The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-04-18
BLOEMFONTEIN's PICTURESQUE
SITUATION.
Description of the Capital of the
Orange River Free State-An Idyllie
Place of Residence.

Long before Mr. w. s. Gilbert had.
sung about THE flowers that bloom in
the Spring" the Orange Free State
Beers had christened their capital
Bloemfontein-the Flowery Spring.
For it is vertically a sort Of oasis in
the desert. Round about the velut is,
fiat, dull parehed, and monotonous.
An undulating plateau surrounded by
low hills, the township itself is fer
tile little garden, in which nearly ev-
erything tlourishes with the least pos
sible amount of trouble. Its roses are
famous, so are it's vegetables, and it's
mealies overtop those of the surround
ing country by half a foot.
There are about 1000 whites in
Bloemfontein, and perhaps half that
number of natives. The town is about
$500 feet above sea level, and the eli
mate is soft, balmy, and invigorating
in the extreme. 1t is well known and
much used resort for those suffering
from pulmonary complaints, and some
very wonderful restorations to health
are on record.
1t is an idle sort of town. No one
works very hard, and office hours are
easy. The stores open early in the
morning, every one disappears for a
couple of hours at midday, and the
early afternoon sees the shops closed.
The banking hours are similar, and the
clerks at the Government office are
adept lawn tennis players. In fact,
lawn tennis is the chiefest vice of the
town, and is played with extraordinary
vigor throughout the year. There are
some remarkably good players in the
town, and on more than one occasion
| the South African championship, which
! is competed for annually at Port Eliz-
! abeth or elsewhere between teams re-
presenting the different Colonies and
| States, has been vested i'm a Bloem-
| fontein player.
The capital of the Free State is one
of those happy idyllic little towns
where it is always afternoon" There
| is no hustle about the streets, no COM
motions in it's highways Git has only
| one), and nothing occurs more exciting
than the morning market or the quar-
terly nachtmaal.
One hears a deal of English in the
! streets. Probably 1t is the native Ian
! guage of nearly one-half of the white
population. One also notices a prepon-
| derance of pure Scots DOric, for Scots
men are in the ascendent in Bloemfon-.
| TEN. Many members of the NolkSraad
are of Scottish descent, as such fire.
| quietly recurring names as Fraser, Mac
farlane Stuart, Macintosh and Times
abundantly testify. The talk in the
Parliament House is officially in Dutch,
but there is a Draw twang about much
of it which suggests that it has been,
acquired on the banks of the Tweed or
| whereabouts.
The four-square appearance Of
| Bloemfontein is owing to the fact that,
in common with nearly all Dutch towns
| it is laid out in rectangular spaces,
with streets equi-distant from one an
other, and bordered with the inevitable
eucalyptus or gum tree" which -four
ishes here as almost everywhere in the
uplands of South Africa. There is a
LITTLE fort n n11t1ViDV KOnip which
at one time boosted a couple of Max
inns.
The public buildings of Bloemfontein
are quite imposing in their way. The
| Radical, or House of Parliament, is
an important structure with some ar
chitectuarl pretension. 1t has a domed
tower, and looks like something be-
tween a gorgeous Masonic temple and
palatial music hall. 1t cost nearly
10000, and was furnished by one of
the most artistic and enterprising hous--
! es of Tottenham- Court Road! Churches
are prevalent in every street, almost at
every corner; in fact, Bloemfontein is
one of the few South African towns
in which there are more churches and
chapels than there are canteens,
The presidency of Mr.. Steyn is a ra-
Their large and important building OF
white stone, of somewhat mixed or
der of architecture, but exceedingly
comforts BILE, cool and conmodious in
structure. 1t cost nearly 920000 to
build, and has a pretty garden of old
| English flowers, such as hollyhocks,
Glove pinks, stocks and peonies
! Bloemfontein is a great educatonl1
center. and there is a very fine college.
presented BIZ Sir George Grey, the erst-
] while Premier of Cane Colony and the
Grand Old Man Of South Africa. II is,
known as the Grey College, ard has
turned out some remarkable scholars.
The town hall, the postoffice, the tele-
graph office and the law courts are all
substantial and somewhat ornate build
ings, rather overpowering the simple
little villas in which the aTistocracy of
the Orange Free State resides; bit the
latter endeaVor to live up to the for
mer and sometimes succeed-London
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