ST. HELENA 163 



Colonial to the Imperial Government, and has been used 

 as the Town Camp for military and prisoners during the 

 war with the Transvaal. It contains many very beautiful 

 trees and shrubs. Further up the valley stands the Roman 

 Catholic church, the Government school for boys, St. 

 John's church, and the two hospitals, civil and military. 

 The civil hospital is well worth a visit, being presided 

 over by trained nurses. Beyond lies St. John's Villa 

 (Government property), Maldivia House, which was 

 occupied by the Zulu prisoners, but is now used as a military 

 quarters, and Cambrian Cottage, where board and lodging 

 may be obtained. From St. John's Church there are two 

 roads, one going past the hospitals up the valley, where 

 it again divides, one branch passing the waterfalls to the 

 Briars, and so eastward into the Longwood road, and the 

 other going up and winding round the cliffs called Barnes 

 Road or Peak Hill on to Francis Plain, and so into the 

 centre of the island. The chief road from St. John's 

 church, however, is that called " Phillips " Road, which 

 is the main approach to Ladder Hill. Here are barracks, 

 signal station, fort, officers' quarters, etc. — quite a little 

 village. The officers' mess (formerly the observatory) 

 overlooks the town, and the view from it is very fine. Far 

 below Me the houses of Jamestown, the neat church, upon 

 whose summit the fish shows clearly and appears quite, 

 near, so steep are the rocks ; then on the horseshoe coast- 

 line, a fringe of white surf churning restlessly, and, beyond, 

 a trackless ocean of most beautiful blue, over which on a 

 clear day a vessel may be sighted at sixty miles. The 

 fortifications entirely command the harbour. Passing 

 through Half Tree Hollow, wholly destitute of trees except a 

 few young saplings of recent planting, and continually ascend- 

 ing past clean little cottages, generally enclosed in a small 

 patch of garden ground, " Kent Cottage," the home of Cronje 

 while in St. Helena, comes into view. Above it on the left 

 frowns that gloomy fortress, " High Knoll," where many of 

 the more troublesome prisoners were kept. Schiel was 

 lodged here for a short time directly on his arrival, when it 

 was rumoured that he endeavoured to escape. Here Eloff 

 was kept for the greater part of his time. One of the illus- 

 trations shows the prisoners outside the fort after the peace 



