CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 



PORT ELIZABETH AND WALMER. PAGE 



Early ambitions realized — Voyage to South Africa — Cape Town and 

 Wynberg — Profusion of flowers— Port Klizabeth — Christmas 

 decorations — Public library — Malays — Walmer — Hottentot 

 huts — Our little house — Pretty gardens — Honey-suckers — 

 Flowers of Walmer Common — Wax-creeper — Ixias — Scarlet 

 heath — Natal lilies — " Upholstery flower " — Ticks — Commence 

 ostrich-farming — Counting the birds — A ride after an ostrich 9 



CHAPTER II. 



SOMK OF OUR PETS. 



Friendliness of South African birds and beasts — Our secretary bird 

 — Ungainly appearance of Jacob — His queer ways — Tragic fate 

 of a kitten — A persecuted fowl — Our Dikkops — A baby buffalo 

 — Wounded buffalo more dangerous than lion — ^A lucky stumble 

 — Hunter attacked by "rogue" buffalo— A midnight ride — 

 Followed by a lion — Toto — A pugnacious goose — Souih African 

 climate dangerous to imported dogs — Toto and the crows — 

 Animals oflered by Moors in exchange for Toto aj 



CHAPTER III. 

 PLANTS OF THE KARROO. 

 We move up-country — Situation of farm — Strange vegetation of 

 Karroo district — Karroo plant — Feibosch — Brack-bosch — Our 

 flowers— J]^«/6foo/«— Bitter aloes— Thorny plants — fVacht-een- 

 Beetje — Ostriches killed by prickly pear— Finger-poll— Wild 

 tobacco fatal to ostriches — Carelessness of colonists — Euphor- 

 bias — Candle-bush ... ... ... ... ... ... 46 



CHAPTER IV. 



OUR LITTLE HOME. 



Building operations — A plucking— Ugliness of Cape houses — Our 

 rooms— Fountain in sitting-room a failure — Drowned pets — 

 Decoration of rooms — Colonist must be Jack-of-all-trades — 

 Cape waggons — Shooting expeditions — Strange tale told by 

 Boer 61 



