So sudden and so great a change from the confinement and discomfort of a vessel had a corresponding effect on us all; and, as the fleet horses dashed along, we fully enjoyed the scenes of quiet beauty, and the picturesque views which the road to Constantia revealed to us in that sunny morning.
There was not a disagreeable person in the party; all the agreeables had been gathered together, and the contrary natures had been excluded. The jest and quick repartee followed each other in rapid succession; all were smiles, and sorrow and sadness appeared to have lost their existence for that day.
Strange that we had been so long together, and had not until that morning learned the better part of each other’s nature. How many surprises there were that day! Some learned that they were related by family ties, others that they were close neighbours in “the Old Country,” and all that from that day forth they felt interested in each other’s career.
Arrived at Constantia, we found the whole of those persons engaged on the estate in great commotion, for here, in this lovely spot, the frightful element “Fire,” from which we had so lately escaped, had been doing considerable destruction; and, although the fire had been overcome, it was not known how soon it might break out again.
It appeared that the fire originated from one of the natives employed on the estate having carelessly thrown away the ashes of his pipe; these smouldered for a time, and the vegetation at that season being dry, when once inflamed, soon created an alarming conflagration, which rapidly assumed gigantic proportions, threatening to destroy all the surrounding estates. Fortunately the heavy rain of the previous night had somewhat arrested the progress of the fire, but, as the sun rose and the vegetation dried, it required constant vigilance to prevent the fire breaking out again.
In this state of things, of course our happy party could not think of intruding on these good people in their distress. But being politely offered the use of the grounds, we outspanned our horses, procured water, milk, and eggs, and, having some good housewives among the party, we enjoyed a most comfortable breakfast of our own providing.
The day was spent in rambling over the country, and making ourselves somewhat acquainted with the wine-growing of the colony. We were informed that the vine, from the grapes of which the delicious Constantia wine is produced, will only grow upon this estate, from which it derives its name, and only on certain portions of it where the soil is said to be of a quality peculiar to a few localities of this district.
The grape with which the wine is coloured is grown in a part of the estate set aside for that purpose, and appeared to us dryer and more stony than other localities.
The Cape, or South African, wines have been received with considerable favour in the English market, and are recommended in all our hospitals for their purity and absence of spirit.