316 
VIEW OF THE GARIEP. 
16 Sept. 
water, as this flowed at a depth of seventy feet below, hidden by the 
tall trees which clothe its banks. Yet even at this height, the marks 
of inundation are evident, and assist the traveller in picturing to 
himself the magnificence and grandeur of the river Gariep at such 
seasons. But inundations to this extent, happen not often ; and 
seven years, sometimes elapse, without collecting in its channel such 
an immense volume of water. 
Impatient to view the river itself, I descended the steep bank 
through a tall grove of acacias, karree-trees, and willows, whose cool 
shade, the burning heat of the day (Therm. 87° — of the Cent. 30''. 5) 
rendered doubly refreshing and delightful : while 1 felt very sensibly 
a moisture in the air, to which we had long been unaccustomed. 
The water glittering under a fervid sun, caught my eye through the 
leafy screen ; and a few steps lower, opened as enchanting a view as 
it could be possible for fancy to imagine. Whether the feelings of 
an enthusiastic lover of scenes of nature, may have influenced my 
judgment, I cannot say ; but still I think that, whoever shall visit 
the banks of the Gariep^ and not feel both delight and admiration, 
must be cold indeed, and very deficient in taste or sensibility. 
The first view to which I happened to turn myself, in looking 
up the stream, realized those ideas of elegant and classic scenery, 
which are created in the minds of poets, those alluring fancies of 
a fairy tale, or the fascinating imagery of a romance. The waters 
of the majestic river, flowing in a broad expanse resembling a smooth 
translucent lake, seemed, with their gentle waves, to kiss the shore 
and bid it farewell for ever, as they glided past in their way to the 
restless ocean ; bearing on their limpid bosom the image of their 
wood-clothed banks ; while the drooping willows leaned over the 
tide, as if unwilling to lose them ; and the long pendent branches, 
dipping their leafy twigs in the stream, seemed fain to follow. * 
* Plate 6. represents this view. The large trees in the foreground, are Willows 
(Salix Gariepina) ; and, being portraits of those which were actually growing on that 
spot, will serve to give a correct idea of their growth and ramification : the trees of both 
banks, in the range next to the watei, are of the same species. Above them, higher up 
on the bank, are seen the Karree-trees and Acacias, in the second and third tiers. The 
larger plants in the foreground, were intended to represent a shrub (C. G, 1634), very 
