JOURNAL OF A 
and with truly hiolhcrly aiFection, by the missionaries, and though it 
happened to be a busy day with them, several affairs of house- 
keeping, such as baking, brewing, &c. having been undertaken, 
and our unexpected visit therefore seemed out of season, yet they 
exerted themselves to make it agreeable. Mrs. Messer provided 
a good dinner, and her husband devoted himself to us, as much 
as the necessary operations, already commenced, would allow. 
Meanwhile I made a few sketches of the interior of the settlement, 
chiefly of the cluirch and Dr. Van der Kemp's dwelling. Both these 
buildings are singular monuments of the peculiarity of his taste. 
The church is an angular structure, or rather consists of two 
buildings, placed together nearly in a right angle. The inner 
walls meet; the outer are connected by a wall, elliptical in its 
form. In the middle of this junction, the minister's seat and desk 
are placed; thus he may be seen and heard by the whole audience, 
though the men and women, who sit separate, cannot see each 
other. The building is low, with small square windows, thatched, 
and without a ceiling. A small room or closet is boarded off on 
the men's side, containing what is called the library. The 
books are chiefly for the use of the school, besides some religious 
publications. A few minerals and stones brought from Latakoun, 
the Namaqua country, and other stations, constitute the museum ; 
but they were much injured, no one seeming to pay attention to 
mineralogy. Dr. Van der Kemp's house is about eight feet square, 
made of unburnt brick, and covered with thatch. It stands near 
the church, and is now in possession of the mother of the Hotten- 
tot woman whom he married, some time before he died. 
Having finished my sketches, Mr. Messer accompanied Brother 
Schmitt and me through the village. Complaints having been 
made, that the huts and cottages lay scattered, without any regu- 
larity, we saw a beginning of forming regular streets with houses 
of unburnt brick, which, when completed, will be a great im- 
provement. A new school-house, with a printing-office annexed, 
is in forwardness, and will add much to the value of the establish- 
