AFRICA. 383 
I readily confented, and was exceedingly glad 
that they had anticipated my wiflies. This was 
one of thofe delightful retreats which prove 
that the imaginations of the poets do not al- 
ways in their defcriptions exceed the bounds 
of nature and truth. The fpot, however^ 
where we had pafled the night, was not the 
moft favourable ; fome large rocks in our 
neighbourhood covered both it and us too 
much, and might have enabled the enemy to 
furprife us with much eafe : on this account 
we conveyed our carriages and our baggage 
to the middle of a fmall meadow, which the 
wdnding of the river rendered almoft a penin- 
fula, and there we ereded our tents. 
From the plantation oPthe two negroes al- 
ready mentioned we had performed a march 
of eighty leagues ; and one can fcarccly con- 
ceive what we fuffered in this paffage. How 
• much relief fhould I have derived from the 
flieep which I exchanged with the Hottentots 
of Snewberg ! From that period we did not 
meet with the fmalleft article of game, and 
not even a pond of water fo pure that Vv e 
could ufe it without great pte'c^uti6n ; none of 
that which we found was fit to be drunk un- 
til We had boiled it feitherwith tea or cogee, to 
, deflroy. 
