From various people I have learned that the average estimate of the
population is 3000 whites, one-fifth of whom are women and children.
There are several hotels, the best of which are the Palace, Maxim, and
Charter; but none of them are fit for ladies, and scarcely for
gentlemen. The noise and clatter at these forbid sleep, except between
midnight and 5 a.m. The food is somewhat coarse, but plentiful; the tea
and coffee such as one may obtain on a Cape liner--that is, too strong
an infusion of one, and a watery decoction of the other. The cooks
evidently are common ship-cooks, as one may gather by the way they boil
potatoes and cabbages. The bread is good, the butter is tolerable, the
meat is like leather. The waiters, though civil and willing enough, are
awkward and new to their work. Board and lodging may be obtained for
from 14 to 18 pounds per month, two beds in a room 12 feet by 12 feet.
At the cheaper boarding-houses it will cost between 4 and 10 pounds.
The rent of lodgings in a small room amounts to 15 shillings per week.