PuBLTC Buildings. 19 



all these objects of study are so crowded and so 

 crammed up together, and stowed away in cases 

 so insufficiently lighted, that detailed and careful 

 ins^Dection of them is a matter of extreme difficulty. 

 Both this museum and the Public Library, which 

 latter is a fine hall, containing a large and varied 

 collection of l^ooks and many ancient manuscripts, 

 are freely and fren^uently resorted to by the in- 

 habitants. Adderley Street in the morning is 

 crowded and animated ; many of its buildings 

 liave striven to attain to a respectable standard of 

 civic architecture, and well-filled shops elegantly 

 display a variety of articles of luxury, whicli 

 suggest the difi'usion of an easy affluence. The 

 sea prospect from Cape Town is most agree- 

 able. A lengthy l)reakwater, constructed with 

 great solidity, protects an anchorage where many 

 vessels of size might congregate. The docks, 

 whicli were large enough for the shipping require- 

 ments of a generation ago, are too small to allow of 

 the entrance of large modern steamers, and it is 

 much to be reo-retted tliat the construction of a 

 l^ig, wide dock in the rear of the existing docks 

 has been suspended owing to ^vant of fimds. 

 Port Elizabeth, with superior railway advantages, 

 and, perhaps, a more go-ahead public spirit, is 

 pressing Cape Town hard ; and it is probable that, 

 if the latter does not bestir itself, it may forfeit its 

 commercial eminence in South Africa. But pos- 

 sibly the charm of Cape Town lies in its respectable 

 repose. The inhabitants, who welcome the stranger 

 with a cordial hospitality rarely to be found else- 



C.2 



