The Dutch Farmers
Were Tearing Home From Kerk, In Their Carts - Well-Dressed,
Prosperous-Looking Folks, With Capital Horses.
Such lovely farms,
snugly nestled in orange and pomegranate groves!
It is of no use
to describe this scenery; it is always mountains, and always
beautiful opal mountains; quite without the gloom of European
mountain scenery. The atmosphere must make the charm. I hear that
an English traveller went the same journey and found all barren
from Dan to Beersheba. I'm sorry for him.
In the morning of Sunday, early, I walked along the road with
Sabaal, and saw a picture I shall never forget. A little Malabar
girl had just been bathing in the Sloot, and had put her scanty
shift on her lovely little wet brown body; she stood in the water
with the drops glittering on her brown skin and black, satin hair,
the perfection of youthful loveliness - a naiad of ten years old.
When the shape and features are PERFECT, as hers were, the coffee-
brown shows it better than our colour, on account of its perfect
EVENNESS - like the dead white of marble. I shall never forget her
as she stood playing with the leaves of the gum-tree which hung
over her, and gazing with her glorious eyes so placidly.
On Monday morning, I walked off early to the old Drosdy
(Landdrost's house), found an old gentleman, who turned out to be
the owner, and who asked me my name and all the rest of the Dutch
'litanei' of questions, and showed me the pretty old Dutch garden
and the house - a very handsome one.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 106 of 141
Words from 28353 to 28622
of 37925
