An Eight Days' Ramble in Cape Colony. 247 



fully two miles from the town, but we found carts in waiting 

 for new-comers, one of which soon carried us and our belong- 

 ings to the exceedingly pleasant little hotel kept by Mr. 

 Schmidt, a stout, jolly-looking Dutchman, whose kindness and 

 attention to our wants during the few days we spent under 

 his hospitable roof will long be remembered by Hendrick and 

 myself. The drive from the station to the hotel was very 

 pleasant ; the country was fresh and bright looking ; and the 

 noble pine-trees and oaks, which lined some portions of the 

 road, elicited our warm admiration. 



We spent the remainder of the day in rambling about the 

 Paarl — which, being translated into English, means Pearl — 

 and examining the general features of the valley. The village, 

 or town, is one long street, which stretches in a direction 

 parallel to the course of the Great Berg River for several miles ; 

 the people told us eight, but I should say it is a good deal 

 under that distance. The houses are all built in the Dutch 

 style, and, almost without an exception, are shaded with pine- 

 trees, which add vastly to the beauty and picturesque appear- 

 ance of the place. The trees, moreover, are by no means 

 entirely of an indigenous character, for those of many dis- 

 similar countries and climates are found here growing happily 

 together, and thriving in the genial atmosphere of this lovely 

 valley. Lofty pines, whose deep green foliage is suggestive of 

 more northern regions, contrast gracefully with the delicate 

 acacia-like branches of the Pride of India ; majestic oaks of 

 high antiquity stand side by side with the Blue Gums of South 

 Australia, and the scarlet-flowering pomegranates, said to have 

 been first brought from Carthage ; here are mulberry-trees of 

 immense size ; there the soft English-looking woody poplar, 

 loquats, almonds, peach-trees, opuntias, huge stately agaves, 

 luxuriant orange-trees, laden with golden fruit and redolent 

 of rich perfume ; camellias, with their peerless blossoms ; scar- 

 let aloes ; and whole hedges of roses ; — all blend harmoniously 

 into one lovely and smiling picture. Vineyards are attached to 

 almost every house, for the Paarl is in the heart of one of the 

 finest wine districts of the country ; but at the time of our 

 visit the plants were all brown and leafless, so that they added 

 little to the beauty of the scene around them. 



The Great Berg River, a considerable stream, flows through 

 the valley a little below the town, and eventually after a winding 

 course of about a hundred miles from its source in the Fransche 

 Hock Mountains, falls into the South Atlantic Ocean at St. 

 Helena Bay, on the west coast. In the neighbourhood of the 

 Paarl it is tame and uninteresting, for its banks are treeless 

 and monotonous-looking, contrasting forcibly with the fine., 

 bold scenery of the mountain-ranges on either hand, and the 



