98 
THE WARM-BATHS 
10 Aprii,, 
a ground-floor, divided lengthwise by a gallery which opens towards 
the front, into eight small rooms ; and, towards the back, into four 
baths, together with a kitchen and servants' rooms at each end. 
Unlike the watering-places of England, the Zwarteberg bath 
offers no attractions of amusement and society, and can barely ac- 
commodate its visitors with the necessary supplies. Consequently it 
is resorted to only by a few invalids who have faith in the medicinal 
powers of these waters, which, I was told, are efficacious against 
rheumatic affections, and possess some tonic properties ; but the 
people of the country use it, without much discrimination, for a 
variety of other complaints. * Their virtues, probably, have never 
been fairly ascertained ; but, under judicious medical direction, these 
baths may be found beneficial in many cases ; and when the neigh- 
bouring village shall have attracted a sufficient number of inhabitants, 
and, with them, the means of accommodating strangers, there is 
little doubt that this will become- a place of considerable resort, as, 
on account of its greater proximity to the metropolis, it has always 
been much more frequented than any of the other warm baths of the 
colony, and, however wide the comparison, may be regarded as the 
BaicB of the Cape. 
Although the government granted a lease of these springs to 
the present possessor, it retained the privilege of issuing, to all who 
would apply for it, permission to make use of the original baths ; 
which, however, are merely a few small huts on the eastern side of 
the springs, and which are kept in repair at public expense. For this 
permission, each individual pays a trifling sum, but he receives with 
it no other accommodation ; and as this class of bathers consists of 
* Sparrman relates an instance of an injudicious use of these baths, which proved 
fatal to a slave ; he has recorded several chemical experiments on the water, with various 
tests. (Sparrman's Travels, vol. i. p. 139, 140, 141. Englished. Lond. 1785, 4to.) — Thun- 
berg also gives the results of some further trials. (Thunberg's Travels, vol. i. p. 215. 
English ed. Lond. 8vo.) — The works of these travellers contain much information, and 
possess a share of naivete, and a character of honesty, which render them useful as a 
picture of the colony in those days. Sparrman relates many incidents in a very amusing 
manner, and which bear, at the same time, the stamp of fidelity. 
