Page:A voyage round the world, in His Britannic Majesty's sloop, Resolution, commanded by Capt. James Cook, during the years 1772, 3, 4, and 5 (IA b30413849 0001).pdf/93

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to those who are used to admire the perfection of gardening in England, or who contemplate in Holland and France cypress, box, and yew trees cut out into vases, statues, and pyramids, or charmilles turned into pieces of architecture! But considering that the trees were planted in the beginning of this century, more for use than ornament; that they shelter the kitchen-herbs for the hospital, against the destructive violence of storms; and that they form the only shady and airy walks, comfortable to voyagers and sick persons in this hot climate, I cannot wonder that some should extoll as "a delightful spot ," what others contemptuously call "a friar's garden ."

The day after our arrival, the astronomers of both ships, Mr. Wales and Mr. Baily, fixed their instruments ashore, within a few yards of the identical spot where Messrs. Mason and Dixon had formerly made their astronomical observations. The same day we began our botanical excursions in the country about the town. The ground gradually rises on all sides towards the three mountains which lie round the bottom of the bay, keeping low and level only near the sea-side, and growing somewhat marshy in the isthmus between the False and Table bays, where a salt rivulet falls into the latter. The