I Had Her In,
And Admired The Little Thing Loud Enough For Him To Hear Outside,
As I Lay In Bed.
You see, I too was to have my share in the
pleasure of the new clothes.
This readiness to believe that one
will sympathize with them, is very pleasing in the Malays.
March 15.
I went to see my old Malay friends and to buy a water-melon. They
were in all the misery of Ramadan. Betsy and pretty Nassirah very
thin and miserable, and the pious old Abdool sitting on a little
barrel waiting for 'gun-fire' - i.e. sunset, to fall to on the
supper which old Betsy was setting out. He was silent, and the
corners of his mouth were drawn down just like -'s at an evening
party.
I shall go to-morrow to bid the T-s good-bye, at Wynberg. I was to
have spent a few days there, but Wynberg is cold at night and
dampish, so I declined that. She is a nice woman - Irish, and so
innocent and frank and well-bred. She has been at Cold Bokke Veld,
and shocked her puritanical host by admiring the naked Caffres who
worked on his farm. He wanted them to wear clothes.
We have been amused by the airs of a naval captain and his wife,
who are just come here. They complained that the merchant-service
officers spoke FAMILIARLY to their children on board. Quel audace!
When I think of the excellent, modest, manly young fellows who
talked very familiarly and pleasantly to me on board the St.
Lawrence, I long to reprimand these foolish people.
Friday, 21st. - I am just come from prayer, at the Mosque in
Chiappini Street, on the outskirts of the town. A most striking
sight. A large room, like a county ball-room, with glass
chandeliers, carpeted with common carpet, all but a space at the
entrance, railed off for shoes; the Caaba and pulpit at one end;
over the niche, a crescent painted; and over the entrance door a
crescent, an Arabic inscription, and the royal arms of England! A
fat jolly Mollah looked amazed as I ascended the steps; but when I
touched my forehead and said, 'Salaam Aleikoom', he laughed and
said, 'Salaam, Salaam, come in, come in.' The faithful poured in,
all neatly dressed in their loose drab trousers, blue jackets, and
red handkerchiefs on their heads; they left their wooden clogs in
company, with my shoes, and proceeded, as it appeared, to strip.
Off went jackets, waistcoats, and trousers, with the dexterity of a
pantomime transformation; the red handkerchief was replaced by a
white skullcap, and a long large white shirt and full white drawers
flowed around them. How it had all been stuffed into the trim
jacket and trousers, one could not conceive. Gay sashes and
scarves were pulled out of a little bundle in a clean silk
handkerchief, and a towel served as prayer-carpet. In a moment the
whole scene was as oriental as if the Hansom cab I had come in
existed no more. Women suckled their children, and boys played
among the clogs and shoes all the time, and I sat on the floor in a
remote corner. The chanting was very fine, and the whole ceremony
very decorous and solemn. It lasted an hour; and then the little
heaps of garments were put on, and the congregation dispersed, each
man first laying a penny on a very curious little old Dutch-
looking, heavy, iron-bound chest, which stood in the middle of the
room.
I have just heard that the post closes to-night and must say
farewell - a rivederci.
LETTER XI
Capetown, March 20th.
Dearest mother,
Dr. Shea says he fears I must not winter in England yet, but that I
am greatly improved - as, indeed, I could tell him. He is another
of the kind 'sea doctors' I have met with; he came all the way from
Simon's Bay to see me, and then said, 'What nonsense is that?' when
I offered him a fee. This is a very nice place up in the
'gardens', quite out of the town and very comfortable. But I
regret Caledon. A- will show you my account of my beautiful
journey back. Worcester is a fairy-land; and then to catch
tortoises walking about, and to see 'baviaans', and snakes and
secretary birds eating them! and then people have the impudence to
think I must have been 'very dull!' Sie merken's nicht, that it is
THEY who are dull.
Dear Dr. Hawtrey! he must have died just as I was packing up the
first Caffre Testament for him! I felt his death very much, in
connexion with my father; their regard for each other was an honour
to both. I have the letter he wrote me on J-'s marriage, and a
charming one it is.
I took Mrs. A- a drive in a Hansom cab to-day out to Wynberg, to
see my friends Captain and Mrs. T-, who have a cottage under Table
Mountain in a spot like the best of St. George's Hill. Very dull
too; but as she is really a lady, it suits her, and Capetown does
not. I was to have stayed with them, but Wynberg is cold at night.
Poor B-'s wife is very ill and won't leave Capetown for a day. The
people here are wunderlich for that. A lady born here, and with
7,000l. a year, has never been further than Stellenbosch, about
twenty miles. I am asked how I lived and what I ate during my
little excursion, as if I had been to Lake Ngami. If only I had
known how easy it all is, I would have gone by sea to East London
and seen the Knysna and George district, and the primaeval African
forest, the yellow wood, and other giant trees. However, 'For what
I have received,' &c., &c. No one can conceive what it is, after
two years of prison and utter languor, to stand on the top of a
mountain pass, and enjoy physical existence for a few hours at a
time.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 30 of 38
Words from 29549 to 30584
of 37925
