They were all pleasant people, the young ladies very lively, and on the whole the cabin of the _Surprise_ contained a very agreeable party; and soon after they left Madeira, they had fine weather, smooth water, and every thing that could make a voyage endurable.
The awnings were spread, chairs brought up, and the major portion of the day was spent upon the quarter-deck and poop of the vessel, which for many days had been running down before the trade-winds, intending to make Rio, and there lay in a supply of fresh provisions for the remainder of her voyage.
One morning, as Alexander and Mr.Fairburn were sitting together, Alexander observed-- "You have passed many years at the Cape, Mr.Fairburn, have you not ?" "Yes; I was taken prisoner when returning from India, and remained a year in Cape Town during the time that it was in the hands of the Dutch; I was about to be sent home as a prisoner to Holland, and was embarked on board one of the vessels in Saldanha Bay, when they were attacked by the English.

Afterward, when the English captured the Cape, from my long residence in, and knowledge of, the country, I was offered a situation, which I accepted: the colony was restored to the Dutch, and I came home.
On its second capture I was again appointed, and have been there almost ever since." "Then you are well acquainted with the history of the colony ?" "I am, certainly, and if you wish it, shall be happy to give you a short account of it." "It will give me the greatest pleasure, for I must acknowledge that I know but little, and _that_ I have gleaned from the travels which I have run through very hastily." "I think it was in the year 1652 that the Dutch decided upon making a settlement at the Cape.

The aborigines, or natives, who inhabited that part of the country about Cape Town, were the Hottentots, a mild, inoffensive people, living wholly upon the produce of their cattle; they were not agriculturists, but possessed large herds of cattle, sheep and goats, which ranged the extensive pastures of the country.

The history of the founding of one colony is, I fear, the history of most, if not all--commencing in doing all that is possible to obtain the goodwill of the people until a firm footing has been obtained in the land, and then treating them with barbarity and injustice.
"The Hottentots, won over by kindness and presents, thought it of little consequence that strangers should possess a small portion of their extensive territory, and willingly consented that the settlement should be made.

They, for the first time in their lives, tasted what proved the cause of their ruin and subsequent slavery--tobacco and strong liquors.
These two poisons, offered gratuitously, till the poor Hottentots had acquired a passion for them, then became an object of barter--a pipe of tobacco or a glass of brandy was the price of an ox; and thus daily were the colonists becoming enriched, and the Hottentots poor.
"The colony rapidly increased, until it was so strong, that the governor made no ceremony of seizing upon such land as the government wished to retain or to give away; and the Hottentots soon discovered that not only their cattle, but the means of feeding them, were taken from them.
Eventually, they were stripped of every thing except their passion for tobacco and spirits, which they could not get rid of.