the quaint appearance of the Dutch
houses still standing.

_Chief Public Buildings_.--The castle stands near the shore at the head
of the bay. Begun in 1666 its usefulness as a fortress has long ceased,
but it serves to link the city to its past. West of the castle is a
large oblong space, the Parade Ground. A little farther west, at the
foot of the central jetty is a statue of Van Riebeek, the first governor
of the Cape. In a line with the jetty is Adderley Street, and its
continuation Government Avenue. Adderley Street and the avenue make one
straight road a mile long, and at its end are "the Gardens," as the
suburbs built on the rising ground leading to Table Mountain are called.
The avenue itself is fully half a mile long and is lined on either side
with fine oak trees. In Adderley Street are the customs house and
railway station, the Standard bank, the general post and telegraph
offices, with a tower 120 ft. high, and the Dutch Reformed church. The
church dates from 1699 and is the oldest church in South Africa. Of the
original building only the clock tower (sent from Holland in 1727)
remains. Government Avenue contains, on the east side, the Houses of
Parliament, government house, a modernized Dutch building, and the
Jewish synagogue; on the west side are the Anglican cathedral and
grammar schools, the public library, botanic gardens, the museum and
South African college. Many of these buildings are of considerable
architectural merit, the material chiefly used in their construction
being granite from the Paarl and red brick. The botanic gardens cover 14
acres, contain over 8000 varieties of trees and plants, and afford a
magnificent view of Table Mountain and its companion heights. In the
gardens, in front of the library is a statue of Sir George Grey,
governor of the Cape from 1854 to 1861. The most valuable portion of the
library is the 5000 volumes presented by Sir George Grey. In Queen
Victoria Street, which runs along the west side of the gardens, are the
Cape University buildings (begun in 1906), the law courts, City club and
Huguenot memorial hall. The Anglican cathedral, begun in 1901 to replace
an unpretentious building on the same site, is dedicated to St George.
It lies between the library and St George's Street, in which are the
chief newspaper offices, and premises of the wholesale merchants. West
of St George's Street is Greenmarket Square, the centre of the town
during the Dutch period. From the ba