Barrow, who visited the establishment in 1798, says: “Early one morning I was awakened by the noise of some of the finest voices I ever heard, and looking out saw a group of female Hottentots sitting on the ground. It was Sunday, and they had assembled thus early to chant the morning hymn. They were all neatly dressed in printed cotton gowns. A sight so different from what we had hitherto observed, with regard to this unhappy class of beings, could not fail of being most grateful.” “On Sundays, they all regularly attend divine service, and it is astonishing how ambitious they are to appear at church neat and clean. Of the three hundred, or thereabouts, that composed the congregation, about half were dressed in printed cottons. Their deportment was truly devout. One of the fathers delivered a discourse replete with good sense, and well suited to the occasion; tears flowed abundantly from the eyes of those to whom it was particularly addressed. The females sung in a plaintive and affecting style; and the voices were in general sweet and harmonious.” The Dutch had always excused their own tyranny by saying that their unfortunate victims could not possibly be raised above the level of brutes; and they manifested extreme jealousy of the influence of the Gospel, because it bringeth light and freedom. The same spirit, which always led them to place the poor Hottentot in the worst possible point of view, likewise induced them to represent the amiable and generous Kaffers as a savage, treacherous, and cruel tribe. Yet they knew perfectly well that the Kaffers had shown a remarkable degree of moderation toward the white colonists; and that in the midst of a war, into which they had been driven by a series of iniquitous persecutions, they spared the lives of all the Dutch women and children that fell into their hands, though their own wives and children were murdered by the Dutch without mercy. In 1828 the British government relieved the Hottentots from their grievous thraldom, and at once bestowed upon them all the privileges of citizens. The change from slavery to freedom produces the effect that would naturally be expected by any one who had observed human nature attentively. This long oppressed race are fast improving in health, cleanliness, industry, and respectability.