at dinner; which, considering the situation of the place,
might be reckoned elegant. He shewed us his wine-cellars, his orchards,
and vineyards; all which, I must own, inspired me with a wish to know in
what manner these industrious people could create such plenty, in a spot
where, I believe, no other European nation would have attempted to
settle.

"In the afternoon we crossed the country, and passed a few plantations,
one of which seemed very considerable, and was laid out in a taste
somewhat different from any other we saw. In the evening we arrived at a
farm-house, which is the first in the cultivated tract called the Pearl.
We had, at the same time, a view of Drakenstein, the third colony of
this country, which lies along by the foot of the lofty hills already
mentioned, and contains several farms or plantations, not very
extensive.

"I went, on the 19th in the forenoon, in quest of plants and insects,
which I found almost as scarce as at Stellenbosh; but I met with more
shrubs or small trees, naturally produced, in the valleys, than in any
part of the country I had hitherto seen.

"In the afternoon we went to see a stone of a remarkable size, called by
the inhabitants the Tower of Babylon, or the Pearl Diamond.[88] It lies,
or stands, upon the top of some low hills, at the foot of which our
farm-house was situated; and though the road to it is neither very steep
nor rugged, we were above an hour and a half in walking to it. It is of
an oblong shape, rounded on the top, and lies nearly S. and N. The E.
and W. sides are steep, and almost perpendicular. The S. end is likewise
steep, and its greatest height is there; from whence it declines gently
to the N. part, by which we ascended to its top, and had an extensive
view of the whole country.

[Footnote 88: In the Philosophical Transactions, vol. lxviii, part i. p.
102, we have a letter from Mr Anderson to Sir John Pringle, describing
this remarkable stone. The account sent home from the Cape, and read
before the Royal Society, is much the same with that now published, but
rather fuller. In particular, he tells Sir John, that he went to see it
at Mr Masson's desire, who probably had not had an opportunity of
sufficiently examining it himself. In the account of his journies above
referred to, p. 270, he only says, "there are two large solid rocks on
the Perel Berg, each of which (he believes) is more than a mile in
circumference at the base, and upwards of 200 fee