g 4 . A V O Y A G E t o t h e i77?- meefter:) but now, on the contrary, the good woman vJX-O begged me to ftay, and I promifed myfelf a good night’s reft in fuch an elegant and well-furniihed houfe. Soon after there came a light cart, with company. This con- iifted, firft, of her daughter; fecondly, of a very ftout fat country ’fquire or yeoman, Mr. M * *, who was faid to be able to give each of his daughters four thoufand guineas on their marriage, one of whom had, by fome accident or other, already lain in of a black child, the father o f which, as a reward for his kindnefs, had been advanced from the condition of Have to that of prifoner for life in one o f the Robben iiles, and the lady herfelf to that of wife to her father’s bailiff; thirdly, the ’fquire’s half brother, ftill more corpulent than himfelf. The father of thefe gentlemen was a native of Livonia, and had been a foldier in the Swedifh fervice. They had feen an infedt- hunter before, but when they looked into my collection of herbs, and found it to contain not only flowers, but like- wife grafs and ftnall branches o f ihrubs and* trees, they ¡could not forbear laughing at a fight fo unexpected. The young lady got from me all the intelligence I could give her on the fubjeff o f pimples and freckles, and, by way o f reimburiing myfelf, I alked her feveral queftions concerning domeftic remedies and the warm bath, which ihe had lately ufed for three weeks. She likewife, together with her mother, advifed me to praCtife phyfic in P a a r l ; but it is a great pity, they added, that a man who feems to underftand our diforders fo well, ihould fpeak our language fo ill, There C A P E o f G O O D HO P E . 65 There was no -milk to be had-.here, but the want of it was amply fupplied by a very good and well-dreffed fup- per. The wine went round in bumpers' to each others healths; and to the continuance of our friendihip and acquaintance. The converfation turned upon various fub- jedts, and among others, thofe of corpulency, and the cuftom o f fleeping after dinner;. and the efficient caufe o f thefe, viz. the Livonian gentlemen’s ufe o f the warm bath in this climate, was difcuffed with great precifion. We wiih- ed one another a good night; but I myfelf refted very ill; for the unufually purfy batchelor, who fell to my ihare, fnored continually, and proved very troublefome. He looked indeed very good-humoured, as well as his lively-and plaijirige broeder, but was not able to fay much; and when he did fpeak, he wheezed fo much, as to be for the moil , part unintelligible to me. He puffed and blowed more in putting on his ihoes and ftockings, than I did when I laft went up Table-mountain. The next morning I bid thefe good people adieu, and took the road leading to Mountain- river in Paarl. The ferry lay a good deal out of my way, who had no particular buiinefs to tranfadl on the other fide ; fo that having obferved an ¡uncultivated iflet, three or four fathoms diftant from the bank, where the iheep and goats could not get to foreftall me in the blooming produce o f the foil, I ventured over on fome bundles o f ,the palmites, I fpoke o f above, (acorus palm.ita) which were fo fmooth and brittle, that, if I had chanced to make the leaft flip, I muft have been inevitably drowned by getting between them, or elfe under them. M y hat and queue excepted, I went a botanizing on this ifland in the fame drefs V o l . I. K as
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