57 
silently undergoing that change for the worse, which time, 
when left to itself, usually operates on the works of man. 
So far as regards the most indispensable of all things, a 
command of water, the choice of situation has been peculiarly 
unfortunate. The only supply, for a great part of the year, 
is a scanty stream from the neighbouring mountain, con- 
ducted by an open channel, and exposed to constant pollution 
from all descriptions of cattle grazing in the adjoining fields; 
and from the pigs, ducks, and geese of the village, which pass 
their idle time in it, as it creeps along the street. 
“ We left Tulbagh at an early hour on the morning of the 
23d, and crossing the mountain by a difficult path, called 
the Old Kloof, arrived, after a three hours' ride, at the farm 
of Mr. De Witt, on the Four-and-twenty Rivers. On our 
way thither, we passed another farm, the property of an 
Englishman of the name of Edwards. This person had been 
a missionary, sent from England to diffuse the new light 
among the Boschmen. A short sojourn among those savages 
appears, however, to have cooled his zeal, and given a carnal 
turn to his ideas. He returned to the Colony, married a 
woman of some property, and settled on this farm, where we 
found him collecting the produce of a vineyard that yields 
a more substantial return than methodism. He coolly 
asked us to walk into his house, but seemed nowise displeased 
when we declined the invitation. 
* Not very long ago, an Englishman might travel over the 
whole Colony without incurring any expense for personal 
entertainment. Of late, the farmers have begun to make a 
trifling charge on this score, which, by removing theidea of obli- 
gation, renders travelling among them more pleasant than if 
their entertainment were gratuitous. It is to be feared, however, 
that this practice will endure but a short time. Englishmen 
are now settling in the country, and their numbers will 
speedily increase. Their national pride will not permit them 
to accept of indemnification from a traveller; and their 
Europzan habits will render them scrupulous of admitting 
him at all without a recommendation. From such a line of 
conduct, the boors will naturally conclude, that there must 
