I Get Up At Half-Past Five, And Walk In The Early Morning, Before
The Sun And Wind Begin To
Be oppressive; it is then dry, calm, and
beautiful; then I sleep like a Dutchman in the middle of the
Day.
At present it tires me, but I shall get used to it soon. The Dutch
doctor here advised me to do so, to avoid the wind.
When all was settled, we climbed the Hottentot's mountains by Sir
Lowry's Pass, a long curve round two hill-sides; and what a view!
Simon's Bay opening out far below, and range upon range of crags on
one side, with a wide fertile plain, in which lies Hottentot's
Holland, at one's feet. The road is just wide enough for one
waggon, i.e. very narrow. Where the smooth rock came through,
Choslullah gave a little grunt, and the three bays went off like
hippogriffs, dragging the grey with them. By this time my
confidence in his driving was boundless, or I should have expected
to find myself in atoms at the bottom of the precipice. At the top
of the pass we turned a sharp corner into a scene like the crater
of a volcano, only reaching miles away all round; and we descended
a very little and drove on along great rolling waves of country,
with the mountain tops, all crags and ruins, to our left. At three
we reached Palmiet River, full of palmettos and bamboos, and there
the horses had 'a little roll', and Choslullah and his miniature
washed in the river and prayed, and ate dry bread, and drank their
tepid water out of a bottle with great good breeding and
cheerfulness.
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