xii 
of their publications find a satisfactory 
description of the countries which are 
now the objects of British colonisation ; 
their excursions being mostly directed 
westward, after passing the colonial 
boundary : the beautiful and fertile 
country of Caffraria, which skirts the 
eastern coast nearly 800 miles, was 
but little attended to, and our ex- 
pectations of being able to accu- 
rately describe the countries now to 
be settled by the crown of England 
for some time impeded. At length 
a fortunate circumstance occurred, 
which relieved us from this embarrass- 
ment; we were favoured with the 
perusal of a narrative addressed to 
the Hon. John Adams, who succeeded 
General Washington as president of 
the United States of America. This 
