I 
1811. THE PRICE OF BEING AN ENGLISHMAN. 239 
appearance strongly contrasted that of her greasy dirty servants, 
immediately got breakfast ready. 
He had received the landdrost's letter about four days before ; 
but I was exceedingly disappointed that no other letter had arrived by 
the same conveyance. I therefore now gave up all expectation of 
hearing again from my friends, as there appeared no chance of their 
letters reaching us, after we left this place. 
He showed, by his conversation, some curiosity respecting the 
nature and extent of my travels, which, in part, I satisfied; but 
found it not an easy task to convince him that there was any utility 
in travelling, when the making of money was not the object. Till 
he had seen my papers, he continued in the supposition that I was 
a missionary ; but having discovered this mistake, he fell into 
another, in concluding, as former travellers at the Cape had been 
sent out at the expense, and by the authority, of Government, 
or by assistance from other quarters, that my case must be the same; 
and asked very respectfully if the heer was not sent by the Koniiig 
van Engeland. Although I put him right in this point, I was at last 
obliged to leave him in an error, as he would not be persuaded that 
I was not travelling at the expense of the Cape government, since 
the landdrost had given him orders, in the name of government, to 
provide the relays of oxen. 
The authority which I appeared to derive from my papers, 
was considered a proof that he might, without hurting his con- 
science, demand a greater price for what I bought, than was 
customarily paid by his neighbours. It was my intention to have 
purchased of him a horse, as the breed of the Roggeveld is much 
esteemed, and, from the great numbers which are reared there, 
might be obtained at a reasonable rate ; but as he imposed an addi- 
tional sum of three-fifths of the usual price, I declined the bargain 
altogether. When one of my men, the next day, remarked to him, 
that he had asked by much too great a price for the horse, he merely 
replied, " your master is an Englishman, and can afford to pay it." 
However, for the eighteen sheep which I had of him, he was so con- 
scientious as to lay on no more than an eighth, as the charge for mv 
