A WOMAN'S IMPRESSIONS OF SOUTH AFRICA

Otago Witness, Issue 2882, 16 June 1909, Page 77

A WOMAN'S IMPRESSIONS OF SOUTH AFRICA

Bx D. Penbosb.

•11. A VISIT TO THE CAPE PARLIAMENT. A visit to Parliament is one of, my greatest pleasures, for there is nothing so gratifying to the soul of the muchwronged woman"as to see a conginegation of wise (V) men making fools of themselves, losing their dignity and their points or argument by becoming heated over questions in debate which should be discussed in the calmest manner. There are dozens of people standing around the door waiting to get in, but every member's wife must be served- first. Ordinary folk can crush in when some lady or gentleman who is bored with the proceedings comes out. The Chamber in "which the Cape legislators meet is small, but the seating accommodation in the gallery is liberal. There is a deal of wrangling going on between one of the •Ministers and an opposing party whose English is something between German and French, and whose gesticulations are more illustrative and convincing than bis tongue. The bones of contention seem to bo the unfortunate step taken in closing down the De Beers mine, which kept employed hundreds of men, and the extreme loss to the country the exodus of hundreds of people, who leave by every boat, is causing. Owing tc the retrenchment of the police and other civil servantSj which, according to hearsay, was brought about in ordei to give employment to Dutch folk, many people have •become disgusted with the attitude of the Government, and have decided to seek " fresh fields and pastures new." TEe- Speaker of the House seemed to be a universal favourite. Members from each side of the House dodged up to his chair at different intervals to whisper in his ear while the business of the House was being carried on, and each seemed to be on a familiar footing with him. While on the subject of parliamentary matters it might be as well to remark that Mr Hofmeyer, or "Onze Jan," as he is familiarly called at the Cape, is one of the most prominent wire-pullers in Cape politics. His affluent position among the financial persons in Cape Colony enables him to use a great power in the House, and although he never takes a seat in Parliament it is his hand that points the way to all true positions. THE JOURNEY TO JOHANNESBURG. Having seen sufficient of Capetown we decide to make our way to the mining centre, Johannesburg. The express train leaves Capetown twice a day — at 11 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. respectively. The earlier train is the cheaper, because its route is less interesting than the latter, which goes through the picturesque Orange River Colony and the capital, Bloemfontein. Each route is long and weary, occupying at least 63 hours. The trains are never to rime, although they rarely exceed an hour late. The fare via Fourteen Streams is £9 0s 2d (first class), .£6 13 lid (second class), and- £3 19s - 8d (third class). The Failwa^ accommodation is splendid. The carriages, which are all corridor, are subdivided into compartments capable of carrying four berths in the first class and six in the second, arranged on each side one above the other. The third class is cbieflv for the use of the coloured race. In each carriage there is a table which folds up into three pieces, and in the first cla^s a folding cabinet containing a hand basin and water-bottle and glass. Halfway the carriages take a turn in the opposite direction, v that the draughts and dust may not have free access. Ladies and gentlemen's lavatories stand in opposite directions to each other at each end of the carriage. Clean towels are provided when leaving Capetown, but after the public have had fr&3 access for a day they a<re not desirable articles to handle, and; by the time Johannesburg is reached they are beyond recognition. A particular traveller usually carries his or her own towel, and even then the dust on the Great Karoo is so intense that if one were to wash a dozen times a day one would still fieel dirty. The dining car is exquisite in spite of the frequent visits of the dust. Sometimes we seem to be passing through quite a dost storm so thick are the clouds that sweep along the plain. There are two rows of nicely-polished tables, each capable of seating four persons, with a carpeted passage between, comfortable chairs beautifully upholstered in. soft green or maroon leather, and a tempting menu. The stewards are in full regalia — silver buttons, brnad, and white shirt fronts. A peep at the cook in the galley is a thorough appetiser. His white attire is «o cool and de».n looking, and,

besides, he is usually .>f the goodhumoured, smiling, corpulent order. When the stables are set up with their white cloths, cruets, and coloured glasses, to say nothing of the usual pot of ilowers, you might almost fancy you were sitting in a hot/el were it not for the occasional jolting along the lines. Breakfast, which costs Is sd, luncheon 2s 6d, afternoon tea 9d, and dinner 3s are served here, and at all hours the usual bar beverages. Coffee is served in the carriages at 7 in the morning. Meals served in the carriage cost Is extra. For some hours after leaving Capetown t-he view is splendid — green trees, farmhouses, paddocks, hills, and grassy gullies — for we are passing through the Wellington fruit-growing district; then the scenery suddenly changes, and we find ourselves rattling over a wide, bare, dusty plain, here and there relieved by the presence of a line-repairer's railway house, built of granite, and numbered in large black letters on a whdte square painted on the side of the house, or a ramshackle hut surrounded by half-naked Kaffir children. For hours too long and weary to mention there is nothing to look upon but this barren waste, with here and there the remains of blockhouses and trenches, until" at the close of evening we come to the Hex River Mountains. Here the scenery~is too magnificent to think of in connection with a country like South Africa. Miles ahead the sun is sinking behind one long chain of beautiful blue mountains, made prettier by the shades of evening -wnich hang over them. The line winds higher at «■ wery turn, until we can peer into the deep ravines below. The impatient puffing and snorting of the engine grows louder and more pronounced as we mount the mighty heights, and dashing into the one tunnel on the line we find' that we have risen to a great altitude, and are now travelling over the Great Karoo. Here atre to be seen the remains of blockhouses, trenches and graveyards resulting from the late war, all wry close to the railway line. At Deelfontein there is' i high hill, which bears in white stones on itslide the letters "1.Y.H.," marking the position of the Imperial Yeomanry Hospital. The graveyard — a collection of white stones and wooden crosses— stands close by, marking the last resting-place of the heroes who fell. Close on midnight Are reach the junction, De Aar, where the line through the Orange River Colony branches off, and at 5 p.m. on the second day we paiSsed over the Modder River bridge. It occupied quite four minutes to pa*s over this great structure, and the whole time I did not catch a glimDse of more than a small stream where 1 expected to find a river. But as African seasons are rather contrary, inasmuch as the winters are dry and the summers wet, we could hardly expect to see the rivers full in winter. At 6.30 p.m. we drew up at Kimberley. Darkness has gathered over the land, so that -we could frame no idea of what the town was like beyond the fact that it was a very large place. This was easily discovered by the thousands of lights which stretched across the darkness away from the station as far as the eye could reach. The station itself was an up-to-date brick construction, with all the offices, booksellers' fruit, and confectionery stalls a big mining centre requires and an overhead bridge. We remained 20 minutes here, so we had ample time to get out an<s have a loolf over the town from the bridge and a chat with the stall holders. Then we were off again over the wide, bai-e plain, pulling up at little sidings and stations until Warrenton was reached, when the Kaapsche Gouvernement Spoorwegen (Cape Government Railway) dining car was taken off, and the Central South African railway's dining car hitched on. Somewhere near 10 o'clock we pulled up at Fourteen Streams, on the border of the Transvaal. The nights and mornings were very cold — so cold, in fact, that we could net bear to come in contact with the first breath of dawn or the morning wash. At some of the stations in the evenings long, fiat oil cans filled with hot water were handed in, and against these we warmed our feet. But in the morning, how cold was the first blast of wind as we opened our window. 1 - ! On the ground little pools of water weie covered with ice, and tufts of herbage growing here and there hung with tiny icicles. The nearer to Johannesburg we drew the more pronounced was the frost and keenness of the atmosphere, until our toes, fingers, and noses got beyond feeling. On the third morning the great mines around Johannesburg (or Jo'burg, as they call it here) came into view, stretching miles over the bare red plains, interspersed with kopjes, or small sloping hills — typical African country. Kaffir huts or kraals are in evidence everywhere, and Kaffir

villages in abundance. Then the smoke of the great mining town is seen, the tops of the sky-scrapers and chimneys towerjn above the city, and beneath the lowhanging smoke what appears to be' a " Little London." JOHANNESBURG. The Park railway station is large and comnxxLous, and has many platforms and overhead bridges, although it" is not as important a junction ac Grermxsfcon, a station 11 miles farther on, where the JSatal, Port Elizabeth, Jo'burg, and Pretoria lines meet. Customs and railway officials in resplendent uniforms — for the Transvaal love of uniform and red-tapeism. is as strong as in any other country — are dodging about all over the platforms, hunting out suspicious-lcoking baggage, and hotel porters (some whit.c, some Kaffir) are bobbing their heads in and out the carriage windows, and seizing all and sundry that looks like a probable customer's baggage. Having satisfied the officials about the genuineness of our stuff we handed it over to the first white porter that came along and followed him to a brougham, a number of which, driven by Kaffirs, were lined up along the outside station platform. In this we drove to Long's Hotel, a large, white-painted threestoreyed building close at hand. There were carriages, rickshaws, and vehicles of every description rattling ceaselessly to and fro, a steady stream of pedestrians in the streets, and over all a prospeixms air of business. Kaffirs, Kaffirs everywhere, looking even dirtier thaD those at Capetown. But, then, everything looked dirty in Jo'burg. The trees, the house-tops, 'and windows looked as if they had not indulged in a wash for a century, so prevalent and pronounced was the thick, red dust which swept in clouds along the streets and settled on everything. After a good wash and brush up we partook of a light refreshment and prepared to make an inspection of the city. I was struck ! No other word can convey the true meaning of my great surprise as I walked through the streets and gazed on the wonderful buildings towering high in the air on, either side of me. This Johannesburg! I could hardly believe that a city could grow up to such a size in so short a space of time, for it must be -emembered the town is hardly more than 15 3 r ears old. There were buildings larger than any 1 had ever seen, and one in particular, the Stock Exchange, occupied a whole block. One might easily imagine one's self in an American city, so delightfully blended are the Western ideas with the life and Dustle of this city, were it not for the primitive look of the footpaths and the host of Kaffirs who jostle past one in the streets. Jo'burg folk are evidently too preoccupied with their massive buildings to bother about their footpaths. In some places there is a suggestion of asphalt, but the steady stream of people has crushed it away until nothing but a patchwork of the original remains. There are streets and streets and streets ! One never seems to come to the end of them ; and when one does it is usually to run into a market square. Beautiful two-decker electric cars, fine vehicles of all descriptions, with a large percentage of motor cars, well-dressed men and women, gorgeous window displays, and merry little Kaffir newsboys are to be seen at every 'turn. That things are dear we do not doubt, but then that is always the w.ay in a prosperous town. It was understood that Jo'burg was passing through a most trying decade, leaving prosperity behind her. Still, if you wanted to buy a box of matches it would cost you 3d, because pennies are not in circulation, and would not be received in any place but the Post Office. "Tips,"' the 'most stylish and correct thing in Africa, are not recognised either unless of the liberal order. Even a Kaffir would raise his eyebrows if you offered him 6d instead of Is for carrying in your handbag from the hansom. Kruger coins are still largely used in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony, but are not recognised in Cape Colony except at the Post Office. The majority of newspapers cost M, although there are plenty at 6d and 9d, and a few at Is. The cost of lining is extremely high, | and to bring a good appetite with you means ruin, and to lose the appetite is equally dangerous, for when you take ill in Jo'burg it requires a deal of energy and patience to pull you through. The altitude, GOOOft above the tea level, is so high that there is a natural depre&bion upon everyone, find the man or woman who possesses a weak heart had better beware. Jo'burg has little sympathy for them, and very quickly dispatches them over the border. There are eating-houses and tearooms galore, for Jo'burg caters f^r tlie healthy appetite. In the bast restaurants, of which there are a Jaige number, breakfast costs 2s, luncheon 2s 6d, and dinner 3s 6d. In the hotels it to sometimes more, for every mouthful seems an extra. It is the extras that pay. All tin* for that selfish mortal, mere man. A woman is shown but little sympathy or consideration, for Jo'burg is an indep-en- I dent bachelors' town, full of bachelor j club*, societies, institutions, and sports; j and v/bib there are Kaffir boys and girls willing to make a living God of him by becoming sla ve^ to him, and placing him far above the ordinary mortal's stand, where he need never use or soil hi& hands, Jo'burg will continue to be a bachelors' town. The man of the town lives In a world of tobacco and ciga.r smoke, and does not ask foi woman's society. She may be the handsomest and most accomplished woman in the world, and he will pass her a tlo.^en times a day without so much as giving her a casual glance. This air of independence accompanies him everywhere, and is horribly conspicuous in the tearooms, where he smokes to his heart's content, nnd does not pause to consider the taste of any ladies who may happen Ui be present. Personally, •

I favour the aToma of tobacco and cigars ; therefore it did not matter to me whether the tearoom was "smoky" or not, but there are others who do not, and they at least are worthy of a little consideration. Our first night is spent at the Empire. It is a beautiful theatre, fashioned in green and gold, each turn being announced by an electric number, which shows up on either side of the stage front. Exquisite boxes stretch on either side half way round the daress circle, and at t>hs back of the stal's there is a. bar and sweets stall. Prices are extremely high — boxes 2gs, dress circle 10s 6d, and stalls J 7s 6d and ss. A variety show was play- i ing ou this particular evening. What must the prices be when there's a good company showing? A few nights later we paid a visit to the Standard Theatre, and s aw the "Lady of Lyons" and "Two Little Vagabonds" played. This theatre is fashioned in maroon and gold, but is not as large- as the Empire, which is quite a new building. Tea, coffee, and drinks are served during the intervals, but there is no smoking, for a wonder. I like the theatres, and I like the up-to-date tearooms, where one can get almost anything in the refreshment line (British and foreign), and where 'Russian tea and hot. milk is quite the fashionable beverage. The men rave over Russian tea, and, when properly made, it is certainly a beautiful drink. It is infused from "the best China tea and served with a lemon, and without milk or sugar, in long glasses set in metal frames, which have handles attached. Hot milk is served up in the same manner, only with an' additional long-handled spoon aad loaf sugar. The tea rooms each have a balcony overlooking the street, and s lift to convey passeugei-s up nnd down. Every aleernoon and evening a small band is engaged to play selections while refreshments are being served and in some cases gramophone records, of all the best singers are introduced. Each" tab~le in the best places is partitioned off from the next one by high-backed, loather-upholstered seats, which form one long side. Mirrors and brass images glitter in every corner, engravings and other works of art hang on all the walls, and the usual foliage and pot plants stand at the entrances and in the corriiiors. Som>? idea of the city can be gleaned from the view you get from the balconies. As you take your seat here the roar of the traffic in the streets below comes up to you, and, leaning over the balustrade, you catch the glimpse, betwoen a network of electric wires, of a hurrying, scurrying crowd — pedestrians, motor cans, trams, hansoms, rickshaws, and carriages. Every nation under the sun is represented, and each has its own particular costume, even to the pig-tailed Chinaman, with his wooden shoes and loose blue silk jacket and trousers. The shops cater for all nations, and are not above adding on a little for the benefit (?) of the new-comer. The Australian lid, so necessary to the draper, is conspicuously absent, perhaps because pennies are not in circulation. The price of English manufactured goods are higher than what is being charged in Australia, although Africa is only h"alf the distance. The English companies object to paying high freightage to Africa when they can procure a better market in Australia for almost the same amount. The shipping companies, too, have a say in the matter. Australia supplies them with a return of general cargo, but Africa does not, so it pays them to consider Australia first. At least, this was the excuse put forward by some of the managers in the biggest firms when asked why they charged suet exorbitant prices for everything. The wages are higher than in Australia, but comparatively speaking smaller, for the cost of living is twice as dear, and clothing is almost beyond the reach of the poor man. Poor men, however, do not visit the Transvaal, for lie who comes without capital has to compete against the Kaffir or Zulu Hercules, and in the end the struggle becomes too great ; he loses his footing, and falls. That fall is usually a permanent one, for the South African policy is to " let sleeping dogs lie." The most heartrending eight that came-under my notice was the presence of a white man in the midst of a squad of Kaffir rond-makers, shovelling gravel. The sight was an uncommon t>ne, and made heartrending by the look of shame which showed iteclf on the white man's face. Many white men are now being employed in the mines as mechanics, the hard labour still being left to the Kaffir, but the fine dust which they have to swallow, and which settles ov the lungs, is very injurious to the health, and brings about a certain tuberculosis, common to miners, which makes it impossible for them to remain there longer than three oi four years. Everywhere you go there are gay uniforms—the ushers in the theatres, the waiters and porters in the hotels, tli9 Kaffir coachmen, the lift boys, railway officials, tram conductors, telephone boys and runners,, to say nothing :>f the usual "buttons" — each have service written all over them, and in every branch of service they become proficient scholars in the art of " how to procure a tip." The suburbs of Jo'burg are many and varied, the prettiest and most fashionable being Bellevue, Yeoville, and Parktown. Bellevue is situated on a hill overlooking the Pretoria road and Orange Grove (on the other side of which stands the Kirkpatrick Estate), and has some of the finest villas in South Africa. Each, however, exhibits the same dirty face that is so noticeable all over Jo'burg, through the prevalence of the dust. Yeoville, adjoining Bellevue, is the largest suburb. The tram runs out to the terminus at Bellevue. passing through Yeoville, the fare for the full ride being 7d. There are 3d and 4£d stages along the route as. well. The' halfpenny change is given in a slip of paper, which can ocly be used in paying

another fare. Parktown lies beyond Jou bert Park behind the station. If you get up on one of the roof gardens in the city and loow around joii in a circle you can trace out scores of mines in the 4 distance — a cluster being situated at Doornfontein, a suburb on the right. They defy description, these huge banks of sand, gravel, or granite, surmounted above shafts, with a network of cables an<? vr'.is ropes on which run trolleys to the ma : n s£ti*tioxi Trfrer© "tLre staxnjyears atxcL condensers are. So high a,ve they that the Kaffirs who swarm around their mouths seem like so many hundreds of insects buzzing around the mouth of some great animal. As we pass them in the tram a cloud of dust and sand sweeps down upon us from the trucks which are being emptied over the banks, and far in the distance we can see similar white or' red clouds surrounding other mines. Our eyes, ears, nose, I and throat become choked with it, and before we are a week in the city the hoarseness which visits every stranger settJes in our throats. - All. the medicine in> the apothecary's shop cannot remove it, and for .months afterwairds the dryness continues to cling to the roof of the mouth and tonsils ; and the voice, when speaking, frequently 'dies a-way in a x whisper. The - Post' Office officials are extremely obliging. Outside the entrance doors, there are large notices, which read : " Beware of Pickpockets." Whether this can be rer garded as a friendly warning or a very) bad advertisement is ,& matter for conjecture; but we have at least to thank the officials for providing an inspector with an eagle eye, who walks aimlessly up and! down, keeping a close watch on- all and' sundry, suspicious and honest-looking .folk %like." There are some excellent hotels, although not as many in proportion to the population as Australian cities provide, the mosfa elite^ being the Carlton. This . occupies-" half a block in the centre of the city, and has two entrances from two of the busiest, streets. The great advantage of putting up at the Carlton lies in the fact ,that one can engage a room- without being compelled to take one's meals there. It sot often happens to the traveller thai he or. she is some miles away in a suburb, sight-, seeing, when the meal hour conies around, and if every meal missed in this manner^ had to be paid for with the usual hotel' fare, how expensive arould become thai habit of pleasure-seeking. Hence the reason of the Carlton's popularity. ' Vari-. ous companies to provide lodging room for men and women whose work and interests a,re in the city have erected* large three and four-stoxeyed buildings in the heart of the town, and usually in close proximity! to a cafe. - Here, on every floor, there is a bathroom and other conveniences, t\ Kaffir bootblack, and a caretaker to clean* out the rooms^ and attend to the general wants of the lodgers. The rooms are fur-, nished in a simple, but substantial manner, and are let at 30s weekly, coal fires being provided for the extra sum of 9d) for each fire. A bell (which rings in the caretaker's room) is placed at the top ot every landing, and when a lodger requires attention he or she has only to ring, and! the caretaker or Kaffir hastens to answer the summons. Some of the hotels have coolie waiters. Quite an army of their were employed at Long's Hotel, and wei found them most gracious and attentive.. They are usually dressed in white, the distinction between the head and othe? waiters being in the length of the coat. The head wears a long one. In Jo'burg the Dutch are in the mino-. Tity, in Pretoria they form the majority.) Street bands, hurdy-giirdys, and organgrinders show themselves in full force on a Saturday night. The town, is one blaze of light, and the hum of voices and roar of traffic are simply, to say the least, deafening, as the thousands of people cinisW in a steady stream along the streets and file into the tea shops. Joubert Park is the Sunday afternoon place of resort. There is a striving aftei the beautiful in the nicely-arranged flowerbeds, fountains, rotundas, and shady.

one runs into at every turn, jtait th» powdery earth, Uisich throws up i red dnst at every litile puff of wind, is $o great a destroyer to all that bears the name of beautiful that only a faint effect Is arrived at. Placed around the rotunda there are scores of iron chairs for the benefit of the public who caie to listen to £o$ selections played by the band, and

close handy there is a refreshment room and bar. . Most of the drapers have underground tearoome, ladies' writing and waiting rooms, and dozens of greasy Kaffir boys to- show you the way to them. There is | a mixture of Eastern and Western ideas j in the show rooms. There are come beaui tiful churchesj but it takes a time to find

them, for they are usually planted in some out-of-the-way place. I was delighted to learn that New Zealand butter and bacon* commanded the highest price in the produce market, and Mosgiel rugs ranked at the top of the pole, even amongst the South African karosses and furs. Eggs are always dear, although fowls, of a kind, seem to be' very plentiful in the Kaffir villages. I was very amused to notice in a window one day three boxes of eggs, labelled respectively: "Fresh Eggs (guaranteed), 2s 6d doz" ; " Ifiresh Local Eggs, 2s" ; and "Fresh Eggs, Is 9d." I was almost tempted to go in and recommend the insertion of sSa. additional box to be labelled " Electioneering Eggs, Is doz," as the showman seemed to be so anxious to suit all parties ; but I suppose those at Is 9d were intended for that purpose. Meat is extremely dear in Jo'burg, the cheapest being that of the spring buck, j which has a similar taste to kangaroo. The flesh is almost black, and when salted and allowed to dry for a few days in the ! sun, or a few months for that matter, is jas tough as leather. This is what the [Dutch call "biltong.'"'- When cooked j with fat meat, they prefer it to any other dish. A FLYTN T G VISIT TO PRETORIA. Leaving Jo'burg at 4.50 p.m., we arrived | at the capital somewhere near 7 o'clock. | It was too dark to see much of the town, which was some distance from the station. In a joitdng 'bus we drove to the Transvaal Hotel. Quite a number of members of Parliament were stopping here, and a perfect babel of voices from the dining room wafted across the vestibule as we made our way to our room, f It was a thorough American, with its up-to-date mirrors in a]l corners, wide dressing tables and lofty wardrobes — the only Dutch thing in evidence being the- windows and ! window seats. Dinner was being served when we arrived,^ so we lost no time in making our way down to the dining room. This, too, was thoroughly American — long j and lofty, with, tall mirrors on the t walls, and in Hhe corners, and round | tables, capable of seating two or four, as t the caee might be, attended to by French .waiters wearing pointed beards. After dinner we paid a visit to the Opera Houee, and saw "The Girls of Gottenberg" played. It was quite a cosy little house, fashioned in blue and gold, ffluch smaller than one would expect to find in the capital of the Transvaal ; but, then, Pretoria is only a homely little town, scarcely bigger than a country town, and every citizen knows his next-door neighbour and his next-door neighbour's business. The Dutch tongue is far more in evidence here than in Jo'- ! burg, and there is a quiet, peaceful mii fiuence in the air which one could not ' expect to find in the adjacent city. The : woman in the cloakroom asked for 6d beiore finding a place for our wraps, and | upon receiving the com handed me a ticket, a duplicate of wliich she pinned on our cloaks. Our Australian attendants would not dream of asking for a " tip" in this manner ; they would wait until Lt was ! offered, and be thankful for small mercies. Perhaps the Transvaal folk grew tired of i waiting, hence the new order of things. The stalls ai-e full of giggling girls, and j the boxes and dre^s circle cramped with i portly matrons, who seem to know every- ; one, and keep nodding and smiling across | the balustrade as they catch sight of their i friends. During the intervals they chuckle and laugh, and shout out their several opinions under cover of orchestra selections. In the morning we have a chance to look around and see things as daylight paints I them. There are several fine buildings, the chief of which are the Supreme Court and the Vollcsraad, or Parliament Buildj ings ; nice wide streets running into b-g, open squares, and plenty of dainty tearooms. But the beauty of the place is spoilt by the antiqueness of the horse cars where one would expect to see electric cars. There being nothing to see beyond this we hailed a hansom and drove to the Zoo. It was no great d.stance away, but the walk was a dusty one. It was a small Zoo-, but nicely laid out. In one of the paddocks there was a rhinoceros. It seemed quite tame, but I did not venture to make friends with it lest I should find it a Judas. The Museum stood next door. This also was very small, but large enough compared with the size of the city. The only specimens of interest were the early warfare weapons belonging to the natives and old Doitch curios. s Between Jo'biirg and Pretoria thpre are some pretty spots along the line of route, 6ome fine firs and pines, and nearer the former city mines in evidence everywheie. The Great Simmer and Jack, which I believe is one of the largest in the world, lies between the two towns. It is a monster, with scores of hug;e circular tanks stretching for hundreds of yards in every direction — in fact, a perfect mountain made by man. CJose by there is a station called the " Simmer and Jack." Here my acquaintance with the metropolis ends. That evening we returned to Jo'burjr, md a few dara later travelky] back to Capetown. Heie we joined the Aberdeen linerMiltiadas again, and in her rslumed to Australia, well ei.tit.fied n-ith our trip through Africa.

—In England and Wales £48,038 of the population are paupers. Mrs Cramer, Percy street, Geelong, writes: "Acting on the advice of a friend of mine I bought a bottle of Chamberlain's "JougQi Remedy to give my little girl, -who was suffering with a very bad attack of Croup. I am pleased to say that after a few doses relief was obtained, and before the bottle was finished my little girl was able to go to echool again. I will always recommend Chamberlain's Cough Remedy to my friends as being the best I have ever used." For 6alo Every v. here.