latitude 28°, longitude 314°, it was 24° 20'; in latitude 29°, longitude 317°, it was 26° 10'; and was then stationary for the space of about ten degrees farther to the west; but in latitude 34°, longitude 333°, we observed it twice to be 281° W., and this was its greatest variation, for in latitude 350, longitude 337, it was 24°, and continued gradually to decrease; so that off Cape Anguillas, it was 22° 30′, and in Table Bay 20° 30′ W.

As to currents, it did not appear that they were at all considerable, till we came within a little distance of the meridian of Madagascar; for, after we had made 52° of longitude from Java Head, we found, by observation, that our error in longitude was only two degrees, and it was the same when we had made only nineteen. This error might be owing partly to a current setting to the westward, partly to our not making proper allowances for the setting of the sea before which we run, and perhaps to an error in the assumed longitude of Java Head. If that longitude is erroneous, the error must be imputed to the imperfection of the charts of which I made use in reducing the longitude from Batavia to that place, for there can be no doubt but that the longitude of Batavia is well determined. After we had passed the longitude of 307°, the effects of the westerly currents began to be considerable; for in three days, our error in longitude was 1° 5' the velocity of the current kept increasing, as we proceeded to the westward, insomuch that, for five days successively after we made the land, we were driven to the S.W. or S.W. by W., not less than twenty leagues a day; and this continued till we were within sixty or seventy leagues of the Cape, where the current set sometimes one way, and sometimes the other, though inclining rather to the westward.

After the boobies had left us, we saw no more birds till we got nearly abreast of Madagascar, where, in latitude 273° S., we saw an albatross, and after that time we saw them every day in great numbers, with birds of several other sorts, particularly one about as big as a duck, of a very dark brown colour with a yellowish bill. These birds became more numerous as we approached the shore, and as soon as we got into soundings, we saw gannets, which we continued to see as long as we were upon the bank which stretches off Anguillas to the distance of forty leagues, and extends along the shore to the eastward from Cape False, according to some charts, one hundred and sixty leagues. The real extent of this bank is not exactly known; it is, however, useful as a direction to shipping when to haul in, in order to make the land.

While we lay here, the Houghton Indiaman sailed for England, who, during her stay in India, lost by sickness between thirty and forty men, and when she left the Cape had many in a helpless condition with the scurvy. Other ships suffered in the same proportion, who had been little more than twelve months absent from England; our sufferings, therefore, were comparatively light, considering that we had been absent near three times as long.

Having lain here to recover the sick, procure stores, and perform several necessary operations upon the ship and rigging, till the 13th of April, I then got all the sick on board, several of whom were still in a dangerous state, and having taken leave of the governor, I unmoored the next morning, and got ready to sail.

The

The Cape of Good Hope has been so often described, and is so well known in Europe, that I shall mention only a few particulars, which, in other relations, are omitted or misrepresented. Notwithstanding all that has been said to the contrary, no country that we saw during the voyage makes a more forlorn appearance, or is in reality a more sterile desert. land over the Cape, which constitutes the peninsula formed by Table Bay on the north, and False Bay on the south, consists of high mountains, altogether naked and desolate the land behind these to the east, which may be considered as the isthmus, is a plain of vast extent, consisting almost wholly of a light kind of sea-sand, which produces nothing but heath, and is utterly incapable of cultivation. All the spots that will admit of improvement, which together bear about the same proportion to the whole as one to one thousand, are laid out in vineyards, orchards, and kitchen-grounds; and most of these little spots lie at a considerable distance from each other. There is also the greatest reason to believe, that, in the interior parts of this country, that which is capable of cultivation does not bear a greater proportion to that which is incorrigibly barren; for the Dutch told us, that they had settlements eight-and-twenty days' journey up the country, a distance equal to at leas

nine hundred miles, from which they bring provisions to the Cape by land; so that it seems reasonable to conclude that provisions are not to be had within a less compass. While we were at the Cape, a farmer came thither from the country, at the distance of fifteen days journey, and brought his young children with him. We were surprised at this, and asked him, if it would not have been better to have left them with his next neighbour. Neighbour! said the man, I have no neighbour within less than five days' journey of me.-Surely the country must be deplorably barren in which those who settle only to raise provisions for a market are dispersed at such distances from each other! That the country is everywhere destitute of wood appears to demonstration; for timber and planks are imported from Batavia, and fuel is almost as dear as food. We saw no tree, except in plantations near the town, that was six feet high; and the stems, that were not thicker than a man's thumb, had roots as thick as an arm or a leg; such is the influence of the winds here to the disadvantage of vegetation, setting the sterility of the soil out of the question.

The only town which the Dutch have built here is, from its situation, called Cape Town, and consists of about a thousand houses, neatly built of brick, and in general whited on the outside; they are, however, covered only with thatch, for the violence of the south-east winds would render any other roof inconvenient and dangerous. The streets are broad and commodious, all crossing each other at right angles. In the principal street there is a canal, on each side of which is planted a row of oaks, that have flourished tolerably well, and yield an agreeable shade: there is a canal also in one other part of the town, but the slope of the ground in the course of both is so great, that they are furnished with flood-gates, or locks, at intervals of little more than fifty yards.

A much greater proportion of the inhabitants are Dutch in this place than in Batavia; and as the town is supported principally by entertaining strangers, and supplying them with necessaries, every man, to a certain degree, imitates the manners and customs of the nation with which he is chiefly concerned. The ladies, however, are so faithful to the mode of their country, that not one of them will stir without a chaudpied or chauffet, which is carried by a servant, that it may be ready to place under her feet whenever she shall sit down. This practice is the more remarkable, as very few of these chauffets have fire in them, which indeed the climate renders unnecessary.

The women, in general, are very handsome; they have fine clear skins, and a bloom of

colour that indicates a purity of constitution, and high health. They make the best wives in the world, both as mistresses of a family and mothers; and there is scarcely a house that does not swarm with children.

The air is salutary in a high degree; so that those who bring diseases hither from Europe, generally recover perfect health in a short time; but the diseases that are brought from India are not so certainly cured.

Notwithstanding the natural sterility of the climate, industry has supplied this place with all the necessaries, and even the luxuries of life, in the greatest profusion. The beef and mutton are excellent, though the cattle and sheep are natives of the country; the cattle are lighter than ours, more neatly made, and have horns that spread to a much wider extent. The sheep are clothed with a substance between wool and hair, and have tails of an enormous size; we saw some that weighed twelve pounds, and were told that there were many much larger. Good butter is made of the milk of the cows, but the cheese is very much inferior to our own. Here are goats, (but they are never eaten,) hogs, and a variety of poultry. Hares are also found here, exactly like those of Europe; antelopes of many kinds, quails of two sorts, and bustards, which are well flavoured, but not juicy. The fields produce European wheat and barley, and the gardens European vegetables, and fruit of all kinds, besides plantains, guavas, jambu, and some other Indian fruits, but these are not in perfection; the plantains, in particular, are very bad, and the guavas no larger than gooseberries. The vineyards also produce wine of various sorts, but not equal to those of Europe, except the Constantia, which is made genuine only at one vineyard, about ten miles distant from the town. There is another vineyard near it, where wine is made that is called by the same name, but it is greatly inferior.

The common method in which strangers live here, is to lodge and board with some of the inhabitants, many of whose houses are always open for their reception: the rates are from five shillings to two shillings a day, for which all necessaries are found. Coaches may be hired at four-and-twenty shillings a day, and horses at six shillings; but the country affords very little temptation to use them. There are no public entertainments; and those that are private, to which strangers of the rank of gentlemen are always admitted, were suspended while we were there by the breaking out of the measles.

At the farther end of the High-street, the Company have a garden, which is about twothirds of an English mile long; the whole is divided by walks that intersect each other at right angles, and are planted with oaks that are clipt into wall-hedges, except in the centre walk, where they are suffered to grow to their full size, and afford an agreeable shade, which is the more welcome, as, except the plantations by the sides of the two canals, there is not a single tree that would serve even for a shepherd's bush, within many miles of the town. The greater part of this garden is kitchen ground; but two small squares are allotted to botanical plants, which did not appear to be so numerous by one half as they were when Oldenland wrote his catalogue. At the farther end of the garden is a menagerie, in which there are many birds and beasts that are never seen in Europe; particularly a beast called by the Hottentots Coe doe, which is as large as a horse, and has the fine spiral horns which ar sometimes seen in private and public collections or curiosities*.

Of the natives of this country, we could learn but little, except from report; for there were none of their habitations, where alone they retain their original customs, within less than four days' journey from the town; those that we saw at the Cape were all servants to Dutch farmers, whose cattle they take care of, and are employed in other drudgery of the meanest kind. These are in general of a slim make, and rather lean than plump, but remarkably strong, nimble, and active. Their size is nearly the same with that of Europeans, and we saw some that were six feet high; their eyes are dull and without expression; their skins are of the colour of soot, but that is in a great measure caused by the dirt, which is so wrought into the grain that it cannot be distinguished from complexion; for I believe they

*This is the Coudous or Koodoo, Ant. Strepciseros of Cuvier; improperly described as Condoma by Buffon, while he gave the name of Coudou to another species, the Impooto or Potto, Ant. Ocas of Cuvier. It stands four

feet high at the shoulder, and is eight feet long. It inhabits the rocky plains of the Karoo mountains. The female is without horns.-ED.

never wash any part of their bodies. Their hair curls strongly, not like a negro's, but falls in ringlets about seven or eight inches long. Their clothing consists of a skin, geuerally that of a sheep, thrown over their shoulders; besides which, the men wear a small pouch in the middle of the waist, and the women, a broad leather flap, both which hang from a girdle or belt that is adorned with beads and small pieces of copper. Both men and women wear necklaces, and sometimes bracelets of beads; and the women wear rings of hard leather round their ancles, to defend them from the thorns, with which their country everywhere abounds: some of them have a sandal, made of wood or bark; but the greater part of them are unshod. To a European, their language appears to be scarcely articulate; besides which it is distinguished by a very remarkable singularity. At very frequent intervals, while they are speaking, they cluck with the tongue against the roof of the mouth: these clucks do not appear to have any meaning, but rather to divide what they say into sentences. Most of these Hottentots speak Dutch, without any peculiarity of pronunciation.

They are all modest, even to sheepishness; for it was not without the greatest difficulty that we could persuade any of them to dance, or even to speak in their own language to each other, in our presence. We did however both see them dance, and hear them sing; their dances are, by turns, active and sluggish to excess; sometimes consisting of quick and violent motions, with strange distortions of the body, and unnatural leaps backwards and forwards, with the legs crossing each other; and being sometimes so spiritless that the dancer only strikes the ground first with one foot and then with the other, neither changing place nor moving any other part of his body: the songs also are alternately to quick and slow movements, in the same extremes as the dance.

We made many inquiries concerning these people of the Dutch, and the following particulars are related upon the credit of their report.

Within the boundaries of the Dutch settlements, there are several nations of these people, who very much differ from each other in their customs and manner of life: all, however, are friendly and peaceable, except one clan that is settled to the eastward, which the Dutch call Bosch men, and these live entirely by plunder, or rather by theft ; for they never attack their neighbours openly, but steal the cattle privately in the night. They are armed however to defend themselves, if they happen to be detected, with lances or assagays, and arrows, which they know how to poison by various ways, some with the juice of herbs, and some with the venom of the serpent, called Cobra di Capello; in the hands of these people a stone also is a very formidable weapon, for they can throw it with such force and exactness as repeatedly to hit a dollar at the distance of a hundred paces. As a defence against these freebooters, the other Indians train up bulls, which they place round their towns in the night, and which, upon the approach of either man or beast, will assemble and oppose them, till they hear the voice of their masters encouraging them to fight, or calling them off, which they obey with the same docility as a dog.

Some nations have the art of melting and preparing copper, which is found among them, probably native; and of this they make broad plates, which they wear as ornaments upon their foreheads. Some of them also know how to harden bits of iron, which they procure from the Dutch, and form into knives, so as to give them a temper superior to that of any they can buy.

The chiefs, many of whom are possessors of very numerous herds of cattle, are generally clad in the skins of lions, tigers, or zebras, to which they add fringes, and other ornaments, in a very good taste. Both sexes frequently anoint the body with grease, but never use any that is rancid or fetid, if fresh can be had. Mutton suet and butter are generally used for this purpose; butter is preferred, which they make by shaking the milk in a bag made of the skin of some beast.

We were told that the priest certainly gives the nuptial benediction, by sprinkling the bride and bridegroom with his urine. But the Dutch universally declared that the women never wrapped the entrails of sheep round their legs, as they have been said to do, and afterwards make them part of their food. Semicastration was also absolutely denied to be general; but it was acknowledged that some among the particular nation which knew how to melt copper had suffered that operation, who were said to be the best warriors, and particularly to excel in the art of throwing stones.

We were very desirous to determine the great question among natural historians, whether the women of this country have or have not that fleshy flap or apron which has been called the Sinus pudoris, and what we learnt I shall relate. Many of the Dutch and Malays, who said they had received favours from Hottentot women, positively denied its existence; but a physician of the place declared that he had cured many hundreds of venereal complaints, and never saw one without two fleshy, or rather skinny appendages, proceeding from the upper part of the labia, in appearance somewhat resembling the teats of a cow, but flat; they hung down, he said, before the pudendum, and were in different subjects of different lengths, in some not more than half an inch, in others three or four inches: these he imagined to be what some writers have exaggerated into a flap, or apron, hanging down from the bottom of the abdomen, of sufficient extent to render an artificial covering of the neighbouring parts unnecessary.

This much for the country, its productions, and inhabitants. The bay is large, safe, and commodious; it lies open indeed to the north-west winds, but they seldom blow hard; yet as they sometimes send in a great sea, the ships moor N.E. and S. W., so as to have an open hawser with north-west winds: the south-east winds blow frequently with great violence, but as the direction is right out of the bay, they are not dangerous. Near the town a wharf of wood is run out to a proper distance for the convenience of landing and shipping goods. To this wharf water is conveyed in pipes, from which several boats may fill water at the same time; and several large boats or hoys are kept by the Company to carry stores and provisions to and from the shipping in the harbour. The bay is defended by a square fort, situated close to the beach on the east side of the town, and by several outworks and batteries extending along the shore, as well on this side of the town as the other; but they are so situated as to be cannonaded by shipping, and are in a manner defenceless against an enemy of any force by land. The garrison consists of eight hundred regular troops, besides militia of the country, in which is comprehended every man able to bear arms. contrivances to alarm the whole country by signals in a very short time, and the militia is then to repair immediately to the town.

They have

The French at Mauritius are supplied from this place with salted beef, biscuit, flour, and wine the provisions for which the French contracted this year were 500,000 lbs. weight of salt beef, 400,000 lbs. of flour, 400,000 lbs. of biscuit, and 1,200 leagers of wine.

On the morning of the 14th, we weighed and stood out of the bay; and at five in the evening anchored under Penquin, or Robin island: we lay here all night, and as I could not sail in the morning for want of wind, I sent a boat to the island for a few trifling articles which we had forgot to take in at the Cape. But as soon as the boat came near the shore, the Dutch hailed her, and warned the people not to land, at their peril, bringing down at the same time six men armed with muskets, who paraded upon the beach. The officer who commanded the boat, not thinking it worth while to risk the lives of the people on board for the sake of a few cabbages, which were all we wanted, returned to the ship. At first we were at a loss to account for our repulse, but we afterwards recollected, that to this island the Dutch at the Cape banish such criminals as are not thought worthy of death, for a certain number of years, proportioned to the offence; and employ them as slaves in digging limestone, which, though scarce upon the continent, is plenty here and that a Danish ship, which by sickness had lost great part of her crew, and had been refused assistance at the Cape, came down to this island, and sending her boat ashore, secured the guard, and took on board as many of the criminals as she thought proper to navigate her home: we concluded therefore that the Dutch, to prevent the rescue of their criminals in time to come, had given order to their people here to suffer no boat of any foreign nation to come ashore. On the 25th, at three o'clock in the afternoon, we weighed, with a light breeze at S.E., and put to sea. About an hour afterwards, we lost our master, Mr. Robert Mollineux, a young man of good parts, but unhappily given up to intemperance, which brought on disorders that put an end to his life.

We proceeded in our voyage homeward without any remarkable incident; and in the morning of the 29th we crossed our first meridian, having circumnavigated the globe in the direction from east to west, and consequently lost a day, for which we made an allowance a Batavia.