesday 1 1 . Rise before day-break, and 
 having breakfasted on coffee and bread and 
 butter, set-off just at sun- rise : the air cold, 
 with a slight mist, and a heavy dew on the 
 grass ; about nine o'clock, however, it be- 
 came quite clear and very warm. Our road 
 this morning lay chiefly along the flat with 
 very gentle swells, the river Sonder End be- 
 ing constantly on our left. After riding five
 
 132 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 hours, reach the house of Deventer, a little 
 to the left of the road. He was absent on 
 the other side of the river, so that we could 
 procure no refreshment for ourselves and very 
 little for our horses, which obliged us after 
 halting for an hour to set off again. From 
 Deventer's, the road changed every step, lead- 
 ing us first almost close upon the river, the 
 banks of which were covered with various 
 bushes and trees affording shelter to ereat 
 
 O O 
 
 quantities of pheasants and large red-winged 
 partridges, which crossed the road frequently, 
 and ran before us amongst the bushes with 
 a degree of confidence which shewed them 
 to be seldom or never molested by man. In 
 fact in this country the Boors do not think it 
 worth their trouble to fire at any other game 
 than deer, with various kinds of which the 
 colony abounds. There was at this time a 
 large troop of zebras in this part of the 
 country, which chiefly frequented the hills 
 near Deventer's, but which we had not an 
 opportunity of seeing.^ Five or six ostriches 
 which were stalking along the hill on our 
 right, on being chased set off like the wind, 
 and were out of sight in a moment. By de- 
 grees we began to ascend, and soon had a
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 133 
 
 view of the hills above Zwellendam, through 
 a romantic opening on our left, where the ri- 
 ver Sender End seems to have cut its way 
 through the hill just before its fall into the 
 Bree or Broad River, whence it's name, 
 Without End; this view we had in ascending 
 a high hill called Hasaquas Kloof, from the 
 top of which we began to have a clear view 
 of the bases of that range of high mountains 
 at the foot of which Zwellendam is situated. 
 After descending the hill, we came to a small 
 house, where we rested our horses, and dined 
 on cold salt mutton. Half an hour after leav- 
 ing this house, we reached the Bree River, by 
 far the largest we had yet seen, being about 
 equal to the Lee near to its junction with the 
 Thames. This river we crossed on a pont or 
 flat barge capable of transporting horses, 
 oxen, and loaded waggons, being moved 
 backwards and forwards by a rope, in the 
 same manner as the ferry at the Palmites 
 River. After crossing the Bree River our road 
 was constantly up and down hill till sun-set, 
 when, having passed two or three small 
 streams, we arrived at Zwellendam. 
 
 This consists of about thirty scattered 
 houses, situated at the foot of a lofty range
 
 154 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 of steep hills running about E.S.E. One 
 branch seemed to stretch away towards the 
 mountains of the Rooy Sand; the other, as 
 we afterwards found, ran all the way to Blet- 
 tenberg's Bay, being constantly on our left. 
 Zwellendam is provided with a church, to 
 which the farmers all round the country re- 
 sort. The tops of the hills were at this time 
 covered with snow, and the wind, which blew 
 from the North, was cold and chilling. We 
 lodged at the house of a German, named 
 Strijcher, settled here. 
 
 Wednesday 12. At half past nine leave 
 Zwellendam ; morning foggy, and at times 
 small rain our landlord, Strijcher, accom- 
 panying us for a short distance to put us on 
 our road. In about an hour it cleared up, 
 and after descending into a flat country over 
 which we travelled for a few miles, arrived at 
 the Buffel Jaght's River, the bed of which 
 we found stony, intermixed with clumps of 
 palmites, the tops of which, covered with 
 slime and weed, indicated the height at which 
 the river had lately been. The road conti- 
 nued flat for several miles, through a country 
 seemingly very fertile though almost totally 
 uncultivated, one or two farms at a distance
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 135 
 
 pn our fight being all that we saw ; about 
 mid-day we had a shot at a buck at seventy 
 paces, and wounded it, but the ground being 
 full of bushes it got away. Reflecting on the 
 inconveniencies of carrying large game, evea 
 should we shoot any, and the cruelty of 
 wounding what we could not procure, I de- 
 termined to leave my gun on the first oppor- 
 tunity. By this time we had got over the 
 flat, and found ourselves drawing nearer the 
 high chain of hills before mentioned on our 
 left; along the foot of this great chain lay 
 a range of smaller and more rounded hills, 
 the steep sides of which were covered with 
 aloe trees. The road seemed to wind through 
 the flat valley between these two ranges of 
 hills; but as I imagined that we should save 
 ground by crossing the smaller range instead 
 of going, between thern, we left the great 
 road, and in a very short time got so entan- 
 gled among hills and vallies that my two 
 companions were apprehensive we might lose 
 our way altogether; agreeably to their opinion, 
 therefore, we made a short turn to the left, 
 and, after some difficulty in descending the 
 steep sides of the hills, arrived at the great 
 road in the valley. Whilst on the high
 
 186 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 grounds it had begun to rain, which it nOV? 
 did so violently that we were fain to shelter 
 ourselves in a small deserted hut on the edge 
 of a large field of corn ; into this two of us 
 crept, and with some difficulty introduced 
 our horses, while the third, with his rider, 
 was forced to abide " the pelting of the 
 pitiless storm" as long as it lasted. After 
 the rain, an hour's ride along the valley 
 . brought us to the house of J. Dreyer, where 
 we halted for two hours. An old Swiss sol- 
 dier had .taken refuge here during the storm, 
 and was not yet departed. He told us a 
 Jong and melancholy tale : that he had 
 been a serjeant in the French service, and 
 had been taken prisoner by the Dutch, 
 and sent to the Cape contrary to the 
 faith of nations; and that he had lost his 
 hope, his pride, his darling, his youngest and 
 last surviving son, who had been killed at 
 Stutgard, by a cannon ball, whilst fighting 
 under the banners of the French Republic ; 
 and that the wife of his youth, and the com- 
 panion of his declining years, was still in 
 France ; and that he hoped to see her once 
 more, and lay his gray head together with 
 hers in the same grave. He also told us a 

 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 137 
 
 tale of injustice that he had been defrauded 
 by a farmer in the colony, and that he carried 
 in his pocket an order from the Landrost, or 
 chief magistrate of Zwellendam to do him 
 right. The grey hairs and wrinkled brow 
 of this unfortunate veteran, and still more, 
 a tear which unguardedly stole down his 
 cheek, vouched for the truth of what he as- 
 serted. As soon as the rain had entirely 
 ceased, he saddled his miserable horse, and, 
 with nothing but the order of the Landrost 
 in his pocket, set off alone to demand justice 
 of a haughty boor, in a lonely part of the 
 country, surrounded by his family, his ser- 
 vants, and his slaves. We were not long 
 in following him, and a ride of five or six 
 miles brought us to the house of Jacob 
 Stein, where we slept that night. 
 
 This house is large, and situated at the 
 head of the valley, through which we 
 had been riding half the day. The view 
 down is simple, yet striking ; on the right, 
 the range of lofty primitive mountains, their 
 tops thinly sprinkled with snow ; on the left, 
 the smaller hills rounded off, and covered 
 with aloes; between them a long flat valley, 
 with the Buffel Jaghte River winding through 
 K
 
 138 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 it. Stein treated us very hospitably, and 
 gave us every information we could desire. 
 
 Thursday 13. My friend's horse, which 
 had with difficulty brought him so far, on 
 account of being much galled, was this 
 morning unable to proceed farther. We there- 
 fore hired a waggon of J. Stein, drawn by 
 oxen, into which we put our saddles and our- 
 selves, and set off at ten o'clock. We soon 
 began to ascend the high grounds, over 
 which the road ran for three hours, when we 
 came to a flat country, through which ran a 
 small river called the Duyvcn Hock. Two 
 hours more brought us to the house of Piet 
 Dupres, on the Krombecks River, when we 
 dismissed our waggon, and determined to halt. 
 In the evening it began to rain, and conti- 
 nued to do so all night. At eight o'clock all 
 Dupres's family assembled to supper, which 
 consisted of salt mutton, mashed pumpkin, 
 potatoes powdered with nutmeg, and two or 
 three tureens of boiled milk. At nine all the 
 family retired to bed. 
 
 Friday 14. It had rained hard all night, and 
 this morning, on getting up, we found that it 
 still continued with unabated violence, which 
 confined us within doors all the morning. At
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 13Q 
 
 twelve o'clock it cleared up, but, on looking 
 out, we saw it was impossible to proceed as yet. 
 The heat of the sun made all the hills smoke, 
 and the water ran down their sides in great 
 streams, rendering the rivers in the flat coun- 
 try for a short time impassable; we therefore 
 amused ourselves in shooting about the house 
 where we found plenty of plover ; to say the 
 truth, this was but cockney sport, as never 
 having been molested they were almost like 
 tame pigeons. As the day declined, the 
 clouds began to collect again with slight 
 showers; but we noticed with pleasure that 
 the waters decreased rapidly on all sides; we 
 accordingly bought a horse of Dupres, for 
 which we paid 1 5O rix dollars, and re- 
 solved on setting off next morning. 
 
 Saturday 15. Morning cool, and the sky 
 without a cloud. Dupres, intending to con- 
 voy us, yoked his oxen, and we set off toge- 
 ther in his waggon. The Krombecks River 
 we found had nearly resumed its ancient 
 channel, but all round its banks were marks 
 of the height at which it had been the day 
 before. After riding one hour, we reached 
 a small house, where Dupres's son resided ; 
 wjio got into the waggon, and undertook to 
 K 2
 
 140 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 carry us across the Vat River. This house 
 Jay at the foot of a high hill, on ascending 
 which, we came to a beautiful large plain, 
 commanding an extensive prospect in every 
 direction. This plain we crossed in less than 
 an hour, when we began to descend, having 
 a full prospect of the Vat River at a little 
 distance below us. Young Dupres carried 
 us up towards the foot of the mountains, 
 where the river was not yet collected into 
 one stream, and having tried the passage 
 upon horseback, brought us safe across all 
 the fords, and at one o'clock we halted at the 
 house of H. Muller. 
 
 Many congratulations passed between Du- 
 pres and Muller, as, notwithstanding they 
 called themselves neighbours, neither of them 
 had crossed the Vat River for eight months. 
 Two fine girls, the daughters of our host, 
 spread a table and set before us cold meat, 
 eggs, bread and butter, and good wine. It 
 was our intention after dining to have pursued 
 our journey, but the kind eiWertainment of 
 our landlord, and his invitation to sleep at 
 his house, determined us to remain till next 
 morning. In the course of the evening's con- 
 versation *we learnt that both Muller and Du-
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 141 
 
 pres had been far into the interior of the 
 country beyond the Caffre Land, of which 
 they gave many an interesting account, and 
 which fully engaged us till supper was on the 
 table; and what a supper for three hungry 
 travellers! Boiled salt mutton, mashed pump- 
 kin, potatoes, and bread and milk, as usual, 
 .and besides, fowls, eggs, roasted lamb, sallad, 
 and good wine. After supper, two beds were 
 allotted to us, which perfectly corresponded 
 with the other part of our entertainment. 
 
 Sunday 16. Charming morning break- 
 fast on coffee and milk, according to the 
 universal custom among the farmers. By 
 Dupres's advice I leave my gun in charge of 
 H. Muller, till our return. At seven o'clock 
 set off, accompanied by a slave, to shew us 
 across the Caffre Cuyl's River : on our arriving 
 at the usual ford, however, and preparing to 
 cross, a man came running out from a small 
 hut on the opposite bank, and called to us 
 not to attempt it, as the river was as yet by 
 far too deep and rapid. The slave then led 
 us two miles farther up, where this, like the 
 Vat River, by not having as yet collected all 
 its waters into one stream, was more likely to 
 be fordable. The ground on both sides of
 
 142 WALKS AND SKETCHES. 
 
 the river was here flat, full of deep holes, 
 bogs, and clumps of palmites, so that we durst 
 not have ventured across, had there not luckily 
 been a small house at a little distance, to 
 which we rode up. The owner, a tall stout 
 man, without shoes or stockings, no sooner 
 understood our intentions, than he went in 
 quest of his horse, which he soon caught and 
 mounted, without any other furniture than a 
 rope round the head, and without either sad- 
 dle or bridle : thus provided, he led us 
 through all the marshes and across the river, 
 passing himself first, and from the opposite 
 side directing us, while in the water, to keep 
 to the right or left as circumstances required. 
 The bed of the river was full of palmites, and 
 one of my companions thinking it proper not 
 to keep in the middle of the stream, inclined 
 his horse towards a clump on the left ; no 
 sooner, however, had he got over this clump, 
 than the horse fell into a hole, and immedi- 
 ately, being frightened, began to plunge, to 
 the no small danger of his rider, who held on 
 by the mane in a very disagreeable situation ; 
 had he fallen off, the rapidity of the current 
 would quickly have swept him under the pal- 
 mites ; fortunately we got all safe over, and
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 145 
 
 after passing a few more bogs, arrived on 
 good firm ground, and having rewarded our 
 guide with a dollar, soon reached the public 
 road. Two miles along the flat brought us to 
 the foot of a hill over which the path led, and 
 having travelled about two hours, we arrived 
 at the house of Jacobus Reinsenberg, where 
 we found the family at dinner: having turned 
 our horses loose, we joined them, and remained 
 here about an hour. All this day our most 
 anxious inquiries had been respecting the 
 Gauritz,or as it is pronounced, the Kous River, 
 which we understood to be the largest and 
 most dangerous in our whole route: these 
 inquiries we again repeated at Reinsenberg's : 
 He informed us that it was totally impossible 
 to cross the river at the usual fords, and that 
 as heretofore, we must keep close up to the 
 mountains, by the house of I. Prins, where 
 the river was always soonest fordable. At 
 twelve o'clock we again set off in the heat of 
 the day, and having once more ascended the 
 high grounds, followed the left hand road 
 which led towards the mountains. All this 
 part of the country was thickly covered with 
 aloe trees in every stage of their growth, 
 though mostly old with large thick stems.
 
 144 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 Having ridden for two hours without seeing 
 either the house or the river, we began to 
 think we had missed the path, especially as 
 the road now led directly up to the moun- 
 tains; to our great joy, however, a few miles 
 further we began to descend, and at the same 
 time saw a house at the foot of the hills, and 
 almost close to the Gauritz River. Having 
 reached it, we found it to be the house of 
 I. Prins. to which we had been directed. 
 Prins himself was not at home, but his wife 
 and daughters instructed us how to cross the 
 river, whilst a great number of Hottentot and 
 slave children kept running before us stark 
 naked like so many little Yahoos. We were 
 glad to hear that Prins had gone through the 
 river only the preceding night, and that a 
 dragoon, from GraaffReinet, had passed that 
 very morning. A little slave boy ran before 
 us to the ford ; we there for the first time 
 had a clear view of this river, issuing from 
 between two high mountains, or rather bear- 
 ing the resemblance of having cut its way 
 through, and made two mountains of what 
 was formerly one; for it is to be noticed that 
 this river does not rise near to where we cross- 
 ed it, but from a range of very high moun-
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 145 
 
 tains far up the country, whose summits, we 
 were told, are, for six months in the year, 
 covered with snow ; hence the river is often 
 impassable when there has been no rain in 
 the country through which we were travel- 
 ling. And on the other hand, the Gauritz 
 River may sometimes be crossed while the 
 petty streams are unfordable ; such being the 
 slope of these mountains, that the greater part 
 of the rain which falls upon them, drains off 
 on one side into the Vat and CafTre Cuyl's 
 Rivers, and on the other, into a number of 
 small streams, which do not fall into the Gau- 
 ritz till near its junction with the sea. Where 
 we were, the river, confined by a steep moun- 
 tain on each side, rushes out with violence, 
 but immediately abates its fury on leaving the 
 hills, and divides for a short distance into 
 several streams. The banks were covered 
 with trees, which, with the shade of the 
 mountain, and the rushing of the water over 
 its bed of large stones, formed to our eyes a 
 romantic view, not the less pleasing to us, who 
 had been exposed all day on open plains to 
 the heat of the sun, for beinc; somewhat 
 
 ' O 
 
 gloomy. We proceeded with great caution, 
 the river being here divided into three large 
 5
 
 146 WALKS AXD SKETCHES 
 
 streams, each of which was equal in breadth 
 and rapidity to any we had hitherto crossed. 
 Being safe over, we congratulated each other 
 on having passed a river which had been held 
 up to us as a kind of bugbear, and proceeded 
 xvith redoubled pleasure, following the tracks 
 of Prins's waggon wheels, which were plainly 
 discernible. At four, we reached a small 
 house, at the door of which Prins was stand- 
 ing, who invited us to stop. Here we pro- 
 cured some dry barley for our horses to our 
 great satisfaction, forage being exceedingly 
 scarce all over the country. Halted about an 
 hour, and then set off,, being informed that 
 another hour's ride would bring us to the 
 house of the widow Pinar, where we might 
 sleep. Directly from Prins's we began to as- 
 cend, and having reached the high grounds, 
 saw on all sides of us chains of small hills and 
 narrow winding valleys, but no signs of a 
 house. As it was now near sun-set, we re- 
 doubled our speed, but it became dark before 
 we could trace any vestige of inhabitants; and 
 after descending a steep hill, we found our- 
 selves in a long narrow valley, on the banks of 
 a small river, which we were for some time 
 afraid to cross j luckily, although the sky
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE, 1/17 
 
 was clouded, the moon began to give us a 
 little light, whilst we were debating on the 
 propriety, or rather the necessity of turning 
 our horses loose, and keeping watch alter- 
 nately all night ; presently it became light 
 enough for us to discern the track of wag- 
 gons, which appeared recently formed down 
 to the water's edge. I also thought I heard 
 the lowing of cattle on our right. We there- 
 fore crossed the stream, and after riding in 
 great suspense for some time, arrived at a house 
 so small, that we could not believe it to be 
 the one we were directed to, as in fact it was. 
 As there was neither stable nor forage, we were 
 obliged to adopt the African mode with our 
 horses, by tying' the neck to the fore-leg : 
 before going to bed, however, we collected a 
 little straw by the light of the moon, which 
 now shone very bright, and tied our horses 
 together to a waggon, the air being cold and 
 frosty. For ourselves, we were kindly, if not 
 sumptuously, entertained, and slept in, or 
 rather, on a bed, the appearance of which 
 effectually prevented our undressing. 
 
 Monday 17. At six leave the widow 
 Pinar's, riding at first very gently, our horses 
 being chilled by standing all eight in the
 
 148 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 open air. Morning cold and foggy as the 
 sun began to rise, the mists cleared off the 
 hills, and we found the valley in which we 
 were riding opening out to the south. In 
 about half an hour we came to an open space, 
 formed by the intersection of two long val- 
 leys: here we turned off to the left, keeping 
 our course to the eastward. Our ride along 
 this valley was delightful ; it was almost a 
 perfect flat to the very bottom of the hills on 
 each hand, whose rounded summits and steep 
 sides, together with their corresponding sinuo- 
 sities, seemed to announce that we were tra- 
 velling over the deserted bed of some ancient 
 and mighty river : nor indeed could any 
 doubt remain on our minds, when we con- 
 sidered the nature of the bottom of the valley, 
 consisting entirely of smooth stones like those 
 found in the beds of rivers, or on the sea 
 shore. Over this bed of stones, a sprinkling of 
 mould is spread, sufficient to support small 
 trees and bushes, and in some parts even those 
 of a talerable size. After travelling about two 
 
 j we came to where this valley was again 
 intersected by another nearly at right angles ; 
 but this intersection, instead of producing as 
 before an open space, seemed to have heaped
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 14() 
 
 up a mound which formed four valleys of 
 what were only two ; for having passed over 
 this hill or mound, we came into another val- 
 ley called the Honey Klip, which in fact was 
 only a continuation of that in which we had 
 been travelling. It derives its name from a 
 singular rock, so called, doubtless,, from honey 
 being found there by the first settlers. We 
 soon reached it, and found it to be an enor- 
 mous mass of granite, forming part of the side 
 of the valley, perpendicular and entirely bare; 
 it forms also an angle of the point of inter- 
 section of another valley, and to a naturalist, 
 no doubt, would suggest many reflections. 
 At ten we reached the house of I. Rademeyer, 
 where we unsaddled our horses and halted 
 upwards of an hour. 
 
 After leaving Rademeyer's, we followed the 
 course of the Honey Klip valley for some time, 
 when we began to ascend the high grounds, 
 which, though chiefly consisting of extensive 
 plains, are very far above the level of the sea. 
 At one o'clock we reached the house of Ni- 
 cholas Meyers, in a charming situation, and 
 where we met with a most hospitable recep- 
 tion both from the owner and his wife, and 
 beautiful daughters. To add to our satisfac-
 
 15O WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 tion, we obtained plenty of barley for our poor 
 horses, who had not met with such a full treat 
 for many a day. From Meyers's is a view of 
 the Bodler's Klip, a mass of bare rocks on the 
 top of a hill, so called from the steward (or 
 Bodler) of a ship cast away upon the coast, 
 who, with several of the sailors, took up 
 his abode in the hollow of these rocks for seve- 
 ral days. Its appearance seems to indicate 
 that this mountain was formerly much higher 
 than at present, its ancient summit being di- 
 minished by the impression of the weather and 
 the lapse of time, and Bodler's Klip alone left 
 as an evidence of it. At four we left N. 
 Meyer's, descending till we v came to a large 
 sandy flat, and in a short time crossed the 
 Little Brak River, which at this time was 
 scarcely more than a brook. We then ascend- 
 ed a steep hill, and in the valley, on the op- 
 posite side, beheld the house of the widow 
 Terblans, where we proposed to sleep, and 
 where we arrived a little after sun-set. Here 
 we were again fortunate in finding barley for 
 our horses, and were as usual hospitably en- 
 tertained ourselves. 
 
 Tuesday 18. At nine o'clock set off, and 
 in about an hour arrive at the Great Brak
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 151 
 
 River, which we crossed without difficulty, it 
 being now low water. We had immediately 
 to climb a high and very steep hill, keeping 
 under our view, during the whole of our 
 ascent, a most romantic and deep valley on 
 our left, the sides of which, though seemingly 
 almost perpendicular, were covered with 
 lofty trees, with the Great Brak River gliding 
 along the bottom. Having climbed the hills, 
 we found ourselves upon a very large plain, 
 bounded on the left by a range of broken 
 mountains, and on the right by the sea, of 
 which, to our great joy, \ve had now a clear 
 view. After riding for some time we arrived 
 at a small eminence, whence we had an ex- 
 tensive prospect of the seemingly boundless 
 ocean, over whose broad bosom we saw at a 
 great distance dark clouds collecting and 
 descending in heavy rain. We soon found 
 the plain, though at me first glance it appeared 
 nearly level, to be intersected by hollows, at 
 the bottom of one of which was a narrow 
 stream of water, but so deep that we were 
 obliged to unsaddle our horses and swim 
 them over, whilst we passed by a tree which 
 lay across. The bottom of another of these 
 hollows was covered with palmites, standing
 
 152 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 very thick, and had the appearance of being 
 dangerous ; a slave, however, coming that 
 way, showed us the passage across. We met 
 with no further interruption., and about two 
 arrived at the house of Derrick Huivis, where 
 we halted for the day, turning our horses 
 loose till the evening. At sun-set a man ar- 
 rived, who informed us that the brig was still 
 aground. This being the first intelligence 
 we had received, showed that we were ap- 
 proaching the object of our journey. Our 
 landlord perfectly well remembered Dr. 
 Sparman, and showed us a small time-piece 
 which the latter had sold to him on returning 
 to the Cape. 
 
 Wednesday JQ. Set off at six, and after 
 rising for two hours along the plain, reach the 
 house of Frederick Barns, where, with some 
 difficulty, we procured a few eggs and some 
 very coarse bread for breakfast. Here we also 
 hired a guide, as we had been informed that 
 our road this day was intricate and even 
 dangerous ; we accordingly set off, preceded 
 by a slave for our guide. He proved to be a 
 native of Bengal, and gave a woful account 
 of being enticed on board ship when a boy 
 of thirteen years of age, and conveyed
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 153 
 
 to the Cape, where he had ever since lan- 
 guished in slavery. He expressed vehe- 
 mently in broken Dutch, his rage at being 
 enslaved, and seemed confident of one day 
 escaping from his chains. When we asked 
 him how he could ever hope to get out 
 of such a country, he raised his right hand 
 towards the sea, and cried " there, there," 
 to show us to what quarter he looked for de- 
 liverance. After an hour's ride, the Ben- 
 galian running briskly before us, we arrived 
 at the Zwarte, or Black River, which lies at 
 the bottom of a steep and woody valley, similar 
 to that in which the Great Brak River runs. 
 The descent and ascent we found trouble- 
 some, but the passage of the river by no 
 means dangerous, the water being low ; an 
 hour more brought us to the second and more 
 difficult passage of the Caiman's River, but 
 even this had nothing dangerous in it, our 
 guide descending the steep, and crossing the 
 water before us. The opposite side we found 
 wonderfully steep and rocky, and we should 
 have taken great merit to ourselves in mount- 
 ing it had we not observed the track of a 
 waggon having descended'lately. Our guide 
 informed us that such an operation required
 
 154 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 at least seven or eight hours, nor could we 
 doubt it when we surveyed the ruggedness 
 of the path, and saw the marks which the 
 wheels had made on the solid rock in sliding 
 down. On looking back to contemplate our 
 progress, we saw with pleasure a large body of 
 water (for so it may be termed in this country) 
 breaking out as it were from the solid rock, and 
 falling from a great height into the Caiman's 
 River; we had heard the noise of the fall all 
 the time of our passing, but were before unable 
 to tell whence it proceeded. After some 
 time we arrived at the third and last pass of 
 Traqua de Cou, a Hottentot appellation, 
 which nobody could or would explain to us. 
 This we found nearly similar to the pass of 
 Caiman's River, and here having seen us 
 safely over, our guide returned. These three 
 passes are nothing more than deep narrow 
 valleys, or rather gullies which intersect the 
 plains from the mountains down to the sea 
 shore, and almost cut off all intercourse by 
 waggons between the inhabitants of either 
 side. Their steep banks covered with lofty 
 trees, and the dark streams which glide be- 
 neath over strata of solid rock, afford many 
 most romantic views. Soon after our guide 
 9
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 155 
 
 left us we came to the house of Daniel Free, 
 where we obtained some refreshment both 
 for ourselves and horses. About sun-set we 
 arrived at the second Black River, where, 
 having unsaddled our horses, we with great 
 difficulty forced them into the water and 
 made them swim over. We crossed, with 
 our saddles and baggage, in a small canoe, 
 hewn out of a large tree, the river, though 
 very deep, not being above twenty yards 
 wide. On the opposite side stood the house 
 of John Wyers, an old Prussian soldier, who 
 had served under Frederick the Great. He 
 gave us a hearty reception, and over a glass 
 of good wine, which was a real treat to us, 
 " shouldered his crutch, and showed how 
 fields were won." 
 
 Thursday 20. We did not leave our old 
 soldier till nine o'clock, when we set out, 
 accompanied by his son, who was travelling 
 our road. To our right we beheld, at a 
 little distance, a small lake separated from 
 the sea by a ridge of high land, except at 
 one spot, where, in high spring tides, we 
 were informed, the sea broke over. Leaving 
 this lake to our right, we came to a deep 
 but narrow river, called Rugt Vly ; this we 
 L 2
 
 150 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 crossed, as the evening before, in a canoe, 
 leading our horses over by the bridle ; our 
 road after this, was almost a continual ascent 
 till we reached the brow of the hill, and saw 
 beneath our feet the Doucuma River, which 
 we had to pass ; at a small house on the 
 banks we procured a gun, which we fired 
 twice or thrice as a signal for the boat, and 
 then rode about three miles to the place 
 where it usually crossed ; to our great morti- 
 fication, however, we saw it fast to a tree on 
 the other side, with no person to attend it. 
 After calling all together, and cracking our 
 whips, which made a great echo through the 
 forests, for a long time, in vain, I stripped to 
 my trowsers and hat, and mounting the 
 largest horse of our party forced him into the 
 water. This, however, had nearly proved 
 fatal to me, for, getting out of his depth, the 
 very first plunge the horse became frightened, 
 and struggled so much in the water that I 
 threw myself off, and in so doing received a 
 pretty severe blow from his knee on my 
 breast ; had it been his foot I must have gone 
 to the bottom ; this, with the extreme cold- 
 ness of the water, under the shade of the 
 trees, almost took away my breath ; I soon,
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPEi ]57 
 
 however, recovered, and having swam across, 
 paddled the boat over. The difficulty of forc- 
 ing our horses into the water had been con- 
 stantly increasing, and this time they were al- 
 most ungovernable. The horse which I had 
 attempted to swim across, had always hereto- 
 fore been the leader, and being now frighten- 
 ed, he ran off into the woods, followed by the 
 other two ; nor was it till after a tedious search 
 that we collected them again, and drove them 
 into the river. After ascending the hills on the 
 other side, we arrived at the house of Peter 
 Terblans, where our guide was to pay his visit; 
 and here we understood that the reason why 
 our signal had not been attended to, was on 
 account of a quarrel between the man at 
 whose house we had fired the gun, and that 
 where we now were. He treated us, how- 
 ever, hospitably enough, and having rested 
 for some time, we rode six or eight miles 
 farther along the high ground, till we came 
 to the house of Hans Carvel, close upon the 
 river Knijsna ; here we were obliged to wait 
 upwards of three hours on account of the 
 tide, it being high water, and the Knijsna, so 
 near its mouth impassable. At four o'clock 
 the tide had fallen sufficiently to allow us to
 
 158 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 cross, although not without the direction of 
 our host, who stood on the bank of the river, 
 and called out to us to turn to the right or 
 left, as he thought fit. The danger con- 
 sisted in the large holes scooped out- in the 
 bed of the river by the torrents which, after 
 heavy rains, descend from the mountains, and 
 almost instantaneously swell the rivers of this 
 country. The Knijsna, like every stream we 
 had lately passed, runs in the bottom of a 
 deep valley, the sides clothed with lofty trees, 
 and appearing as if it had worn its way 
 down by constant attrition. After riding 
 along for two hours, chiefly through a fine 
 wood, we arrived on the banks of a small, but 
 beautiful lake, into xvhich the Knijsna falls, 
 and which communicates with the sea by a 
 narrow outlet or chasm in the belt of high 
 land whieh forms its bank on that side. Our 
 ride along the sandy shore of this lake was 
 delightful small hills rounded off and co- 
 
 o 
 
 vered with noble trees, sloped down towards 
 the water on our left; on our right, the tran- 
 quil bosom of the lake itself spreading to 
 the foot of the surrounding hills, and co- 
 vered with groupes of wild fowl of different 
 descriptions. The setting sun threw his
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 150 
 
 golden light over the tops of the hills, and 
 perhaps the idea that we were now near the 
 end of our journey added new beauties to 
 the scene. The house of J. Lindeboom, 
 from whom we had letters of introduction to 
 his wife and family, was clearly to be seen 
 right before us, on a gently rising ground. 
 We spurred on our horses, which tired as 
 they were, seemed to scent the stable, and 
 soon brought us to the door of J. Linde- 
 boom. Our letters of introduction were 
 found hardly necessary to this hospitable fa- 
 mily. The mother did every honour to her 
 husband's letters, and her children, all the 
 fruits of a former marriage, vied with each 
 other in procuring us every little refreshment 
 that we needed. In an hour we were no 
 longer strangers, and on retiring to rest, it 
 seemed as if we were in the bosom of a fa- 
 mily, with which we had been formerly in- 
 timately acquainted, and now met after a 
 long separation. 
 
 Friday 21. As Lindeboom's house was 
 within fourteen miles of Blettenberg's Bay, we 
 lost no time in repairing thither. We ac- 
 cordingly set off on fresh horses, our own 
 being much exhausted by a journey of four
 
 i60 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 hundred and twenty miles, in a country where 
 there were 7 so few accommodations for them, 
 either as to forage or lodging, the latter hav- 
 ing been mostly on the rough stones with 
 which their stables are paved, or the bare 
 ground in the open air. In an hour we 
 reached a large plain, gently sloping towards 
 the sea, and having got clear of the woods, 
 saw Blettenberg's Bay for the first time. The 
 chain of mountains, at the foot of which we 
 had travelled for so many days, seemed here 
 to unite with another more extensive range, 
 and which crossed it in an oblique direction, 
 and stretching away out into the sea formed the 
 south-east side of the Bay. To the north- 
 ward some shelter is afforded by a ridge of 
 high rocks which run out directly into the sea, 
 and form the only part where vessels can ride 
 with any safety during a gale. This security 
 however is very small. The Bay is perfectly- 
 open to the sea, and when the wind blows 
 fresh, a tremendous swell rolls in and breaks 
 
 mountains high at a considerable distance off 
 
 
 shore. In other points of view this Bay pre- 
 sents nothing but what is grand. There is 
 not an iota of little in its whole composition. 
 The outline is defined without being limited :
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. l()l 
 
 all is simple and majestic; no little minutiae 
 to divert the attention. One range of moun- 
 tains : one bold sweep of shore : one ridge 
 of stupendous rocks. Nature has sketched 
 the outline with two or three dashes of her 
 sublime pencil, and placed the wide ocean as 
 a boundary to the view. 
 
 It was not till we began to descend towards 
 the shore that we saw the anchoring ground. 
 The Young Nicholas, a large vessel, was there 
 riding at anchor, taking in a cargo of timber 
 for the Cape ; and descending a little lower, 
 we soon came in sight of my poor friend's 
 brig, high and dry on the sand. 
 
 We understood from the Captain, that as 
 the brig had been driven ashore during a 
 high spring tide, it would be necessary to 
 wait till next full moon, before there would 
 be any chance of getting her off. This was 
 no very pleasant news, as the moon was 
 past the full, and we could not remain so 
 long away from the Cape, as to await 
 the issue of the attempt. We slept at 
 the house of the Post-master, situated on a 
 rising ground close to a small river which 
 falls into the Bay, or rather into which the 
 sea enters every tide, the mouth being so
 
 ]62 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 choaked up with sand, that, at low water, the 
 river has scarcely any visible connection with 
 the sea. During our short stay here, we 
 lived mostly on fish, of which there is great 
 abundance in the Bay ; we had also plenty of 
 oysters, which, at the Cape, from their ex- 
 treme scarcity, are reckoned the first of deli- 
 cacies. In the hall were two young leopards, 
 which a slave had the evening before found 
 among the rocks; they were about the size 
 of an ordinary cat, and would eat nothing but 
 raw flesh cut small. 
 
 Saturday 22. Employed in riding about 
 the Bay, and preparations to return to the 
 Knijsna Lake. 
 
 Sunday 23. Return to Lindeboom's. 
 
 Monday 24. Morning cloudy at nine 
 my friend and myself went out in company 
 with Stephanus Terblans, the eldest son of 
 our hostess, to shoot deer : we wandered for 
 some'hours over the mountains, but though 
 we saw a few roebucks, they were too shy to 
 let us approach near enough to shoot. Whilst 
 in chase of the deer, we discovered a large 
 troop of baboons, which, on our approach, 
 marched off in very regular order by single 
 file ; they got across a deep and narrow val-
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. l63 
 
 ley, by jumping from one tree to another, and 
 whilst our dogs were yelping after them in the 
 bottom, they were already mounting very de- 
 liberately on the opposite side. On our re- 
 turn we shot a brace of wild ducks and a few 
 wood pigeons. 
 
 In the evening we talked of hunting: Terb- 
 lans told us, that the neighbouring woods 
 abounded with buffaloes, and proposed that 
 we should go in chace of them the ensuing 
 day. We eagerly agreed to this proposal, but 
 our ardour was a little cooled when he began 
 to relate the dangers to which the Buffalo 
 hunter is exposed ; he mentioned the fre- 
 quent risk which he had run of his life from 
 those enraged animals when wounded, and in 
 confirmation of the truth of his assertions, 
 rolled up his trowsers, and shewed his legs, 
 all scarred with blows, received from one 
 which he had slightly wounded. He had 
 only saved his life by throwing himself down 
 by an old tree which lay along, and which 
 covered all except his legs, which being par- 
 tially exposed, the animal had bruised so ter- 
 ribly with his crooked horns, that had it not 
 been for the arrival of his Hottentot with the 
 dogs, he could not have got home. We
 
 164 WALKS AND SKEtCHES 
 
 looked at this hardy son of the forest, and at 
 each other by turns, but, after full delibera- 
 tion, adhered to our first resolution, and forth- 
 with set to work to prepare every thing ne- 
 cessary for the next day. 
 
 Tuesday 25. Set off at an early hour on 
 horseback, being five in all, namely, Stepha- 
 nas Terblans and one of his fellow hunters 
 my friend and myself, and an old experienced 
 Hottentot, with five or six large dogs. Our 
 guns were all of a wide bore, except the one 
 which I carried, and which being too small to 
 admit of a musket ball, I loaded with three pis- 
 tol bullets. The balls were a mixture of tin and 
 lead, the latter being too soft a metal to en- 
 counter a buffalo's bones, or an elephant's 
 hide alone. In little more than an hour we 
 reached the forest, the gloomy appearance of 
 which, as we entered it, convinced us that 
 we were upon a very different business from 
 that of shooting partridges and hares in the 
 stubble of an English corn-field. After tra- 
 versing part of the forest, we came to an 
 open place, which Terblans knew to be often 
 frequented by these animals. We saw no- 
 thing, however, but their traces, which were 
 declared to be of the preceding day, and after a
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. l65 
 
 short deliberation, it was agreed to penetrate 
 still farther. The wood soon became so in- 
 tricate that we were obliged to alight from 
 our horses and lead them; being accustomed 
 however, to this chace, they followed us like 
 dogs, and with a sort of alacrity. We had 
 already gained the summit of a long ascent, 
 and were proceeding carelessly, when all at 
 once, our Hottentot gave a whistle, and stop- 
 ping short, we saw the ground all around us 
 marked with the enormous footsteps of the 
 elephant, and could discern their different 
 tracks among the bushes and young trees, as 
 plainly as that of a man through a field of 
 corn. I must confess I was struck with a 
 sensation very near akin to fear, especially as 
 our leaders spoke now only in whispers, and 
 hinted that it was possible the elephants had 
 scented us, and permitted us to pass them in 
 order to rush upon us and cut off our retreat ; 
 such is the sagacity they ascribed to this ani- 
 mal. Be that as it may, we proceeded now 
 in silence, and with circumspection, taking 
 great care to keep our dogs from ranging far. 
 Thus we continued till we arrived upon the 
 brink of one of those steep and narrow val- 
 Hes so common in this country, and which, to
 
 1(5(3 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 our great joy, was clear of wood, all except 
 the bottom, which was covered with tall trees. 
 We stationed ourselves a little distance from 
 the summit, as Terblans said it would be easy 
 to avoid the elephants should they rush upon 
 us from above, and they would be unable to 
 stop themselves till they reached the bottom ; 
 we accordingly alighted from our horses, and 
 sat down for a few minutes. 
 
 Meantime the dogs had descended into the 
 bottom, and after a short time, we saw them 
 begin fo range on the other side of the valley; 
 presently we saw a buck springing up the as- 
 cent, though the dogs had not as yet fallen up- 
 on its track. At sight of this we forgot our 
 rules of silence, and began to encourage the 
 dogs, which soon got scent, and immediately 
 opened and now the chace began, the val- 
 lies and woods re-echoed with our shouts, 
 and the noise of the dogs, whilst we stood 
 and looked on as if in an amphitheatre. Al- 
 though the dogs gained fast upon the buck, 
 we were afraid the latter would get to the top 
 of the hill, and thus we should lose sight of 
 the chace. Just, however, as the poor animal 
 had reached the summit, it made a spring to 
 gain the top of a rock, and missing its aim.
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 
 
 fell back, and before it could recover itself 
 perfectly, was surrounded and seized by its 
 pursuers. We heard its piteous cries when 
 first seized, and saw the dogs worrying it. 
 So narrow was the valley, yet at the same 
 time so deep, that the Hottentot, who imme- 
 diately set off, to prevent, if possible, its be- 
 ing torn in pieces, was near an hour in going 
 and returning, although he went with all the 
 agility peculiar to his nation ; meantime our 
 shouts were redoubled to call off the dogs, 
 and when the Hottentot returned with the 
 prey, we found it no ways torn, as we had ex- 
 pected. 
 
 Terblans having fastened the buck on his 
 horse behind him, led us farther and farther 
 into the forest. Every where around us the 
 ground was covered with the tracks and dung 
 of elephants; and after a good deal of diffi- 
 culty and fatigue, we arrived at a small open 
 spot, near which stood a number of trees, 
 with the lower branches broken, and the bark 
 recently rubbed off: and now, to our great 
 regie u, we found that the noise which we had 
 made to encourage the dogs to take a poor 
 buck, had lost us nobler sport, by frightening 
 away the buffaloes, and Terblans declared it
 
 J68 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 was in vain to seek for them without penetrat- 
 ing much farther into the forest than we had 
 now any wish of doing. My friend and my- 
 self, however, remained here with the horses, 
 while the others went a little farther. Dur- 
 ing their absence, we began to talk upon the 
 danger of our situation, left alone in the mid- 
 dle of a forest abounding with wild animals, 
 of which, as we had never seen one, our ima- 
 gination was left to form the most terrible 
 ideas. Whilst we were indulging in such 
 meditations, our ears were suddenly assailed 
 with a most tremendous crashing among the 
 trees, and a trampling noise, which seemed 
 to be approaching directly upon us. My 
 nimble friend was up into a tree in a moment; 
 for my own part, although I gave myself up 
 for lost, I knelt down, and resting my gun 
 upon the stump of a tree, prepared to fire 
 upon the first enemy that appeared. Fortu- 
 nately, however, the huge animal (for we af- 
 terwards found it to have been an elephant) 
 turned off to the left just before reaching us. 
 The crash grew fainter and fainter, and at 
 the sam-e time we heard the great stones, 
 which he loosened in his passage, roll down 
 into the valley, with a noise that sounded in
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 
 
 our ears like thunder. Never was sound 
 more grateful to my ears than that of the re- 
 ceding footsteps of this animal, and before 
 our companions had returned with the dogs, 
 I was quite recovered from my panic. Ter- 
 blans being of opinion that we had com- 
 pletely frightened away the game from this 
 part of the wood, we gave up the chace, and 
 returned home by a different route. At the 
 bottom of a valley, through which ran a 
 stream of water, we saw a spot where the 
 elephants had been that morning to drink; 
 where the bank was clayey, one of these ani- 
 mals had twice attempted to climb up, and as 
 often slid down, making four broad clumsy 
 tracks from the top of the bank to the bot- 
 tom; the third effort seemed to have been 
 more successful, and we could track him far 
 into the forest. In passing over a high ridge, 
 we saw an elephant, but at such a distance, 
 that we should not have noticed him had not 
 Terblans pointed him out to us. We returned 
 home fatigued and disappointed, as to the main 
 object of our chace, yet pleased on the whole 
 with having seen many objects quite new to 
 us. Our buck was at least some recompence 
 for the fatigue we had undergone. 
 M
 
 170 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 Wednesday 26. Ride to Blettenberg's 
 Bay, and consult about the best means of 
 getting the brig afloat. 
 
 Thursday 27. Having settled every thing 
 with the captain concerning the brig, we all 
 leave the Bay for the last time, and return to 
 Lindeboom's. 
 
 Friday 28. Went down to the lake, and 
 having induced Terblans to haul the Seine, 
 which was in a most miserable condition, and 
 full of rents, caught in a short time twelve 
 fine large fish, mostly steinbrassen, the least 
 of which weighed seven or eight pounds; so 
 easily can subsistence be procured here. 
 
 Saturday 2Q. At eleven o'clock, leave the 
 friendly family of the Knijsna lake, and set 
 our faces once more toward the Cape. After 
 a pleasant ride along the shores of the lake, 
 we arrived on the banks of the river Knijsna 
 about one o'clock, and crossed it not without 
 danger, having no person to direct us. After 
 crossing the river, my companions being be- 
 fore, I chose a different route through a long 
 valley, at the end of which I ascended the 
 high grounds, and had no sooner reached 
 the summit, than I beheld flames and smoke 
 ascending rapidly toward me, the long dry
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 
 
 grass and underwood having been set on fire 
 in several places at the bottom of the valley 
 on the other side; seeing a house however, 
 at some distance before me, I spurred on my 
 horse, and having galloped through the smoke 
 saw my two companions at a great distance on 
 the tops of the high grounds on the right. 
 As I was now close upon the Doucuma, and 
 saw the place where we had crossed before 
 right beneath me I halted at the house of 
 Peter Terblans till my friends joined me, 
 when after a further rest of an hour we crossed 
 the river, and traversing our former ground 
 arrived at the Rugt Vly about five o'clock. 
 Here again the boat was fastened on the op- 
 posite side, and having waited a long time in 
 vain, one of my companions, determined that 
 I should not have all the honour of swimming 
 rivers, stripped and threw himself in: whe- 
 ther however through the coldness of the 
 water or his own unskilfulness he became ex- 
 hausted before reaching the opposite side,- 
 and sunk twice. We were standing in the 
 utmost trepidation, and I had already my 
 coat half stripped off to plunge in, when he 
 rose agaiiij by a third effort grasped the bank 
 with his hands, and having climbed up, 
 M 2
 
 172 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 threw himself almost breathless upon the 
 sand, but soon recovered and paddled the 
 canoe across ; finding it half full of water we 
 set to work to empty it with such bad suc- 
 cess, that we heeled it to one side and filled 
 it even with the water's edge. We had now 
 the uncomfortable prospect of remaining all 
 night in the open air, which as the sun had 
 set began already to be very chilly; soon 
 however a slave appeared on the other side 
 with a bucket, who expressed his astonish- 
 ment with a loud hah ! at finding the canoe 
 removed: by his assistance we soon emptied 
 it, and after the usual trouble with our 
 horses, got all safe across ; half an hour's ride 
 brought us to the house of the old Prussian 
 soldier,, John Wyers, where we were again 
 kindly received. 
 
 Sunday 30. At six o'clock leave John 
 Wyers, having this day several difficult rivers 
 to pass. As we only measured back our for- 
 mer steps we needed now no guide to con- 
 duct us across the Black River, Caiman 1 ? 
 River, and Traqua de Cow. In the evening 
 reach again the house of Derrick Huivis. 
 
 Monday 31. At seven leave the house of 
 D. Huivis, and soon after cross the Palmitc.*
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 1/3 
 
 Valley, before -mentioned : at ten o'clo'ck. 
 reach the Great Brak River, and the tide be- 
 ing out, cross without difficulty ; another 
 hour brought us to the valley of the Riebok 
 Fonteyne, where the heat becoming oppres- 
 sive we halted and dined, and in the after- 
 noon rode to N. Meyers, where we were 
 again most hospitably treated and our horses 
 well provided with barley. 
 
 Tuesday, Sept. 1. At seven leave N. 
 Meyers, not without regret expressed on both 
 sides, and in about an hour enter the valley 
 of the Honey Clip, where we halted as be- 
 fore at the house of I. Rademeyers ; soon 
 a&er leaving Rademeyers, we met a number 
 of empty waggons returning from conveying 
 English troops which had been at GraafF 
 Reinet, towards the Cape. At mid -day cross 
 the Gauritz River, lower down than we had 
 done before, and where forming only one 
 stream, the current was most rapid and had 
 nearly swept away the small horse on which 
 I rode, whilst the glittering of the water with 
 the sun shining upon it rendered me so giddy 
 that I had nearly fallen off. Having got 
 safely over, we soon began to ascend a very 
 steep hill, from the top cf which we looked
 
 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 down upon the Gauritz on our left. Here 
 we saw this river after rushing over a wide 
 bed of stones where we had crossed it, be- 
 come confined between two high mountains, 
 and assuming the rapidity of a torrent as far 
 as the eye could reach. In the evening ar- 
 rive at the house of Hans Rensenberg on the 
 False River, a small stream so called from its 
 being full of dangerous and deceitful holes, 
 and subject to sudden swells. We met with 
 poorer entertainment at Rensenberg's than at 
 any other house during our journey, and his 
 sons, a set of greedy inhospitable clowns, 
 swallowed almost the whole of the boiled 
 milk before we could get our spoons into the 
 dish. 
 
 Wednesday 2. At seven cross the False 
 River, and about eleven reach the friendly 
 roof of H. Muller, where we dined. From 
 thence we again set off at two, I being fur- 
 ther loaded with my gun, which I had left 
 in charge of Muller, and which I found had 
 been greatly neglected as it was almost spoiled 
 with rust. My poor horse now began to 
 stumble under me very much, and it was not 
 without great difficulty that I forced him on 
 about four or five miles, nothing could then
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 17^ 
 
 make him move being almost exhausted. 
 My two companions meanwhile had ridden 
 forward to P, Dupres's, whilst I was forced 
 to alight and lead my horse, which followed 
 with difficulty. From time to time I was 
 obliged to mount in order to see my way 
 over the bushes, which did not however pre- 
 vent me from missing the path, and after 
 wandering about till sun down, I found my- 
 self alone in a wild country with no house in 
 view. Apprehensive that if I remained in the 
 bushes, I stood some chance of being devour- 
 ed by the Hyaenas before morning, I deter- 
 mined to make the best use of the little day 
 light that remained, and accordingly ascended 
 the nearest rising ground, and looking all 
 round to my great joy saw the house of P. 
 Dupres on a small eminence to the right. On 
 my arrival I found that two of his sons were 
 out seeking me; we therefore discharged our 
 guns twice or thrice as a signal for returning, 
 and in less than an hour we were all assembled 
 at supper. 
 
 Thursday 3. Remain at Dupres's in order 
 to rest our horses, and amuse ourselves with 
 shooting plover about the house. 
 
 Friday 4. Morning rainy; set off about
 
 J7t> WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 nine o'clock, and my horse being unable to 
 proceed any further I borrowed one from 
 Dupres till we reached the Duyvenhock's 
 River, where my friend had been obliged to 
 leave his on our journey to the Bay. This 
 again carried me to the house of Jacob Stein, 
 which we reached at two o'clock, and where 
 as it came on to rain very hard, we halted for 
 the remainder of the day. 
 
 Saturday 5. Leave J. Stein's at seven, 
 and before we got out of the valley, at the 
 head of which his house stands, were obliged 
 to cross the BufFel Jaght 'River nine times. 
 Having reached the open country we un- 
 saddled our horses, and rested ourselves on 
 the grass by the side of the river; at two 
 reach Zwellendam, where I was under the 
 necessity of purchasing a horse for which I 
 paid the German Strijcher one hundred and 
 eighty rix dollars. 
 
 Sunday 6. At nine leave Zwellendam, 
 and after a great deal of trouble with my 
 young horse, who I soon discovered had a 
 trick of turning round like a top, reached 
 the Broad River about eleven o'clock, which 
 we crossed as before in the Pont. Early in 
 the afternoon arrive at the house of Deventer
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 1/7 
 
 on the River Soiider-end, where we sleep, and 
 are poorly but hospitably entertained. 
 
 Monday 7. Set off at seven, and made 
 our first halt about nine at Holshousen's. The 
 whole of this day our road was along a flat 
 seemingly fertile, covered with bushes and close 
 to the River Sonder-end, which lay upon our 
 right: at mid-day reached the farm of Ried- 
 lickhousen, who expressed much joy at see- 
 ing us again, and dined with him on bread 
 and milk. In the afternoon by way of vary- 
 ing our road, we drove our horses into the 
 river, and crossing ourselves on a bridge 
 formed of one large beam entered the Soete 
 Melke Vley. This is a fertile tract of 
 country inclosed between steep and lofty 
 mountains on one side, and the River Son- 
 der-end on the other, affording excellent pas- 
 turage for cattle and abounding in game. 
 It is one of the estates belonging to the Com- 
 pany or Government, under whom it was 
 now held by J. Thunissen, who gave us a 
 most friendly reception, and whose kind family 
 recalled to our remembrance the hours which 
 we had passed on the banks of the Knijsna 
 lake. In the evening it began to rain. 
 
 Tuesday 8. Very heavy rain during the
 
 178 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 whole day, which rendered it almost imprac- 
 ticable for us to stir out of doors. 
 
 Wednesday Q. Incessant rain. 
 
 Thursday ]0. Fine morning, but the 
 river so swelled by the rain as to be totally 
 impassable. The bridge by which we had 
 passed was completely under water, and large 
 clumps of palmites with the earth adhering 
 to their roots carried down like floating islands, 
 and whirled about by the rapidity of the cur- 
 rent, rendered the crossing in a small boat 
 very dangerous. I therefore went up towards 
 the mountains alone to look for deer. After 
 a romantic ride, and scrambling across several 
 torrents running down from the hills; I got 
 within gun shot of a herd of deer, one of 
 which I fired at and wounded so that he could 
 not keep up with the rest in their flight; thi 
 I pursued for a long time in vain, the few 
 dogs which had followed me from the house 
 being very indifferent ones. From the top 
 of a high ground I saw the unfortunate ani- 
 mal attempt several times to join his former 
 companions who were halting in a fiat below; 
 but he was always repulsed, and at length 
 driven entirely away from them. Tired there- 
 fore of wounding animals without getting
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 
 
 possession of them, I did not reload my gun, 
 but continued to ride along the high grounds 
 whence I saw two separate herds of deer on 
 the opposite hills. I came at length to a 
 valley, on the other side of which was an 
 eminence covered with rocks and bushes and 
 which I felt an inclination to observe more 
 closely. Having ascended it on foot with 
 some difficulty, I sat down to rest myself, 
 when all at once the dogs began to bark and 
 suddenly a deer, which I saw was wounded, 
 burst through a thicket and sprung away. 
 My first motion was to load my gun, but on 
 second thoughts I was not sorry to see that 
 the poor animal, though much exhausted, 
 had still strength enough to elude his pur- 
 suers, who yelped after him for a long time in 
 vain. 
 
 Friday 11. At seven bid adieu to the 
 friendly family of Soete Melke Vley, old 
 Thunissen accompanying us down to the 
 river's side with two stout slaves, who rowed 
 us across one by one, and assisted us in swim- 
 ming our horses over; in order to rest them 
 we halted at the first house we came to. 
 About mid-day we were stopped by a small 
 river, which appearing much swelled by the
 
 18O WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 rain we were afraid to pass : seeing a number 
 of waggons at a little distance, we rode up 
 and found them all waiting for the subsiding 
 of the river. Among the number was that 
 of young J. Stein, who advised us by all 
 means to go round : we accordingly turned 
 off to the left to go round the Bath hills, by 
 which means we avoided this stream. At 
 three stopt at the house of Beurman to dine, 
 and in the evening reached the Baths, where 
 we slept. 
 
 Saturday 12. Set off at seven. About 
 eleven reach the Bott river, overtake the 
 troops returning from GraafF Reinet, under 
 the command of Major'Campbell : at mid-day 
 pass the Great Hou Hook, and in about 
 two hours cross the Palmites River, wheh we 
 stopped at the house or rather hut of a shoe- 
 maker, who had nothing for us except smoked 
 beef and biscuit, a little muddy water, and 
 some vile Cape brandy. At half past three 
 we set off, and began to climb the Hottentot 
 Holland's Kloof. As it was raining pretty 
 smartly, my companions pushed forward 
 faster than my young horse could keep pace 
 with them. I therefore crossed the Kloof 
 alone in the midst of a heavy rain. As I
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 181 
 
 began to descend the other side it cleared up, 
 and I saw a large vessel standing into False 
 Bay. At 8 o'clock reach D. Morkle's, where 
 I find my companions already arrived. 
 
 Sunday 13. Leave Morkle's, and instead 
 of taking the road across the sandy flat to the 
 Cape, turn off to the right, and ride along 
 the foot of the hills. In two hours, reach the 
 village of Stellenbosch, pleasantly situated in 
 the N.W. corner of a fine valley, and shel- 
 tered on every side by gently rising grounds, 
 or steep hills. As we approach cross the 
 Eerste, or First River, by a small bridge of 
 one arch, being perhaps the only one in the 
 colony, and having entered the village, find 
 lodgings at the house of Wolfferum, a Ger- 
 man, well known to the English who fre- 
 quent Stellenbosch. 
 
 Monday 14. This day we passed in view- 
 ing the village, and were much pleased with 
 its appearance, the streets being broad, with 
 rows of lofty oak and elm trees on each side, 
 and the houses all neatly white-washed. A 
 tine stream of excellent water runs through 
 the principal street, and spreads an air of 
 coolness exceedingly agreeable during the 
 hot weather of this country.
 
 J82 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 Tuesday 15. In the afternoon, leave Stel- 
 Icnbosch for the Pearl, and still keeping along 
 the foot of the mountains on our right, in a 
 little more than an hour, pass the Klip Murz, 
 or Stone Cap, a hill so called, from a cover- 
 ing, or cap of stone on its summit, of a simi- 
 lar nature to that of Bodler's Klip. At the 
 foot of this hill, is a farm belonging to go- 
 vernment, where is a spring of excellent 
 water. Three hours more gentle riding 
 brought us to the Pearl about sun-set. This 
 district takes its name from a singular moun- 
 tain, which, on the first settlement of the co- 
 lony, was said to abound in precious stones, 
 and thence called the Pearl. 
 
 Wednesday 16. In the morning, ride over 
 to Great or Upper Drakenstein. This village, 
 or rather group of scattered farms, lies at the 
 upper end of a long and romantic valley, 
 formed by a continued chain of steep moun- 
 tains, running in a north-west direction on 
 the one side, and a broken range of hills, of 
 which the Pearl is one, on the other. The 
 valley opens outward toward the north, but 
 is closely shut up at the south end, by the 
 chain of hills rounding off, and which then 
 stretches away into False Bay, forming the
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 183 
 
 hills of Stellenbosch, and Hottentot Holland, 
 and ending at the Hang Lip. A small stream, 
 the Berg River, runs through this valley, and 
 marks the boundaries of the two districts, 
 Pearl and Drakenstein ; the Pearl, in look- 
 ing to the north, lying on the left bank, and 
 Drakenstein on the right. The produce of 
 almost the whole of this valley consists of 
 wine, which is in general of a good flavour, 
 and together with a little dried fruit, forms 
 the only article of commerce. Upon the 
 whole, this district is well cultivated, and the 
 white houses neatly built, and mingled with 
 vineyards and gardens, present to the eye an 
 agreeable and interesting view. 
 
 On our return we met a party of young 
 men and women on horseback. The women 
 rode astride like the men, which indeed is the 
 universal mode in the country places, as we 
 often met young women riding in this man- 
 ner, with a female slave after them likewise 
 astride, as we see gentlemen in England fol- 
 lowed by their servants. As the afternoon 
 was fine, with a gentle breeze from the west, 
 I ascended alone the steep hill, at whose foot 
 the Pearl lies, and in about three quarters of 
 an hour, reached its stony and romantic 
 
 P
 
 184 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 summit. Thence I had a fine view of the 
 whole range of the Cape Hills, from Table 
 Mountain to the hills of False Bay. As I 
 had heard that the hill was much infested 
 with large baboons, I carried my pistols with 
 me, for fear of their proving mischievous ; 
 but I neither saw nor heard any. Mounted 
 on the summit of an immense mass of bare 
 granite, I fired one of my pistols downwards, 
 which made a very feeble report. I staid on 
 the top of this rock, and thought of Charles, 
 till the moon, which began to shed-her mild 
 light over the distant sea, the hills, and plains, 
 reminded me that it was time to think of re- 
 turning. My descent was not without dan- 
 ger, the hill being very steep, and out of its 
 side projecting large rocks, to the very edges 
 of some of which I twice or thrice advanced, 
 and over which, if I had fallen, I should never 
 
 .. V . i ". .- 
 
 have arisen. At length -I-reached the bottom 
 in safety. At the house I found my compa- 
 nions, who had been too much fatigued by 
 their morning's ride to accompany me, en- 
 gaged with a party of young female visi- 
 tors, who danced and sung and laughed 
 away all care. They formed a circle round 
 a little woolly-headed Boshies boy, and
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 185 
 
 obliged him to go through all his antics 
 climbing like a monkey, bounding on all 
 fours like a deer. He frequently attempted 
 to make his escape through the circle, but 
 was always brought back, with great shouts 
 of laughter. Thus passed the evening away, 
 and in something like this passes life itself 
 away. The next day we returned to Stellen- 
 bosch, and on Friday 18th September, cross- 
 ed the sands and reached Cape Town, after 
 an absence of nearly six weeks. 
 
 Having thus related the principal incidents 
 of our journey, I shall now endeavour to give 
 a general idea of the face of the country, 
 and the manners of the inhabitants ; their 
 virtues and their failings as they appeared to 
 me. And in the first place, respecting the 
 country over which the reader and myself 
 have just been travelling, it is a tract of about 
 four hundred and twenty miles in length 
 from Cape Town to Blettenberg's Bay, vary- 
 ing from ten to thirty and forty in breadth, 
 between the mountains and the sea., These 
 mountains appear at first sight to the traveller 
 to vary very much in height, until farther 
 thought convince him that there is perhaps 
 no material difference in that respect, except 
 N-
 
 186 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 near the Bay, and that the different eleva- 
 tions of the plains on which they stand, ac- 
 counts for the apparent varieties of their 
 heights. Thus the -greater part of the hills, 
 at- the foot of .which runs the river Sonder- 
 end, are steep and lofty, because they rest 
 on plains .which are * comparatively at no 
 great elevation above the sea. On the con- 
 trary those through which the Gauritz seems 
 to /have worn its way appear by no means 
 equally lofty ; yet 'are their summits equal in 
 height to the former, because the extensive 
 plains on which their bases rest are very high 
 above the level of the sea. /^^^A^ 
 
 In all this tract of &*? hundred and 
 twenty miles, there are very few rivers of 
 any ; importance, considering the height of 
 the mountains, and not one, the Knysna ex- 
 cepted, that , is ever likely . to be of the 
 smallest advantage to i commerce. Their 
 mouths are almost uniformly obstructed by 
 sand banks which do not lie off so as merely 
 to render the navigation difficult or danger- 
 ous, but absolutely, in the summer season, 
 bar up the entrance completely, until the 
 weight of accumulated water, or a sudden 
 and irresistible torrent from the mountains,
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 387 
 
 sweep away the obstructions for a short time. 
 Some of these rivers run directly from the 
 mountains to the sea ; and others wind along 
 the bases of the hills amongst which they 
 take their rise before they turn off. Some, 
 as the Buffel laght, take their course chiefly 
 along plains, and have banks of little eleva- 
 tion ; others affect deep and narrow valleys, 
 which they never quit till their junction with 
 the sea, into which, if I may so express my~ 
 self, the river and the valley empty them- 
 selves together. Nor are there wanting deep, 
 narrow, and winding valleys, shaping their 
 course toward the sea, in the bottoms of 
 which no rivers-run, but whose steep and 
 regular sides, whose corresponding angles, 
 and large beds of smooth stones, sufficiently 
 evince that once rivers have rolled there, 
 though now destroyed and their sources for 
 ever dried up. 
 
 In the vicinity of the Cape, and, immedi- 
 ately after passing the Kloof of Hottentot 
 Holland, we have seen only a wild and desert 
 country, whose plains, as sandy and almost 
 as sterile as the sea shore, were diversified 
 only by hillocks of sand, stunted bushes and 
 grey rocks, As we approach Zwellendam 
 N 2
 
 188 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 we notice that the plains become less barren, 
 being composed apparently of a mixture of 
 sand, and a more fertile soil washed down 
 from the mountains. From Zwellendam we 
 ascend ; soon the mountains appear less ma- 
 jestic, but in return we reach by degrees and 
 travel over noble and sloping plains, raised 
 high above the level of the sea of which we 
 have at length a distant view, and are sur- 
 prized to find ourselves so elevated. And 
 now the rivers assume a different character ; 
 they run in the bottom of deep valleys 
 shaded with trees, and require great precau- 
 tions in crossing. The clefts of the moun- 
 tains begin to be cloathed with wood, which 
 as we proceed stretches down into the plains, 
 and forms noble forests. In time our road 
 leads us through these woods; we enjoy their 
 refreshing shade, and observe as we ride 
 along whole trees enveloped even to their 
 topmost branches with a species of weed, 
 which covers them all over as with a close 
 net. In fine, we cross the Black River, the 
 Doucuma, and the Knijsna ; we behold the 
 only Lake, worthy of the name, that we 
 have met with in all our progress, and ar 
 length from the high grounds we enjoy the 
 
 2
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 1 89 
 
 reward of our toilsome journey in the view 
 of Blettenberg's Bay, and the immense ocean 
 on the one hand ; and on the other chains of 
 high mountains covered with forests, the re- 
 treat of the wild boar of Africa, the savage 
 buffaloe, and the elephant. 
 
 Let us now survey the inhabitants of the 
 region through which we have passed. We 
 travelled as Englishmen, as strangers, as men 
 who yesterday were their enemies ; yet we 
 uniformly experienced from them the kindest 
 treatment. Whatever the house afforded was 
 shared with us : by day or towards night fall, 
 wherever we stopped, we were considered 
 and treated as members of the family, and in 
 a manner that sufficiently showed this prac- 
 tice to be universal throughout the country. 
 We may therefore place hospitality in the 
 first rank of their virtues. To say the truth, 
 it is a necessary one. In all the country, inns 
 are unknown, and the boor willingly dis- 
 charges the duties of hospitality towards the 
 traveller, well knowing that to-morrow he 
 may claim the rights of one to whatever 
 quarter his inclination may lead him. Hav- 
 ing mentioned this trait which is general 
 and striking, I unwillingly confess myself at
 
 3 90 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 a loss to name any other virtue which parti- 
 cularly marks the Cape boors whom we have 
 seen. They are sufficiently honest, peace- 
 able and sober, but they have no prominent 
 virtues to characterize them, and the travel- 
 ler, who wishes to speak well of them, is 
 vexed to find that after much thought he 
 can only remember that they shared with 
 him their mutton awd their milk, and gave 
 him a better bed to sleep on than they re- 
 served to themselves. 
 
 Their vices are perhaps more characteristic. 
 They are at times cruel, yet apparently more 
 from a coldness, and want of feeling than 
 from a savage and ferocious thirst of blood. 
 They rather see cruel actions committed with 
 indifference than delight in committing 
 them ; and yet they do commit cruel ac- 
 tions. The greater part of them are cowards 
 when exposed to any danger to which they 
 have not been inured from their infancy ; 
 for instance, if taken to sea; or exposed to 
 the chances of battle. Against lions, buffa- 
 loes, and elephants, they are fearless, be- 
 cause they are certain in their aim, are used 
 to trust their lives to their heavy guns from 
 the period of their being able to carry one,
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 1Q1 
 
 and know well that for one boor who has 
 fallen in hunting a thousand wild . animals 
 have been slain. During the Caffre war 
 three English deserters, ready to die of hun- 
 ger, approached the house of a boor. Whilst 
 yet at a distance, the boor and his sons taking 
 advantage of the letter of a proclamation, 
 fired on them without provocation, ^and. laid 
 them dead on 'the spot. Had the deserters 
 been aware of such a reception, and, sent a 
 musket bullet before them as a messenger, 
 even though it had only grazed the thatch 
 of the topmost roof, ' these lion killers would 
 in all probability have come ,out trembling, 
 and humbled *; themselves in the dust before 
 their rude guests. 
 
 They mingle in a strange degree, great cre- 
 'dulity, and a desire to be thought very cun- 
 ning. They are easily imposed upon, and 
 yet they lay profound schemes to over- reach 
 others in their bargains ; and to make a good 
 bargain is in the Dutch catechism the chief 
 end of man. We are frequently tempted to 
 think them great fools, and great rogues at 
 the same time. 
 
 Ignorance must not be imputed to them as 
 a crime; but they are very ignorant. The
 
 WALKS AND SKETCHES 
 
 only education that the best of them receive 
 is from a kind of upper servant in the family, 
 whom they dignify with the name of mees- 
 ter or master, and who teaches them to read 
 and write. This master is always a foreigner, 
 generally a German, and often a blockhead, 
 and possessing not a particle of useful know- 
 ledge. The young boors are soon done with 
 their education, and then look only after 
 their cattle and their slaves, and know and 
 care for very little farther. 
 
 Of late a spirit of religion, under the 
 shape of methodism, has begun to spread 
 amongst them, and it must be confessed ap- 
 pears likely to effect material and favourable 
 alterations in their character wherever it is 
 seriously embraced. In the families where 
 this spirit operates they assemble in the even- 
 ing to pray and sing psalms, and I have al- 
 ways noticed that great decency and attention 
 were kept up, especially if any Englishman 
 who happened to be present seemed in any 
 degree to join in their devotions. Wide may 
 this spirit spread, and happy may its influence 
 be ! For though some may deride the nar- 
 row notions of the sect of enthusiasts who 
 have given rise to it, let us rather hail it
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 1Q3 
 
 as the dawning of a brighter day, and re- 
 joice at any ray of light piercing through 
 so thick a gloom as the gross and unculti- 
 vated mind of a Cape boor. 
 
 Their houses are generally built with mud 
 walls on a slight timber frame. Near the 
 Cape where wood is scarce the mud predo- 
 minates, but as we approach Blettenberg's 
 Bay timber is used with a more unsparing 
 hand. The door opens immediately into a 
 large room or hall, which generally runs the 
 whole depth of the house. Here the family 
 breakfast, dine and sup, and here in the 
 evening many of the slaves and Hottentots 
 bring their mattresses and skins, and sleep. 
 In the day time in one corner of this hall 
 stands a small table, and beside it sits the 
 mistress of the family with her feet upon a 
 stove, and her knees almost touching her 
 chin. In winter this stove is filled with 
 charcoal in summer it serves the purpose of 
 an ordinary stool. Upon the table is a brazen 
 urn filled either with coffee or hot water for 
 tea, and this continues in use the whole day. 
 The floor is a mixture of earth and dried 
 cow dung, and over head is the thatch roof 
 with a few large beams for rafters.
 
 WALK$ AND SKETCHES 
 
 In another corner stand; three or four mus- 
 kets of a large bore, one of which at least is 
 generally primed and loaded. Out of the 
 hall are doors opening into three or four bed- 
 chambers, and this is the- whole house. 'A 
 house of two stories is a kind of rarity. All 
 however are provided with outhouses for their 
 slaves, and kraals or round" inclo'sures formed 
 by walls of mud into which the cattle are re- 
 gularly driven every night/ and counted by 
 the boor or his sons as they pass. . . 
 
 It was once my intention to 'have added to- 
 these Sketches a chapter on the Cape, con- 
 sidered in a political point of view; but I 
 quickly, found it to be a subject branching 
 out into so "many interesting details, that I 
 abandoned the idea of attaching such a dis- 
 sertation to a work of a nature like the 
 present. Should the Cape ever again fall 
 into, and remain in our possession, I still in- 
 tend to bring forward my ideas on that sub- 
 ject and publish them in a separate volume. 
 It will embrace many subjects of our colonial 
 policy, particularly relative to slavery, to de- 
 pendence on the mother country, and to the 
 possibility and the importance of forming a 
 white population, a colony of Englishmen
 
 AT THE CAPE OP GOOD HOPE. 
 
 speaking our language, and bound to us by 
 every tie, on this great angle of Africa. With 
 respect to the general political importance of 
 this colony, especially to England, it is need- 
 less to waste words. It is not necessary that 
 a man should undertake a three months 
 voyage, and have $tood on the top of Table 
 Land, to be entitled to speak or write of it 
 in this point of view. Let him unfold a map 
 of the globe, and after considering well the 
 relative situation of England to the rest of 
 the world ; if he can say that the Cape is a 
 place of rio political importance, he certainly 
 will not alter his opinion by having ocular 
 demonstration that its mountains are high and 
 its plains sandy. For my own part, opening 
 a map of the world I would say, fixing on 
 the Cape, " There is an important point, lay 
 hold of it." Were it a range of barren rocks, 
 a sandy waste, a dead weight, in the eyes of 
 vulgar politicians, upon the mother country, 
 its situation would with me atone for all. 
 What shall we say then, when it is discovered 
 to be capable of nourishing a vast number of 
 men. That it possesses noble forests and, 
 that its vallies may be made to abound in 
 corn and wine. Vulgar objections are then
 
 J06 WALKS AND SKETCHEI 
 
 borne down ; but the clear and noble minded 
 statesman should already have decided inde- 
 pendent of these adjuncts. 
 
 One word more. To an admirer of the 
 sublime in Nature, few spots on the surface 
 of the globe present such scenes as the Cape 
 of Good Hope. It is not the majesty of 
 great rivers rolling towards the ocean, nor 
 the more silent grandeur of immense lakes 
 resembling inland seas that is to be found 
 here. But long, deep, and winding vallies, 
 opening out as they approach the sea, and 
 extensive plains bordered on all sides by high 
 mountains, announce that formerly rivers and 
 lakes have existed there. Nay, the moun- 
 tains themselves by their appearance confirm 
 the solemn truth, that the changes they have 
 undergone are not to be measured by the 
 seras of man, or the limited and scanty pe- 
 riods of his liistory. In crossing some of 
 these mountains the mind is impressed with 
 sensations similar to those experienced in 
 traversing a pile of antient and venerable 
 ruins, but infinitely more awful. The rocks 
 appear to decay, as it were with age and wea- 
 riness of upholding themselves for so many 
 centuries, nor can we help pausing and cal-
 
 AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE; ]Q7 
 
 culating at what period they shall vanish 
 for ever from the face of the earth. 
 
 If these scenes could awaken such reflec- 
 tions in a mind little tinctured with the 
 science necessary to the study of moun- 
 tainous countries, what must not their effect 
 be on an enthusiastic disciple of Saussure, 
 imbued with the knowledge and endowed 
 with the patience and talents requisite in such 
 pursuits ? Should such a one peruse these 
 pages, I call upon him and with no unfriendly 
 voice, to repair to the Cape and give to the 
 geological investigation of that singular coun- 
 try, his time, his patience, and his talents for 
 several years. A few of the general outlines 
 have already been traced, but how much yet 
 remains to be done? Should he fail in erect- 
 ing a monument to his own fame equal to 
 that of Saussure among the Alps, let him 
 rest assured it will not be for want of ma- 
 terials. 
 
 I cannot conclude without noticing the 
 very strong contrast that exists between the 
 greater part of the two continents of Africa 
 and America. America abounds in immense 
 forests, in majestic rivers, and inland seas of 
 fresh water. Africa, on the contrary, derives
 
 1Q8 WALKS AND SKETCHES, ETC. 
 
 its claims to notice chiefly from chains of 
 lofty and craggy mountains whose sides and 
 summits are bare of. trees; from the deep 
 beds of torrents rather than of rivers, which 
 rush at times with irresistible fury from the 
 mountains to the ocean, and in place of 
 mediterranean seas, it presents great departs 
 of sand. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 ERRATUM. 
 
 THE following erratum has crept into this edition, viz 
 distance from Cape Town to Blettenburgh's Bay 
 3 miles, read 320 miles." The reader is requested to 
 Correct it with his pen whenever it occurs. 
 
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