governor and council, who determine finally and without appeal.  In the interior country, the drossart determines in things of small consequence; but all matters of importance must come before the governor and council, whose sentences, both in civil and criminal cases, are executed without delay.  The officer who commands here in chief, has the rank and pay of major, yet does the duty in all respects of a major-general.  The officers under him are captains, lieutenants, and ensigns, who take care to keep their companies always complete and well disciplined; and in case of attack, they can draw together five thousand men at least, all well armed and as good as regular troops:  Each peasant knows where he has to repair to, in order to range himself under his proper standard.

It is not easy to describe the expertness with which these peasants manage their fire-arms, an exercise in which they are constantly employed, even from their infancy; and it is almost incredible how boldly they attack even the fiercest animals.  Many among them disdain to shoot a sleeping lion, because, as they say, it shows neither skill nor courage:  When, therefore, they discover a lion asleep, they throw stones to waken him, and do not fire till he is on his feet.  A little before the arrival of our author at the Cape, two peasants went out together to hunt.  One of them, seeing a lion, fired at and missed him, when the lion rushed upon the man, who threw away his gun, to have more liberty to defend himself.  The other peasant, on hearing the report, hastened to the place, and found his companion and the lion closely engaged; on which he snatched up the gun, and slew the lion by a few blows on the head, but broke the gun in pieces.  The first peasant, whose property the gun was, complained loudly of its demolition, blamed his companion for coming up uncalled for, and even talked of making him pay for the gun, insisting that he could have slain the lion himself without aid.  It was formerly considered a wonderful deed for a man to kill a lion; but now it is so common an occurrence, that they make no more of killing a lion, than we do of shooting a hare.

The country about Cape Town is full of vineyards and gardens.  Two of these belong to the company, which are perhaps the finest in the world.  One is at the distance of two hundred paces from the fort, between the town and Table Mountain, being about 1400 paces in length, by 235 paces broad, and having a fine rivulet from the mountain running through the middle of it.  It is divided into quarters, in which they cultivate, with the utmost success, the fruits and flowers of the four quarters of the globe.  The other garden is about two leagues distant from the town, in what is called the New Country, and is likewise kept in excellent order by slaves belonging to the company, of whom there are seldom less than five hundred.  The country hereabout is mountainous and stony; but the vallies are very agreeable, and