Capetown,April 19th.
Dearest mother,Here I am,waiting for a ship;the steamer was too horrid:and Ilook so much to the good to be gained by the voyage that I did not like to throw away the chance of two months at sea at this favourable time of year,and under favourable circumstances;so Imade up my mind to see you all a month later.The sea just off the Cape is very,very cold;less so now than in spring,I dare say.
The weather to-day is just like VERY warm April at home -showery,sunshiny,and fragrant;most lovely.It is so odd to see an autumn without dead leaves:only the oaks lose theirs,the old ones drop without turning brown,and the trees bud again at once.The rest put on a darker green dress for winter,and now the flowers will begin.I have got a picture for you of my 'cart and four',with sedate Choslullah and dear little Mohammed.The former wants to go with me,'anywhere',as he placidly said,'to be the missis'
servant'.What a sensation his thatchlike hat and handsome orange-tawny face would make at Esher!Such a stalwart henchman would be very creditable.I shall grieve to think I shall never see my Malay friends again;they are the only people here who are really interesting.I think they must be like the Turks in manner,as they have all the eastern gentlemanly 'Gelassenheit'(ease)and politeness,and no eastern 'Geschmeidigkeit'(obsequiousness),and no idea of Baksheesh;withal frugal,industrious,and money-making,to an astonishing degree.The priest is a bit of a proselytiser,and amused me much with an account of how he had converted English girls from their evil courses and made them good MUSSULWOMEN.Inever heard a NAIF and sincere account of conversions FROMChristianity before,and I must own it was much milder than the Exeter Hall style.
I have heard a great many expressions of sorrow for the Queen from the Malays,and always with the 'hope the people will take much care of her,now she is alone'.Of course Prince Albert was only the Queen's husband to them,and all their feeling is about her.
It is very difficult to see anything of them,for they want nothing of you,and expect nothing but dislike and contempt.It would take a long time to make many friends,as they are naturally distrustful.I found that eating or drinking anything,if they offer it,made most way,as they know they are accused of poisoning all Christians indiscriminately.Of course,therefore,they are shy of offering things.I drank tea in the Mosque at the end of Ramadan,and was surrounded by delighted faces as I sipped.The little boy who waits in this house here had followed us,and was horrified:he is still waiting to see the poison work.
No one can conceive what has become of all the ships that usually touch here about this time.I was promised my choice of Green's and Smith's,and now only the heavy old CAMPERDOWN is expected with rice from Moulmein.A lady now here,who has been Heaven only knows WHERE NOT,praises Alexandria above all other places,after Suez.Her lungs are bad,and she swears by Suez,which she says is the dreariest and healthiest (for lungs)place in the world.You can't think how soon one learns to 'annihilate space',if not time,in one's thoughts,by daily reading advertisements for every port in India,America,Australia,&c.,&c.,and conversing with people who have just come from the 'ends of the earth'.Meanwhile,I fear I shall have to fly from next winter again,and certainly will go with J-to Egypt,which seems to me like next door.
