"Oct. 14th Sunday - Table Mountain seen distinctly after dinner - ... Mr. Bundel's aid (sic) de Camp to Gen. Bourke (the Lieut. Governor) came on board and offered us accomodations at the Government House ... Cape Town is beautifully situated between the beach and the magnificent mountains which rise behind it - it is itself a very pretty town consisting principally of wide streets running across each other as often planted on each side with the Scotch Fir, which mixed with a pretty style of architecture gives the town a very lively appearance, added to which you often have a sight of the Bay studded with shipping at the end of a Street" (Extract from Marianne James's diary)