this chapter. In an open square, near to the church, is the Drosldy,
or residence of the Landdrost, a large and commodious building.
At the back of this, flows the Eerste (First) river, having its
source in the great mountains rising up immediately behind the town.
TheSe mountains are a part of the Great Western chain, already
noticed, and constitute an essential feature in the beauty of the
situation. A number of new dwellings are yearly increasing the
size of the town, and the accommodations are superior to those of
other villages, but the expences of living are said to be nearly the
same as in Cape Town ; from which it is distant, due east, not more
than thirty miles. A stage-waggon carries passengers to afid from the
Cape, and the post arrives and returns twice a week, From its
proximity to the metropolis, it is much better known to foreigners,
and to the English, than any of the other villages: a more detailed
description of it in this place, is therefore the less necessary. * The
country immediately surrounding the town, offers no beauty of
scenery to charm the eye ; but the mountains form a back-ground of
the finest kind, and are of so great a height, that, for several days in
the winter, their rugged summits are capped with snow. These
I much desired to ascend, in order to examine their productions,
but the weather would not allow us to make the attempt. I have
the less reason to regret this disappointment, as it happened that
circumstances, four years afterwards, put it in my power to explore a
neighbouring part of this range, and to add to my collection several
things which are peculiar to these mountains, and which will be more
particularly mentioned in ariother place.
At two o’clock in the afternoon, we left Stellenbosch to return to
Cape Town, and were again unfortunate in the day, which, soon after
our departure, set in with rain and wind; and, to increase our misfortunes,
one of the horses fell lame, while the other stumbled at every
* I visited Stellenbosch again in April 1815, when I found a considerable increase in
houses had taken place, arid the' town much improved. I profited by this opportunity to
make several drawings of it: the Vignette at page 136 is a part of one of them.
step. It was evidently time that our excursion ended; for this last
day’s journey being, for nearly the whole way, over the heavy loose
sand of the Cape Flats, was excessively fatiguing and painful to the
animals.
At sunset, we passed the foot of Tygerberg, and were soon
afterwards overtaken by a night of impenetrable darkness, and both
wet and chilly. To the fear of losing the way, was added that of
finding the sands impassably flooded by the late rains, as, at almost
every five minutes, we had to wade through ponds of rain-water.
It may seem singular, that plains of sand should be found covered
with standing water; but this is easily accounted for, by a stratum of
clay lying immediately beneath the sand, at the depth of from
one to perhaps six feet or more.
In the midst of our uncertainty, wandering in various directions,
a glimmering light at last appeared at a distance, and enabled us to
shape our course to Salt river. Here we procured a guide to conduct
us safely through the river, which occupied ten minutes in wading
through, as it had overflowed its banks and inundated a great
part of the adjoining flats; and nearly all the way to Cape Town,
we seemed to be travelling in a river rather than a road. So
complete was the darkness, that when arrived at the hospital, it was
not possible to find our way, even the short distance to the castle
without a guide: the atmosphere seemed as if bereft of every particle
of light At length, at eight o’clock, we reached Cape Town.