We went to the Central Hotel. On the second day after our arrival, the
wife of a physician of the town called and invited us to dine with them
on the following day, Sunday. We did so and made the acquaintance of
the excellent Doctor and his little family of interesting children. She
then invited us to make her house our home during our stay, and
overwhelmed us with kindness.
Unless you have been in a strange land, away from kindred and all who
know your people, you can never know the deep happiness it gives to meet
with kindness from an utter stranger, as this charming woman was, and to
be invited to a home as lovely as hers. After the annoyances and
inconveniences of the wretched inns, or hotels, as they were called, to
find such open-hearted hospitality was like meeting with kindred in a
desert land.
Most of the inhabitants of Queenstown are English or Scotch, there being
fewer Dutch or Germans there than in any of the other towns we had
visited. There are a number of fine churches and schools, with several
newspapers and banks. The ladies of the place are especially social,
and dress handsomely. The railway, which had been finished to the port
of East London two years previous to our arrival, seemed to have given
an impetus to trade, and it was confidently hoped by the burghers would
increase rapidly the prosperity of the district.
After enjoying a refreshing season of home life, we said good-by to our
new found friends and then left Queenstown by rail. Travelling by rail
seemed to us almost a novelty after our late ox-wagon trip, and we could
not help contrasting the new style with the old, not _all_ to the
disadvantage of the latter, for we could not forget the delightful
sleepiness of our inland voyage. We had a twelve hours' ride before we
arrived at King Williamstown, the road passing through a very pretty
country, pleasantly wooded, and varied by many deep and romantic kloofs.
We were thoroughly tired of the stuffy "compartment" before we reached
our destination.
We went to an hotel, where our wants were well cared for by a pretty
little landlady whose husband was of a most jealous disposition. The
town is in a region of country where there have been many Kafir wars.
The military stationed there keep the place awake. It is the fifth town
in point of importance in the colony.
During our stay in Africa we had taken many opportunities to practice
horseback riding, and had learned the supreme delight there is in a firm
seat in the saddle on the back of a well-trained, swift-footed horse.
This exercise is especially enjoyable in Africa, where walking is
unpleasant in the hot sun. One day we were invited to join in a paper
chase, to a spot distant ten or twelve miles from town.
We were assured of being furnished with suitable "mounts," so we
accepted without hesitation. There was a sprinkling of uniforms and a
few civilians, and there were several ladies besides ourselves. There
were also parties in Cape carts who followed the hunt by road. A cart
driven by a rifleman in uniform was to convey refreshments for our party
to the place of rendezvous. Presently the fox rode off well mounted.
The "scent" was slung over his shoulder in a capacious canvas bag. Time
was taken and he was soon clattering down the road, the music of the
horse's hoofs being accompanied by a ringing bugle blast sounded by one
of our enthusiastic huntsmen. He was to have ten minutes start, and the
interval was taken advantage of by most of our party to see that girths
were tight and bridle reins in order. Our escort had placed us in good
position to get away with the first rush, and when "time" was called, we
were well down the road in front of the ruck. It had been arranged
beforehand that the fox should keep to the road for a mile before making
across the country; so at first the whole field were well together
clattering and rattling down the hill at a pace so swift that good care
was demanded on the part of the riders to keep the horses from coming
into collision.
Down the slope, through the shallow stream running across the road in
the hollow, up the rise on the further side, and away along a level flat
on the crest of the hill, till many of the young fellows in uniform were
shouting from sheer exuberance of spirits. We found ourselves borne
along at a gait that sent the blood flying through our veins. The day
was fine, a fresh breeze, which swept across the veldt, agreeably
tempering the rays of the sun, which at that hour is decidedly hot.
Small particles of the paper lying along the road and the bushes that
fringed it served to stimulate our exertions, and the whole cavalcade
kept merrily on till we came to the point where a large patch of paper,
lying in the centre of the road, warned us that the chase had turned
off.
Here the larger part of the field deserted us, preferring to keep along
the road, which led in a tolerably direct line to the rendezvous, and
take their chances of sighting the hunt from occasional vantage grounds.
But all the more ardent sportsmen scorned to take advantage of the
highway when the scent led them away from it, and twenty or more elected
to follow the fox.
The paper led us for a mile or more along the upper edge of a deep
kloof, which looked dark and forbidding as we gazed down into its
depths, seeing only the tops of the trees, with which it was literally
crammed. The scent had been cast with a generous hand, and we rushed
along, feeling intoxicated with the exhilarating exercise and the
glorious air. All at once our leader reined in his horse, and we saw
the trail had suddenly taken a sharp turn to the right, crossing a small
stream, and disappearing over the brow of a hill on the opposite side.