A F RICA. 89 
with confiderable difficulty. From this emi- 
nence fignals are made to fhips at fea. There 
is always ftationed here a perfon in the Com^ 
pany's fervice, whofe bufmefs is to fire a 
cannon for every veffel that he fees 5 and, by 
a fignal agreed on, the town knows in an in- 
ftant whether the fhip comes from India or 
Europe : but the fame man, after he has dif- 
tinguiflied the veffers flag, is obliged to re- 
pair to the town, and give information of it 
to government. This employment is both 
laborious and cruel ; for it often happens 
that the poor wretch muft defcend and go 
up In this manner four or five times a day, 
which opprefTes him with fatigue : like many 
other things, it may be confidered as a fault 
in the adminiftration, againft w^hich every 
body's eyes are fhut. The perfon whom I 
faw told me very coolly, that little notice was 
taken of this bufmefs ; and I could eafily be- 
lieve it ; for he was in a moft deplorable fitu- 
ation. Though only thirty-five years of age, 
his knees and legs were become fo ftiff that 
he could not walk but with great pain. 
I paid a vifit alfo to the famous eftate of 
©snftantia, behind the Table Hill. This 
vineyard 
