330 A TURN-OUT — ^NECK OR NOTHING. 



adorned my head. The striped jacket that I wore, now well 

 bleached with sun and rain, had shrunk to such a degree as 

 to reach only a few inches down my back ; and as for sleeves, 

 they just covered the elbows, the rest having been left on the 

 '• Wacht-een-bigte" bushes. My nether garments, consisting 

 of a pair of moleskin trowsers, were on a par with my jack- 

 et, for they hardly reached to the calf of my leg ; and, to com- 

 plete the "turn-out," my "veld" shoes were of untanned 

 leather, and so sunburnt as to resemble bricks. And as 

 Cape-Town at that time could boast of no " Moses and Son," 

 or " Silver and Co.," it was only by degrees, and exploring 

 the different shops, that I was able to remodel my dress. 



I lost no time in advertising our cattle; and, having se- 

 cured a good auctioneer and made some other arrangements, 

 I again set off to join my party. 



Just as I left Cape-Town, my horse, which was excessive- 

 ly shy, took fright, and started off at a rate which would 

 have "taken the shine" out of even John Gilpin's runaway 

 steed. In the attempt to stop him, the bit (a very substan- 

 tial one) broke, and in an instant I was at the animal's mer- 

 cy. Finding myself in an awkward predicament, and being 

 desirous to shorten the race as much as possible, I unhesi- 

 tatingly gave him both spur and whip, and, as a conse- 

 quence, ditches, walls, and fences were leaped and passed at 

 a fearful rate, to the great danger of myself and those I en- 

 countered. I do not profess to be skilled in horsemanship, 

 my experience as an equestrian being very small. It was, 

 therefore, as much as I could do to keep my seat. Neverthe- 

 less, I had the good fortune to escape unhurt, for after a while 

 my steed became exhausted, and pulled up of his own accord. 

 ^ I found Hans in good health. The Dutch Boers had once 

 or twice behaved rudely, but the Dane's herculean appear- 

 ance and independent manner quickly cooled their ire, and 

 he was allowed to pass unmolested. He told bis adventures 

 with graphic effect and racy humor. 



