The review finished, a breakfast was served at the Drosdy, or Municipality, on long tables, in a magnificent avenue of oak trees; nearly 600 volunteers and many other guests sat down, whilst in the back-ground a large number of ladies and gentlemen were present as spectators. The presence of some members of the Novara Expedition at the festival led the Burgomaster, after the toast of the Queen was given, to propose the health of the Emperor of Austria, prefacing it with various laudatory remarks on the Expedition. The toast was most heartily received, the whole company raising their glasses, whilst the band performed the Austrian national anthem. The officer to whose lot it fell to return thanks, said:—"That he felt deeply gratified with the honour done to his country and nation by the enthusiasm with which the health of his sovereign had been received by so distinguished an assembly, and that he could not forbear expressing his admiration and delight in observing the prosperous condition of this fine country, which, like all others where the Anglo-Saxon race was predominant, was blessed with freedom, with the spirit of progress, and the blessings of Christianity;" and he concluded by proposing "Old England for ever."

On the day after the review the journey was pursued early in the morning to the village of Paarl (Pearl), about four hours distant. We had come as strangers to the hospitable Stellenbosch, and left as old friends, the entire family accompanying us to the carriage, and the worthy old mother of our amiable host, a thoroughly genuine Dutch matron, was visibly touched on taking leave of those whom, in all probability, she would never see more.

On the route to Paarl several immensely large ant-hills were met with, some of which measured from two to two-and-a-half feet in diameter, by about three feet high. The insects were partly black and partly of a greyish-brown colour, and must be very troublesome to the farmers.

Paarl, an extremely neat village, consists of a single long street, and contains nearly 4000 inhabitants, chiefly occupied in the growth of the vine. They are the descendants of those French Protestants who, at the close of the 17th century, left their native country in consequence of religious persecution. All the detached farm-yards were extremely neat, and bore evidence of the wealth of their owners. Nothing reminds one of Africa and the neighbourhood of Hottentots, Bushmen, or Caffres. The landscape becomes grander the more the mountains, 4000 to 5000 feet high, are approached. Among them lies the little town of Wellington, charmingly situated; though but a few years in existence, and numbering only 2000 inhabitants, it has already a joint-stock bank with a capital of £45,000, several schools, and some neat places of worship. While taking an evening stroll, we passed a well-lighted Reformed Dutch Church, from the interior of which the devotional tones of a pious Christian congregation floating through the night air, died away among the mountains.

Singular to say, the small, and, one would think, essentially prosaic and practical little town of Wellington boasts a quack doctor, named Brabna, whom the common people, far and near, come to consult, more, one would imagine, to be relieved of their money than their ailments.

The route to Worcester, whither we set out the following morning, leads at first through the wide, highly-cultivated Waggonmakers' Valley, adorned with numbers of rich farm-steads (so named from a number of artisans of this handicraft having settled here in former times), after which it passes over the difficult pass called Paine's Kloef, 4000 feet high, which frequently recalled the well-known road over the Sömmering Alp, or that at Optschina. This mountain-pass, first completed in 1853, by the engineer, Mr. Paine, greatly facilitates the traffic between Cape Town and this fertile district, which previously was quite inaccessible, and whose immense natural resources are only now beginning to be developed.

When we reached the highest point of the pass we found a strong south-east wind blowing. The thermometer marked 55° F., and when plunged in a spring that issued from the mountain close at hand, 48°. South-east winds are especially prevalent here, particularly in summer, when they frequently cause serious damage; hence all the upper branches of the trees incline to the north-west.

We now came to the finest bridge in the country, named Darling Bridge, after a late governor, which is thrown across the broad stream called by the Dutch, Breede River, and by the English, Broad River, a frequent source of error. The English colonists are bent upon driving out the Dutch names of rivers and localities, and supplying them with new names of English origin. The Dutch, however, hold on obstinately to the names they have been accustomed to, and continue to use the ancient nomenclature.

In the neighbourhood of Darling Bridge is a farm where the traveller can be comfortably accommodated, and from which, being a post-station, letters can be forwarded to all parts of the country. It has regular communication with the rest of the colony three times a week. The vehicle, however, in which the letters and packets are forwarded, in consequence of the wretched roads in the interior, and with the view of expediting the transmission of mail matter, is simply a light, open, eminently uncomfortable, two-wheel waggon, in which but one passenger can be taken each trip. Day and night, up hill and down dale, it continues its journey, changing driver and horses every two hours, only the unfortunate passenger being condemned to remain glued to the jolting uncomfortable car, until he has attained the end of his journey. We were told of an English captain, who once travelled on urgent business 400 miles in fifty hours in this fashion, and arrived at his destination in such a pitiable plight, that he had to be lifted from the car and put to bed forthwith, which he kept for several weeks, before he was able to get about again. Unfortunately, we were not told whether this unlucky passenger returned to Cape Town by a similar conveyance.

In the dining-room of the farm we made acquaintance with several families from Graaf Reinet, in the north of the colony, who were en route for Cape Town, and had been already three weeks on the road, during which they must have passed every night in their unwieldy waggon, or under tents. There was also among the assembled travellers a Quaker Missionary, of Worcester, who was on his way to the opening of the Spiritual Synod at Cape Town, and who was so kind as to furnish us, on the spot, with some introductions to his friends in Worcester, a lovely little town, which we reached towards the evening. There are places which charm at the first glance, just as there are many men who take us by storm as it were. Worcester is one of these; so neat, so clean, with a pretty garden in front of each little house, every wall of which was entwined with roses, and in the back-ground all around, bare, but picturesque groups of lofty hills of a blueish-grey tint, which imparted to the entire landscape a peculiar and almost magical colouring. Worcester, a creation of yesterday, has about 4500 inhabitants, chiefly employed in vine growing and sheep pasture. There are some of the peasantry here who own flocks of 3000 to 4000 sheep! The rich vegetation of the valley has an eminently northern character. Alongside of oaks, pines, poplars, willows, will appear a tree of Australian origin, of the order of Myrtaceæ, the blue gum-tree (Eucalyptus Globulus), which, on account of its rapid growth, is planted before each door for the purpose of shade. One of these trees was shown to us of but four years' growth, the stem of which was already twenty feet high! The leaves have a highly aromatic odour, and must be especially suitable for the extraction of oil, as the rind is full of camphor; as yet, however, the tree is not used by the colonists for any other purpose than to supply shade to their gardens.

It is surprising what comfort the traveller encounters among these new settlements, from which, even already, all traces have been eradicated of the difficulties that originally beset the colonist; so that at every turn one meets with evidences of the highest European civilization. Whenever, indeed, he finds himself at a settlement, he will remark that it is not merely provided with the necessaries of life, or the mere products of the soil, but that it sparkles with numerous objects of luxury and refined taste; such as handsome furniture, pianos, and other musical instruments, engravings, English classics, besides telescopes, barometers, thermometers, and other similar evidences of high cultivation. At the hotel at Worcester, we met with a degree of comfort such as is found only in the chief cities of Europe. Several of the inhabitants, among others Dr. Esselin, a missionary of the Moravian brotherhood, and Dr. Meynard, of the Episcopal Church, laid us under particular obligations by their participation in the objects of our inquiry. The latter gentleman sought us out at our hotel, and, after a hearty welcome, remarked that he possessed, in his collection, several highly interesting petrifactions from Beaufort, about 400 miles north-west of Worcester. We satisfied ourselves, however, by a visit which we paid to Dr. Meynard at his own house, that his collection was far from possessing the interest he claimed for it. In all probability, however, judging by what we heard, Beaufort must be a classic soil for the palæontologist, as there are numberless fossils in that district, especially of reptiles. In like manner, the stalactite grottoes, known as "The Congo Caves," 300 miles from Worcester, have never yet been scientifically examined or described.

Dr. Esselin, who is a native of Hesse, was so kind as to accompany the naturalists of the Novara Expedition to the hot springs of Brand Vley the following morning. The road thither, which lies through a valley partly overflowed towards the end of the rainy season, was exceedingly trying to the horses, and, but for the kind offices of Dr. Esselin, who was acquainted with the difficulties of the route, and undertook the guidance of the waggon through the constantly recurring swamps and morasses, we should in all probability have had to retrace our steps halfway, or even have stuck fast, which would have been a still more serious matter. Only after unspeakable exertions did we succeed in threading the valley of Worcester as far as the shores of Breede (or Broad) River. Several times we were compelled, in order to lighten the waggon, to dismount, and wade up to our knees in water. Once the quag was so deep, that to avoid sinking in it we had to be carried, one by one, on the back of our Malay driver.

On the bank is the cottage, (boeren plaats), of a peasant who avails himself of his proximity to convert the stream into a source of profit, by ferrying travellers, who have occasion to pass here during the floods, across the river in a small skiff, the waggon and horses being swum across afterwards. In summer, on the contrary, the stream is readily forded on horseback, and is indeed dry at several points. At the period of our visit (in October, 1857), towards the end of the rainy season, this Breede River was about 150 feet wide, and about 28 feet deep, and we accordingly found ourselves compelled to call in the assistance of the ferryman. Under his superintendence the work was gone about quite systematically. First of all the four horses were swum across, by a halter round the neck; after which the luggage was transported to the opposite bank in a small boat. Last of all came the waggon, with the travellers therein. It was thought that the upper portion of the waggon might be towed across, swimming on the surface of the water, by fastening an empty water-tight cask between the wheels; the cask, however, proved unequal to the weight. As the waggon left the shore it sank deeper and deeper in the water, till about mid-current it fairly capsized, hardly a spoke of the left wheel reaching the opposite bank.

Amidst our perplexities, a violent shower of rain came on, making the waggon leak in every corner, just as we succeeded, after great trouble, in getting it to land, and were busy repairing it. Fortunately, every requisite precaution had been taken to remedy any such disaster occurring at this dangerous spot; so that the whole affair, though sufficiently uncomfortable at the time, left only the recollection of a pleasant adventure.

At last, towards noon, we reached the hot springs of Brand Vley, or Brand Valley. This hot spring, which is quite exposed, like a pond or tank, and even at the least accessible points is adorned with rich vegetation, is about 100 feet in circumference, and is of a triangular shape, rounded off at the corners. Among bananas, ferns, and cacti of all sorts, spring up numerous specimens of Calla Ethioptica, silver poplars, pines, reeds, and canes, in wild profusion. Many fruits even, such as pine-apples, mangoes, rose apples, &c., which as a rule do not flourish at this elevation, grew all round the edges of the basin. Some twigs of a rose tree, which, growing luxuriantly in the warmth and moisture, spread across the spring, like a green canopy, must have been a second growth of the same year. We in fact enjoyed the unusual spectacle of seeing one portion of the tree in the flush of its utmost beauty, while the upper and more distant branches had not as yet put forth their leaves. The water at the hottest point reached 145° F., while the temperature of the air was 75° F. It is remarkably clear, has not the slightest taste, and in many particulars greatly resembles the springs of Wildbad Gastein. The number of patients during the season (October to April) does not exceed from 100 to 150, the waters being chiefly used in chronic maladies, rheumatic affections, scrofula, erysipelas, cutaneous eruptions, and similar complaints. Immediately adjoining is a small brook, with a temperature of 68° F., which rises at the foot of a neighbouring eminence, and has water enough during the entire year to keep a mill in constant work.

The only animal inhabiting the spring is the larva of a Tipularia, which frequents one quarter of the pool where the temperature of the water does not exceed 113°.

On the 14th of August, 1857, two shocks of an earthquake were felt in rapid succession in Brand Valley, of such violence as to arouse the inhabitants out of their sleep, when several of the smaller houses were found to have rents and fissures in their walls. The proprietor of the bath alleged that the shocks in Brand Valley were much more severe than at Worcester, although that town is but six miles distant.

At Brand Valley we took leave of our hospitable companion, Dr. Esselin, who presented us with several books on leaving, and set out on an excursion to the mission of the Moravian Brethren in Genaaden Dal, in the district of Caledon. En route we encountered several families, who came from far in the interior of Cape Colony, driving before them enormous herds of oxen, some of which were yoked to the waggons that formed the caravan, these being fitted up something like dwelling-houses on wheels. As night fell, a halt would be called at some selected spot, when the draught oxen were unharnessed, a fire lit in the open air, and the evening repast prepared. Horses are very rarely used on long journeys, although these are in consequence seriously lengthened thereby, especially as it is the custom all over the country to unyoke every two or three hours, so as to allow the beasts to enjoy a roll on the ground, if only for a few minutes at a time.

As neither of our drivers was acquainted with the road we were now to pursue, we hired a black guide from Brand Valley, who accompanied us on horseback as far as the next farm-house, where we were to pass the night. Just as one requires a pilot to take a ship into an insecure or unknown harbour, so we now had to avail ourselves of the services of this limber young negro, who was an excellent rider, in piloting us through the endless morasses and pools of water. Renden was the name of the solitary farm (the property of Mr. Pretorius, a landed proprietor, to whom we had letters of introduction), where we were to pass the night.

As we approached, we were saluted with the loud barking of a hound that had been unchained, and who seemed ready to rush upon his unexpected prey, so that we hardly dared to advance one step. At last a man made his appearance at the door of the house, with a lantern in his hand, speedily followed by the whole family, anxious to learn who could be in the neighbourhood at so late an hour. We handed him the letter, which we begged him to read, and requested to know whether we could be received for the night. We were at once admitted, and speedily found a most cordial welcome. We were shown into apartments very plainly furnished, but neat, and scrupulously clean, after which we were invited to join the household at supper. It was a very numerous family. The father and mother, genuine Dutch figures, sat at the head of a long table; next to whom sat the son-in-law, who had married the eldest daughter, and then commingled with each other, the sons and daughters that were as yet unmarried. They all seemed hearty and healthy, and their indurated hands were the best diploma of their industry. The youngest son said a short prayer; after which venison, potatoes, mutton, vegetables, bread, butter, and cheese were set down in huge dishes, besides which two bottles of Cape wine, of their own manufacture, went the round of the table. Although this place had been only settled four years previously, an immense deal had been already accomplished by this stirring, cheerful family to make the soil thoroughly productive, and render the house habitable. Even a small garden had been laid out in front of the dwelling-house.

The chief article of cultivation in the valley is the grape, for wine manufacture, which must in this place return a very handsome profit.

From Renden to Genaaden Dal is a four-hours' journey. The road passes by Donker's Hoek, a tolerably high mountain, to ascend the summit of which cost our horses some strenuous exertion, although we marched a considerable distance on foot. A wide belt of sandstone formation presented a marvellous display of flowers, and gave us in little an idea of the South African Karroos, a series of terraced clay-patches, estimated at from 3000 to 4000 feet high, which, hard and steppe-like in the dry season, are speedily transformed in the rainy season into smiling, flower-bespangled plains, quite sponge-like under foot, and rich in alkaline products.[52] We advanced some six hours before reaching another farm-house. This was known as Kleene Islea Plaats (Little Island Farm), near which flows the Zonderend River (River Without End), the property of a kind and hospitable family of French extraction, whose parents emigrated hither from France during the revolution in 1793. As it was Sunday, the servants had gone to church, so they could only offer us cold mutton, syrup, butter, and bread. Before and after our repast, the devout old lady of the house put up a short petition.

Here, too, we remarked that those born in the country of European parents are called Africans: only the English form an exception to this rule, and remain with persistent patriotic obstinacy, "Englishmen."

The journey from Kleene Islea Plaats to Genaaden Dal is extremely picturesque. One first catches sight of this retired Moravian settlement only when actually entering the place itself, embowered as it is among lofty trees. What a surprise, when, still fancying one's self at a considerable distance from the village, on reaching the end of a beautiful valley at the entrance to Bavian's Kloef, one sweeps by a circuit into the very heart of the settlement. We alighted at what is called "The Lodgment," a house set apart for visitors, and conducted by a brother, in conformity with the laws of the community.

The dwellings of the Hottentots lie scattered among the rising grounds in the neighbourhood, and with their poverty-stricken aspect impart a somewhat melancholy impression. These are built of loam, low in the roof, as though intended for a stunted race of men, and rarely have windows, so that the door is, generally speaking, the largest aperture in the entire building. Our Malay driver laughed at them, and called them oete kripp (oxen stalls).

There seem to be three distinct kinds of these dwellings, which apparently indicate so many grades of social and pecuniary consideration among the resident Hottentot families. The first sort, which consists simply of a single apartment, serving at once for kitchen, work-shop, and sleeping place, and receiving air and light through a narrow, low-pitched door-way, is that most usually met with, and may not unaptly be compared to a bee-hive. The next class is of a better description, and may at once and definitely be distinguished from the first-mentioned, in so far as it possesses a second room, which, if dark and windowless, is at any rate partitioned off, and serves as a sleeping apartment. Finally, the third kind, which can only be said to be the least poor-looking, consists of one large, almost empty chamber, for occupation during the day, with wings on either side, one of which is used as a kitchen, the other as a bed-room. The wretched ventilation, and damp, moist location of these habitations, combined with the bad quality of food, may be regarded as the main causes of the unfavourable state of health of the coloured portion of the inhabitants of Genaaden Dal, among whom, especially as regards the female portion, pulmonary complaints are rife.

We were provided with letters of introduction to the Superintendent of the Community, Dr. Köbling, as also to the Physician and Pharmaceutist, Dr. Roser, a Würtemberger by birth, and experienced a most cordial reception. We availed ourselves of the last hours of declining day to make an excursion to the hills, in the country immediately adjacent, so as to command at a glance the entire colony. The principal buildings, the Church, the school, the workshops, the warehouses, and the dwellings of the missionaries, are assembled in a quadrangular open place, to which a number of lofty, massive, leafy, venerable oaks impart a sombre, but poetical, appearance, eminently characteristic of the community. All the buildings are of a uniform dingy-grey tint. Close in the rear of these buildings is a large garden, which reaches as far as what is called "Bavian's Kloef" (defile), in which, even at present, apes, antelopes, and zebras, abound. Near the kitchen-garden is the cemetery of the community, which seems to be used by meditative brethren as a favourite resort and promenade.

This settlement, situated at the entrance of a mountain defile, at the foot of an immense sandstone range, of from 3000 to 4000 feet high, was founded in the year 1787, by a brother of the persuasion, named George Schmidt, from Moravia, who settled fifty-five miles east of Cape Town, near Sargent's River, with a number of Hottentots, whom he began to convert to Christianity, and called the station "Bavian's Kloef." From the year 1806, the settlement assumed the beautiful name of "Genaaden Dal" (Vale of Benevolence), so exquisitely correspondent with the benevolent exertions of the brotherhood. It at present numbers 3100 souls, mostly a race crossed between Hottentots and Mozambique negroes, of the latter of whom a considerable number have settled here since the Slave Emancipation Act of 1826. The settlers are partly proprietors of the land, partly artisans, cutlers, waggon-makers, tanners, carpenters, millers, &c. In the workshops the most exemplary cleanliness and neatness are imperatively insisted on. At the Great Exhibition, held in London in 1851, the wood-work of the Hottentot carpenters of Genaaden Dal received "Honourable Mention," and this elegant testimonial in recognition of their efforts now hangs, framed and glazed, in the library hall of the community. It somewhat surprised us that the cutlers did not receive, in their section, a similar distinction, since, in that department of industry, the Hottentots produce articles, which, so far as concerns quality and cheapness, are really astounding. The workpeople receive a fixed weekly payment, which they may expend as they please. The net proceeds, however, of the various articles manufactured belong to the community, and are expended in defraying the expenses of, and supporting, the mission. The inhabitants of Genaaden Dal are closely connected, by religious ties, with the community; and only those who profess the principles of the Moravian brotherhood are permitted to settle among them.

The field-labourers, who hire themselves out to labour elsewhere, are frequently absent from the settlement for months at a time, and return to Genaaden Dal immediately after the completion of seed-time or harvest. It is significant that these labourers regard this period of emancipation, as a sort of relaxation from the severe discipline and rules to which they are subjected in the religious community.

The principal articles of food of the inhabitants consist of maize, beans, pumpkins, rice, fruits, tea, coffee, and occasionally mutton. Wine is strictly prohibited throughout the settlement, and when a member of the Novara Expedition, never imagining that this interdict extended to strangers as well, desired the attendant at the house we were occupying to fetch a bottle of sherry, that individual regarded him with as horror-stricken an air as though he had asked him to participate in some crime.

Although the first settlers in Genaaden Dal were pure Hottentots, not more than five or six at present speak the idiom of their fathers, the rest knowing only the Dutch tongue. The Superintendent had the kindness to allow an old blind man, of the name of Sebastian Hendrik, to be presented to us, born in the colony in 1775, of Hottentot parents, "een opregt Hottentot" (an out-and-out Hottentot), as he called himself, and who still could speak a number of phrases in his mother tongue, with its extraordinary "clicking" sounds; but, on the other hand, no longer had the slightest recollection of the customs, usages, or proverbs of that nation to which he belonged by birth. In the library of the community, where this conversation took place, there were also shown to us numerous sketches by Hottentot and Caffre lads, which gave great hope of future excellence. It is an especially gratifying indication of intellectual progress, that several works of natural history are to be found on the shelves of the library.

We also found time to listen to the singing in the church, quite a plain wooden building, erected in 1800, with white-washed walls, a spacious gallery, and an elegant organ, the gift of a benevolent lady of Hamburg, who spent some months of the year 1843 at Cape Town in search of health, and took an opportunity of visiting the Moravian brethren at Genaaden Dal. One of the missionaries sat in the middle of the chapel at a table covered with green cloth, and gave out, verse by verse, a hymn in the Dutch language, which was afterwards sung, with accompaniment by the organ, by the entire community assemble in the edifice. The men and women sat apart from each other, on smooth wooden benches, the former on the left, the latter on the right of the officiating minister. The chapel was only illuminated with a few tallow candles; but the devotional feeling of the community seemed to gain by this simple unostentatious ritual, and the mysterious solemn obscurity of their place of congregational worship.

Next morning, 12th October, some of the brethren paid us the attention of examining in our presence the scholars of the Seminary for Teachers, so that we might personally satisfy ourselves of their progress in the various branches of education. This academy for the education of suitable instructors, was originally established in 1838, through the generous assistance of a Saxon nobleman, Count Schönburg, and year by year since, has been so liberally assisted by that benevolent nobleman, that its future prosperity seems fairly established. At present there are in the seminary 14 pupils (Hottentots, Caffres, and half-breeds). Since the year of its establishment, 50 young persons in all have been sent out hence; of whom, however, only one half proved to be available for the duties of teachers. Up to the year 1856, twenty-two pupils were already at work in the service of the community, fourteen had been rejected as unsuitable, and fourteen were still in the institute. They entered at from ten to fifteen years of age, remained within its walls six years for instruction, when they were clothed and maintained, and thereafter, without further obligations to the society which had educated them, were dispatched into the most remote districts of the colony as teachers and apostles of Christianity. The examination of the pupils of the seminary took place at the Library Hall, which boasts a portrait of a highly meritorious brother, the venerable C. J. Latrobe, who, in the year 1815-16, visited South Africa as a missionary, and, two years later published, in London, his very remarkable book of travels. The examination commenced with a performance on the piano by a Mestizo lad of about sixteen, son of a Mulatto father by a Hottentot mother. This youth displayed a decided talent for music, coupled with truly admirable execution; and besides the piano, played the organ, the violin, and the violoncello. Next, a variety of questions in geography and history were put to the pupils present. These consisted chiefly of easy intelligible questions, principally relating to England. Those examined were surprisingly well acquainted with the history of Liverpool, London, Manchester, Dublin, &c., and could enumerate many particulars about the Thames and Westminster Abbey. What proved most disagreeable, was the singular custom that prevailed, of all the pupils answering at once, each hoping, by out-clamouring his fellow, to prove his intimate acquaintance with the subject under discussion. The examiner, for example, put a question to a scholar, whereupon all the pupils yelled out the reply in chorus. But it was, on the whole, astonishing, and indeed eminently suggestive, to hear Hottentots, Caffres, and negroes, at the extreme southernmost part of Africa, speaking of England, and her influence over the destinies of humanity, as a commercial, maritime, and industrial power. Already the youth of the settlement are thoroughly interpenetrated with esteem and affection for the mother country and its mighty people. As a finale, the assembled pupils sang a Dutch Bergmann's Gruss, "The Miner's Welcome," and one of Mendelssohn's delightful songs.

Before we quitted Genaaden Dal we breakfasted with the missionaries. They are all married, and manage their households in common, and accordingly partake of their various meals together, each with his family, all seated at one table, one of their wives attending to change dishes and wait at the table. Nowhere are any particular qualifications to be remarked, and it is difficult to conceive more thorough harmony than exists among the unpretending, yet zealously religious missionaries of Genaaden Dal.

As we were preparing for our departure, Dr. Roser unexpectedly packed up a number of objects of natural history and scientific interest, which he kindly presented to the Imperial expedition as a souvenir of Genaaden Dal. Besides these, there were also given to us two valuable little books,—one a small work upon the Nicobar Islands, written about the beginning of this century by a Moravian brother of the name of Gottfried Hensel; the other a treatise composed by the excellent Dr. Roser himself, upon the pharmaceutics and natural history of Genaaden Dal. With respect to the various substances chewed as stimulants, or intoxicants, by the Hottentots, in order to deprive themselves of sensation, or rouse themselves to a state of high excitability, we found the following particulars in this interesting essay. That most in use is composed of the bruised leaves of the "Leonotis Leonurus." This plant, which grows in great quantity in and beyond the Genaaden Dal, is called by the natives "Dagga," as also frequently, "Tacha or Takka," and this variation in pronunciation is very probably the reason that we find in Berghaus's "Völker des Erdballs" (Races of the Globe), this celebrated smoke-weed, marked as "Donha." What the same author says of certain stimulating properties of the plant may well be considered as an exaggeration. It is curious how the properties of this plant seem to be inextricably mingled with the destinies of the Hottentots. In many places it has been extirpated, in order more readily to wean the aborigines from the practice of chewing: at other places again, "Leonotis Leonurus" is expressly planted in order to attract the Hottentots, and so supply any deficiency in hands for labour, reckless of the moral consequences. Another narcotic, and the most widely prevalent, is the wild hemp (Canabis Sativa), the dried leaves of which are smoked by the natives. Dr. Juritz, one of the most respectable apothecaries in Cape Town, assured us he had been compelled, during a previous residence at Stellenbosch, where he was engaged in his business, to keep always on hand in his store a large quantity of wild hemp for sale to the natives.

The poison with which the Bushmen tip their arrows, rendering them such dangerous and terrible weapons, is extracted from the "Cestrum venenatum."[53]

Among the animal products of Genaaden Dal of importance in a scientific point of view is Hyrazeuma, a substance obtained from the urine of the Cape Marmot (Hyrax Capensis). It is of a dark-brown colour, somewhat tenacious, and nearly hard, of a very penetrating odour, and is found in cavities resembling a molehill. This article is made use of with much effect in hysterical complaints by the Hottentots. Dr. Roser is of opinion, that this Cape Marmot is in all probability the same animal which Martin Luther, in Leviticus, c. xi, v. 5, and Proverbs, c. xxx, v. 26, has translated by the word "kaninchen" (conies).

On our way from Genaaden Dal to Caledon, to which there is an excellent level road, we perceived a large number of silver poplars, with pendent nests of finches. On a single tree we counted more than forty such pendent nests, constructed in a very singular manner.

Caledon is a cheerful, ambitious little town, important as the centre of the wool trade, as also for the thermal springs in the neighbourhood. These, situated about two English miles outside the town, on a rising ground, in a romantic and highly attractive neighbourhood, are impregnated with iron, and of a considerable temperature. Even in the bath-house, distant about a mile from the source of the spring, a thermometer held in a stone trough, filled to overflowing, marked from 100°·4 to 104° Fahr. At their respective sources the one spring has a temperature of 116°·6 Fahr. and the other 114°·8 Fahr. The colour of the water is ochre yellow. From the terrace of the bath-house a rather extensive landscape opens to the view, backed by a splendid range of mountains, including the Tower of Babel, as the inhabitants have christened the highest peak in this vicinity.

Caledon has 600 inhabitants. About twenty years ago there were not more than ten bales of wool grown in the entire district. At present about 800,000 lbs. are shipped annually. One Merino sheep supplies from 1 lb. to 1½ lb. of wool, worth from 1s. 2d. to 1s. 4d. sterling per pound. Besides Caledon, the principal wool districts of Cape Colony are Swellendam, Beaufort, and Graaf-Reinet. All these districts united produce yearly about 15,000,000 lbs. of wool, worth about £1,000,000 sterling. Within two years the wool produce of the entire colony has increased 30 per cent., and during last year a strenuous and very costly experiment has been made to introduce the Angora breed, with the intention of increasing the wool-producing powers of the less fleecy race by a judicious cross with the native species.

The road to Somerset-West leads over the high and picturesque Hauw-Hoek Pass and Sir Lowry's Pass; the latter is very steep, and parts of it are hardly, if at all, inferior in extent and variety of landscape to those presented by the Styrian Alps. At the culminating point of the latter pass, which surpasses even Paine's Kloef in height and width, one stands as upon the ruins of a lofty tower, from which the eye can range at will over the entire country beneath. South-east and eastward towers the Hauw-Hoek Pass, while southwards and westwards the charming Lowry's Vale, and far in the distance the smiling settlement of Somerset-West come into view, while all around, farther than the eye can reach, are luxuriant pasturages, that only wait to be settled and cultivated in order to produce magnificent returns.

Somerset-West, a prettily-built, and very charmingly situated settlement, already supports so considerable a traffic with the capital that a daily omnibus has proved a remunerative speculation to the promoters.

We now proceeded to Zandvliet, the property of one of the oldest and most highly considered families in the colony, named Cloete, where we spent the night. With these genial kindly people we soon felt ourselves as entirely at home as if with our own families; we sang, laughed, and frolicked, till far into the night.

The following morning we drove to a hill, about a mile and a half distant from Zandvliet, known as Macassar Downs, on which is the spot of interment, (Krammat or Brammat), of a Malay prophet.

This individual, so honoured in death, was, if we are to believe the Malays, a direct descendant of Mahomet, named Sheikh Joseph, who, expelled from Batavia by the Dutch Government for political reasons, settled in the colony about a century and a half ago, and died and was buried in the neighbourhood of Zandvliet. An especial deputation came over from Malacca to Cape Colony to fetch away the corpse of the defunct prophet, for conveyance to the land of his birth; but at the disinterment it happened that the little finger of the prophet, in spite of the most persevering research, could nowhere be found. This circumstance appeared to those simple believers sufficient reason for erecting a monument over the spot in which the finger of a Malay prophet lay hid from view. Even to this day the Malays from time to time perform a pilgrimage to the Colony and celebrate their religious ceremonies at the Mausoleum. Four followers of the prophet are buried with him, two of them Mahometan priests, who are regarded with much veneration by the Malays. An extensive flight of stone steps leads to the tomb, the exterior of which is very insignificant, and, but for a small pointed turret, hardly differs from an ordinary dwelling-house. On entering, a low-roofed vault is visible, a sort of front outhouse, which rather disfigures the façade, and much more resembles a cellar than the portal of a Mausoleum. Above the arch of this vault an Arabic inscription has been engraved with a stylus; but this is so painted over in brick colour that it has already become almost illegible. Judging by the few words that have been deciphered, it seems to consist of the first propositions of the Koran.

The inner room, provided on two sides with modern glazed windows at irregular intervals, is about the size of an ordinary room of 12 feet long, 9 wide, and 7 high. In the middle rises the monument, to which access is had by some more brick steps. Immense quantities of unwashed white linen cloth are heaped upon it, which seem occasionally sprinkled with a brown odoriferous liquid (dupa). As at the head of Sheikh Joseph, so at his feet several figures, resembling those in enamel used to ornament tarts, are drawn upon the linen cloth with the overflowings of the unguent. These have undoubtedly been formed accidentally, and it appears wrong and unfair to attribute to them any more recondite significance. The monument rests upon four wooden pillars, with pyramidal pinnacles or ornaments, and is richly decorated with fine white muslin, which gives to the whole very much the appearance of an old-fashioned English "fourposter," with its costly drapery and curtains. While the curtains are spread out all around, several small green and white bannerets stand at the upper and lower end of the sarcophagus. The whole interior is, as it were, impregnated with the incense which devout Malay pilgrims from time to time burn here, especially after the forty days' fast (Ramadan), or leave behind upon the steps of the tomb in flasks or in paper-boxes. On such occasions, they always bring wax-candles and linen cloth as an offering, with the latter of which they deck the tomb afresh, so that a perfect mountain of white linen rises above the stone floor. During their devotions they unceasingly kiss this white mass of stuff, and as they are continually chewing tobacco, this filthy habit produces disgustingly loathsome stains.

On the same hill which boasts the tomb of Sheikh Joseph, there are also, in ground that is common property, nine other graves of eminent Malays, enclosed with carefully-selected stones, and likewise covered over with large broad strips of bleached linen cloth, protected by stones from any injury by weather or violence. At the head and foot of each individual interred, is a single stone of larger size. Formerly the black inhabitants of the neighbourhood made use of this store of linen cloth to make shirts for themselves, without further thought upon the propriety of the matter. Latterly, however, a shrewd Malay priest spread a report that one of these ebony linen stealers had lost all the fingers off one hand, since which the graves of those departed worthies remain inviolate and unprofaned.

At the foot of the hill are some small half-fallen-in buildings, near a large hall, painted white, red, and yellow, consisting of a small apartment and a kitchen, the whole in a most dirty, neglected, and desolate condition. At this point the Moslems must have accomplished certain prayers, before they can climb the hill and proceed to visit the tomb. Over the door of this singular house of prayer some words are likewise engraved in the Arabic character, which, however, are now entirely illegible.

On quitting the Malay Krammat, we next undertook a tolerably difficult walk to the Downs or sand-dunes, which at this point extend along the entire coast line, on which the wax-berry shrub, as already mentioned, grows wild in vast quantities, and visibly prevents the further encroachments of the moving sand. The Eerst Rivier (First River) may be regarded as the limit of demarcation between the sand-dunes and the soil adapted for vegetation.

The same evening the naturalists of the Expedition left hospitable Zandvliet, though not till after they had been presented by Herr Cloete with a splendid collection of fruits indigenous to Port Natal. Having been everywhere received with distinction, and enjoyed every sort of assistance in our researches, we set out on our return so richly freighted with objects of natural history, that the waggon, as we drove through the wide streets of Cape Town, presented such a various and substantial assortment of each as spoke volumes for the success of our journey. Every available corner was called into requisition to dispose of our prizes—even between the open windows hung suspended the bottle-shaped nests of the finch, and the slender sticks that supported the tilt were entwined with gigantic festoons of flowers. In a word, the whole waggon, with its variegated contents, resembled a holiday-van on its return from a country excursion, so gaily and cheerfully was it decorated.

During our residence in the Cape colony, severe depression existed among the agricultural inhabitants of the Western and Eastern districts, in consequence of an epidemic which, within two years, had carried off 64,850 horses (draught horses, mares, and foals), of the value of £525,000 sterling.[54] Many landowners in consequence entirely gave up rearing horses, and turned their attention almost exclusively to the breeding of sheep. The visitations of this malady are by no means of late introduction, but hitherto they had made their appearance at such long intervals, that but little attention was paid to them and people regarded their return without much alarm. This disease of the horse, usually endemic in Cape Colony, assumed every twenty years, owing to some inexplicable causes, an epidemic character, and on those occasions extended over an extensive area, as happened with extraordinary regularity in the years 1780, 1801, 1819, 1839, and 1854. Hitherto no further precaution was taken, than, so soon as the disease appeared, to drive the horses from the grass pastures to their stables or covered sheds, and there supply them with fodder, the night dew being considered a main cause of the complaint. A resident in Stellenbosch, indeed, maintained that the dew which was deposited during the continuance of the disease tasted quite bitter, and was of an unusual brownish tinge. Singular to say, not the slightest symptoms of illness manifested themselves in the swine, dogs, and birds of prey which devoured the carcases of horses that died of the disease, while the consumption, whether boiled or roasted, of mutton which was ever so slightly tainted with the mere germ of this malady, never failed to produce the most mischievous consequences on the human species. According to Dr. Livingstone the same malignant ulcerous imposthumes were produced, if even sound portions were used of the carcase of an animal that had died of this complaint. These observations, founded on innumerable examples, run counter to the opinion of the French physicians and physiologists, that the malignity of the poison in such cases becomes neutralized by the process of cooking. Considering the importance of the subject to a land-holding colony, it could hardly fail that numerous individuals should devote themselves to elucidating the causes of this devastating epidemic; but it must ever remain a striking and significant fact, illustrative of the high standard of cultivation in Cape Colony, that within a very few years 112 different authors published treatises respecting this complaint among the horses. The result of these numerous researches was, that the malady is epidemic, but not contagious; that horses driven into the stable before sunset, and not permitted to go out to pasture till the dew has evaporated off the grass, are as a rule exempted from attack; that those horses which are kept at night in open pounds, or in places where there are heaps of dung, take the disease in a milder form than if suffered to roam at large day and night; lastly, that horses for which no covered shelter can be provided, may with great advantage be sent to hilly localities and dry runs of land. The practical remedy which was most resorted to, consisted in immediate and prolonged bleeding, pushed to actual exhaustion of the animal, in the first stage of the malady, as also the exhibition of 1 drachm of tartar emetic and 2 drachms of calomel, or, at a later stage, of 30 grains of tartar emetic twice a day.