endship with the daughter of the proprietor
of a large business. He belonged to an old and much-esteemed colonial
family. The girl was pretty, accomplished, and amiable. But she was
"left out" of everything. Dance after dance was given, but Miss X never
received an invitation. My sister was distressed at this, and, when a
large military dance was projected, used every ounce of her influence
towards having her friend invited. But all her trouble was in vain.

What made the situation hopeless was the circumstance that the
civilians accepted it with contemptible humility. It was almost
pathetic to observe how people, just on the border-line, received with
humble thankfulness such crumbs of recognition as were occasionally
thrown to them. Snobbery increases in offensiveness when it is
transplanted.

Living was exceedingly cheap. I think the price of meat was twopence
per pound. I have seen hundreds of bags of excellent potatoes offered
on the morning market and taken away unsold because no one would bid a
shilling per bag for them. Most people were poor, but they seemed
somehow to be comfortable enough. There was no such thing as pauperism.
Even the poorest could afford to keep horses. Journeys were generally
performed on horseback, luggage being carried on a pack-horse, led by
an after-rider. I had a splendid pony, which cost only 3. He grazed on
the town commonage; besides grass, he never got anything to eat but an
occasional handful of mealies. Yet he always was in good condition. On
this pony I regularly followed the hounds for some months for the
military kept a pack of foxhounds with which duiker antelopes were
hunted and was usually in at the death.

After a time my father managed to hire what was believed to be a
suitable farm near MacLean Town. It was called "Sunny Slope" and it
belonged to Mr. Benjamin Norton, who lived on the farm adjoining. Here
we began farming with about eight hundred sheep, and a few head of
cattle. The farm contained long, gentle, undulating slopes, divided by
shallow kloofs full of forest. The pasturage was rich and water was
plentiful. But our farming was not successful; it was hardly possible
that it could have been so. Farming is a trade, and has to be learnt.
Moreover, wool went down in price and the sheep contracted various
diseases. However, the latter evil was overcome with the kind
assistance of our neighbors.

In the days I write of, the whole of the coast of British Kaffraria