PORT ELIZABETH AND WALMER. 15 



sands of students to go out as emissaries into all parts 

 of the East to make converts — and the Malays, in 

 constantly increasing numbers, are embracing the creed 

 of Islam. Many of them now save up their money 

 for the pilgrimage to Mecca, which is their great 

 ambition. They are very ignorant ; and their Moham- 

 medan fatalism, prejudicing them against all sanitary 

 precautions — especially vaccination — adds very much 

 to the difficulty of contending with small-pox and other 

 epidemics when they appear. In 1882, when there 

 was so severe an outbreak of small-pox in Cape Town 

 and other parts of the colony, the Malays not only 

 opposed all attempts made by the authorities to isolate 

 cases, but did all in their power to spread the disease ; 

 many of them being found throwing infected clothing 

 into houses. 



After staying about a week in the town, we went 

 out to live at Walmer, which is by far the pleasantest 

 part of all the surroundings of Port Elizabeth, and 

 which deserves to be more generally chosen as a 

 residence by the wealthier inhabitants. It stands high, 

 in a most healthy situation, and full in the path of tliat 

 rough but benevolent south-east wind, which, owing to 

 its kindly property of sweeping away the germs of 

 disease, is called "the Cape doctor." Away beyond 

 Walmer stretch miles of undulating common, covered 

 with short bush and numberless varieties of wild 

 flowers ; and a breezy walk across part of this same 

 common leads to Port Elizabeth. The walk is rather a 

 lonor one : and often, before the arrival of our little 



Of ' 



