Part 8 (1/2)
”I know it very well,” said Swinton; ”it is the faroa Bay I did not think that we had got on so fast It is about three miles off, so it will just be convenient for our breakfast It will take us a good hour to arrive there, and then ill unyoke the oxen How on The other sixteen are folloith the sheep and horses; they are as relays”
”Let us gallop on,” said the Major
”Agreed,” replied the others; and putting spurs to their horses, they soon arrived at the farmhouse of the Dutch planter
They were saluted with the barking and cla boors, who drove away the dogs by pelting them with bullock-horns, and other bones of animals which were strewed about He then requested theave thee brandy-bottle, and reco that it was good brandy, and made from his own peaches
Shortly afterward the wife of the boorsaluted them, took up her station at a small table, with the tea apparatus before her That refreshi+ng beverage she now poured out for the visitors, handing a box, with soar-candy in it, for them to put a bit into their youths, and keep there as they drank their tea, by way of sweetening it The old boor told them he had expected them, as he had been informed that they were to set out that day; but he had concluded that they would arrive in the afternoon, and not so early
We ive a description of a Dutch fare square building, the wall built up of clay, and then plastered with a composition made by the boors, which becomes excessively hard in time; after which it is ashed The roof was thatched with a hard sort of rushes, more durable and less likely to catch fire than straw There was no ceiling under the roof, but the rafters overhead were hung with a e of the produce of the chase and fare whips s and feathers, strings of onions, rolls of tobacco, ba-room, a slazed, but closed with skins every night There was no chi carried on in a small outhouse
The furniture was not very considerable: a large table, a few chairs and stools, some iron pots and kettles, a set of Dutch teacups, a teapot, and a brass kettle, with a heater The large, brass-clasped, family Dutch Bible occupied a small table, at which the mistress of the house presided, and behind her chair were the carcasses of two sheep, suspended from a beam
Inquiries about the news at the Cape, and details of all the inforive, had occupied the time till breakfast was put on the table It consisted of ood white bread Before breakfast was over the caravan arrived, and the oxen were unyoked Our travelers passed ao hours in going over the garden and orchards, and visiting the cattlefolds, and seeing the cowsthe old boor a farewell, and thanking him for his hospitality, they resumed their journey
”Is it always the custom here to receive travelers in this friendly way?” observed Alexander, as they rode away
”Always,” replied Swinton; ”there are no inns on the road, and every traveler finds a welcome It is considered a matter of course”
”Do they never take payment?”
”Never, and it must not be offered; but they will take the value of the corn supplied to your horses, as that is quite another thing One peculiarity you will observe as you go along, which is, that the Dutch wife is a fixture at the little tea-table all day long She never leaves it, and the tea is always ready for every traveler who claims their hospitality; it is an odd custoood woman to become so very lusty”
”No doubt of it; the whole exercise of the day is froain,” replied Swinton, laughing
”One would hardly suppose that this apparently good-natured and hospitable people could have been guilty of such cruelty to the natives as Mr Fairburn represented”
”Many of our virtues and vices are brought prominently forward by circumstances,” replied Swinton ”Hospitality in a thinly-inhabited country is universal, and a Dutch boor is hospitable to an excess Their cruelty to the Hottentots and other natives arises from the prejudices of education: they have from their childhood beheld them treated as slaves, and do not consider the demoralizes soand sanctioned by law”
”But are not the Dutch renowned for cruelty and love of money?”
”They have obtained that reputation, and I fear there is some reason for it They took the lead, it must be remembered, as a couese, whose steps they followed so closely: that this eager pursuit of wealth should create a love of money is but too natural, and to obtain money, men, under the influence of that passion, will stop at nothing Their cruelties in the East are on record; but the question is, whether the English, who followed the path of the Dutch, would not, had they gone before theuilty of the same crimes to obtain the same ends? The Spaniards were just as cruel in South Auese have not fallen short of them; nay, I doubt if our own countrymen can be acquitted in many instances The only difference is, that the other nations who preceded thereater temptation, because there were more riches and wealth to be obtained”
”Your remarks are just; well may we say in the Lord's Prayer, 'Lead us not into temptation,' for we are all too frail to withstand it”
At noon they again unyoked, and allowed the cattle to graze for an interval; after which they proceeded till an hour before dark, when they es and directions At Alexander's request the Major took this upon hi that it was their intention to reward those who did their duty, and to punish severely those who did not They then collected wood for the fires, and had their supper,--the first meal which they had taken out of doors Mahomed, the Parsee servant of Major Henderson, cooked verytied the oxen to the wagons, to accustoer to be apprehended, the watch was set to keep up the fires: they then all retired to bed, the gentleons, and the Hottentots underneath thehted
It will be unnecessary to enter into a detail of the journey to Graham's Tohich was perforht days after their departure frooa Bay, as they purposely lost tiht find their places At Graham's Town they received every kindness and attention from the few military ere there and the landroost Here they dismissed three of thetheir stay, and hired ninethese were two perfectly well acquainted with the Caffre language and country; so that they were serviceable both as interpreters and guides The day after their arrival, when they were out in the skirts of the town, Mr Swinton perceived so in the bushes He advanced cautiously, and discovered that it was a poor little Bushman boy, about twelve years old, quite naked, and evidently in a state of starvation, having been left there in a high fever by his people He was so weak that he could not stand, and Mr Swinton desired the Hottentot ith hions Soht the little fellow round again, and he was able to walk about He showed no disposition to leave them; indeed he would watch for Mr Swinton, and follow him as far as he could The child evidently appeared to feel attachratitude, and when they were about to depart, Mr Swinton, through the e, asked him if he would like to stay with them
The ansas in the affirmative, and it was decided that he should accoood coive him?” said Swinton