always painted in pannels, in imitation of variegated marble. 

 The roofs are flat, and rendered impervious to the rain by a 

 thick layer of mortar. The ground -floors are paved with 

 glazed tiles, which preserve a I'efreshing coolness in the 

 apartments ; but in constructing the stairs, even of the best 

 houses, the model seems to have been the companion-ladder 

 of an Indiaman, they are so steep, so narrow, and badly 

 lighted. Over eveiy house door, there is a half window, in 

 the centre of which is fixed a glass lantern, projecting out- 

 wards. These lanterns, furnished with a candle or lamp 

 at night, light the halls within, and serve, at the same time, 

 as a good and cheap substitute for street lamps. The win- 

 dows are extremely large ; but the upper sash is usually 

 blind, being covered with painted wood or canvas. The 

 houses themselves are larger and more showy than the 

 opulence of the citizens can well warrant: but it is seldom 

 that more than the ground floor is furnished, the upper part 

 being used as a store, or let occasionally to lodgers. 



" Rows of trees are planted in some of the streets, to soften 

 the glare from the white walls ; but as the planting of them 

 is left to the caprice of individuals, the shade they afford is 

 quite partial. These trees, consisting in general of oak and 

 pine, never grow higher than the tops of the houses, their 

 branches being blasted and withered by the south-east wind 

 as soon as they shoot beyond the shelter of the walls. 



" The great barrack is built at the upper extremity of a 

 plain which extends as far as the shore, and is intersected by 

 the principal road that leads into the town. The lower 

 division of this plain is walled in and surrounded with a ditch, 

 and the area, covered with gravel, forms the grand parade. 



" The barrack was built by the Dutch East India Com- 

 pany as an hospital for soldiers and sailors. Before the 

 discovery of the mode of preserving health during long sea 

 voyages, those undertaken to India were never accomplished 

 without an alarming loss of lives. It was found necessary, 

 on this account, to establish an hospital at the Cape for the 

 reception of such as were disabled by sickness from prose- 

 cuting the voyage, where they were left until the arrival of 



