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 Edwai'ds. 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 the idea 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 

 Europaean 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 



