17 
British power. "This being accomplished to the satisfaction 
of our commanding officer, the regiment was again put in 
motion, and we returned by our old route to Stellenbosch. 
This village is the largest in the colony, and pleasantly situated 
on the Eerste River. It is sheltered on the east side by the 
lofty mountains of Drakenstein, the summits of which are, in 
winter, covered with snow. Stellenbosch is the Montpellier 
of the Cape, to which invalids of all descriptions, resident in 
Capetown, retire during summer, from the wind, the dust, 
and the heat of that boisterous, broiling capital. The sur- 
rounding country is rich and well watered. Its chief pro- 
duce is the grape, from which a large quantity of wine is 
annually prepared for the market. 
** Just as we had got clear of Stellenbosch, on our march 
to Capetown, brimful of the wonders we had seen, we were 
met by an orderly dragoon, with a dispatch, directing us to 
take the route to Simonstown. "This we thought a very serious 
hardship, and a sorry return for our recent services: but 
there was no alternative. 
* Half way between Wynberg and Simonstown, lies 
Muysenberg; where we found barracks for the accommoda- 
tion of three companies, which we left there. ‘The road from 
the latter place was along a cold rocky shore, on which a 
heavy surge perpetually rolls. On the other side, a steep 
rugged mountain rises abruptly from the shore, leaving 
hardly room for the narrow path which winds along its base. 
From the nature of the ground, a succession of obstacles can 
be thrown in the way of an army landed at Simonstown, and 
advancing towards Capetown along this pass. On this 
account, Muysenberg, the outlet of the defile, has been styled 
the Thermopyle of Southern Africa; and so far it no doubt 
merits the appellation, that a small body of troops could 
check the progress of a large army advancing along the shore : 
but, like its celebrated prototype, it fails in a most essential 
point; for it can be easily turned; and not only turned, but 
commanded by several paths through the mountain behind it. 
It is equally untenable in another point of view; a single ship 
of war, bearing her broadside on it, could knock the whole — 
VOL. II. € 
