beauty of spring. Mrs. R- brought me a plate of oranges, 'just
gathered', as soon as I entered the house--and, oh! how good they
were! better even than the Maltese. They are going out, and DEAR
now--two a penny, very large and delicious. I am wild to get out
and see the glorious scenery and the hideous people. To-day the
wind has been a cold south-wester, and I have not been out. My
windows look N. and E. so I get all the sun and warmth. The beauty
of Table Bay is astounding. Fancy the Undercliff in the Isle of
Wight magnified a hundred-fold, with clouds floating halfway up the
mountain. The Hottentot mountains in the distance have a fantastic
jagged outline, which hardly looks real. The town is like those in
the south of Europe; flat roofs, and all unfinished; roads are
simply non-existent. At the doors sat brown women with black hair
that shone like metal, very handsome; they are Malays, and their
men wear conical hats a-top of turbans, and are the chief artisans.
At the end of the pier sat a Mozambique woman in white drapery and
the most majestic attitude, like a Roman matron; her features large
and strong and harsh, but fine; and her skin blacker than night.

I have got a couple of Cape pigeons (the storm-bird of the South
Atlantic) for J-'s hat. They followed us several thousand miles,
and were hooked for their pains. The albatrosses did not come
within hail.

The little Maltese goat gave a pint of milk night and morning, and
was a great comfort to the cow. She did not like the land or the
grass at first, and is to be thrown out of milk now. She is much
admired and petted by the young Africander. My room is at least
eighteen feet high, and contains exactly a bedstead, one straw
mattrass, one rickety table, one wash-table, two chairs, and broken