that the Hottentot had still more difficulty in understanding that
language in its pure and grammatical state. The English language
may be said to be quite unknown to the natives beyond the colonial
boundary, and even within that line it is very little understood,
excepting in Cape Town. *
I resolved, therefore, to consider Cape Town as my place of
abode for a few months, expecting that a part of this time would be
well employed in making collections in Natural History; thus saving
myself the labour of bringing from a distance that which might here
more easily be procured close at hand. Much of this time would be
required for purchasing and collecting together a multitude of things
necessary for Such a journey, and for finding a number of Hottentots
both qualified and willing to accompany me ; for it was soon evident
that such must be my only companions.
29th. As soon as my baggage was all safely landed, and I had
got Ov er the first bustle of introductions and visits, my curiosity to
see the environs of the town could not longer be restrained; and
Mr. Hesse proposed that we should this afternoon take a walk
round the Lion Mountain.
As we passed along the western skirts of the town, I continued
to admire the cleanness and good appearance of the houses, and the
magnificence of the surrounding mountains) Owing to its great
height and undivided form, Table Mountain does not at first appear
to be so distant from the town as it really is ; but as we approach, it
seems to recede gradually, disclosing to the observer its enormous
mass, and apparently, at every step, towering higher and higher
above his head.
As soon as we had passed the houses, my attention, in spite of
myself, Was entirely engrossed by the rich and wonderful variety of
plants that grew in every spot. In the bushes, weeds, and herbage
by the road-side, at every step I recognised some well-known flower
* And at present (1821) in the District of Albany.
which I had seen nursed with great care in the green-houses
of England. *
A little farther'on, we came to some plants of the great American
Aloe (Agave Americana), in flower. This noble plant is frequently
used for forming hedges; and when they stand dose together»
their thorny leaves present an impregnable barrier to cattle, and
even to men. Their leaves, six feet long, and flower-stems of
thirty feet in height, present a truly gigantic specimen of the plants
commonly termed “ flowers.” Of these and the surrounding scenery
I afterwards made a drawing.
The road, winding up an ascent, leads over a rocky, gorge,
which joins Lion’s Head to Table Mountain. This pass is defended
by a block-house, and is called the Kloof f, a word of frequent
* Such a s ,—
Leonotis I.comtrus Cassine Maurocenia
Erica cerinthoìdes Osteospermum spinescens
Erica Petiveì'ii Atraphaxis undulata
Erica pubescens Kiggélaria Africana
Athanasia. criihmifólia Bttbon gummiferum
Athanasia parvifora Watsonia alopecttroides
Royenà glabra Aristea cyanea
Myrica quercifolia Echium Jruticosum
Myrica serrata Polygala (Muraltia) Heisteria
Cluytia pulchclla làghtfootia sobillata
Cluytia Alaiernoìdes Myrsine Africana
JRoclla ciliaris Montinia acris
Chironia baccifera Brunia nodi fora
Chironia linoides Diosma villosa
Passerina JUiformis Psoralea aphylla
Bot'bonia lanceolata Salvia Africana
Celastrus pyracanthus
f As I have endeavoured to preserve the proper orthography of all the Dutch names
and words, excepting a very few, it is necessary to apprise such readers as may be unacquainted
with that language, that the word kloof is pronounced as an Englishman would
speak klofe, or kloqf: the double o having no other sound than that of a long o, or the
Greek a>. The dipthong oe sounds exactly the same as the English oo; thus, boek in
Dutch has the same sound and meaning as book in English. Ok, in Dutch words, must
be pronounced the same as oto in the English words note, how. G is always hard before e
or t, as in get, and give. Y is always a vowel, having the sound of a long *, and lyk in
Dutch, and like in English, have the same sound and meaning. The,/is pronounced the
same as y in English when a consonant; asjotig and young: or may be considered as an
r, forming a dipthong with the vowel which follows it.