AFRICAN EXPLORERS OF TEE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 79 
interests of natural history. Sparrman undertook to 
search for animals, and Thunberg for plants. The ac¬ 
count of Sparrman’s expedition, which, as we have said, 
was interrupted by his voyage in Oceania, after Cook’s 
expedition, was the first to appear. It was translated 
into French by Le Tourneur. In his preface, which is 
still allowed to stand, Le Tourneur deplored the loss of 
the learned explorer, who he said had died during a 
voyage to the Gold Coast. Just as the work was pub¬ 
lished, Sparrman reappeared, to the great astonishment 
of Le Tourneur. 
Sparrman had reached Africa upon the 30th of 
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 
April, 1772, and landed at the Cape of Good Hope. At 
this time the town was only two miles across each way, 
including the gardens and plantations adjoining it on 
one side. The streets were wide, planted with oaks, and 
the houses were white, or, to Sparrman’s surprise, 
painted green. 
His object in visiting the Cape was to act as tutor 
to the children of a M. Kerste ; but upon his arrival in 
Cape Town, he found that his employer was absent at 
his winter residence in False Bay. When the spring 
came round, Sparrman accompanied Kerste to Alphen, 
a property which he possessed near Constance. The 
naturalist availed himself of the opportunity to make 
