de
out, and fills them with dust; it storms the barracks and maltreats the
soldiers; it compels the shutting up of sun-umbrellas, or reverses and
blows them to ribbons; it removes hats and bonnets by the score, and
sweeps up small pebbles in its mad career, so that one feels as if being
painfully pelted with buck-shot; it causes the shipping to strain
fearfully at its cables, and churns the waters of Table Bay into a
seething mass of snow and indigo.

All this time the sun shines intensely in a cloudless sky, and
beautifies the "cloth" which floats on Table Mountain, undulating on its
surface, or pouring over its edge like a Niagara of wool, to be warmed
into invisibility before tumbling half-way down the mighty precipice
that backs the town.

Although I have compared the south-easter to an enemy, he is in reality
a friend. The inhabitants call him the "Cape doctor," because in the
general clearance he sweeps away bad smells, the natural result of bad
drainage.

But the south-easter was _not_ blowing when I arrived at the ancient
capital of South Africa. The "cloth" was drawn; the crags of the
mountain, the white buildings and green groves of the town and suburbs,
were unsullied by mist or dust as we steamed into the Bay, and the
rugged outlines of the hills of the interior were distinctly visible
through the warm haze.

The suburbs of the city are exceedingly beautiful, and here many of the
principal inhabitants have built elegant mansions, to which they retire
after the business of each day to escape the heat, dust, and smells of
the town. A short line of railroad runs to these verdant spots at one
side, while a tramway extends on the other. In another direction the
railway runs by Stellenbosch and the Paarl to Wellington and Worcester.

It may surprise some people to be told that there is a mine--a rich and
prolific mine--at Capetown. Nevertheless, such is undoubtedly the case.

This mine is more extensive and valuable than any of the diamond or gold
mines of the Orange River or the Transvaal. Indeed it is one of the
most extensive mines in the world. It is, as already said, exceedingly
prolific, and is marked by one grand peculiarity, namely, that among
those who devote themselves to the working of it there are no
disappointed or unsuccessful diggers. Another peculiarity is, that very
little capital is required to work it. The digger is not obliged to
purchase "claims," for it is almost if not altoge