If You Only Look At The Door With A Friendly
Glance, You Are Implored To Come In And Sit Down, And Usually
Offered A 'coppj' (Cup) Of Herb Tea, Which They Are Quite Grateful
To One For Drinking.
I never saw or heard a hint of 'backsheesh',
nor did I ever give it, on principle and I was always recognised
and invited to come again with the greatest eagerness.
'An
indulgence of talk' from an English 'Missis' seemed the height of
gratification, and the pride and pleasure of giving hospitality a
sufficient reward. But here it is quite different. I suppose the
benefits of the emancipation were felt at Capetown sooner than in
the country, and the Malay population there furnishes a strong
element of sobriety and respectability, which sets an example to
the other coloured people.
Harvest is now going on, and the so-called Hottentots are earning
2s. 6d. a day, with rations and wine. But all the money goes at
the 'canteen' in drink, and the poor wretched men and women look
wasted and degraded. The children are pretty, and a few of them
are half-breed girls, who do very well, unless a white man admires
them; and then they think it quite an honour to have a whitey-brown
child, which happens at about fifteen, by which age they look full
twenty.
We had very good snipe and wild duck the other day, which Capt. D-
brought home from a shooting party. I have got the moth-like wings
of a golden snipe for R-'s hat, and those of a beautiful moor-hen.
They got no 'boks', because of the violent south-easter which blew
where they were. The game is fast decreasing, but still very
abundant. I saw plenty of partridges on the road, but was not
early enough to see boks, who only show at dawn; neither have I
seen baboons. I will try to bring home some cages of birds - Cape
canaries and 'roode bekjes' (red bills), darling little things.
The sugar-birds, which are the humming-birds of Africa, could not
be fed; but Caffre finks, which weave the pendent nests, are hardy
and easily fed.
To-day the post for England leaves Caledon, so I must conclude this
yarn. I wish R- could have seen the 'klip springer', the mountain
deer of South Africa, which Capt. D- brought in to show me. Such a
lovely little beast, as big as a small kid, with eyes and ears like
a hare, and a nose so small and dainty. It was quite tame and
saucy, and belonged to some man en route for Capetown.
LETTER V - CALEDON
Caledon, Dec. 29th.
I am beginning now really to feel better: I think my cough is
less, and I eat a great deal more. They cook nice clean food here,
and have some good claret, which I have been extravagant enough to
drink, much to my advantage. The Cape wine is all so fiery. The
climate is improving too. The glorious African sun blazes and
roasts one, and the cool fresh breezes prevent one from feeling
languid. I walk from six till eight or nine, breakfast at ten, and
dine at three; in the afternoon it is generally practicable to
saunter again, now the weather is warmer. I sleep from twelve till
two. On Christmas-eve it was so warm that I lay in bed with the
window wide open, and the stars blazing in. Such stars! they are
much brighter than our moon. The Dutchmen held high jinks in the
hall, and danced and made a great noise. On New Year's-eve they
will have another ball, and I shall look in. Christmas-day was the
hottest day - indeed, the only HOT day we have had - and I could not
make it out at all, or fancy you all cold at home.
I wish you were here to see the curious ways and new aspect of
everything. This village, which, as I have said, is very like
Rochefort, but hardly so large, is the chef lieu of a district the
size of one-third of England. A civil commander resides here, a
sort of prefet; and there is an embryo market-place, with a bell
hanging in a brick arch. When a waggon arrives with goods, it
draws up there, they ring the bell, everybody goes to see what is
for sale, and the goods are sold by auction. My host bought
potatoes and brandy the other day, and is looking out for ostrich
feathers for me, out of the men's hats.
The other day, while we sat at dinner, all the bells began to ring
furiously, and Capt. D- jumped up and shouted 'Brand!' (fire),
rushed off for a stout leather hat, and ran down the street. Out
came all the population, black, white, and brown, awfully excited,
for it was blowing a furious north-wester, right up the town, and
the fire was at the bottom; and as every house is thatched with a
dry brown thatch, we might all have to turn out and see the place
in ashes in less than an hour. Luckily, it was put out directly.
It is supposed to have been set on fire by a Hottentot girl, who
has done the same thing once before, on being scolded. There is no
water but what runs down the streets in the sloot, a paved channel,
which brings the water from the mountain and supplies the houses
and gardens. A garden is impossible without irrigation, of course,
as it never rains; but with it, you may have everything, all the
year round. The people, however, are too careless to grow fruit
and vegetables.
How the cattle live is a standing marvel to me. The whole veld
(common), which extends all over the country (just dotted with a
few square miles of corn here and there), is covered with a low
thin scrub, about eighteen inches high, called rhenoster-bosch -
looking like meagre arbor vitae or pale juniper.
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