VISIT TO SOUTH AFRICA. 375 
for the purpose of irrigation. I am confident, that such a measure 
would greatly increase the quantity of produce in many South Af- 
rican farms. 
We now set out for Longwood: the Governor, Colonel Sir 
Thomas Reade, Lieutenant Pritchard, Captain Forbes, Mr. Somer- 
set, and I, with a dragoon and groom. Sir Hudson proposed first 
to ride to Sandy-bay, one of the most romantic spots in the island. 
The views on all sides are singularly beautiful. Many fertile and 
well-wooded hills present themselves to the right, one of which is 
called High Peak. Diana's Peak lies more to the left, and is 
considered the highest point in the whole island. After crossing 
several hills and dales, by a zigzag road, their steepness never ad- 
mitting of a strait line, we reached the ridge, overlooking the bay. 
The view of the valley is beyond description grand. Hills and 
rocks of most singular forms surround a deep hollow, within which 
rises a woody hill with two peaks, one ascending considerablv 
above the other. Between them, surrounded by gardens and shrub- 
beries, lies the elegant villa of Mr. Doveton. He was born in this 
island, and is one of the members of council. Behind the house, 
seen, from the place where we stood, between the two peaks, rises a 
huge rock, like a sugar-loaf, called Lot. In the back-ground, is a 
range of hills, truly volcanic in their appearance, intersected by 
numerous glens and gulfies, of almost every colour, but chiefly 
violet, with tinges of yellow, red, dark-brown, and a greenish-grey; 
the summit of the range is crowned with peaks of brown and black 
rocks, rising in succession. On its most elevated part, a rock, consi- 
derably higher than the rest, and leaning towards the right, has 
the odd name of Lot's wife; the lower row of rocks of different 
shapes and sizes, are called Lot's children. The whole landscape 
is the most strange combination of objects imaginable, and Sir 
Hudson, perceiving that I wished to make a sketch of it, proposed 
that I should make it the business of to-morrow, as our time to-day 
was too short. 
Leaving therefore this enchanting spot, we turned towards Long- 
