25 
moment you enter this chasm, it gradually narrows as you 
ascend, while its perpendicular walls, crossed by innumerable 
rifts, seem as if they were built of loose cubical masses, that 
threaten to fall down and crush you to atoms. The immense 
height and dismal line of the rocks, the twilight gloom, and 
the whistling of the wind, brushing along the cliffs, create a 
disagreeable impression on the mind. But this impression 
passes quickly away as the horizon begins to expand above; 
and when the summit is gained, you feel the delightful con- 
trast of the cool invigorating elasticity of the air, and the 
boundless view that opens around you. 
* The flat top ofthe mountain, called the Tableland, is about 
two miles in length, from east to west, and of various breadth, 
but no where exceeding a mile. The height of the mountain, 
above the level of the sea, is estimated at three thousand five 
hundred feet. A constant verdure is maintained on it, by 
the moisture deposited from the atmosphere. When I 
ascended in the month of November, I started eight coveys 
of Partridges. It is probable that these birds migrate hither 
in the summer season on account of the coolness and greater 
abundance of water. 
* [t is a common saying among the inhabitants of Cape- 
town, that when the Devil spreads his table-cloth on the 
mountain, you may look for a strong south-east wind. In 
the whole system of meteorology, there is not a more infallible 
prognostic. The Devil's table-cloth is a thin sheet of white 
vapour, which is seen rushing over the edge of the precipice, 
while the sky all around is serene and unclouded. The 
rapidity of its descent resembles that of water pouring over 
the face of a rock. "The air, at the same time, begins to be 
agitated in the valley; and, in less than half an hour, the 
whole town is involved in dust and darkness. Instantly the 
streets are deserted, every door and window is shut up, and 
Capetown is as still as if it were visited by the plague. 
* Sometimes, however, instead of a sheet of vapour, an 
immense cloud envelops the mountain, and stretching out on 
all sides, like a magnificent canopy, shades the town and the 
adjacent country from the sun. The inferior boundary of this- 
