SOUTH AFRICAN SCENERY. 135 



in the midst of gorgeous groves of mimosa. That night, 

 as the silvery moon and her train of stars appeared in the 

 clear blue of the sky, and gave *a new enchantment to 

 grove and river, we reveled in a beauty the like of which 

 we never expected to see beyond the shores of Africa 



The next morning, Mr. Barrill was up with the first gleam 

 of the dawn, and eager for the chase. " Let us make 

 good use of our time, Perey," said he, enthusiastically, " for 

 we cannot always be in these ' happy hunting-grounds.' " 

 We ate a hearty meal, a cup of coffee being added to our 

 luxuries, and then mounted Qur horses. Leaving the 

 groves bordering the river, we struck northward to an 

 extensive range of rocky hills that walled a level plain. 

 These eminences were so strong that it was impossible to 

 ride through them. They were covered with a wild growth 

 of rank grass, varied by dwarfish branches. Carollus had 

 accompained us as after rider, and we left him in charge 

 of the horses, while, with rifle in hand, we eagerly tra- 

 versed the range in search of game. 



On ascending to the highest summit, we had a grand 

 panoramic view of magnificent scenery. In a northerly 



and easterly direction, a succession of bold lofty mountains 





 extended assuming various shapes as they diminished in 



the distance. Some of them were tabular, but others of 

 conical and pyramidal shapes, towered above their fellows, 

 their steep sides standing in grand relief above the undu- 



