When I returned from South Africa I had no intention of adding to thewar literature which was certain to be evoked by the present campaign.But I now publish this simple narrative because it was suggested to meby a friend that the sale of such a book might perhaps serve to augmentin some measure the Fund established by the patriotism and energy ofLady Lansdowne and her Committee. Lady Lansdowne has cordially approvedof the suggestion; so I trust that the profits derived from this littlevolume may be enough to justify its existence.
ERNEST N. BENNETT.
The first view of Capetown from the sea is not easily forgotten. Wesailed into the bay just as the sun was rising in splendour behind thecliffs of Table Mountain. The houses of the town which fill the spacebetween the hills and the sea were still more or less in shadow, pickedout here and there by twinkling lights. On the summit rested a fleecycloud which concealed the pointed crags and hung from the edges of theprecipice like a border of fine drapery. On the right, groups ofbuildings stretched onwards to Sea Point, where the surf was breaking onthe rocks within a few feet of the road; on the left were the morepicturesque suburbs of Rosebank, Newlands and Claremont nestling amidtheir woods and orchards; and still further on lay Wynberg, with itsvast hospital, already become a household word in English homes. Thedreary flats of Simon's Bay, where British war-ships lay at anchor, shutin the view.
Pleasing as the picture is when seen from the deck of a Castle Liner,disappointment generally overtakes the voyager who has landed. Capetownitself has little to boast of in the way of architecture. ExceptAdderley Street, which is adorned by the massive buildings of the PostOffice and Standard Bank, the thoroughfares of the town offer scarcelyany attractions. The Dutch are not an artistic race, and the fact thatnatives here live not in "locations" but anywhere they choose hascovered some portions of the town's area with ugly and squalid houses.Nor, as a matter of fact, does the general tone of thought and feelingin Cape Colony naturally lend itself to aesthetic considerations. Eventhe churches fail to escape the influence of a spirit which subordinateseverything else to practical and utilitarian considerations. Can twouglier buildings of their kind be found in the civilised world than theEnglish and Dutch cathedrals at Capetown?
Another unpleasant feature of life in Capetown is the misfortune, notthe fault, of the inhabitants in being frequently exposed to the fullfury of the south-east wind. Sometimes for whole days together the Capeis swept by tremendous blasts, which tear up the sea into white foam andraise clouds of blinding dust along the streets of the town.
Nevertheless the kindness and generosity of the people are not in anyway lessened by these unpleasant features in their surroundings. Thewarmth of colonial hospitality is acknowledged by all travellers, andmay be partly due to that love of the mother country which survives