Chapter Two 
SOUTH AFRICA 
UMMER in the Cape with its “Mediterranean climate” is, at 
S all times, very pleasant, but to me, after four years of misery 
in France, it seemed like heaven. The sunshine, sparkling atmos- 
phere, lovely flowers, and mountain scenery, gave the feeling that 
everything had been worth while. The horrors of war were things 
of the past, and the world was now taking on a new aspect. I had 
already learned that it is easier to appreciate to the full the finer 
things of life if one has suffered all sorts of discomforts and mis- 
fortunes. 
The pendulum had now swung, and as I sat in the warm sun- 
shine in the Cape Town Botanical Gardens, with doves cooing 
softly on all sides, I felt at peace with the world. Birds have always 
fascinated me, as they seem such cheerful souls compared with 
any other form of animal life, and at the moment, as I was watch- 
ing the graceful movements of a Cape Robin-chat, I longed to 
become more closely associated with them in some way. How, I 
did not know, but all sorts of hare-brained ideas that might take me 
into exciting uncivilized places passed through my mind. This was 
pleasant thinking, but the stark fact that capital, consisting of a 
small gratuity, was fast running out made me realize, somewhat 
sadly, that the commercial aspect of whatever I undertook must 
be uppermost and that pleasure and business would be hard to 
link together. My brother’s views coincided with mine, and we 
both wondered if something could be done in the way of supply- 
ing Zoos and private aviculturists with exotic birds. It was an idea 
we had often toyed with but we had little notion how to go about 
