CAPEOFGOODHOPE. 435 



happened to be term-day, when an almost uninterrupted series of 

 observations are taken ; our stay was therefore but short, as I was 

 disinclined to interrupt the constant duties of the observers. During 

 our visit at the observatory, the weather was beautifully clear ; no 

 clouds were to be seen except over the Table Mountain, and objects 

 viewed across the sandy plain were much distorted by refraction. 



The botanists attached to the Expedition attempted, during our 

 stay, to ascend to the top of Table Mountain ; but having taken a path 

 different from that usually pursued, they were arrested by the per- 

 pendicular wall when about six hundred feet below the top. A great 

 collection of botanical specimens amply repaid them for their disap- 

 pointment. They visited the valley between Table Mountain and the 

 Devil's Peak, and found it to consist of a dry spongy soil, densely 

 covered with Rutacese, intermixed with low bushes of Heath, Thyme- 

 laceae, Diosmas, and Composite?, having a close resemblance and 

 analogy to the upland bogs of New Zealand. 



The drives around Cape Town are pleasant; the one to Green 

 Point is the most agreeable : this is a straggling village, with the 

 houses having pretty gardens in front, laid out in the English style : 

 the distant view of the ocean, with the heavy surf breaking upon 

 the rocky coast, are fine objects to seaward. The sides and tops of 

 the hills in the rear are bare of trees, but the roads are lined with Cacti 

 of large growth, giving to the scenery a decidedly tropical character. 

 Green Point has a municipal government, and elects its commissioner 

 and ward-masters in the same manner as Cape Town. The light- 

 house is within this district : it is quite unworthy of the name, being 

 decidedly the most inferior British establishment I have seen. This 

 surprised me the more, because there is here a great necessity for a 

 brilliant light. 



There is a Commercial Exchange at Cape Town, possessing a 

 public library, consisting of about thirty thousand volumes, and con- 

 taining a reading-room, as well as a large hall, which is used for the 

 public meetings and festivities of the inhabitants. 



Different sects of Christians are vying with each other, to carry 

 civilization and the gospel to the tribes in the interior ; but as usual, 

 there are many who deny the purity of their principles, and spread 

 scandalous reports concerning their operations. 



The walks near the town are pretty, and kept in neat order. One 

 that leads along the brook in the rear of the town, whose banks are 

 occupied by hosts of washerwomen, is peculiarly picturesque ; as soon 

 as you ascend to the top of the hill, you overlook the town, bay, and 



