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 THE LIBRARY 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 

 
 RAMBLES 
 
 J THEOUGH THE .^liCi-x . .'-^.z.- 
 
 OF THE 
 
 COLONY OF THE 
 
 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, 
 
 1688-1700. 
 
 BY 
 
 HENDRIK CAREL VOS LEIBBP.AKDT, V.D.M, 
 
 Graduate of Utrecht University, Ktcper of the Archives, and Acting 
 Librarian of the Parliamentary Lilrury. 
 
 " Truth is established by scrutiny and deliberation : falsehood 
 thrives by precipitation and uncertainty." — Tacitcs. 
 
 FIRST SERIES. 
 
 CAPE TOWN: 
 
 J. C. JUTA AND CO. 
 
 1887. 
 
 All Righti Heservcd.
 
 LONDON: 
 PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, Limitbd. 
 
 6TAMF0KD STKEET AND CHARIKG CROSS.
 
 
 TO THE 
 
 HONOURABLE JOHN TUDHOPE, 
 
 MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY, 
 
 COLONIAL SECRETARY OF THE COLONY OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, 
 
 STbis Volume 
 
 IS DEDICATED AS A MARK OF THE PERSONAL REGARD 
 
 THE AUTHOR.
 
 ly 
 
 s 
 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Many authors have complained that, although their works 
 are read, the introductions penned by them with so much 
 pains are generally skipped, and that often the writing of 
 even a small one is a more difficult task than the treatment 
 of many portions of the subject to which the volume which 
 it is intended to introduce, has been devoted. • Be this as 
 it may, I hope that at least a few of my readers will 
 peruse this first page. It will explain the reason why I 
 wrote. 
 
 Being Custodian of the Archives of the Colony of the 
 Cape of Good Hope — a most interesting and valuable 
 collection of Dutch official papers, covering the period 
 from the departure from Holland of Commander Johau 
 van Eiebeeck, in December, 1G51, in order to establish a 
 factory or refreshment station here, until January, 180G, 
 when the Cape was taken by England — I considered it 
 necessary, not only to arrange the documents properly, but 
 also to draw out their contents in the form of an English 
 precis, and, at the same time, compile a copious index for 
 the convenience of reference.
 
 vi Introduction. 
 
 In this form many years of Colonial History have 
 already been completed by me ; and I trust within a very 
 early period to be able to publish the whole in the same 
 manner in which the papers of the two first years 1651-53, 
 have seen the light. 
 
 It was, however, suggested to me that, in the mean- 
 while, a narrative of the most important events of the 
 period with which I have been busy would not be unac- 
 ceptable, and, accordingly, I ventured to undertake the task 
 of writing one ; but having, as it were, to begin in the 
 middle, and finding it impossible to do justice to my 
 subject without laying before the reader events which 
 preceded it, and should be thoroughly known, my story 
 naturally assumed its present form. Hence I decided to 
 place it before the public under the name of " Eambles 
 through the Archives." Should it afi'ord information to 
 the reader, and likewise a few pleasant moments, my 
 object will be attained. 
 
 J\ly thanks are duo to the Honourable John Tud- 
 hope, M.L.A., Colonial Secretary, and Ministerial head of 
 my Department, for the kind interest which he has taken 
 in my work ; for his words of encouragement ; and for his 
 indispensable assistance so readily rendered in removing 
 the most serious difficulties in the way of publication. 
 
 I likewise wish to express my sincere thanks to Charles 
 A. Fairbridge and W. Eawbone, Esquires, both of this 
 city, for rare volumes kindly lent to me ; to Monsieur^ 
 J. Yan den Bergh, the Venerable Archivist at the Hague, 
 not only for important extracts from the collection in his 
 custody, but likewise for his invariable kindness, willing-
 
 Introduction. vii 
 
 ness, and readiness to afford me all the information at 
 his command ; and likewise to his Lordship, the Right 
 Eeverend Bishop of St. Helena, for valuable extracts from 
 the St. Helena Records, regarding the Huguenots on that 
 Island, after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. 
 
 H. C. V. Leibbrandt, 
 Parliament House, Cape Town. 
 March, 1886. '
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Introduction. — Form of the Narrative. — Governor Willem Adriaan 
 van der Stel succeeds his father Simon. — His arrival in the 
 Colony. — Short account of the origin and constitution of the 
 Dutch East India Company. — Constantia. — False statements of 
 Kolbe. — Meaning attached to the word " Cape." — Simon van der 
 Stel makes a journey of Inspection among the Settlements and 
 Cattle Stations. — Distribution of New Lauds. — The Church at 
 Stellenbosch to be enlarged. — Satisfaction of the Chamber of 
 P )venteen with what he had done. — Colony to be developed as 
 much as possible. — Agriculture and Viticulture. — Minister for 
 Stellenboscli. — Instructions drawn ujj by Governor Simon van der 
 Stel for the guidance of his Son. — Summary of the eftbrts em- 
 ployed by him to develop the resources of the Colony, plant trees, 
 and advance the welfare of the Settlers ,. .. Pages 1-17 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Events preceding the amval of the Huguenots here. — Louis XIY, 
 founds the Royal Academy at Paris. — Its objects. — Louis XIV. 
 sends an expedition to Siam. — Pere Tachard. — Constantine Phaul- 
 con. — Expedition at the Cape. — Tachard's description of his 
 reception here. — Hendrik Claudius. — The Lord of ]\Iydiecht and 
 his botanical collecti(ms. — Pere Tachard's return from Siam. — 
 Another expedition to that country fitted out in France. — Its 
 anival at the Cape.— Precautions tnken by Simon van der Stel. — 
 The drawings of Hendrik Claudius. — The insolence of the 
 French. — Their secret plottings with some of tlie garrison. — 
 They thank the Governor for his kindness when they depart. — 
 Death of Captain Hieronymus Cruse. — Lieutenant Dominique 
 de Chavonnes succeeds him. — Other appointments. — Character of 
 the garrison. — Its dangemus position at the Cape. — Agricultural 
 successes achieved. — IMode of calling the burgiicrs to arms. — 
 Cavalry indispensable. — Number of armed burghers. — Their hard 
 life. — Agricultural returns. — Number of Residents. — Return of 
 the Gaillard and Loire from Siam. — The minerals brought from 
 that country by Pere Tachard .. .. .. Puges 18-28
 
 Contents. 
 
 CHAPTEK III. 
 
 Arrival of the Orijlamme from France. — Brings tbe portrait of 
 Louis XIV. as a present to Simon van der Stel. — Invariable 
 courtesy of the latter towards all foreigners. — Insolent conduct of 
 the rnnch at Sea. — Condition of the French troops at Siam. — 
 European war imminent. — Tlie grand alliance. — William III. in 
 Ireland. — Dangers to be appreliended from the mixed character of 
 the garrison. — Affairs at Nagapatnam. — Desertion of a number of 
 slaves. — Their crimes and recapture. — The very weak state of the 
 garrison. — Dain Majampa — Conspii-acy between some of the 
 garrison and the officers and men of the captured ships Normcmde 
 and Coclie. — Tlie large number of sick in Hospital. — Desertions of 
 the men of tlie gairisou in foreign vessels. — Friendly relations 
 with the HottenUit tribes. — Attitude of the Namaquas. — The 
 Bushmen and iheir jmrpose to massacre the Drakensteiu settlers 
 
 [Pages 29-36 
 
 CHAPTEK IV. 
 
 Admiral Du Quesne, junior. — His relation towards the Huguenots. — 
 Peculiar [losition of Simon van der Stel in consequence. — The 
 latter's affection for the fugitives. — What he expected from some 
 of them. — The iSion. — The Rev. Pierre Simond. — Simon van der 
 Stel requests Batavia to helj) tlie unfortunates. — The result. — 
 Tayowan. — Distribution of the Batavia donation among the 
 fugitives Pages 37-40 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Fugitives' settlements. — Their religious services. — More lands 
 bought from the Hottentots. — The New boundaries. — The price 
 of wine rai.'^ed. — Simon van der Stel wishes it to be higher. — 
 Comnnsbioner H. A. van Reede objects to the low taverns near the 
 Castle and wishes them demolished. — Simon van der Stel's 
 method for making good wine .. .. .. Pages 41-44 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Simon van der Stel's care for the Huguenots. — His anxiety caused by 
 the aiTival of the French Squadrons in Table Bay. — News of the 
 War in Europe. — Capture of the Normunde and Cache. — The 
 result to the Cupe if they had not been captured. — The Du 
 Quesnes. — Weiss's narrative. — Tlie journal of Admii-al Du 
 Quesne, junior. — The difficult position in which all at the Cape 
 were placed when the War broke out. — The awkward position of 
 Admiral Du Quesne. — Links wanting in thi.s narrative to come to 
 a correct conclusion. — Admu'al Abraham Du Quesne. — His sons.
 
 Contents. ' xi 
 
 — Their residence. — Tlieir efforts on behalf of the Huguenots. — 
 The Piedmontese or Yaudois. — St. Helena. — Capthin Poirier.— The 
 advantages secured to the fugitives at the Cape. — Tlie injudicious 
 conduct of Kev. Pierre Simoud. — His quarrels with Jac(iucs de 
 Savoye. — The possible results on the community, after V\'ar had 
 broken out between the Netherlands and France. — The real 
 meaning of the Huguenot petition. — Futile efforts to bring about 
 a reconciliation between Rev. Simond and Jacques de Savoye. — ■ 
 Eev. Simeud's inconvenient habit of interfering with every- 
 thing. — The impression caused on Simon van der Stel'e mind in 
 consequence. — The peace of Ryswyk removes the causes of his 
 anxiety. — Before tliat he is continually disquieted by news regard- 
 ing the heavy naval armaments in France. — He locates the 
 Huguencts as near to each other as possible, and as far as he can 
 from the Cape. — His reception of the Huguenot deputation. — His 
 intention to create a line of homesteads and farms from Cape 
 Town and along the Berg River to Saldanha Bay. — He discovers 
 Simon's Bay. — The very small number of Huguenots at Stellen- 
 bosch and Drakenstein. — Tlie Huguenots in Brandenburg and the 
 Netherlands. — King William III. as their friend. — Their privi- 
 leges in England. — The fugitives here in no worse position than 
 those in Europe . . . . . . , . . . Pages 44-57 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Wandering life of some of the fugitives here. — Their illicit cattle-irade 
 with the natives. — C.tptain Doreas, alias Claas. — The I'laccaten 
 issued against this traffic. — The reason why. — The "Polish 
 Nobleman " and others.^ — The illicit traders profe»s to have been 
 sent out by the Governcjr. — They ill-use the Natives. — Simon van 
 der Stel represents all these matters to the Directors. — List of 
 Placcaten on the Subject. — Free cattle baiter with the Hottentots 
 ordered by the Directors. — All Agricultural and Pastoral pursuits 
 henceforth to be left in the haiuls of the Burghers. — Strict Plac- 
 caat to be issued against tliose ill-treating the Hottentots. — The 
 Company's stations to be gradually dispensed with, and si LI. — 
 Willem van der Stel submits the same state of affairs to the 
 Dircctors.^Chars^e In'ought agidnst the illicit dealer Jacobus van 
 der Heiden in IT'iH by Rev. I'etius van Aken and tlie Drakeii- 
 fctein Church Council. — Arrival of Coiumissiouer Wouter Yalckc- 
 nier.— Cancellation uf Placcaat forbidding free cattle trade with 
 the Natives .. .. .. .. .. .. Pages 58-65 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Black sheep. — Simon van der Stel describes them. — Selection of 
 Emigrants not always judiciously made. — No French cadets re- 
 quired. — Servants of the Company w ith means of their own would
 
 Contents. 
 
 be acceptable. — Infirm and old fugitives sent to the Cape. — 
 Zealand farmers wanted. — Simon van der Stel speaks highly of 
 Jacques de Savoye. — Crotchety temper of the latter. — The " ficsh- 
 pots of Egypt" Pages GG-68 
 
 CHArTER IX. 
 
 Jacqncs de Savoye. — A. Pacts. — Flemish or Walloon Emigrants for the 
 Cape. — Names given to Congregation suffering persecution. — 
 Testimonials in favour of Jacques de Savoye. — Their contents. — 
 Rotterdam Chamber thinks that kind treatment will improve 
 Savoye's temper. — Ho conducts himself well as an iiuinigrant. — 
 Short History of the Walloon Cliurch. — Origin of the Name. — 
 Fictitious names of the dill'erent congregations. — The Walloons 
 settle in Holland and Zealand. — Their men of learning. — The 
 relation of the Walloons to the Dutch, and of the Walloon Church 
 to that of the Dutch Reformed. — Cliaracter of the latter Church 
 in consequence. — Prosperity of the Walloon Churches. — They are 
 largely strengthened by the arrival of French fugitives after the 
 Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. — The Huguenot Medal 
 
 [Pages 69-80 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The French fugitives in Holland. — Their reception and privileges. — 
 Their connection with the Walloons as members of the same 
 Church. — The fugitive ministers. — They receive appointments in 
 Holland. — Others receive pensions and gratuities. — Their widows 
 amply provided for. — Female fugitives in general supported from 
 liberal donations. — Gratitude of the Exiles. — Fugitive divines 
 who took refuge in the Netherlands — The Doctrinal definitions 
 of the Walloon Church. — Wale Stuaat .. .. Pages 81-84 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 * 
 The Vaudois — Reports of Rykloff van Goens, his son, and the Lord of 
 Mydreeht. — Decision to colonize Mauritius. — More Emigrants 
 required for the Cape. — Negoriations opened with the representa- 
 tives of the Yaudois. — The conditions oifcred tliem by the Com- 
 pany. — The oath to be taken by them and all other Emigrants. — 
 No Catholics to be accepted. — Rev. I'ierre Simond appointed 
 Minister. — The Equijiment and i)assage of the Emigrants. — The 
 fugitives at Nuremburg. — Steps taken to treat with them. — The 
 States-general on the sid>ject. — The Elector of Brandenburg. — 
 Great poverty of the fugitives. — Collections made for them. — 
 Further arrangements. — The Alkiriaar ready to take them on 
 board. — They suddenly decline to go .. .. Pages 84-93
 
 Contents. xiii 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Reasons why the Vaudois dechucd to proceed to the Cape. — Narrative 
 of Heuri Arnaud. — The Valleys of Piedmont. — Victor Ama- 
 deus II. — His cruel persecutions of the Vaudois. — The reception 
 of the survivors in different parts of Europe. — Conduct of those of 
 Bern and Zurich. — The Vaudois compelled to sign a document 
 promising to go wherever they were ordered. — Departure of 800 
 to Brandenburg. — Their flight thence. — They refuse to go to 
 Wurlemburg. — They return to Switzerland. — They unite in a 
 forest in the Pays de Vaud, return to their valleys and retake 
 them with the sword. — William and Mary of England. — History 
 of the Vaudois Church. — The persecutions it suffered. — Sir 
 Samuel Morlund, Ambassador of Oliver Cromwell at the Court of 
 Savoy. — His addre,-.s to the Duke. — The lines of Milton. — The 
 opinion of a Romanist. — Jean Leger. — The bock of Henri 
 Arnaud Pages 9i-l 03 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The war of Orleans. — Heavy French armaments for India. — The Cape 
 to be fortified. — Abraham van Riebeeck. — The plans of the French 
 in Siam. — Their successes in the Indies. — Their Indian squadron 
 to be commanded by Admiral Dn Que.sne. — The mifcbief expected 
 from them at Surat. — The names of the vessels. — Father Tachard 
 on board. — His instructions to the King of Siam. — The Squadron 
 to lie off the Cape and capture Dutch Vessels. — The Ziiarte 
 Leeuw sent out to defend Table Bay. — The instructions given to 
 Admiral Du Quesne. — Ordered to return home by the Island of 
 Bourbon Pages 104-108 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Marquis Du Quesne and his brother. — Their intention to colonize 
 Mascurenhas. — Assistance rendered by the Dutch East India 
 Company. — The Island occupied by the French. — How the 
 Marquis was to be assisted after leaving the Cape. — Sixteen 
 vessels fitted out by the Company. — Massacre of tiie French at 
 Siam. — The Du Qucsnes arc prevented from leaving. — They sell 
 their largo ship to the Company. — She is renamed the Zicarte 
 Leeuw, and sent out to the Cape. — The Hiroitdelle. — Adventures 
 of this vessel, and some of her crew. — Agreement between the 
 Du Quesnes and tlie Company. — Comjdaiuts of the Officers of tliC 
 Zwarte Leeuw. — Commander S. van ck^r Stel censured for his 
 kindness to the French. — The Smlwra Xoi^tra elc log Milaqros. — 
 Reply of the Commander to the charges against him. — Description 
 of the great abundance of everything at the Cape. — Commander
 
 xiv Contents. 
 
 Van dcr Stel promoted to the rank of Governor. — The English 
 suspected of liavinjj an eye on some of the neighbouring regions. — 
 Information imparted by Guillaume de Bauw .. Pages 109-121 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Operations of Admiral Du Qucsne in India. — Is beaten otF by Dutch 
 and English ships in Madras harbour. — Description of the 
 battle. — Admiral Du Quesne supposed to have been killed. — 
 The news contradicted. — He arrives safely in France witli liis six 
 ships Pages 122-125 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The despatch of the Rirondelle to Mascarenhas or Eden. — The quarrels 
 of those on board, with difficulty settled by the Commander Van 
 der Stel. — Her return to the Cape. — Narrative of her adven- 
 tures. — Had left some men on the Island Diego Rodrigues. — 
 Narrative of Athanas Garcl. — The Hirondelle said to have been 
 taken by the French on her homeward voyage. — Some of her men 
 arrive at Mauritius in a boat made by tiiemselves at Diego 
 Rodrigues. — Give oflence and are made prisoners tiiere. — They 
 are finally sent to Batavia (For the rest of their adventiu'es, see 
 the narrative of Francois Leguat, one of their number, and 
 referred to in the Appendix). — Defence of Roelof Deodati the 
 Commander of Mauritius. — Directors justified in not promiscuously 
 accepting every one applying for a passage to the Cape, in order 
 to settle there. — Object of the Van der Stels, to make the Colony 
 a self-supporting and exporting community. — Some of the Fugi- 
 tives sent out, too old for work. — The second expedition towards 
 the Valleys of Piedmont. — Reason of its failure Pages 126-137 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Results of the " Rambles through the Archives " hitherto. — Summary 
 of wliat Simon van der Stel did in his time. — Extract from the 
 Minutes of Commissioner General de Mist .. I'agcs 138-141 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Willem Adriaan van der Stel. — Commissioner Daniel Heyns. — False 
 Bay examined. — Tiie journey tliither of the Commissioner, and 
 his report. — The wine lease dividid iuti four j)ans and offered 
 under new conditions. — Amount of revenue derived from I^iijuor 
 Licences. — Profit of the Comi)any on each Icnguer of wine. — The 
 smugglers. — The low taverns near the Castle. — The smallness
 
 Contents. xv 
 
 of the population compared with the liquor revenue. — The 
 victuallers depreciate the value of Dutch coin. — Steps taken to 
 prevent this. — First success of the new form of kase. — Expecta- 
 tion that a permanent source of revenue had been secured, but 
 frustrated by the lessees themselves and the smugglers. — The 
 junior members of the Civil Service. — Provision made for their 
 proper maintenance. — Eules for their conduct at dinner. — Receive 
 Wine rations regularly twice a week. — Departure of the Cna- 
 missioner .. .. .. .. .. •• Pages 142-150 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Death of Rev. Petrus Hulsenaar.— The old garden of Juhan van 
 Riebeeck selected as a new graveyard. — No corpses any longer to 
 be buried in the Castle.— Hulsenaar buried in the centre of the 
 new plot. — A new churc'.i likewi.se to be built there. — Cemetery 
 in Somerset Road. — Grave street. — Rev. Kaklen urges upon Com- 
 missioner Heyns the want of a new churcli. — Council agrees to 
 assist the Consistory. — First stone laid by Governor W. A. van der 
 Stel. — The wreck of tlie Huis te Cmyemtein. — The heavy punisli- 
 ment inflicted on the Ofiicers by the Court of Justice at 
 Batavia. — The Hospital.^ — Its regulations — Efforts of the Van dor 
 Stels for its good Government. — Cdmmi.-siouer C.J.Simons. — The 
 new outlet for the Salt River. — Intention of Simon van der Stel 
 to let it serve as a place of refuge for sliips. — The idea of A'an 
 Goens, senior.— Dangerous state of Table Bay until lately. — 
 Protection of all kinds of Game. — The many plagues at the Cape 
 destroying the crops. — Willem van der Stel's measure to prevent 
 a bread famine. — His success. — Distillation of brandy from grain 
 forljidilen. — Approval of Directors. — Anxiety of the latter to add 
 to the number of the residents. — The Ship Eidderschap. — Her 
 misfortunes. — Comelis van der Stel one of her passenger.^. — 
 Supposed to have been wrecked at Madagascar. — Rumours regard- 
 ing the survival of Cornells. — Steps taken by his Father and 
 Brother to obtain tidings of him. — Captain Kidd. — Letter of 
 W. A. van der Stel to King Cin-Cive. — Narrative of Jan Coin, 
 Skipper of the Tamhoer. — King Samuel. — How he obtained his 
 " throne." -—How the slave traders were provided with slaves. — 
 Little King Welch. — The piiales. — Description of Madagascar. — 
 Recall of Willem A. van der Stel ends the sad story of his 
 brother Comelis .. Pages 151-170 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Cape wool very good. — Growth should be encourngrd. — As much to be 
 sent to Europe as possible.— Higii )>ricc in Holland. — Eflbrts of 
 Willem van der Stel to collect wool sliccp for breeding purposes. — 
 Establishes a breeding farm at Vergelegen. — Disinclination of
 
 xvi Contents. 
 
 tlic Farmers to take kindly to Merinos. — The reason why. — These 
 wool shefj) ill tlie end Ijceame a 80i:rec of great trouble to the 
 Governor. — Wool in Governor van Assenburg's time. — The same 
 un\villingno.s.s to n ar Merinos. — Wool a large source of revenue. — 
 Fiscal lilesins. — 'Jardine.ss of the Englisli Company to refund 
 ailvaiices made to their shijis at tiie Cape — The efforts of the 
 Mauritius Settlers. — llave excellent customers in the English. — 
 I'recautions taken by Commander Deodati when an English 
 Vessel arrives. — He finds him.self outwitted. — The pirates at the 
 Zicarte liiriir. — Tlie farm Zandvliet. — The Kramnt. — Slieik 
 Joseph. — His misfortunes, banishment and death. — His family 
 return to India. — The Cape tiovernment ceaselessly request to be 
 no longer burdened with the maintenance of Indian Exiles and 
 Convicts. — Cape Convicts sent to India . . .. Pages 170-179 
 
 Appendix — p. 4. The old Stelknbosch Cemetery. 
 
 „ pp. 45 and 47. Admiral Du Quesne, junior. 
 
 „ p. 135. The IMarquis Du Quesne, and Jean Leguat. 
 
 „ p. 49. Monsieur I'oiiier. — St. Helena Records. — Cupc 
 
 affairs in 1795. 
 „ p. 128. C. Frikius. — Life on board an East Indiaman 
 
 200 years ago. 
 
 Addenda — Germany geographically in 1G80. 
 
 „ Old name of Switzerland " eidgenossenschaft," supposed 
 
 to be the original of Hurjueiiot.
 
 RAMBLES 
 
 THROUGH THE ARCHIVES 
 
 OP THE 
 
 COLONY OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 I HAVE purposed to lay before the reader in plain, nn- 
 varnished language some of the most remarkable events 
 embraced within the period of the administration of 
 Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel, a man hitherto 
 considered as the embodiment of tyranny, cruel ty, and 
 oppression, because judged only from the description of 
 his enemies, and without the light of evidence which 
 })laces him in a more favourable view, and shows that 
 " lilack 's not bo black ; — nor white so very white." 
 
 But, to do so satisfiictorily, it will likewise bo necessary 
 to depart somewhat from the usual form, and introduce 
 into the text copious extracts from the archives, in order 
 that every statement adduced may at once be confirmed 
 by indisputable evidence, and the reader have before his 
 eyes, as clearly as possible, in one unbroken narrative, a 
 faithful and impartial description of the public career of a 
 much-abused man. 
 
 it must, however, not be understood that I intend t/j 
 produce a laboured defence on his behalf, or to ])re.sont 
 him in a saint-like character, without spot or blemisli. I 
 wish it to appear as that of a man, erriiig like liis fellows — 
 yea, like the best of them — in many tilings, but at tlie same 
 time revealing a character wliich wins our admiration, and, 
 in the midst of its surrounding dilliculties and troubles, 
 
 B
 
 Bamhies through the Archives of 
 
 stands, according to fact, far removed from the spot whore 
 tradition and calumny liave placed it. 
 
 On the Gth of Se])teml)er, lOltG, tlie Board of Seventeen, 
 in session at Mi'ldelhurg. decided to accept tlie resignation 
 of Governor Simon van dor Stel, on condition that he le- 
 mained in ofhce until the arrival of his successor. On the 
 27th of ])eceml)er of the following year (lGi>7) he was 
 informed that his sou had been appointed to take his place, 
 and that on his arrival he was personalis- to instal liim in 
 the presence of the Sccunde Elsevier, Fiscal Blesius, and 
 Captain Bergh. 
 
 On the 23rd of January, 1G99, "Willem Adriaan van der 
 Stel arrived at the Cape, with his wife and family, in the 
 ship Stall Keiden. He had been an alderman of tlie town 
 of Amsterdam, and was selected for the high appointment 
 of Governor of tlie Cape of Good Hojie, in order that the 
 Seventeen * might mark their satisfaction with the admi- 
 nistration of his venerable father, w^ho, having for nineteen 
 years ruled over the destinies of the j-oung Colony, had 
 begged to be relieved of its cares, and permitted to remain 
 at the Cape as a simple freeman, and pass the remainder 
 of his days at his cherished country-seat and model farm, 
 
 * The S('re)it>'eii. — Cornelis Iloutman havinjx opened tlie way toTnilia 
 for liis couiitryincn, llio hitter were not alow in j^eiziiij^ tlieir opiior- 
 tiniity. At great cost iind enormous siicriticc the merchants of Amster- 
 dam started a Company for trading to the Indies. The exanii)U' was 
 soon followed by otiier towns and districts, mentioned as Zealand, the 
 Meuse, Noonkr Qnartier, and West A'rieslnnd (North Holland;. These 
 joint-stock companies were individually known as the chambers of 
 Amsterdam, Zealand (or Mi<Ulelburg), Ivotterdam, Delft, H(K)rn, and 
 Enckhuysen, and as one bmly obtaineil a charter from the Dutch 
 Governuiiiit in 1G02. which was in Itili'i renewed under the name of 
 the General United Nt therlands Clmrtered Kast India Company. 
 The second article of this document retpiired that whenever a general 
 meeting of all the chambers was held, it sliouM be reprcsintative, 
 and consist of mciudi n memliers— ( igl.t to be furnished by Amster- 
 dam, four by Zealand, two by Rotterdam, and one by each of the 
 other ehiimbers. This Board of Sttventeen was, therefore, the chief 
 administrative- body of the Company, and was consequently invested 
 with uidimited i)Owir over the territories graTited by tlie charter to the 
 Company. The members are generally mcntif)ned as the Lf>rds Seven- 
 teen, and, aa a rule, every one spoke of them as the Honourable Lords 
 and Masters.
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 3 
 
 the world-famed Constant ia,* the cnutiun of his own 
 genius. 
 
 Before his son's arrival, however, and in accordance 
 with a V( solution of the Cnuncil of the 13th of iSeptenibui , 
 1698, he left ihe Capef twelve days later, in order to make 
 a general inspection of the country stations and tlnir 
 appendages, and also carefully to examine the nature, 
 situation, and quality of the lands in dilferent parts of the 
 country, especially those near the stations and adjoining 
 Stellenbosch and Drakenstein ; the object of his journe} 
 being that, should the result be as favourable as was 
 anticipated, he miglit still further extend the Colony's 
 boundaries for the greater develojjment of agriculture. 
 Keturning home on the 2Gth of October, he reported that 
 he had found evervthing in pro])er order, and all the 
 stations under good cnntrol, but that the lands of some 
 ref-idents in the Stellenbosch and Drakenstein districts 
 were r^ither too confined for their cattle and agricultural 
 pursuits ; that there were besitles many other Ireemeu 
 who had not yet been settled, and who had requested plots 
 
 * It is generally supposed, on the autlioiity of KoUie nml Vakntyn , 
 that this was the naiiiu of liis wifr. Valentvn knew better, but t'orirnt 
 to rectify tlie mi.stiike. Sinuiu vnu der Sicl was niairitd to Juliimnn 
 Jacobii Hix, tlau^liter of Willoik Six and Catliarina Ilinlopcn. Kolbtt 
 slates furtlier that Siniou van dcr Stel was tlie illcLtiliniate oflspring 
 of liis fatlier by an Indian slave j^irl, that he did not know his own age, 
 and must have been about live yi ars old when baptized, &c. ; but I 
 take the iihcity of considering this siatenient to be as gross a cajnnniy 
 as many otiicrs from his jien : e.;/., tiiat (iovernor L. van As.-enburgli 
 wh( n at dinner at Constai.tia, shoitly after liis arrival at the Cape, 
 was deliberately poisom d at table, and witli iliflienlty savtd by 
 Surgeon Bi'unraath ; timt the poisoji never could be couiiiletely eiadi- 
 cati-d from his system, and in its t^vil etl'ects could only be counteracted 
 by copious wine libations, ^'au Asstnburgh was never so well at tl e 
 Cape as during the days when he was said to have been poisoned. 
 Simou van dcr Stel was burn at Mauritius on the 14th of Citober, 
 Hjii'J, the same year in which his fatlier, .\driaan, succeeded Pieter de 
 (ioyer as conummder of that inland. See Wihiiti/ii. 
 
 t What is now Capo 'I'own was then generally sjioken of as ih)* 
 Cape (lie Ivaa])), an expression slill in ordinary u.se, especially among 
 the Dutch-speaking portion of Somli .\trica. proving that the Capo of 
 (iood Hope is really not where, uccoidiug to the maps, it is suppusod 
 to be. 
 
 n 9
 
 BamUes throuyh tlie Archives of 
 
 of ground for tlio purpose ; and further, that to keep 
 them on enectivel3% and satisfy tlicir wislies, ho had pre- 
 sented about thirty of them with good pieces of new land — 
 each one being jirovided according to his abilities, hs the 
 opportunity allowed, — and that all the grants adjoined 
 those in the Wntjon-malicrs Valley and at the Limiet 
 Berg. He hoped that this would conduce to the pros- 
 l)erity of the people and the development of agriculture 
 and cattle-breeding. 
 
 The little church of Stellenbosch having become much 
 too small, and being likewise very damp, he had, at the 
 request of the congregation, consented to have it enlarged 
 in the form of a cross, nnd thus made more convenient for 
 the parish. The burghers had undertaken to defray the 
 costs of the enlargement, if the Company would supply 
 the iron and glass that were necessary. The congregation 
 had already collected Eds. 1000, and likewise expected a 
 good sum from tlie well-dis]iosed at the Cape.* (Gen. 
 desp. to Amst., 18 JMarch, 1GI)9.) 
 
 To his great satisfacticm, whatever he had done or pro- 
 posed to do, and such preliminary steps as had been taken 
 by his son, all tif which had been mentioned in the despatch 
 (juoted, were highly apj)roved of by the Masters, who in 
 theii- reply of the 2;!rd of June, 1700, expressed their great 
 satisfaction with the good condition of the government at 
 the Cape, and the progre.-s and rai)id expansion of the 
 Colony. Thev desired that no effort should be spared for 
 its further advancement and development. They had, 
 moreover, decided on their part to lend a strong helping 
 hand by sending out well-trained agriculturists and per- 
 sons capable of making good wine, and also as much 
 timber ;is tlie freemen re(pured for building purposes; and 
 they likewise showed their appreciation of the intention 
 
 * I Imve been informed l)y the I?cv. ISIr. Ncothlinf?, tlio present 
 jrouiiil)eut. that the first cliurch of Ptcllenbesch stood somewhat lower 
 down than the present one: and that tlie erf in Church Street, now in 
 tiie possession of Mis. Wiiim, the kind and worthy iirojirietress of tlie 
 jileasiiiit and well-iaiown bonnlini^'-honsc, is a portion of the old site, 
 and tlmt -jjiaveH have breii found in the back yard and those of her 
 near neighbours. .See Appendix A.
 
 the Colony of the Cape' of Good Hope. 5 
 
 of the inhabitants of Stellenhosch to enlarge their church 
 — " as such a pious work could not l^ut produce beneiicial 
 results" — by sending out with the Oustcrstein the Rev. 
 IKrcules van Loon, as Resident Minister of that parish.* 
 
 As ordered by the Board of Seventeen, and according to 
 usual custom, the retiring Governor had the rare pleasiire 
 of personally inducting into office as his successor, on the 
 11th of February, 1G'J9, his son Willem Adriaan. Books 
 had been previously examined and .stock taken ; and when 
 all this had been completed to the satisfaction of the 
 Council, the drums were beaten, soldiers and burjihers 
 apjieaied under arms, and the newly-arrived ht.ad of the 
 Government was .sokmnly introduced to the Company's 
 lieges. Kot only was a general pardon proclaimed to all 
 fugitive servants of the Company — there were some hiding 
 in the wildernet-s at the time — but already, on the day 
 after his son's arrival, the retiring Governor had ordereil 
 that various convicts who were serving iti chains, and 
 had committed comparatively slight olieuces, should be 
 released from their irons. 
 
 In order to remain within reasonable limits it will be 
 impos>ible to do more than — where my narrative requires 
 it — refer to the administration of Simon van der Stel, the 
 most important, I venture to say, in the earlier history of 
 tlie Colony. And to do so eiVeetually, 1 embody here 
 the instructions left behind him for the information and 
 guidance of his son, as they will enable us to obtain some 
 knowledge of the principles whicli actuated him in hi.s 
 administration, and at the same time serve as a connecting 
 link to attach our narrative to the events which precede 
 it; a few of which, connected with the Huguenots, will be 
 specially referred to. 
 
 * In 1()07 he had rctiirncil from I'mtnvia ti> Hi'lliind, niul, because 
 tlie climnte did not ajxrtc witli him, watt allf)Wfd t<p itinaiii at the Cape 
 and serve nut liis time hero, provitU'd he coufd jxi^uade tlie Kev. 
 rctriis Kalden to procet'd to Batavia in liis stead — an arrangement de- 
 flined by the Rev. V. Kahlcn, and di-sapprovcd of by the Din cturs wlun 
 thiy heard of it. lie rame t<> an nntortiinati' end (see ./(kovki/. '.iTth of 
 .lime, 17li4). His widow afterwards niariiiil Will.m lb int. wlio rose 
 to till' lank of Actinj; Clovernor aftT the (h atli cf ( evi ini'r Van As.-eii- 
 buryli, but was recalled in di^igrnce.
 
 Ramhlts through the Archives of 
 
 The instructions are dated the 10th of March, 16v*9. 
 lie Commences with an apology for drawing them up, 
 because, although many orders liad been left here by the 
 various Commissioners who hnd from time to time been 
 appointed to inspect Cape affairs, events had occurred 
 since, which during their stay in the Colony they could 
 not possibly have foreseen, and naturally not provided for. 
 Moreover, the Lord of Mydrecht had oidered that, as 
 desired by the Dii ectors, the letiring Covemor should leave 
 ])lain instructions for his successor, as during the short 
 stay of the varittus Commissioners hero officious and by no 
 means disinterested persons had been generally ready, 
 in order to ])romotc their own selfish ends, to give one- 
 sided information when questioned, so as to influence the 
 Commissioners in their favour; tlius causing and adding 
 to mischief by their ignorance of facts, and at tlie same 
 time sheltering themselves under the cloak of a desire to 
 further the public welfare. The result had consequently 
 often been that the Commissioner was prevented by a mass 
 of ccmfused and Ci)nflicting evidence, and the bi ief time at 
 his disposal for a personal and minute inquiry, from com- 
 pleting his task thoroughly, and alwaj-s liable to the 
 possibility of making a misstatement, or omitting some- 
 thing of importance. 
 
 Hence he had deemed it necessary to jot down the results 
 f.f his personal experience during the period of his admi- 
 nistration, wliich might be serviceable to the new Governor 
 and his Council. 
 
 "You should bear in mind," ho said, " that agriculture 
 in general, and the cultivation of wheat especially, had 
 never before been developed by any Commanders or 
 Governors to such an extent that the population of the 
 C(dony could at all subsist on the produce of the country, 
 so that we were necessaiily obliged to (d)tain the bulk of 
 our supplies for the garrison, burghers, and slaves from 
 the High Government at Batavia, which annually pro- 
 vided us with rice, but never without bitterly comphiining
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 7 
 
 of the heavy expense unavoidably incurred — as an extra 
 ship was always required for the purpose — and continually 
 Tirgiug us to make every efturt to depend upon ourselves 
 alone, and so relieve the Company. 
 
 " However, from the commencement of our own ad- 
 ministration, wo have not only — contrary to eveiy one's 
 opinion — developed agriculture so successfully, and so 
 diligently fostered it and made the people do the same, 
 that the annual importation of rice, and the complaints 
 inseparable from it, have ceased, but the Colony has been 
 raised to such a flourishing condition, that at present the 
 inhabitants have enough produce to depend on, and, when 
 the harvests are plentiful, are aide likewise to export of 
 their abundance to Butavia. This has been already often 
 done. 
 
 " But that the Colony and the cultivation of wheat 
 may not again retrograde, it will be necessary for the 
 people to apply themselves even more diligently to agri- 
 culture than — as they are doing now — to an excessive 
 cultivation of the vine, and eliectively to prevent the 
 former from being made subservient to or neglected for 
 the latter. 
 
 "Many freemen are so gieatly addicted to wine that 
 under its influence they are graduiilly neglecting the 
 cultivation of their lands, which naturally become ex- 
 hausted, as they kill off their cattle and are left without 
 manure. Hence from year to year they mt>ro and more 
 impoverish their families, and therefore should be strictly 
 ordered to keep their lands in good condition. 
 
 " Some have already purposely abstained from doing 
 this, and, abandoning their grants, have re(j[ue«ted new 
 ground instead, pleading that they are not sufficiently 
 provided with cuttle to secure the required quantity
 
 8 Iltunlles through the Archives of 
 
 uf manure, and aro thurefuio unablo to grow any 
 wheat. 
 
 "Should you he weak enough Id give way to. such 
 sinister liicks, the whole of Africa would not be sufficient 
 to accommodate and satisfy that class. 
 
 " Moreover, they are only inclined to sow enough for 
 themselves, and arc always looking out for places far 
 inland in order to make their living by bartering with the 
 Hottentots for cattle, butter, and milk — this being their 
 chief aim. 
 
 " The Colonists settled along the borders of the Berg 
 Kiver, which contain the best and fattest lands, should be 
 urged to enclose their properties and deepen the rivers, 
 which, overflowing their banks during the rainy season, 
 flood whole corn-fields and wash the crops away, covering 
 the friiitful spots with sand, and making them unfit for 
 the plough. 
 
 " But only the lazy, ignorant, and evil-disposed do these 
 tilings, and therefore, to counteract the evil as much its 
 pos-sible, it might perhaps be advantageous, if old servants 
 of the Company, with means of their own, and of good 
 repute — should they be so inclined — were invited by the 
 oft'er of free papers, good lands, and reasonable assistance, 
 to settle here as agriculturists. Others would soon follow 
 from Holland and India, and within a comparatively short 
 time there would be a respectable class of 2000 burghers 
 here, capable of carrying arms, suflicicnt to meet all 
 attacks of European Princes, and remove all fears on 
 this head. 
 
 "This ]»liin would likewise secure another advantage. 
 It would rid theColony of a class who have obtained their 
 freedom under the ])retext of being desirous of applying 
 themselves to agriculture, but who have hitherto merely
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 9 
 
 wandered from one farmer to another, and vagabondized 
 without a home, the willing tools of tlie evil-disposed, by 
 whom they are employed in the forbidden cattle trade 
 with the natives, fnistrators of every good intention of 
 the Company, interferers with its prerogatives, and its 
 systematic robbers." 
 
 Here be fully enters into the mischief caused by the 
 illicit traffic with the natives, and gives the reasons why 
 it should be forbidden; but as this subject will he fully 
 treated further ou, I have considered it superfluous to 
 insert the whole of this portion of his "Instructions." 
 
 At the end he says : — 
 
 " We have endeavoured to the utmost of our power to 
 discover these dangerous and vicious persons by the pub- 
 lication of the most rigorous placcaten, and by instructing 
 the Landdrost to call them together, as often as possible, 
 that they may show their free papers, and be mustered in 
 the usual manner — especially the unmarried men, and 
 those who wander from one place to another, without 
 giving the re(|uired notice — declare their place of resi- 
 dence, and so be found when requireil, I'ur warding off 
 any hostile attack. IJy these means we ln)ped to divert 
 them from their illicit traffic, and likewise to discover and 
 capture all rogues and vagabonds, that the well-behaved 
 residents might be protected from their thefts, and maile 
 to dwell in security." 
 
 Ho then continues in the following strain ; — 
 
 "From the above it naturully follows, that, as it is the 
 Company's chief object to hold these lands in security, it 
 is indispenj-alde not to permit any European to settle far 
 in the interior and away from tho(«e already settled within 
 easy distance from the castle; for not only should this
 
 10 liamhles through the Archives of 
 
 wicked trade be suppressed, but the ficemen should be 
 made 1o live near each other, that, should an enemy 
 appear, tliey might be easily called together by their 
 officers and the ordinary signals. 
 
 " At present, however, those living at a distance pretend 
 that tliey cannot hear the signal guns, or that they have 
 not been personally summoned. Tliey simply retiie 
 further into the interior, and by their conduct show that 
 they care very little about the safety of the Colony. 
 
 " Not only should such persons be punished, but you 
 should be very careful in discharging any of the Com- 
 pany's servants. Candidates for free papers should be of 
 the Eeformed Eeligion, subjects of the States General, or 
 members of feuch Germanic nations as are not engaged in 
 sea traffic, lest you expose your Government to the danger 
 of a revolution. Should the Colony be populated by other 
 nationalities, each individual would hold fast to his own, 
 and all our defensive arrangements and precautions become 
 futile accordingly. 
 
 " In this respect those of the French nation, although 
 settled here and well received, are the least to be trusted. 
 
 " Regarding the planting of oak-trees, you should bear 
 in mind that the young ones planted on the plains suftcr 
 severely from the heavy south-east winds, and are kept 
 down by them. Those not quite so exposed certainly 
 grow better, but only provide wood unfit for timber, 
 crooked and twisted. On the other hand, when planted 
 in the forests and well sheltered, they thrive beauti- 
 fully. 
 
 "About ten years ago we planted 16,000 very young 
 ones, of the thickness of a finger, in the old forest, on the 
 slopes of TaV)lc Mountain, in good black soil ; and although 
 during the first two or three years some were injured by
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 11 
 
 the baboons, which destroyed their bark, about 12,000 are 
 still alive and growing luxuiiantly. Most of them are 
 already thirty-six feet high, with a diameter of seven or 
 eight inches near the ground. Within a few years they 
 will produce serviceable beams and planks, sufficient for 
 all purposes. But as all the open spots in the forests have 
 not yet been planted, they likewise should be covered with 
 young trees. Moreover, all timber should be cut at the 
 right time, in winter, near the ground, and obliquely, that 
 the new shoots, which spring forth during the summer, 
 without anyku(jts — because nourished by the full strength 
 of the whole root — may after a few years have the required 
 thickness for staves. 
 
 " Unfortunately, the burghers of Stelleubo'^ch and 
 Drakenstein, whom we urged to plant a lew suitable oak 
 forests, selected unfavourable spots, so that, as we found 
 from personal inspection, the trees have, like some of those 
 here, been dwaifed. They should be advised to plant in 
 the many mountain kloofs, and bo pioperly assisted. We 
 have already supplied them with many young oaks, 
 but thousands more are standing ready for removal at 
 Rustenburgh. 
 
 " 'I'ho dwarf-wood would bo very useful as fuel for the 
 ships, but might be saved for a long time to come, if the 
 freemen, who are wood-cutters and carriers, were only 
 compelled, according to the placcaat, to add to each of their 
 loads four stumps to show that they have taken that 
 number out of the ground ; for by uprooting such stumps 
 the soil is turned completely over, and the tree seeds in it 
 are properly covered in loose soil, and spring forth so 
 abundantly that it seems almost ineredilile. 
 
 " Should, however, the stumps be left standing, the 
 seeds falling on them find no soil, and perish. Ilcnce for
 
 12 BamUes through the Archives of 
 
 a systematic cultivation of fuel the stumps should be 
 pulled up, and those refraining from doing so, punished. 
 
 " Those hitherto sent out by the Company, to barter 
 cattle from the natives, generally take their way through 
 Hottentots Holland, but find the mountains on the other 
 side so steej) that, in order to reach the top, they are 
 obliged to unyoke their cattle, and carry upon their 
 shoulders both wagons and loads. On the toj^, however, 
 they hnd the country flat and gently sloiung, with good 
 roads to the kraals of the Soussequas, Hessequas, and 
 Captain Coopman, in whose neighbourhood, we are told, 
 many forests exist, containing very high trees fit for all 
 kinds of timber, and which, if cut, might — but not without 
 trouble — be conveyed thence to the Castle on wagons over 
 three different roads, which could be made. The first 
 would be towards the Koode Zand, through the Berg 
 River ; but as the latter often remains impassable in that 
 neighbourhood for two or three months, that road would 
 mo»t likely be found the longest. 
 
 " The second would be from the forests mentioned, to 
 the top of the steep mountain-range referred to as lying 
 behind Hottentots Plolland. Thence the beams might be 
 easily lowered with ropes and windlasses, or over slides, 
 and so further conveyed to the Castle. This road would 
 be much shorter and better than the first. 
 
 " 'J'he third would be by w^ay of Drakenstein, and the 
 ridge or kloof lying behind it, over which, as far as the 
 high mountain-range, a road runs, known as the OUphanCs 
 pad, wide and broad in some parts, but very narrow at the 
 side of the steep range, and with a horrible abyss below. 
 No wagon could go over it at present, but it is a very short 
 one, and a few slaves might within three months' time so 
 widen it that wagons and oxen could conveniently pass
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 13 
 
 along. Not only would it secure easy access to the open 
 country of the Hottentots, but also to the forests near 
 them. It would be the best and shortest road, and like- 
 Avise the most useful. Heuce it deserves your attention. 
 Nor need yoii fear any obstruction or opposition from the 
 natives who live in the open air, and only use brush for 
 fuel ; for they would neither suffer any personal injury, 
 nor consider themselves aggrieved, if any trees were cut 
 down. 
 
 " The Company's cattle, having multiplied so rapidly, 
 should be properly cared for at the various stations, the 
 keepers being inclined to defraud and waste. The herds 
 should not be allowed to graze their animals near those of 
 the freemen, as they would soon find an ojiportunity for 
 exchanging the best of the Company's for the worst of 
 the burghers'. For the same reason no freeman should be 
 permitted to graze his cattle on any of the said stations. 
 This evil should be guarded against as much as possible. 
 
 " To economise the grass on the stations, the freemen 
 should not be allowed to outs2:)an on them for grazino- 
 their cattle. This has already been provided for by 
 placcaat, which, if well observed and always modified 
 according to circumstances, will greatly benefit the breed- 
 ing stock, and secure excellent meat for both ?hips and 
 hospital. This course would likewise benefit the Hot- 
 tentots, fur by continually bartering away their cattle to 
 the Company and the freemen, and their internecine wars 
 in which they capture each ether's stock, wliich they are 
 not in the habit of saving, but immediately on tlieir return 
 home ctmsume in honour of their victory — each year has 
 seen their herds diminishing and theujselves poorer. 
 Hence, being so jealous of each other, they should be pro- 
 tected and governed with great gentleness, and already
 
 14 Rambles through the Archives of 
 
 we have accuHtomod tlicm n()t to make war on each otlier 
 before giving ns timely notice and obtaining our consent. 
 Hitherto they have likewise never ^efu^ed to appear before 
 us to be reconciled to each other, and settle their dif- 
 ferences amicably; submitting their disputes readily to 
 our decision. Wo earnestly recommend you to continue 
 this course. 
 
 " The hospital being very old, too small, and situated 
 on a very unhealthy spot, standing, as it does, on the 
 beach, affected in winter by the north-west winds and the 
 vile stench of the rotten sea-weeds in summer, to the 
 great inconvenience and injury of the patients, we decided 
 to build a new and much larger one near the Company's 
 gardens on a suitable spot, well provided with clear, fresh 
 water and pure air. We urge you strongly to complete 
 the building and carry out the rules drawn up for the 
 treatment of the patients, that those heljiless sufferers 
 may receive better accommodation and sustenance than 
 before. The freemen multiplying so rapidly will most 
 likely in three years' time be able to supply the Company 
 with all the slieep required by it. In tliat case, all the 
 stations should be broken up, as yielding no profit, but 
 causing heavy expense. And whereas the free butchers, 
 although permitted by the Lord of Mydrecht to kill and 
 sell at a fixed price, often sit with folded arms for four or 
 six months, with the excuse that they have been unable 
 to obtain any or a sufficient number of cattle for slaughter, 
 and then suddenly again commence to kill for a short time 
 for burghers and soldiers all kinds of meat, sound and 
 unsound — a jtroceeding that should not be allowed— and 
 whereas such conduct arises jiurely from their selfish 
 natures, as they not only obtain cattle in a detestable 
 manner, but likewise do nut hesitate to buy whole troops
 
 the Colony of the Cajie of Good Hope. 15 
 
 of unsound and scurvy * sheep, whose disease is of such an 
 evil and poisonous nature that it can never be healed, 
 infecting, as it docs, not only the pastures over which they 
 roam, but also the sheds in which they pass but a single 
 nio-ht, with such a virulent contagion, that all other flocks 
 bruiitrlit ou tlio same ^rouiuls aud sheltered in the same 
 sheds are immediately infected ; an evil which we have 
 endeavoured to prevent expressly by placcaat, viz, that 
 scurvy sheep shall not be depastured with healthy ones, 
 although, to our regret, very little eftect has been given 
 to it — and whereas it has been found that neither those 
 sheep nor those sheds, although washed a hundred times, 
 and even whitewashed with lime, can again be disinfected — 
 and whereas such sheep, brought to fresh and good pastures, 
 seemingly get lid of the scab and drop its crust, gaining 
 flesh finely, but retaining within them the infection, so 
 that, as soon as the jiasturage becomes indifferent, and 
 they are pinched by the winter cold, the evil at once 
 again reveals itself — and whereas the said free butchers 
 use such sheep, mixed up with many mad and a few 
 good ones, for killing, and sell the meat to the garrison 
 and the burghers, so that, in conscfiuence of this incurable 
 infection, only heavy sickness and ill-health must result 
 for the people — therefore, it will be necessary to exa- 
 mine and approve of all slaughter cattle before ihey are 
 killed. 
 
 " Should it be found pos-ible to breed a largo number 
 of horses, many oxen might bo withdra\m from work, 
 aud cattle would become so abundant that neither ships 
 nor hospital would ever be in want. But, then, a good 
 supply of forage should also be sown — barley, lnu'se-bejins. 
 and oats. The latter should be ordered from Holland and 
 * Schur/'t or Uraud ZUJ.U.
 
 16 Rambles through the Archives of 
 
 sown separately ; and though the earlier settlers were 
 under an erroneous impression that they afterwards de- 
 generated into weeds and spoilt the corn-lands, they 
 could bo prevented from causing injury if pulled out or 
 cut off at the same time with the wheat, for the seeds 
 having then dropt would spring forth again, and could be 
 completely destroyed by the plough. . . . 
 
 " It should also be considered whether those freemen 
 wlio arrive here poor, are no agriculturists, and simply 
 support themselves by swindling and usury, and sucking 
 the marrow out of the bones of the farmers, with no other 
 object than to become rapidly rich, and, having succeeded, 
 to retiirn Avith their booty to the fatherland as soon as 
 their time has expired, should not, before their departure, 
 and in addition to their passage-money, pay a certain 
 exit-tax to be calculated according to the fortunes made 
 by them here. 
 
 " The burghers who mount guard outside the Castle 
 should continue to do so in small companies, in order to 
 become thoroughly accustomed to martial discipline and 
 the use of arms, that in times of war they may know what 
 to do. . . . 
 
 " The goods of the Company should be always valued 
 and priced in a full meeting of the Council — only mem- 
 bers attending — and the price current should be affixed 
 annually at the Castle gate and the houses of the 
 burghers. 
 
 " All these matters came under oiir observation during 
 tlie nineteen years of our administration, and therefore we 
 decided to add them to what has gone before, and, in con- 
 clusion, merely refer to the exhaustive codes of instructions 
 left behind by the various Commissioners, especially the 
 Lord of ]\Iydrecht, regarding the government of the
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 17 
 
 Castle, the duties of the officials, the despatch of the ships, 
 and the management of the school and the slaves. 
 
 " We recommend ) on and the Company's possessions to 
 the Holy and Worthy Protection of the Almighty, cordially 
 praying His Divine Majesty to guide you with His Holy 
 Spirit, and grant you such equity and prudence, and like- 
 wise such an upright, pure, and steadfast mind, combined 
 with such faithful diligence as j'ou may be in need of, fjr 
 the administration of Church and State, and the further- 
 ance of the Company's interests here, that your work may 
 tend to magnif}' God's Holy Name, satisfy our master.-, 
 and preserve and augment your own honour and reputa- 
 tion. This we cordially wish you. 
 
 " Dated at the Castle Good Hope, this 30th day of 
 March, 1699. 
 
 " (Signed) S. vax der Stel." 
 
 What will strike the reader especially in this memo- 
 randum is the writer's unfeigned distru.st of ^-ome of the 
 Huguen ,ts settled in the Colony, or, more correctly speak- 
 ing, of their political proclivities. 
 
 But what could have induced him to express himself 
 thus seveielj'? Let me endeavour to find the answer, for, 
 even if unsuccessful, the attempt itself will enable me to 
 lay before the reader i-ome portions of the archives con- 
 nected with the Huguenots at the Caj)e and their felhjw- 
 sufferers in Europe and elsewliere, which 1 have reason to 
 believe are not generally known, although of great 
 interest.
 
 18 Ramhles through the Archives of 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 In order to judge the Governor fairly and understand his 
 position correctly, it will be necessary to go back a few 
 yeais preceding the arrival of the Huguenots in this 
 Colony. In the year 16(56 Louis XIV. of France had, 
 after the Peace of the Pyrenees, directed his Minister 
 Colbert to found the Koyal Academy of Sciences at Paris. 
 One of its special o1)jects was, according to Pere Tacliard, 
 to make observations in foreign countries, correct .geogra- 
 phical charts, facilitate navigation, and perfect astronomy. 
 The East Indies and China especially, in which latter 
 country arts had flourished for 4000 years, were the object 
 of the monarch's ambition, and the more so, after he had 
 heard of the successes of the missionaries there. The 
 enthusiasm created in his breast by the nari'ative of Father 
 Couplet, who passed through Paris from China on his way 
 to Home, would alone have been sufiScient to urge him on 
 to extraordinary efforts; but the arrival of two Siamese 
 mandarins, escorted by a priest named Monsieur le Vach-^t 
 — a missionary settled in Siam — who ha'i been sent by 
 their King to learn news of the embassy which he had 
 sent to the King of France, with magnificent presents, on 
 l)oard a vessel reported to have been cast away, convinced 
 him that the Asiatic monarch was anxious to win his 
 friendship, and might likewise be induced to embrace the 
 Christian faith. Six Jesuit mis>ionaries were accordingly 
 selected — among them Pere Tachard — not only for the 
 purpose of scientific research and observation, but likewise 
 to use their best endeavours to propagate Christianity and 
 convert the King. 
 
 Among the lattcr's * subjects was the Greek Constan- 
 
 * His name was Phra Narai, and he was made King under that of 
 Piira (Jhao Hang Pliuok. See Sir J. Buwriiig's Siam, 1857; who 
 further mentions that his Prime Minister, the Greek CuUbtantiiie
 
 the Colon 2/ of the Cape of Good Hope. 19 
 
 tine Phaulcon, who had been raised to the rank of Prime 
 Minister. He appears to have enjoyed the full confidence 
 of his master, and pnsses.-ed unbounded influence over 
 him ; and, beini^ one of the converts of the Roman mis- 
 sionaries, liad urged his sovereign to send the ambassadors 
 to France, whose luckless fate in the French East India 
 Ctjmpany's vessel, the Sun of the East, appears to have 
 been as sad as that of those sent a few ycii'S lat-r in a 
 Portuguese vessel, the Nostra Senhora de los Milajros, whicli 
 was wrecked near Capo Agulhas. (See Besdution and 
 Journal, 21st of May, 1686.) 
 
 B it an auibass idor for Siam had likewise been appointed 
 by the French King — the Chevalier de Chaumont — and 
 he and the missionaries left Brest on the 3rd of March, 
 1685, in the ship UOiseau, accompanied by the King's 
 ship La Malujne, arriving at the Cape on the 21st of May, 
 1685. Here they found four large Dutch vessels in the 
 bay, one fl^'ing the admiral's flag. The latter had brought 
 the Hon. H. A. van Rheede, Lord of Mydrecht, sent pur- 
 posely to India to inspect the various residencies, and 
 leave the necessary instructions. He was a man of quality, 
 at that time about fifty years old, handsome, civil, wise, 
 and learned, thinking and speaking well on all sulijects. 
 The second was commanded by Mens. St. Martin, a French- 
 man by birth, Major-General of Batavia and Cummander- 
 in-chief of the Indian forces. Pere Tachard found them 
 both, and likewise Commander Van der Stel, to be men of 
 worth, and he " felt happy that during his stay he had 
 
 Phaulcon, converted to Cliristianity by the missioniiries, was not only 
 .suspected and di.sliked for drawing away many niamlarins from their 
 ancLstral religion, Ijut that tiiere were sufficient grounds for believing 
 tliat lie was likewise anxious to iiaud over the sovereignty of Siara to 
 the French King, of which tiie advent of considerable bodies of French 
 soldiers is unmistakable evidence. Tiie independence of tlie country 
 and tiie preservation of its religion accordingly gave Clmo Dura, a 
 natural sou of Plira Narai, and Plira Phetraxa, an opportunity of 
 con.spiring again.st the King and assassinating Constiintine. Tliese 
 explanations I have deemed necessary to enable the reader to under- 
 stand a large portion of tlie Archives of tliis period. See also, in 
 connection witli tliis, the despatch from the Cape to Batavia, dat<.d 
 3rd of iMay, lUSS.
 
 20 Bamlles through the Archives of 
 
 such men to deal with." Every arrangement was made 
 for their comf<.)rt, ami every assistance rendered them 
 for making such observations as they deemed necessary, 
 especially for fixing tho exact longitude of the Cape. 
 Apartments were provided for them in the summer-house 
 in the Company's gardens, which they speak of as the 
 loveliest and mo>t curious conceivahle in a cuuntrv having 
 the ap})earance of being one of the most dismal and barren 
 spots on t-arth. Commissioner Van Kheede especially 
 showed them great favour; and when the hour of their 
 dejiarture had arrived, they found that the Governor had 
 sent on board for their use some tea and Canary wine, 
 whilst they on the other hand presented him with a micro- 
 scojie and a small burning-glass. The Lord of Mydrecht 
 gave them letters of introduction to the Governor-General 
 and others at Batavia, and wished them God's-speed. 
 He and the rest seemed greatly affected at the departure 
 of the missionaries, embraced them tenderly, and said, 
 "We pray God that your designs may succeed, antl you 
 may bring a great number of infidels to the knowledge of 
 the true God." I'hc}' obtained from M. Yan der Stel much 
 useful information, making at the same time the acquaint- 
 ance of a young physician of Breslau in k>ilesia, called 
 H. Claudius, who for his great abilities had been retained 
 at the Ca])e. He had travelled in China and Japan, 
 closely observing everything there. He drew and painted 
 animals and idants perfectly' well, and had been kept here 
 piirposely to assist the Dutch in making new discoveries, 
 and studying the natural history of South Africa. He 
 had completed two great volumes of several plants, drawn 
 to the life, and also made a collection of the same, which 
 he had pasted to the leaves of another volume. M. Yan 
 Ehecde always had these books by him, and showed them 
 to the missionaries, intending to ]iublish a Hortiis Africanus 
 after his Hortus 3[(dahancHi<!. 1'his learned jdaj'sician had 
 already been as far as six score leagues into the interior 
 towards the north and east, in order to make new dis- 
 coveries, and from him the missionaries obtained all theii 
 knowledge of the countrj-, of which he gave them a little 
 map, made with his own hand, and adorned with some
 
 tlie Colony of the Cape of Good Eope. 21 
 
 likenesses of the natives and the rarest animals.* The 
 reception of the ADibassador and the missionaries at 
 Siam was everything that could be wished for, and not 
 long afterwards it was arranged by the Prime Minister, 
 Constantine, that Pere Tacliard should alone return to 
 Europe, report progress, and secure the services of a staff 
 of missionaries.! The result we find in the general 
 despatch from the Cape to The Seventeen, dated the 2tjth 
 of April, 1688, and quoted below: — 
 
 "On the 9th June, 1G87, the French King's ship L<i 
 Loire arrived here, and two days later Le Gaillard, 
 L'Oiseau, Le Drommedaire, La Normande, and La Mali(jne. 
 They had left France on the 1st of March, and were pro- 
 ceeding to Siam. All were large and well-armed ships, 
 having on board Mons. Vaudricourt as Admiral, Mons. du 
 Quesne, junior, as Vice- Admiral, and twelve companies of 
 sailors and soldiers under the command of the Marquis 
 des Farges, Field-Marshal and late Governor of Brisac. 
 
 " The Loire wished to make it appear that she knew 
 nothing of any other French ships, but as we were aware 
 of the contrary, we began silently to arm ourselves and to 
 call all the men in. The powder-magazines were secured, 
 and large supplies conveyed into the Castle, as the Com- 
 mander was determined, should the least act of hostility 
 be committed, to set fire to the whole settlement, anil 
 leave the French nothing. 
 
 * Some time ago the late Mr. J. C. Jutii presented a vcjlumo to tlic 
 South African Public Library, couaisting of a sketcli in watcr-coluuis 
 of the Kopi-rherg, and of many dniwingrf of iiuliLrcniius jdaiitn, birds, and 
 animals. Tlie excfution of the wlioU; is marvellously iK'uutiful, and it 
 is just likely that the arti.-it was llLiidrik Cl.iudiu.s. the apothecary 
 from Brcslau, who attended ComiiiandLT Van drr Stil on his journey 
 to Namaqualand. Already, in 1802, Com.-Geu. De Mist complained in 
 his voluminous report that the volume was missing from the Archives. 
 At present alH)ut twenty drawings are wanting to the original number 
 as given by Ue Mist. 
 
 t The English edition of Pere Tachard's Voyage to Siam, 12mo, IGSS, 
 was kindly lent to me by C. A. Fairbridge, Eeq.
 
 22 Rambles through ike Archives of 
 
 " The two- vcssols in the P)ay were anchored close in 
 tihore, and other precautions adopted ; and thiis the French 
 found us on tlie 11th of June. They sent some of their 
 oflficers on shore to greet the Commander and ask permis- 
 sion to obtain refreshments and land their sick. The 
 annexed note, however, will show you what arrogant 
 language they used. It was sent to us as it is — blotted, 
 undated, and unsigned. 
 
 " In order not to embitter them by a refusal, but to 
 remove everything that might give them a pretext for 
 quarrelling, we decided to receive them with our guns 
 ready for action, and otherwise prepared, but at the same 
 time to allow them to bring a certaiu nuuiber of sick on 
 shore, and buy what they required from the freemen at 
 the most favourable prices which the latter could obtain. 
 Good watch was kept that no one approached the Fort 
 without permission, or landed arms, or that healtliy men 
 were left on shore dxiring the night. No boats were 
 allowed to be moored at the jetty after sunset or before 
 sunrise, and only the surgeons were allowed to remain 
 with the sick, assisted by as many men as they required. 
 
 " It was much in our favour that many had died on the 
 voyage, that very many were sick, and that the healthy 
 ones were so divided among themselves by dissensions, that 
 the}' really were unable to attempt anj'thing. They were 
 evidently also very much disappointed that certain per- 
 sons, suspected by the Governor of too much familiarity 
 with them, had in good time been sent away to Mauritius 
 and Batavia, and therefore not again met by them here. 
 The one was Pierre Couchet, a Frenchman of Amiens, who 
 had managed to obtain the position of gardener here, and 
 in whose possession the Governor found a letter addressed 
 to the heads and directors of the foreign Mission Societies
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 23 
 
 at Paris, in the Faubourg St. Germain, and which he had 
 undertaken to see delivered safe! 3^ himself, a copy of which 
 we annex. The other was Ilendrik Claudius, an apothe- 
 cary in your service. What understanding he had with the 
 Jesuits has been fully shown, to our great perturbation, 
 by their book lately published regarding their Siamese 
 voyage. In it his name is mentioned, and it is plainly 
 stated that he communicated to them everything about 
 the Colony and our inland expeditions, and perhaps more 
 besides than we know of. 
 
 " Everything, fortunately, went off well ; the French left 
 on the 28th of June, after warmly thanking us in their 
 own name and that of their King for all the kindness re- 
 ceived by them. The general, admiral, and mostly all the 
 officers, and the envoys, Messrs. De la Loubert and Sebret, 
 called on the Governor to bid him farewell, as represent- 
 ing the Hon. Company. But the frigate La Malujne 
 remained behind, in order to return to France and carry 
 news to the King of their progress hitherto. She left on 
 the 9th of July, and took a letter to you. 
 
 " We suffered a great loss by the death, during the stay 
 of the French here, of Captain Hieronymus Cruse. We 
 could find no more suitable successor than his able Lieute- 
 nant Dominiques de Chavonnes, and therefore we decided 
 to appoint him, involved as we Avere in perilous times, 
 and ignorant also of the state of Europe and our country, 
 the intentions of the French, their present strength, or 
 what it might still be afterwards. We made Ensign J, 
 li'ootsteen Lieutenant, and Sergeant I. Schryver Ensign, 
 subject to your approval. The garrison consists of a rough 
 lot and of different creeds, so that we were obliged to pro- 
 vide it with efficient officers in good time, as matters 
 would be in a bad state, should a sudden attack occur and
 
 24 Ramhhs through the Archives of 
 
 there were no able officers at hand. We are far from our 
 friends and at the mercy of our enemies, whose only warn- 
 iug would be the blow when struck. As it is, we are 
 each moment in danger of our necks and of losing all. 
 Moreover, the hard-heartedness of the imprisoned Lieutc- 
 rjant B., whom for our own security we removed from 
 Kobben Island to the Castle, during tlie presence here of 
 the French, that he might be in safe keeping, caused us 
 great anxiety. 
 
 " We lost nothing, however, by stopping all agricultural 
 and other works during the presence of the French, be- 
 cause we were obliged to call all the men to the Castle, 
 for we learned to know our weak points and how to pre- 
 pare ourselves in case of a hostile attack, in order not to 
 
 be overpowered.* 
 
 ♦ * * « * 
 
 " To call the men to arms as soon as possible in cases of 
 
 * It is not to be supposed however, tJiat, because tlic farmers had 
 been culled away from their ploughs, and unable to sow, tlie Com- 
 mander had exposed the Colony to tlie danger of a bread famine. In 
 the same despatch 2Gth of April, 1088) h<> says: "We have hitherto 
 done our best to realise your objiet regarding the Colony, which by 
 (rfd's grace has so far a Ivanct d that wc have 3GG4 muiils of wheat in 
 >tiick, which will serve us for n]nro than two ytars, excinsivtly of 
 what is still in the hands of the freemen and at the Company's posts, 
 as we had no sullicient storage for the whole quantity, or cellars for 
 the wine. Of the latter we still have sixty-nine leaguers on hand, 
 although fourieen have been sent to Ceylon by the Lnuicinhtrtj and 
 fiinr to Manritius. In order to make room for the new harvest, wo 
 intend to send sixty lasts of wheat and some leaguers of wine to 
 Batavia, at the request of and in repayment for what the High 
 ('overnment has been pleased to send us this year by that ship. Wc- 
 sliall not fail to send by the outward-bound ships aa much corn to 
 Batav'a as they can take in, and t • do so more and m ire every yi ar, 
 !-o that by these means we may bo able to equalise the exjienditure 
 and revenue of this residmcy. The chimces arr all favourable, as we 
 have an abundance of all kinds of Fatlnrland grain, Natd corn, ami 
 barley, besides the clioioest of European, American, and Asiatic tree 
 and ground fruits, all of which thrive i;ere famonsly. The Commander 
 attends most carefully to the cultivation, so that the people assisted
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 25 
 
 emergency, we decided to place small guns (see also 
 Journal, 14th of May, 1690) at different spots, to give 
 them notice to rally around their standards. One was 
 placed on the Tigerberg, one at the Schuur, another on 
 the Stellenbosch Kloof, and another at Drakenstein. 
 
 " As cavalry is most indispensable here, we formed a 
 corps among the burghers. The number at present is 
 thirty-nine, and that of the infantry one hundred and 
 twenty, exclusive of officers. 
 
 " The Stellenbosch burghers, not wishing to be back- 
 ward, also formed a corps of dragoons, forty strong. They 
 received their standard from the Governor himself at 
 the Castle. Eighty men were left for the company of 
 infantry — all fine and smart fellows, who have courage 
 enough to show that, when it comes to a pinch, the 
 devotion with which they served as soldiers in the 
 Fatherland has not been driven out of them by agricul- 
 tural pursuits. 
 
 " They all deserve pity, and we are pained tliat they 
 have been obliged to neglect their ploughing and sowing 
 season in order to defend the Castle from the threatened 
 attack of the French, who managed to select a time for 
 their arrival when the roadstead was without any of your 
 ships, and the agriculturists were hard at work. The 
 latter, therefore, not only lost their harvest, but also their 
 
 and advised by him arc free from nil danger of suflfirine: want. ^lore- 
 over, they have a large stock of all kinds of fowls and animuls, 
 especially of |>igs, having been tanglit liow to fatten, salt, and smoke 
 them. We havf, by making a trial, found that lieef saltfd and .snioktd 
 here 's as good as that from Holland, and can be kept as well and 
 porhu/s bitter, if the peoplo could only Ijc persuaded, as the (iovernor 
 has urged them, to enclose their pabtures and mako them safe from wild 
 beasts, that the catth' may be able to feed during the nigiit. winn thfy 
 grow best in llesh. Siiould, therefore, in course of time tlu- (pinntity 
 of cflttlc become so large that enough can be slaughtt red witiiout 
 injury to nj^riculture, uo small comfort may be expected for the Colony."
 
 20 Bamhles through the Archives of 
 
 seed-coni, for, if sown too late, the parasites destroy the 
 crops.* 
 
 " The returns show the following resi;lts (Cape dis- 
 trict) : — 
 
 Wheat sown, 87^ muids ; reaped, 746 muids. 
 Ryo „ 17i „ „ 178 „ 
 
 Barley „ 9f „ „ 65 „ 
 
 Men, 123; women, 54; sons, 70; daughters, 72; men- 
 servants, 20 ; slaves, 1G6 ; female ditto, 37 ; children ditto, 
 27; oxen, 611; cows, 6)7; heifers, 175; calves, 187; 
 horses, 99 ; sheep, 17,084; pigs, 87 ; firelocks, 187 ; pistols, 
 42 ; swords, 108 ; vine stocks, 293,600. 
 
 " That the harvest of the Stellenbosch people cannot 
 be compared with that of the preceding year, and what 
 their loss has been, one examj)le will suffice to show ; 
 as it has often been seen that five bushels of wheat pro- 
 duced from 50 to 60 muids. When they sowed last, the 
 following were the results : — 
 
 Wheat sown, 294^ muids; reaped, 1110^ muids. 
 %e „ 291 „ ,, 1401 „ 
 
 Barley „ 7j „ „ 19^ „ 
 
 A great difference indeed compared with preceding yields ! 
 We trust that God will in future bless their labours 
 abundantly, and let us live together free from all annoy- 
 ance, in peace and security ! 
 
 " We and they have reason to thank Ilim that in His 
 fathomless mercy He has been pleased abundantly to 
 prosper them with wives and children, servants, and 
 chattels, for at present the returns are (i.e. at Stellen- 
 bosch) : — Men, 131 ; women, 34 ; sons, 49 ; daughters, 40 ; 
 servants, 19 ; slaves, 64 ; female ditto, 7 ; children ditto, 9 ; 
 * See note, p. 24.
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 27 
 
 oxen, 868; cows, 289; heifers, 213; calves, 241 ; horses, 
 56; sheep, 13,058; pigs, 141; firelocks, 157; swords, 47; 
 pistols, 22 ; vines, 109,300. It is therefore evident that 
 we have 350 freemen capable of bearing arms, their 
 children (full grown) and loan-servants included,* so 
 that with God's help we shall soon be able to oppose any 
 foreign power which might wish to nestle here." 
 
 But though the Commander spoke hopefully, it was no 
 easy matter for the people to carry ceaselessly the spade 
 in one hand and the sword in the other. Even in times 
 of the greatest security their life was a hard one, for 
 on the 15th of April, 1689, he wrote as follows to the 
 Seventeen : — 
 
 " The labour required of the newly-arrived settlers is 
 immense, in order to prepare their lands for corn, wine, 
 and other crops. The ground, never cultivated since the 
 creation of the world, is full of bush and roots, &c., which 
 must be taken out, so that only after three or four years 
 fair crops may be expected. The farmers have a hard life 
 of it in order to make a living. They mostly arrive here 
 destitute ; their tools and implements and household neces- 
 saries cost more here than at home. They are, therefore, 
 obliged to become debtors to the Company. This oppresses 
 them for a long while before they are able to clear off 
 their liabilities, as they cannot under such circumstances 
 compete favourably with long-settled residents." 
 
 * It is not all unlikely that, if things had come to the worst, he 
 would have ranied out his intention of biowins; up the whok- settle- 
 ment rather tliaii let it fall into the hands (jf the enemy. He never 
 failed in ju-ompt action, never hesitated when called upon to do, and, 
 however terrible he might have deemed the sacrifice, we believe 
 he would as leadily have given liis life for tlie Company as his 
 father before him, and, with his B.'iO burgliers capalile of "carrying 
 arms, done what Leonidas and his brave oOO Spartans did at Ther- 
 mopyla>, about twenty centuries previously — rather died than surren- 
 dered his trust.
 
 28 Bamhles through the Archives of 
 
 It was still poace, however, when the Governor wrote 
 to Batavia on the l]rd of May, 1G88, that the GaiUard and 
 Loire had arrived in Table Bay from Siani, having on 
 board the Envoy De la Loiibert and Fere Tachard, who 
 was likewise an Envoy from the King of Siam to their 
 Majesties of France and England, and to the Pope. Fere 
 Tachard communicated to him the great designs which the 
 King of Franco had on the Siamese territories. He felt 
 certain of returning thither shortl}', and had forty-four 
 samples of different kinds of gold, silver, copper, tin, and 
 other mineral ores ; also some rough diamonds, garnets, 
 rubies, agates, &c. All had been found in Siam, and were 
 taken as a present to the King of France. He asked Com- 
 mander Van dcr Stel to smelt some of the minerals when 
 he returned from France, and to inform him of the results. 
 But when the Commander offered to do so at once, he 
 pretended that he could not very well get at them with- 
 out great loss of time, and therefore no information could 
 be given to the Seventeen on this point.
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 20 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Whatever intentions the French fleet under VaTulricoiirt 
 might have had, the Commander and officers liad been so 
 thoroughly disarmed by the courtesy and politeness of 
 Cummander S. van der Stel, qualities which were innate 
 in him, and which he could neither conceal nor suppress, 
 that after the Orlfiamme, commanded by M. L'Estrelle, 
 carrying ;-00 soldiers and sailors and 54 guns, arrived in 
 Table Bay, on her way to Siam, the Governor wrote to 
 Batavia on the 18th, and particularly to Commissioner- 
 General II. A. van Rheede on the 24th of June, that on the 
 day after his arrival M. L'Estrelle landed with ten or 
 twelve officers and noblemen and thanked the Commander 
 Van der Stel in the name of his King for his services and 
 acts of kindness and friendship shown to the French, and 
 in acknowledgment of the same jiresented him with His 
 Majesty's portrait encased in a gold medallion with a blue 
 ribbon, attached to an artistically made gold chain of 
 quadruple links. 
 
 The presentation took place in the presence of the 
 Secunde Aiidries de Man, Fiscal Dirk van Ivuyk, and 
 Secretary Grevenbroek, who acted as interpreter. The 
 Commander accepted the gift to sliow his respect for 
 His Maj- sty, but added that he would communicate the 
 fact to his masters and ask their permission to keep the 
 present. M. L'Estrelle replied: "It is enough: I fully 
 understand your meaning." In his letter to the Seventeen 
 he says that he was afraid to refuse to accejit the gift, in 
 order to give no oftl'uce. (See letter despatched on the 
 14th of January, 1G88, p. 10 J.) 
 
 It may be suggested that the present had some political 
 meaning, and was intended to shako Van der Stel's 
 loyalty to the Company, but he had invariably been kind 
 and hospitable to foreign visitors without distinction ;
 
 30 Ea miles throwjh the Archives of 
 
 stretcliiiifi; the powers vested in liiiii as far as his oatli and 
 honour would allow. To this Jithn Ovinj^ton readily 
 testifies on the part of the English ; whilst on the 
 
 IjrTiT.' f jiuK.'iii!)"' ^® received a letter from the Danish East 
 India Company, sent by the squadron, the Flijimj 
 Wolf and consorts, Tinder the command of Mauri tz van 
 Hartniann, purposely written, to thank him for Jiis in- 
 variable kindness and assistance rendered to the Danes, 
 and in warm and graceful terms to express their ap])recia- 
 tion of the same. Hence the conclusion to be drawn 
 would rather be this, that whatever cause of quarrel the 
 French might have srmght in order, during their stay at 
 the Cape, to have it all their own way, he had completely 
 disarmed and won them by his judicious conduct, his 
 kindly disposition, and gentle, manly bearing, which 
 seldom fail to produce reciprocal heartiness and respect, 
 where otherwise the most deplorable results might 
 ensue. 
 
 It was true that there was still peacn, but little did 
 some French ships care about that, for, as mentioned in 
 the general despatch of the 26th of April, 1088, the cap- 
 tain of the Sillida on his arrival in Table Bay reported 
 that in lat. 3^ or 4° N, he had been attacked by two 
 French vessels, which had boarded and searched him, 
 taken out a Frenchman, and compelled the Sillida to 
 salute them. Nor was this an exceptional case. 
 
 It was true that the French trooi)s in Siain were dying 
 rapidly away, and that, as stated by Admiral Du (^uesne, 
 there was no chance of any of them surviving much longer, 
 and likewise that not much dependence could be i)laced 
 (m the stability of the Siamese King's friendship, but that 
 would only affect the Indian trade to a slight degree in 
 favour of the Dutch and English, in case the French al)an- 
 doned Siam, as they were not long afterwards obliged to 
 do, when the revolution and the massacre had taken place 
 there ; but then it was also cm the cards that a certain 
 and general European war against France was merely a 
 (juestion of days or weeks, and that should such an un- 
 toward event happen, Louis XIV., if at all successful, and 
 perhaps assisted by England, would have his hands free
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Rope. 31 
 
 to do almost what he liked in India. The Grand Alliance, 
 however, hampered him, and tlie reader of hi.stury ]<n(jw.s 
 how, even with siieh a formidable array against her, Franco 
 could hold her own on the Continent, and wunld have 
 gained the day, if Louis had not, in the excess of his foil}', 
 taken the management of the war and the aj^pointment of 
 the generals into his own hands. 
 
 In good time, though very nearly too late, William III. 
 found himself free to act — after having convened a new 
 Parliament — and had it not been for his rapid successes 
 in Ireland, which kept the French ships confined and 
 " broke the heart of Tyrconnel," the infinitesimal army of 
 Simon van der Stel at the Cape would have been com})elled 
 to retire before the mariners and soldiers of France, and 
 the Cape itself converted into a French settlement. In 
 that case the whole of India would have been lost to both 
 England and tlie States. 
 
 Moreover, the distance from Europe was great, and 
 half a year was required before news could reach the ( 'ape 
 of what was happening theie. How then could the Com- 
 mander do otherwise than fear the presence of one of the 
 many elements in a community which, because Catholic, 
 and having no ties of fellowship to bind them to the Pro- 
 testants expelled from France, were for that very reason 
 the more dangerous as partisans of France in case of a war 
 with that country ? Or, when a sui)posed Protestant 
 Frenchman, like Couchet, was discovered to have been on 
 the most intimate terms wiili the Jesuits who had been at 
 the Cape? No wonder, therefore, that Van der Stel 
 dreaded the mixed character of his garrison, and was 
 anxious to ap])oint the ablest oificeis whoso services he 
 could command ! Iletice he descriljcs only one of the 
 difliculties of his position, when after being informed of 
 the troubles at Nag;»i»atnam — without even referring to 
 his other cares — ho says : — 
 
 "The misfortune which befell those of Nagapattiam 
 will show what terrible anxiety, j)ainful days, and sleep- 
 less nights wo pass through, for often we also are hard
 
 32 Rambles through the Archives of 
 
 l>uslieil and threatened by conspiracies of slaves and con- 
 victs, fortunately always discovered in time Ly God's 
 grace. Never, however, did the Colony appear to suffer 
 more inconvenience from that ral)l)le tlian a month ago 
 when seven or eight slaves placed a black freeman at their 
 head and fled inland, armed with knives, a gun, some 
 powder and lead, &c. During the night thej' broke into 
 a freeman's house and shot the hunter of the Company, 
 who had rushed to the assistance of the owner. After 
 having done more mischief and taken awaj' three guns, 
 powder, food, &c., they went away, intending to attack 
 another freeman's house the following night and murder 
 all the inmates, giving the arms to the slaves found on 
 the place. In that way having largely increased their 
 number, they decided to kill the freemen one after another 
 and destroy the Colony entirely. They would have suc- 
 ceeded if the slaves of the Company and freemen and the 
 convicts had joined them ; for they are far superior in 
 numbers tothe whites, and would have made it sufficiently 
 hot for us ; but the Commander having been in good time 
 informed of their plans, decided to smother the monster in 
 its cradle. All the passes were occupied by the Company's 
 servants and freemen ; the conspirators were surroundt-d 
 on all sides, and in a river, thickly covered with rush and 
 trees, they fought four hours desperately against six of 
 the freemen, and were only overpowered after having 
 killed one of the latter. 'J'hree of the ringleaders were 
 killed fighting to the last. Four others and a female were 
 conveyed to the Castle, where they will be rewarded 
 according to their deserts. 
 
 " Under such circumstances it is too dangerous to give 
 fire-arms to slave herds — hence, last year, we issued a 
 placcaat forbidding it, even knives included."
 
 the Colonij of the Cape of Good Hope. 33 
 
 He further shows in this same despatch that the gar- 
 rison consisted merely of a captain, a lieutenant, an ensign, 
 and seven sergeants —five of the latter were stationed at 
 each point of the Castle ; one was at Saldanha Baj', and 
 the other at Clapmnts, sujiorintcnding the Avorks — fifteen 
 hundred niuids of corn having been won at that station. 
 There wt-re also ten corporals : two were at Robben Island 
 — one superintended the gathering of shells, itc., and the 
 other had charge of the imjtrisoned Lieutenant B. ; both 
 had to take care of the place with their men, and report 
 all ships' arrivals — one was at the Kiiilen, and another at 
 Hottentots Holland ; the rest were stationed in the Castle. 
 Fifty-five soldiers were distributed between the main 
 guard and the points, and twenty-two emjiloyed in fetching 
 fuel. 
 
 With bitter irony he adds : — 
 
 " These men guard your important fortress, within which 
 moreover wo have, as a snake in our bosom, a Macassar 
 Prince, with some of his generals and servants, exiled 
 hither, and ordered to be fed and guarded by us." * 
 
 * He was evidently the same known as Dain Majampa, formerly a 
 hostage sent hither from Bat;ivia in the Bhtnnice lliilh; in ItiSl. He 
 wished to rctnrn and liad all the time behavcil well. He had already 
 in 101(2 grown into an old man, and at his own reqnest and tlie wisli 
 of the Ca])e Council he was sent hack to India in l(,!i:j. Aiiotlicr had 
 died here in IGSl). See Jonriud of 27th of DicendnT of tiiat year. 
 
 To show how Van der Slel was obliged to be continually on his guard 
 against treachery, tlic following exam]ile will sutlice. Il is taken from 
 the Journnl of the 13th of May, 1G8!). Jean do la I\Iotte, a French 
 soldier in garrison here, revealed a conspiracy hatched betwei'U 
 anotiicr French soldier, Ludovic, and the Freiirh jirisonirs taken in 
 the Nor)iiini(h and Cih-Ih'. I>udovii> had told them that the inopk- liad 
 been all territied when they saw the s<iuadrcin arrive under the com- 
 mand of Cieneral des Fjarges and Mons Vaudricourt; that they were 
 all living in great discord with one another ; that there were blacks 
 ready to betray the Ciii>e; that the jieople here wished t<i kill one 
 another; that the country was a most beimtiful one, and richer than 
 was believed; that those who attai'ked it woidd not be in want of 
 adhercTits, and that there would be less resistance than was believed; 
 that the prisoners were to try and get themselves located on the 
 isthmus between Table and False I5ays, where they might hunt an<l 
 would have fresher air ; that Ludovic hiul reiiuested La Motte to 
 
 D
 
 34 Ranibles through the Archives of 
 
 But even setting all this aside, Yan der Stel's position 
 was in every sense one of grave anxiety. I have already 
 given his o^vn description of the insecurity and enormous 
 responsibility felt by him in one single matter, the deser- 
 tion of the slaves, tlie crimes committed by them, and the 
 difficulty of recapturing such fugitives. But let me add 
 to this the hundreds of sick in hospital, whose places on 
 board their ships he was obliged continually to fill with 
 healthy men taken from his garrison, so that often what 
 might on paper be called a defensive force, capable of 
 defending the fort, was in reality a host of invalids laid 
 up in hospital, and after restoration to health at once 
 removed on board of the outward-bound vessels to take 
 the place of the sick landed here for recovery. It is 
 therefore no exaggeration to say that a large percentage 
 of his ever-changing forces was generally unfit for duty. 
 
 But often those that were well — military, sailors, and 
 even burghers — were apt to escape from the Colony, when- 
 ever a favourable chance offei'ed, diminishing still further 
 the small number of men fit for active duty. It is said 
 that necessity has no law ; hence, no doubt, acting on the 
 strength of that proverb, English vessels often carried 
 away with them as many men as they could, no matter 
 how obtained. One example will suffice. In April, 1688, 
 Samuel Wyth, an Englishman, arrived here in the Princess 
 Mary, almost completely manned with blacks. He re- 
 ported that the Governor of Tenasserim, who was in great 
 favour with the King of Siam, had attacked and killed all 
 the English within his jurisdiction — about fifty in number 
 
 provide the French officers with an inkstand ; that a certain French 
 captain had once given him three or four jewels to sell ; that he had 
 exchanged a piece of clothing of theirs for something else; tliat 
 Liidovic had free access to tlie officers wlioiiever he liked, and had said 
 that only he and no one else would proceed inland with them, and liad 
 attempted to gain La Motte over on his side, &c. Secretary Greven- 
 bioek was horrified to hear all thi.s, and reported it to Administrator 
 de Man, and also to the Governor, who was at the time on hoard oul- of 
 the prizes. Ludovic was quietly made jjrisoner and examined, and all 
 the French prisoners (privates) on land and on board were securely 
 confined.
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 35 
 
 — and that he and three others had with difficulty escaped, 
 and with his little vessc4 and the Llaclcs managed to reach 
 the Cape in the best way he could. He declared that the 
 French had cansed this disaster by their intrigues, and 
 added, that of fourteen large ships at Benjial, the English 
 were not able to man two, as all the men had either been 
 murdered, died, or run away. They had even in vain 
 oifered from forty to fifty rupees to sailors of the Dutch 
 Company. 
 
 Under such circumstances it cannot be wondered at 
 that Captain Heath of the English ship Defence, which 
 had, assisted by her consort and three Dutch vessels, 
 beaten off the French squadron at Madras, commanded by 
 young Admiral du Quesne— of which we shall have occa- 
 bion to say more below — when at the Cape, induced foi ty 
 military, sailors, and freemen to desert. It was, however, 
 a poor Consolation for Van der Stel to be told about three 
 years later by Ambassador Goldsborough, proceeding to the 
 Court of the Grand Mogul, that Heath had, for what he had 
 done, been disrated and condemned to forfeit his wages. 
 (See Journal of the 1st of August, 1692.) 
 
 From the Hottentots living in the neighbourhood, and 
 towards the West, on this side of the Oliphant's Eiver, he 
 had to fear nothing, for in the general despatch to Holland 
 of the 20th of April, 1G88, he says : — 
 
 " Their captains, including those far distant, have either 
 by envoy or personally requested you, through the Com- 
 mander, to extend to them your friendship and protection. 
 They thoroughly understand that reverence for the Com- 
 pany makes each tribe live in peace with its neighbour, 
 and the result has been that they are rapidly multiplying 
 in numbers and in cattle, and growing more affectionately 
 disposed towards tis every day ; so that at present, in the 
 most busy time of the harvest, they do as the Westphalians, 
 who go down to Holland for ploughing and harvesting. 
 At the same time they are so averse to the English and 
 the Danes, and especially the French, that often we had 
 
 D 2
 
 36 Eambles through the Archives of 
 
 to use force to prevent them from interchanging blows 
 with foreigners." 
 
 But though these natives were so friendly and ready to 
 assist the whites, it seemed that the wealth obtained from 
 their intercourse with the latter had tempted the cupidity 
 of the Namaquas and Grigriquas, who were induced to 
 cross the Oliphant's Eiver to attack those located in the 
 neighbourhood of Saldanha Bay ; an emergency for which 
 the Commander had likewise to be jjrepared. He therefore 
 sent the marauders word, that if they did not desist or 
 retire he would attack them ; a . threat which was fortu- 
 nately effectual. 
 
 A more serious matter was the intention of the Ubiquas 
 or Bushmen to murder the Drakenstein settlers. Their 
 vicious nature was already well known at that time, 
 and no other plan appeared more feasible than' " to attack 
 and destroy them by fire and sword." The measures 
 adopted for the purpose were kept stiictly secret, however, 
 as the enemy was one that was not to be trifled with : 
 hence the Commando system was inaugurated, which still 
 plays such a prominent part in the history of South Africa, 
 and will not very likely soon be set aside for any other. 
 
 I
 
 the Colony of the Ccqje of Good Hope. 37 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 Another matter that mnst have sorely puzzled Tan der 
 Stel after the war broke out was the relation in which the 
 two sons and the nephew of the great Admiral du Quesne 
 stood, on the one hand, towards the Huguenots, and on the 
 other, towards France and its anti-Protestant King ; and 
 when we carefully ponder this subject, we cannot feel 
 surprised that the Governor distrusted the political pro- 
 clivities of some of the Huguenots settled here. 
 
 Personally he regarded them with great affection, if we 
 are to judge from what he wrote about them or did in 
 their favour. To give a few extracts. 
 
 On the 26th of April, 1688, he wrote to the Seventeen 
 in reply to theirs of the 11th of January, 1688 : — 
 
 " We hope to find among the expected French and Pied- 
 montese fugitives, some who are acquainted with the vine 
 stock and the planting of olive-trees, in order to teach the 
 older settlers what they as yet do not know about the 
 cultivation of those plants. . . . 
 
 " We are heartily glad that some French and other fugi- 
 tives are about to come out with their Minister. We shall, 
 as far as our humble efforts will permit us, receive them 
 with love and kindly feeling, and unsparingly lend them 
 a helping hand, according to yoiir orders, that we may re- 
 fresh and comfort them after all the sufferings and perse- 
 cutions which they have undergone ; and should they 
 conduct themselves as honestly and industriously as their 
 countrymen who settled here a while ago, they will mar- 
 vellously establish and strengthen this Colony, and gene- 
 rally rouse the highest emulation of the Netherlanders."
 
 38 Bamhl s through the Archives of 
 
 On the 28t]i of the same month he again wrote : — 
 
 " We shall lend a helping hand to the French fugitives 
 and give them proofs of Christian love, by helping them 
 on their legs ; " and to Delft on the same day : " The 
 Sion w'lW not call at the Cape. She ran into Saldanha 
 Bay, and will thence p)roceed direct to Batavia. The 
 French fugitives on board have been brought hither in 
 the coaster, the Jupiter. They were received by us with 
 proofs of Christian love and compassion, and will be 
 assisted in everything. We shall give them at the 
 earliest opportunity the two French Bibles and ten psalm- 
 books." 
 
 To Batavia he expressed himself as follows on the 2nd 
 of Sei^tember : — 
 
 " The Eev. Pierre Simond* arrived in the Zidcl Beveland, 
 on the 19th of August last, and will be followed by many 
 French and Piedmontese fugitives, who will settle here as 
 agriculturists, tradesmen, &c. We trust that they will 
 not disappoint the directors, and heartily pray God, that 
 He may abundantly bless this enterprise." 
 
 As we already mentioned before, he wrote to the Seven- 
 teen in feeling language concerning the difficulties and 
 sore trials which the new settlers were struggling with — 
 their poverty, and their hard battle to free themselves 
 from debt and compete on more favourable terms with the 
 older settlers. But he went much further than that in 
 
 * After his arrival good care was taken to convey him comfortably 
 and safely to his place of destination ; the Landdrost and Heemraden 
 were requested to show him that aftection, regard, and reverence which 
 his office and person demanded, and to assist him to the utmost of 
 their power in building a comfortable house for him. See letters des- 
 patched to Stellenbosch, IGth of October, 1G89. That he was not badly 
 off is proved by the fact that he could already in June, 1689, remit 
 f.lU to Holland. (Letters despatched to Holland 20th of June, 1689.)
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 39 
 
 his despatcli to Batavia, dated the 22iid of April, 1689. 
 There he unburdens his sj^mpathetic soul as follows : — 
 
 " The French fugitives sent hither from the Father- 
 land, and established here, will, in consequence of their 
 extreme poverty, not be able to enjoy any fruits of their 
 labours in these wild and desert lands for three or four 
 years to come. In the meanwhile they must be supported 
 by the Company, and assisted from the slender resources 
 of our poor-fund. Already the account for articles sup- 
 plied them since their arrival has been considerable, and 
 in order to relieve the Company of the burden as much as 
 possible for the future, and assist these poor people in the 
 most suitable manner, we request your Eight Honourables 
 most humbly that you may be pleased to allow, that for 
 their support and assistance, and likewise for those who 
 are still to come, a collection may be made at Batavia, for 
 which they will at all times be grateful, and we likewise 
 shall feel personally obliged." 
 
 It is generally known that, in reply, the Batavia High 
 Government at once sent to the Cape the munificent sum 
 of Eds. 6000, for distribution among the poor exiles — 
 the original bill of exchange is in my custody — but I 
 doubt whether it is as well known whence the money 
 came. I therefore insert the information in order to make 
 the narrative as complete as possible. 
 
 Among the many possessions which the Dutch obtained 
 in the East Indies, we find the Island Formosa (Tayouan = 
 Taewan = Terrace Beach). It fell under their authority in 
 163-i ; and, as they were accustomed to do in every other 
 place, they built a stronghold on it and called it Fort Zee- 
 land. There Johan van Eiebeeck must have passed some 
 time, for in his Journal we often find the island mentioned, 
 and the Cape compared with it. But the Dutch likewise 
 established their Church, and with it a diakonie or poor- 
 fund for the assistance of such members of the Eeformed
 
 40 Bamhles through the Archives of 
 
 faith as really required aid. When, however, in 16G2, 
 Tayouan had Tieen seized by the Chinese pirate or rebel 
 Coxinga, and the Dutch compelled to evacuate it, they 
 carried away with them the fund, such as it was at the 
 time, and deposited it in the Treasury at Batavia. (See 
 letters despatched to the Seventeen, 24th of IMay, 1G90.) 
 And when Commander Van der Stel asked for assistance 
 about twenty-one years later, the sum had increased to 
 Eds. 6000, and the High Government decided immediately 
 to send it to the Cape. 
 
 On the 19th of April, 1G90, the money was distributed 
 among the poor fugitives, who, as the Journal mentions, 
 were wonderfully pleased and delighted with a present so 
 truly welcome to them in their dire necessity. But their 
 happiness was increased when a large number of oxen, 
 obtained b}^ barter from the Inquas Hottentots, some time 
 before by the Ensign Isaac Schryver, was likewise dis- 
 tributed among them. 
 
 When tliey left to return to their homes, they heartily 
 thanked the Commander for his good and kindly feeling, 
 and the great care he had shown for them. 
 
 The distribution was made by their Minister, and some 
 of their chief men, in presence of Commissioners appointed 
 by the Council of Policy, and each one I'eceived according 
 to his necessities and the number of his family-. (See 
 letters despatched 24th of May, 1G90, p. 608.)
 
 tlie Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 41 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 After this digression, wliicli I could not withhold from 
 the reader, I return to the extracts. The narrative may 
 on this account be found not to run so smoothly as it 
 might otherwise have done, but I hope this imperfection 
 will be amjily compensated for by the additional informa- 
 tion it contains. 
 
 On the 2-tth of Maj', the Commander and Council wrote 
 to the Delft Chamber : — 
 
 " We have assisted, as far as we could, the French fugi- 
 tives who have hitherto arrived, especially those who 
 dispose themselves to virtue (intend to be useful), who 
 therefore also intend to remain here and prosper." 
 
 On the 12th of June, 1G90, the following was despatched 
 to the Amsterdam Chamber : — 
 
 " Tlie fugitives, about 150 in numher, with their wives 
 and children, have been located — some in the Cape, many 
 in the Stellenbosch, but the greater portion in the Draken- 
 stein district, where they can well subsist on agriculture 
 and their different trades. Our object is to amalgamate 
 them with our countrymen, that the one may imjjart to 
 the other his own particular knowledge and experience, 
 and in that manner agriculture 1)0 promoted. For that 
 purpose we have deemed it expedient to order that their 
 religious services shall be held alternately every Sunday 
 at Stellenbosch and Drakenstein in the church, and on 
 the same footing as the Dutch. We have helped them as 
 far as our weak powers allowed, and it is evident that the 
 majority of them will find a living. The gift sent them 
 from India will do them good."
 
 42 Rambles through the Archives of 
 
 In connection with the above is another paragrajJi, 
 in the oft-quotetl despatch of the 22ucl of April, 1688, 
 viz. : — 
 
 " The Commander is in treaty with some of the Hotten- 
 tot Captains, in order to buy lands from them in a binding 
 manner ; for bearing in mind the extension of the boun- 
 daries,* he has lately established a new settlement along 
 the Berg Kiver and four leagues in a more easterly direc- 
 tion from Stellenbosch, in a beautiful and rich valley 
 named by him Drakenstein. He has distributed there to 
 twenty-three freemen plots of ground of equal dimensions 
 and adjoining each other. Each one received GO by GOO 
 roods, or GO morgen. Altogether the soil is splendid, one 
 part perhaps a little better than another ; but whoever 
 has received a plot not quite so good as his neighbour's, 
 has onl}' to blame chance for it. The Ct^mmander worked 
 hard to put all these people properly on their legs, and 
 gave them cattle and sheep, &c." 
 
 On the 22nd of June, 1G91, the Council expressed their 
 pleasure at the decision of the Seventeen to raise the pur- 
 chase-price of the wine by Eds. 5 per leaguer, as it had 
 encouraged the farmers to undertake the cultivation with 
 more zeal than before. The members wished the price to 
 be fixed at Kds. 30, as they had found that, because the 
 price was so low and the producers were only allowed to 
 sell to the Company, no viticiilturist cared to improve 
 his produce. The natural consequence was that the Com- 
 pany was obliged to refuse a large quantity of wine as 
 unsaleable. 
 
 * "Ami finally it was decidril in consequence of the increase of the 
 number of inhabitants of Drakenstein to extend the boundaries of 
 that district in a manner the most convenient possible for tliose who 
 intend to settle there, so that the furthest end of the Paarl Mountains 
 (Perl-ber.u) and the I3abcl Tower (Babylonisclic Toren) shall be com- 
 prised within them, in the manner in which the Landdrost sliall 
 explain it to the peuple." (Extract from the Resolution of the Council 
 of Policy, lyth of October, lO'Jl.)
 
 the Colcny of the Cape of Good Hope. 43 
 
 In order to understand tliis grievance, partly rectified 
 according to the despatch quoted, we must refer to another 
 from the Seventeen, dated the 17th of December, 1G90, 
 which mentions that Commander Parve, of the Return 
 Fleet, had reported (and his name is significant) that Kds. 20 
 and Eds. 15 for a leaguer of wine were far too little to 
 compensate the producer. Formerly the price had been 
 from Kds. 40 to Eds. 30, but, as the directors mention, the 
 Lord of Mydrecht * had advised them to reduce it to prevent 
 too large a production, and encourage a more extensive 
 cultivation of grain, that the importation of rice from 
 India might be dispensed with. This object had now 
 been realised, but at the same time much advantage was 
 expected from the making of wine also, and therefore they 
 wished Commander Van der Stel not to allow this industry 
 to be neglected, but to do his best to restore it. Hence, 
 in order to encourage the producer, the prices had been 
 raised to Eds. 25 for first, and Eds. 20 for second-class wine. 
 
 The Commander (Van der Stel), however, wished the 
 price to be raised to Eds. 30 and Eds. 25.t 
 
 * In his instructions be disapproves of tlic many wine-shops at the 
 Cape, cspcciiiUy in the neighbourhood of the Castle, and left orders that 
 a hirgc number of tenements ne;ir it should be demolished, the owners 
 compensated, and sent to Stellenbosch and Drakenstein. to earn a 
 living tlicre as agriculturists, instead of making a questionable one 
 here by keeping low taverns and by smuggling. 
 
 t On the 8th of August, Com. S. van dor Stel taught the burgher 
 Councillors the secret of making good wine, that they might com- 
 municate it to the growers for the public good. (Journal, 8tli August, 
 1(>92.) The lesson evidently was not a long one, and could be easily 
 learned, tor on the 2nd of August, l(j92, he wrote to Mauritius that 
 he was glad that tlie wine made there was like sherry (<?c Xiriz<'^, 
 and expected a sample soon. He likewise .«ent them flilTerent kinds 
 of vines, red and white. Each kiml was to be planted separately, and 
 each stock three or four feet from the other, about two feet deep, and, 
 if possible, on the sides of hills facing the east. 'When the ]iressing 
 season had come, they were to take care that the gr.i|>i's were com- 
 pletely ripe, and that the soimd bunches wire separated from tlie 
 unsonnd, the ripe from the unripe, the nUten, and the sandy, and 
 that the first juice (roorloop) be kept separate from the trodden or 
 pressed portions. I have no doubt whatever, in my own mind, that 
 if these simple instructions are carried out scrupulously. Cape wine 
 will again be found second to none in the world.
 
 44 Rambles through the Archives of 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The above extracts vAW be suffieieut to show that S. v. d. 
 Stel was by no means unmindful of the interests of the 
 Huguenots, and that he studied them to the best of his 
 ability ; but as we have already mentioned, independent 
 of the anxiety caused him by the arrivals of the French 
 squadrons to and from Siam and other parts of the East, 
 before the war broke out, and the news which he received 
 by the Tuimelaar, that hostilities had actually commenced, 
 so that he was compelled to capture the two French ships, 
 La Normande and Le Coche, which, if they had not been 
 taken,* would most certainly have seized the Cape with the 
 assistance of other vessels expected with news from France, 
 
 * The Normande vras sent to the Amsterdam Chamher and renamcnl 
 the Goede Hoop. In the heavy storms of the 4th and 5th of June, 
 1692, she was lying in Tahle Bay, as one of the riehly-ladeu return 
 ships of tlic Company, and with her consort, the Iloogergeest, and the 
 English ship Orange, thrown on shore at Bait River. " The saddest of 
 all was," writes the Commandi r, " to behold so many souls in the 
 utmost peril of their livts, and to hear their miserable groaning 
 without being able to find any way of saving them. At last, Jochem 
 "NVillenisz, of Amsterdam, sailor, doing duty as quarter-master, in tlie 
 Spi( rdr/I:, oftVred to swim through the surf towards the wrecks with a 
 ro])e round liis body. In this he was successful, and by means of a 
 raft and the rope, which he had taken with him and which enabled us 
 to pull the raft backwards and forwards, the greater portion of the 
 people were saved from certain death. ^Ve cannot refrain from 
 humbly bringing to your Honour's notice this trne-licarted action, so 
 couragi'fmsly and successfully jierformed in our presence, and to the 
 admiration of all, and we respectfully beg that it may be your gracious 
 pleasure to remember him in proper time, as he has been the means of 
 saving many of the C .mpany's servants. 
 
 "Two little English girls who had been passengers on the Orange, 
 and had lost everything by the wreck, we allowed a passage tf) Eurojx) 
 with their female slave. They were eight and nine years old. Their 
 passage will be iiaid by their uncle, Richard Edmonson, draper, living 
 in Gracecimrch Street, Loudon."
 
 the Colomj of the Cape of Good Hope. 45 
 
 and which had letters on hoard to that effect — as was shown 
 by the despatches found in them — he hardly knew, far 
 removed as he was from all sources of information, from 
 assistance and trustworthy advice, in what manner to 
 regard the position of the nephew and the two sons of the 
 late Admiral du Quesne towards their own country on the 
 one hand, and the Protestant section of Europe on the 
 other — especially the position of the nephew. Ho had 
 claosen the profession of his iincle and his father, and 
 already likewise I'isen to the rank of Vice- Admiral, being 
 known in the Archives as the younger Du Quesne, and, 
 when first mentioned, as Lieutenant to the celebrated 
 Vandricourt.* 
 
 We cannot ignore the fact that, rightly or wrongly, he 
 is described by C Weiss, and also mentioned bj'- E. A. 
 Poole, on the authority of Aignan in his Etats des Protes- 
 tants, a copy of which I have vainly endeavoured to obtain, 
 as " having introduced eightj- Huguenot families into the 
 Cape, which were establislied by the Governor at Draken- 
 steiu." The Archives are silent on this point. Tlie 
 few extracts copied at the Hague throw no light what- 
 ever on it, and only liy searching carefullj^ through 
 the Dutch Statn papers of the period will it be possible 
 to find conclusive evidence to confirm or refute this 
 statement. t 
 
 * As the narrative of Weiss regarding the two sons of the Afhniial 
 is evidently correct, I have a riglit to assume tliat he was likewise 
 correct in his statements regarding the nepliew. I have endeavoured, 
 but unsuccessfully, to obfain copies of tjie following works, which 
 may perhaps clear uj) a great deal of uncertainty; all liave been 
 published in the French language. They are : : 1 ) .Journal of a ^'oyilge 
 made to the East Indies, 1)y a squadron commanded by IMons. Du 
 Quesne, from the 24tli of February. KJ'JO, to the 20th of August, l(i!)3, 
 by order of the (French) Fast India Conijiany. — The Hague, 1721, 
 ;{ vols, in 12"'". (2) Journal of the Voyage of i)u Quesne to the Ka.-;t 
 Indies, l)y a naval olliccr serving in the squadron. — IJrn.-^.-icls (IJeckfr), 
 1G'.»2, in 12'"". (H) Narrative of a Voyiigo and Itcturn from India 
 (luring the years Kj'.tO and ICitl, by a naval oHicir (Mons. roucliot de 
 Chantassin).— Paris (Coignard). 1G!):J, in 12'"". Of tlies.' last two publi- 
 cations, I5ouclierde la liiciiardirie says, in his catalogue, that they may 
 very well be one and the sam(< book, each merely btarmg a ditVerent 
 title, but that he lias not been able to clear up the duubt. 
 t See Appmdix 13.
 
 46 JRanibles through the Archives of 
 
 But having been made, and hitherto generally accepted, 
 and it heing, for the reasons given, impossible to question 
 or ignore it, it will strike the reader very forcibly that if 
 young Admiral du Qnesne had really been the cause of 
 the introduction of the Huguenots into South Africa — and 
 by means of his frequent voyages to India and China, he 
 knew the Cape perfectly well, and would most naturally 
 suggest such an emigi'ation^ — he was placed in a most 
 anomalous position in every respect, after the war broke 
 out. He was in the French service, and great interests 
 had been confided to his keeping by his Royal Master. He 
 was bound by solemn promise made to his deceased uncle, 
 never to take up arms against France ; and yet ! the men 
 and women whom he had introduced into the Colony had 
 been bound by the ordinary oath, to consider themselves, 
 and to act in every sense and under all circumstances, as 
 loyal subjects not merely of the Company, but likewise of 
 the States-General ! 
 
 As long as there had been no war, there had been no 
 difficulty ; but who could fairly blame the Huguenots for 
 cherishing a feeling of deep affection for the joung Admiral, 
 and for hoping or wishing that the time might come when 
 they would be permitted to establish an independent 
 Government, with him, perhaps, as their Prince or chief 
 magistrate ? 
 
 When the war broke out, however, Du Quesne was not 
 the man to abandon his post, and therefore it was on the 
 other hand also more than what could with any show of 
 justice be expected from the Commander, that he should 
 implicitly trust a foreign section of the community which 
 heartily levered an admiral of a hostile fleet, continually 
 in the Southern and Eastern seas, and particularly in- 
 structed to do as much injury as possible to the Com- 
 pany ; and, should the opportunity be favourable, likewise 
 to seize the Cape. 
 
 I know that it is a difficult and often likewise a hazard- 
 ous task to build up from many unconnected links, small 
 fragments of information find even much slighter materials, 
 a complete statement of facts. I have found it to be so 
 especially in the case of the connection of the Du Quesnes
 
 the Colony of tJie Cape of Good Hope. 47 
 
 with the Huguenots of South Africa, but I give the facts 
 as I have collected them, leaving the reader at liberty to 
 agree with my conclusions or otherwise. 
 
 It is generall}^ known that Admiral Abraham,* Marquis 
 du Quesne, although a Protestant, was the onlj^ one of his 
 creed not banished from his country, but, on the contrary, 
 for his great services loaded with favoTirs by his King, 
 And no wonder ! For during the troubled times in which 
 he lived, he had served France as faithfiilly and success- 
 fully as any patriot could wish to do. It would be beyond 
 our purpose to sum up here what he did for his country. 
 One event will be sufficient :■ — In April, 1676, he opposed, 
 with a comparatively small force, the united fleets of Spain 
 and Holland commanded by Admiral de Euyter. The 
 battle was fought off the coast of Sicily, near Mount Etna, 
 and the island won for France. But De IJuyter was 
 mortally wounded, and died a few days afterwards. 
 
 Du Quesne's sons, however — Henri, Marquis after his 
 father's death in 1688, and his brother Abraham, Comte 
 de Moures — appeared to have shared in the general doom 
 
 * According to the Groot Algemeen Historlsch & Geoffrapliisch, &c., 
 Woordcnhoel; published by D. van Hoogstratcn & J. L. Schuer, 
 Amsterdam, 1783 : — " He died on the 2nd of February, 1688, seventy- 
 eight years old. He was married to Gabrielle de lierniere, and had 
 four sons, who gave great proofs of ability. Henri, the eldest, 
 remained a Protestant, and went to live on an estate in Switzerland, 
 given him by the King in consequence of the services of his fatlier. 
 Abraham, the second son. was likewise a ship's captain, and in 1683 
 took prisoner the Prince of Monte Sarchio, Spanish general, and also 
 showed his bravery in the expedition against Genoa in 1684. The 
 third, named Isaac, also served at sea; and the fourth was called 
 Jacob. The Marquis had various brothers, who all died in the service 
 of the King." 
 
 Whether the particulars relating to the eldest eon are quite 
 correct, I am unabh; to say. Two things are to be borne in mind — 
 the one, that for Admiral du Quesne's great services Louis XIV. 
 rewarded him witli a Marquisate and a large estate in France, named 
 Bouchet ; the other, that according to the contract made by Henri 
 and his lirofher Abraham with the Dutch East India Company — and 
 which will be referred to later on — both are mentioned as residents in 
 tiie town of AuLsterdam, but closely connected with tiie Huguenots, 
 especially those who were scattered througli Switzerland, who are 
 indiscriminately mentioned as Frencli fugitives or exiled Vaudois. 
 See Appendix B.
 
 48 Bamhles through the Archives of 
 
 pronounced by the infatuated King over a portion of his 
 unhappy subjects. They had taken up their residence in 
 Amsterdam, but though exiles in a foreign land, had with 
 their first cousin, Admiral du Quesne, junior, loyally 
 adhered to the first promise made to the old Admiral that 
 they would never take up arms against their own country. 
 Nor do they appear to have been destitute of means, as 
 they were among those French exiles of influence and 
 position who had set themselves to make the best provi- 
 sion possible for their unfortunate and impoverished 
 fellow-countrymen and co-religionists. This we conclude 
 from the following extract from a despatch of the Chamber, 
 Amsterdam, dated the 10th of May, 1688, regarding the 
 Piedmontese or Vaudois fugitives at Nuremberg, who were 
 supposed to have expressed their willingness to proceed to 
 the Cape. It says that the Seventeen had had a confer- 
 ence on the suljject with the States-General, who were 
 inclined to assist the unfortunates with funds raised a few 
 months previously by collections in aid of the Vaudois in 
 general ; but that as yet no definite information could be 
 sent, because only lately the fugitives had been directly 
 addressed by letter through their rejjresentatives. It is 
 certainly true that no mention is made here of refugees 
 from Fiance; but whether they came from that country or 
 from Switzerland, the unfortunate exiles had in the public 
 mind but really one name, that of Huguenots, and their 
 interests and sufferings being identical practically, no 
 distinction was made in providing for them, as will be 
 seen from other extracts given below, when we shall like- 
 wise find occasion to devote a few pages to the Vaudois 
 and tbeir sad history. 
 
 It farther appears that a part of the emigration scheme 
 — of the Du Quesnes at least — was to establish French 
 Colonies wherever practicable in the Southern and Eastern 
 Hemispheres, and form them into independent common- 
 wealths, if there were already no other powers settled on 
 the spot for them to submit to. In the latter case the 
 new comers were expected simply to join the settlement 
 as all ordinary immigrants, and become absorbed in the 
 general public. Take St. Helena for example.
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Ilope. 49 
 
 John Ovinjijton, in the interesting narrative of his voy- 
 ages, rehites that he left Gravesend in the ship Benjamin 
 on the 11th of April, 1689 ; that there were many French 
 fugitives on hoard who intended to settle at St. Helena, 
 and among them ( 'aptain Poirier, who, hj the advocacy of 
 influential friends, was to be placed on the best spot of 
 the island, where he had everj'thing wherewith to support 
 himself and his eight children. His descendants are, no 
 doubt, loyal Englishmen to-daj^ (See Appendix C.) 
 
 The fugitives sent to the Cape came hither under similar 
 circumstances and certain plain and well-defined condi- 
 tions, to which every freeman — no matter what his nation- 
 ality might be — was obliged to subscribe. Nor were they 
 at all severe, or would they even at the present day be so 
 considered by any sensible emigrant, if he were con- 
 vinced that, by subscribing to them, he would, instead of 
 after his arrival in a strange land being thrown unknown 
 and penniless, as is often the case, with a large and help- 
 less family on his own resources, be assisted and " helped 
 on his legs," in the true sense of the word, by an associa- 
 tion or administration which, like that of the Company, 
 merely required in return a loyal heart, a sound head, an 
 industrious hand, and the honest God-fearing life of a 
 contented citizen. 
 
 It is to be taken for granted that the large majority at 
 least of the fugitives Avere not only of the right stamp, but 
 also well satisfied with the arrangements made for them ; 
 for no other impression can be left on our minds after a 
 careful perusal of such extracts as I have given above — and 
 they are only a few out of many — and that we never Avould 
 have heard an unkind word against them from the mouth 
 of Commander Van der Stel, although on the arrival of 
 the first party he had been told by them that they were 
 under the impression that arrangements would soon be 
 made by which they would be })ermitted to a})])oint their 
 own Government and chief administrator, had nut the 
 injudicious conduct of their Minister, Pierre Simond, and 
 his unseemly quarrels with J accrues de Savoye — appa- 
 rently as hard a millstone as himself — made Van der Stel 
 dread that finally they might react upon the fugitives
 
 50 Ramhles through the Archives of 
 
 themselves and create among them a most unwholesome 
 spirit of disaffection and insubordination. But as long as 
 there was peace with France, no immediate evil was feared 
 from the newly -settled Colonists, and hence it was a most 
 ill-timed proceeding of the Eev. P. Simond, in the same 
 year in which the news arrived that war had been declared, 
 and that England might join France against the States — 
 for such was the purport of the first communications — to 
 appear before the Commander and the Council with a 
 request which fairly staggered them, and, for once in his 
 life, made the Commander show indubitable sigrns of 
 impatience and anger. 
 
 It is to be regretted that the memorial itself and other 
 papers of similar importance are missing. I trust, how- 
 ever, that copies will be obtainable at the Hague, though 
 the loss of the originals can never be too deeply regretted. 
 But the attentive reader of the lesolutions of the 28th of 
 November, 1689, which mentions the deputation and the 
 Commander's wrath, will at once observe that it requires 
 a link somewhere, which must be supplied in order to 
 explain the Commander's conduct. 
 
 It is said that the memorialists wished to have a church 
 and church officers of their own, but the Governor's reply 
 hardi}', if at all, affects that point ; he addresses them as 
 if they had expressly asked for some political concessions, 
 and therefore the real facts should be gleaned from other 
 poitions of the Archives, Thej' may be fairlj' guessed, I 
 think, from the despatch of the Seventeen, dated the 17th 
 of December, 1G90, in reply to the memorial mentioned, 
 and which had naturally been forwarded to them. It is 
 as follows : — 
 
 " At the request of the Eev. P. Simond we have con- 
 sented that a consistory should be elected from the French 
 congregation, composed of elders and deacons, who— if they 
 (•an be found — shall be versed in both the Dutch and 
 French languages, and whose names shall always annually 
 and beforehand be submitted to you for your approval,
 
 the Colon y of the Cape of Good Hope. .j1 
 
 and which yon shall give, should there be uo reason to the 
 contrary. You shall likewise appoint one or two council 
 members to take session in that consistory as political 
 Commissioners, and to appear there whenever and as often 
 as they shall deem it necessary ; and should any matters of 
 importance or any discussions take place at any meeting 
 w^hich the Commissioners believe ought not to be venti- 
 lated, or much less, settled there, they shall be laid before 
 the consistory of the Fort or Castle, in which there shall 
 likewise appear and take session some deputies from the 
 said Church Council of the French congregation, in order 
 to form the gieat consistory by which these matters and 
 disputes shall be settled or ended, and which shall for that 
 purpose meet at &.uch times or on such days as may be the 
 most convenient. Further, the consistory of the French 
 congregation, or elders and deacons, shall be allowed in 
 their own parish to dispose of the alms given for the 
 benefit of the poor, and distribute them among the needy ; 
 but in case any sulisidies should come in from outside, 
 their distribution or use shall he settled by tlie grtat 
 consistory or KerJccraad, which shall also take care that 
 proper books are kept of receipts and expenditure, that 
 annually a clear statement may be drawn out, as is usual 
 in Batavia. 
 
 " Regarding the schools, also mentioned by tlie I\ev. P. 
 Simond, we shall endeavour to obtain and send out some 
 schoolmasters, speaking both the Dutch and French lan- 
 guages, who are to be stationed at Stellenbosch and 
 Drakenstein respectively, to instruct the children of both 
 French and Dutch parents. Their eilbrts sliall be to 
 bring about that the children of French parents are 
 taught to read and understand especially the Dutch lan- 
 guage, in order to be the more easily incorporated into 
 
 E 2
 
 52 Bamhles through the Archives of 
 
 OTir nation. For that purpose you shall not locate the 
 Colonists, whether French or Dutch, each nationality 
 separately, but you shall mix them up together and let 
 them live among one another both at Draken stein and 
 Stellenbosch. By such means the public scliools men- 
 tioned will become more efficacious for both Dutch and 
 French children, and be maintained at much less cost." 
 
 It is therefore evident that they asked fur their own 
 consistory, and an autonomy for themselves in secular and 
 church affairs, which the system on which the Dutch East 
 India Company was founded could not allow, and which, 
 moreover, had never been granted to any fugitive congre- 
 gation anywhere in Europe, and that the memorial ended 
 with the request for a French school for the children. 
 
 But the Eev. P. Simond, who took a leading part in this 
 movement, appears to have been of a very restless and not 
 very conciliatory nature, for on the 29th of June, 1691, 
 the Governor and Council wrote to Holland as follows : — 
 
 " We only wish that the Eev. Pierre Simond and Jacques 
 de Savoye would bear themselves towards each other more 
 peaceably and amicably, and had settled their differences 
 Avithout, by means of their quarrelsomeness, resulting 
 from sheer obstinacy, causing so much annoyance to the 
 community {aan dese ingesetenen) and such great trouble 
 to Tis and the various husbandmen in the busiest season ( f 
 work, to the injury of the general public. We tried to 
 settle their differences, and reconcile them with each other. 
 For that purpose we called together the Great Churcli 
 Council (^Grooie Kerlceraad), in which the Eev. Leonard ns 
 Terwold presided. Moreover, three other ministers wcie 
 called in, who were on board two ships in the bay ; but all 
 in vain, for both being stubborn, neither would give way 
 to the other, as j^ou will see from the annexures. 
 
 "We would very much have liked to see that the
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 5o 
 
 French minister did not so much interfere with private 
 affairs and those of the public in general, and that he 
 had not troubled his congregation by making them give 
 declarations, or called them together at one time for one, 
 at another for another reason, as you will see from the 
 annexed copy of the memorial signed by the French 
 congregation and delivered by him to the Governor and 
 Council." 
 
 It is therefore evident that Simon van der Stel could 
 not consider the request of the deputation for church 
 officers to be selected exclusively from the refugees, in the 
 light of an ordinary one, and merely made to secure f(jr 
 themselves a few unim})ortant additional conveniences ; 
 although the right of complying with it did not rest with 
 the Commander and Council here, but exclusively with 
 the Board of Seventeen, which when applied to readily 
 granted it. lie connected it with their desire to be 
 located together ; and from that, rightly or wrongly, he 
 concluded that they were taking the first steps to give 
 effect to what some of them had tuld him, on theii' tirst 
 landing.* 
 
 Until the peace of Eyswyk had been concluded in 1697, 
 he would therefore have spent a most anxious time, fear- 
 ing that each moment a hostile fleet from France might 
 ari'ive, and that he would not only be obliged to meet an 
 enemy from the sea, perhaps vastly supericn- in number to 
 the garrison at his dis})()sal, but likewise fruitlessly hxik 
 to the Huguenot settlers ibr assistance, even if they refu-ed 
 to render any to the enem3^ 
 
 No ship arrived from Holland which did not bring dis- 
 quieting information regarding heavy French armaments 
 being in preparation at lirest and elsewhere for the inva- 
 
 * At the present day it is difficult to understand the close connec- 
 tion between Church and State at the time of which I am writing. A 
 desire expressed to secede from tlie Established Church was ciiuivideiit 
 to a wisli to form a conventicle, a form of congreLration;disni heartily 
 abhorred by all Calvinists, and esi)ccialiy referred to and condemned in 
 the Communion Service as a sin whicii unfitted a member for partaking 
 of the Visible Emblems of lledemittinn at tiie T;ible of the Lurd.
 
 54 BamUes through the Archives of 
 
 sion of India, crip]>liiip; the Dntcli and En<:;liHh trade and 
 influence there, and if possildc expelling ))oth (Jumpanies 
 from the Eastern seas ; and what was even worse, if pos- 
 sihle, always under the command of Admiral dn Quesne. 
 Therefore, although the directors had distinctly refused 
 permission to the Huguenots to be located together as 
 above mentioned, the Governor deemed it best to grant 
 their request as far as he conveniently could, remove them 
 as far as possible from the Cape, give them fruitful j)lots 
 of ground near each other along the banks of the I3erg 
 Kiver, and so extend them in an unbroken line from 
 the French Hoek {Coin Fram;ais) to the AVagon-makers' 
 \ alley {Val du Charron).* 
 
 But even supposing that his anger was unreasonable, 
 and there was no political object intended by the memo- 
 rial, it is not according to fact, as lately stated,t that 
 when the deputation called upon him, on the 28th of 
 November, 1689, "it was left in an outer room, and by 
 and by a message teas sent, reminding them of their oath of 
 allegiance which they had taken, ordering them to return 
 to their homes, and informing them that they must be 
 satisfied to remain as they were, a branch congregation of 
 the church of Stellenbosch." 
 
 These words plainly imply that the deputation icere not 
 even permitted to enter the Council Chamber and prefer their 
 request, but had been ignominiously dismissed ; a want of 
 courtesy foreign to the nature of a man whose affability 
 
 * Wlien he wrote his despatch of 26th of Slay, 1GS8. they lia.l 
 already been sttth d on their lauds; and to avoid the iiiistukc which 
 had been made in the estabhshmeiit of Stellenbosch, Tigerberg, and 
 other places, where tiie settlers had been loc;ited at a distance fruin 
 one another, they liad been ordered to build near each other and in a 
 line, that they might, in cases of emergency, be able to assist each 
 other the more easily. Another rea.son for maidng tlicin settle in that 
 manner was, that the Commander intended to connect the new 
 Colony along the Berg Kiver by a line of communication and a series 
 of homesteads through tlie Groenekloof— now the Malmesbury district 
 — with Saldanha Bay. 
 
 About the same time (see the same despatch) he was fortunate 
 enough to discover the fine harbour to which he gave his own name, 
 Simon's Bay. 
 
 t Chronicles of Cape Commanders.
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 55 
 
 and gentlemanly instincts — to say nothing of the respect 
 with which men of his convictions and character regarded 
 a minister, and would regard Pierre fSimond — would 
 simply render it impossible for him to act in that manner. 
 By referring to the minutes, however, we find that it was 
 decided " that in order to check the impei tinences of the 
 French, and prevent all plots in good time, to hring before 
 their eyes their errors with a considerate rej)rimaud, aiid 
 earnestly to advise them to do their duty. Lpon that thci/ 
 were called in, when the Eev. P. Simond spoke in the name 
 of all, and requested a separate ChuTch Council elected 
 only from the refugees. Upon that His Eeverence was 
 requested to I'cad the oath taken b}* all the freemen at 
 the Cape, and they were dismissed (^(jedimiitecrd) with the 
 earnest warning to conduct themselves strictly in accord- 
 ance with the contents of that oath, and in future not to 
 trouble the Commander and Council with such impertinent 
 requests, but to remain satisfied with the Church Council 
 at Stellenbosch." 
 
 It was not so much the deputation, however, which the 
 Commander desired to censure. Knowing the inconvenient 
 habit of the Eev. Pierre Siuiond to interfere in everything, 
 whether secular or spiritual, it stands to reason that it 
 was the Council's object 1o remind the minister especiall}', 
 in coxirteous but unmistakable teiins, of his own duty to 
 remain faithful to the oath which he had taken, and not 
 exceed the bounds of his own particular province, or 
 tempt others to do so.* 
 
 * It nuist al.so bo borne in mind that at tliat time the Hugueiiot.s 
 of the SttUciibosch uml Drakentitein districts were Iiardlj' ?^uflicicnt 
 in nunsbtr to form one small congregutiun. Tlit y numbered al>out 
 150 altogether when (he Council wrote their despatch of the 12th of 
 June, Ki'JO; whilst tlie whole Eurojican popidatinn of tiie Colony, not 
 including the sirvants of the Company, consi.-ted of oidy 71)1 men. 
 women, and cliildren, an enormous porti<in of whom, at the Cape 
 especially, belonged to the Lutheran and llonian Catholic Churehis. 
 as may be gathered not only fiom Valentvn and Perc Tachard, but 
 also from tiie Archives themselves, especially from the I.e Bnucij 
 episode, which will bo mentioned furthrr on. A year later the Diitfh 
 portion of the congregntion of 8telleid)oscli and Drakcnsteiu nnni- 
 bercd above 200 families, a much larger number than that of the 
 Cape.
 
 56 Ramhies through the Archives of 
 
 The petitioners coiiLl liardly have heen mindful of the 
 results of the Edict of Pofsdam, published by the Great 
 Elector of Brandenburg in reply to the Edict of the 
 Kecall, and dated on the 29th of October, 1685: for 
 although the fugitives who took advantage of it by 
 thousands were allowed to appoint their own magis- 
 trates, and the authorities were bound in all lawsuits 
 between French and Germans to add to the ordinary 
 courts of justice a certain additional number of persons 
 selected for the purpose by the fugitives themselves, thus 
 creating a peculiar form of judicial administration in 
 Prussia, which lasted as late as the year 1812; and 
 although each settlement received a church and minister 
 supported by the State, the Elector had likewise provided 
 a High Consistory, equivalent to a Committee of Council, 
 to control their spiiitual affairs. Hence Charles Ancillon,* 
 himself a fugitive, apologising for this rigid supervision, 
 says in his Ilistory of the Establishment of the Fugitives 
 in Brandenburg (1690), "That a despotism was required 
 for those who received support from the State ; that they 
 did not know the ways of the country, and therefore 
 were obliged a avoir une grande sotimissirm, et a se laisser 
 conduire" adding, rather hyperbolical ly, " that it was 
 impossible to alloAV them une vie cydopique." 
 
 In the Netherlands the fugitives certainly had every 
 conceivable privilege ; they enjoyed all the rights of 
 burghers, without bearing any of the burdens of the 
 State, and only in 1715, after they had risen to prosperity 
 and aftluence, did the States deem it necessary to naturalise 
 them all completely, and make them bear their share of 
 the weight of the commonwealth. And yet, even in 
 that country, there was an under-current of unfriendly 
 feeling against them, which must in many cases have 
 caused them great annoyance and pain. Nor was it less 
 felt in England, where evidently without the personal 
 influence of the King (William III.) they would not have 
 enjoyed so many advantages. Already in the time of 
 Charles II. men had looked askance at them, and suspected 
 their true character: and although after AVilliam had 
 * li. A. Poule, The Iluijucnots of the Vixpersion.
 
 the Colonij of the Cape of Good Hope. 57 
 
 ascended tlie throne, the report of the Parliamentary 
 Committee of Inquiry into their affairs was highly favour- 
 able, and they had proved their fidelity to the Government 
 by submitting that their youngest and strongest had 
 lately been formed into three regiments, ready to die for 
 the Protestant religion and the liljerties of England, — that 
 20,000 more were peacefully exercising their trades in 
 divers parts of the kingdom ; and although there were 
 about 2000 more, old, infants, sick and im})Otent, unable 
 to provide for themselves, — also divines, ])hysicians, 
 merchants, gentlemen and common people, many of them 
 heretofore rich and flourishing in their own country, but 
 now reduced to the utmost misery, and exposed to starva- 
 tion unless assisted by Parliament ; and although £17,200 
 were voted as an annual grant in consequence, it is a 
 remarkable fact that not only was every attempt made 
 to naturalise them unsuccessful until 1709 — a statute 
 actually repealed within three years — but everywhere in 
 England they were dis(j^ualified from holding land.* 
 
 It is therefore evident that the fugitives hero were, 
 generally speaking, in no worse condition than their 
 brethren in Europe ; for as their homesteads prove it at 
 the ji resent day, those who settled down and diligently 
 pursued their calling soon carved their wa}' to comfort 
 and to affluence. 
 
 * See R. A. Poole.
 
 58 Bambles through the Archives of 
 
 CHAI'TER VII. 
 
 Some, however, unfortunately preferred a "wandering and 
 unsettled life, and, to the regret of the Governor and 
 Council, carried on the strictly-forhidden cattle-trade 
 with the natiA'cs, and accordingly had come into the un- 
 lawful possession of even more cattle than the Comj)any 
 owned. For instance, in January 1G96, the Hottentot 
 Captain Doreas, alias Claas, informed the Council that tlie 
 French or Waldensians had bartered nine oxen from the 
 natives beyond the mountains, and that the animals were 
 among his troop. The matter was at once investigated ; 
 and to reward him for his information, Claas was pre- 
 sented with the nine oxen, a bag of meal, some rice, 
 arrack, and tobacco. 
 
 But in order clearly to understand the reason of the 
 summary proceeding of the Governor in this matter, it 
 will be necessary to know the following facts. 
 
 Already in 1695 the directors had considered it advis- 
 able to retire from all fiirmiiig pursuits at the Cape and 
 leave the whole exclusively in the hands of the burghers, 
 who were supposed by these means to be able to support 
 themselves more conveniently. But the elder Van der 
 Stel had found, that in order to be able to sell cattle to 
 the Compan}", the freemen were — as the Company had 
 always been doing — obliged to barter from the natives, 
 but that this course had been verj" injurious to the latter, 
 who had often suffered the greatest injustice at the hands 
 of the barterers. Tie had therefore deemed it advisable 
 to forltid free traffic with the Hottentots, and to attach 
 heavy penalties to the infringement of the placcaat. 
 
 And in order to sliow that he believed that he had 
 forcible reasons for his aj^parently severe measures, the 
 weight of which the directors would readily acknowledge, 
 we have merely to refer to the minutes of the Council of
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 59 
 
 the 2nd of February, 1696, in which he draws attention 
 to the fact that various lawless persons and others con- 
 demned to death — all whose names he mentions — ^and 
 likewise the murderers of Corporal Jacob Cloeten, who 
 had been so cruelly massacred, were still at large, not- 
 withstanding the best eifurts made for their capture ; 
 that they were roaming about in tlie interior, or hiding 
 in the mountains, and, notwithstanding their wicked 
 conduct, were protected and screened by certain evil- 
 disposed settlers who provided them with arms, ammuni- 
 tion, and tobacco in spite of the placcaat, so that they had 
 even the hardihood to visit the Hottentots beyond the 
 mountains, and barter from them for mere trifles oxen 
 and sheep which on their return tliey again sold for little 
 or nothing to the freemen, who were ver}' careful not to 
 betray them ; that V^esides these there were many other 
 deserters, convicts, and fugitive slaves, armed and un- 
 armed — amongst them the soldier known as the Polish 
 Nobleman, or Baron, and a certain Jean du Seine from Ori- 
 sons, both notorious rascals ; that the peace and safety of the 
 settlement urgently recjuired that it should be delivered 
 from such miscreants, and that therefore the latter should 
 be declared outlaws — a proposal unanimously agreed to 
 by tlie Council — and that IMs.lOO should be paid to any 
 one bringing any of them alive to the Castle, and IMs.oO 
 for every one brought in dead ; that the public should 
 likewise be urged to do their best to capture tlie Polish 
 Nobleman, Jean du Seine, and the other deserters and 
 fugitive slaves, and even if necessary to shoot them in 
 the legs for that purpose, and that those harbouring or 
 assisting any of them after the publication of this notice 
 should be treated like those convicted of harbouring and 
 hiding murderers. 
 
 It would naturally bo the Commander's duty, as it is 
 that of every civilised administration in the world, U) 
 strain every nerve to capture dangerous criminals, and so 
 secure the safety of the community which he had been 
 called upon to rule ; but it is likely that he would not 
 have so persistently interfered with the decisions of the 
 directors regarding the free trade of the burghers with
 
 60 Ramhhs through the Archives of 
 
 the Hottentots, after all his pressing remonstrances and 
 proofs adduced had been found to be of no avail, and 
 were only likely to cause hiui personal trouble without 
 benefiting the natives, if the fugitives referred to above, 
 and others who co-operated with them, and had so often 
 ill-treated the natives and robbed them of their cattle, 
 had not made use of an expedient which could not but 
 bring his name into disrepute among the natives, and 
 greatly prejudice him in the eyes of the directors, should 
 the rumour reach their ears, how^ever false it was and 
 woidd be found if iairly investigated. These illicit 
 cattle-traders professed to be servants of the Company, 
 sent out by the Governor himself. They therefore abused 
 the latter's name, and hence those who knew no better 
 would credit him with being the cause of the evil system 
 and its fatal results ; and though innocent, he would be 
 obliged to bear all the blame, and before being disgraced, 
 as in the case of his son, would find no opjiortunity, 
 except when too late, to disiirove the charges brought 
 against him. Some evil-disposed people at Stellenbosch, 
 and especially at Drakenstein, were in the habit of em- 
 ploying this subterfuge, greatly to his annoyance ; and 
 hence on the 9th of February, a week after he had with 
 the Council adopted measures for the capture of the 
 criminals at large, ho particularly referred to the illicit 
 traders, and desired that efl'ective steps might be taken 
 for their discovery and conviction. The matter having 
 been carefully considered, it was decided, in addition to 
 the ordinary reward of Eds. GO, to offer the informer one- 
 third of the number of the cattle bartered, should a con- 
 viction be secured, and to promise him that his name 
 would not be divulged. 
 
 This notice, however, did not produce the desired 
 result, for on the li'th of October, 1G97, another severe 
 placcait was promulgated which mentioned the utter dis- 
 regard of all former orders issued against the illicit cattle- 
 trade as shown by certain wasteful and selfish persons, 
 who did not hesitate either in person, or by means of 
 idlers, vagrants, and convicts, to conduct it with the 
 natives, and, in order to gain their object more easily, pro-
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. Gl 
 
 fessed that they wore servants of the Company sent 
 expressly hv the Governor himself, or, when the Hotten- 
 tots showed any disinclination to barter, compelled them 
 to part with their cattle, by threatening, thumping, and 
 beating them. It further drew attention to the grave 
 results wh'ch could n(jt but follow such shameful conduct. 
 Not only AvoTild the Company be left without cattle, and 
 become tlie object of the natives' hatred and abhorrence, 
 but unexpectedly it might be forced into a war with the 
 blacks, and so placed in a position not at all creditable to 
 itself. Hence to prevent all these possible evils, the 
 punishments laid down in previous placcaten were re- 
 voked, and it was enacted that whoever should after the 
 publication of this new placcaat be convicted of the crime 
 of illicit cattle-barter, would, as an example and terror to 
 others, be made to stand publicly under the gallows with 
 the rope round his neck, and after that be severely 
 whipped, bi-anded, and banished from the country, all his 
 property being likewise confiscated : and should he ever 
 dare to return, he would make himself liable to a much 
 severer punishment. Moreover, every one without dis- 
 tinction wouhi be allowed to ca})ture, bind, and cf)nvey 
 to the Castle any such illicit traders, and the Landdrost 
 was crdered to muster the inhabitants of Stellenljosch 
 and Drakenstein regularly, write down the names of 
 the absent ones, and compel them to show where they 
 were when the last muster took place. And that the 
 Governor's meaning might be thoroughly understood, the 
 placcaat was ordered to be published in both the Dutch 
 and French languages.* 
 
 * Barter with tlie Hottentots wns prnliihited from the very earliest 
 jxriod : partly hc^anse it i^rcatly interfered with the Company's elibrts 
 to nhtain a sullieient nuiidjor of cattle fer slaughter and other purposes, 
 and partly hecaii.sc a great deal of niisfhief aTid ill-feelinf? was con- 
 tinually beinj^ cau>cil by the action of .s( llish individuals, wlio. caring 
 very little about oll'endinj; or injuring the natives, iniperidcd the 
 general safety by their heartless comluct. The object of tiie (iovern- 
 racnt was, therefore, to do nothing, or allow nothiuu' to 1x5 done, by 
 which the Hottentots nnght be otVeiided or injured. In that ligiit we 
 must read tiic placcaten which were issued from the Otii of April, lti,52, 
 until the very severe one of the 19th of October, IG'JT, to which the 
 Seventeen took exception. 
 
 For the convenience of the reader who may bo desirous of perusing
 
 62 BamhJes throiujh the Archives of 
 
 On tlic 27tli of Juno, 1099, the directors expressed their 
 opinion as follows : — 
 
 " Eegarding the placcaat issued Ly yon on the 19th of 
 October, 1697, again ordering that no freeman shall be 
 allowed to buy or barter any cattle from the Hottentots, 
 and inflicting heavy penalties on all convicted of having 
 done so, we have again read our despatch of the 14th of 
 July, 1695, in which we mentioned that agriculture and 
 cattle-farming were still in the hands of the Company, and 
 expressed our opinion that neither was a fit piTrsiiit for it, 
 as it should have nothing to do with such things, which 
 ought to be left entirely in the hands of the freemen, who 
 will in that w-ay be able to support themselves more easily. 
 On the other hand, the cattle obtained from the Hottentots 
 are so poor and unserviceable that if supplied to the ships 
 they cause complaints . . . whilst those obtained from the 
 
 them, I give the dates, viz., Oth of April, 1G52 ; 5th of January, lGn4 ; 
 22nil of August, lGo4 ; 12th of October, 1G54 ; 18th of September, 1G50 ; 
 25th of Ajjril, 1657. 
 
 On the 2n(l of Jul}-, Ki57, the freemen were permitted bj^ Commis- 
 sioner Kyckloif van Gociis Senior to barter cattle from tlie natives, on 
 condition that tliey paid no more for it than the Company. All their 
 ■wares they were to buy from the Company, and all the cattle bartered 
 they were bound to sell to tiie same and no other, not even to the ships 
 without consent. 
 
 On tlio 2Gtli of September, 1657, the freemen were warned not to buy 
 anj- sickly, old, and useless cattle from the Saldauhars wiio were daily 
 expected. 
 
 On the 4th of May, 1658, a placcaat was issued by order of the Lords 
 Seventeen revoking the placcaat of Van Goens, strictly forbidiling 
 cattle-barter between the freemen and tlie natives, and the former were 
 ordered to return to the Comjiany within forty-eight hours the wares 
 whicli tlicy had obtained for that ]uir]iiise. 
 
 This placcaat wns renewed on tlu; i:>th of September, 1658; 24th of 
 October, 1058; 24th of November, IGGl ; 2Utli of June, 1GG7; 2l8t of 
 October, 1G67; and 8th of April, 1G80. 
 
 It is, therefore, evident that by prohibiting free barter, Simon van 
 der Stil merely adhered to an old and often-renewed placcaat emanat- 
 ing from the directors themselves, and that he did so, for rea.sons which 
 to him seemed valid, in the interest of the natives and the public 
 peace.
 
 tJie Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 63 
 
 freemen or colonists are in better condition, and if found 
 not to be so, can be refused. We therefore did not expect 
 that, contrary to our intentions, you would issue such a 
 rigorous placcaat and attach such hea\'y penalties to its 
 infringement, and accordingly wish it to be cancelled^ 
 leaving the freemen or colonists the liberty of buying or 
 bartering cattle from the Hottentots, or of having them 
 bought or bartered for themselves, so that, having taken 
 good care of and fattened them, they may contract to 
 supply the ships and their crews. You shall therefore 
 draw up instructions for mutual guidance that on the 
 one hand the arrangement may not become too costly for 
 the Company, and, on the other, the freemen may find a 
 living by supplying good meat. Moreover, the servants 
 of the Company who have seats in the Political Council 
 and at the Board of Justice shall be excluded and not 
 allowed to supj)ly. 
 
 " But as one of your reasons for issuing the placcaat 
 was that the freemen personally, or by means of others, 
 often extort the cattle from the Hottentots by beating and 
 thumping them, and causing them much annoyance, it is 
 our order that you shall provide against this evil by means 
 of a rigorous placcaat, and punish offenders according to 
 their deserts. 
 
 " As regards the Company's cattle, already consisting of 
 a large number, you shall continue to supply the ships 
 with them until no more are left, and the Company has rid 
 itself of all. After that you are to get rid of all the 
 servants and slaves who have been employed in the care 
 of the stock, and the lands used as pastures being then no 
 longer required, shall be given to others, and either let or 
 sold for the benefit of the Company. . , ."
 
 64 Rambles through the Archives of 
 
 From the aljove it is evident that the directors had come 
 to the conclusion that it would he a far more satisfactory 
 arrangement to got rid of its farming encumbrances and 
 ol)tain the quantity of meat annually required from one 
 or more contractors, and that a rigorous placcaat against 
 those who were in the hahit of oLtaining cattle from the 
 Hottentots by improper means would be quite sufBcient 
 to meet the case. Nor did they show the slightest inclina- 
 tion to modify their view when a few years later Willem 
 van der Stel pointed out to them the dimensions which 
 that criminal system had assumed, and how deejily a large 
 portion of the colonists were implicated. It was only in 
 1723, when the Kev. Petrus van Aken and the Consistory* 
 of Lrakenstein charged Jacobus van der Heiden with the 
 offence of annually sending out men deliberately to rob 
 the Hottentots of their cattle — the same Van der Heiden 
 who with Adam Tas professed in their Contradeductie to 
 represent the aggrieved public, and who, according to 
 Landdrost Starrenburg, should have been sent Siway as the 
 most mischievous of the party — that the}'' were constrained 
 to acknowledge that the course adopted by both father 
 and son to suppress the evil did not result from selfish 
 motives on their part, but was based on evidence that 
 admitted no longer of any doubt. 
 
 When, however, the Commissioner Wouter Yalckenier 
 arrived here as Commander of the return fleet, after the 
 retirement of Simon van der Stel, and not long after the 
 despatch of the Seventeen, already quoted, and ordered 
 the cancellation of the placcaat of the 19th of October, 1G97, 
 the Council u.nder his presidency drew up another, dated 
 the 28th of February, 1700, revoking that of 1697, and 
 warning all without exception that whoever was found 
 abusing the privileges of free barter, or obtaining cattle 
 from the Hottentots ])y threats, cruel treatment, or other 
 unfair means, would, if convicted, suffer the severest form 
 of capital punishment. Of course, Willem van der Stel 
 was obliged to sulimit to the ruling of a Commissioner who 
 was merely carrying out the positive instructions of the 
 Seventeen, and whose authority he did not dare to thwart 
 under any circumstances. The only course left open to
 
 the Colomj of the Cape of Good Rope. 65 
 
 him was the one pursued by his father, viz. once more to 
 the best of his ability to point out to the masters the ruin 
 which would inevitably result to the natives, should free 
 barter be permitted. But we shall have to say a great 
 deal afterwards about him in connection with this subject. 
 
 From what has been adduced the reader will be aide to 
 conclude whether or not Simon van der Stel's persistent 
 endeavours to make cattle-barter with the natives a penal 
 offence, and to confine it to expeditions sent out l)y the 
 Company and commanded by experienced and trustworthy 
 officers, well known to and liked by the natives, emanated 
 from purely selfish motives ; or whether, if Willem van 
 der Stel had at all been worldly wise, and merely befjre 
 everything else studied his own interests ; or if he had nut 
 been a conscientious administrator, he would have thought 
 it worth his while — even after such abundant and conclu- 
 sive evidence regarding the cruelties perpetrated on the 
 natives by some so-called cattle-traders had been placed 
 in his possession, and after all the vain efforts made by his 
 father — tu suspend the publication of Valckenier's placcaat, 
 until ho had again laid the whole case before the directors, 
 whom he considered to have come to a decision on insuffi- 
 cient or incorrect information l^efore them. 
 
 However, we have adduced enough to show why Simon 
 van der Stel considered himself justified in confiscating 
 the cattle-running among the herds of Doreas.
 
 00 Bninlles tJwouf/h the Arcliives of 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 It is one of the misfortunes of life which cannot be avoided, 
 that however perfect a community may be in a religions, 
 moral, and industrious sense, there will always be found 
 in it a few black sheep, to its own great regret and the 
 inconvenience of its rulers. It is generally supposed that 
 all the Huguenots were persons of irreproachable character, 
 and that without exception all were deeply religious, 
 hard-working, and without any spot or blemish. But as 
 the Archives leave a different impression on the reader, I 
 am bound to take notice of it. 
 
 On the memorable day on which Commander Van der Stel 
 lost his temper (28th November, 1689), he communicated 
 to the meeting " the anxious thoughts and difficulties 
 which some ' would-be ' French fugitives had caused him : 
 for pretending that to avoid the religious perseciition of 
 their King they had fled from France to other countries, 
 especially to Holland ; and in order to lead a lazy and 
 indolent life, under the cloak of being zealous members 
 and supporters of the Protestant faith, obtained a passage 
 to the Cape in some of the Company's ships, nominally to 
 become agriculturists ; but (without casting the least 
 reflection on the good) they had taken no trouble to find 
 a living or attend to farming, and so did not fulfil the 
 expectation which the Companj' cherished regarding them, 
 &c." It was therefore natural that, as no careful selection 
 of sititable persons had always been made in Europe, the 
 Council begged the Seventeen in their despatch of the 
 24th of June, 1691, that, "although both the Cape and 
 ]\Iauritius were much in want of agriculturists, not tfj 
 send any people of the wrong stamp, who would be en- 
 tirely out of their element liere, and thoroughly un- 
 acquainted with and unfit for the hard life which was the 
 farmer's portion." They wished that no " French cadets
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 67 
 
 or persons of quality might be sent, but industrious and 
 well-behaved farmers and tradesmen, among whom tiae 
 Dutch and Germans seemed to surpass all others here. " 
 
 Moved by the same reasons, no doubt the Commander 
 wrote in his instructions that " it would be beneficial if old 
 servants of the Company, having means of their own and 
 being men of good repute, were tempted by advantageous 
 conditions to settle here as agriculturists, for in that 
 manner nut only the respectable element among the 
 burghers would be strengthened, but the < 'olony relieved 
 from a class who had obtained their freedom under the 
 pretext of being desirous of applying themselves to agri- 
 culture, but who had hitherto only wandered from one 
 farmer to another and vagabondised without a home, the 
 willing tools of the evil-disposed (by whom they are em- 
 ployed in the forbidden cattle-trade with the natives), 
 frustrators of every good intention of the Company, inter- 
 ferers with its prerogatives, and its systematic rubbers." 
 
 Not very long after his son deemed it his duty to draw 
 attention to the old and infirm fugitives sent out to the Cape, 
 and to point out that as the object of the Company was to 
 strengthen the agricultural element as much as possible, 
 no good object could possibly be ^erved by introducing 
 people here who were too aged to work any longer, and 
 that it would be far better to send out some Zealand 
 farmers who knew their business and could work a farm 
 satisfactorily. 
 
 But, as 1 have said before, the Commander knew how to 
 appreciate a good and industrious man, although he might 
 not exactly alwaj^s admire his temper. For although he 
 was often astonished at the mercurial dispusition of some 
 of the exiles, which made him write about them (m the 
 24th of June, 1G91, as follows: "We find that their 
 crotchety (icispelturige) nature still adheres to them, and 
 that they resemble the children of Israel, who, fed by 
 God's hand in the wilderness, still longed for the onion * 
 
 * The expression should naturally be the flesh-pots of Egypt 
 (Tk^^n ~l''p), Exodus xvi. 3 ; and were it not an anaciirouisia, we might 
 suppose that when tlie Commander was writing, there might at tiie 
 moment have been running through his head the couplet said to have 
 
 F 2
 
 68 Bumbles through the Arcliives of 
 
 pots of Egypt " — there is more of sorrow and sympathy 
 in the seBtence than harshness or indifl'erence. 
 
 He certainly disapproved of the unseemly wrangles 
 between the L'ev. P. Simond and Jacques de Savoye ; but 
 he iully appreciated the good qualities of the latter, some 
 information regarding whom and the church to which he 
 originally belonged I give in the following chapter. 
 
 beeu quoted by Louis XT., in a conversation with the roue' Richelieu, 
 Field Marshal, Governor of Guyenne, and great grandnephew of the 
 Cardinal : — 
 
 " Mutton with onion sauce, and, Lord, with musk perfume. 
 For your supper I propose : 
 When Eiclielieu the gay appeareth in a room, 
 Defend then well your heart and well protect your nose.'' 
 
 BCNGENER, The Priest and the Huguenot. 
 
 I
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. (j9 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Among the refugees despatched by the Zealand Chamber in 
 the Oosterland (see Despatch from Middelburg, dated 8th of 
 Jan'iary, 1688 j, were Jacques do Savoye of Ath,* his wife 
 Maria Magdalena le Clercq of Tournuy, aud his muther- 
 in-law Antoinette Carnoy. 
 
 But a few weeks before the Rotterdam Chamber, one of 
 whi )se members was Mr. A. Paets,t chief promoter of the 
 Ecole lllustre or Athenajum at Rottei'dam, established 
 purposely to find chairs for Jacques Basnage and Pierre 
 Bayle, had written to the Council as follows : — 
 
 " By this opportunity there will proceed to the Cape tu 
 settle there as a Colonist one Jacques Savoye and his wife. 
 He has been ' under the cross ' (onder 't Jcruys geweest synde),\ 
 and for many years an eminent merchant at Ghent, in 
 Flanders ; where ho has been persecuted by the Jesuits 
 to such an extent, and where even his life was being 
 threatened, that in order to escape from their snares, and 
 peacefully end his days beyond their reach, he has resolved 
 to cross the ocean as a Colonist, and to take with him 
 various Flemish farmers uf the Reformed religion, wlio have 
 
 * Called Aeih by the Netheilnmlera and Ath by tlie Fremli. A strong 
 little town in the nortiiern portion of the province of H.iiimiilt, not far 
 from the bounilaries of Flandirs nt tlie Dendi-r or Dcnre, nearly 
 midway Ixtwccu iSfrcjm and Omhitiunle. It wua laixen in 1G90. with 
 JIous and other cities, by tlie Dnke of Lnxornbourg. 
 
 t His signature is among tiie Aroliives. !?eo ( .;/. letter recc-iveil fruin 
 Rottordi.ni. Utli of Dei-embtr, 17U3, in vol. 170l", p. G'J. 
 
 X It was customary at tlie time to nicution tiie congregations snfft r- 
 ing ptrsecutinn as roiiffretjittiims hmriutj, or under, thf crui<», (g'-iiuijuien 
 amhr het cruijn). The French expression was /cs Eiih'»t'$ (hi (le»i rt, a 
 name <lerived from the wild an<l siditary places in tlic Soutli nf Fiiwxce 
 where the Huguenots secretly met for worsliip.
 
 70 Baitihles tlirowjU tht Arcluvts of 
 
 also snifered persecution, and for the same reason as that of 
 buvoye leave their Fathfrlaud. And because wo know 
 Savoye as wo have described him, we most willingly re- 
 commend him to your notice, and request you to lend him 
 a helping hand, iind consider him in the light in which we 
 have introduced him. hoping that for the furtherance of 
 the intentions of the Loids Seventeen he will be an able 
 and desirable instrument." 
 
 It is to be regretted that hitherto I have been unable fo 
 lay my hands on the papers referring to the disputes 
 between him and the R<-v. P. Simond, but among the 
 despatches of the year 1G02 I find three certificates re- 
 garding his perscm and conduct, which evidently were 
 given to (left-ud himself from charges brought against him 
 l)v the minister. All are in the P'rench language, but 
 accomi)anied by a Dutch translation. The first is from 
 the Rev. Fianq-ois Simon, minister of the IIol}' Gospel and 
 preacher of the Reformed (Jongregation under the cross 
 in Flanders, and is dated the 13th of March, 1G92. He 
 testifies — 
 
 " That he had oftpn been, by order of the States-General, 
 during the last twenty-five or thirty years in Flanders, 
 and especially in Ghent, to preach the Gospel. That he 
 had often met Savoye there, and had an intimate inter- 
 course with him ; that ho had often communed with him 
 on the m\>terics of the Chi-istian religion ; that Savoye 
 did not only appear well taught in the hidden things of 
 BJilvation, but also able to defend their truths against the 
 errors of the Roman Church. That this had often hap- 
 pened. That accordingly he had drawn u})on himself the 
 hatred and vengeance of the adversaries of our faith, who, 
 considering him a person capable of extending the King- 
 dom of Christ and destroying that of Sa'an with all the 
 puwer at his command, had employed every artifice to
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 71 
 
 destroy hira if possible. That they had brought many 
 lawsuits against hira, and attempted to have him murdered 
 that he might be prevented from further exposing the 
 E'»man idolatrj'^. That in order to secure his own safety 
 he had been obliged to leave Ghent about five years ago, 
 and proceed to the Northern Netherlands. That some 
 timg later ho had proceeded to the Cape, where he Ktill 
 was. That all the time in which deponent had known 
 him at Ghent he had always considered him to be an 
 honest man, and only heard him fiivourably mentioned, so 
 that deponent was convinced of the respect in which 
 every one held him, the good reputation which his con- 
 duct had secured, and the approbation of those with whom 
 he had associated. That many pious and honest people 
 whom deponent knew had described him as one whose 
 life and halnts in relation to civil affairs were irreproach- 
 able ; that he was even loved by the mf)derate Catholics, 
 who were not led away by passion but were reasonable. 
 That as a merchant he had always passed as an honest 
 man. That what deponent m<istly Chteemed in him above 
 all, was not only his great knowledge of the mysteries c)f 
 the kingdom of heaven, but especially his great godlin< ss, 
 piety, and zeal for the glory of his Kedeemer ; in one 
 word, all the virtues found in a true Christian. That he 
 had always received (le])onent in his own house without 
 fearing, as others did, and often lent it to him in a pleasant 
 way for preaching the Gospel, showing that he feared 
 God more than man. That his life seemed a worthj- 
 example of purity and holiness as uuich as it could bo in 
 the place in which he was, where idolatry- reigned supreme. 
 That deponent had, therefore, always admitted him lo 
 the pious exercises which he had regularly attended, and 
 also to the Holy Communiun. That deponent commended
 
 72 Ramlles through the Archives of 
 
 him and his family to the grace of God, and prayed that 
 He might continue to pour over him abundantly His most 
 precitms and costly blessings from the heavens above and 
 from the earth buucath, and that deponent acknowledged 
 him to be a true incuiber of the Holy Body of Christ, con- 
 sisting of those who had made profession of the true 
 religion." 
 
 The above was attested by the Notary Public at Rotter- 
 dam, J. van Lodenstein, in i)resence of the witnesses Isaac 
 Poortugaelsz and Philippe Pousee. 
 
 The next was made by the merchant Martin de la Court 
 (^f Ghent, who stated on the 7th of March, 1G92, that 
 " Savoye, in consequence of the persecutions of the Jesuits, 
 had left Ghent, when Andre du Punt, his son-in-law, 
 became bankrupt there, and tliat he was not aware that 
 he had taken anything away with him except what his 
 friends had given him when he started for the Cape." — 
 (Signed on the 7th of March, 1G92, in the presence of the 
 same Notary and witnesses.) 
 
 The last is one signed by Christiaan Crayenest and .lac. 
 des Obry within Ghent, on the 1st of March, 1692, and is 
 as follows : — 
 
 " That they knew Savoye very well and found him very 
 zealous for the Reformed religion, and that his zeal went 
 so far that it brought on him the hatred of the Roman 
 priesthood, who, by means of manifjld lawsuits, did 
 everything to ruin liim. That through his zeal he had 
 l)een in danger of losing his life by the hands of mur- 
 derers. That he had accordingly been obliged to take 
 refuge in Holland, and that deponents had found no 
 other doctrine in him than what agreed with the true 
 religion, and that his manners had been irreproachable." 
 (Also signed in presence of the same Notary.) 
 
 I have already said that these certificates were evidently 
 given to defend Savoye from charges brought against him
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 73 
 
 by Simond. If not, why should they be given at all, for 
 they are not ordinary letters of introduction to strangers, 
 but rather evidence of a judicial nature to clear the 
 character of a man grossly aspersed ? Should this view l)e 
 correct, it would follow that Savoj'o had been charged with 
 usurping certain functions which only pertained to the 
 minister; whilst the fact was, according to the deponents, 
 that he had at Ghent been a staunch propagator and 
 defender of the Keformed religion, an able apologist of 
 the same and at all times ready to prove the truth of 
 what he believed, as a lay-preacher doing his best to 
 inculcate his views among people who had hitherto kept 
 aloof from the Reformation, in a country and town almost 
 entirely Catholic ; and finally that the representatives of 
 the dominant Church had looked upon him with no favour 
 and done him much mischief, and that merely to secure 
 his own safety he had been obliged to leave Ghent. 
 
 He had further been charged witli dishonesty, but the 
 Rev. r. Simon declared that ho had ahvaj's been lumest, 
 always favourably spoken of, always respected by all who 
 knew him, and that his life and habits in secular matters 
 had been irreproachable. That as a merchant he hatl 
 always been considered honest, but that his great strength 
 lay in his powerfully religious life, and his voluntary 
 labours as a missionary in favour of Protestantism. 
 
 The last charge seems to have been that he had left 
 Ghent under a cloud, and carried away more with him 
 than he had a right to ; but the merchant, Martin de la 
 Court, declared that Savoye had only left Client in conse- 
 quence of the persecution of the Jesuits, ami that he was 
 not aware that he had taken anytliing awav with him 
 except what his friends gave him when he left fur the 
 Cape. 
 
 The whole is certainly very favourable evidence fn)m 
 the standpoint of the givers, but it nevertlieless leaves 
 the impression that there was more of the militant than 
 the meek and tolerant element in the ex-merchant of 
 Ghent, and that, without in the least detracting from his 
 virtues, a person with sucli decidedly pronounced prin- 
 ciples conscientiously held would hardly feel himself at
 
 74 Ramhles tliroiujli the Archives of 
 
 homo in the compauy of those who dilfured even slightly 
 from him in theological opinion ; and not only look with 
 horror on the Church of Eome, but likewise on the 
 Lutherans, and even such sections of the Eefornied Church 
 as might at all be inclined to take a more moderate view 
 of the different doctrines considered by him characteristic 
 of the true religion and indispensable for salvation. 
 
 He had, however, powerful and w\arm friends in the 
 Rotterdam Chamber, which had forwarded the certiftcates 
 referred to in a despatch with the following remarks: — 
 
 " lOtli of June, 1G92. 
 " We enclose certain documents connected with Jacques 
 de Savoj'e, at present living at the Cape, and concerning 
 whom you have before this favourably testified. The 
 pajiers will show you what testimonies he has received in 
 his favour ; and as we consider him to be an honest man, 
 and are not persuaded of the contrary, it is not less praise- 
 tcorthy tlian fair that persons Wee liim should be supported in 
 their Just cause in a proper manner. This we recommend 
 you with all discretion to do." 
 
 About a year later the same Chamber again referred to 
 the documents above mentioned (14th of October, 1693), 
 and said : — 
 
 " You seem to have been satisfied as regards the con- 
 duct of Jacques de Savoye, judging from the contents of 
 the papers sent to us." 
 
 But evidently Van der Stel must have likewise referred 
 to the crotchety temper of the old Walloon, for the letter 
 continued : — 
 
 " It Avas not unpleasant news to us to receive good 
 testimony concerning him through you, but his nature 
 can only be effectively altered and improved b}^ time, kind 
 intercourse, and treatment. This wo readily entrust to 
 your discretion ('t Nature! niet beter te verauderen off
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 75 
 
 corrigeren syncle, als door de tyt, en heuslycke omme- 
 gangli en behandelinge, dat wy aen UE : bescheydent- 
 lieyt wel willeu defcreren)." 
 
 And as it' to show their appreciation of his kindness to 
 Savoy e, they add : — 
 
 "The share which this Chamber had in raising you to 
 the rank of Councillor Extraordinary of India must be 
 ascribed to our favourable disposition towards yourself." 
 
 The Commander, however, had naturally little oppor- 
 tunity to associate or commune with him like the Eev. 
 Francois Simond, or to appreciate his theological abilities ; 
 he simply considered and treated him in the light of a 
 hard-working immigrant, doing his very best to ])rosper; 
 and hence he wnjte to Delft on the loth of April, 1689, 
 that : — 
 
 " Jacques de Savoye and family conducted themselves 
 according to wish, that their virtues and laborious zeal 
 were examples to all the fugitives or exiles ; and that 
 therefore, because of his abilities and his knowledge of 
 Dutch and French, he had been appointed to the office of 
 Heemraad (Country Councillor)." 
 
 It will not be necessary to say more of him at present : 
 I wish now to describe in brief terms the Church to which 
 he belonged, as very little seems to be known of it ; and I 
 even once read, to my gi'eat surprise, in an essay written 
 by a disting^^ishL'd antlior that one of the acts of injustice 
 committed against the fugitives hero was that they had 
 been obliged to abandon their own and become members 
 of the Dutch Koformed Church. AVhat I give may be 
 depended on, as it is a brief summary of the very interest- 
 ing skoteli drawn liy A. Yjiey and I. J. Dermout, in their 
 History <f the Netherlands lieformed Church, vol. i. ])p. 294, 
 &c., and vol. iii. pp. o7, &c. 
 
 The AN'alloon Church is a section of the Netherlands' 
 Reformed Church. Persecution drove its members away
 
 76 Rambles through the Archives of 
 
 from the Southern Province, where the old Walloon* was 
 still spoken — from Hainaiilt, Artois, Luxembourg, Lim- 
 burg, and adjoining portions of Flanders and Brabant — 
 to the Northern States, where they were well received. 
 Excepting at Valenciennes, the Reformation had made 
 hardly any progress in the south, and its tenets, supposed 
 to have been originally bronglit thither by the Walden- 
 sians, whom persecution liad likewise di'iven away from 
 tlieir native valleys, could only succeed in securing a 
 larger number of adherents, after they had obtained a 
 stronghold in Switzerland and Germany. But whether 
 or not the Walloons obtained their more enlightened views 
 from the Waldensians, they should be clearly distin- 
 guished from the latter, whose views on baptism alone 
 differed widely from theirs, to say nothing of other points 
 distinguishing them. It is more probable, however, that 
 they received the Reformed faith from their northern 
 neighbours, but not before the year 1541 is any Reformed 
 congregation found among them. In 1563 a large number 
 fled to Holland proper, because the Edict of Charles V., 
 renewed by his son Philip II., had not been so strictly 
 eaaforced there as in the south. Those who escaped to 
 Brabant and Flanders likewise formed a considerable 
 number. In England they also found a safe refuge. 
 King Edward endowed them in 1550 with great privileges. 
 They were allowed to build a church, and were most 
 closely united to the Dutch refugees there. After the 
 King's death, however, many left London for Emden, where 
 Countess Anna permitted them to establish their church 
 according to the doctrine and ceremonies of the Reformed 
 Church of East Friesland. 
 
 Most of them, however, remained in their own country, 
 but kept their o^jinions strictly secret. Although scat- 
 
 * The word Walloon burvived the name of the country known in 
 ancient history as Gallia or (iaul. It is but one of tlic many words 
 in which the G or Gu lias been converted into a W, like (iuillaumc 
 into William, kc. Evidently the h^cotch have retained from their 
 (.iaelic ^ires the peculiar sound of this diiramiiia, which will be always 
 heard when they jjrouounce such words as what, which, wlien, whi re, 
 &c., the Wh almost assuming the same sound as that of the G or Gu 
 in Dutch.
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 11 
 
 tered, they formed themselves into separate congregations 
 known to each other by fictitious names. We read of the 
 congregations la Bose (Kose-tree) at Lisle in 1563, and 
 le Bouton (Rose-bud) at Armentieres. In the same manner 
 those who had fled to Flanders and Brabant knew one 
 another. In Antwerp we find the congregation of /-a 
 Vlfjne (the Vineyard), and at Ghent, that of le Glaive (the 
 Sword). All these were the first to liold Church Councils 
 or Synods, and likewise Tinder fictitious names known 
 only to the initiated. The first meeting of the kind 
 occurred in a town of the Southern Netherlands, called by 
 them Teiire or Teurne, and supposed to be Toumay. In 
 1566, one held in the Vineyard (Antwerp) was attended 
 by many Dutch ministers, and presided over by the cele- 
 brated Franciscus Junius. When in 1567 the Duke of 
 Alva arrived in the Netherlands, many Dutch Protestants 
 and likewise Walloons fled to England, Emden, Franken- 
 thal, &c. ; but when, in 1572, Liberty, long suppressed, 
 was again lifting her head in Holland and Zealand, many 
 Walloons migrated thither, in order to escape persecution 
 in their own country. Those who remained behind suf- 
 fered severely from the Roman priesthood, which, driven 
 from Flanders, and especially from Ghent in 1578, had 
 fled towards the Walloon provinces. But the results of 
 the Ghent troubles became even more fatal for the 'Re- 
 formed when in the same year the Walloon provinces tore 
 themselves away from the rest of the Netherlands, and 
 again surrendered themselves by treaty to Spain. No 
 Protestant could after that be safe in the Walloon terri- 
 tory. Every one therefore endeavoured to flee. But 
 Flanders and Brabant aflfurded no longer a safe refuge, 
 for both were in danger of being likewise soon annexed 
 to the Spanish dominion. Ileiice all fled towards the 
 Northern Netherlands, to Holland and Zealand, and already 
 in 1577 their number must have been great if judged by 
 that of their ministers present in a Synod held at Dordrecht 
 that year, and by the fact that twelve months later it was 
 decided in a National Synod, consisting of Dutch and 
 Walloon ministers and elders, that the Walloon Church 
 should be separated from the Dutch, in such a manner
 
 78 Rambles through the Archives of 
 
 that each section should henceforth hohl its own Synods. 
 After the Utrecht liond of Union had bi;en established in 
 1570, the number of AValloons still further rapidly in- 
 creased, for henceforth they could be nowliere safer than 
 in the United Provinces. They established themselves at 
 Amsterdam, Haarlem, Middelburg, &c., and were likewise 
 recruited Avith many who had returned from England and 
 Emden, whither they had fled after Alva had arrived to 
 destroy the Keformed with fire and sword. Very manj' 
 arrived also from Tournay in Flanders, where the largest 
 of Walloon congregations had been established, and the 
 largest number of Protestants had suffered martyrdom. 
 
 But as these Walloons, settled in Holland and Zealand, 
 had, on account of their different language, been necessa- 
 rily separated from the Dutch Reformed Churcli in 1578, 
 they had also been obliged to establish their own indi- 
 vidual congregations. The authorities had allowed them 
 to do so, given them suitable places, mostly convents, for 
 their religious exercises, and further rendered tliem such 
 pecuniary aid as was necessary to enable thum to maintain 
 tiieir services and support their ministers. The latter 
 were paid out of the public funds, although generally 
 their salaries were not so high as those of the Dutch 
 ministers. In course of time their widows were likewise 
 cared for by the State. The first Walloon congregation 
 in the Northern Netherlands was that at Amsterdam. 
 When in 1578 the Government had been changed there, 
 full religious liberty was at once accorded to both Walloons 
 and Dutch Reformed, and both received a church in which 
 to hold their services. Their first minister was Joan do 
 la Greve. Similar congregations were establislied in 
 Haarlem and Middelburg in 1579, in Leyden and Flush- 
 ing in 1584, in Dordrecht and Delft in 158ti, and likewise 
 in all the other towns of the Netherlands. Continually 
 fugitives were arriving, antl all without distinction were 
 received with great affection, protected, and cared for. In 
 1593 a Walloon congregation was established at Zierikzee, 
 in 1595 at the Hague, in 1598 at Kampen, in 1G05 at 
 Rotterdam, and in 1G21 at Nymegen. The oldest was 
 formed at Utrecht in 1580. Not until the middle of the
 
 the Colomj of the Cape of Good Hope. 79 
 
 seventeenth century did the establishment of new con<^'re- 
 gations cease, for as late as 1658 some AValloons formed 
 one at Tolen. 
 
 Their most celebrated men of learning — men who had 
 done incalculably much for the Reformation ; men whose 
 names are still household words among the Protestants — 
 were Guy or Guido de Brez or Bres, born at Bergen in 
 Hainault ; Francois Kaphclingius, born in the neighbour- 
 hood of Lisle, professor of the Eastern languages at 
 Leyden ; and Lucas Trelcat or Trelcatius, born at Douay, 
 professor at Leyden, 
 
 Among their ministers, who were likewise very learned 
 men, although not of Walloon descent, there were in the 
 Netherlands — Fran(^oisGomare orGomarus, born at Bruges, 
 professor at Leyden, and afterwards at Groningen ; Jean 
 Polyander il Kerkhoveu, born at Metz, professor at Leyden ; 
 and Andre de Wale or Walajus, of Walloon descent, but 
 born at Ghent, at first minister at Middelburg, but after- 
 wards professor at Leyden. And last, not least, Francois 
 du Jon, or Junius, a French nobleman of Bourges, but 
 when still very young Walloon minister at Antwerp, and 
 afterwards professor in divinity at Heidelberg and Leyden. 
 He died in 1(502. 
 
 From what has been adduced, it has therefore become 
 evident that the Walloon Reformed were as a people 
 absorbed in the Reformed section of the Dutch nation, 
 but that as a Church such an incorporation did not take 
 place ; that tlie Walloons were not al>sorbod in the Dutch 
 Church, but that the Dutch learnt their Confession of 
 Faith from the Walloons. The Dutch Confession of 
 Faith originally came from the Walloon Church, which 
 was Calvinistic, and remained so, whilst the Dutch Church 
 was in its origin Zwinglian. The blending of the two 
 parts, however, produced the Zwinglio-Calvinistic body, 
 the old State Church of the Netherhinds. 
 
 The Walloon ( 'hurches prospered rapidly. They con- 
 sisted of honest, industrious, and redigious citizens, who 
 won and enjoyed the respect of all. 'I'lie^- shared in and 
 helped to jjromote the prosperity of their adopted country, 
 4US merchants, manufacturers, and tradesmen. Since the
 
 80 RamUes tlwough the Archives of 
 
 seventeenth century not many were added to their numbers, 
 because their chiklren having learned the Dutch language 
 had no longer any reason to detach themselves from the 
 Dutch Eeformed Church ; but fresh arrivals kept up the 
 number as it was, so that the Churches showed no signs of 
 retrogression. 
 
 Finally, immense numbers were added to their own 
 when the persecutions in France, which took their 
 bitterest forms in 1680 and culminated in the revocation 
 of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, drove thousands of French 
 Protestants from their native country to find a home in 
 the ever-hospitable North Netherlands, or, as the name will 
 be expressed on the border of the medal about to be struck 
 in Amsterdam by Mr, Elion, to commemorate the revoca- 
 tion of the Edict of Nantes, as decided by the Commission 
 pour VHistoire des Eglises Wallonnes des Paijs-Bas, "Les 
 Provinces Unies, terre de refuge de nos ancetres.'' * 
 
 * It has been struck siuce.
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 81 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 It would bo oi:t of place here to narrate the horrors and 
 cruelties that j^receded and followed the revocation of the 
 Edict of 1598, which had secured for the Protestants of 
 France the inestimable liberty of serving their God accord- 
 ing to their conscience. A large number fled to Amsterdam, 
 as the majority of the fugitives believed that in the centres 
 of commerce and trade they would more easily be able to 
 find a living for themselves and their families. Moreover, 
 on the 25th of September, 1G81, the Estates of Holland had 
 decided to exempt them for twelve years from all extra- 
 ordinary taxes ; and seven years later, of half of the 
 ground tax levied on the sale of all landed properties. 
 In 1681 Amsterdam presented the fugitives with the 
 rights of citizenship, granting them likewise the liberty 
 to carry on any kind of trade or business, without the 
 necessity of joining guilds or paying any taxes whatever. 
 The town corporation also further decided to build 10^0 
 houses for them, in which they could be sheltered and 
 provided with the necessaries of life; and further to 
 advance them money for erecting manufactories, buying 
 household furniture, and obtaining what they required 
 for their sustenance. Especially after the revocation, the 
 number of fugitives had increased immensely, and with the 
 full approbation of the chief magistrate, those Huguenots 
 who had been accepted as members in the Walloon 
 church, separated themselves on friendly terms from 
 the latter, as the building in which they had been accus- 
 tomed to meet had become too small for both. As a 
 church, however, both remained one, but a new edifice 
 was erected for the French, the Walloons I'etaining pos- 
 session of the old one. This occurred in 1G86, and the 
 friendly separation remained in force until 1712, when 
 Walloons and French forming in reality but one congre- 
 
 G
 
 82 Banibles through the Arehivps of 
 
 gation, again Biingled with each other in tlieir attend- 
 ance at the (services of both chnrchos, and once more 
 performed their religious duties as one united body. 
 
 Eotterdam, Dordrecht, Leyden, Middolburg, Flushing, 
 Arnheim, Nymegen, Utrecht, Zwol, Leeuwaarden, Gronin- 
 gen, and many other towns received the Huguenots with 
 open arms. Grouingen alone subscribed above £2000 
 sterling for them, a very large sum indeed for that town 
 and in those days. It is not possible to state their exact 
 number. That of their ministers was about 200. Not 
 knowing the Dutch language, it was but natural that the 
 majoiity should select such places as their residence 
 where many Walloons dwelt, in order to be able to join 
 the churches of the latter. In places, however, where no 
 Walloon congregations existed, like Bommel, Hattem, 
 Harderwyk, Harlingen, Sneek, Bolsward, &c., and in large 
 villages like Balk in Friesland, and Dwingelooin Di-enthe, 
 purely French congregations were established: but whether 
 a portion of the Walloon churches, or purely French, all 
 went by the name of Walloons, and with the exception of 
 Groningen, belonged to one sjmod, known from the earliest 
 times as the Walloon Synod. The latter having never 
 altered any of its institutions after its churches had spread 
 themselves over the seven provinces, it naturally had the 
 full right to retain the name. In 1G88 more than fifty 
 Walloon congregations existed, but no addition was made 
 to the number after that time. 
 
 A large portion of the fugitive ministers at once received 
 appointments in the land of refuge. In January, 168(5, 
 the Estates of Holland decided to give both the Walloon 
 and French churches at Amsterdam sixteen ministers 
 together. Leyden and Eotterdam received each eight ; 
 Dordrecht and Haarlem, seven each ; Delft, six ; Gouda, 
 five ; the Hague, three ; and Schoonhoven and the Briel, 
 two each. 
 
 The ministers for whom there were no vacancies received 
 an annual salary from the public chest. Some received 
 f.400, others again f.250, according to their needs and 
 circumstances. The widows of the fugitive ministers were 
 likewise pensioned for life, and in all the provinces an
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 83 
 
 annual amount was, moreover, granted for the support of 
 respectable female fugitives of the Reformed faith. At 
 all times the exiles showed themselves deeply grateful for 
 this affectionate care and protection. 
 
 Among the fugitive divines who took refuge in Hol- 
 land, the following made themselves renowned : — Basnage, 
 J. Saurin, La Placette, D. Martin, Jurieu, De Superville, 
 L)e Chaufepie, Huet, Boullier, Benoit, and especially 
 Pierre Bajde. 
 
 From the very commencement of its existence the 
 Walloon Church had required that all its ministers should 
 subscribe to theNetherland Confession of Faith, drawn up 
 by Guido de Bres. In ltil9 the well-known doctrinal 
 rules of the Synod of Dordrecht were added. Finally, in 
 1686, the Walloon Church drew up a sixth article con- 
 taining certain definitions regarding the doctrine of pre- 
 destination and the depravity of human nature, which all 
 its ministers were obliged to sign ; but as it is a long 
 story, involving only dogmatical points, virtually emana- 
 ting from a difference of opinion which arose in the 
 Church of France, and something similar to that which 
 so severely exercised the minds of thecdogians in Holland 
 regarding Predestination and Arminianism, I merely 
 mention it and })ass it by as a subject foreign to my 
 purpose. Those who care to know more about it, I refer 
 to the authors from whom I have dra^mi the above, and 
 other comprehensive works on Church and Dogmatical 
 History, of which there are many. 
 
 I cannot, however, conclude this chapter without remind- 
 ing the reader that the name of Walloon has not been for- 
 gotten in Cape Town, one of the streets bearing it and 
 keeping its memory green. May — whatever the changes 
 that so often take place — Wale Straai, or WoUooyi Street, 
 ever retain its appellation, and the Huguenot Memorial be 
 erected near it ! 
 
 G 2
 
 Si liumlhs tl trough tlie Arc! lives of 
 
 CHAPTER XT. 
 
 Hiihe::to I have only mentioned two distinct classes of 
 fugitives driven from their countr}' ; the one by the 
 tyrannj' of an infatuated king, the other by an imperial 
 edict which made it impossiljle for either to remain in 
 their native land, or with safety to themselves serve their 
 (iod according to their conscience. But there is a third 
 not yet referred to, whose history is closely' connected with 
 our own, although they finally refused, or more correctly 
 speaking, had always persistently declined to leave Europe 
 for our far-away country. I mean the Waldensians or 
 Vaudois — the JDal-luiden, as the Archives call them — the 
 " men of the valleys " — the men and women who at the 
 instigation of Louis XIV. were driven from house and 
 home by a prince who ought to have loved and defended 
 them — Victor Amadeus II., Duke of Savoy. 
 
 But in order to introduce them in regular form, it will lie 
 necessary, first, to let the Archives inform us why their 
 presence at the Cape was considered desirable; and then 
 all<)w them briefly to tell their own story as far as it is 
 connected with ourselves, and give the reason wh}- they 
 did not come. 
 
 Among the Commissioners who visited the Cape from 
 time to time, and inspected its affairs, not many j'ears after 
 its settlement, the two Van Goenses and the Lord of 
 Mydregt take a prominent position. Each of them had 
 in his report, dated respectively 1681,1682, and 1685, laid 
 the alternative before the Seventeen, either to let the resi- 
 dency remain as it was, entirely in the hands of the Com- 
 pany, or to convert it into a Colony. But Matiritius having, 
 a> advised l)y Van Riebeeck, been placed under the direct 
 administration of the Cape Commanders, the Seventeen 
 had already, on the 21st of Jxme, 1684, and before receiv- 
 ing the report of the Lord of Mydregt, decided to colonise
 
 the Cohny of the Cope of Good Hope. S^ 
 
 that island with some married peasants from the neii>,h- 
 bourhood of Amersfoort and the Yelnw, as well as some 
 exiled Flemish farmers (Walloons) who were skilled in 
 the cultivation and preparation of tobncco. 
 
 A year later, however, on the 3rd of October, 1685, the 
 alternative was fully considered, and the decision arrived 
 at that, because the agricultural prospects at the Cape 
 were steadily becoming more favourable, and it was neces- 
 sarv' to curtail the heavy expenses, especially those caused 
 by the importation of rice, more colonists should be sent 
 out to earn a living here by agriculture, trade, and other 
 industries ; that the different Chambers should make terms 
 with those willing to go, according to the conditions laid 
 down, so that Fiench fugitives of the Keformed faith 
 should likewise be accepted, especially such as could make 
 vinegar and distil brandy, provided that they produced 
 certificates from their consistories that they were honest 
 people ; that all such, when accepted as settlers, should be 
 considered as native-bom JSetherlanders ; and, finally, that 
 likewise forty-eight young women, well trained in farm- 
 ing pursuits, should be sent out — viz., twenty-four by 
 Amsterdam, twelve by Zealand, and four by each of the 
 other Chambers. 
 
 The regulations were that the emigrants would be con- 
 veyed to the Cape free of expense, and that, before their 
 departure, they were to take the oath of allegiance to the 
 Companj'. 'J'hat they would be allowed to take such 
 luggage onh' as was absolutely indispensable, but on the 
 other hand, as much specie as they liked. That at the 
 Cape they would settle as agriculturists, or otherwise, 
 according to their abilities or profession. That as agricul- 
 turists they would receive as much land in freehold as they 
 could manage, and also such implements and cattle as they 
 would require ; and that in return they were to undert;ik«> 
 to refund all advances made by the Company in corn or 
 otherwise, in the best ^vilJ they could. 'I hat every one, 
 married or single, would be bound to remain fitteen years, 
 but should he die within that pericjd, and his widow re- 
 many, the latter would not l)e obligt d to remain longer 
 than five years, reckoned from the day of lier re-nwirriage ;
 
 86 liamUes throiujh the Archives of 
 
 that is, if H\e years or more were still wanting to com- 
 jilete the term of fifteen years. That the daughters marry- 
 ing wonlil likewise not be bound for more than five years, 
 calculating from the day of marriage. That those who 
 had served their time would on their return to Europe 
 have to pay for their passage according to the Indian scale — 
 that is, f.30O if older than twelve years,and f.loo if younger. 
 That they Avould be charged for their board in the saloon, 
 thirty .stivers; in the cabin, eighteen stivers; and among 
 the sailors, nine stivers daily ; that the women were to be 
 charged at the rate of one guilder, twelve, and nine stixers 
 for the same purpose; and that the whole amoimt would 
 be calculated for four months, and no longer. 'I'hat di pro 
 rata |)oition of the passage-money of any emigrant dying 
 at sea would be refunded to his heirs ; that no one would 
 be allowed to take home with him any merchandize, but 
 only what he absolutely required for his person on board ; 
 and that such wealth as any homeward-bound colonist 
 might have obtained in the East, was to be converted into 
 cash, and transferred to Europe by bills on the Company 
 with the ordinary commission of four per cent. 
 
 On the 1st of October, 1687, a General Committee was 
 appointed by the Seventeen to report specially on the 
 question, whether it would be for the interest of the 
 Com])any to coiwey to the Cape, or elsewhere within its 
 jurisdiction, also some French and Piedmnntt'se fmjitives 
 J rofessing the Reformed reli<iwn, and if so, on what footing 
 and conditions it should take place. 
 
 Five days later it was decided to adhere to the original 
 resolution amended as follows : — 
 
 "(1) That among the French fugitives should be in- 
 cluded the Vaudois exiles, or 'men of the valleys,' our 
 fellow-believers ; and should any present themselves to 
 the Amsterdam or Zealand Chaml)ors, that as many should 
 be accepted as could be conveniently accommodated on the 
 outgoing ships ; and should any more vessels be equipped, 
 that then more sliould l)e engaged with the promise that 
 they would be accommodated with a French minister.
 
 thfi Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 87 
 
 "(2) That the regulations were to be translated into 
 the French language — just as they had been accepted on 
 the 3rd of October, 1685 — for the information of the French 
 and Vaudois, and likewise the oath, with the amendment 
 that, instead of fifteen, the term of contract would only- 
 last five years, and if any one found even that period 
 too long, that he would have the liberty to request the 
 Seventeen to make it shorter, and that the latter would 
 be bound to do so, should the request be found reasonable. 
 
 " The oath to be taken by all freemen, without exception, 
 was as follows : — ' I promise and swear that I will be true 
 and faithful to the High Mighty Lords, the States-General 
 of the United Netherlands, as our Highest and Sovereign 
 Government ; to His Highness the Lord Prince of Orange, 
 as Governor, Captain, and Admiral-General, and to the 
 Directors of the General Chartered East India Company 
 in the said lands ; likewise to the Governor-General and 
 Councillors of India ; and finall}' to all Governors, Com- 
 manders, and Commanding Officers, who may be placed 
 over me during the sea voyage and afterwards on land. 
 That I shall faithfully in every respect, and according to 
 my ability, maintain and carry out all the Laws, Placcaten, 
 and Ordinances issued, or still to be issued by the Lords 
 Directors, the Governor-General, and the Councillors of 
 India, or the Governor or Commander at the place of my 
 future residence ; and further, in every sense, conduct 
 and behave myself as a good and faithful subject ought 
 and is bound to do. So truly must God Almighty heli* 
 me.' 
 
 " No passage was to bo allowed to such as wore of tlie 
 Roman Catholic religion." 
 
 On the 20th of October of the same year (1(385), all
 
 88 Rambles throtigh the Archives of 
 
 these conditions were finally confirmed and adopted by the 
 Seventeen, with the further amendment that the passage- 
 money for an adult was reduced from f.300 to f.150, and 
 for children below twelve years from f.l50 to f.75. The 
 oath remained unchanged. 
 
 Eight days later, the Eev. Pierre Simond, a fugitive 
 Huguenot minister at Zierikzee, was appointed French 
 minister at the Cape, with a salary of f.90 per month. 
 
 As they had now positively decided to enlarge their 
 Colony at the Cajie, the Seventeen directed the various 
 Chambers on the 5th of November, 1G87 : (1) to send out 
 thither with the first departing ships as many colonists — 
 including French refugees and Piedmontese — as might be 
 inclined to go, whether agriculturists or tradesmen ; to 
 supply those having families with f.GO or f.lOO each, to 
 enable them to fit themselves out for the voyage ; and the 
 unmarried with f.30 or f.50 ; and (2) to report at the 
 next meeting the names of those who had already left, 
 and what each emigrant intended to take in hand after 
 arrival. 
 
 The matter was further considered on the 22nd of March, 
 1688, when the Seventeen received a letter from the States- 
 General, dated the 19th of February of the same year, and 
 addressed to the Amsterdam Chamber : — 
 
 " It stated that a portion of the poor fugitives from the 
 Valleys of Piedmont had taken temporary refuge in the 
 neighbourhood of Nuremberg — about 200 families, com- 
 jirising nearly 1000 souls: men, women, and children; 
 that all were trained agriculturists, and in addition ex- 
 perienced masons, carpenters, locksmiths, and coopers ; 
 that they had among them four ministers ; that all were 
 inclined to proceed to one or other Colony under the 
 dominion of the East or West India Companies, on the 
 one condition that they might be allowed, as far as was 
 practicable, to settle close to each other, in order to practise 
 their religion together to the Glory of God, and its further 
 future extension ; and that therefore their High Mighti-
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 89 
 
 nesses desired the Seventeen to say whether they could not 
 find a suitable locality for a large number of these poor 
 people in one or otlur of the Company's districts." 
 
 As desired in the preceding session, lists were likewise 
 laid on the table of all the persons who had already been 
 sent to the Cape during the winter, both of the Dutch 
 emigrants and of the French fugitives ; whilst Com- 
 missioners were appointed to inquire into everything 
 connected with the subject, esi:)ecially the condition of the 
 Piedmontese fugitives or Yaudois, and advise the Board 
 accordingly. The chief promoters of the scheme added 
 one of their own number to this Committee, viz., Mons. 
 Schorer. The names of the other members were : Messrs. 
 de Muncq and Van Domburgh, of Zealand ; De Vries, 
 Corver, Decquer, and Bernard, of Amsterdam ; and Advo- 
 cate Van Dam. The names of the representatives of the 
 other Chambers are not mentioned. 
 
 On the following day (28rduf March, 1688), the French 
 and Vaudois presented a petition, that certain extra con- 
 ditions might be allowed them, besides those already 
 agreed to. Their sjookesman and representative was Jean 
 Pastre Marchand, who stated that he had been deputed 
 hy the French fugitives near Erlagh, and the Vaudoia 
 near Nuremberg — about 1700 in number— to plead their 
 cause. 
 
 Jt was referred to the Committee above mentioned, which 
 brought up their report two days later. The result was, 
 that it was decided to (1) despatch to the Cajie about six 
 or seven hundred of the fugitives who were near Nurem- 
 berg — the number that would be left if all who had lately 
 died, all the lame, halt and old were deducted, — on con- 
 dition that the States-General fitted out these people on 
 their arrival in the Netherlands, from the collections made 
 for them, without burdening the Comjiany in that respect ; 
 sent them on board the Company's sliip at Government 
 expense, and presented each with a small amount of money, 
 paid into tlie Company's chest, and which on their arrival 
 at the Ca])e would he recjuired for tlieir temporarv siijjport ; 
 (2) to depute Messrs. Van Zuit Polsbroek, Van de Bloc(|uery,
 
 90 Bamhles tlirough the Archives of 
 
 and Advocate Van Dam, to the ITag^ne, in order to confer on 
 tlie s\il)ject with the Government there ; and (3) to grant 
 full powers to the Committee annnally investigating the 
 Company's affairs at the Hague, to arrange about the ships 
 required for the service, the time of departure and every- 
 thing else that would be found necessary. 
 
 On the 1st of April, 1688, the Seventeen considered the 
 report of these Commissioners, to which was annexed the 
 lists of the French and Piedmontese fugitives already sent 
 to the Cape as colonists by the last ships. It was found 
 that the number consisted of fifty-six men, twenty-nine 
 women, and forty-one children ; and that eleven men, four 
 women, and ten children were ready to leave in the Zuid 
 Bevelaiul, so that the grand total would be 151 persons. 
 
 I have already said that the Amsterdam Chamber had 
 on the 22nd of March, 1G88, received a letter from the 
 States-General, dated the 19th of February, previously, 
 regarding the I'iedmontese fugitives. That letter had 
 been written after the Committee appointed by their 
 High Mightinesses had reported that, notwithstanding 
 the general notice given to all the ofiicials throughout the 
 country, no portion of the collection made for the destitixte 
 fugitives, had as yet been i-eceived by the Receiver- 
 General, Mngisier Cornells Van Aarssen : and that they 
 had received a letter from the Evangelical Swiss Cantons 
 addressed to them from Zurich, dated the 9th of January 
 last, informing theui — 
 
 " That the Elector of Brandenburg would receive 
 2000 of the Piedmontese in his domains, and that ac- 
 cordingly the Cantons had decided to send thither in 
 the following spring a large number of fugitives ; that 
 a proper statement woi;ld l)e drawn up of the pecuniary 
 subsidies which would fall to their share, and be paid 
 out to them as soon as they left for their destination ; 
 that the rest of these poor people who would remain 
 behind to be sent elsewhere by God's Providence, would 
 likewise receive their portion for their support and con-
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 91 
 
 solati(jn ; and finally that the Cantons would like to be 
 informed of the intentions of the States-General. That 
 the Commissioners had likewise heard and seen two per- 
 sons, named Jean Pastre and Jacques Guiot, deputed on 
 the 9th of November last year by a portion of the poor 
 Piodmontese in the neighbourhood of Nuremberg, as 
 shown by a deed signed by two of their ministers, in order 
 to request aid from the States-General, and that those 
 persons had informed them that the number of these un- 
 fortunates consisted of about 200 families, or 1000 souls, 
 having amongst them four ministers, &c, (see above), but 
 that on account of the winter season they could not come 
 down to Holland ; that the majority were in ^•ery great 
 poverty, and had received no assistance whatever ; that it 
 would be necessary for the States-General to render them 
 some assistance, provisionally, in their dire necessity, and 
 that the money which the Government might decide to 
 send, could be divided among tliem by the two deputies, 
 the ministers, and others who might be further appointed 
 for the purpose, so that each might receive a fair proportion, 
 and according to his necessities," &c. 
 
 But I fear that I am being tempted to give more ex- 
 tracts t^ian the spaoe at my disposal will allow, although 
 the importance of the sul)ieet requires that even the 
 smallest details should be known. Let it suffice for our 
 present purpose however, to state that large sums of 
 money were collected throughout the United Provinces 
 for the exiled Vaudois or Waldensians ; that the question 
 was considered whether they could not be settled in any 
 f)f the Netherland districts ; that the East and West India 
 Companies were re(| nested to inform the States-General 
 whether they could not accommodate any of the unfor- 
 tunates in one or more of their Colonies : that through 
 Jean I'astre and Jae(]nes Guiot — their representatives in 
 Holland — their number was civen as about 700 or 800
 
 92 Rambles throiuih the Archives of 
 
 souls; that a lono; correspondence took place between the 
 States-General nnd the (.'oniieil of Seventeen, and that it 
 was finally agrt'(>d that the latter wotild receive the exiles, 
 on condition that the States paid the Company the sum of 
 f.lioO for each family of five persons, or f.r.O for each indi- 
 vidual, and that the Company would at that rate bear the 
 expenses of the fugitives from the timn of tlioir departure 
 fi'om Nuremberg uutil their arrival at the < ape ; that at 
 the latter pLice they were to be provided with wheat and 
 other necessaries of life for seven or eight months, on 
 condition of refunding these advances afterwards with 
 their own produce ; that they were likewise to be pro- 
 vided with deals and spars for building their cottages, 
 treated in every sense like native-born Netherlanders, 
 and secured eveiy benefit of the regulations as drawn up 
 and agreed to ; that the fugitives were at once to be in- 
 formed of the steps taken, by means of Jean I'astre or 
 otherwise, in order to submit an exact list of those willing 
 t<j proceed to the Cape on the conditions stated, and that 
 the necessaiy steps might be taken for their conveyance 
 to their destination ; that should the Vaudois around 
 ^u^emberg refuse to emigrate on the conditions offered 
 them, the same proposals were to be made to others else- 
 where, without making the slightest distinction between 
 those of the valleys of the Duke of Savoy, or the natives 
 of such parts as the King of France had ac(iuired for him- 
 self bj- treaty ; but always with the understanding that 
 the niimber was not to exceed eight hundred ; and finally 
 that the Commissioners appniuted for the })urpose by tlie 
 States-General were recjuested and instructed to pay to 
 the East India ' 'ompany out of the collections in the hands 
 of the Receiver-General, the sum of f.40,000 for the benefit 
 of 800 riedmontese fugitives, and to take the necessary 
 steps to have all the money collected in the Provinces 
 and not yet paid in, at once transmitted to the Receiver- 
 General, to enable him to draw up an exact list for the 
 infornuition of the States-General, that a further distribu- 
 tion might be eflected in the best manner possible among 
 the ]iuor natives of the Piedmonteso valleys. 
 
 At the same time the Seventeen appeared to have l^en
 
 the Cohuy of the Cape of Good Uope. O.l 
 
 very careful in their selection of emigrants ; for the 
 Arasterdam Chamber docliiied, on the 18th of January, 
 1688, to entertain the re(|uest of tlie Kev. Simond to 
 a})])oint a Committee to take down tlie names and ciinditiun 
 of those who had jn-esented themselves in large numliers 
 in order to proceed to the Cape, pix)vide<l that they received 
 a little support until the time of tlieir departure. 
 
 I'ut the negotiations proceeded uninterruptedly in the 
 case of the Yaudois, and, as both the Com])any and the 
 States-General believed, in accordance with the exju'essed 
 wisli of the fugitives. Suddenly, however, after all the 
 arrangements had been satisfactorily com]deted, and the 
 ship AHiinaar prejjared for the reception of 200 exiles, the 
 Amsterdam Chamber was compelled, on the 28th of June, 
 1G38, to minute as follows : — 
 
 " The Equipment Committee laid before the meeting an 
 extract from the journal of tlie Commissioners for business 
 affairs at the Hague, dated the 25th of June, 1688, regard- 
 ing the voyage of the VaTidois. It mentioned that the 
 latter had declined to go, and accordingly the Commis- 
 sioners advised that the })lan should be abandoned. This 
 advice was adopted, and the Committee instructed to de- 
 spatch the Alhuaar at once, that vessel having hitherto 
 liOfH (U'layed for tlic purpose."
 
 94 Bamlles fliroKf/h the Archives of 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 But why did the Vaudois so suddenly make up their 
 minds not to proceed to the Cape ? A writer, already 
 quoted,* says, that " whilbt the arrangements were being 
 concluded, the Vaudois obtained employment in Europe, 
 and then declined to go so far away." But is this the 
 fact ? 'Tis true that the Archives abruptly end with the 
 bare statement that they had declined to go ; but as they 
 have told their own story through one of their most illus- 
 trious representatives and leaders, their great Pastor and 
 Colonel, Henri Arnaud, it is indispensable to listen to him 
 for a while, and hear from his lips that the Vaudois had 
 never intended to live elsewhere than in their native 
 valleys, and had always but one determined purpose, 
 to return thither, or die in the attempt. Twice they 
 failed, the third time they succeeded ; a handful of men, 
 barely 800 in number, performing feats of arms and 
 obtaining decisive victories such as have never been sur- 
 passed in history. That was the kind of work those men 
 of Nuremberg, or a portion of them, had been employed 
 upon, astonishing the whole of Europe, and compelling 
 the Duke of Savoy to join the grand alliance, and likewise 
 turn his arms against France. 
 
 But let Arnaud tell his own story, of which we give as 
 much as is necessary for the proper comprehension of this 
 period of the Archives : — 
 
 " The Vaudois inhabit three valleys at the northern 
 extremity of Piedmont, viz., those of Lucern, St. Martin, 
 and Perouse, under the dominion of the Duke of Savoy. 
 Their proper name Vallemes is derived from the Latin 
 word vallis, and not, as has been insinuated, from Valdo, 
 a merchant of Lyons. The Valley of Prajelas, or the 
 * Chronicles of Cape Commanders, p. 289.
 
 tlie Colony of the Ccq^e of Good Hope. 95 
 
 Clusoue, is alsu iuhaLited by Vaudois, but subject to the 
 King of Frauce." 
 
 This being so, we can clearly see why, when the States- 
 General and the Seventeen spoke of the fugitives, they 
 mentioned the French and Vaudois as interchangeable 
 terms, expressing the same idea. But let us proceed : — 
 
 " After Louis XIV. had driven the Protestants out of 
 his kingdom, it was but natural for him to endeavour to 
 persuade the young Duke of Savoy, Victor Amadeus II., 
 to follow his example. The latter, however, persistently 
 refused, until he was informed that the French King 
 would undertake the work himself with 14,000 men. 
 Urged by fear, he thereupon commanded the Vaudois, 
 on pain of death, to demolish their churches, and submit 
 their children to the Koman Church for baptism. Having 
 in vain endeavoured to induce their Prince to cancel the 
 cruel order, they prepared for defence, and were attacked 
 on the 23rd of April, 1686. On the first and second day 
 they vanquished the French troops, and arrested the pro- 
 gress of the Duke's army on the heights of Angrogna ; 
 but on the third day, by some unaccountable fatality, and 
 unmindful of the thirty-two wars in which their fathers 
 had engaged for the sake of their religion, they suddenly 
 laid down their arms. Fourteen thousand of them were at 
 once thrown into thirteen prisons, and 11,000 died in 
 them from cold and heat, hunger and thirst. Only 3000 
 were again restored to liberty, but only to be banished 
 from their projjcrty and country. They took refuge in 
 Switzerland and elsewhere, being assisted by liberal col- 
 lections made for them in England, llolhind, Germanj', 
 and Geneva.* Colonies were formed in the Duchy of 
 
 * Tho Duke of Savoy, Victor Amndcus II . nf'tor liavinp: nimlc peace 
 with the Vaudois, once said to Mons. Arnaud aud some of hiu com-
 
 96 Rambles through the Archives of 
 
 Wiirtemberp;. tlie States of the Margraves of Durlach 
 (Baden), and Tlesse-Darmstadt, and the CWnt of Hanau. 
 Like moving skeletons, the survivors had arrived at 
 Geneva. The Swiss afforded thein sustenance. A large 
 number were spread through the Canton of Berne, but not 
 valuing life, unless spent wliere it was received, they 
 resolved, whatever might be the penalty, to return to 
 their valleys. Twice they made the attempt, and twice 
 they failed. But this determined conduct provoked the 
 indignation of the Beruois and the citizens of Zurich, who 
 convened an assembly of the Evangelical Cantons at 
 Aarau. The Vaudois of the greatest consideration were 
 invited to attend, and there told that they would no longer 
 be borne with, and were to withdraw with the rest of 
 their people from the cantons in which they resided. 
 Though surprised at this order, for since the failure of 
 their last enterprise the Swiss had continued to provide 
 them with subsistence, they steadfastly refused to emi- 
 grate to Brandenburg, and had but one reply, that they 
 only wished to return to their own country. Upon that 
 they were ordered to leave Berne within a fixed period. 
 They obeyed, but discovered to their amazement that they 
 
 rades who had captured a French couritr with despatclies, "You have 
 only one God and one Prinze ; serve them faithfully. Hitherto we 
 have been foes ; henceforward we must be friends. To strangers 
 (Louis XIV.), your misfortunes are to be attiibuted : but if, as is your 
 duty, you expose your lives for me, I also will expose mine for you. 
 and as long as I have a morsel of bread, you shall have your share." 
 
 All this sounded very well, but it is a pity thsit he had such a short 
 memory. However, Ariiaud's comment on it is as follows : " With 
 what justice the fate of the Vaudois was thus subj( ctod to the feuds or 
 friendships of these princes, I shall not discuss. I will simply remark 
 thiit God not only disunited these two powfrs, but permitted them to 
 turn against eac-h other those arms which had been united to destroy 
 the Vaudois at the very moment wiicn, after many and severe toils and 
 di.-;a|ij)ointments, they were at the point of overwhelming the Vaudois 
 nation, and exterminating it for ever."
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 97 
 
 were everywhere affectionately treated, that the harsh 
 tone adopted towards them was the result only of State 
 policy, and that the secretary of the city had been in- 
 structed to provide them with a sum of money as soon 
 as they embarked on the Aar to proceed to Zurich and 
 Schaffhausen, and ultimately to sjiots still more remote. 
 They had likewise objected to proceed to Wurtemberg, 
 notwithstanding the most favourable offers made to them 
 by the Duke Frederick Charles ; they wished to keep united 
 as one body, and finally obtained permission to pass the 
 winter in the Cantons cjf Zurich and Schaffhausen. Large 
 sums were in the meanwhile being collected for them in 
 England and Holland ; and again they were urged to 
 emigrate to Brandenburg, but they persisted in their 
 declaration that they would not. TJie Swiss were now 
 really scandalized, and accordingly treated them without 
 ceremony, compelling them to sign an instrument by ichich 
 they promised to go wherever they loere ordered. 31. Ai-naud 
 himself signed it, hut at the same time protested against it as 
 extorted by violence." 
 
 After this, " the necessity of departure for Branden- 
 burg was so adroitly insinuated that 800 men, women, 
 children, and servants determined to comply, but it would 
 seem that Providence, who preserved this little flock for 
 an example of wonders, was unwilling to lead it to a 
 country where it could remain. For scarcely were they 
 beginning to be settled, before the train of proceedings 
 between the Dukes of Orleans and Xenbourg compelled 
 them to seek their safety in flight, lest they should fall 
 victims to the French, from whose fury they had already 
 too severely suffered. They at once resigned the estates 
 and privileges grunted them by the Elector Palatine, 
 and the offers of the Duke of Wurtemberg, who would
 
 98 Ra miles through the Archives of 
 
 have employed the effective, and supported the remainder ; 
 and determined to seek their former asylum in Switzer- 
 land, where they were once more kindly received. But 
 though earning a living among the peasantry, the thought 
 of returning to their own valleys never left them ; hence, 
 when the spies whom they had sent out the year before, 
 had raised their hopes, and also informed them that the 
 Duke of Savoy had recalled his troops from the mountains, 
 they resolved forthwith to return, cost what it might." 
 
 That they came together in a large forest in the Pays 
 de Vaud ; that they were hardly GOO or 700 in number ; 
 that they formed themselves into nineteen companies, six 
 of which were composed of Protestant exiles from France ; 
 that they started from their place of rendezvous on the 
 16th of August, lG8t' ; that they were thirty days on the 
 march ; and that, to the world's astonishment, they gained 
 their object* — is a chapter of history that reads like a 
 romance. They did an immense service to the cause of 
 the Grand Alliance and its chief promoter, William III. 
 of England — " who having learnt, in an audience granted 
 to M. Arnaud, that the Vaudois persisted in their design 
 to re-enter their valleys, commended their zeal and piety, 
 and exhorted their pastor to keep them together that so 
 ancient a church might not be lost by separation." All 
 this and more is graphically descrilx'd by the minister, 
 who, in recognition of his genius and the great ability 
 
 * Arnaud speaks of himself as follows : — " Your attention, reader, has 
 l<oeii directed to events scarcely to be irangined. But with the 
 Vaudois you will impute tlitm only to (he Providence of God, "Wjio, to 
 render His presence more visible, choso for his chief iustrumeiit in this 
 wonderful struggle a man ignorant of arms or of war, excepting 
 with Satan. Is it not wonderful that such a person, after escaping the 
 pursuit of those who souglit to deliver him to the tliimes at Constance, 
 .slmuld have been aide to cflect a passage tiirough Savoy, taking as liis 
 prisoners the nob'cs and gentry of tlie land to bo witnesses of the 
 valour and discipline of the Vaudois? Was the victory of Salabert- 
 raun less than miraculous, where 800 men, most of whom had never 
 handled a musket, routed 2.500 regular troops, killing 600, with a loss 
 on their own side of only tiftoen ? "
 
 the Colomj of the Cape of Good Hope. 99 
 
 displayed by him in the conduct of the expedition, so 
 successfully and gloriously terminated, received a Colonel's 
 Commission from William and Mary, the King and Queen 
 of England. 
 
 A little of their histor}' as a church, and of their suffer- 
 ings will not be deemed out of place here : — 
 
 " The Vaudois believe that they deserve the name of 
 Apostolical, and give their reasons. They do not, how- 
 ever, deem it necessary to go higher than when they 
 formed a part of the diocese of the Apostolic Claude, Bishop 
 of Turin, in the commencement of the 9th century, one of 
 the bishops who, with many distinguished Eomauists, dis- 
 claimed the authority of the Bishop of Eome. Born in 
 Spain, and famous for his talents, he was appointed Metro- 
 politan of the See of Turin by Lewis the Meek, who had 
 become alarmed at the progress of iconolatry in Italy. It 
 was only in the middle of the 11th century that Pope 
 Nicolas II. persuaded the Sees of Aquileia, Milan, and 
 Turin— all Metropolitan — to resign their independence, 
 and acknoAvledgc the spiritual supremacy of Rome in the 
 West; whilst much later Gregory VII. decreed that princes 
 should kiss his feet, and that he had the power to release 
 subjects from their allegiance. This spiritual and tem- 
 poral power having been obtained, it was, as usual in those 
 times, directed against those who still remained to question 
 its lawfulness, and denounce the errors introduced and 
 upheld by it, especially those in the Valleys of Piedmont ; 
 who accordingly sxaffered ceaseless persecution during 
 centuries."* 
 
 I pass by the manner in which the Vaudois became 
 subjects of the Duke of Savoy, and those of Prajelas or 
 Clusone were annexed to France, nor do I care to givu an 
 txhaustive narrative of the horrihle ])ersecutious which 
 
 * AriiaiiiVs Xiirrntii-i', cditt il l)y H. D. Aclanil. 
 
 II 2
 
 100 Bamhles througli the Archives of 
 
 they endured. The Vaudois had no better friend than 
 Oliver Cromwell ; and it will he sufficient for me to lay 
 before the reader the peroration of his Ambassador, Sir 
 Samuel Morland, when he addressed the Dnke of Savoy 
 on behalf of the unforti^nates, and with which he wound 
 up his frightful chapter of horrors : — 
 
 " If all the tyrants of all times and ages were alive 
 again, they would doubtless be ashamed to find that 
 nothing barbarous or inhuman, in comparison of these 
 deeds, had ever been invented by them. In the meantime 
 the angels are stricken with horror. Men are dizzy with 
 amazement. Heaven itself appears astonished by the 
 cries of the dying, and the very earth to blush with the 
 gore of so many innocent persons. Avenge not Thy- 
 self, God ! for this mighty wickedness, this parricidal 
 slaughter. Let Thy blood, Christ ! wash out this 
 blood ! " 
 
 Milton, however, is not of the same forgiving and 
 prayerful disposition ; for, in a strain so like to some of 
 the Psalms of Holy Writ, he sings : — 
 
 " Avenge, O Lend ! Thy slaiightered saints, whose bones 
 
 Lie seatttrVl ou the Alpine mountains cold ; 
 
 Ev'n them, who kept Thy truth so pure of old, 
 When all our fathers worshipp'd stocks and stones, 
 Forget not : in Thy book record tlieir gioans, 
 
 Who were Thy sheej), and in their ancient fold, 
 
 Slain by the bloody Piemontese. that roll'd 
 Mother with infant down tlie rocks. Their moans 
 
 The vales redoubled to the hills, and they 
 To Hcav'n. Their martyr'd blood and ashes sow 
 
 O'er all th' Italian fiehls, where still doth sway 
 The triple tyrant, that from these may grow 
 
 A hundred fold, who having learned Thy way, 
 Early may fiy the Babylonian woe." 
 
 But lest it be supposed that the picture is immensely 
 overdrawn, because emanating from two Protestants who 
 could see no good in the Roman Church or Eoman rulers, 
 I likewise copy the following, which is from a work 
 
 I
 
 tlie Culomj of the Cape of Good Rope. 101 
 
 entitled Ahrcge de VHistoire de ce Siecle de Fer, published 
 at Brussels in 1660, and written, as Leger * says, by a 
 Romanist : — 
 
 " I hold in abhorrence all enmities on account of differ- 
 ence in religion, and all those who by the violence of 
 their prejudices disturb the public repose. Those who 
 love God with all their souls do not foment hatreds, nor 
 delight in carnage. Joshua in the Old Testament was 
 conducted in his bloody executions by the God of armies ; 
 we, in the present day, must listen to and obey the same 
 God of peace and mercy, otherwise we cannot be His 
 disciples. Those who, in the blindness of their zeal, 
 would follow the example of Joshua reject the New 
 Covenant. 
 
 " The persecutions of the Irish (massacre of the Protes- 
 tants in Ireland, a.d. 1641) and the Vaudois who inhabit 
 some valleys under the Duke of Savoy, appear to result from 
 the hatred I have mentioned. The Cross of the Vaudois 
 remained fixed only for five or six months, when it was 
 pulled down under the influence of powerful intercessions, 
 menaces, and arms. In the beginning of 1655 a terrible 
 order was issued that they and their families should quit, 
 within a few days, their native valleys. Tlie only alter- 
 natives were conversion to the Roman Catholic Apostolic 
 faith, or the sale of their inheritance to those professing it. 
 This order compelled a journey, in the depth of winter, 
 over high mountains and through deep snow, the hardships 
 of which might have moved the rocks to compassion — a 
 feeling foreign to the hearts of those who were to enforce 
 the order Robbers, secretly instigated, plundered the 
 houses, and tlius compelled the exiles to return and defend 
 
 * Jcuii Lcger, author of the most valuable Hlxtonj of the Vandoi's, 
 himself a " Man of the Valleys."
 
 102 Bamhies through the Archives of 
 
 their property, while waiting for the effect of their 
 remonstrances. Those who returned -were termed rebel- 
 lious, and wore surprised by a Piedmontese array, com- 
 manded by the Marquis of Pianessa, and five French regi- 
 ments under Count de Quinse}'. Four thousand victims 
 suffered death under cruelties too horrible to be heard. I 
 will not speak of the feelings of those who saw them. 
 Ah ! Great God ! if Thy justice were not checked by 
 mercy, this age would not liave run half its career. The 
 eye could see in these valle} s nothing but flames ; the 
 ear heard only pitiable cries and tlieir lamentable echoes. 
 The Vaudois being driven in this manner from the valleys 
 of Lucerne and Angrogna, the horrible process was re- 
 peated in that of St. Martin. This carnage drove to arms 
 those who found no refuge in humility or supplications. 
 Despair provides weapons in abundance. Four hundred 
 Vaudois descended t(j St. Secondo, cut to pieces 150 soldiers, 
 burnt several places, &c. The news of these commotions 
 alarmed all the neighbouring Protestants, who wrote to 
 the Protector and the States-General. The English, 
 Avhen informed of these massacres, were so moved with 
 compassion for their elder brethren (^freres aines) that they 
 implored the Protector seriously to interfere. In tie 
 meantime the Vaudois were in constant conflict with the 
 Savoyards, burning their towns, as their own had been 
 burnt, and giving as little quarter as they had received. 
 All Protestants had at heart the peaceful re-establishment 
 of the Vaudois. For when they want to prove the anti- 
 quity of their doctrine, the}'- refer to that of the Vaudois, 
 in the pure pieservation of which their ov/n is necessarily 
 involved." 
 
 But why say more ? The look from which I have
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 103 
 
 quoted will tell much of the -whole story, though I fear 
 tliat copies ai-e rare in South Africa. Hence I give the 
 title of the one in the Puhlic Library in Cape Town : — 
 " The Glorious Recovery by the Yaudois of their Valleys, 
 from the original by Henri Arnand, their commander and. 
 pastor, with a compendious History of that People, 
 previous and subsequent to that event, by Hugh Dyke 
 Acland. London, 1S27." See also " A Historical Defence 
 of the Waldenses or Vaudois, &c., by Jean Eudolphe Peyran, 
 late Pastor of Pomaret, and Moderator of the \Valdensian 
 Church. With an inti'oduetion and a]>iiendix by the 
 Kev. Thomas Sims, M.A. London, 18126."
 
 10 I Baiiihh/s through the Archives of 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Let us now again examine for a wliile the European 
 despatches after news had been received that war * had 
 laMjken out. Un the 20th of Deceml)cr, IG-^O, the Seventeen 
 ^\•rote that — 
 
 " Fears were entertained that the French King would 
 take vengeance for the insult offered him by the capture 
 of his two ships, La Nonnande and Le Cache, and send 
 out war ships to the Cape to seize some of the Com- 
 pany's vessels, capture the fort, ravage the country, and 
 burn the Colony. The Secret Committee had accordingly 
 been authorised to prepare and commission an extra number 
 of ships for India and the Cape, and enlist a large number 
 of sailors and soldiers. Some time, however, would elapse 
 before everything could bo ready ; therefore it sent out 
 orders that in the meanwhile a sharp look-nut should be 
 kept at the Cape, and the bearer of the despatch, De Goede 
 Hoop — formerly La Normande — and two of her consorts 
 detained here until ftirther notice, whilst as many soldiers 
 were to be landed for the defence of the Castle as the 
 Governor might deem necessar}'." 
 
 From an annexed extract from the resolutions of the 
 Chamber of Seventeen, dated the 13th of December of the 
 same year, it appears that sixteen vessels were fitted out, 
 carrying 3385 men, and that at the same meeting Abraham 
 van Kiebeeck was raised to tlie rank of Councillor-Extra- 
 onlinary of India, he serving the board at the time as 
 its Secretary. 
 
 It is interesting to peruse the letters received from 
 
 * The "War of Orleans.
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 105 
 
 France on the sxiLject of the heavy aniKuiients wliich were 
 taking place there fur India, ajul the conjectures and fears 
 which naturally resulted. It was known that France had 
 great jilans in Siam, but until the revolution there had 
 been fairly successful, such enterprises could not be con- 
 templated by the Company without dread. On the 7th of 
 January, l(i90, the Seventeen wrote to the Cape " that the 
 French had obtained many advantages over the English in 
 the Caribbee Islands, and that it was therefore clear that 
 they would endeavour t(j strengthen themselves there more 
 and more every day, in order not to lose what they had 
 already secured." 
 
 They were therefore supposed to be gaining ground 
 immensely both in the East and West Indies ; hence one 
 of the suppositions naturally was that the sliips that were 
 being fitted out at IJrest and elsewhere might be intended 
 for the West, as well as the East. 
 
 Three weeks later, however, the Directors had more 
 definite information, and they wrote to the Cape that — 
 
 " The design of the French is to cripple us as much as 
 possible at the Cape and in India ; and, as it is likewise 
 said, to settle on the Island Mascarenhas which they 
 intend to fortify, that it may serve them as a refreshment 
 station. They intend to proceed thither in ten ships. We 
 do not know whether they have already left or not. It is, 
 however, openly stated that they intend to take revenge 
 for the loss sustained by them in the capture of the 
 Normande and Coche. The S(|uadron will be commanded 
 by a Du Qucsne, one of the same name as those already 
 mentioned, and a very near relative of theirs (i.e., of the 
 Manpiis and his brother), namely, their first cousin. He 
 has been before this in Siam, and likewise at the Cape and 
 elsewhere. He knows all the circumstances and places 
 there. For the }>resent we can only recommend you to
 
 106 Rambles throiujh the Archives of 
 
 be on your guard and do as much mischief as you can to 
 the enemy." 
 
 On the 18th of March, 16 90, the Seventeen advised the 
 Governor of the dei)artnre of six well-armed French ships 
 from Port Louis on the 2ud of February preceding : — 
 
 " But that they had no design on the Cape, ancl it would 
 be only natural that on their return after their lung 
 voyage, as they intended to proceed to Siam, they would 
 have no wish to delay at the Cape. As, however, their 
 sudden arrival at Surat, after leaving Siam, might cause 
 serious disaster to the Dutch and English likewise — to say 
 nothing of the Moors — every scraji of information received 
 at the Cape was at once to be transmitted tu Batavia." 
 
 A few days before, information had likewise been re- 
 ceived from Paris by the Seventeen, that the squadron 
 consisted of Le Gaillanl (castle), commanded by Admiral 
 du Quesne, as flagshi}), carrying 50 guns and 300 men ; 
 L'Oiseaa (bird), under the Chevalier d'Herez, with 44 pieces 
 and 250 men ; VEscueil (rock), armed with 42 guns and 
 200 men ; La Florisante (prosperous), mounting 42 guns 
 and carrying 280 men ; Le DrcKjon, with 40 guns and 200 
 men; and Le Lion, having 38 pieces and 17() men. 
 
 All the vessels only carried what they required. No 
 extra troops were on board ; and only some merchandize, 
 bales of goods, and luggage belonging to the missionaries 
 were stowed in the hold. 
 
 Father Tachard was, however, on board, and had been 
 ordered to ])roceed to Siam alone and there present to the 
 new King some letters from His French Majesty demanding 
 an account of the ofticers and soldiers sent thither for the 
 service of the young King, and, if the latter would not act 
 reasonably, then to detain on board all the Mandarin 
 ambassadors who had been sent to France and were now 
 returning home ; and to do so by way of reprisal. 
 
 On the 18th of March, 1090, the Seventeen wrote, for 
 tlie information of some of their outgoing vessels lying at
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 107 
 
 Bergen in Norway, tliat not only was the Pere Tuchard to 
 demand from the King the Frenchmen still there, arid the 
 s(|uadron "rdered to lie off the Cape for a month and cruize 
 for the ships that might arrive there, in order to capture 
 some if possible, but that there would be found some 
 armed vessels of the Company in Table Bay, in orJer to 
 lie in wait for the hostile ships and protect the place and 
 the roadstead. 
 
 On the 22nd of April, IGUO, they were, however, able to 
 write — 
 
 " That the very severe reverses and disasters suffered 
 by the French in tlie East made it unnecessary for so many 
 armed vessels to be detained in Table Bay, and hence only 
 one vessel of Avar — the Zwarte Leeuw — was sent out and 
 stationed here permanently." 
 
 But of her more anon. The despatch further mentioned 
 that the French, who had been obliged to leave the 
 Indies, were said to have jjroceeded to tho Island Mas- 
 carenhas to settle there. 
 
 The instructions given to Admii al du Quesne Avere, that 
 he should set out for iSiam, and take with him the three 
 Siamese ambassadors, 1 ere Tachard and Mons. Blondel, in- 
 spector and agent of the Company, who was to present the 
 King with some letters from the Directors, and an elephant 
 richly ca})arisoned, &c., Avliich had been destined for the 
 late King; at the same time demanding of him the repay- 
 ment of 400, Quo livres, which the Company has advanced 
 by order of tho late King, both for the ambassadors and 
 the Siamese ivhom he had sent to France, to serve them in 
 their travels. . . . Mons. du Quesne, the Commander of the 
 six vessels, was in the meantime to proceed with letters 
 to the Grand Mogul from the King and the Comjiany, and 
 with similar presents to those destined for the late King 
 of biam . . . and to beg the said Moguls protection against 
 the Dutch, to acquaint him witli the dethronement of 
 King Jacques, and in short to olfer him some assistance 
 for placing him in jjossession of Madraspatnam, which he 
 was besieging in spite of the English.
 
 108 Bamhies tltrongli the Archives of 
 
 The two einLassies were to complete their work whilst 
 all the eifects at Surat and ]Masule})atuam were being 
 shipped. Two vessels were also to proceed to Hoogly on 
 the Ganges, to take away the return cargoes which were 
 there. After that sail was to he made for Pondicherry on 
 the coast of Coromandel, to embark Messrs. des Farges and 
 du Bruaut and some soldiers, as it had been ordered that 
 the latter were to be withdrawn after the surrender of the 
 furts of Bancock and Mergtiy in the land of Siam. After 
 that, and the return of the ships L'Escueil and Le Lion, 
 which would join them there, some ]>ieces of cannon were 
 to be lauded at all the residencies, with such munitions of 
 war as might be still collected of the troops which had 
 been sent to Siam two years previously. 
 
 After that they were to make sail and return by the 
 Isle of Boui'bon, and disembark there also some munitions 
 of war, inquiring at the same time into the progress which 
 the managers and the missionaries, conveyed thither last 
 year, had made. . . . 
 
 The affairs of the Company were likewise to be carefully 
 examined, that their condition might be fully known 
 after the disorders which had been caused b}" the death of 
 tlie Kino; of Siam. . . .
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 109 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 CoNTixuiXG our extracts, we now come to the plans of the 
 Marquis Henri du Quesne and his brother Abraham, sons 
 of the brave old admiral. As already mentioned, they also 
 had decided with some of their associates to take possession 
 of the Island Mascarenhas, and colonise it with Huguenot 
 families, partly consisting of Picdmontese or Vaudois. The 
 proposal appears to have been favourably entertained by the 
 Dutch East India Company, evidently on the same grounds 
 on which it had despatched fugitives to the Cape, as 
 it feared no bad results from the proximity of such a new 
 settlement to JNJauritius, which island had likewise a small 
 Colony of its own, as we have already seen, being imder 
 the dominion of the Company and forming part of the 
 Cape domain. Matters, however, assumed a different aspect 
 when the French had settled on Mascarenhas, and the 
 Seventeen seriously discussed the question whether they 
 should not be expelled, but finally found that it was hardly 
 worth their while to do so. 
 
 On the 13th of December, 1689, therefore, the Directors 
 wrote, saying : — 
 
 " Our agreement with the Marquis du Quesne, his 
 brother, and associates, who intend to assure themselves of 
 the Island Bourbon or Mascarenhas, in order to settle 
 there, has been approved of by the States-General, as you 
 will see from the annexed contract and the subsequent 
 apprubation in authentic copy, also appended. As they 
 are now ready to proceed thither in one or two ships, yoii 
 shall, when they arrive at the Cape, receive and ti'eat 
 them as expressed in that agreement, and conduct your- 
 selves accordingly. 
 
 " And if it could be done with propriety, and n«>
 
 '110 Rambles through tlte Archives of 
 
 hindrance or delay in the voyage -wotild result, we would 
 not mind it, if, when they leave the Cape, one or two of 
 the Ceylon ships were sent to keep them company, that 
 they may be able to appear there with the greater osten- 
 tation and authority. Our ships, however, must not tarr^- 
 therc, but continue their voyage at once." 
 
 Ten days later the Seoret Committee ordered that — 
 
 " Until the arrival of the return ships three or four of 
 the best outward-bound vessels were to be detained at the 
 Cape, to be relieved and despatched as soon as others 
 arrived to take their place. (Sixteen had been fitted out.) 
 The Castle was likewise to be placed in such a state of 
 defence as to be able to ward off the enemy. For that 
 purpose as many soldiers were to be taken out of the ships 
 as were urgently required." 
 
 Nor were all these precautions superfluous. Some of the 
 Company's ships which had been obliged to call at St. Jago, 
 had on their arrival at the Cape, as mentioned in the 
 despatch to the Seventeen, dated the 2nd of August, 1689, 
 reported that five heavily-armed French ships had been 
 there shortly before them, — that is, in the month of April 
 of the same year — and intended to cruise off the Cape in 
 order to capture the Company's return ships. We now 
 know the reason why this intention was not carried out : 
 but at that time it was impossilde for the Seventeen, or 
 even those at the Cape to know how completely" the French 
 had been paralyzed in the East, and how literally tlie 
 statements made by Admiral du Quesne to the Commander 
 before the war, had been verified, that the French who 
 had escaped the massacre, were rai)idly dying off, and 
 the prospect was that not one would survive. Disease and 
 misfortune had almost \'irtually driven them from India, 
 and the survivors were only too glad to search for health 
 and security on the Island Mascarenhas. But of this 
 arrangement, although aware of it, they could know
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. Ill 
 
 nothing definite in Holland when the despatch of the 7th 
 of January, 1690, was written. 
 
 Hence we find the Secret Committee saying : — 
 
 " On the 13th of December, 1689, the Directors informed 
 you of the designs of the Marquis du Quesne, his brother, 
 and associates, regarding the Island Mascarenhns (Bour- 
 l)on), and authorised you to have them accompanied 
 thither by the two ships Goudesteyn and Mei/drechf, both 
 bound to Ceylon. Mons. du Quesne is now lying read}- 
 in Texel with two ships, in order to proceed thitlier. The 
 one is a very large and strong vessel and a fast sailer, 
 taken by our countrymen from the French. We are, how- 
 ever, not able to tell you whether, as the wind is favourable, 
 they have loft with the Ceylon ships, or will follow them 
 shortl}' afterwards ; but be this as it may, our intention is, 
 that, should the four vessels arrive at the Ca2)e, you shall 
 with all discreetness so manage it, that the Marquis 
 du Quesne be delaj'cd there until the Ceylon ships are 
 read>' to leave, so tliat they all may leave together. It is 
 not likely that, according to the news received from that 
 quarter and found in the two French prizes — which news 
 you forwarded to us— they will find much resistance there, 
 unless they have since received some reinforcements from 
 France, which is not probable." 
 
 On the 2sth of January, 1690, the same Committee 
 again wrote regarding the intention of thcDu Quesnes and 
 tiieir associates, to make a settlement on the island Bour- 
 bon, or Eden, as they had re-named it, and urged the Com- 
 mander to do his best to persuade the expedition to remain 
 at the Cape as long as possible, for the better security of 
 the latter jdace. They were, however, disai)})ointed that 
 the two vessels which had been equipped — the Dro'iie, and 
 another, the lHvondcJh' — were not ready in time to accom- 
 [ any the Company's outward-bound ships. But as it was
 
 112 RamUes through tlie Archives of 
 
 now supposed that they were ready to leave, the Com- 
 mittee were very anxious to know what their fate would 
 be, and also that of the Cape, if the information which it 
 had received proved to be correct. The despatch, there- 
 fore, continues as follows : — 
 
 " Wo are getting more and more confirmed in our 
 opinions regarding the designs of the French to cripple 
 us as much as possible at the Cape and India, and make a 
 settlement on the Island Mascarenhas, to serve as a refresh- 
 ment station. They intend, it seems, to proceed thither in 
 ten ships, but we do not know whether they have left or 
 not. Their design is to take revenge for the loss sustained 
 by the capture of their two ships. The squadron will be 
 commanded by a Du Quesne — one of the same name as 
 those mentioned above, and a very near relation of theirs, 
 in fact, their first cousin — thoroi;ghly acquainted with the 
 Cape and the whole of India. Should this squadron arrive 
 at Mascarenhas before the Messrs. du Quesne, the latter 
 will hardly be able, and only at extreme peril to carry out 
 their intentions. But even should they arrive before 
 the French, it will likewise be very doubtful whether 
 they would have time enough to place themselves in a 
 satisfactory state of defence, in order to withstand such a 
 force, and ward it ofi". The enterprise is therefore con- 
 nected with no little danger and anxiety. Hence, you 
 will oblige us by endeavouring to discover whether the 
 French force intends to call at the Cape or pass it, that 
 you may take your measures accordingly, and send all the 
 information gained at once to India. . . . 
 
 " As the Messrs. du Quesne are now on the point of leav- 
 ing, it will be necessary to inform you that we have had a 
 f lutlior conference with them, which resulted in a contract 
 or agreement, an exact copy of which we annex to this 
 despatch.
 
 tlie Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 113 
 
 " As things are now, the Hottentots should not be 
 allowed to squat with their cattle in the neighbourhood of 
 Saldanha Bay, but advised to go further inland, that the 
 French, calling there, may be prevented from obtaining any 
 supplies from that source." 
 
 In a postscript, nine days later, tlie following was 
 added : — 
 
 " The frost has been setting in so severely, that the 
 ves-sels of the Du Quesnes have been necessarily delayed. 
 They are now considering, whether they or others of their 
 Company, shall not leave with the largest of the two, and 
 let the smaller one follow when the roads are again open. 
 The French are very angry with iis, and determined to 
 have their revenge for what we did to them. Should the 
 means not fail them, they will endeavour to give tis, iu one 
 way or another, an unexpected pinch." 
 
 But before proceeding further, I here insert the contract 
 referred to above : — 
 
 " In the name of God, Amen. 
 
 "This day, the 28th of the month of January, 1G90, 
 appeared before me, Francois Tixerandet, notary public, 
 admitted by the Court of Holland, and resident in Amster- 
 dam, and in the presence of the witnesses here below named, 
 M. Gerard Groot, ex- Alderman and Councillor of the said 
 town, and M. Salomon de Blocqucrie, both directors of 
 the Noble Company's East India Chamber of the said town, 
 and M. Pierre van Dam, advocate of the said Company — 
 the said Messieurs representing the said Company and 
 authorised to that eQ'ect by the .same — on the one part ; 
 and M. Henri du Quesne, Marquis, resident in the same 
 place mentioned, M. Abraham du Quesne, Comte de 
 Moures, &c., and the Sieur Charles de Sailly, on the other 
 
 I
 
 114 MamlAes through the Archives of 
 
 part ; who have made an agreement in the following 
 manner, that is to say — 
 
 " That the said Messieurs du Quesne and associates are 
 getting ready for immediate departure, leaving to-morrow, 
 the 29th instant, for Texel or the Vlie, where there are 
 two vessels ready to make sail, equipped by the said 
 Messieurs for a sea voyage, in order to proceed to sea in 
 them, as they have promised to do as soon as the weather 
 and the wind permit it, and to sail away towards the Cape 
 of Good Hope, and thence towards the Island Mascarenhas, 
 now called Eden. 
 
 " That the said Messieurs du Quesne will be obliged, 
 us they have promised by these, to sojourn two months at 
 the said Cape of Good Hope, reckoned from the day after 
 their arrival ; or longer, if they agree with the Commander 
 of the said Cape to do so. And during the stay which 
 they shall make there, in case that their services shall be 
 deemed necessary to the Messieurs of the Company, they 
 shall be detained for employment there, themselves, their 
 vessels, and their people as auxiliaiy troops, according as 
 they shall be required by the said Commander and said 
 Council of the said Cape, with whom they shall come to 
 an understanding to this eftect; on condition that the 
 said Comjiany shall be bound to take the control of and 
 maintain the people which the said Messieurs du Quesne 
 shall have brouglit over, both the sailors and the others 
 consisting of varioxis families ; and, duiing their residence 
 at the said Cape, shall defray the cost of their living and 
 other re freshmen ts, in pro}»(irlion to the amounts which 
 would under ordinary circumstances be due to the servants 
 and soldiers of the Company ; and as long as they remain 
 at the said Cape. Moreover, the said Messieurs who 
 appear in this agreement as representing the Honourable
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 115 
 
 East India Company, promise, when the said Messieurs 
 du Quesne shall depart from the said Cape to proceed tct 
 the Isle of Eden, that they will have them escorted by 
 two or three of their vessels or even more, as the time anl 
 necessity may require. And the contracting parties 
 representing the Company further proniise to pay at once 
 to the said Messieurs du Quesne the sum of 5000 guilders, 
 which the said Messieurs confess and acknowledge to have 
 received in silver currency in deduction of what the said 
 Noble Company should pay them during their sojourn at 
 the said Cape in the manner as stated above. And, finall}', 
 for the fulfilment of what has been said above, the repre- 
 sentatives of the Company, Messrs. Iluoft, de Blocquerie, 
 and Yan Dam, pledge all the goods of the Company and 
 its effects, and Messrs. du Quesne and Sailly, siDccially 
 the said two ships, their fittings and cargoes, and generally 
 also their persons and goods, submitting them resjiectively 
 to the attachment of all the judges and courts of justice. 
 
 " Done and passed at Amsterdam aforesaid in the pre- 
 sence of Jean de Dunquerque and Daniel Metz, witnesses, 
 required for this. 
 
 " Concordat cuvi oriijinalihus, 
 " (Quod attestor), 
 (Signed) "F, Tixkrandet, 
 
 " Xut iry public." 
 
 But although the large ship had sncceeded in forcing a 
 passage through the ice, she was still so badly supplied 
 that the Marquis was obliged to put back into Helle- 
 voetsluy.s, whilst, to add to his distress, the smalk-r vessel 
 lost all her sailors at the Nienwe Diep by desertion. He 
 was accordingly obliged tu lay her up there, and, seeing 
 for the present no chance of carrying out his intentions, 
 he felt himself compelled to olfer his large vessel for salr 
 to the Company. She was named La Drulte, was 130 feet 
 
 I 2
 
 116 Eamlles through the Archives of 
 
 long, a fast sailer, and had been taken by the Dutch from 
 the French. Being built as a war ship, the Company 
 readily agreed to take her over and statiim her at the 
 Cape for defensive purposes, and so relieve the large ships 
 ■which were lying here for the protection of the Kesidency. 
 She was accordingly refitted and renamed, and sent out 
 as the Zwarte Lceuw. But, notwithstanding her sailing 
 powers, she appears to have been a leaky and unseaworthy 
 vessel, hence on the 21st of December, 1696, tlie Council 
 decided, as she had become altogether unfit for use, to 
 sink her off the jetty, fill her Avith stones, and so form a 
 mole for sheltering the boats, and in ease of a hostile 
 attack to serve as a foundation on which to place some 
 heavy artillery to assist the Castle in its defence. Perhaps 
 portions of this old Huguenot ship may still be found off 
 the spot where once the old South Wharf stood.* 
 
 Her arrival here, however, caused the Commander a 
 great deal of trouble, as some of the officers complained to 
 the directors that they were being badly su^jplied at the 
 Cape, esi^eciallj'^ with white bread, and that the men were 
 almost starved. This gave the Seventeen an opportunity 
 of severely censuring him for his great kindness to 
 foreigners, especially the French, and in the following 
 terms (desj)atch, the 21st of April, 1690): — 
 
 " If Commander Yan der Stel had read and obeyed our 
 instructions regarding the treatment of European nations, 
 especially the French, as laid down in our letteis of the 
 21st of November, 1679, the 20th of June, 1680, the 23rd 
 of January, 1681, the 8th of June, 1682, the 10th of March, 
 
 * She arrived here on the liith of September, 1690, with 130 men 
 
 and tliirty-fVmr guns, and only liad arms and ammunition on board. She 
 had left G(ic'r( e on the Gth of Jinie previously, and hnjught news of 
 the great successes obtaintd by William III. in Ireland, who conse- 
 quently kept the French fleet iielplessly contiued. But she likewise 
 brought the disquieting news that the squadron under Admiral du 
 Quesne had left Brist with orders to cruise for a month otl" the Cape, 
 and endeavour to capture such ships of the Company as might arrive 
 there; and linally that the French had settled on the Island Mascar- 
 enhas, so that the directors had deemed it necessary to take steps for 
 the safety of Mauritius.
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 117 
 
 and 22nd of June, 1683, he wonld have refrained from so 
 liberally giving the French who called there, what they 
 asked for, and affording them all conceivable accommoda- 
 tion, also giving them presents, and receiving others in 
 return, as we find from the letters from the Cape and the 
 Journal. 
 
 " We touched upon the subject in our letter of the 10th 
 of October, 1G88, but did not for a moment suppose that 
 he would in this matter forget himself so far and go to 
 such extremes as we found when more carefully examining 
 the matter. 
 
 "We cannot understand what excuse there is (1) for 
 allowing the French to land in such numbers, so that, after 
 the watch had been set, there had been found on shore 
 245 invalids and 333 sick, who were lying in their beds, 
 and that they had seven firelocks and most likely more 
 arms which they might have stowed away ; (2) that he 
 allowed General des Farges, with his sons and noblemen, 
 to go out hunting, invited them to dinner in the Fort or 
 Castle, and so given them an opportunity of spying into 
 everj'thing ; for, from the narratives which have been 
 published by them,* it can bo seen how and with what 
 accuracy they observed everything and made careful notes ; 
 of all which they would not have refrained to have made 
 use if they had not been burdened with this heav}' war, 
 and their forces drawn away and distributed elsewhere, 
 especially as they were still able, in spite of that war, to 
 eqiiip such a costly squadron for India, as we informed 
 you of in former letters. 
 
 " (3) Under the pretext of courting the good feeling of 
 
 * This evidently refers to the book published by Admiral du Quesne, 
 or those of the two offirers belonging to his fleet, of none of wliicli, 
 however, have I been able to obtaiu a copy.
 
 118 Ramhies through the Archives of 
 
 the Kiug of France niore successfully, they were, besides 
 all other comforts, presented with 801 lbs. rice, 600 lbs. 
 flour, a young ox and six sheep for the officers of each ship, 
 and a calf for the Envoy de la Loubert. Moreover, many 
 other kinds of refreshments were sent on board for Admiral 
 du Quesne, by which nieans, instead of keeping them 
 away from the Cape, they have been the more tempted 
 towards it, contrary to our so often-repeated orders, 
 
 " Often complaints are laid before us that our ovm ships 
 obtain such poor refreshments, and that most of the 
 skippers are obliged to go to market with their own money 
 in order to provide themselves with what they require. 
 In the meanwhile other nations are so abundantly sup- 
 plied ! 
 
 " (4) On the other hand, a present has been received in 
 return, viz., the portrait of the King of France in a gold 
 medallion attached to a gold chain. All this we have so 
 much disapproved of, that we would not have refrained 
 from showing our deepest dissatisfaction and resentment, 
 if w^e had not, on the other hand, borne in mind the vigi- 
 lance displayed by the Commander and his prudent conduct 
 in capturing the two French ships, Le Cache and La Nor- 
 mande, regarding which we shall explain ourselves at the 
 proper time. In the meanwhile you will be able to con- 
 clude from what has been said and what has been more 
 fully stated in our despatches referred to, what you have 
 to do and to refrain from on the arrival of any foreigners, 
 and during their stay at the Cape. Everything is to be 
 done economically, whilst it is understood that you shall 
 in every way refrain from making any presents to them or 
 receiving any. 
 
 " Ee-reading your letters, we find that you ordered the 
 Portuguese vessel Nostra Senhora de los Milagros, wrecked
 
 the Colonij of the Cape of Good Hope. lU) 
 
 to the east of the Cape, to bo burnt. "We do not under- 
 stand what moved you to do so, and why it was not left 
 as it was. No doubt, something or other might have been 
 found in it, which would have been of value. 
 
 "It is said tliat there has likewise been saved .out 
 of the said ship, and placed in tlie hands of the Com- 
 mander, a golden crown mounted with jewels ; alsu a kris 
 in a golden sheath. What the truth is. His Honour will 
 best know, and inform us of; also why the ship was 
 burnt." 
 
 Already two years previously (the 2-ith of Ma}', 1G88), 
 he had refuted the charges brouglit against him that he 
 had robbed the Siamese ambassador-', and shown that 
 when they arrived at the Cape, lie had been obliged to 
 lend them f.oOOO, and that, if any robbery had been com- 
 mitted, the culjjrit was a certain officer, whom he men- 
 tioned, and for that reason still kept in confinement. 
 
 Now, when again called upon for an explanation, he 
 wrote (the 24th of June, 1691) :— 
 
 " Your orders will ever be the highest ambition of the 
 Commander; but he humbly requests that you may be 
 pleased to put no faith iu the rumours imputing to him 
 that there had come into his hands a golden crown, 
 studded with jewels, and a kris with a golden scabbard. 
 In defence of his honour he is bound to declare that he 
 has never seen such a crown or ki is, and much less pos- 
 sessed them." 
 
 He acknowledges that in IGSG, when iXia Noxlrn Srnhora 
 de los Milagros had been wrecked here, one of the Siamese 
 ambassadors gave him as a keepsake, when on the point 
 of returning to I'atavia, a kris with a wooden scabbard 
 and golden handle, of the value of about lids. 40 or o<», 
 and also a Siamese girdle, to show his good feeling and 
 affection for the Commander. Courtesy forliade him to 
 refuse this small present, and the respect which ho owed
 
 120 Bamhles through the Archives of 
 
 the directors likewise forbade him to give them notice of 
 such trifles. 
 
 He had given no orders to burn the vessel mentioned, 
 and as far as his information went, she was still lying 
 where she had stniclc, gradually being broken up by the 
 sea and hitherto untouched by fire. 
 
 Keferring to the charge brought against him by those 
 of the Zioarte Leeuw, he replied that her men were con- 
 tinually being drafted into other ships to take the place 
 of the sick, and that this could not have been done, if 
 the crew had been treated as described. He Avishod the 
 skipper who brought her out — Pieter Andries Goedland, 
 who returned home in the Faam, the j-ear before — to testify 
 on this subject, and felt very grateful that he had received 
 from India the regulations regarding the provisioning of 
 ships, and added: — 
 
 " You may bo sure that this is no land in whicli anyone 
 need suffer hunger or distress, as those who are industrioiis 
 have, from year to year, by God's grace, seen their cellars 
 well filled with wine, their lofts with corn, and their 
 chimneys and barrels Avith flesh and fish. The neighbour- 
 ing bays produce excellent fish, the land splendid game and 
 tame animals, and the air an abundance of birds for the 
 maintenance of man. Hence, for manj' years now, no one 
 has been heard to complain of want of food. "NVe there- 
 fore fear, that because these people and others, whose com- 
 plaints have come to your ears, have greatly angered 
 Heaven by their ill-nature, last year the heavy rains 
 drowned a large quantity of corn ; but, notwithstanding 
 this warning, they have steeled their hearts so effectually 
 that the earth has by the drought been made as hard as 
 rock, and the grass burnt away. No large exports of 
 grain can therefore take place this year." 
 
 His promotion to the rank of Governor, for which he 
 returns thanks in this same despatch, no doubt went far
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 121 
 
 to convince him that he still enjoyed the confidence of his 
 superiors, but as he said elsewhere, each moment a hostile 
 fleet might enter the Bay, and destroy or capture the 
 whole settlement. Nor was he quite satisfied with the 
 movements and conversations of certain English officers 
 who had visited the Cape, for in June, 1691, he mentioned 
 the arrival, on the 4th and 12th of March preceding, of 
 the English frigates Success and Josias, both from London ; 
 and added that he could not refrain " from humbly in- 
 forming 3'ou of the great anxiety which the conversation 
 of the officers caused us, and the zeal with which they en- 
 deavoured to obtain some kn(jwledge of the surrounding 
 regions. They hinted likewise that they had vessels on 
 board which they intended to put together at the places 
 where they might be required, in order to examine coasts 
 and rivers, and that five or six similar ships were on the 
 point of coming hither from England. We fear that they 
 may have their eye on some of the neighbouring regions, 
 the more so as a certain skipper, Guillaume de Bouw, who 
 has often been here and is known to us as having been in 
 the service of jirivate merchants, has for more than twenty 
 years navigated on Mascarenhas and the Eastern Coast of 
 Africa, and accordingly learned to know the country and 
 the languages. He has lately entered the service of the 
 English Company, and calledhere as Captain of the Josias. 
 It is therefore likely that he has given information to the 
 English Company regarding the countries so often visited 
 by him, especially Terra de Natal, Eio de la Goa or Mada- 
 gascar, and made the affair so delicious to his new masters 
 that they may have decided, against your interests, to 
 make a settlement in our neighbourhood. Especially to 
 Governor Simon van der Stel, he secretly and privately 
 revealed that his masters had ordered him to call at the 
 coast of Sofala, and remain there about half-a-year, trading 
 for gold, ivory, itc, all along the coast, also most carefully 
 to examine into everything, and enqtloy the boats and 
 canoes with which ho has been provided for the purpose."
 
 122 Bamhies through the Archives of 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 I HAVE so often mentioned the young Admiral du Qiiesne, 
 and the squadron under his command, that the reader may 
 perhaps wish to know some of his adventures in India. 
 Not having his book to refer to, I insert here what I have 
 found among the Archives. On the 1 7th of October, 1 690, 
 news was received from Xagapatnam at Batavia, that his 
 squadron consisting of six ships had been at Nielwelle 
 Bay, and taken out of it the flute Montfoort. The Dutch, 
 accordingly, descended down to Madraspatnam to join the 
 English there at the Fort. Both nations at once actively 
 prepared for defence. The Southern offices also reported 
 that two French ships had been passed ftir at sea on the 
 9th of August, and six more seen on the following day — 
 among them one very small. Their approach compelled 
 the fluits 't Huis te Spijch, &c., to run into shore as near 
 as possible, but the French passed them within range 
 without doing anything, evidently fearing the shallow 
 water. The three ships of the Danes before Tranquebar 
 they likewise left unmolested, as that nation is neutral in 
 the war in Europe. The two first mentioned vessels 
 passed Tegenapatnam on the 10th. The other six passed 
 the next day ; all anchored before Pondicherry, refreshed 
 there, and landed munitions of war, specie, etc., as will be 
 seen from the statement of the boatswain of the Montfoort* 
 who had escaped after being captured by the enemy : — 
 
 " This delay enabled us to put our three ships in a 
 proper state of defence, and likewise the large English 
 ship lying in Madras harbour. On the 16th, in the 
 
 * The Montfoort had on board f.11,500 in silver ducatons (see letter 
 from Hoogly, vol. 1G91, p. 3). Her cargo was valued at f.219,473 (see 
 letter from Colombo, 1G91, p. 48). She was therefore a rich prize to 
 the enemy ; hence the capture of the Normande and Cocke was a good 
 "Bet olf" against her loss.
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 123 
 
 morning we sighted a vessel proceeding to the north. A 
 Catamaran was sent out to spy her. She was the Bombay, 
 sent by your Honours (at Batavia) to Masulipatnam. For- 
 tunately she did not arrive sooner, and hence escaped the 
 enemy. She brought your letters for North Coromandel. 
 Having drawn our ships in a line near tlie shore, three 
 Dutch and three English, the Bomhay was employed, as 
 she was a fast sailer, to reconnoitre. On the 25th, between 
 8 and 9 a.m., the French ships were sighted. They con- 
 sisted of seven sail, and having approached as near as 
 St. Thome, could see our line of battle. They signalled 
 for a council to be held, which lasted about one hour and 
 a half ; and then the two smallest approached in near the 
 shore, the others also coming on but not quite so near. 
 When the latter were before the Salland, the very smallest, 
 named Huiherts, sailed right in front of her, the second 
 right by her side, three others on the side of the Dregter- 
 land and Schoondijk, and the largest to the side of the 
 Englishman, casting anchor at the same time. They then 
 commenced to fire, which lasted about an hour. Then we 
 saw the Mydregt, which had lain before the French Ad- 
 miral, who was lying alongside the Drccjterland, coming 
 down to us. We likewise clearly observed that she was 
 a fire-ship, and although she struck the Drri/ferland, the 
 wind being from the starboard, and the fire not bursting 
 forth at once, she was shoved off with little trouble. For 
 this we thank the great God heartily. For as they had 
 before most furiously cannonaded us, we believe that that 
 move was the one they depended on, as after the loss of 
 the fire-ship their fire gradually slackened, until after 
 two hours, when the Admiral and afterwards the others 
 retired ; most of them by cutting their cables ; but they 
 anchored again a good half mile (Dutch) above us towards
 
 124 Rambles through the Archives of 
 
 the south-east. The following clay they proceeded to the 
 north, where they captured a small merchant vessel. In 
 the evening they were before Palicata, but were not seen 
 on the folloAving morning. God visibl}' protected us in 
 this encounter, as we had but a few killed and wounded. 
 . . . Our rigging was very much cut up, and we refitted 
 in the best Avay we could. Of the French, we heard on 
 the following day that during the night their Admiral 
 and eight officers had been brought on shore at St. Thome, 
 and buried there, and that many men had been killed. 
 Some had also been washed up below Madras, and buried 
 by order of the English. The English cannon on the 
 Fort could do very little, as we were too far from shore. 
 For that reason they were obliged to shoot very high." 
 
 Later news, dated the 4th of Februarj', 1691, received 
 from Governor Lourens Pith, mentioned that : — 
 
 " The French cut their cables, &c., and went along 
 shore towards Bengal, and thence to Ilha de Grayla for 
 repairs, arriving at Poudicherr}" on the 12th of January, 
 1691, where they took in some cargo. Two of the Dutch 
 prisoners, taken in the Mydregt, stated that the enemy 
 intended to proceed direct to Martinico, in order to obtain 
 information regarding the European war, and take steps 
 accordingly. . . . We have never been able exactly to 
 ascertain the number of their losses, so it is evident that 
 they have kept them very secret (although some of ours 
 were on board as prisoners). The English were glad of 
 our arrival on their roadstead, and acknowledged that we 
 saved them and their helpless ships by our assistance and 
 timely notice. The French vessels had been fitted out 
 with the prospect of obtaining heavy booty. All they 
 got was the Monifoort and Mydregt. They tried to take
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 125 
 
 an English ship and fought it for six hours, when the 
 captain, finding most of his men dead, decided to blow his 
 vessel up. This we heard from a few that saved them- 
 selves in a boat, and arrived at Galle." 
 
 The storj^ of the death of Admiral du Quesne was, 
 however, contrary to fact, and shortly afterwards con- 
 tradicted from Paris, as follows : — 
 
 "31st of August, 1691. 
 
 " It is not the case that Admiral du Quesne was killed 
 in the engagement before Madras. He arrived here last 
 night, and his six ships are at Port Louis. He has arrived 
 purposely to report what he has done, and it is said that 
 he will be appointed to another squadron which will 
 leave in Febiiiary next."
 
 126 Ba miles through the Archives of 
 
 CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 Let us now return to the Marquis Henri du Quesne and 
 his brother Abraham. Having sold their large vessel to 
 the Company, they had still retained the small one, 
 L'HirorideUe (the Swallow), adhering to their plan of 
 proceeding to Mascarenhas. Hence, in June, 1690, the 
 Seventeen informed the Council here " that she was 
 placed under the command of Sieur Valot (Vaileau?) and 
 would call at the Cape ; that the Marquis had likewise 
 requested them to provide him with a letter of introduc- 
 tion to the Cape Government, which they were loathe to 
 refuse ; that therefore one had been written in which the 
 Council here was further reminded of the orders sent on 
 this subject previously ; and that as long as the vessel 
 remained at the Cape, the conduct of those on board was 
 to be carefully watched, and information sent to Holland 
 accordingly." She left Texel on the 4th of September, 1690, 
 and arrived here on the 15th of January, 1691, carrying 
 eight guns and twenty men, and according to orders was 
 well received. She left again on the 5th of February, 
 stating her intention to be to visit the neighbouring islands 
 Martin Vaas, Diego Eodrigues, and Mascarenhas, and be 
 back here in time to proceed home in company of the 
 return fleet. The Council gave the officers a letter of 
 introduction to Commander Lamotius at Mauritius, and 
 warned him likewise to keep his eye on them and report. 
 In the general despatch of the 29th of June, 1691, the 
 Commander and Council wrote regarding them as follows 
 (to the Seventeen) : — 
 
 " What will become of their enterprise, time alone will 
 show. It is strange that these people, who liave suifered 
 so much for their faith, and abandoned everything for its
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. Vll 
 
 sake, are so little accommodating and reasonable, that to 
 the great pain of the Cape residents, they have not been 
 able to control their stubborn and angry natures here, 
 without letting them burst forth so violently. Hence to 
 prevent further coolness between them and loss to their 
 employers, we had great trouble to pacify tbem, as will 
 be seen from the annexures, should you care to look into 
 them." 
 
 According to a despatch of the 23rd of October, 1691, 
 written to Batavia, she returned to the Cape on the 
 7th of that month, and brought with them a black, a 
 native of Mascarenhas. She had left that island on the 
 2nd of September, after having nearly circumnavigated 
 it, keeping as near the shore as possible ; but no one dared 
 to laud, as the natives were, with their wives and children, 
 continually following them. She had also called at 
 St. Augustine Bay in Madagascar for rice and other 
 supplies, and likewise a cargo of slaves ; but hearing that, 
 two days before her arrival, the pirates had been there, 
 and were still in the neighbourhood, one carrying one 
 hundred and the other sixty men, she left two days after 
 for the Cape, having accomplished virtually nothing. 
 To the directors the Council wrote that M. Yalleau 
 had stated, that after his departure from the Cape he had 
 first called at Diego Kodrigues, and there left seven of 
 the twenty men he had on board, providing them abun- 
 dantly with all necessaries, and that he liad done so as 
 proof of his having taken possessidn of that island. That 
 after that he had called at Mauritius and thence steered 
 for Mascarenhas, which he had sailed almost quite round ; 
 that a native had swum from shore through the surf and 
 come on board, and been detained by the captain, who 
 had on the other hand ordered one of his own sailors to 
 swim to shore, with orders to return, after having care- 
 fully observed everything ; tlutt the sailor, however, had 
 not returned, and that the probalnlity was that lie had 
 remained voluntarily, or been kept there against bis will,
 
 128 Rambles through the Archives of 
 
 after he had thoroughly explored the island and laid 
 down everything in a ctiart ; * and that in consequence 
 of his detention he had concluded that his plot had been 
 discovered. He had therefore at once made sail for 
 Madagascar. 
 
 The native having been examined, told the following 
 story, written down by order of Governor Van der Stel: — 
 
 " My name is Athanas Garel, a native KafBr of the Island 
 Mascarenhas. T am now on board the little frigate 
 L' Hirondelle, belonging to the Marquis du Quesne. I am 
 twenty-five years old, and was born and baptized on the 
 island mentioned, where I left alive on the 2nd of 
 September last, my wife, son and daughter, my father 
 and my mother, having been detained by Captain Valleau 
 of the Hirondelle, in order to make one voyage in her to 
 Holland. 
 
 " On the said island, six servants of the French King 
 are stationed, viz., M. Vaublon, the Governor, and M. Tier- 
 ling, first Commissioner. The four others are book-keej^ers 
 and overseers of the stores. 
 
 " The first Commissioner had, five months before, and 
 assisted by the natives, imprisoned the Governor and put 
 him in irons, pretending that he had allowed them to 
 perish from hunger and anxiety. 
 
 " There were only aboiit thirty-five or thirty-six fight- 
 ing men, white and black, on the island, also thirty 
 women, ten of whom were white. 
 
 " Among the men were six or seven Dutchmen, taken 
 some years ago by an English pirate at Madagascar, and 
 landed on Mascarenhas with a little money. Thej'^ had 
 
 * One of hundreds of proofs to sliow that a licavy percinlage of the 
 sailors and soldiers in the Company's service were men of education 
 and learning, but without means or influence, and hence obliged to 
 rise from the lowest rung of the ladder. See Appendix C.
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 129 
 
 changed their faith, had married, built houses for them- 
 selves, and were earning their living by agriculture. 
 
 " Two Capncins administered religion there. The 
 church stands outside of the Fort, and the distance of a 
 pistol-shot away from it. 
 
 " The Fort is named St. Denis, and is situated on the 
 north-eastern portion of the island and on the beach. It 
 consists of hurriedly-collected stones, thrown one upon 
 the other, and is enclosed with palisades. The house of 
 the Governor and the stores, however, are built of bricl%' 
 and lime. They have eight guns, six- and eight-pounders, 
 of iron, which they fished up from the shijD St. John about 
 a year ago, which vessel had been cast on shore there in 
 a hurricane. She had conveyed thither the Governor 
 Vaublon. Six of her crew were drowned, and the rest ha 1 
 returned a month later to Franco in the ship Le Jen. 
 
 " The island is about fifty Dutch miles in circumference, 
 very fruitful, and has a healthy climate. It is watered 
 by many rivers and rivulets. There are also many 
 standing pools, in which eels of twenty-three and twenty- 
 four feet long are caught. They are often as much as 
 five feet thick, but on account of their too great fatness 
 inedible. Those about the thickness of a man's aim are, 
 however, nice and of a good flavour. 
 
 " Eice grows luxuriantly on the island. They plant 
 their wheat in the wild, uncultivated ground, withoxit 
 ploughing it beforehand. Fine and large crops are gene- 
 rally gathered, and from these tliey make their daily 
 bread. 
 
 " The people likewise plant sugar-cane, tobacco, vinos, 
 and cocoa-nuts. Everytliing grows luxuriantly there. 
 On the beach " Amber de Nord " is found. 
 
 " Oxen, cows, goats, and pigs are in abundance there. 
 
 K
 
 130 Bamhles through the Archives of 
 
 From the residue of their milk they make good cheese. 
 They have, likewise, beautiful and strong horses, both 
 tame and wild ; also wild grapes and numbers of turkeys, 
 fowls, ducks, geese, parrots, and other Indian birds. 
 
 " The island contains large forests of various kinds of 
 beautiful ebony-trees, which are so near each other that 
 one is continually^ in the shade underneath them. No 
 sun shines through them. No underwood, thistles, or 
 thorns are there to cause the least hindrance to the pedes- 
 trian. The ground is green, smooth, and nice. 
 
 " The seashore is rich in turtle, and the sea in all kinds 
 of fish." 
 
 \Yhat became of the narrator, or whether any of the 
 remarkable eels mentioned by him were ever afterwards 
 seen by the eye of a European, or caught with a jDiscato- 
 rial rod or otherwise, we are not told. I only mention 
 the fact to those inclined to try their hand at a good bag. 
 The fun will be all the more enjoyable as it entails a 
 pleasant voyage to Mascarenhas, or JWIde d'Eden. 
 
 In their despatch of the 10th of December, 1692, the 
 directors mention that the HirondeUe, as thej^ had heard, 
 had been captured by the French on her way to Holland. 
 Nor have I succeeded in finding any further mention 
 made of her, or of those who sent hei\ although a good 
 deal is said of some of the men whom she had left on the 
 Island Diego Eodrigo. On the 22nd of February, 1695, 
 the High Government at Batavia instructed the Cape 
 Council to desjiatch a small vessel to Mauritius to take in 
 the supplies left there for the CajDe, and also four men 
 belonging to the Marquis du Quesne, who were to be sent 
 to Europe. How they arrived at that island is described 
 in a des])atch from Mauritius to the Cape, dated the 30tli 
 of September, 1695, and as follows : — 
 
 " Some Frenchmen belonging to the Hirondelle — the 
 little frigate of Mons. the Marquis du Quesne — who were 
 left behind on the Island Diego Eodrigo, arrived here in
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 131 
 
 1693 with a boat made by tliemselves. At their request 
 we allowed them to remain here until the arrival of the 
 first vessel, providing them likewise with a house and 
 food near the Lodge, in order to prevent them from 
 wandering about and becoming acquainted with the 
 island. They had already attempted to do this, and 
 therefore we forbade them from going out of sight of 
 the Lodge without permission. These traitors, however, 
 could not bear their easy days ; but with Jan Fameurs, a 
 soldier of the Company, determined to steal our boat, and 
 with it proceed to Mascarenhas and the French settled 
 there. But Fameurs having betrayed them to the Com- 
 mander, they were at once arrested. Two confessed, and 
 added that they had intended to bind the sailors on board 
 the vessel to a tree ; but two would not, saying that they 
 knew nothing of the conspiracy. Not having the least 
 doubt of their guilt, we had those who confessed placed 
 in irons, and their comrades on an islet distant about an 
 hour from the Fort, on which they have a house and their 
 daily food. There we intend that they shall remain until 
 we can send them over to you." 
 
 Further particulars are given in a letter from Mauritius 
 to Batavia, a copy of which arrived at the Cape in 1(396, 
 the despatch from Batavia already quoted being a reply 
 to it. After mentioning what could be done at Mauritius, 
 if the Commander ouly had the power and the means, it 
 continues as follows : — 
 
 " The prisoner Jan Fameurs will be sent over to you as 
 soon as his time has expired. The charges arc annexed, 
 and likewise two interrogatories replied to by the two 
 Frenchmen, Jean Tettait and Jacques la Case, with five 
 inventories of the personal effects of the latter. Every- 
 thing was seized in payment of expenses, and to prevent 
 
 K 2
 
 132 Ramhles through the Archives of 
 
 them from doing furtlier mischief, as they had a lot of 
 ironwork, smith's tools, files, &c., with which the two who 
 were in irons might have been liberated. All these tilings 
 (excepting what could not be burnt) have, however, 
 perished in the flames Avhich destroyed the Lodge. The 
 cash owned by J. Tettait was paid into the Treasury, as 
 we had run out of all money. It is to be refunded to him 
 either at the Cape or Batavia. Whatever else has escaped 
 the fire we have transmitted to you. The two who had 
 been ironed, after a time broke their chains, and escaped 
 into the forests. Jacques la Case was captured, but Jean 
 Tettait is still at large. The names of the others sent over 
 by the Swaag are Paul Bennelle, Jean do la Haye, and Le 
 Guage (? Leguat). Eobert Ansljm, from Picardy, also leaves 
 in the same vessel. He came over with them from Diego 
 Kodrigo as a servant or boy, and we enlisted him here as 
 a soldier at 8 f. per month. He gave satisfaction, and will 
 l)e able to tell you how tyrannically and inhumanly they 
 treated him. On his arrival here, he begged us on his 
 knees to deliver him from their tyranny, and take him 
 into our service. 
 
 " When the Standvastujlieid was lying here, Tettait and 
 La Case presented a petition to her officers, very much 
 blaming the Commander of the island. The latter, there- 
 fore, reqTiested the said officers to deliver the petition to 
 you ; for it contained, amongst other matters, the statement 
 that they had been deprived of tlieir vessel in which they 
 had arrived here, and which had been burnt by the Com- 
 mander. But the truth is that they gave it away them- 
 selves to one of their comrades, and personally helped to 
 burn it, no Company's servant having had a hand in that 
 proceeding. This will be seen from two sworn declara- 
 tions of their mates, who during tiie time of their stay
 
 iJie Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 133 
 
 always "behaved as honest people. For that reason they 
 were allowed to leave in the Standvasiigheid. 
 
 "The time-expired servants of the Company, who leave 
 in this vessel — the Swaag — will, if you wish it, give you 
 full information regarding the life and conduct of these 
 Frenchmen during their stay here. 
 
 " As Jean Tettait, who is still at large, did not hesitate 
 to say that Commander Deodati had compelled him by 
 torture to confess that he intended to seize the sloop, and 
 for that act of cruelty he should be punished as his pre- 
 decessor. Commander Lamotius, had been : and as this 
 statement is utterly false, we enclose a letter written by 
 the said Tettait to Commander Deodati regarding the sum 
 of 300 f. and a piece of ambergris which he professed t(t 
 have entrusted to the keeping of the junior surgeon, Hugo 
 van Heel, who was then stationed here. The latter, how- 
 ever, denied that he had ever received anything of the 
 sort, and as Tettait could not prove his plaint by evidence, 
 whilst Van Heel offered to purify himself by oath, we 
 could take no further steps. 
 
 " The same letter likewise contains his voluntary con- 
 fession that he intended to seize the sloop, so that it is 
 self-evident that he had not been forced by torture to say 
 80. It would have been a very wicked thing, if it had 
 been done. But Van Heel was one of the Commissioners 
 appointed to examine Tettait, and he will, no doubt, be 
 willing to give you further infurniation, should he still be, 
 as we believe, at Batavia. 
 
 " It will be also necessary to inform you of what occurred 
 between the freeman Claas Jansz. van Wieringe and the 
 Frenchman Jean de la Ilaye shortly after the arrival oi 
 the latter and his fellow-countrj-meu. One of these, a 
 former mate of the Hironddle, who was one of the party
 
 134 UamUes through the Archives of 
 
 put on shore at Diego Rinlrigo, and who left in IGO-i 
 with the Standvastigheiil, informed the Secunde Johannes 
 Maurits, and a few days later the Commander Deodati, 
 that his mates were a lot of rogues, who were not to be 
 trusted, at the same time begging that he might be sepa- 
 rated from them, and allowed to live alone. At first we 
 thought that he merely spoke in anger, as they were 
 always quarrelling among themselves ; but seeing how 
 matters stood, we kept a closer eye on them, and forbade 
 the freemen to buy anything from them without taking a 
 receipt. For instance, when the French were leaving the 
 Zicarte Bivier in their sloop, on their way to the Lodge, 
 they were detained at the north-west point of the island 
 by contrary winds, and accordingly decided to carry some 
 of their goods overland to the outpost known as Noord- 
 wyh VlaJtte. On the way the freeman Claas passed them, 
 and Jean de la Haye offered him for sale some silversmith's 
 tools and gum brought by him from Diego Rodrigo. 
 Having agreed upon the price, Claas paid the amount, 
 but forgot to take a receipt. At the Lodge he showed the 
 articles to the Commander, saying that one piece of gum 
 had been given him as a present. It looked very scabby 
 and like a rotten piece of bark. He then went away. 
 The same day, however, De la Haye came to the Com- 
 mander, and asked for payment of the amount due on a 
 piece of ambergris which, as he said, he had unwittingly 
 sold to Claas, stating at the saiae time how the sale took 
 place. There having been no witnesses, we took his 
 evidence in presence of his mates ; but in the meanwhile, 
 Claas, requiring the gum, melted a portion, and found that 
 it contained a piece of ambergris. He at once went to De 
 la Haye, and offered him Kds. 50, if he would not tell the 
 Commander anything about it, and also to pay for the bits
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 135 
 
 which had been mixed np with the rest of the gum. The 
 Commander, however, heard of it, and seized the whole 
 for the Compan3^ The fire, however, consumed every- 
 thing. The reason why he made the seizure was because, 
 when tlie French arrived here, we carefully qTiestioned 
 them about the condition of the island Diego Rodrigo, and 
 whetlier it produced any ambergris. They had replied 
 that it did not, and we concluded from that, that they had 
 picked it up on the beach here, having wandered about 
 eight or ten days before they found any human beings, 
 and that our own safety required it under any circum- 
 stances that they should be prevented from wandering 
 along the shore or in the forest, in order not to spy out 
 everything, as they had always been endeavouring to do. 
 Moreover, it will bo found from the petition of De la Haye 
 to the officers of the Standvasfiijlieid that he made a present 
 of the ambergris to Claas van Wieringe." 
 
 This is the last narrative connected with the exploring 
 party sent out by the Marquis dn Quesne and his brother. 
 Though seemingly of no great interest, I have added it, 
 not only to make the collection as complete as possible by 
 placing before the readers in a few consecutive pages what 
 lies scattered through the Archives in many volumes, but 
 also to show, that there were some undesirable characters 
 among those professing to be refugees ; that this may have 
 been one of the reasons wh}'' the plans of the Man^uis 
 du Quesne and his brother collapsed (see Appendix D.); 
 that tlie Amsterdam Chamber was fully justified in not 
 complying with the wish of the Rev. i'ierre Simond to 
 take down indiscriminately the names of all applicants 
 for a passage, without knowing something definite about 
 their cliaracter and ability; that, this rule not having 
 always been rigidly adliered to, a percentage of the fugi- 
 tives was found not to be of the class recpiired here, and 
 which class caused much trouble to the Van der Stels, 
 both to father and son ; anil that, as agriculture was the
 
 I'AG llamhlcs throiujh t}ie Archives of 
 
 chief object to he attended to ])y them here, in order to 
 make the yoiinj^ Colony not only self-supportin<^-, hut also 
 an ex])orter of all kinds of grain, so that naturally viti- 
 culture, although hrought to Buch jierfection hy the father 
 at CoHstntiiia, and equally so hy the son at Verr/eleyen — 
 although the latter had hut little time left him to show 
 what he could do witli the Cape grape — was considered 
 of merely secondary imiwrtance ; it is not surprising that 
 Willem van der Stel wrote to the directors on the 2nd of 
 July, 1699 :— 
 
 " We shall set upon their legs the French Refugees who 
 have arrived in the Westhoven, in order to settle here as 
 agriculturists. But as we have already so many of that 
 sort, and some are conducting themselves so hadly, and 
 besides do not possess much knowledge of agriculture, and 
 jtay very little attention to it, so that already much jioverty 
 has been caused among them, and the poor-fund will in 
 ihc end have to provide for some of them; and the more 
 so, as there are among them old and decrepit people who 
 will be able to do little or nothing here, we would rather 
 see, if you pleased, that for the future we are no longer 
 burdened with such a class of fugitives, but that some 
 Zealand farmers may be sent, who are of an industrious 
 nature and well versed in agricultural pursuits, — should 
 any of them feel inclined to come over to further agricul- 
 ture here. Such people would be much more suitable, 
 serviceable, and useful." 
 
 And if we refer to Arnaud, we find the same class attach- 
 ing themselves to the second body of Vaudois who, having 
 heard of Arnaud's success, decided to follow his example : — 
 
 " On landing at Savoy, the force was also divided into 
 nineteen companies, of which two only were composed of 
 Yaudois, three were Swiss, and the remainder French
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 137 
 
 Eofugees. . . . Dissensions soon arose l^etwecn the French 
 and Swiss, and at the end of a week, from the time of 
 disembarkation, general confusion was followed by aban- 
 donment of the enterprise." 
 
 " Their leader, Bourgeois, was charged with rebellion, 
 and being found guilty, was beheaded on the gates of 
 Nion." 
 
 Arnaud, while mentioning it, deprecates the whole affair, 
 as "emanating from irritated vanity on the part of the chief, 
 and a lust for plunder on the part of his followers, instead 
 of the patriotic and religious feeling which had actuated 
 the body which he had himself so successfully commanded."
 
 138 Rambles through the Archives of 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 I TRUST that tlie reader has hitherto willingly followed 
 me through the labyrinth of manuscripts, through which 
 I invited him to accompany me, and that I have, to some 
 extent, succeeded in making him see, as he went along, 
 people who have long passed away, brought back to life 
 again. 
 
 He has with me rambled far from the spot from which 
 we started, and the path which we originally intended to 
 follow — although we have never lost sight of either ; but 
 as we proceed we shall find that we have gained much, 
 and lost nothing by having done so, and that our zigzag 
 course has served to make us thoroughly informed of 
 matters whose knowledge is simplj^ indispensable if we 
 wish to grasp the period of which Willem van der Stel is 
 the central figure, and which was succeeded by an almost 
 unbroken series of misery, until, in 1795, the arrival of a 
 British squadron in False Bay for ever put an end to an 
 iniquitous mercantile system of oppression and cruelty, 
 and enabled the Colony gradually but surely to advance 
 on the lines laid down for it, when still in its infancy, by 
 its able administrator, Simon van der Stel.* 
 
 * I cannot refrain from inserting here the following remarks of 
 Commissioner-General de Mist, taken from his exhaustive report on 
 Cape affairs, when he liad been deputed to advise on the course to be 
 pursued after the Colony had been restored to the Dutch by virtue of 
 one of the Articles of the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. He says: "A 
 commercial government (pardon the expression) whose primary object 
 is to make money and contribute the most to the general profits of a 
 trading company whose interests it serves (that the annual dividends, 
 and, consequently, the prices of the shares may rise as high as possible) ; 
 a government which views the prosperity or adversity of the colonists 
 only with a distant and indifferent eye ; a government that takes only 
 so much interest in tlie colonists, as would result from the calculation 
 that they can bring profits to the company, in the same way as the 
 partners in a postal route look upon the prosperity of an innkeeper, in
 
 the Colony of tlie Cape of Good Hope. 139 
 
 And to everyone who loves South xVfrica as his native 
 land, or adopted home, it must especially in these days of 
 great depression and dependence on the resources of other 
 countries, be a source of comlbrt and of pride to remember 
 that one man at least, no matter how long ago, did set 
 himself to work to make the Colony for its supplies totally 
 independent of the whole world, and that he succeeded.* 
 That bv his persistent efforts he converted the barren hills 
 and dales of this Peninsula and of the Paarl and Stellen- 
 bosch into fruitful cornfields and vineyards ; that every- 
 where he planted forests and avenues of oaks, which at the 
 present day still testify to his indefatigable efforts and 
 complete success. No one, tli ere fore, when casting his eyes 
 on all these things, the fruits of his genius, and the work 
 of his hands so abundantly blessed by a gracious Provi- 
 
 wliose stables the postillions refresh themselves and their horses on the 
 ■way, wliilst resting awhile ; such a government, we say, may in the 
 beginning be considered as adequate when the number of colonists is 
 small ; when they were in reality considered— and it was not necessary 
 tlieu to consider them otherwise — as the ' Hosts of the Indian Ocean 
 Tavei!N,' whom it was necessary to patronise for personal conveni- 
 ence; when it was not thought tnut this fruitful promontory might in 
 course of time, such as it was, and iiulepiudcnt of all connections with 
 the East India Comjiany, become a rich portion and possession of the 
 State ; when perhaps it would have been ridiculed, if the building-of 
 an imjjortant town on tliat promontorj' had been prophesied, popu- 
 lated by wealthy citizens and surrounded by extensive villages and 
 farms yielding abundance of corn, wine, cattle, sheep, &c. Ijut now 
 tliat this condition of afiairs has m the course of 150 years been 
 altogether changed ; now that we have before us a well-established 
 society or societies of more tlian 20,000 souls, exclusive of the serving 
 classes or natives, the principles of such a government can no longer 
 be applicable. The Inn, formerly of slight estimation, bos been con- 
 verted into an important town, and ((jually important villages. The 
 citizens have likewi.'-e become citizens of the Batavian Kepublic, and 
 have the right of demanding a government for tliemselves which does 
 not always rule them onhj far tin' jtrajif of a third om-, but fspL-cially, 
 and in the first place, according to lixed written and fair laws, and ou 
 reasonable conditions to be sanctioned by the >50vereiga Power, so 
 that their own prosperity may be promoted, and mutual happiness 
 realised." 
 
 * In a placcaat issued on the 16th of .Tune, 1081, he notified that no 
 more rice would be imported, and that, therefore, ho warned every 
 agriculturist to sow as much grain as possible.
 
 140 Bamhles througli tJte AreJiives of 
 
 dence, can refrain from paying a grateful triljiite to his 
 memory, for they surround him on all sides and urge him 
 to follow a noble example. 
 
 \Vriting as I now do, beneath the shadow of some of 
 the noldo oaks planted by his orders — perhaps by his 
 own hands, but certainly under his own Qjea — I think of 
 Stellenbosch, to which he gave his name and which he con- 
 verted from a lair of wild beasts into a lovely dwelling- 
 place for man, at present with its giant oaks — each softly 
 murmuring his name to the gentle breeze, or loudly sound- 
 ing it to its fellows in the wild music of the storms — and 
 with its schools of learning, worthy to represent in Soiith 
 Africa — 
 
 " The olive grove of Academe, 
 Plato's retirement, wliere tlie Attic Bird 
 Trills her thick warbled notes the summer long." 
 
 I remember his letters, and find him no stranger to arts 
 and science, or unfamiliar with the language of ancient 
 Kome. I think of the I'aarl, and similar imjircssions are 
 created. I remember Constantia, and feel that he has 
 placed that spot before the world unrivalled for its nectar, 
 which would have gladdened the hearts of the Olympic 
 gods. I think of St. Helena Bay, and find him there dis- 
 covering and exploring the mouth of the Berg Kiver, one 
 of the loveliest and most fruitful spots in my native land. 
 I think of Namaqualand, and find his name engraved on 
 every bit of ore taken from its mines. I turn my face to- 
 wards the east, and behold him as the explorer of the coast 
 and country from Table Bay to Port Natal and further 
 on to Delagoa Bay. In False Bay he discovered one of 
 the finest harbours of the world, and called it after him- 
 self — Simon's Bay. In Drakenstein a noble mountain 
 likewise bears it, lifting itself on high above the lovely 
 homesteads that cluster at its base, or are scattered over 
 hills and valleys as far as the eye can see. It throws its 
 lights and shadows over meadows, forests, vines, " corn- 
 fields green, and sunny vales," seen by the traveller in the 
 open country beneath his feet, or slily peeping forth from 
 numerous kloofs, even as a child would gaze, half-curious
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 141 
 
 and half-timid, at a stranger from the shelter of its 
 mother's arms. 
 
 Everywhere I find his footsteps, I find the work of his 
 hands, I find the fruits of his restless brain, his fertile 
 genius. No one has as yet thought of erecting a monu- 
 ment to his memor)\ Will it be necessary to do so ? Has 
 he not erected it himself? One, more " lasting than 
 brass," of which the voices in the air and the rustling of 
 the leaves all w^hisper " Look around !"
 
 142 Ramhhs through the Archives of 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 His son and successor, Willem Adriaan, shared his fancies 
 and his aims. Arrived at the Cape on the 23rd of Jan- 
 uary (1699), the south-east wind for a while prevented 
 him from communicating with the ship which had 
 brought him, but earl}- in the morning of the 2Gth, when 
 the wikl spirit of the grand ohl mountain had for a time 
 been hxid, he was on the jetty superintending the landing 
 of the many boxes containing the young trees and large 
 collection of various kinds of plants brought by him from 
 Holland, and now carefully conveyed to the Company's 
 gardens. 
 
 On the 13th of February the return fleet arrived in 
 Table Bay, having on board as Admiral and Commissioner 
 for the inspection of Cape affairs the Councillor Extra- 
 ordinary of India, Daniel Heyns, appointed as such by 
 the Board of Seventeen, no appointment of the nature 
 having been made during the last ten years. 
 
 Having laid his papers before the Council on the 21st 
 of Februar}-, he mentioned that the Batavian Board had 
 also wished him to examine False Bay, in order to dis- 
 cover whether it would not be safer than Table Ba}-. It 
 was accordingly decided that he, the Governor, two Coun- 
 cillors, and two of the most experienced skippers of the 
 fleet would on the 26th proceed thither overland, whilst a 
 small vessel would be sent round for service there. 
 
 lie mentioned that the Indian Government had received 
 information from various sources, and lately from the men 
 on board the fleet under Commander Pronck, regarding 
 the safe anchorage to be found in that bay during the 
 whole year, and not only during March, April, Septem- 
 ber, and October, when Table Bay is very dangerous for 
 vessels. That Commander Claas Bichon, however, had 
 not carried out his instructions last year (November 30th, 
 1697), to examine, sound and make au exact chart of that
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 143 
 
 l)ay, and likewise draw lap a full report on the subject, 
 and that therefore he had been appointed to do so now. 
 
 Leaving on the 26th of February, the party returned on 
 the 1st of March, and consisted of Commsissioner D. 
 Heyns, Governor W. A. van der Stel, Eear-Admiral Govert 
 Van Ylierden, Skippers Joost Claarbout and Evert Doetes, 
 and the Councillors Willem Corssenaar and Jacobus Q-use. 
 
 On the first day they went as far as the great circuits 
 caused by the high mountains and the tired condition of 
 their cattle permitted. But on the following day, as soon 
 as they had reached the end of the Sand Valley, they found 
 it necessary to proceed along the foot of a very steep 
 mountain-range, where the roads were so unserviceable 
 and perilous that they were obliged to walk nearly the 
 whole distance, and could only get the waggons over the 
 rocks with the greatest danger and very heavy labour. 
 In the afternoon they were compelled to halt and pitch 
 their tents at the base of those steep hills and below a 
 sand creek. The south-east wind prevented the boat from 
 reaching them, and as it continued blowing as heavily on 
 the 28th, they decided to confine their inspection to a 
 valley extending about three leagues from their camp to 
 beyond Houtbay in a westerly direction, in order to find 
 out whetlier, in case of need, it would not be better suited 
 for cultivation and fuel, and whether water would be 
 obtainalde tliere. 
 
 They found that in the chart of Table Baj' various 
 streams had been laid down ami marked as fresh or red 
 water, but that they were mere percolations, wliitli would 
 hardly produce a leaguer of water in spite of the best 
 efforts, and that then even it would bo necessary to carrj- 
 the wliole over a distance of fully a league. 
 
 They found no fuel sufficient to stock one good sized 
 return ship, and no suitable soil in which to raise vege- 
 tables for the sick. H^nce they returned to their tents, 
 finding it impossible to do more, and on the 1st of March 
 wended their way back to the Casilc They ccmsidered 
 the bay capable of harbouring a few shi])s, but not a 
 whole fleet. 'V\\o anchorage was found to bo foul, often 
 covered with sand, and as often not, and therefore they
 
 144 Rambles through the Archives of 
 
 believed that heavy ships, like those of the Company, 
 wouhl not be able to anchor there in perfect security. A 
 report in this sense was accordin<^ly adopted. The reader, 
 however, will hardly recognise False Bay, and more par- 
 ticularly Simon's Bay, from the description given hero. 
 It is evident that the party did not proceed much further 
 than Kalk Bay, and were obliged to turn back thence, as 
 there lay before them a steep mountain-range with no level 
 soil between it and the sea, and through which only long 
 afterwards a roadway was cut at great cost and with 
 heavy labour.* Had this not been the case, they would 
 most certainly have discovered the bay whose existence 
 Simon van der Stel had already reported eleven years 
 previously — on the 26th of May, 1688, to the directors — 
 and to which he had given his own name. 
 
 But the Commissioner had many other things besides 
 to do. The chief source of colonial revenue at that time 
 was derived from the farming of the liquor-licenses, espe- 
 cially that of Cape wine. Before his time the conditions 
 had been often changed, because so often infringed by the 
 lessees themselves and the smugglers, so that severe losses 
 were incurred by the revenue. In order, therefore, to 
 prevent all fraud and its injurious results, the Commis- 
 sioner drew up certain new conditions of sale for tne 
 wine-licenses which he believed would check all abuses. 
 The license or lease was to be oifered to public competi- 
 tion in four parts, each to be bought by a different person, 
 and the four lessees, before being allowed to tap, were to 
 declare that they had not entered into any partnership or 
 contract with each other, but that each had leased for 
 himself alone. They were, moreover, permitted to sell by 
 retail, and for their protection all the existing statutes 
 against smuggling would remain in force. They were 
 
 * What must cause the greatest surprise, however, is that, as no boat 
 couM reach them, and they evidently never entered one during the 
 whole time of their wanderings in the neighbourhood, that tliey 
 believed themselves able to judge with any degree of exactness of the 
 capabilities of the bay, or its anchorage, and that tlie Commissioner 
 could draw up the report whicli he did. He had no excuse for doing 
 so, or the directors for pretending ignorance of the information com- 
 municated to them eleven years previously.
 
 tlie Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 145 
 
 likewise at liberty to buy their wines from whom they liked, 
 and no longer from the Company exclusively, whilst the 
 producers woiild have the right of cunveying their wines 
 from their farms and selling them without let or hindrance. 
 
 In accordance with these conditions, although the 
 regular time for doing so — the end of August— had not 
 yet arrived, and in order to see whether his expectations 
 would be verified, the wine-licenses were publicly offered 
 for sale in the presence of the Commissioner, and for the 
 period of twelve months realised the considerable amount 
 of f 23,300, Cape valuation, or calculating each guilder as 
 light money and at sixteen pence, £1553 Qs. 8(Z. sterling, 
 or £625 13s. 4rf. more than the year before.* 
 
 But that the lessees might secure a satisfactory profit 
 after the })ayment of such a heavy sum, it was above all 
 necessary that tliey should sell a large quantity uf wine, 
 although the ordinary price had been fixed at Is. 8(L per 
 bottle. For it must be borne in mind that at that time 
 no licenses were issued elsewhere than at the Cape, and 
 accordingly wine could bo obtained beyond the Castle 
 limits and in the country districts for very little money 
 and from the producers themselves, all placcaten against 
 smuggling notwithstanding ; and in spite of the order jiro- 
 mulgated in 1693 that the producer Avas allowed only to 
 sell to the Company and to no one else at the fixed price 
 of Eds. 30, the Company again selling to the wine lessees 
 as much as the latter required fur Eds. 100, thus making 
 a clear profit on each leaguer of Eds. 70. No wonder that 
 afterwards — 25th of August, 1099 — the lessees complained 
 of serious losses caused by their being undersold lij- the 
 smugglers, who did not hesitate to convey their contra- 
 band liquor even into the Castle itself, and sell it there 
 to the garrison and others. To su^jpress this evil, severe 
 ordinances were enacted (Journal, September 17, 1699).'|" 
 
 • On tlie 2:1(1 uf July. 1G99, the Coinicil inforiiud the Uottcidfliu 
 CKaiiibi.T that laL-h Iti.vlollar ronlistd at IIil' Cape forty-tijiht stivers 
 li'uvv, and bixty stivers light money, and that it pa^SL-d current at 
 that.' 
 
 t In tlie instructions of Gfivemor S. van der Stel, aliove quoted, men- 
 tion is made of the liabits of some settlers abandoning their grants, 
 
 L
 
 1 JO Ranihha tJiroiKjh the Arcliivas of 
 
 The g;irrisoii, inclu(lin<;' many stationed in the country 
 and on tlie vessels, consisted of only 751 men, who never 
 had much to spend, or advances to do]teiid upon, althoup;h 
 Konie of them were so the slaves of drink that they even 
 sold the clo hing ott" their backs to satisfy their ruling 
 ]>assion, thus cninpelling the Council to issue an ordinance 
 on the 31st of July, 1G99, forbidding all under heavy 
 penalties to buy any clothing* from servants of the Com- 
 pany and from slaves, unless they were provided with a 
 written ])ermission ; whilst at the sauie time it was enacted 
 that sellers of liquor were not allowed to give credit, and 
 that sailors and soldiers were not bound to pay any debts 
 so incurred. 
 
 The whole adult European pojiulation, not servants of 
 the Company, at this period consisted of 414 men and 207 
 women, the number of male slaves being 536, and of vine 
 stocks 1,054,100. 
 
 A large quantity of wine was certainlj^ consumed by the 
 passing ships, but considering the amount paid for the 
 licenses, and the flourishing trade of the smugglers, the 
 consumption must have been enormous in order to leave a 
 margin of profit to the lessees ; especially when it is borne 
 
 and asking for otlicis. If we refer to the instructions of the Lord of 
 M ydrecht, it will be found that he considei ed tlie very large number 
 of small tenements built near the beach and Castle, and occupied by 
 persons selling wine and spiiituous liquors, as neither useful nor 
 ornamental, and wi.^lu d not only that they should be removed, as no 
 buildings were to be allowed on tJiat sjiot — though no effect seems to 
 have been given to thatonler — but tliat the occupants should be sent to 
 Ptellenboseh to eain a respectable living thereby becoming agriculturists. 
 No satisfactory results, however, seem to have been secured by bin), ns 
 Cape wine had its attiai'tions arid smuggling its great advantages ; for 
 on the 17th of April, IG'.Kj, the Council decided to inflict a fine of f.lOOO 
 on every convicted ^muggler of Cape wine, and compel him to sell his 
 landid ]iro|)erty and proceed to Stelleiibosch and Drakcnstein, to farm 
 on ground to be given him tliere; and should he be iinable to pay the 
 fine, to condem liini to wurk at the public wurks fur the amount. 
 
 * The seller, if found guilty, to be a convict for a year, and tlie 
 buyer to forfeit Rds. 200 for lach oftence, and likewise the clothing 
 bought by him. Any oflicer convicted of this crime would Ije cash- 
 iered, d< clnred unworthy of holding any position whatever in the 
 service, and in addititm would forfeit the sum of Rds. 200.
 
 the Colony of tlie Cape of Good Hope. 147 
 
 ill mind that an entirely separate license was re'inirecl, 
 and held by a different lessee for the sale of all spirits, 
 such license being likewise annually offered to public com- 
 petition. This year (1699) it had realised £l(J27, whilst 
 an additional sum of £459 6s. 8cL had also been paid for 
 the sole privilege of selling European and Cape beer. 
 
 Bxit the licensed victualler of that period had, inde- 
 pendently of his legitimate profits, also adopted a conve- 
 nient, if not very honest, method of adding to them, and 
 so covering every conceivable loss. This had already 
 been commented on in 1685 by Commissioner E. van 
 Goens, junior, who, by the promulgation of an edict, 
 endeavoured to remove the evil, but evidently without 
 success, for Commissioner Heyns now felt himself like- 
 wise called upon to comVtat it by the renewal of the same 
 (ordinance, and by drawing attention to its heavy penalties. 
 
 He says that the Hon. Eyckloff van Goens had to his 
 great annoyance discovered that tajtpers and other selfish 
 ])eople had adopted the nefarious practice of appraising 
 the coin imported here from the Fatherland far below its 
 value, and only accepted it at a heavy discount, so that 
 the ships' crews and the general public were forced to lose 
 from 17 to 20 per cent, on exchange; that this not only 
 caused bitter complaints, but was directly contrary to the 
 well-established laws of the land ; and that, therefore, to 
 prevent the fraud, notice was given to every one calling 
 at the Ca^ie^ that all coin which had been issued from the 
 mint of the mother-country had and retained the same 
 value here as in India, viz. : 
 
 Tho golflcn sovereign was equal to 15 heavy guilders. 
 The lialf ditto ditto 7i ditto. 
 
 Tlie golden dui-at ditto 5 ditto. 
 
 The doul)lo ditto ditto 10 ditto. 
 
 The ailver dncatoon was eriual to 10 sk. and ,3 st. luttvij nionev. 
 
 Tho threo-giiildor piece ditto 10 ditto ditto. 
 
 Tlie half ditto ditto 5 ditto ditto. 
 
 The dollar ditto ditto .5 ditto ditto. 
 
 The guiltier ditto ditto 20 stivers ditto. 
 
 Tlie eight-stiv( r pitcc ditto 8 ditto ditto. 
 
 The twenty-eight ditto ditto 28 ditto ditto. 
 
 Tiie three-stiser piece ditto 8 ditto ditto. 
 
 I, '1
 
 148 Rambles through the Archives of 
 
 And that all, henceforth offeiiding against this placcnat, 
 would 1)0 fined Kds. 25 for the first, IMs. 50 for the second, 
 and lids. 100 for the third offence, in addition to arbitrary 
 punishment ; the Fiscal being at the same time advised to 
 keep his ayes open.* 
 
 The object which the Commissioner had in view with 
 the new conditions of lease was, as stated in his report to 
 the directors, to establish a permanent revenue equally 
 borne by all for the protection and security of the whole 
 community. He was convinced in his own mind that the 
 Company had the right of levying a tax of some sort to 
 meet its hea%'y^ expenses at the Cape, and also that very 
 many irregularities had crept into the leasing system, 
 which required iuimediate attention in order to benefit the 
 revenue. This object, he thought, could be attained by no 
 longer leaving the wine-license in the hands of one person 
 alone, but by subdividing it into four parts. On the 31st 
 of August, 1698, it had been given to Steven Vermey, 
 freeman, for f. 13,875 Cape currency (or £925), with the 
 condition that he alone would have the right to tap and 
 sell ; but this arrangement had been found to be a great 
 hardship and injustice to the other citizens ; and therefore 
 the Commissioner introduced his plan, which bad fully 
 answered his expectations, and, as he believed, would 
 everj' year produce more favourable results. 
 
 It is to be regretted that these too sanguine hopes w'ere 
 never again realised, as means were, as usual found by 
 tliose interested, to frustrate his object, notwithstanding 
 every effort of the Governor to provide for all contin- 
 gencies ; whilst the conditions themselves finally became 
 a fruitfxxl source of evil to Governor AVillem A. van der 
 Stel, and especially to his successor, Louis van Assenburgh, 
 as we shall see further on. 
 
 The junior members of the Civil Service at that time 
 
 * In July and August of tlie same year the Town Council of Amster- 
 dam and tlie States-General issued notices warninp; the public iigainst 
 tlie ligbt coin wliich was circulating in Holland, and was similar tu that 
 of the mints of Nyracgen, Zutphen, and Doventer, of the years IGDO 
 ami 1C91. The skidings, supposed to be worth five-aud-a-hulf stivers, 
 really bad only the value of three stivers and four ptnuingen.
 
 the Colomj of the Cape of Good Hope. 149 
 
 consisted of sixteen young clerks, who were always busily 
 employed, but unfortunately without a caterer to provide 
 for them, as was the custom in India. Every one there- 
 fore had to. do the best he coul I by finding board and 
 lodging with private families. This sj'stem, however, was 
 found to be so expensive that the four reals paid them for 
 bfjard were totally inadequate for the purpose, food being 
 very dear, and thoy having no means of their own to make 
 up the deficiency. The consequence was that they ran 
 intu debt in spite of themselves ; that some had accord- 
 ingly no home, and often only a piece of dry bread to eat 
 and a little water to drink, and hence too weak and ill-fed 
 to do the wurk properly which was required of them. This 
 evil the Commissioner determined to remedy by the ap- 
 pointment of a caterer. He was to be a married man, 
 residing within the Fort, and his first duty was to prevent 
 the young men from running out, and keep them at hand 
 as much as possible, when a great deal of work required 
 their presence at their desks. He was also to lay the 
 table fur them twice daily, and provide it with good 
 nourishing burgher food, and at least three times weekly 
 with mutton or btef, viz., at 11 a.m. and G p.m. The table 
 was to last half-an-hour. 
 
 The young men were to be punctual and to proceed to 
 the table together. Those airiving after the hour the 
 caterer was not bound to serve ; they would be obliged 
 to wait till the next meal. The caterer alone would be 
 allowed to draw their board-money, and no unmarried 
 clerks would be permitted to board outside the Fort with 
 any freeman, unless ho was the member of a family resi- 
 dent in the town. 
 
 They were likewise to behave themselves properly at 
 table, and before and after dinner proper prayers were to 
 be said. Those misbehaving, or taking the Lord's name 
 in vain, uttering abusive speech, or fighting at tahle, wem 
 to be severely rei)rinianded by the caterer, ami if deaf to 
 his admonitions, reported to the Governor through the 
 Political Secretary. 
 
 They were likewise not to lodge with any freemen, but 
 in their rooms, and according to their rank, above the
 
 150 Ramlles through the Archives of 
 
 apothecaiy's warehoiiso, until the Governor deemed it 
 necessary to make other arraiij;einent8. 
 
 Twice weekly — on Sundays and Thursdays — they were 
 to receive their rations either of ordinary or Canary wine 
 at dinner, and at tlie rate of one tankard (liter) of Cape 
 wine, or half-a-tankard of Canary for three persons 
 (Instructions, 168(3-1 722 j. 
 
 Having performed the duties entrusted to him, the 
 Commissioner embarked in state, and left with the fleet 
 for Europe on the 20th of March (1(599). 
 
 I 
 
 4
 
 the Colony of the Cnpe of Gool Hope. l.'»l 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 On Thursday, the 16th of December, 1677, the Rev. Petrus 
 Hulsenaar, who had for less than two years been a beloved 
 minister of religion to the Cajie congregation, a man of 
 gentle ways and unassuming habits, departed this life, to 
 the great sorrow of the community, " which," as the 
 chronicler adds, " truly lost a great deal by his deatli." 
 But as it had already become absolutely necessary to 
 remove the old church within the Castle, its site being 
 required for other puri)oses, and to transfer to another 
 spot the dead — all of tliem during their lives persons of 
 quality and position, and buried in the surrounding grave- 
 yard, which was much higher than the church itself — the 
 Governor and Council decided that no dead should hencf- 
 forth be buried there ; but that a new site for a churcli and 
 churchyard should be marked off in the old abandoned 
 garden, originally laid out l>y Commander van Kiebeeek, 
 and for the present merely enclosed with a wall ; and that 
 afterwards a neat little church shoixld be built in its 
 centre. For the jiresent, however, it was merely to serve 
 as a burial-ground for p)ersons of position and Europeans 
 of humbler grades, who would be allowed to buy at iixed 
 rates such graves as they required lor themselves or their 
 families. 
 
 The first person buried there was the deceased minister 
 mentioned, and from that date it became and remained a 
 graveyard for the burial of Europeans until the other 
 adjoining Somerset Head was laid out in the time of 
 Governor L'yk Tulbagh ( licsulntions, 21st of June, 
 \7b')).* 
 
 * Tlic awful niimbir of doatlis caiiscil by tlie Hiimll-pox had so fiUid 
 the friaveviinl around tlio church that tlio (."oiincil lonnd it nt ccssnry 
 to cover the wliole with a very thick layer of fresh earth. Bureau 
 Street, and the portion of Gnue Street hitsvieii rurlianieiit Hnuse and 
 tlie lower end of the M]uare arc 8ituate<l on jvirtiona of tlie oul 
 Cemetery, lltnce the naiue of Grave Street.
 
 1.32 Raiuhles through tJie Archives of 
 
 1 iiriDg the stay here of the Commissioner it was hrouglit 
 to his notice by the Rev. Kaklen and the Cape Consistory 
 that the old garden had been converted into a graveyard. 
 
 The same minister and church officers sliortly after- 
 wards, in a memorial dated the 8th of June, 1699, and ad- 
 dressed to the Governor and Council, menticmed that the 
 h'ev. Kalden had personally and very strongly re]:)resen ted 
 to the Commissioner the urgent necessity of building a 
 new church, and that the Hon. Mr. Heyns had given the 
 Consistory full authority to do so, the Governor and 
 Council having been strongly urged by him to render 
 the fullest assistance possilde, without which any eflort 
 of the Consistory would prove futile. The Consistory 
 therefore prayed for the Conncil's permission to commence 
 the work, at least the wall around the graveyard, and 
 also that they might be declared entitled to the proceeds 
 derivable from graves, bier, and pall. Their re(juest was 
 granted, and not only were they permitti d to begin the 
 building, but, as the graveyard was lying open, they were 
 authorised to enclose it with a wall, receiving at the same 
 time the promise of the Company's cordial co-operation. 
 
 Hence we read in the Journal of the 28th of December, 
 1700:— 
 
 " The foundations of the church (the churchj'ard being 
 already provided with a good wall) having on exami- 
 nation been found to be very bad and too confined, new 
 foundations Wfre marked off by the Consistory, of a proper 
 depth and width, that a suitable edifice might be raised 
 on them in the form of an octagon ; and in order to further 
 this pious work, the Governor (W. A. van der Stel) this 
 day laid the first stone, some of the Councillors following 
 his example." 
 
 In the general despatch of the loth of March, 1699, 
 which accompanied the Commissioner on his homeward 
 voyage, and briefly enumerated the most important events 
 during the preceding twelve mouths, mention is made of
 
 the Colony of the Ciqje of Good Hoiye. 153 
 
 the wreck of the Company's new ship, Het Huts te Craycn- 
 stein, beyond Camp's Bay, ntar Oude Kraal. 
 
 i A few years aj^o a late resident of this Peninsnla re- 
 
 covered some of the Lrass gnns and other cxiritjsities, but 
 
 } I am not aware that hitherto much has been known of 
 
 that vessel or the causes of her misfortune. 
 
 On the 28th of May, 1G08, the Council wrote to 
 Amsterdam as follows : — 
 
 " To our great sorrow the Huis te Crayenstein, which 
 left Holland on the 1st of February last, after a quick 
 voyage and without any sick or dead, ran yesterday 
 (27th of May) on the rocks beliind the Lion's Head, 
 just below the 'red sand' (Oude Kraal), as the ski])per, in 
 consequence of tlie heavy mist, did not know that he 
 w'as so near the land. Information of the disaster 
 was brought to the Cape by a French vessel which had 
 pi'ked up the boat with the skipper on board, and was 
 making for Table Bay in company of the Craycnstein. 
 Becalmed during the day, a heavy[mist enshrouded her at 
 nightfall, and in spite of every effort to prevent it by 
 casting anchor, the strong current gradually but surely 
 carried her towards the rocks on which she finally struck. 
 ]\Ieasures were at once taken to send the re<pnred assistance, 
 and save the specie and cargo. Out of nineteen chests 
 of money sixteen were recovered, the rest had evidently 
 been broken open and the contents hurriedly abstracti^d, 
 as was evident from the few pieces found Ij'ing about 
 in the saloon and others picked up on shore, showing that 
 the thieves must have carried tlieir booty up the mountain 
 and ]ii(Klen it there. Tired and exhausted the Commis- 
 shmvvii—Secunde Elsevier being one of them — returned, 
 and, having told tlicir disheartening tale, the Governor 
 S. van der Stel decided to jiay a persmial visit to the 
 wreck. He left on the nuirniiig uf the 21'th of ^lay, but
 
 154 Ra miles ihrough the Archives of 
 
 as the road l)eliiii(l the kLjof was impassable to him either 
 on foot or on horseback, and lie was already- advanced in 
 years, he was obliged to turn back to the Castle, unable to 
 do more than issue the necessary orders." 
 
 Regarding the missing money-chests he wrote — 
 
 " That two of them were supposed to have been torn from 
 their cleats, and, in consequence of the bumping of the ship, 
 thrown into the gunner's room, and so had slid through 
 the ports into the sea.* The third had been broken open 
 and plundered by some wicked persons, who likewise 
 hacked open the drawers of the saloon tables and threw 
 overboard the ship's pay-books, which were afterwards 
 with great difficulty recovered by the skipper and junior 
 merchant." 
 
 The frigate Soldaat stationed here at the time, and 
 fitted out for a slave expedition to Madagascar, was at 
 once made ready to proceed to Batavia instead, with as 
 many of the crew of the Crayenstein asslie could accommo- 
 date, and with such remnants of the cargo as had been 
 saved. As usual, an investigation was held and the papers 
 were sent to Batavia ; but the High Government there 
 evidently did not share the lenient views of the Cape 
 Council, for the following severe verdict was given by its 
 Court of Justice on the 30th of November, 1698 : — 
 
 " Jan van de V \ ver, skif)^)er ; Jacob Brun, chief mate ; 
 Francois Mortier, junior mate ; and Joost van Breen, third 
 watch — all in the service of the Company, and appointed 
 to the Crayenstein, lost through their carelessuess at the 
 Cape, are sentenced as follows : The skipper and chief 
 mate are deprived of office, rank, and pay, declared unfit 
 henceforth to serve the Company in any employment 
 whatever, and are condemned each one in solidum to refund 
 
 * If this has really been the case, thcv are most likely lying there 
 still.
 
 the Colony of the Ccq^e of Good Iloi^e. 155 
 
 the loss of the vessel and its cargo ; both to be valued by 
 
 trustworthy appraisers. 
 
 " And should any one of them singly pay the whole 
 amount, the other shall be discharged. 
 
 " Jacob Brun (? Fran9ois Morticr) is suspended from 
 office, rank, and pay for a j'car from this day. 
 
 " All the defendants are further declared to have earned 
 no salary from the 1st of February thitj year, the day on 
 which they sailed away. 
 
 " The other claims of the Prosecutor are not entertained, 
 and the defendants are condemned to pay all the costs. 
 
 (Signed ly) " Wouter YalckexiI':r, President of 
 the Court of Justice ; Daniel 
 Heyns, Vice - President ; and 
 W. Ten Riiyne, Isaac IIociie- 
 riEi), TiiEOD. Zas, Johan van 
 Keulen, and Eyckloff Michael 
 VAN Goens, Members." 
 
 Since the estalilishment of the Coluny, the hospital had 
 always been situated near the beach, to the north-west of 
 the Castle, and hence not only in consequence of its 
 unhealthy position, jcH)iiardising the lives of the unfortu- 
 nate patients, but in times of war 2)re.senting a favourable 
 rami)art for the enemy during an attack on the Fort. A 
 new hospital, described as a s(piare cross, Avas accordingly 
 built on the most apiiroved jirinciplcs of the time ; and, 
 judging from the description given by \ alentyn, not only 
 one of the most imposing buildings of the little town, but, 
 even aceording to the testimony of such an unwilling 
 witness as Kolbe, most carefully attended to by the 
 Governor in person. 
 
 The regulations for its management drawn up by his 
 father weie approved of b}' the Seventeen, as good and 
 to the purpose (see Imlnuiions, 1G80-17212}, although 
 some years later considered too cumbrous for practical
 
 156 Baiidiles through the Archives of 
 
 purposes by Commissioner C. J. Simons, ex-Governor of 
 Ceylon, wlio had served here as Fiscal Independent from 
 1690 to 1694, and who wished them to be simplified. 
 (See his Instructions, 19th of April, 1708.) 
 
 But whatever imperfections characterised these rules, 
 both father and son endeavoured by their strict observance 
 to secure the proper care and comfort of the sick, and 
 such a superintendence as would effectually prevent the 
 sufferers from being robbed of their daily sustenance and 
 luxuries. This labour of love Willem van der Stel took 
 upon himself personally, and the testimony that he did 
 so, is the more valuable, because it proceeds from an un- 
 grateful enemy, hostile to him without the slightest cause, 
 and one who had received nought but favours from his 
 generous hands. 
 
 One of the grievances against Governor Simon van der 
 Stel a few years later, when the clouds were thickly 
 gathering around the head of his devoted son, was, that 
 he had endeavoured to alter the outlet of the Salt River. 
 It is remarkable that such a charge could have been 
 noticed for a moment, for even if the effort had been com- 
 pletely unsuccessful, or the work intended to be accom- 
 plished, impracticable — a question which has hitherto 
 not been settled, because never again considered by com- 
 petent judges — no serious loss could have resulted to the 
 Company, as he always had labour at his disposal, and 
 liked neither sailor, soldier, nor slave to idle away his 
 time. But in the despatch of the 18th of March, 1699, 
 he gives the reasons for making the attempt, and if he 
 did not succeed, it will be readily granted that he de- 
 served to do so. Many years before his appointment, the 
 elder Van Goens had already started the idea of cutting 
 a canal from Table to False Bay, utilising for that pur- 
 pose the rivulets on the Isthmus as far as possible. The 
 undertaking, however, was finally abandoned, not because 
 of its impracticability, but because the returns exj^ected 
 would not cover the heavy outlay. 
 
 Table Bay has had until lately, and unfortunately so, 
 the world-wide celebrity of being a most dangei'ous 
 harbour durino- the winter months. The sad stories of
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 157 
 
 the shipwrecks and losses of life, as the Archives tell thera, 
 are fearful and heartrending ; whiLt many of those who 
 are alive this day will still rememlicr scenes witnessed by 
 them, as heartrending as any of those contained in the 
 old manuscripts. Without a dock for sheltering the ships, 
 without any funds to build one, witli the prospect every 
 winter day before his eyes that suddenly in one moment 
 of time the whole East India fleet, with its precious car- 
 goes, and still more precious lives, might be hurled on the 
 treacherous sands of the Salt Kiver beach — the Comjiany 
 losing its wealth, and its servants their lives, a sight 
 which, to use his own words, " had been often seen ere 
 now" — the idea struck him, because the mouth of the 
 Salt Kiver had been suddenly blocked up with sand — the 
 stream discharging itself into the sea over a rocky ridge 
 — to visit the spot with some of the Councillors (10th of 
 May, lG98j and search for a convenient place for a new 
 outlet, a quarter of an hour beyond the old mouth, and in 
 a line with the wreck of the Hooger Gcvst. 
 
 Soon he had the cutting deep enough to enable the 
 boats to sail out and in, and reach a large and shallow 
 land-locked pool, in which light vessels could be easily 
 repaired ; and judging from tiie results achieved, he ex- 
 pected that in times of storms the canal itself would not 
 only prove to be a safe place of shelter for such boats as 
 passed between the ships and the shore, and which, if cast 
 on the beach at the Salt Eiver in a north-western gale, 
 would perish with their occupants ; but he was likewise of 
 opinion that heavy floods would eventually so deepen and 
 clear out the cutting that it would become capable of 
 aflbrding shelter to the biggest shi])s. 
 
 On the oOth of July, IG'JB, the Council, at the sugges- 
 tion of the Covernor, considered the necessity of making 
 provision for the protection of all kinds of game, whicli, 
 as the number of colonists was increasing rapidly, were 
 being indiscriminately slaughtered, wasted, or given away 
 to foreigners. Accordingly a very stringent placcaat on 
 the subject was issued. 
 
 Agriculture being now more diligently pursued by the 
 farmers, and more lauds sown than ever before, the
 
 158 Ramhles throiujh the Archives of 
 
 Governor naturally conclmled that the raising of crops 
 would develop in steady proportion to the increase of the 
 population. But thou^-h the seeds sprang forth abun- 
 dantly and healthily, as soon as the ear developed in the 
 stalk, and the grain was commencing to ripen, they were 
 fatally injured by the many ])lagues to which the Cape 
 lands are subject ; the hard, barren, and parching south- 
 east winds, continuous droughts, scorching heat, caterpillar 
 and smut. (Despatch to Batavia, September, 1699.) Many 
 farmers were therefore unable in 1699 to produce enough 
 grain for bread and seed, for what the wind and drought 
 had spared in the low-lying lands and valloj-s was later 
 on washed away or drowned by the cold rains which fell 
 towards the end of the year, " when the drought broke 
 up." About 690 muids of wheat had been sown and 4226 
 muids reaped, or little more than six fold. The yield of 
 rye had been the same, whilst barley returned about nine 
 fold. 
 
 It had therefore become of the utmost importance that 
 the newly-arrived (xovernor should at once, with his 
 Council, take decisive measures to prevent a possible 
 bread famine. 
 
 The returns showed that 3000 muids of wheat had been 
 raised less than the year before, whilst annually 2400 
 were required exclusively for the garrison and hospital, 
 independent of the quantity necessary for the ships, the 
 people, and their slaves. 
 
 The first step taken in Council was to instruct its 
 ( N)mmissioners entrusted with the collection of the returns, 
 tliat they should earnestly advise tlie producers to rectify 
 the errors made by them, and so spare the (^ouncil the 
 pain of adopting measures to compel them to do so. P'or 
 those times were not like the i)resent, when in cases of 
 necessity, bread stuffs could be ordered at once from the 
 furthest ends of the earth, and be hei'e in good season. 
 At that time the failure of the hardest meant the failure 
 of tlie bread supply, and the certainty of a bread famine, 
 without the slightest prospect of being able to meet the 
 emergency by importations from abroad. 
 
 It was therefore natural that the Govern t and Council,
 
 tlie Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 159 
 
 ill order to lie sure of ;i bujiply on which to fall back in 
 case of necesity, decided to detain all corn passing the 
 Fort, and to distribute two or three muids at a time 
 among snch bnrghers as required them, and fintlier, to 
 prevent fraud, to order that a list of the latter should be 
 framed, and likewise of the quantities brought by them 
 to the mill, that both might be checked, and the wheat 
 on hand economised in the best jiossible manner, until 
 the following harvest. 
 
 But to do so effectively, it was also necessary to forbid 
 by edict the custom which had been imperceptibly grow- 
 ing among some farmers, of distilling brandy from their 
 corn, without previously inquiring whether the harvest 
 had produced enough for the wants of the public. And 
 the Governor was at the time the more justified in doing 
 so, because no corn had as yet been brought from the 
 country, and the granaries at the Cape w^ere empt}', 
 wdiilst the heavy vine-crop, though injured by locusts and 
 other insects, had produced sufficient grape-juice to satisfy 
 even the most unreasonable. 
 
 All these precautious fully answered the Governor's 
 expectations, and on the l(3th of March, 1699, he was able 
 to inform the directors that — 
 
 " He trusted that he would be able to get along with 
 the year's harvest, as according to the (corrected) returns 
 a fair quantity of corn had been reported, and that he 
 hojied that it would be found even larger when the whole 
 had been threshed." 
 
 Nor were tlie directors liackward in approving of the 
 course that had lieen pursued. The placcaat forbidding- 
 distillation from grain they called a useful measure, as 
 more grain would in consequence be saved for ships' 
 biscuits, especially when the harvest proved a failure. 
 It seemed to tlieni that the com]iaratively small quantity 
 of wheat raised, was not to be ascribed to natural causes, 
 but mainly to the small number of agriculturists, and 
 therefore, after having requesteil tlie (Jovernor to com- 
 municate to them his opinion of the new conditions of
 
 160 Rimhles through the Archives of 
 
 the wine-lease introduced by Commissioner Heyns, tliey 
 wished him to say also — 
 
 " Whether he would like to have more freemen, in order 
 the better to further the work of the Colony ; what 
 number would for the present be required, or could find a 
 living thei'e and prosper ; what kind of people would be 
 most serviceable, and further to mention any other matter 
 that might favourably affect the Colony and be of advan- 
 tage to the Company, that they might consider the matter, 
 and make arrangements accordingly." 
 
 In January, 1694, the shij) Bidderschap had left the 
 Cape for Batavia, having on board Cornelis van der Stel, 
 a son of the Governor. Not being heard of in due 
 course of time, it was at first supposed that, like the 
 Gouden Draak and other vessels, she tuight have been lost 
 on the shores of the Southland (Australia). Later on, 
 information was received from two slaves who arrived at 
 the Cape in the English brigantine Swift, that she had 
 been wrecked at Madagascar and pillaged by pirates, who, 
 during their stay on that island, had spent a large sum in 
 Zealand dollars. It was also said that a jiortion of these 
 j)irates were Dutchmen, but the majority French and 
 English ; and that at the time their number was supposed 
 to have been about 500 or GOO (a few years later, in 1705, it 
 had increased to the formidable figure of 1500 able-bodied 
 men) who had fortified themselves in three different 
 localities. The cajitain of the Stcift also reported that for 
 three years no Arab (slave) dealers had been at Manen- 
 gare or Magelase, and that therefore the ('ompany might 
 do a good business there, but that firelocks, powder, and 
 flints were required. That Captain Kidd (see UowelVs 
 State Trials, 1701, No. 416) was lying with his ship, 
 carrying thirty guns and fully 200 men, in St. Augustin 
 Bay, where he had beached his vessel, having found her 
 unsea worthy , and that he was longing for an opportunity 
 to get away. 
 
 Every attempt, however, to obtain trustworthy in-
 
 tlie Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 161 
 
 formation regarding young Van der Stel had failed. One 
 report stated that he was alive and at the court of one of 
 the Malagasy kings, Cin-Cive* " whose father or kingdom 
 was known as Amosse, or Marosse, the j)lace where the 
 English obtained their slaves;" hence when the frigate 
 Soldaat was despatched thither in 1G97 for a cargo of 
 slaves, the officers were instructed to make a diligent 
 search, and to bring back the survivors, Avhether they were 
 willing to come or not. Another, and a similarly fruitless 
 attempt was made in 1699, when the yacht Tamhoer was 
 sent on a slave expedition to the same island, and whose 
 captain, Jan Coin, on his return, gave an interesting narra- 
 tive of his adventures, a portion of which may well be 
 adduced to prove the adage that " truth is always strange ; 
 stranger than fiction." 
 
 Wo give it here briefly : — 
 
 " Having been ordered to proceed in search of the miss- 
 ing ship De mdderschaj), and obtain information regarding 
 the New Netherland pirates, we left Table liny on the 2nd 
 of May, 1G99, and on the 27th of June following anchored 
 
 * The following letter was written to him hy Governor W. A. van 
 der Stel : — " Whereas two of your slaves, who arrived here in the 
 English sliip Siri/t on the 11th of January last year, and whieh again 
 left on tlie 28tli of the same mouth for New York, informed us that 
 the Duteh ship De liitJikrsclKip had breu wrecketl on your coasts, and 
 that the English had taken out aud transferred the cargo to tlieir own 
 ships, and that my brotlier Cornells van tier iStel and his slave Damon 
 liad been ado2)tLd by you, and hsid the good fortune of daily going in 
 and out of your palace, guarded with nine or ten musketeers of our 
 own nation; and that you were pleased to wiiie twice to my father 
 here — the English ship iSwift having taken tlie last letter ; — and 
 whereas neither letter lias arrived here, and the news has, therefore, 
 surprised us; and whereas wo do not believe it to be a mere fabrica- 
 tion of the slaves; we have, therefore, in order to know the who'e 
 truth, sent this vessel to you with the kind request, that, should tlie 
 case be as stated by the two slaves, ami my brother and any of the 
 peojile be still alive, to send ail buck to us in this vessel. By doing so 
 a particular favour will be shown to the directors of the Hon. East 
 India Coin])any imd ourselves, and wo shall evi r endeavour to repay 
 you for your kind treatment of our brother as a friend and ueiglilwur. 
 
 (Signetl) " W. A. van jjei; Si el. 
 '• Juii^lSth, IGUO." 
 
 U
 
 162 Bamhles through the Archives of 
 
 about three-and-a-half leagues below the bay Tullinare, 
 where a Frenchman and seven blacks informed us that 
 they had been sent to us by their king, Captain Sannich or 
 Samuel, On the 3rd of July we reached, and anchored in 
 that bay, before the demolished French fort The Dauphin, 
 a pistol-shot away from the shore. I at once sent a letter, 
 written in English, to the king, informing him of the reason 
 of my visit. From information received from various Euro- 
 peans who had long wandered about in the neighbourhood, 
 I discovered that I was on the right spot as regarded the 
 pirates. Four years ago heavy pieces of wreckage had 
 been washed up on the south side of Madagascar, near the 
 island St. Mary, but no human beings had heen seen ; 
 whilst about seven or eight leagues to the north of Tolli- 
 nare Baj^ heavy masts had been thrown on the beach, 
 where also fourteen graves had been found ; but no one 
 could tell who made or occupied them. This was all that 
 I could discover about the Bidderschap. 
 
 " We found the principal rendezvous of the pirates who 
 frequented the Indian seas to be at the island St. Mary, 
 before the bay of Antongil, in about 17^ south latitude, 
 and where they could winter and rej^air their ships. 
 Various Europeans lived there, and were driving a big 
 trade with the ships coming from New York and New 
 Netherland, New England and the Bermudas. On the 
 inner side of the island there is a good harbour, hardly a 
 musket-shot broad at the entrance, with a sandy bottom, 
 and a depth of about six fathoms. There is no fort 
 on it, but forty or fifty guns lie scattered about on the 
 ground. 
 
 " In this harbour lay various wrecks of pirate ships, 
 among them those of the Moorish vessels which these free- 
 booters had captured. One was a large ship brought
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. If];] 
 
 hither by Captain Colvert, and captured by him on the 
 coast of Malabar, near St. John, about eight or ten months 
 ago. He had beached and scuttled her. Sbe was hardly 
 three years old, and still lay with her masts and yards on 
 high, but with no one to look after her. 
 
 " Then there was also the wreck of the ship commanded 
 by the notorious pirate, William Kidd, who had visited 
 the place more than ten months ago, with a Moorish prize 
 laden with piece goods, in order to take in supplies, and 
 buy slaves for the West Indies. He arrived here with a 
 Royal Commission to cajiture the pirates, but instead of 
 doing so, he adopted the same trade. 1 had seen him two 
 years ago on the Malabar coast, during a voyage from 
 Persia to Batavia, cruising off Capo de Porcos. He then 
 had two Moorish prizes with him. 
 
 " The distance of St. Mary from the mainland is hardly 
 two leagues. Everywhere the anchorage is good. The 
 channel can be entered from both sides of the island with 
 out any danger, and just as the wind is at the time. The 
 natives are very quick and daring with their arms, and 
 number about 500, They have an Englishman among 
 them named Edward Welch, whom they call their little 
 king, and who, when the real king falls short in his supjjly 
 of slaves to the ships, proceeds to the mainland with a 
 number of his black subjects, and there seizes as many 
 natives as he requires, the latter offering but little 
 resistance. Hence he generally returns with a large 
 booty. 
 
 " For his own protection, the king has near his house on 
 a hillock, about a mile away from the harbour, a fort 
 enclosed with palisades, and mounted with eighteen guns. 
 
 "Six miles south of this island runs the river P>ona 
 \\ alia, whither many so-called privateers, or, if called by 
 
 II 2
 
 164 Hamhhs tlirmigh the Archives of 
 
 their right name, pirates, proceed to refit, if dismasted in 
 the hurricanes of January and February. It is said that 
 masts snitaljle for the largest European ships can be 
 obtained there. They are tough, light, and durable, with- 
 out any knots. 
 
 " There are no harbours between this river and Tolli- 
 nare, and there is no protection whatever for any vessel 
 on that part of the coast, which is very rocky, with a dead 
 lee-shore the whole year through. 
 
 " I received, in reply to mine, three letters successively 
 from King Samuel, permitting me to take as much water 
 and fuel as I required, and whatever more I might want. 
 The rest he would bring personally when he came down to 
 the coast. He also sent two good oxen for our refreshment, 
 and apologised for not coming at once, as he had to call 
 his great men together in order to take charge of the 
 Government imtil his return. 
 
 " I, however, suspected his delaj's and excuses, seeing 
 
 and daily hearing of — as I did — their manner of life ; and 
 
 this distrust was confirmed by two Englishmen who lived 
 
 here apart, the one named Samuel Wilmot, and the other 
 
 Thomas Daniels. The latter had requested to speak to 
 
 me alone. I consented, and followed him to bis hut. He 
 
 there told me to be careful, because there was a conspiracy 
 
 among the Europeans, of whom King Samuel was the 
 
 chief, to seize our ship in any way possible. They had 
 
 taken a solemn oath to be true to one another, and the 
 
 king was at the moment not so far from us as we supposed. 
 
 He had 300 armed natives with him, well provided with 
 
 fire-arms, and many more armed with assegays, &c. He 
 
 also had twenty Europeans near his person, and fifteen 
 
 canoes lying ready in a branch of the river Imoer, and 
 
 not a quarter of a Dutch mile distant from our ship, in
 
 the Colonij of the Cape of Good Hope. IGo 
 
 order to surprise us during the night (I did not suspect as 
 much as all this), and if they failed in this, they intended 
 to cut our cables and let the ship drift on shore. The 
 natives would receive as their share every tiling in the 
 vessel, but the latter itself would become the property of 
 the Exirojjeans. 
 
 " We saw the result of these tactics in a ship named the 
 Jacob, commanded by Captain Francis. Her cables liad 
 been cut during the night, and she had accordingly 
 drifted on shore, where most of the crew had been 
 murdered. 
 
 " In the meanwhile I made the utmost haste to get my 
 fuel and water on board, as quietly as possible, working 
 day and night. And in order to delay the king a little 
 longer, I sent him a present, consisting of a good fire-lock, 
 sword, and umbrella (sammereel) as I did not expect much 
 good from a speedy arrival of himself. At that time I 
 had already heard that he had been captain of a pirate, 
 and still had many of his old crew around him. Three 
 days before our arrival he had been informed that two 
 privateers (pirates) might every moment be expected from 
 St. Mary. 
 
 " The two Englishmen further stated that they were not 
 sure of their own lives a single moment, and therefore re- 
 quested me to take them with me to Batavia. Having so 
 generously informed me of the treason that was being 
 hatched against us, wo readily complied with their 
 request, that you also might bo able to hear from 
 their own mouths, full particulars of the whole affair. 
 Samuel Wilmot, however, died eight days after our 
 departure. 
 
 " This king, or Captain Samuel, only arrived here twenty- 
 two months ago in a vessel called the JJin and lichcccn,
 
 166 Rambles through tlie Archives of 
 
 which had Leeu taken from the French in the West Indies, 
 and brought to New York by a person named Captain Orr, 
 who commanded a ship from New York to the Red Sea, 
 whence he brought a rich prize to St. Maiy. Shortly after 
 his arrival there, he died ; but whilst still alive, he had trans 
 ferred the command of his own vessel to Caj^tain Samuel, 
 who shortly afterwards arrived here at Tollinare, but 
 being badly provided with anchors and cables, the vessel 
 was stranded, and the wreck is still to be seen. Now it 
 must be borne in mind that whilst the French were still 
 in possession of the place, many years ago, a Frenchman 
 had a son by the king's daughter, but when they left they 
 took the boy with thorn. 
 
 " This Captain Samuel being well versed in both the 
 French and English languages ; a mistix (half-breed) by 
 birth, and from the island Martiuico in the West Indies, 
 was washing himself one day when he was seen by some 
 of the natives who noticed certain marks on his body 
 which were supposed to have been on that of the boy who 
 had been taken away. His mother was still alive, 
 although aged. When she heard of it, he was summoned 
 to her, and having been examined, she declared him to be 
 her own son and the true and only heir to the throne. He 
 was easily induced to accept the sitixation, considering the 
 position in which he was. The great men of the kingdom 
 rallied round him, and commenced a war against the reign- 
 ing king whom they overthrew. Samuel retained about 
 twenty or thirty of his old comrades as his bod_\ guard, 
 and was still daily carrying on war against the ex- 
 king, whom he called his younger brother Dimarung 
 Dimera. 
 
 " Being now already, as it seemed, tiied of his kingh' 
 office, having made good use of his good fortune when it
 
 tlui Colony of the Cape of Good Ilope. 107 
 
 fell in his way, lie was now endeavouring to retire thence 
 with a muffled drum * and his trusty followers. No better 
 ojiportunity offered itself to him than the drum {Tamhoer) 
 on his roadstead, which would have served his purjDose re- 
 markaljly well. But during the night of the 8th instant, 
 at 10 o'clock, we quietly weighed anchor and warped our- 
 selves out of the bay, having on board as much fuel and 
 water as would last us for more than two and a half 
 months, so that we silently departed with niuffled drum 
 (^Stillen trom) long before his arrival. f 
 
 " When fairly outside, we decided in Council that 
 nothing more could be done along the coast, as far as our 
 instructions went, and having only two months provisions 
 on board, to sail for Batavia. 
 
 " As the life is here of these 3Iessicurs, so is their death. 
 The money and chattels of the deceased are divided jjro 
 rata among the community (f?e gemci/nte) of Avhieh the 
 king considers himself one for the time being. When the 
 body has been placed in the grave, three volleys are fired 
 over it by the whole community, and even more, should 
 they be well provided with powder and lead. 
 
 " The natives in these parts are a very bold and robust 
 people, inhabiting a very pleasant and fruitful country, 
 overflowing, as it may well be said, with milk and honey. 
 "We received oxen on board weighing more than five and 
 six hundred pounds. Before this they could be obtained 
 for very little, but the j^irates spoilt the price, as now 
 fifteen Spanish dollars are asked for a bullock, which they 
 
 * It must be remembered that Coin's vessel was luuiied tlie Tcuuhocr, 
 w'bicli is Dutch for Drum ; he is therei'ore puuuiug when he speaks of 
 a miijjhd drum. 
 
 t This same king, Samuel, is also mentinnoil in the narrative of tha 
 son of Admiral Beubuw, brought from Madagascar to the Cape shorlly 
 afterwards.
 
 168 Rambles through the Archives of 
 
 sell among themselves for little or nothing. It is the 
 same with sheep, for they know of no money less than a 
 piece of eight or a vopya in payment for the least thing 
 which they might be requested to do for Your Honours. 
 
 " What a pity it is that such a blessed land should be 
 inhabited by such barbarous nations and subjected to the 
 government of such villains ! 
 
 (Signed) "J. Coin. 
 
 " Batavia, in the Castle. 
 
 "November 20, 1699." 
 
 He had, however, obtained no tidings of Cornelis van 
 der Stel, and finally, when in 1705 the yacht Ter Aa was 
 sent to the same island for the same purpose, the Governor 
 mentioned in the instructions given to the officers, that 
 various reports had confirmed him in the opinion that tlie 
 Bidderschap had been lost somewhere on the coast of 
 Madagascar, and that the last piece of information re- 
 ceived by him had been obtained from one of the Mauritius 
 garrison, who had heard from one of the pirates that had 
 called at that island that Cnrnelis van der Stel who had 
 left the Capo in the JRidderschap, with the rank of merchant, 
 had died four yeai's ago — that is, in 1701 — liaving until 
 his death always been near the king, and that the Honour- 
 able Councillor Extraordinary of India, Jacobus Couper, 
 who was likewise on board at the time, had been killed 
 by the natives. 
 
 No one, however, could describe the place where, or the 
 king in whoso dominion the vessel had been wrecked, but 
 all j)resumption pointed to Antandona, ruled over by king 
 Andian Maits, and situated in 13° south latitude. The 
 yacht was therefore ordered to be sure to proceed thither, 
 the Governor adding that one of the men on board — Jan 
 do Wit— was well acquainted with the locality and its 
 neighbourhood, and would be a trustworthy guide. But 
 the king was not to be trusted, as neither he nor his 
 people wished to trafle with Europeans or Christians, but 
 had a decided aversion to them. Every information ob-
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Ilope. 109 
 
 tained was to be carefully noted down, and every effort 
 made to discover whether there were still any survivors 
 from the ill-fated vessel, who — if found — were to be 
 brought to the Cape, whether voluntarily or otherwise. 
 
 Nothing further, however, was heard about the matter, 
 as with the sudden and unexpected recall of the Governor 
 thia mournful episode abruptly ends.
 
 170 EamUes tlirough the Archives of 
 
 CHArTEK XX. 
 
 On the 7tli of March, 1699, the Committee of the Seven- 
 teen informed the Political Council here that the sheep- 
 wool grown at the Cape was of such a good quality that 
 the Council would do well by sending over a large quan- 
 tity whenever it had an opportunity, and in the June fol- 
 lowing the Directors themselves wrote that they had 
 received from the Cape three pieces of sheepskin with the 
 wool attached. One they supposed to have belonged to a 
 Dutch sheep sent to the Cape. The wool on it was fairly 
 soft and serviceable, and of good marketable value. The 
 Directors believed that it might be obtained at 4 stivers 
 the pound, and that there would always be room enough 
 in the return fleet for 1000 or 1500 lbs. They there- 
 fore advised the Governor and Council to send home as 
 much as they could obtain on condition that the wool was 
 shorn from the sheep, properly cleaned and well washed, 
 dried and pressed in bales of 200 lbs. each. And they 
 further believed that the price obtainable in Holland 
 would be about 18 stivers per pound, and therefore expected 
 a fair profit from the venture, adding that — 
 
 " It was very remarkable that the wool of the Fatherland 
 sheep, sent to the Cape, improved so perceptibly by the 
 change of climate, and that therefore it stood to reason 
 that the wool of the Spanish sheep, should any of that 
 breed be sent, would likewise proportionate!}'' improve in 
 quality and value." 
 
 In reply, the Governor wrote on the 1st of November, 
 1699 :— 
 
 " We shall send you the Cape wool asked for, in as 
 largo a quantity as we can obtain. The necessary steps
 
 the Colonii of tlie Cape of Good Ilope. 171 
 
 have been taken for the purpose, aud the well-disposed 
 citizens induced to collect as much as possiLle and sell it 
 at a reasonable price to the Company ; although the quan- 
 tity will not be large at present, as the freemen have 
 hitherto paid no attention to it, because it was never 
 required, and the sheep here do not produce heavy 
 fleeces." 
 
 We shall have occasion to refer to this matter more 
 fully further on. For the present it will bo sufticient to 
 mention that the Governor used his best endeavours to in- 
 duce the people to breed wool-bearing sheep, but with 
 hardly any success. 
 
 Must of the animals obtainable were bastards, or a cross- 
 breed between the European and Cape sheep, and, as is 
 well known, for slaughtering jjurposes, preferred to every 
 other kind. It paid the breeder well always to have a 
 large stock of this sort on hand, especially as they suffered 
 less from drought and other afflictions, aud were more 
 easily kept in good condition. But they were unfit for 
 shearing, hence it is not surjjrising that most of the so- 
 called wool sent to Europe at that time, came from their 
 backs, and was rejected as useless and unsaleable, whilst 
 the little real avooI sliorn from a few pure-bred animals, 
 realised 14i stivers jier pound in Holland. So that the 
 Seventeen were emboldened to authorise their rejiresenta- 
 tives hero to buy at 8 stivers. 
 
 It proved, however, after every effort had been made by 
 the Governor, to create another condition of afiairs, that the 
 farmer's chief ambition was cmitred in raising slaughter- 
 sheep, and that of the three kinds he found the wool-bear- 
 ing animal tlie least suited to his purpose. It was of no 
 avail to tell him that a permanent and comfortable revenue 
 would be derivable from the merino; on that point, like 
 BO many others, he clung to his own opinion, and was im- 
 pervious to conviction. Nor were his prejudices confined 
 to his own times, as it is just possible tliat they may still 
 exist in more portions of South Africa and to a greater 
 extent than is imagined ; for, speaking from my own cxi)e-
 
 172 Rambles through the Archives of 
 
 rience in the north-western districts not twenty j-ears ago, 
 the prejudice against wool-bearing sheep was so great, that 
 nothing coukl induce a large number of sheep-owners to 
 excliango their fat-tailed favourites for the hideous-looking 
 too/, which they professed not even to be able to bear the 
 sight of. 
 
 Under such circumstances, the Governor believed that 
 he would act according to the wishes of the Directors, 
 especially after he had received the plot of ground, named 
 by him " Yergelegen," in freehold from Commissioner 
 Wouter Yalckenier, by buying i;p at a certain rate, from 
 such farmers as were willing to part with the few which 
 they had, all the wool-sheep that he could get, and form 
 them gradually into a breeding stock, so that in course of 
 time the Colony might export a large quantity of wool, 
 and a permanent and large additional income be secured 
 to the agriculturist. 
 
 He accordingly agreed to pay f.4 for every sheep so 
 obtained ; but some owners were only too glad to assist 
 him without stipulating any conditions, except the one, 
 that should his venture be successful, they were to receive 
 the number back again which they had lent. It is 
 immaterial for our present purpose to refer to the number 
 so obtained by him, but that it was his intention to add to 
 the wine and corn industries of the country the growth of 
 wool, is proved by his frequent requests transmitted to 
 Holland for Spanish sheep, and to India for goats from 
 different parts of Asia.* 
 
 His requests were partly complied with, some of the 
 animals sent out arrived safely ; but when everything 
 was in order to add to the wealth of the community, by the 
 addition of a new source of prosperity, he was disgraced 
 and recalled. 
 
 It may be said that his administration was of such a 
 tyrannical type that his recall might fairly be considered 
 to have been of far greater importance and benefit to the 
 community than tlie advantages which were derivable 
 from systematic wool-growing. Very few, however, would 
 
 * See letters reot ived from Batavia, 25tli of January, 170G ; and 
 letters despatched lOth of August, 1708.
 
 tJie Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 173 
 
 subscriLe to this doctrine, even could the charget brought 
 against him l)e substantiated, as it is the verdict of 
 History that even a tyrannical act is forgiven and often 
 emphatically approved of, when it has been found to be 
 one that purposed to secure, or virtually did secure, a per- 
 manent and great benefit to the commonwealth. 
 
 Whether he was a tyrant or not will be a subject to be 
 discussed later on — should discussion be found necessary, 
 after the impartial evidence of the Archives has been com- 
 pletely laid before the reader. For our present purposes, 
 however, and in order to show how blind some of the 
 farmers at the time were to their own interests, in spite of 
 every well-meant eftbrt to open their eyes, I copy a portion 
 of a de.si)atch from the Cape to the Chamber of Seventeen, 
 dated the 10th of August, 1708, and written about seven 
 months after the arrival of Governor Louis van Assenburgh, 
 the successor of Governor W. A. van der Stel. It says : — 
 
 " Eegarding Cape wool, and your opinion of it, you 
 refer us to your despatches of the 3rd of November, 1703, 
 and the 24th of July, 1704, and regarding the result and 
 prices realised by what was sent from the Cape in the 
 Hoedehens-lcerlce in 1706, to an extract from your auction 
 list, which, however, we did not receive. But from the 
 printed ones of 1706 and 1707 it appears that Cape wool 
 realised in 1706, 24.^ stivers, and in 1707, 21^ ditto per 
 pound. AVe therefore consider the profit to lie excellent if 
 compared with 14^ stivers, the price originally obtained in 
 1702, and which encouraged you to write on the 3rd of 
 November, 1703, that, if wool could be obtained for 
 8 stivers per pound from the freemen (the price which we 
 charged you), we might send over a large quantity with 
 the return fleet. We would gladly com]dy, if we could 
 • only see that the inclination of tlie p«;ople to shear was 
 greater than it really is at present. They do not apitear 
 to bo very easily induced to do so, partly because they
 
 174 B'jmhles through the Archives of 
 
 profe«s that they see no great her.efit from it fur them- 
 selves, and partly becai;se the wool-sheej) have been so 
 crossed with Cape, that it will be absolutely necessary to 
 obtain quife anew stock of the former, which must, more- 
 over, be kept separate from the rest. And although it is 
 not very probable that this will be done, unless the penj)Ie 
 are ordered to do so by placcaat, we shall, nevertheless, 
 endeavour to urge them on in every possible way, as it is 
 so very plain that large profits are derivable from this 
 source for the Company." 
 
 The writers might have added " for the producers like- 
 ^vise," but the fact is so self-evident that no comment is 
 necessary. Moreover, we have the evidence of tlie present 
 day to show that Governor Willem van der Stel was right 
 in using his best eiforts to take advantage of the hint 
 tlirown out to him by his superiors, to add wool to the 
 few existing sources of colonial revenue, and not sacrifice 
 the public interest in order to protect those of a butcher 
 contractor, his family, or friends. 
 
 In the despatch of the 27th of June, 1G99, we likewise 
 find that Fiscal Blcsius's conduct was approved of for 
 having prosecuted the officers of the Yssehnonde and two 
 other vessels, because they had not kept their consuinption 
 books according to the instructions iironiulgated on the 
 subject. The Court here had condemned fhcm each to 
 forfeit two months pay, a verdict disajiproved of by the 
 High Government at Batavia, which had advised the Cape 
 administration henceforth not to interfere in these matters. 
 
 It now and then happened that foreign ships, being in 
 want of specie to pay necessary accounts when in port, 
 applied to the Council for a loan or draft on their owners. 
 This request had often been complied with, especially 
 in tlie case of English vessels, the Council sendiDg the 
 hills home for collection. But on this subject the direc- 
 tors wrote : — 
 
 " That you assisted the English ship King WiUiam with
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 175 
 
 f. 1308 light money (£87 4s.), in order to buy refreshments, 
 we do not find fault with ; but when we send snch obli- 
 gations to England for collection, they let us run after 
 them for months before they pay, as was the case also 
 with this ship. You shoiild, therefore, as much as possible, 
 avoid making such advances." 
 
 The efforts of the Mauritius settlers to prorlnco tobacco, 
 butter, soap, and sugar, and export them to the Ca])e, were 
 taken as well meant, but evidentlj' not appreciated at the 
 Cape, the producers being informed that a far better 
 quality was needed. But this did not disconcert the free- 
 men there, who liad good customers and frieiuls in tlieir 
 English visitors, who made it a rule to anclior in the 
 Nortli-Wtst Harbour, contending, and evidently with 
 justice, that the south-east anchorage, above which the 
 Dutch Lodge was situated, was too dangerous to enter, 
 and seldom afforded a favourable breeze to take a vessel 
 out. 
 
 They often, however, made it rather lively for the 
 garrison, whoso commander evidently differed from the 
 freemen in their estimaticm of the good qualities of their 
 visiiors. As soon as an English vessel arrived, every one 
 was on the qui vive, and told off somewliere in order to 
 prevent any irregularity from taking place. Some were 
 sent to protect the game and prevent the visitors from 
 shooting any of the harts or wild cattle abounding on the 
 island ; others had other things to attend to, and no one 
 was allowed to be idle. But it was labour which produced 
 no fruit, and retarded whatever necessary works were 
 urgently required. It was a happy day for the fidgety 
 commander when he had convinced himself tliat no tres- 
 pass had been committed, and he could not supi)ress his 
 delight at the good conduct of his visitors; but it is most 
 amusing to the reader to witiuss his disgust an<l hear his 
 lamentations when, at the end, he found that the departed 
 vessel had carried oil' a nuinbcr of freemen and slaves, or 
 unaccountably forgotten to settle a refreshment account. 
 As far as the carrying otf of the men was concerned, there
 
 176 Rambles through the Archives of 
 
 was no reason to grnmble, as it was an act of courtesy 
 whicli for some inscrutable reason one nationality in- 
 variably indulged in at the cost of another whenever it h;id 
 a chance of doing so, especially in the eastern seas, where 
 men were always scarce. 
 
 All these, however, were mere minor matters, when 
 compared with the real anxiety caused by the visits of 
 pirates at the Ztvarte liificr, their usual place of call, and 
 where two English freemen, Eetson and Roberts, lived. 
 Once a large pirate was wrecked on the island, and in 
 order to get rid of them as soon as j^ossible the commander 
 was compelled to sell them a small vessel, which they 
 enlarged in order to carry them away to Madagascar. 
 
 I trust one da}' to be able to devote a sej^arate chapter 
 exclusively to the affairs of that island ; should space and 
 time allow me ; for they are well worth reading. Jn the 
 meantime I proceed to other matters. 
 
 Those who are not unacquainted with the farm Zancl- 
 vliet " at the mouth of the Eerste Eivier " — a farm which, 
 at the time I am writing of, belonged to the Keverend 
 Petrus Kalden, minister of the Dutch Eeformed ( hurch 
 at the Cape, will remember the sepulchre built there by 
 the faithful Moslim, and called the Kramat, or restiiig-[)lace 
 of a holy man. Every one, however, does not know who 
 he was or why he came here. 
 
 His name was Tuanse. He was generally known as 
 Sheik Joseph. Valenti/n describes him as a Galcran or 
 Macassar nobleman of very high rank, and commanding 
 influence in Java, Macassar, and the whole Archii)elago. 
 He was related to the Eoyal House of Bantam — having 
 married the sister of the former king — and also to that 
 of Goa, which was the reason why the latter had so 
 earnestly begged the Comi)any that he might be al- 
 lowed to return from exile with his wives and children, 
 and afterwards, when he died, that lais bones might be 
 conveyed to Macassar for burial. Both requests, how- 
 ever, were refused, as the Indian Council feared that 
 if sent back alive he would be a most dangerous enemy, 
 and if his bones were sent to India they would be con- 
 verted into objects of wurshij). It was only long after- 
 
 I
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 177 
 
 wards, when, after repeated and many fruitless applica- 
 tions, his family and friends had been allowed to return 
 to India, that the High Government there wrote that if 
 before their departure they did exhume, and carry the 
 body away with them, no notice was to be taken of it. 
 Hence it is by no means certain that he is buried there 
 still. One of his daughters had been married to the exiled 
 King of Tambora, and remained here with her husband 
 until his recall. 
 
 In the Bantam war of 1G83, in which the Dutch had 
 sided with the young king, and placed him on the throne — 
 deposing his father — Sheik Joseph had taken the part of 
 the old king, and when the forces of the latter had Vieen 
 dispersed, endeavoured to escape from his victoiiuus 
 enemies and their powerful allies. He was, however, 
 captured by the clever and daring stratagem of a Dutch 
 officer, Captain Ruis, who, ingratiating himself into his 
 favour and professing likewise to be a Mohammedan, and a 
 prisoner in the hands of the Dutch, persuaded him to sur- 
 render. Until the year 1694 he had been kept a prisoner 
 at Ceylon — evidently not a veiy close one — when he was 
 sent away to the Cape, in the Voethoog, with forty-nine of 
 his followers, as the Dutch feared that he might again 
 cause them much trouble ; for, as soon as he had arrived at 
 Batavia, he was worshipped as a saint by the natives, who 
 even " most reverentially picked up as a holy relic his 
 Sapa or the p/«an^ which he spat out, after having chewed 
 it dry ; " and likewise looked upon him as a num in every 
 sense far al)Ove his fellow-creatures. His wives — tlioname 
 of the chief of whom was Karakonta — his children and 
 retinue, all accompanieel him to Zandvliet, and were kej)t 
 there at the Company's expense. 
 
 But the Council here, having to advance the money for 
 his maintenance, was by no means jdeasedwith the heavy 
 outlay. Hence they wrote on the 1st of July, 1G9*J, to the 
 High Government at Ikitavia : — 
 
 " On the 2r>rd of May, this year, tlie ^lohammedan priest, 
 Sheik Joseph, who had by your orders been sent hither in
 
 178 UamUes through the Archives of 
 
 1694, with forty-nine followers, in the flute Voeiboog from 
 Ceylon, departed this life. Until the end of August they 
 and others of their kind have cost the Government in pay 
 and maintenance f. 24,421 : 12 sk : 12 st :, or, including this 
 year's outlay, f. 26,221 : 12 sk: 12 st :, a heavy burden indeed 
 on our revenue. Besides, these Mohammedans are multi- 
 plying rapidly, and increasing in numbers. However, as 
 Joseph is now dead, we beg you to find a proper method by 
 which to release us from his adherents and their heavy 
 expense, and also that we may in future be exempted from 
 such people." * 
 
 This request was but a reasonable one, considering the 
 small number of European residents in comparison with 
 that of their slaves — a danger forcibly pointed out by 
 Simon van der Stel, as we have already seen. It was 
 again and again made, and especially by Governor Eyk 
 Tulbagh ; but although orders were in consequence sent 
 out to India by the Seventeen no longer to burden the 
 Cape with political and other prisoners to the extent to 
 which it had been usual to do so, and, if possible, to send 
 none at all, it does not apjiear that practically they were 
 ever carried out; and hence the Colony continued to 
 receive a large number of undesirable residents from 
 Batavia and Ceylon until the Cape fell away in the year 
 1795 from the East India Company. But, evidently 
 according to the rule that a " fair exchange is no robbery," 
 the Cape had likewise the right of sending to India such 
 of its population as had either been convicted of crimes or 
 whose removal was considered necessary or expedient by 
 the authorities. 
 
 * The statement that the first Malay arrived in the Colony in the 
 yacht JJaes, as mentioned in tlie Chronicles of Cape Commanders, 
 pp. 54-55, is incorrect. The prisoner there referred to, as exiled to the 
 Colony, was a Chinaman who had been convicted of the crime of 
 murder, but whoso sentence had been commuted by the High 
 Government at Batavia into penal servitude and exile at the Cape 
 for lifei
 
 the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. 179 
 
 But here I pause awhile. I find that I have already 
 exceeded the space allowed me for this first series, but 
 should what I have written be kindly received, and con- 
 sidered of sufficient interest, I shall be prepared with a 
 second. In the meanwhile I thank the reader for his 
 company so far. 
 
 N 2
 
 ( 180 ) 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 (Page 4.) 
 
 Extract fkom Resolution of the Council of Policy, dated 
 Tuesday, 12th November, 1782. 
 
 " The Governor submits tlie following Memorial from the Land- 
 drost and Ileemraden of Stellcuboscli and Drakeustein, dated 4ih No- 
 vember, 1782 : 'That already more than fifty years ago the request 
 liad been made that the old burial-ground surrounding the old 
 church might be appropriated for a garden for the minister — that, 
 liovvever, in consequence of a wrong conception of some of the 
 residents (who, however, have long since departed this life, but at 
 the time prayed that whereas their ancestors and blood-relations 
 were buried there, their bones might be left untouched), the Governor 
 and Council had been pleased for the reason adduced by them, and 
 likewise, because at that time there was still sufficient ground in 
 the village inde| endcnt of the graveyard, for Krven and Gardens; 
 to order that the said graveyard should be left untouched — that 
 however present necessities require it that, in order to ])romote the 
 j^rosperity of the village by increasing the number of its residents 
 settled here for the purpose of making a living, more Erven should 
 be given out or sold; that no more suitable ground fur the purpose 
 could be selected than the old graveyard, which, if left uncovered 
 with buildings, would remain of little or no use to the district and 
 the Church — that therefore the Memorialists, after having communi- 
 cated with the Church Council on the subject, had considend it 
 advisable (best geaelit) to divide (subject to Your Honour's ap- 
 proval) the said old graveyard, which is at present no longer used, 
 into separate Erven for the purposes aforesaid, and to sell them for 
 the benefit of the 'treasuries of the district and the Church; with 
 the exception, however, of the site on which the old church stood, 
 on which there may perhaps still be some private or hereditary rights 
 (Erf-aven), in order to avoid all disjiuiesthat may result theretrom, 
 and further to enclose that old site witli a wall to be built on the 
 fiiundatione of the old church, in order to separate it fiom the Erven
 
 Ajypendix. 181 
 
 mentioned ; that Memorialists had likewise decided to notify by 
 advertisement to all those who might have vested rights in, or lay 
 claim to any family vaults, that they were to report themselves to 
 the Landdrost with proper evidence iu support of their claims, 
 within six weeks alter the publication of the notice; but that no one 
 had within that time submitted any claim or proofs in support of 
 any, and that therefore Memorialists humbly requested that it might 
 please the Governor and Council to authorize them to subdivide the 
 aforesaid old graveyard into building allotments, and sell it in that 
 manner to the highest bidder for the benefit of the District's Treasury 
 and the Church.' 
 
 " The Council having considered this Memorial decided to comply 
 with its contents, expressly stipulating however that the wall, as 
 mentioned in the Memorial, shall be built up, iu order to keep the 
 site of the old church intact." 
 
 When I was very young indeed, and people delighted in ghost- 
 stories, and, what is more, sincerely believed in them ; I could not — 
 as I saw, in my boyish mind, no reason why I likewise should not 
 believe what the old people tlieu told me — conceive why "in the 
 witching hour of night " a certain Landdrost (dead, of course) was 
 said always to ride around the church at night on his white liorse, 
 surrounded by his pack of hounds, and why lie did not select a more 
 convenient and less confined spot for himself and his hunting-pack. 
 It was said that he could not rest in his grave, because of something 
 or other that he had done, and that he had, one day or night, I am 
 not quite sure, communicated what it was to the minister, who, 
 however, had positively refused to reveal the secret. Grown older, 
 however, and fully ajipreciating the important bearings of a legend 
 among what was a hundred years ago a simple, and, for the greater 
 part, unlettered community, but, at the same time, one imbued with 
 deeply religious principles, and the conviction accordingly, that the 
 desecration of the graves of the dead, as effected by the sale of the 
 old graveyard, could not but be looked upon by God, as it was 
 looked upon by the community, which had no power to prevent the 
 sacrilege, otherwise than as a sin of the deejiest dye ; I came to the 
 conclusion that that nightly ride took place because it was supix)sed 
 that the Landdrost, having disturbed the resting-]ilace of the dead, 
 was not allowed to rest himself, and that accordingly his nocturnal 
 ride aroimd and among the tombstones of the churchyard was 
 certainly not one which he might be considered to have at anytime en- 
 joyed with any degree of satisfaction to himself. And 1 have purposely 
 made reference to this subject here, because the graveyards of the 
 metropolis having been chised, the questional once arisi'S, what will 
 one day be done with them, and the corjises which they contain — 
 many of the latter being enclosed in imperishable teak-wood coffins ?
 
 182 Appendix. 
 
 An act of gross Vandalism was committed when the old Dutch 
 Reformed Church was broken down some fifty years ago, and all the 
 graves within and around it levelled like a threshing-floor — when all 
 the tombstones were removed and carried ofi" or thrown away — when 
 all the hatchments and other interesting monuments of the past 
 similar to those still preserved in the old Wolvendal church at 
 Colombo, were pitched aside as so much useless lumber, and of which 
 I succeeded in saving merely a few of the less important ones. It 
 was likewise an act of Vandalism when the old graveyard of Stellen- 
 bosch was converted into building sites and sold; and therefore it is 
 a pertinent question to ask, whether the same fate is awaiting the 
 graveyards adjoining Somerset Road ? Should no timely steps be 
 taken, the same results may be confidently expected ; and those who 
 have a proper reverence for the "Acres of God," will again be 
 grieved by the deplorable sight of further desecrations in the capital 
 of South Africa, of the resting-places of the dead.
 
 ( 183 ) 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 (Pages 45 and 47.) 
 
 Admikal du Quesne, Jun. 
 
 After I had already placed my manuscript in the hands of the 
 publishers, I received an important communication from the vener- 
 able keeper of the Archives at the Hague, for which, and for other 
 pieces of valuable information so kindly and readily sent me, I am 
 sincerly grateful. Mr. Van der Berg informs me that there is no 
 evidence among the Archives to show that a number of fugitives — 
 eighty families — arrived here under the leadership of young Ad- 
 miral du Quesne, so that his reply settles the question as I sub- 
 mitted it to him. At once, however, another arises, namely, 
 whether, although Du Quesne did not personally conduct the fugi- 
 tives to the Cape, he might not have been one of the originators of 
 the scheme, and, although taking a deep interest in it, have pur- 
 posely kept himself as much as possible in the back-ground, in 
 consequence of the very delicate position in which he was placed as 
 an officer in the service of Louis XIV., from whom no friendly 
 relations with the Netherlands could ever be expected ? It must 
 be borne in mind that he was well acquainted with the Cape, and 
 could su])ply the fugitives with most important information, and, 
 as the Archives mention, he had always been on the most intimate 
 terms with Commander Simon van der Stel. The fugitives wanted 
 a home ; the Colony required agriculturists, viticulturists, mechanics, 
 and other useful kinds of emigrants, and could suit itself famously 
 with the homeless French. Hence it is not improbable that a 
 French Protestant, who knew India so well, would suggest the 
 Cape as a suitable home for liis fellow-religionists who had been ex- 
 pelled from their own country. Moreover, when we consult the 
 circular, jiublished by the Marquis, regarding the capabilities of 
 Mascarenhas for colonization, it becomes very evident that he must 
 have obtained his information from some person fully acquainted 
 with the place, and one able to judge of its sujierior advantages. 
 And why might not that person have been Admiral du Quesne, 
 the cousin of the Marquis ?
 
 ( 181 ) 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 (Page 49.) 
 
 MOXS. POIRIER. 
 
 Last year there were piiLlislicd at St. Helena copious extracts 
 from the records of that Island, compiled by the late Hudson Ealph 
 Janisch, Esq., C.M.G., and Governor of St. Helena, a copy of which 
 has been kindly placed at my disposed by W. Eawbone, Esq., of 
 this city, and from which I have taken the liberty to extract the 
 following : 
 
 " After divers attempts to make some ]irofitable productions on 
 the Island, we Lave at length fixed upon the planting of vines and the 
 n'laking of wine and brandy, which all men, of whatsoever quality, 
 that ever were upon the Island that we have conversed with, do 
 unanimously agree to be a feasible attempt. "We have agreed with 
 Captain Poirycr upon terms contained in his instructions. He is an 
 honest man, and lived formerly in great plenty upon his own land 
 in France, where he made 200 or 300 hogsheads of wine and brandy 
 per annum. But being a Protestant, he was driven from all he had 
 in France by that violent persecution which hath caused us to malss 
 the conditions of his entertainment the more reputable as to his 
 own person. All the Vineroons that go with him are likewise French 
 Protestants, but we must tell you the French are excellent servants 
 if you keep them under and hold them sharply to their duty, but 
 are apt to grow insolent and negligent if they be not held to their 
 work as they are in France — and if you give them ear, they will 
 not leave craving and asking, against which troublesome humour 
 you must arm yourselves irresistibly if you expect to have any 
 quietness with them. 
 
 "Mons. Poirier, as you will see in our instructions, is for his great 
 rei")utation to have place at our Council, when he is at the Fort, 
 and to have the appealacon (ajijiellation) of Captain, though under 
 the i)ay of a sergeant. He speaks little English yet, but we hope 
 he Uiay learn more in his jmssage, and that by the time he comes
 
 Appendix. 185 
 
 to St. Helena, his sons may be perfect in our laiifrunf^e." — Letter 
 from the Court of the Directors of the English East India Company 
 to the Governor and Council at St. Helena, 15th Ajyril, 1G89. 
 
 " Captain Stephen Poirier, three sons and five daughters, Samuel 
 de Fountain (?de la Fontaine) and nine other French Vineroons 
 landed from the shij) Benjamin." — Journal, (Jth January, 1690. 
 
 "Matthew Pouncey availing himself of the permission to go to 
 Bombay (being one of the condemned) offered his land called 
 Pounces to the Government, which they gladly buy, Ixnng con- 
 tiguous and abounding on part of the Company's great plantations, 
 and there being a good quantity of provisions on it, a gfiod supply 
 towards the maintenance of Captain Poryyr and family." — Journal, 
 IGth January, 1(190. 
 
 " Governor Kelinge died this day, Tuesday. Captain Poirier 
 (having previously been Deputy-Guvernor by succession, and not 
 only placed in the Council by the Company, but elected to succeed 
 to the post of Governor of the place) in a private Council meeting 
 lield on the 26th June, 1694, at wiiich meeting there were present 
 Governor Kelinge, Poirier, and three Commanders of shijis — in case 
 Kelinge should die — and the said meeting having beforehaml con- 
 ferred with all the ofticers of the garrison, acknowledges that it has 
 been the pleasure of Providence to order things so as to bring ihe said 
 Governor Stephen Poirier unto a station which he doth acknow- 
 ledge is far beyond is desert, and considering that the said ])lace is 
 of a weight}' and great moment for one person only he hath desired 
 Mr. Thomas Goodwin to be his assistant." — Journal and Eesolution, 
 30th November, 1697. 
 
 " Governor Poirier records a complaint against Captain Bright for 
 giving him many ill words in presence of Sergeant Field and 
 Corporal Maxwell. Notwithstanding the good character the Com- 
 pany is pleased to give nie by their instructions brought with me, 
 likewise the commission they have honoured me with, he tuld me 
 when I came here I was but a Vincroon, and that I have l)een 
 hanged in France in efTigies, and that it way nut for Religi'in's sake, 
 but for Treason or Pebellion — of which slanderous wurds I do 
 appeal to my Pight Honourable ^la^ttTs to do me justice — such 
 words tending only tocontcmiitand tosliglit me,and to witlidrawthe 
 pco]ile's hearts of this Island from me, and so consei]uently to come 
 to dangerous consequences, and to combine with the French, whom 
 all Europe knows, the}' boldly both in words and writing do what 
 they can to liide such horrid ])crsecutions (if they could) from all 
 good men." — Council Minute, 29//* April, 17(X). 
 
 " Captain Bright refuses to come into the Fort after the Governor 
 had set the watch and Centreys within and without tiie Fort, being 
 nigh 11 at night. At 12 o'clock Captain Bright came to the
 
 186 Appendix. 
 
 Fort, but I would not lend the keys to humour him. When I 
 went the grand rounds he did not fail to stop me, drew his sword, 
 set ye point to my lireast, swearing and cursing me, said he would 
 have the word — I did answer him that I did not know him at that 
 post, and that I ordered one Captain Bright at 11 o'clock to come 
 to his lodging within the Fort, but refusing to come I could not 
 know him then : after many fiourishings of his sword, cursing me, 
 he went away — so submit to my Honourable Masters whether such 
 proceedings are lawful or no." — Council Minute, 12th May, 1700. 
 
 " Mr. Goodwin refuses flatly to obey the Governor's order, to 
 reckon with three soldiers who had been enlisted by the Governor, 
 but finally consents on finding the Governor would borrow the 
 money under protest at 8 per cent." — Council Minute, 1th July, 
 1700. 
 
 " Captain Bright dismissed by the Company and Captain John 
 Fowlis sent out as Deputy Governor in the hope that he and 
 Mr. Goodwin will co-operate with our Governor." — Letter from the 
 Court of Directors, Gih October, 1701. 
 
 " Great increase of drunkenness — Governor Poirier's Proclama- 
 tion — said vices have brought and will bring again on this Island 
 the judgment of God Almighty. We forbid all assemblies upon 
 what account soever to be held at any house whatsoever past 
 10 o'clock in the evening, whether it be shi[)ping time or not. 
 Every inhabitant to repair to their own House immediately after 
 Taptoo, which shall be henceforth beaten, but at tenn of ye clock." 
 — Council Minute, 2Qth Augtcst, 1701. 
 
 " Our present Governor's continued care for discountenancing vice, 
 and promoting virtue we very well approve and earnestly recommend 
 to all of you to lay your shoulders heartily to so good a work, as you 
 expect the Divine protection and blessing, and our favour. When those 
 in authority set a good exam])le the reformation of their inferiors is 
 therefore rendered much more facile. Your care for keeping the 
 Lord's Day we approve, but you must at the same time remember 
 that works of necessity and mercy are allowed at all times, so that 
 when any ships are in danger of losing their passage, or otherwise 
 straightened in want of time, they should not be restrained from 
 fetching water or other refreshments on ye Lord's Day, nor on ye 
 other hand ought they be allowed to do any service work on that 
 day which can without prejudice be deffered to the next." — Letter 
 from the Court of Directors, Wfh Aj)ril, 1701. 
 
 " Doctor John Kerr, the chaplain, a most dangerous man, and was 
 always getting people by the ears worse than ever Mr. Humphrey 
 was — had boasted that he came here on purpose to ruin the French 
 Rogue and Refugee — meaning the Governor. 
 
 " Mr. John Alexander, Clerk of Council, informs the Council that
 
 Appendix. 187 
 
 drinking Punch with Doctor Kerr, in company with the Sergeant 
 and Corjioral, Dr. Kerr abused the Governor, saying that he stood 
 up in church, in time of Divine Service, like a French Hogonot 
 proud fool (and, I think, Rogue too), when he ought to have kneeled 
 down to make his confession. Moreover said, he had gotten the 
 copy of a letter that the Governor wrote to the late Deputy-Governor 
 deceased ; and that he had sent one copy to the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury and another copy to the Bishop of London, for he had 
 VTTOte very reflectingly of them, especially of the Bishop of London, 
 and said further that he had done the Governor's business for him 
 and was sure he would be turned out when the next ship comes 
 from England. 
 
 " Dr. Kerr accuses the Governor of disloyall words in having said 
 * that the Royal race of Stuarts were an unfortunate family and 
 never did any good for England.' 2nd. ' That tlie Parliament of 
 England did very ill in choosing Queen Ann to be Queen of England, 
 for she, being a woman, could not head the Army or Confederacy, and 
 the Parliament had better chose the Prince of Hanover to head the 
 Army and Confederacy.' 3rd. This deponent also swears that the 
 said Governor said, ' If I were as Prince George, if they did not make 
 me King, I would go over to Denmark and never see the Queen 
 again.' 
 
 " Dr. Ken calls John Oswald for proof, Oswald says that in a 
 conversation about Oliver Cromwell, where the said Cromwell was 
 called Usurper and Traitor, the Governor said, ' that those things 
 might be let alone, for when he was alive no man durst say so.' " — 
 Council Minute, 10th February, 1703. 
 
 Dr. Kerr made everything as uncomfortable as possible for the 
 Governor, who had the further misfortune of not long afterwards 
 beholding two French vessels under Dutch colours cutting out from 
 the roadstead about 10 o'clock in the morning two valuable English 
 East Indiamen, the Queen and the Dover, and afterwards being 
 severely censured fur the loss by the Directors, wlio write as follows : 
 " We must say that you are intinitely to blame in your management, 
 and we wonder you can have the assurance to write to us tliat h;ui 
 not Mr. Dolben told you that there was no French ship in India, 
 you had not been so secure. Is that an excuse, think you, to be 
 given to us? We think rather it deserves the severest censure. 
 We are also told that our Governor has been unaccountably careless 
 about the Fortifications ; that the spunges are not fit for the gunns, 
 that there is scarce rods for the gunns, and when the Governor has 
 been friendly told (by) us to remedy such things he abuses people 
 for their kindness. What satisfaction can be given us for his mis- 
 carriage ; does he think it enough to throw the blame on others which 
 so probably is his own? " &c. — See Despatch, 2,Qth December, 170G.
 
 188 Ai^pendix. 
 
 On the 2V)th August, 1707, the following is minuted : " The 
 Governor indisposed in the country since the 12th August. On the 
 following day tlie Journal mentions that he was taken speechless, 
 and continued so almost to the very hour he dieil, which was on 
 Monday night, the 8th Septemher, 1707, having lingered a long 
 time of a dropsical distemper." 
 
 " Governor Foirier's will, after the usual preamble, begins thus : 
 * I give thanks to my God for the miraculous means of which He 
 made use to withdraw me out of my house in France. Protesting 
 that there was no human means in it, and that I heard His only 
 voice, when the Judges sent to take me (in allusion to his troubles in 
 France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes), saying, Come out 
 hence, come out hence — which I did to their coufasion, and so I came 
 out from under the slavery of Babylon. I give Him also my most 
 humble thanks for having provided me an Azile protection and 
 entertainment under good and auspicious Masters, the Right Honour- 
 able English East India Company, although loaded perpetually of 
 trouble and vexations by traitors and unjust enemies, only because 
 I never sought but the good and advantage of my illustrious masters. 
 God grant he lay not their sins to their charge.' " 
 
 His successor, Governor Roberts, does not appear to have had a 
 very high opinion of him — although it strikes the reader of these 
 records that there were never at the same time more than about two 
 people on friendl}' terms with one another on the Island — for he 
 s;iys in his despatch of the 1st December, 1710: "Had Governor 
 Poirier done anything to prevent the Island going to Rack and 
 Ruine, we should have the less need of hands, and our labour and 
 time been employed to much better service. Whatever service that 
 gentleman had done is a secret to every soul upon the Island." 
 
 The Venerable Bishop of St. Helena, whose extracts from the 
 Records I have embodied in the preceding lines, further mentions 
 that he has been unable to find any account of Governor Poirier's 
 family, and thinks that it is probable that they left the Island after 
 his death, and likewise that the cultivation of the vine was soon 
 discontinued as unsuccessful. 
 
 This Colkction of Records is a most valuable publication, and 
 throws a broad stream of light on the character and proceedings of 
 the English East India Company which cannot be read without 
 great benefit. 
 
 Regarding the condition of affairs at the Cape in 1795, it says, 
 20th May (1795) : "Detail of proceedings relative to an expedition 
 to the CajDe of Good Hope. Mr. Pringle, the Agent from the Secret 
 Committee, lately come down from the Cape, gives information that 
 the garrison of the Cape consisted of about 1000 regular troops ; 
 that Colonel Qordon, the Commander-in-Chief, was ivell disposed.
 
 Appendix. 189 
 
 'J'hat if the Dutch at the Cape had received information uf the French 
 having overrun Holland, they would turn out Gordon, and put in 
 Democrats in command. But if Colonel Gordon was supported in 
 time, the garrison miyht he got to join us, and so save the place, and 
 get possession of the Dutch East Indiamen at the Cape (li in 
 number). Arranged that H.M.iS. Sceptre and some of the Indiamen 
 here, with a reinforcement from the garrison, should proceed at once 
 to the Cape, viz. : 300 men from the gariison, two field-pieces, and 
 two chests of Treasure, about £10,000. On the 1st June the 
 Expedition embarked and [was] ready to sail for the Cape, when the 
 Swallow arrived from the Cape, and gave information of the des- 
 patch of a fleet of Dutch Indiamen from the Cape for Europe. 
 Captain E>sington, of H.M.S. Sceptre, proposed to delay the de- 
 parture for the Cape, and to cruize to windward for a few days for 
 the Dutch fleet, which was agreed to. At the close of the consulta- 
 tion, a signal was made for tie arrival of the store-sliip, nnd the 
 Governor, by her, received intelligence from Admiral Eliihinstone, 
 who, with Commodore Blankett, were gone on an expedition to 
 the Caje. Orders were then given for disembarking the 'i'reasure, 
 the two field-pieces, and the Eegimental Band of Music. On 
 KJth June the Dutch ship Hujhley was brought in as a prize by the 
 Sw dloxu. On ICth and 17th June the Sceptre and the other ships 
 returned, viz. : General, Goddard, Asia, Bicsbridge, and Swullotv, 
 with seven large Dutch ships seized to windward, which were all 
 that had yet been seen of the Dutch fleet." 
 
 July G. — Arrived, H.M.S. SpJtynx, from Cape, with letters from 
 Admu'al Elphinstone, requesting as many men and artillery as 
 Governor Brooks could spare, with a supply of silver ; also one from 
 General Craig to same effect, observing that, as " I have no more 
 troops with me than could be brought on board H.M. ships in 
 addition to their complement, the number is so small that no 
 augmentation of it can be so inconsiderable as not to be acceptable. 
 I have not a single gun or artilleryman with me. I shall be very 
 much obliged if you can spare me a couple [of] six-pounders and a 
 howitzer, with the necessary ammunition and artillerymen." 
 
 July 11. — Troops sent to [the] Cape in the Arniiston, 11 officers, 
 400 men, two 12-pounders, two G-pounders, four 3-p'.unders, one 
 howitzer, and two chests of treasure, £10,000. Cai)taiu Francis 
 Scale, senior. 
 
 July lo. — [The] Orpheus returned to the Cape with a further 
 sum of £500G. 
 
 July 20. —The Mal^iys taken in the Dutch prizes formed into 
 two companies of artillery, to do duty on the Line. 
 
 Sej)t( mber 1 2. — Admiral Klphinstone to Governor Brooks. " Had 
 received the reinforcemei\ts by Orpjheus on the 5th August, and by
 
 190 Appendix. 
 
 the Armiston on the 9th August. On the 7th we attacked the Dutch 
 camp at Mysemherg (jMuizcnburg) ; the enemy fled immediately. 
 General Craig will proceed to Capo Town as soon as may IJe 
 prudent." 
 
 October 12. — From Admiral Elphinstone. " Cape hud surren- 
 dered on the \Qth Septemhi-r. Thanks to Governor Brooks, Captain 
 Seale, and officers and men of the St. Helena Corps." 
 
 From General Craig. " Your St. Helena friends have had their 
 share of our fatigues and hardships, and have acquitted them- 
 selves as you would have wished. Captain Den Taafe has been 
 wounded." 
 
 November 2. — Cape detachment returned in the Earl Howe on 
 [the] 29 th October, Captain Greentree in command.
 
 ( 1^1 ) 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 (Paire 128, note.) 
 
 Life on Board a Dutch East Indiaman two hundred tears 
 
 AGO, AND THE ClASS OF MeN TAKEN INTO THE SekVICE OF 
 
 THE Company. — From Christophorus Frikius's Vui/ages to 
 and throwjh the East Indies (1680). 
 
 " Before the ship leaves Holland a general muster takes place, 
 when every one on board and in the service receives two months' 
 pay. Full pay, however, only commences when the huoys are 
 passed, and which are about the distance of a German mile from 
 the land. Frcijii that moment the Comimny is obliged to pay all 
 salaries, and cannot recover the two months' pay advanced to the 
 men, whether the Fleet proceeds to Sea, or is driven back by con- 
 trary winds. It often happens that the ships not only return into 
 Port, but should the wind remain unfavourable, are detained there 
 a long while. Yea! in winter the waters are frozen over completely, 
 80 that no vessel can move for many weeks. Under such circum- 
 Btances the crews are dismissed, in order to reduce the daily in- 
 creasing expenditure. 
 
 " Should however the wind be favourable and the Fleet two or 
 three days at sea, everyone on board receives as a present from the 
 Company five Dutch cheeses. After that all the men doing sailors' 
 or soldiers' duty are mustered on the quarter-deck, excepting the 
 boys who clean the ship and mind the fowls and pigs, and all those 
 who are exempt from mounting guard or sharing in the watch. 
 Both oCBcers and men are bound to api>ear. They are then divided 
 into two companies, or 8<:»-called Quarters, that each one may know 
 his place in the ship, in order to be of service in case of necessity. 
 The one is called the Prince's Qiuirter [Watch], and the other, 
 Count Maurice's Quarter. 'J"hc names of the j)crsons belonging to 
 these two watches are written on two separate lists, which are 
 affixed to the Mizcn mast, that everyone may be able to see to 
 which he belongs, and bo at hand when it is his turn to take part in 
 the watch.
 
 192 Appendix. 
 
 " Tlie Prince's Quarter takes the first turn, and is therefore often 
 likewise called the First Watch. It is summoned and set by the 
 Provost. Each watcli lasts fully four hours, and always consists of 
 different persons, so that whoever has been on the watch remains 
 free lor a time, whilst another bears the burden. 
 
 "The Count ^laurice's Quarter has the second watch. It is also 
 called the I>og Watch. On the vessels there are small bells, which 
 can be rung or made to strike the time. They are rung for the first 
 time after the first watch has been set, and which has been sum- 
 moned by the Provost, who forbids all from appearing drunk, and 
 reminds them of the punishments enacted for that otience. There 
 are likewise Sand-glasses of half an hour. Both the sentries and 
 the watch can easily see them. As soon as the glass has run out, 
 or the first haU-hour elapsed, the bell is struck once; when it has 
 done so a second time, the bell is struck twice, and so on, until the 
 glass has run out eight times, or four hours have elapsed. Then 
 the bell is rung, and another officer at once appears with his Quarter. 
 All are awakened by the Quarter Master, who goes below and loudly 
 calls out the names of those who are to go on watch, and after that 
 he relieves the previous one. 
 
 "One or two men are likewise to keep watch on the mast; but 
 the soldiers proceeding to India are exempt from this duty. When, 
 however, they return home from India they are bound likewise to 
 fake their share in this duty, equally witli the sailors; but should 
 they be prepart d to expend the half of Rds. 25 for the purpose, they 
 may buy themselves off, no matter how long the Return Voyage 
 may last. 
 
 " When there are many sick on board, the healthiest Quarter is 
 subdivided into watches in the best way possible. 
 
 "Should a storm arise, and it become necessary to shorten sail or 
 to tack, so that the shi]) must turn every two hours, every hand 
 must be stretched forth to help. 
 
 " Should any one neglect his watch, or fail to keep it at the right 
 time, he reciives as a piunishment a hundred blows with a thick 
 rope on his posterior. Whoever stays away from the morning and 
 evening prayer, must by way of a fine leave his wine and brandy to 
 others. Prayers are read regularly every morning and evening, when 
 likewise one of the Psalms of David is sung in tlie Dutch language. 
 For that purpose everyone on board receives a Psalm-book as a 
 present from the Company. 
 
 " Every one is likewise admonished, and forbidden to smoke below 
 during the night or unseasonable hours, as a spark might aasily 
 fall into a hammock — which is always made of fine cotton — and a 
 fire be caused. Otherwise smoking is allowed. On deck there is 
 always a square box (Bak), having in the middle a wooden bar.
 
 Appendix. 193 
 
 around which ten or twelve fathoms of match are continually 
 rolled. Everyone, therefore, can always find fire to light his pipe. 
 
 " When the third watch is set, one of the number is obliged to 
 awaken the cook, who is bound to have the victuals ready when it 
 has become daylight, and morning jirayers have been said. Food is 
 supplied thrice daily — in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. 
 In the morning, w'hen the ship's company meet for prayers, the bell 
 is always rung, and everyone receives the tenth part of a measure 
 (kan = litre) of brandy. The Dutch call it a Alutsje, and it 
 contains as much as a small wineglass. 
 
 "Every Saturday every man likewise receives five pounds of 
 biscuit ; a mutsje of sweet-oil, two viutsjes of vinegar, and half a 
 pound of butter. With this he must be satisfied during the fuUowing 
 week. For the rest he has every eight days three times meat and 
 pork for food; viz. on Saturdays and Sundays, three-quarters of a 
 pound, but often it is stuff that has been lying in the salt for 
 four or six years already, and when boiled hardly weighs half a 
 pound. 
 
 " After the vessel has left Europe, beer is distributed among the 
 crew, as long as it lasts. But when the casks are empty, every 
 person merely receives a litre of water daily, and this distribution is 
 very liberal, compared to what one receives at some places after his 
 arrival in India. He receives no other drink than water, and in 
 much smaller quantities. For that reason water is so carefully 
 treasured that it would be more tolerable to rob a person of a 
 hundred guilders than of his allowance of water. 
 
 "Strict justice is likewise maintained on board. When one has 
 wounded another with a knife or other instrument, he is obliged to 
 hold his hand against the mast. Ujwn that the barber (surgeon) 
 takes a small or large knife, as the case may be, and fixes the hand 
 with it to the mast ; sometimes through the flesh just at the top of 
 the finger, and sometimes rijzht through the hand, according to the 
 magnitude or otherwise of the offence. Then the culprit is obliged 
 himself to pull his hand through the knife. Whoever has struck an 
 officer or the commander-in-chief of a vessel, is with(jut mercy keel- 
 hauled three times. lie is let down on one side, and drawn up on 
 the other. Should no care be taken to let him sink sufliciently 
 deep, he would inevitably strike with his head against the keel or 
 the bottom of the vessel and be killeil. This is called kcel-hauliog. 
 Moreover, the Provost ]X)S.sesse3 great authority. Whoever lays 
 violent hands on him on shore, loses his hand, whilst at sea he 
 ifl keel-hauled. A few heavy weights are attached to hi.s feet, 
 and a siuinge filled with oil is bound to his une arm, in order to 
 enable him to obtain some air. The dei>th of the vessel in the 
 water being known, he is let down on one side of the ship, pulled 
 

 
 19-4 Appendios. 
 
 through heneath the keel, and hauled up on the other side. This is 
 done two or three times, as I have seen myself. 
 
 "Playing for money is very rigidly suppressed. By day the 
 games of back-gammon and draughts are allowed, hut cards and 
 gambling for money are strictly forbidden, and the Provost looks 
 after this very jiarticularly. On their voyage to the Indies the 
 soldiers are daily exercised in arms by those who have already been 
 in India, or are practised drill-masters. 
 
 " I will add here how a voyage to East India may be conveniently 
 effected, and without gi'eat expense. AVhoever desires to proceed 
 thither, will find sufficient opportunities by the Dutch, English, 
 French, and Portuguese ships. The Dutch vessels are, however, 
 the most suitable for a German, who accordingly proceeds straight 
 to Amsterdam, a town justly deserving the name of being the 
 proper High School for all, and especially the East India voyages. 
 The Dutch proceed annually to the East Indies at three different 
 times, viz. in April, September, and December. No one, however, 
 who is not in their service will easily succeed in obtaining a passage. 
 He is, at any rate, bound to be subject to the Company during the 
 outward voyage. When once arrived at Batavia, he may obtain 
 his discharge certainly, and likewise his free-papers ; but such a 
 liberty differs very little from servitude, as he must bind himself to 
 remain ten years in India, Nor is he allowed to trade in such 
 articles as he likes, and to convey merchandise to j^laces which 
 please him best ; he is only allowed to proceed to unimportant 
 localities hke the Moluccas, &c., where he is likewise bound down 
 mthin very narrow limits. Should he dare to overstep his con- 
 ditions in the least, he not only forfeits all his goods, but likewise 
 suffers no little loss in honom and reputation. 
 
 " Whoever, then, decides to enter the service of the Dutch East 
 India Company, must, exclusively of the time required for the out 
 and homeward passage, bind himself down for a period of five years, 
 and stand his chance whether he will be sent to a healthy or 
 unhealthy locality, where he may find some profit for himself or the 
 reverse. It rarely happens that anyone is removed or promoted 
 from his first station during the period of his contract. Those who 
 are bound to remain all their time on board have the hardest lot, 
 and are considered not quite so respectable, but then they have 
 greater advantages for making something. On the voyage to India 
 no one is able to obtain an ajipointment of distinction (aansicn) 
 imless he is well versed in the Dutch language and the methods of 
 trade, and has besides good friends who are capable of promoting 
 him. For when the Dutch advertise for men for the different ser- 
 vices in India, about three times the number required generally 
 offer themselves, and from these applicants those who are the most
 
 Appendix. 195 
 
 suitable, and have the best recommendations, are selected. Ac- 
 cordingly a stranger who wishes to visit Dutch India, whatever 
 good qualities and abilities he may possess, has no other course than 
 to enter the service as a soldier at Rds. 4 per month and his rations. 
 But the supplies both in food and drink, whether on board or on 
 shore, are so had, that it becomes a very har'i task to a child of 
 resjjectable and moneyed parents to content himself with them. 
 Moreover he receives the half of his pay twice every year, but not iu 
 cash, only in clothing and other things, charged to him at a suffi- 
 ciently high rate. The rest runs up, and is paid out to him when he 
 again anives in Holland. For the rest he receives monthly for his 
 subsistence, besides his pay, not more than forty pounds of raw rice 
 instead of biscuit rations (ammunitie brood), and likewise three- 
 quarters of a rixdollar in money. 
 
 " Besides, all the territories where the Company has possessions, 
 are unhealthy jslaces and not worthy of a visit, excepting of course 
 Coromandfl, Batavia, and a few other spots. Mostly all are very 
 badly provided with everything that is so indispensably necessary 
 for the support and the enjoyment of human life. 
 
 " The soldiers who are obligi d to serve on board have even a much 
 harder life than those on shore. Thej^ are subjected to a much closer 
 atmosphere and consequently more liable to disease. Add to this 
 that military discipline and justice in India are much more strictly 
 carried out than in Europe. For a trifling offence a person in 
 India may very easily be brought to public shame. 
 
 " It is certainly true, that many persons, strangers as well as 
 Dutch, have from insignificant appointments, and with the assistance 
 and Providence of God, risen to very important oflSces in conse- 
 quence of their extraordinary zeal and good behaviour, and that they 
 have done so in the course of ten or more years ; but over against 
 such examples there may be placed those of others who were n^t 
 wanting in common sense and the right use of the same, but who 
 never enjoyed that good fortune, and were always obliged to remain 
 in their inferior apjiointments without ever rising higher The 
 consequence has been that many, gruwn impatient and desperate, 
 have fallen, to their own loss and shame, into many irregularities 
 and evil deeds. 
 
 " When what I have said is carefully considered, it naturally 
 follows that no one will lightly or voluntarily take service as a 
 soldier for the Indies under the Dutch, unless he is urged by the want 
 of indespensable means ivr a livelihood, or by improi)cr conduct, of 
 which he has been guilty. On the contrary, if he has a jiroper desire 
 to visit foreign countries, he will endeavour to obtain a p;vssage by 
 an English vessel, and without the necessity of entering the service. 
 In that manner he will not fail, with the help uf God and good 
 
 2
 
 196 Ajjpendix. 
 
 health, in obtaining a desirable oiiportunity for visiting important 
 kingdoms and foreign nations, with little expense and less loss of 
 time, for his own personal satisfaction and renown. All this I have 
 written down from personal experience and at the request of some 
 good friends, and those of my countrymen who may be inclined to 
 travel may make the best use of it, . . . " 
 
 Regarding the watch on board, Christophwus Schweitzer, whose 
 voyages occurred between the years 1675 and 1G83, mentions the 
 following : ' During the night, when the one watch had to relieve 
 the other, two persons sang, in order to awaken the sleepers ; 
 " Here we sail with God on High ! May God forgive us our sins ; all 
 our sins and offences ! May God preserve our good ship, and all 
 the people who sail in her, from sea, from shoal, from fire and 
 sword ! From the hellish evil enemy ! From all evil may He 
 guard us ! " (" Hier Zeylen wy met God verheven, God wil ons 
 onse Sonden verge ven, Al onse Sonden en Misdaed. God wil ons 
 goede Schip bewaeren. Met al de Lieden die daerin vaeren, Yoor 
 Zee, voor Sand, Voor Vyer en Brand, Voor de Helsche boose Vyand, 
 Voor alle quaed ous God bewaere ! ") ' " 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 The following are the geographical divisions of Germany, of 
 which tlie Netherlands formed a portion in the year 1680, accord- 
 ing to the " Dictionarium Geographicum " by Johannes de Kaei, 
 junior, Amsterdam 1680 : — 
 
 The Netheelands. 
 
 The Netherlands are a country in the lower or western portion of 
 Germany, situated between the North Sea, Germany proper, or 
 High Germany, and France. They contain seventeen Provinces or 
 States, nine of which belong to the Spanish, and eight to the 
 United Netherlands. 
 
 The Spanish Netherlands are situated between the North Sea, 
 the United Netherlands, Germany and France. 
 
 Their cliief Towns are Antwerp, Maliues, Brussels, Louvain, Lim- 
 burg, Luxemburg, Ghent, Bruges, Sluys, Dunkirk, Yperen, Lisle, 
 Douay, Tournay, Arras, Arlou, St. Omer, Mons, ValencienneB, 
 Cambray, Namur, and Dinant. 
 
 Their chief Universities are Louvain and Douay. 
 
 Their chief Rivers are the Scheldt, Leye, Scharpe, Demer and 
 Sambre.
 
 Appendix. 197 
 
 The United Netherlands are situated between the North Sea, 
 Germany, and the Spanish Netherlands. 
 
 Their cliiefTowns are Amsterdam, Leyden, uottcrdam, Dordrecht, 
 Gouda, Delft, Haarlem, Alckmaer, Iloorn, Enckliuj'sen, ^liddle- 
 burg, Flusliing, Utrecht, Arnheim, Nymegen, Zutphen, DevcLter, 
 Zwol, Leeuwaarden, Ilarlingen, Fraueker and Groningen. 
 
 Their chief Universities are Leyden, Utrecht and Franeker, 
 
 The chief Elvers are the Rhine, Meusc, Waal, Linge, and Yssel. 
 
 Germany.— (The IIoly Roman Empire.) — 
 
 And the territories under its jurisdiction, viz., Valesia, Switzer- 
 land, Rhetia, Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia. 
 
 Oermany, often likewise called Ilujh Germany, is situated inland, 
 but towards the South-Westcrn portion of Europe, between tiio 
 Dukedom Sleswick, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Baltic Sea, the 
 Kingdom of Poland, the States of Hungary, Slavonia, (.'ruatia, 
 Dalmatia, Italy, France, the Netherlands and the North Sea. It 
 has been conveniently subdivided into ten circles, viz : — 
 
 1. The Austrian Circle, whose chief Towns are Vienna, Griitz, 
 Laybacb, Villach, and Innsbruck. 
 
 2. The Bavarian Circle, containing the Towns Munchen, Ratisbon, 
 Ingoldstadt, Passau, Salzburg, Laudshut, Straubing, Freising, and 
 Amberg. 
 
 3. The Franconian Circle, having as its chief Towns, Nuremberg, 
 Wiirzburg, Bamberg, and Schweinfurt. 
 
 4. The Swabian Circle, containing Ulm, Augsburg, Memmingen, 
 Constance, Uberlingen, Nordlingen, Stuttgard, and Tubingen. 
 
 5. The Burgundian Circle, having as its chief Towns, Dule, and 
 Besanfon. Within this circle were likewise, ere this, comprised the 
 seventeen Netherland Provinces, already described. 
 
 6. The upper Rhenish Circle, having as its chief Towns, Ensis- 
 heini, Schlestatt, Colmar, Brisacli, Freiburg, Hagneneau, Strasbourg, 
 Zabern, Zwcibriickcn, Cassel, Marburg, Waldeck, Nassau, Solms, 
 Speycr, Worms, and Fraiddort. 
 
 7. The lower Rhenish Circle, having as its chief Towns, Mayence, 
 Treves, Cologne, Bonn, Coblentz, Heidelberg, Manhcim, Fran- 
 kenthal, Oppenheim, and Bacliarach. 
 
 8. The Westphalian Circle, in which there are Charleniont, 
 Li(5ge, Aix-la-Chapelle, Guliek, Dusseldorf, Duisburg, Wesel, Em- 
 merich, Dorsten, Dortnumd, Arensbcrg, Soest, Bieleveld, Lippstadt, 
 Padcrborn, Minden, (_)snaburg, Oldenburg, I'hnlnien, Mei)ix;n, 
 Haseluune, Linge, Bentlieiin, ^lunster, and Coesfeldt. 
 
 9. The lower Saxou Circle, where we have Brunswick, Gottingcn,
 
 198 Appendix. 
 
 Halberstadt, Goslar, Wolfenbiittel, MagdeburLT, Helmstadt, Gythorn, 
 Damiebero;, Schwerin, Rostock, AVisniar, Lubeck, Kiel, Kendsburg, 
 Liiuen, Meldorji, Kremijen, Glnckstadt, Stado, Hamburg, Bremen, 
 Luneburg, Celle, Hannover, Hildesbeim, Hamelu, and llintelen. 
 
 10. The upper Saxon Circle, the chief Towns of which are 
 Eisenach, Gotha, Erfurt, Weimar, Jena, Zeitz, Altenburg, Meissen, 
 Dresden, Leipsic, Torgau, Wittenberg, Dessau, Halle, Mansfelt, 
 Zerbst, Berlin, Frankfort on the Oder, Ciistrin, Stettin, Colberg, 
 Wolgast, Gripswalde, Stralsund, and the Island Riigen. 
 
 Besides these ten Circles there likewise belong to Germany the 
 countries Valesia, Switzerland, Rhetia, Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, 
 and Lusatia. 
 
 Valesia or Walesland is a country situated in the South and to 
 the West of Germany, between the Duchies of Milan, Aosta, and 
 Savoy. 
 
 Its chief Towns ai-e Sitten or Sion, and Martinach. 
 
 Switzerland is a country situated in the South- Western portion 
 of Germanj^ between the Upper Elsas, the Swabian and Rhetian 
 territories, the Duchy of IMilan, Valesia, the Duchy of Savoy, the 
 Lake of Geneva and Franche Comte. 
 
 Its chief Towns are Zurich, Bern, Basle, Lucerne, Unterwalden, 
 Glarus, Freyburg, Soleure, and Schaffhausen. 
 
 Rhetia is a country situated in the Southern part of Germany, 
 between Switzerland, Swabia, the county of Tyrol, the dominion of 
 Venice, and the Duchy of Milan. 
 
 Its chief Towns are Chur, and Chiavenna. 
 
 Bohemia is a country situated in the Eastern portion of and 
 within Germany, between the territories Meissen, Lusatia, Silesia, 
 Moravia, Austria, the Bavarian or Upper Palatinate, and the 
 Voightlaudt. 
 
 Its chief Towns are Prague, Budweis, Pilsen, Tabor, Leutmeritz, 
 and Egra. 
 
 Moravia is a territory in the Eastern portion of Germany, between 
 Silesia, Hungaria, Austria, and Bohemia. 
 
 Its chief Towns are Olmiitz, Brinn, Znaym and Hradisch. 
 
 Silesia is a Duchy in the East of Germany, between the Kingdom 
 of Poland, the provinces of Himgary, Moravia, Bohemia, Lusatia, 
 and the Electorate of Brandenburg. 
 
 Its chief Cities are Breslau, Glogau, Liegnitz, Schweidnitz, Brieg, 
 Jauer, Wohlau, Crossen, and Sagan. 
 
 Lusatia, also called Lausnitz, is a country situated in the Eastern 
 portion of Germany towards the North, between the Electorate of 
 Brandenburg, the Duchy of Silesia, and the provinces of Bohemia, 
 Misnia, and Upper Saxony. 
 
 Its chief Towns are Gorlitz, Cottbus, Sorau, and Guben. The
 
 Appendix. 199 
 
 chief Universities in the whole of Germanj' are, Basle, Heidelberg, 
 Jena, Marburg, Giesseu, Erfurt, Altorf, Frankfort on the Oder, 
 Freiburg, Wurtzburg, Ingoldstadt, Helmstedt, Leijisic, Siegen, 
 Prague, Tiibingen, Breslau, Wittenberg, and Rostock. 
 
 The chief Rivers are the Meuse, the Rhine, the Moselle, the Maine, 
 the Ems, the Weser, the Elbe, the Oder and the Spree. 
 
 Note. — The French Fugitives are generally known and spoken of as 
 Huguenots, a name supposed to be a French corruption of the German 
 e/cZ_f/i°«os2= oath-comrade, confederate, associate, or ally. By referring 
 to that beautiful work of art and stupendous compilation of historical 
 and geographical data, the Atlas of Joan Blaeu, the second volume 
 (Amsterdam 1G6-1) containing the maps and the liistory of Germany, we 
 read that " It is probable that Switzerland i.s called after the village of 
 Switz ; it is also called the Confederated or United Country, and in 
 German ' die Eydgnotscliafft,' in consequence of the bond with which 
 they are luiited together." 
 
 Should it therefore be true that the word Huguenot is a corruption 
 of the German Eidgenosz, then it follows that the name must have been 
 borne in the tirst place by the Vaudois, as natives of Switzerland, or 
 members of " die Eydgnotscluifft," and that in course of time it was 
 likewise applied to the Protestants of France, whose religious views 
 were identical with those held by the " people of the valleys." 
 
 The French certainly have a remarkable talent for manipulating, 
 and finally absorbing a foreign word, so that even its most intimate 
 friend fails to recognise it. Take, for instance, the Dutch word 
 huitenwacld — the advanced guard, or picket. Of tliis they have made 
 bivouac, i. e., " passing the night in the open air." But this is not all. 
 By referring to a Dutch dictionary, the reader will find that the same 
 word in its altered form has likewise found a home in colloquial Dutch 
 in the Netherlands, and is certainly not looked upon as a stranger 
 there !
 
 200 Appendix. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 (Page 135.) 
 
 The Marquis Du Quesne and FRANgois Leguat. 
 
 The paper received by me from Mr. Van den Berg, the Royal 
 Archivist at the Hague, lilvcwise contains some interesting com- 
 munications regarding the Marquis Du Quesne and his brother, and 
 their intentions regarding the colonization of the Island Mascarenhas. 
 What he prominently brings forward as the reason why the expe- 
 dition was abandoned, viz. : " That when all had been embarked, 
 and only waited for a favourable wind, the rumour spread that the 
 King of France had sent a squadron of seven ships to Bourbon, and 
 because there were so many women and helpless children on the two 
 vessels, Du Quesne decided not to expose them to imminent danger 
 from that quarter, and therefore temporarily abandoned his pro- 
 ject," &c., when compared with such portions of the Archives as I 
 have given in the text, will show a slight difference, but if carefully 
 considered, will be found to be in reality in harmony with the latter, 
 as it is very natural that Du Quesne was not only compelled by the 
 troubles which overtook his two vessels to abandon the enterprise, 
 but also because he justly feared — as did the Board of Seventeen — 
 that the responsibility would be too great to expose so manj' women 
 and children to the guns of seven war-ships on an island which they 
 would not have had time to put into a projier state of defence before 
 the arrival there of the enemy, unfortunately under the command of 
 his own cousin. 
 
 C. A. Fairbridge, Esq., kindly lent me the narrative of the 
 Voyages of Francois Leguat, a French nobleman and Huguenot, who 
 with seven companions was left by Captain Vaillcau, of the Hiron- 
 delle, on the Island Diego Eodriguez, and a portion of whose adven- 
 tures I have embodied in the text. The whole narrative is intensely 
 interesting, and reveals a writer of great ability and a most genial 
 disposition. One small page 1 give here. Having been confined for 
 two long weary years on the Island whose beauty he describes in 
 powerful language, he mentions their attempt to make a boat and
 
 Appendix. 201 
 
 with it endeavour to reach ^lanritius ; their success, although they 
 were neither carpenters nor smiths ; their first attempt to leave ; the 
 overturning of their boat on a reef near the shore, and the fatal 
 result to one of them named Isaac Boyer, who died three weeks 
 afterwards. After that he states that he could not persuade the 
 others from abandoning a second attempt, and that, though com- 
 paratively an old man, he was obliged to submit to the ruling of the 
 majority and make up his mind to depart likewise. But he did not 
 like to leave the grave of his departed companion without a line 
 upon it ; hence he says : " Worthy reader ! that a memento of this 
 new world may be fixed in your memory, read, if you please, the 
 following epitaph : — 
 
 Beneath the Shadow 
 
 Of these Immoktal Palms 
 
 In The Bosom Of A Faithful And Virgin Earth, 
 
 Have BecTi Piously Laid 
 
 The Bones Of 
 
 ISAAC BOYER. 
 
 Honest and Sincere Gascon, Descended fkom Adam 
 
 As Much Of Noble Blood As Any One Of The Children Of Man 
 
 His Brethren 
 
 Who Can All Clearly Compute To Have Had Among Their Ancestors 
 
 Bishops and Millers. 
 
 * * * * 
 If All Men Lived As He Has Lived 
 Dancing, Lace, Statesmen, Castles, 
 
 Cannons, Prisons, Tax-Gatherers And Monarchs 
 Would Have Been Useless Things In The World. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 More Philosopher Than The Philosophers He Was Wise. 
 More Theologian Than Tlie Tbcologians, He Was Christian. 
 More Learned Tlian The Doctors, He Was Aware of His Ignorance. 
 More Independent Than Princes 
 
 He Neither Suffered From The Pest Of Flatterers, Nor The 
 
 Yearnings After Political Life. 
 
 And 
 
 Richer Than Potentates, He Felt No Want 
 
 But That Of 
 
 A Wife. 
 
 During The Times. Dn adfnl Tn Think Of 
 
 And Whose Horrors Make 3Iy Plu Tremble 
 
 He Was Compelled
 
 202 Appendix, 
 
 TO FORSAKE HIS FATHERLAND 
 AND EVERYTHING WITH IT 
 
 In Order To Flee From 
 
 The Furious Ministers Of The Great Oppression. 
 
 He Crossed Whilst Fleeing, Both Mountains And Seas, 
 
 And Being Wrecked On This Island 
 
 Found Here The Right Haven Of Blessedness. 
 
 He And Seven Sharers Of The Same Fate 
 Were Two Years Here 
 
 THE PEOPLE AND ITS RULERS. 
 
 He Might Have Enjoyed The Pleasures Of This New World 
 
 Much Longer 
 
 If The Inner Longing Of His Heart 
 
 FOR THE MOST ADORABLE SEX 
 
 Had Not Goaded Him On To An Enterprise 
 Which Caused His Death. 
 
 He Struggled Manfully With This Dreadful Enemy 
 
 And Conquered 
 
 For At The Same Time When He Surrendered Earth To Earth 
 
 And Obtained The Honour For The Island Rodrigue 
 
 To Be Able To Present To His Lord 
 
 A Blessed Resurrection, 
 
 HIS SOUL ASCENDED 
 
 GLORIOUSLY ON HIGH 
 
 TO THE PALACE OF IMMORTALITY. 
 
 His Days Brief And Full of Trouble 
 Were No More Than 
 
 TEN THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED ; 
 
 And 
 
 That Of His Last Farewell To This World 
 Was The Eighth Of The Month Of May. The Year Of Our Redemption 
 
 * * * M.DC.XCIII * * * 
 
 Whoever Thou Mayest Be, As Thou Passest Bye And Readest This 
 
 Remember That 
 
 Thou Also Shalt Erelong Die 
 
 And Therefore 
 
 Employ Time Well. 
 
 A * n."
 
 Apimidix. 203 
 
 His farewell address to the Island is a beautiful specimen of 
 elocution, to say nothing of the matter of vhich it treats, but it is 
 too long to insert it here. 
 
 Regarding the Huguenots here he writes as follows: "When 
 these poor brethren at the Cape had made up their minds in Holland 
 to settle in this country, they were presented with a considerable 
 sum of money in order to be able to undertake the voyage. They 
 were brought out free of expense, and when they arrived here each 
 one received as much land as he wanted. They were also provided 
 ■with all kinds of building material, provisions and clothing ; and all 
 that, without an annual tax and without interest ; but on the con- 
 dition, however, to i^ay back all advances whenever they were able 
 to do so, A large collection was likewise made for them at Batavia, 
 and the amount was distributed among them, each one receiving 
 according to his necessities. Their produce is taken off their hands, 
 and in the manner already mentioned by me ; a fair price, indeed, 
 especially here where everything is so abundant. It is greatly in their 
 favour that the slaves are not so dear here. They have likewise 
 great service from the Aborigines, whom the Dutch have given the 
 name of Hottentots, because these people are often heard uttering 
 that name. For similar reasons the Spaniards called that portion 
 of the New "World conquered by them, Peru, And it is very pro- 
 bable that in the same manner the Heavenly Bread, formerly given 
 by God to His people (Exodus 16, v. 17), was called Man or Manna. 
 This in passing. 
 
 " Our fugitives let the Hottentots work in the corn-fields, vine- 
 yards, and wherever they want them, for a little piece of tobacco, 
 or some bread. And as they are allowed to hunt, the other food 
 hardly costs them anything. Wood alone is a little scarce, but that 
 does not matter much, because the air is warm, and they require no 
 fire except to prepare their food. For the same reason they need 
 not spend much money on clothes, the lightest and thinnest stuffs 
 are good enough. They likewise buy a good many things from the 
 sailors cheaply, and who continually arrive at the Cape from all 
 quarters of the globe. It is true that, in order to sell their produce, 
 they must bring it to the Cape, which is about ten Dutch miles 
 distant ; but that inconvenience is very slight, because the road is 
 uncommonly good, and their oxen, which can step out well, do the 
 journey in a day. 
 
 " Everyone can conceive that, as all beginnings arc not without 
 difficulties, these good people likewise have theirs. But they have 
 been generously and charitably assisted, and Ood has in the end 
 blessed their labours so tuell, that at present they are all in easy cir- 
 cumstances; yea! that there are even some among them who are 
 already rich.
 
 204 Ajij^encUx. 
 
 " In many portions of the Cape, especially where our new resi- 
 dents dwell, the country is remarkably beautiful, and the air very 
 good. The large and deep rivulets add much to the fruitfulness of 
 the soil, which produces wine and all kinds of grain in abundance. 
 The hillocks planted with vines are sheltered from the destructive 
 winds, and bask in the sunshine ! The fountain streams meander 
 below them, and irrigate the vegetable and pleasure gardens, which 
 are filled with all kinds of fruits and edible wares growing in Europe 
 as well as in India. 
 
 " One of these fugitives, named (? Isaac) Taillefer, a very honest 
 and industrious man, and very diligent in investigating all kinds of 
 things, has a garden which may certainly be called a beautiful one. 
 Nothing is wanting in it ; everything is in order, and as it ought to 
 be. He has likewise an inner yard, with all kinds of aviaries and 
 birds ; also a multitude of oxen, sheep, and horses, which according 
 to the nature of the country, have to graze the whole year through 
 without ever being in want of food, and without the necessity on 
 his part of being provided with hay ; certainly a great convenience. 
 This noble baas receives those excellently well who visit him, and 
 treats them grandly. His wine is the best that is obtained there, 
 and as nearly as possible like our inferior Champagne. 
 
 " To sum up everything, it is certain that the Cape is a pleasant 
 shelter for the miserable French Protestants. There they possess 
 and peacefully enjoy their good fortune, living on exceptionally 
 friendly terms with the Hollanders, who, as everyone knows, are of 
 a hospitable and charitable nature." 
 
 It is not to be supposed, however, that no better wine was pro- 
 duced at the Cape than what Leguat drank at Taillefer' s table, and 
 compared by him to the inferior champagne of France ; for in a 
 private letter to Governor Simon van der Stel dated the 28th April, 
 1698, Advocate Willem Ten Dam says, " With the Cape red wine I 
 
 drank your health, but the white or Frontignac has more reputation." 
 * * * * 
 
 The following short lists of fugitives, which I have not yet seen 
 in print, I extract from the Despatch from Delft to the Cape, dated 
 7th May, 1698. "With this ship — the Drieberyen — we have per- 
 mitted the following French fugitives to proceed to the Cape, 
 passage free, and to earn a living there as freemen — 
 
 Louwys De Kyck, alias Louis Le Riche. 
 
 Pieter Cronier, do. Pierre Crosnier. 
 
 Stephen Cronier, do. Esticnne Crosnier. 
 
 Jan van het tichelje, do. Jean du Tuillet. 
 
 Philip van Rouan, do. Philip Drouin. 
 You are to assist them according to the instructions of the year 
 1687."
 
 Appendix. 205 
 
 Delft, 5th April, 1700. " We liave allowed a passage to the fol- 
 lowing freemen, viz. — 
 
 Paul Couvret and Anna Yalet his wife, — horn at Bazozc, near 
 Orleans — with a little child named Anna, Elisabeth Couvret. He 
 is an agriculturist and vine grower, and also a shoemaker. 
 
 Josue Selljer and Elisabeth Couvret his wife, agriculturist and 
 vine grower, and also a carpenter. 
 
 Anna van Ameyden, 34 years old, and 
 
 Cornelia Huyssen, of Delft, spinster, 20 years old. 
 
 Elisabeth Pogeau, spinster, of Paris, 18 years old. 
 
 We are sure that you will provide these people with every con- 
 venience and assistance, that they will be properly sheltered and 
 obtain work, each according to his ability."
 
 
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