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diff --git a/38789-8.txt b/38789-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e066bc4 --- /dev/null +++ b/38789-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14631 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Antigua and the Antiguans, Volume II (of 2), by Anonymous + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Antigua and the Antiguans, Volume II (of 2) + A full account of the colony and its inhabitants from the + time of the Caribs to the present day + +Author: Anonymous + +Release Date: February 7, 2012 [EBook #38789] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANTIGUAAND THE ANTIGUANS, VOL II *** + + + + +Produced by Paul Flo Williams + + + + + + + + + ANTIGUA + AND THE ANTIGUANS: + + + + A FULL ACCOUNT OF + THE COLONY AND ITS INHABITANTS + FROM THE TIME OF THE CARIBS + TO THE PRESENT DAY, + Interspersed with Anecdotes and Legends. + + ALSO, + + AN IMPARTIAL VIEW OF SLAVERY AND THE + FREE LABOUR SYSTEMS; + THE STATISTICS OF THE ISLAND, + AND BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF THE PRINCIPAL FAMILIES. + + "Sworn to no party, of no sect am I."--Pope. + + IN TWO VOLUMES. + VOL. II. + + LONDON + SAUNDERS AND OTLEY, CONDUIT STREET. + 1844. + + + + + CONTENTS + OF + THE SECOND VOLUME. + + + + CHAPTER XXIX. + + Caribs: Domestic state--Treatment of their women--Children-- + Their early tuition--Superstitious cruelties--Hatred of the + Arrowawks--Female children--Occupation of the men--Canoes--Bows + and arrows--Cottages--Cooking utensils--Native cloth--Food-- + Fishing--Decoy fish--Spirituous liquors--Personal appearance-- + Amusements--The Carib house--Extermination of the Caribs from + Antigua--Remarks upon their history + + CHAPTER XXX. + + Negroes: Their introduction into the New World--Bartholomew Las + Casas--His intercessions in favour of the Indians--Cardinal + Ximenes--Origin of the slave trade--Its adoption by the English + government--Character of slavery--Mental degeneracy--Instances + of superior faculties among the Negro race--Juan Parega-- + Phillis Wheatley--Ignatius Sancho--His letter to the Rev. L. + Sterne--Slavery in its early days--Punishment of the negroes in + 1736 + + CHAPTER XXXI. + + Negroes: Palliations, _but not excuses_, for former cruelties-- + A harsh planter--Crimes of slaves--The little negroes' + dinner-hour--A character--Negroes' want of thought--Bartering + their weekly provisions--Pilfering--The Rock Dungeon--A + Tortolian slave-master--The murdered slave--Branding--Slave + cargo--Remarks upon slavery--A good slave-master--A kind + attorney--Negro gratitude + + CHAPTER XXXII. + + Negroes: The assertion that negroes are careless of all + domestic ties confuted by anecdotes--"Shadows" of negro + character--Excuses for them--Conversion to Christianity--Belief + of the Africans that after death they shall return to Africa-- + Instance of it--Africans and Creoles--Superstitions--Obeah + + CHAPTER XXXIII. + + Negroes: Superstition--Trials by ordeal--Flower-fence--Bible + and key--A way to recover stolen property--Charm to prevent a + scolding tongue--Jumbies--A night's adventure--The soldier's + last jump--Jumbies calls--Betsey, the nurse--The haunted house + --A cure--The drowning boys--The murdered woman--The jumby's + revenge + + CHAPTER XXXIV. + + Seeming paradoxes explained--Negro suspicion--Instances of it-- + Stealing--Its various characters--Leasing--The dead canaries-- + Broken promises--Idleness--Negro wages--Their present lot-- + Domestics + + CHAPTER XXXV. + + Negroes: "Shadows" continued--The crime of murder--Instances of + it--Hon. Sam. Martin--Giles Blizard--Adam Ogilvie + + CHAPTER XXXVI. + + Negroes: The crime of poisoning--Instance of it--Murder of Mr. + Brown--Love and jealousy--The end of unlawful love--Infanticide + --Incendiarism--A late instance of it--Polygamy--Disregard of + marriage vows + + CHAPTER XXXVII. + + Negroes: A little change for the better--"Shadows nursed by + night retire"--Respect to age--Filial affection--Generosity-- + Their kindness to the poorer class of whites--Cleanliness--the + opposite vice--Behaviour at church--A black exhorter--Reading + and writing--An anecdote + + CHAPTER XXXVIII. + + Negroes: Their amusements--Natural ear for music--Singing-- + Dancing--Subscription routs--Christmas balls--The ball-room + decorations--Ball dresses--Gentlemen's appearance--Ladies'-- + Politeness--Supper, and the supper-table--The morning after a + ball--Cards of invitation--The "good night." + + CHAPTER XXXIX. + + Negroes: Fondness for "Nancy stories"--Negro loquacity--Their + signification of the word "cursing"--Markets--Confusion of + tongues--Weddings--The drive to church--Wedding banquet-- + Blushing brides--Funerals--"Wake nights"--Funeral procession-- + Christening--High-sounding names + + CHAPTER XL. + + Negroes: Further sentences upon "dress"--Sunday transformations + --The black cook and his metamorphosis--Christmas waits--Negro + houses--The mode of building upon estates--Town negro houses-- + Architecture--The mode of moving houses + + CHAPTER XLI. + + Negroes: Occupations--Agricultural labourers--Black sailors-- + Their excessive gormandizing--The hungry captain's + disappointment--Black cooks--"Melted butter"--A receipt for a + cookery book--The obtrusive fish--Grooms and "house boys"--An + old planter's opinion--Concluding remarks + + CHAPTER XLII. + + Negroes: Employment of the women--Washing--A scene at the pond + --Conversations--The sea-side--"Water frolic"--Hucksters-- + "Damaged flour"--Female porters--Masculine appearance of some + of the females--Indelicacy--Their mode of carrying burdens + + CHAPTER XLIII. + + Negroes: Exterior appearance--Difference of expression--White + negroes (Albinos)--Description of one--Black and white negroes + --Negroes' "bulls and blunders"--Exchange is no robbery, or the + lost specimens--Negro politeness--Negro tongue--Inebriation-- + Concluding remarks + + CHAPTER XLIV. + + Remarks upon free system--State of affairs before emancipation + --Trials and casualties--Improved price of land--Sugar estate + during slavery--Benefits of emancipation in the moral state of + the colony--Benefits arising to the planter--Pretended illness + among the negroes--Propositions in their favour--Decrease of + crime--Hopes indulged--"The first of August." + + CHAPTER XLV. + + A chapter on colour--Gradual removes from the negroes--Middle + classes--Personal appearance--Devotions at their mirrors--Style + of dress--Chapel belles--Passion for dress--Home and home + scenes--The young men--Extreme officiousness--Higher classes of + colour--Coloured Hebes--The chapel tea-party--Gastronomy and + speeches--Wesleyan bazaar, and lunch-table--Gastronomic relics + + CHAPTER XLVI. + + Prejudice--Its former and present character--An act of + resentment--The "Prejudice Bell"--Exclusion of persons of + colour from offices of trust and polished society--The dawn of + better days--The assertions of some authors contradicted-- + Domestic character of the coloured gentry--Hospitality--A day + at a coloured gentleman's country-house--Dwellings--Marriages-- + Great suppression of illicit connexions within these last few + years--Funerals--A scene of riot in former days--Provincialisms + + CHAPTER XLVII. + + Grades among the _pure in blood_--Aristocrats--The tribe + _fungi_--An overseer's duty--Managers and attorneys--Pickings + and gleanings--Managers' wives and managing ladies-- + Aristocratic shops--"My daughters"--Education--"Field days" of + the militia--The Antiguan aide-de-camp + + CHAPTER XLVIII. + + The pure in blood--Aristocrats of the higher order--Law, + physic, and divinity--Merchants and planters--Proprietors' + dwellings--A day at a country-seat--Gastronomy--Beef--"Mary + Swift"--Mutton--Pork--Turtle and City aldermen--Christmas + + CHAPTER XLIX. + + The pure in blood--Places of amusement--The theatre--"Romeo + Coates"--Jugglers and rope-dancers--Maroon parties--Shooting + season--The Creole beauties--Dress--"The lords of the creation" + --Fops and foppery--Business hours--Scene at the Antigua + post-office--Auction sales--Militia doings--The gallant dragoon + --Guard-nights + + CHAPTER L. + + Zoology--Rabbits--Rats--Horned cattle--Horses--Mules--Asses-- + Sheep--Goats--Domestic animals--Whales--Thrasher--Grampus-- + Porpoise--Shark--Anecdote of the Young Creole--Death of the + sailor-boy--Remora--Pilot fish--Dolphins--Jew fish--Stingray-- + Corramou--Beautiful colours displayed in fish--Parrot fish + + CHAPTER LI. + + Zoology: Orb-fish--Echinus, known to the ancients--Hippocampus + --Trumpet-fish--Toad-fish--Sea-blubber, and galley-fish-- + Sea-polypus--Cat-fish--Crabs, oysters, &c.--Turtle--Land-crab-- + Soldier-crab--Lizards--Guana--Wood-slave--Scorpions--Centipede + --Snakes--Tarantula--Cockroach--Caterpillars and butterflies-- + Ants--Bats--Aquatic birds--Land birds--Humming bird--Anecdote + + CHAPTER LII. + + Botany + + CHAPTER LIII. + + Government--Governor-in-Chief--Council--Assembly--Government + officers--Judicial officers--Ecclesiastical establishments-- + Schools--Fortifications and military defences--Revenue--Exports + and imports--Population returns + + Supplemental Chapter + + APPENDIX. + + No. 1.--Copy of the First Commission which was ever granted for + the Government of Barbados and the Leeward Islands + + No. 2.--Genealogy Of the Warner Family + + No. 3.--Memorial of the Winthorpe Family + + No. 4.--Genealogy of the Byam Family + + No. 5.--Copy of the Grant of Land to Col. Philip Warner, after + the Restoration of Antigua to the English Crown, in 1667 + ---- Copy of the Grant of Land to Col. Philip Warner, restored + to him after his acquittal upon the charge of murdering his + half-brother, the Indian Warner, in 1676 + + No. 6.--A Remonstrance of the inhabitants of the island of + Antigua why they soe very earnestly craved authority and + commission from his Excellency, William Stapleton, Captain + General and Governor in chief in and over all his Majesties + Leward Cariba Islands in America. To kill and destroy the + Indians inhabiting in ye Island of Dominica and likewise for ye + craveing ayde from the neighbouring Islands under his + Excellency's command which was promised us + + No. 7.--Genealogy of the Williams Family + + Nos. 8. and 9.--Genealogy of the Codrington Family + + No. 10.--Genealogy of the Mathew Family + + No. 11.--List of the Members of the House of Assembly at the + time of the death of Governor Parke, copied from the Original + Returns + + No. 12.--Last Will and Testament of Governor Parke + + No. 13.--Account of the Mackinnon Family + + No. 14.--Papers relative to the Negro Insurrection of 1736 + + No. 15.--Genealogy of the Thomas Family + + No. 16.--Genealogy of the Carlisles and Lavingtons + + No. 17.--Genealogy of Sir Charles Augustus Fitzroy + + No. 18.--Genealogy of the Willoughby Family + + No. 19.--Genealogy of the Martin Family, of Green Castle + + No. 20.--Genealogy of the Freeman Family + + ANTIGUA AND THE ANTIGUANS, + ETC. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIX. + + + + Caribs: Domestic state--Treatment of their women--Children-- + Their early tuition--Superstitious cruelties--Hatred of the + Arrowawks--Female children--Occupation of the men--Canoes--Bows + and arrows--Cottages--Cooking utensils--Native cloth--Food-- + Fishing--Decoy fish--Spirituous liquors--Personal appearance-- + Amusements--The Carib house--Extermination of the Caribs from + Antigua--Remarks upon their history. + +From a view of the religion of the Caribs, which we have +endeavoured to give some account of in the last chapter, we will +proceed to notice their domestic ties. Alas! we have a very sad +picture here. The ineffable sympathies of the soul, the pure +friendship, the chaste pleasures of the connubial state, were +never known, or at least never appreciated by them. Proud of +excelling in strength and courage, the chief marks of priority +among this rude and savage people, the Caribs treated their women +in every respect as beings of a far inferior nature--to despise +and degrade them by every possible means was esteemed as a manly +virtue. Although given as a reward to successful combatants, +their wives were looked upon as no better than captives; every +species of drudgery fell to their share; while their husbands +passed the day in sleep, unless engaged in war, or in absolute +want of a new weapon. When the men engaged in fishing, the women +were obliged to attend to carry the tackle and bring home the +fruits of their sport; but after cooking it, they were not +allowed to partake of it with their husbands, or even to eat in +their presence. In the island of Cuba at this day this custom is +still extant, for a late traveller remarks, "In some of the first +houses the men sit down to dinner while their wives wait behind +their chairs." But to return to the Carib women. All their +services were received without gratitude or even complacency--no +cheering word or kind look (and how women appreciate those little +endearments none but a woman can tell) mitigated their incessant +toil or lightened their heavy burdens. They were not allowed to +approach their husbands but with the most abject homage, to look +up to them as exalted beings, to obey their every wish, and that +without uttering a word of complaint or giving a single look of +discontent--all this was expected of the Carib woman. Wearily +must their days have passed, without a hope in this world, and +scarcely one in the other--trouble and sorrow must indeed have +been their lot! + +Having considered the Carib's appreciation of the nearest and +dearest tie in this world, we will proceed to take a view of his +behaviour to his offspring. Perhaps there is not a stronger +passion implanted by nature in the breast than that of parental +love; even in the brute creation, there is a wonderful degree of +instinct in the care of their young. The most stupid and +sluggish, the most fearful and timid animals, become active and +desperate in defence of their infant progeny, and will suffer any +cruelty rather than permit their precious charge to be hurt or +destroyed. If then this feeling exists so strongly in the breasts +of animals devoid of reason, how much more should this be the +case with man, raised as he is far above all terrestrial beings, +endowed with a rational and comprehensive mind, and capable of +enjoying the delights which flow from reciprocal affections! But +in many instances we have to blush for our fellow creatures, and +while we admire the instinct and parental feelings of brutes, +deplore the inferiority of our own race. + +The passions of savages, while they last, are more violent and +enthusiastic than those of men who are placed in civilized +society, and consequently under some degree of restraint. Thus it +was with the Caribs during the infancy of their male children; no +duty, however irksome, or ceremony, however severe, which was +fondly hoped would tend to make them formidable warriors, was +regretted or postponed. The father freely lost his own blood to +sprinkle his male child as soon as it was born, in the hopes that +he might be endowed with a portion of his own courage.[1] As the +child grew, he was taught all the arts requisite for his savage +life--to draw the bow, wield the club, make and manage his canoe, +swim skilfully, catch fish, and prepare the poison to dip his +arrows in; he was also instructed in lessons of patience and +fortitude, inspired with courage to attack his foes by having the +deeds of his fathers related to him, and familiarized to look +upon death and danger with contempt. + +So far the Carib performed the part of a good parent; but +superstition exerted her gloomy powers, and the cruelties +inflicted on the young Carib by the being from whom he derived +his existence, exhibits a mournful and sanguinary picture, +capable of harrowing up the deepest feelings of the soul. The +dawn of manhood was the hour in which these trials were to be +endured; and at this time the young warrior changed his infant +name for one of greater importance and more significant in +expression. With regard to their female children, but little +fatherly attention was paid them; their education devolved upon +their mothers, who taught them to cull the cotton and weave the +cloth, and, in a word, instructed them in all the duties +necessary to the comfort of their future lords and tyrants. If +very handsome, they were reserved to grace the triumph of some +successful warrior, while those of less beauty were allotted to +men of inferior worth. + +The principal occupation of the Carib, the one, as before +remarked, which absorbed the greatest portion of his time and +attention, was war. The study of his life was to render himself +an adept in those arts which would enable him to capture a +greater number of his enemies, and spread desolation wherever he +went. When not thus engaged, his days were passed in listless +apathy. Enveloped in his mantle, and stretched upon his _hemack_ +beneath the shade of some luxuriant tree, he enjoyed the breeze +of his native isle without alloy; and unless the calls of hunger +aroused him, or his weapon or canoe required repair, he seldom or +ever stirred. But when the war-cry arose, when an expedition +against the Arrowawks was intended, or when his countrymen +invited him "to seize his war-club," and avenge the death of some +friend, whose bones lay whitening on another shore, he started +from his repose, and grasped his spear; while the fire emanating +from his dark eyes, his black hair streaming in the blast, his +strong form vibrating from the intensity of his ardour, conspired +to render him what he wished to be--the formidable-looking +warrior. + +But although the Carib was generally during peace fond of +indolence, yet when he chose to exert his powers, his arts and +manufactures displayed a degree of ingenuity surpassing what +could have been expected from his tools. His canoe was formed of +the trunk of large trees, principally that of the ceibar, or silk +cotton, as being more substantial, and of larger bulk. His bow +and arrows were fabricated with a degree of nicety almost +unequalled; some of them inlaid with pieces of tortoiseshell, or +the bones of fish finely polished. His cottage was also built +with some degree of taste, and neatly thatched with plaited +cocoa-nut leaves; and was situated in some of the loveliest +spots. They also possessed the art of fabricating vessels for +cookery, and other domestic uses, from the clay of the island, +which is still in use in Antigua, the negroes making pots for +boiling their victuals, _yubbas_, (or frying-pans,) water-jars, +and several other utensils. Of this clay it is said excellent +bricks might be made; and there are several waste spots of land +belonging to government, which might be turned into extensive +brickfields: the bricks used in the island are all imported. + +But to return to our subject: while the men were thus employed, +the women were far from idle: they wove the cloth from the cotton +and bark of trees, and stained it of various colours. Of this +cloth, which was very substantial, they made their beds, which +were suspended from posts by the two ends, and obtained the name +of _hemacks_, from being made by the southern islanders of the +rind of a tree of that name. Columbus was so pleased with them, +that he took the pattern, and used them for the bedding of his +crew. They are still used at the present day under the +appellation of _hammocks_. Of the leaves of the cocoa-nut and +palmetto they also made baskets; while the fibres were twisted +into ropes. The negroes also follow them in this particular, +making rope, and also baskets, which they call "_catacous._" + +The Caribs have often been likened to the ancient Jews in some of +their customs; but they did not follow that peculiar people in +abstaining from blood, as they frequently drank that of the +Arrowawks in their inhuman festivals. It is true, they refrained +from eating many kinds of flesh, which were generally reckoned +luxuries by others; but "if it was from religious motives, we are +nowhere sufficiently informed," as Goldsmith justly observes. +Their greatest treat, however, was human flesh, which they +devoured with avidity whenever they could procure it. The +Arrowawks, or inhabitants of Cuba, and the adjacent islands, as +before remarked, were their principal prey. Sometimes they ate +this horrible food raw; at other times they roasted or boiled it; +but the fat was all preserved for the use of their children, both +as food, and to anoint their bodies, in hopes of rendering them +hardy and valiant; and for this reason they were also frequently +immersed in a _bath of blood_. + +Another of their viands, and indeed the principal part of their +food, was fish. These they caught in nets, composed of the +twisted fibres of the cocoa-nut; or else speared them at night as +they rose to the surface of the water to breathe. A similar +practice is still pursued in Scotland; and the dexterity consists +in throwing a spear at the salmon as it springs from the water. A +fuller account would be inconsistent with my present work; but I +refer my readers to Sir W. Scott's well known novel of "Guy +Mannering," where it is accurately and vividly described. To +resume our subject:--Columbus mentions seeing some fishermen +making use of very curious assistants in securing their finny +prey, namely, decoy fish. These were a species of small fish, +which abounded in these seas, called "reves." Fastening a string +round their tails, they were lowered into the water, and, made +cunning by the hand which fed them, these tiny ensnarers +encountered their brethren of the deep; and winding about them, +all were drawn up together. + +In looking over the accounts of different countries, everyone +must be struck with the propensity man has of indulging in +spirituous liquors. While the inhabitants of fruitful and sunny +districts imbibe the luscious juice of the grape, the +Kamtschadale ranges his barren and inhospitable clime in search +of a species of grass, from which to obtain a supply of fermented +drink. The Tartar, in his wild state, roaming from pasture to +pasture, placing his whole wealth in his horses and cattle, +silently enjoys the intoxicating qualities of his brandy procured +from the milk of his mares, and sighs not for the richest cup +ever quaffed by the lip of mortals. So likewise the Carib was not +without his stimulants--his festive board was not without its +cup. From the bark of the palm and cocoa-nut tree, they procured +a liquor clear as crystal, which they allowed to ferment, and of +which they were very fond; but their principal drink was mobby, +made from the sweet potatoe, (a native of this island,) which +they also drank in a fermented state. But still drunkenness was +not one of their crimes; it was reserved for their conquerors to +teach them that vice. We are told of an old Carib addressing a +planter in the following manner--"Our people are become almost as +bad as yours. We are so much altered since you came among us, +that we hardly know ourselves; and we think it is owing to so +melancholy a change that the hurricanes are more frequent than +they were formerly. It is an evil spirit who has done all this; +who has taken our best lands from us, and given us up to the +dominion of the Christians." Alas! poor Caribs, it was an evil +spirit which had come among you--the evil spirit of lawless and +unchristian _men_. Why was your country invaded and your rights +trampled on? Why were your wives and children torn from you?--and +you yourselves condemned to death?--yea, worse than death--to +vile and endless slavery, till time, the end of all things, +consigned you to your silent graves?--are questions which will +arise, but whose answer can only be given in these words--"What +is, is best." + +To resume our description of these ancient possessors of Antigua +--these warlike Caribs. Vanity is a passion which to a greater or +lesser degree pervades the breast of almost every mortal, and the +savage in his native wilds feels the force of it in the same +manner, although, perhaps, not to the same _extent_, as the giddy +fair who whirls round the vortex of dissipation within the +purlieus of May Fair. When first discovered by the Spaniards, the +Caribs were habited in different fashions; some appeared in +complete dresses of native cloth, stained of a dark red; others +had only a cotton girdle rolled round their loins; while others, +again, were arrayed in "Nature's garb." But although this plain +and scanty dress forbid much fancy or variety, they were far from +unadorned. Their hair was arranged in a thousand fantastic +shapes; some had it braided with small pieces of gold, shells or +shining stones; others decorated it with the teeth and bones of +their enemies; and some, again, placed large bunches of parrots' +feathers upon the top of the head. Nor were all their decorations +confined to their head-dresses; they stained their bodies with +various colours, and in a variety of figures, and, as before +alluded to, caused themselves much pain in thus ornamenting their +persons, by their great propensity for altering their natural +features. It does not appear if this was intended to heighten +their beauty, and render them captivating in the eyes of the +"nice-judging fair," or if to make them more hideous in the sight +of their enemies; but most probably it was for the latter +purpose, although it has been said "that women always like the +monsters!" + +Their amusement, which has also been before observed, was war; +nothing else seemed to please or interest them, it was "their +gain, their glory, their delight!" They had their dances, but +they were rather a serious ceremony than indulged in as a +pastime. Their principal assemblies were held before starting +upon a warlike expedition, when a leader or chief was elected +with the barbarities before described; or upon the return of a +victorious warrior, when these ceremonies concluded with a dance. + +In the foregoing review, the character of the red Caribs, the +aborigines of Antigua, has been described; but in different +islands were found different tribes. Guadaloupe was inhabited by +a race of Amazons, who, upon the first appearance of Columbus, +rushed out of a wood, armed with bows and arrows, and attacked +the crew with such determined fury, that he was obliged to open a +fire upon them before they would disperse; that they were also +cannibals was evident from the relics of their disgusting feasts +found in their huts. Some of the other islands were inhabited by +a similar race; but the people of Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica, and +Porto Rico were decidedly of a different family--mild, temperate, +and indolent, they were a certain prey to the ferocious +cannibals. + +The Caribs of Antigua were first conquered by the Spaniards in +1521, and after trying to make them work as slaves without +effect, they were finally driven from off the island. As in the +other islands, fire and sword came among them, and the ancient +people of the soil are no more. Their manners and customs, their +hopes and fears, their enjoyments and distresses, are almost +buried in oblivion, only now and then, here and there, we find a +few traces of them in the wide page of history. There are, +however, vestiges of their dwellings still to be met with in +different parts of the island, one of which I had the curiosity +to enter. It appeared to have consisted of two distinct +buildings, the materials of which were composed of the stone +which is common in all parts of the island, cemented with a rough +kind of mortar. The one nearest the north is about fifty feet +long and twenty-five broad; in the middle is a circular hollow; +small square window-places are on all sides, and the door-place +fronts the west. I stood before that open door, and memory +carried me back to "by-gone" ages. The sun had set, but his +golden beams still lingered in the west, and tinged the clouds +with a thousand beautiful colours. Not a single living creature +was in sight, but one poor solitary ground-dove, who sat by the +ruined walls and uttered her plaintive notes. The negroes are of +an opinion that this bird is the harbinger of death; be that as +it may, her melancholy cry on such a spot called up many an +image. Who might not have stood upon the very place where I was +standing and watched that glorious sun while he set? The +formidable-looking Carib, his meek, degraded, uncomplaining wife; +his miserable, wretched victim, the unhappy Arrowawk! All might +have once stood there and gazed upon that very scene. And those +crumbling walls! what tales might not they have told! how many +scenes of bloodshed might not they have witnessed! how many +harsh, discordant notes of revelry, from the wild beings who once +inhabited them, might not they have echoed to! how many piercing +shrieks for mercy from those poor wretched creatures, immolated +upon that family altar for the darkling ceremonies of +superstition, or for the daily meal, might not they have heard! + +The other adjoining building has the appearance of a square +tower, and must, in its day, have been a place of some strength; +it is considerably higher than the one before described. I felt +inclined to believe it was built by the buccaneers, who, many +years ago, made these islands their place of resort. In the +island of St. Thomas is still standing a kind of castle, built by +that renowned and formidable captain of pirates, "Blackbeard."[2] +However, all Antiguans agree in calling the building mentioned +the "Carib's House." + +To a contemplative mind, how many emotions arise upon taking a +review of history. We see whole nations swept away from the +surface of the globe, and others springing up to form the +connecting link in the grand chain of nature. We see the +stupendous powers of the Omnipotent, at whose beck myriads start +into life--at whose frown they vanish away like chaff before the +wind. We are inclined to ask, Where now is mighty Rome, the +empress of the world? Lost in the abyss of her own power and +greatness. Greece, too, with all her brave sons--her +disinterested patriots--her wise and just lawgivers--where are +they? All, all are fled, their very existence almost forgotten; +and as a favourite traveller remarks, "Greece remembers her sons +no more." He whose reckless ambition sighed for worlds to +conquer, is himself conquered by the strong hand of death. The +prince and peasant, the rich and poor, the bond and free, alike +fall beneath those all-powerful shafts. + + "The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, + And all that beauty, all that wealth ere gave. + Must wait alike the inevitable hour; + The paths of glory lead but to the grave." + +While surveying these things, the mind is lost in the boundless +depths of imagination. We are led to reflect upon the transitory +state of existence we pass in this nether world; and the truth +flashes upon us, that however great we may be in our own +estimation--however great in our own conceit, we are but in +reality as the bubble on the water, the ephemera of a summer's +day. Reader! didst thou ever examine the interior of an ant-hill? +didst thou ever notice how its busy little inmates are hurrying +to and fro, intent upon their different occupations? Some are +occupied in excavating the ground to prepare store-houses for the +preservation of their grain in the winter--some in removing the +dirt from the streets that nothing may obstruct the progress of +their various business--some in plastering the earth with a kind +of clay, which they carefully prepare, that it may not fall in +and destroy their populous city, while others again are preparing +cells for the reception of their eggs. + +Thus we see all is bustle, all is activity; like mortals, some +are laying up wealth they are fated never to enjoy, or planning +schemes of grandeur which will never come to pass. The +ploughshare passes over, and where are those busy troops? Eurus +blows his blast in the fierceness of his anger, and the whole +colony is scattered, the swarming multitude is no more. Thus it +is with man: placed by his Creator in so beautiful a world, +endowed, perhaps, with health, and riches, and honours, +surrounded by a circle of friends and flatterers, enjoying all +the pomps and luxuries of this life, he drinks deeply of the +intoxicating cup of Circe, and forgets that he is but a child of +clay, "a stranger and a sojourner as all his fathers were." + +I have been led into these reflections from the fact, that the +people whose history I have been narrating are entirely +exterminated from Antigua and the adjoining islands; that of all +those swarming hosts who were gathered upon the beach to resist +the landing of the Spaniards, who first visited this island, not +one of their descendants is left. And now, in concluding this +chapter, all that remains for me to do is, to crave the pardon +and indulgence of my readers for so often leaving "Antigua and +the Antiguans," and wandering in another pathway; but according +to an old saying, "Our thoughts are not always under our own +control;" or, as it is said in more modern language, "Woman is an +Eolian harp, the strings of which are moved by every wind that +blows." + + + ------ + +[1] This was done, by allowing one of his veins to be opened for +the purpose. + +[2] The real name of this pirate was Edward Toutch, a native of +Spanish Town, in Jamaica. Of all pirates, this man was the most +ferocious; the deeds he committed being more like those of a +demon than a man. He was at length attacked by a lieutenant of an +English man-of-war, off the coast of Virginia, and taken +prisoner. He was afterwards executed, and his head stuck upon a +pole erected upon that coast, as a warning to other lawless +rovers. + + + + + CHAPTER XXX. + + + + Negroes: Their introduction into the New World--Bartholomew Las + Casas--His intercessions in favour of the Indians--Cardinal + Ximenes--Origin of the slave trade--Its adoption by the English + government--Character of slavery--Mental degeneracy--Instances + of superior faculties among the Negro race--Juan Parega-- + Phillis Wheatley--Ignatius Sancho--His letter to the Rev. L. + Sterne--Slavery in its early days--Punishment of the negroes in + 1736. + +In furtherance of my plan, of commencing from the earliest period +the history of this small but important colony, it also devolves +upon me to give some account of the first introduction of negroes +into this quarter of the globe, particularly as they form so +large a bulk of the population of Antigua. + +The negroes, as perhaps many of my readers may be aware, were +first introduced generally into the West Indies, as labourers, in +1515, although some few had been sent there a short time before. +Bartholomew Las Casas, an eminent Spanish divine, was one of +those who proposed this measure, and spent both time and money in +its completion. Las Casas was born at Seville, in the year 1474; +and at the age of nineteen, accompanied his father to the West +Indies. + +At this period, Rodrigo Albuquerque, the confidential minister of +Ferdinand V. of Spain, had succeeded Don Diego, the son of +Christopher Columbus, in the government of Hispaniola, which the +Spaniards still considered as their principal colony. Albuquerque +was a man of violent passions, and rapacious in the acquisition +of wealth; and under his government the poor Indians led but a +miserable life; and with hard labour and ill-treatment they were +almost exterminated. The cruel and arbitrary proceedings adopted +towards them excited compassion in the minds of all who had the +least particle of commiseration in their natures. The +missionaries had early expressed their abhorrence of the system +of parting the Indians among the settlers, by which means they +became the slaves of their conquerors. The Dominicans, in +particular, had strongly protested against the "_repartimientos_" +(or sharing) as it was termed; and not content with remonstrating +in private, made the pulpit the theatre of action, and denounced +curses upon the heads of those who followed that plan. + +Bartholomew Las Casas early became a convert to their opinions +upon this head. He not only gave up all the Indians which had +fallen to his share, but tried all means in his power to persuade +his countrymen to do so likewise. He remonstrated with +Albuquerque upon the unlawfulness of his conduct; but he found +that tyrant too much engrossed with the sordid love of acquiring +gold for his remonstrances to be of any effect. When Las Casas +found this to be the case, he determined to depart for Spain, and +lay his complaint at the feet of Ferdinand. + +After a protracted voyage of many weeks, Las Casas arrived safe +at Cadiz, and quickly obtained an interview with his sovereign, +whom he found to be in a very languishing state of health. +Ferdinand listened with deep attention to Las Casas' +representation of the sufferings endured by the unfortunate +natives of the West Indies; and expressed deep compunction for +his guilt in having authorized this measure of sharing, which had +brought destruction upon so many innocent people; and finally, he +promised to take into consideration the means of redressing the +grievances he had occasioned. Death, however, put an end to all +his resolves; and Charles V. of Germany, who succeeded him, being +then in Austria, appointed the celebrated Cardinal Ximenes his +regent. + +Las Casas was not wearied with his undertaking, or disheartened +with his disappointment; he obtained an interview with the +regent, and argued his cause with so much feeling and eloquence, +that Ximenes appointed a commission of monks from St. Jerome to +go to the West Indies and make every inquiry into the situation +of the wretched inhabitants, directing Las Casas to accompany +them, with the title of "Protector of the Indians." Upon their +arrival, the monks proceeded with caution to investigate the +matter; and after some time spent in this way, gave it as their +opinion, that the Spaniards must either give up their American +conquests, or be satisfied with very little gain, unless the +system of slavery was tolerated; at the same time, expressing +their determination to try all endeavours in their power to +secure to the Indians a milder and a better treatment. + +All but Las Casas were satisfied with these proceedings, but he +argued for total exemption; and so strenuously did he urge his +plea, that the planters' anger was aroused, and he was obliged to +retire into a convent to preserve his life. But Las Casas was not +the man to give up a favourite project for a trifle. Finding how +ill he succeeded in the New World, he determined once more to +sail for Spain, and employ every means and exert every energy to +accomplish his plans, and never to give up his labours until +death or the accomplishment of his wishes ended them. + +By the time he arrived at home, the Cardinal Ximenes had resigned +the regency, and Charles had assumed the reins of government, and +to this monarch Las Casas carried his complaints. The emperor +listened to him, and appointed another commission of monks to +inquire into the business; but Las Casas knew the opposition this +measure would meet with, and the little good it would effect; he +therefore set his wits to work to find out some other expedient, +and at last thought of introducing other labourers into the West +Indies in lieu of the Indians. + +The use the Portuguese made of their African discoveries was to +ensnare the inhabitants and sell them as slaves; and Las Casas +thought that if these wretched people could be transported in +numbers to America, they would, from their stronger constitutions +and hardy frames, answer better than the natives themselves. This +plan was laid before the council in Spain, and although strongly +resisted by Cardinal Ximenes, who saw the impropriety of +condemning an innocent nation to perpetual slavery to save +another, the measure was carried by a majority of voices, and +Charles granted to a favourite courtier a patent, empowering him +to purchase slaves in Africa, and ship them to the West Indies. + +This patent was purchased by some Genoese merchants, who +immediately put it into execution, and thus that detestable +traffic, the "slave trade," was introduced by men calling +themselves _Christians_, and professing to follow the doctrines +of their divine Master, while they deliberately set at nought his +great precept--"Do unto others as you would have others do unto +you." It is not within the plan of the present work to inquire +how much the situation of the Indians was improved by this +arrangement, but will merely observe, that while Las Casas spent +his time, his money, and his health, in trying to benefit his +favourite people, he forgot all other classes, and completely +shut the door of mercy upon the unoffending Africans; and for no +other cause than it had pleased their Creator to bestow upon them +greater strength than upon the natives of the West, they were +torn from their country, their friends, and home, and, to +"increase a stranger's treasures," consigned to hopeless misery. + +To the Portuguese and Genoese the slave-trade exclusively +belonged for many years; at length, the Dutch, seeing the +gainfulness of it, engaged in it; and in 1564, during the reign +of Queen Elizabeth, Sir John, then Mr. Hawkins, introduced this +bloodstained commerce (for so it may justly be termed) into the +English trade, and thus tarnished the bright name he had acquired +by his many naval victories. + +Oh, that England, so famous for her spirit of liberty, should +have ever imbrued her hands in this inhuman traffic!--that she, +the "empress of the waves," should have lent her power to crush +these unfortunate beings!--that that nation by whom the sweets of +domestic ties are so peculiarly felt and appreciated, should have +been among the first to rend husband from wife, the babe from its +mother, the daughter from her old parent, and condemn them to + + "Plough the winter's wave, and reap despair!" + +that Britons, free-born Britons, such advocates for liberty! +should have acted thus for so many years, even when the dark +clouds of ignorance had been dispersed, and "knowledge to their +eyes" had unfolded "her ample page," is almost beyond credence. +But, alas! it proves how much "the clink of Mammon's box" charms +the ear and deadens the nobler feelings of the soul. In 1592, two +years before he died, Sir John Hawkins was so impressed with +horror at what he had done in introducing the slave-trade to the +notice of his countrymen, who had eagerly pursued it, that he +built a hospital at Rochester, to atone, in some measure, for his +violation of the laws of humanity. + +Draco's laws were said to be written with a pen of iron, in +letters of blood; and surely, so also have the annals of slavery +been described. "Disguise thyself as thou wilt," says Sterne, +"still, slavery--still thou art a bitter draught!" And, bitter as +it is, our poor West Indian slaves have, in former years, drained +the cup to the very dregs. But, thank God, the cry--"Am I not a +man and a brother!" has been heard and acknowledged. The names of +Sharpe, Wilberforce, and Fox, with many others, are engraved deep +in the hearts of all true lovers of humanity, for their strenuous +endeavours, year after year, in procuring the abolition of this +infernal traffic; and universal gratitude is due to Buxton, +Lushington, and their right worthy fellow-labourers of the +present day, for their share in effecting the final measure of +emancipation. And in this place, I must beg to proffer my thanks +to the many kind hearts which beat in Antigua, _slave-owners_ as +they were, for their joint exertions with our English +philanthropists in bringing this glorious freedom about; and for +their cheerful acquiescence, when accomplished, in giving their +slaves immediate freedom. They asked for no apprenticeship--they +would not even accept it; but they trusted to their negroes, and +set them free at once. Yet England did not behave to the +Antiguans as she ought to have done. Instead of rewarding them +for their disinterested conduct, by allotting to them a larger +share of the compensation-money, their portion was _smaller_ than +that of any of the other islands. The excuse for this was, that +slaves were _less_ valued in Antigua. But what caused them to be +less valuable? Did our English government ask that question? Do +our friends "at home" know the answer? The Antiguans had become +sensible of the inhumanity of dealing in human flesh; and +although they were obliged to employ their slaves to till their +fields, it was very few persons who thought of purchasing +negroes. This was the reason, and not because her slaves were +worse than those of other islands, or less competent for +labour.[3] + +Slavery is not only revolting for the cruelties it has +occasioned, but it is debasing to the mind. How few, _very few +slaves_, have we heard of, who have shewn any intellectual +qualifications, or made any improvements in machinery or +agriculture! Nor need we be surprised at this; for had a slave +proposed anything of the kind, his master would have probably +considered it as a suggestion of indolence, or a desire to save +himself from toil at the expense of others. + +Some authors have asserted, that negroes are an unimprovable +race, incapable of receiving instruction, or having sufficient +reason to discern right from wrong. But I am not at all inclined +to assent to such a doctrine, but attribute the fact, that +greater talents have not been shewn by them, as before remarked, +to the degradation of slavery. Indeed, we have had some few +instances of _considerable_ display of abilities among this sable +people; one or two instances of which it may not be amiss to +introduce. + +One of these _clever negroes_ was a slave, named Juan de Parega, +who was sent from the West Indies as a present to Diego +Valasquez, the celebrated Spanish painter, about the year 1600. +Juan was very fond of painting, and his own natural talents +enabled him to study it with great effect. This he did, however, +secretly, for fear of giving offence to his master, who, he +thought, might be angry with a slave for disgracing the art. +Philip the Fourth of Spain was a great admirer of the fine arts, +and a frequent visitor at Valasquez's study, where, if he met any +pictures with their faces to the wall,[4] he was sure to request +they might be turned. One day, when the monarch came to the +house, during the absence of Valasquez, and before he proceeded +to the study, Juan took one of his own pictures, hung it up in a +prominent situation, with the painted side turned to the wall, +and with trembling heart awaited the result. Philip's step was +heard upon the stair--his finger was upon the lock--poor Juan's +emotion almost stifled him!--the door opened, and his majesty +entered. His quick eye immediately alighted upon the new picture, +which he ordered Juan to turn. This was done; and after examining +it for some time, Philip pronounced it beautiful! The gratified +slave, his eyes beaming with delight, while he trembled at the +thoughts of his audacity, fell upon his knees before his +sovereign, acknowledged it to be his work, and prayed him to +intercede with his master for him, that his presumption might be +pardoned. Philip raised him from his knees, commended his +talents, and; upon seeing Valasquez, told him he ought to free +such a man. This was done; but Juan would never quit his kind +master: he remained with him, studying and improving under his +tuition, until eventually he became one of the first +portrait-painters of his day. + +Another instance we have in Phillis Wheatley; she was purchased +by Mrs. F. Wheatley in Boston slave-market, (America,) when she +was about seven or eight years old. Shewing great natural +talents, her mistress had her taught reading, writing, &c. As she +grew up to womanhood, she attracted the notice of many literary +characters, who supplied her with books and directed her studies. +When about fourteen years of age, she attempted compositions both +in prose and verse; and between that and nineteen, all her works +were published.[5] + +While upon this subject, we must not forget Ignatius Sancho. +Ignatius was born on board a slave-ship a few days after it had +left Guinea, in 1729. The severities his mother met with put an +end to her existence a short time after her arrival in the West +Indies; and his father took it so much to heart that he committed +suicide. This plainly proves that negroes are not so utterly +devoid of natural affections as some would have us believe-- + + "Skins may differ, but affection + Dwells in black and white the same." + +But to return to our hero. After some years, he was brought to +England, through the kindness of the Duke of Montague, and +obtained means of instruction. He wrote a great many letters, +which were deemed worthy of being published; and a large +subscription was raised. They were reckoned very well written; +one of them, upon slavery, may not prove uninteresting to many of +my readers. It was addressed to the Rev. L. Sterne, 1776. + +"Rev. Sir,--It would be an insult to your humanity (or perhaps +look like it) to apologize for the liberty I am taking. The first +part of my life was rather unlucky, as I was placed in a family +who judged ignorance to be the best and only security for +obedience; a little reading and writing I got by unwearied +application. The latter part of my life has been, through God's +blessing, truly fortunate, having spent it in the service of one +of the best and greatest families in the kingdom: My chief +pleasure has been books--philanthropy I adore. How much, very +much, good sir, am I (among millions) indebted to you for the +character of your amiable Uncle Toby. I declare I would walk ten +miles in the dog-days to shake hands with the honest Corporal. +Your sermons have touched me to the heart, and, I hope, have +amended it, which brings me to the point. + +"In your tenth discourse is this very affecting passage:-- +'Consider how great a part of our species, in all ages down to +this, have been trod under the feet of cruel and capricious +tyrants, who would neither hear their cries nor pity their +distress. Consider slavery, what it is--how bitter a draught, and +how many millions are made to drink of it!' + +"Of all my favourite authors, not one has drawn a tear in favour +of my miserable black brethren excepting yourself and the humane +author of 'Sir George Ellison.' I think you will forgive me--I am +sure you will applaud me--for beseeching you to give one +half-hour to slavery as at this day practised in our West Indian +colonies. That subject handled in your striking manner, would +ease the yoke perhaps of many; but if only one--gracious God! +what a feast to a benevolent heart. And I am sure you are an +Epicurean in acts of charity; you, who are universally read, and +as universally admired, you cannot fail. + +"Dear Sir, think in me you behold the uplifted hands of thousands +of my brethren Moors. Grief, you pathetically observe, is +eloquent. Figure to yourself their attitudes; hear their +supplicating addresses; alas! you cannot refuse--humanity must +comply. In which hope I beg permission to subscribe myself, + + "Rev. Sir, &c. &c." + +This is the letter; all must know Sterne's beautiful piece on +"Slavery," which it produced. At one time, Ignatius Sancho had an +idea of going upon the stage, and actually offered himself to Mr. +Garrick, to perform the character of Othello and Oronooko; but an +irreparable defect in his articulation prevented him from putting +his designs into execution. Ignatius died from a complication of +disorders in the year 1780, aged fifty-one; he was much esteemed +by his friends in England. + +These examples before us, and others which might be added, prove +that the negroes are not always the unintelligent beings they +have been supposed; and I do hope, that now so much has been done +for them, they will alter their character, and strive to suppress +those vices which their life of servitude has produced among +them. They are no longer treated as beasts of burden, but taught +to consider themselves as men; they make it a constant boast, "Me +free, me no b'longs to you!" I hope they may shew they deserve +their freedom by their good conduct; then we may hope for better +days; we may see virtues springing up among them; emanations of +genius may arise and surprise the whole world. + +I wish them well--I feel interested about them--I desire their +good--and I am sorry, _very sorry_, that in the course of these +remarks I may have so much to say about them. But when I have to +touch upon the dark part of their character, for "lights and +shadows" _must_ be depicted, I beseech you, my kind readers, to +remember how short has been their life of freedom; how few have +been their advantages, comparatively speaking; and above all, +remember evil is not to be returned for evil, but rather good. + +There are many worthy industrious characters among this class of +persons in Antigua; not famous, it is true, for any great display +of abilities, or of superior talents, like Juan Parega, or our +friend Sancho, but men of sound mind, well-behaved, and clever in +producing little articles of native manufacture. A fancy sale was +held in this island in January, 1837, and among the contributions +was a miniature sugar-mill, with all its vanes &c. complete, +capable of grinding the canes when peeled. This pretty little +article was the work and gift of one who, in 1834, was a slave +belonging to the Hon. Bertie E. Jarvis. It was purchased by two +American gentlemen, friends of liberty, who were residing for a +short time in Antigua, to see how the free system worked, and who +carried it with them to America, to shew what a free negro could +do. Had slavery still existed, that man would never have exerted +his talents with such success, for either he would not have had +the time allowed, or he would not have had the spirit. + +In this remark, I mean no disrespect to his late owner; far from +it, for I have ever heard that the Hon. B. E. Jarvis ranked among +those worthy characters, many, very many of whom I glory to say +were to be found in Antigua, who, while they knew their slaves +were their goods, their _chattels_, scorned to use unnecessary +punishments, but treated them kindly, listened to their wants, +and protected them when in need. + +Truly grateful ought we to be that, in British colonies at least, +slavery is no more; for it was a dark spot in the fair character +of Britain, which no reasoning, however subtle, could hide. +Interested persons might boast of the legal regulations for the +protection of slaves; but in truth, those laws were either +insufficient or not rigidly enforced; some way or the other, the +laws which were made for the protection of the slave, generally +turned out to the benefit of the master. + +At the trial of a planter for the murder of his slave, one of the +persons summoned as a juror begged to be excused from acting, +giving as his reason "that he thought such a trial would be +hurtful to the West Indian Islands, as it would make the slaves +saucy!" What! then a man was to lacerate, to _kill_ his poor +slave, under circumstances of the most barbarous cruelty, and yet +not to be brought to justice, not to be punished as he justly +deserved--and for why? Oh! blush to hear it, my readers--_because +it would make the slaves saucy!_ Happy am I to state, that this +_conscientious_ juryman lived not in Antigua--that this horrible +murder was not committed there. + +I mean not to insinuate that this was the general opinion of +residents in the West Indies; far from it; this was a solitary +case. Murder is a crime generally detested; man must become an +incarnate demon, or one from whom all reason has fled, before he +can perpetrate such an act: and whoever may be the victim, all +classes are anxious to bring the murderer to justice. But, and I +feel confident I am not going beyond the truth, in many +instances, crimes of less magnitude, where loss of life and limb +has not ensued, have been passed over, or if noticed, and the +form of trial complied with, Astræa has not equally balanced her +scales, and the negro has not been righted _because he was only a +negro_. + +Oh! I have heard and read of deeds of blood which would chill the +very soul--deeds which in other days have been practised in +Antigua, noted as she was for the mildness of her slave laws. +Those infernal instruments of torture have been used, even +invented, by man in his most debased state--"the detestable, +ever-to-be-detested cart-whip," the heavy chain, the dark +loathsome dungeon, the thumb-screw, and the barbarous +"mouth-piece," as it was termed, which was a plate of iron +pressing upon the tongue, while bars of iron enclosed the head, +and a padlock, fastened behind the victim's neck, prevented their +agonizing cries from reaching mortal ears. But the Infinite from +his bright throne saw and pitied these poor wretched sons of Ham, +and sent men of milder mood--men whose hearts were touched with +their miseries, whose ears were open to their cries--to labour +and exert themselves in their behalf, and at last obtain their +liberty. + +Sometimes iron rings were fastened round their legs, which their +kind and humane masters jocularly termed, "negro-boots;" at other +times massy iron collars were fixed round their necks, to which +was attached galling chains; and fearful these might give _too +little pain_, or occasion _too little inconvenience_, +half-hundred weights were hung to them. It used to be a method of +punishment, it is said, in former times, when owners did not mind +losing the value of a negro or two, to take an empty hogshead, +and after driving plenty of nails into it, making the points to +protrude in the inside, to put a slave or two into it, and +heading it up, roll them down a steep hill; and thus leave them +to expire. Some masters, when their slaves were _very ill_, or +_very old_, and could be of no further service, used to bury them +alive; and it is said, that upon being put into their graves, +they have been heard to say, "Pray, massa, no bury me, me no dead +yet; do, massa, let dem take me out;" and the master, with a +curse upon his lips, has replied that he had plenty of money to +buy more; he did not want an old, half-dead negro. + +Gibbeting alive was another mode of punishment formerly in use; +and when adopted, the sufferers have been known to live more than +a week. That any one could deliberately condemn a fellow-creature +to such intolerable anguish seems almost impossible; yet that +such has been the case in Antigua, is remembered by some alive; I +have heard of one instance in which a white man was the sufferer. +I should not have noticed it in this place, was it not that it +proves how much cruelty was practised even in those days. All +will allow, or at least ought to do, that when a criminal suffers +the extreme penalty of the law, it is done for the sake of +example, not revenge; and consequently, the mildest and quickest +kind of death should be practised. The circumstance alluded to, +was as follows. A white man, known as Captain White, the owner of +a small vessel, had for some length of time committed piracy upon +the high seas; but at last was taken, and brought into Antigua. +He was condemned to die, and that death to be by gibbeting. A +gibbet was accordingly prepared; the wretched man was carried to +a bay, near where St. James's Fort is now erected, and there, in +the face of heaven, _he was hung up in chains, alive!_ with a +loaf of bread and a calabash of water almost within his reach; +but which, like the waters of Tartarus to him of old, only mocked +him with their approach, as the wind blew them backwards and +forwards. The man lived nine days in this situation; and in the +extremity of his hunger, actually ate the flesh from off his +shoulders. The place where he was executed is well known to many +in Antigua as White's Bay, and a few years ago, the remains of +the gibbet was to be met with. How ought we to bless God, that we +lived not in those days; that our feelings are now not outraged +by any of those dreadful exhibitions: certainly, his crime +(piracy) was a dreadful one, but who cannot but feel for his +after-sufferings? + +The following letter from a white inhabitant throws a further +light upon the insurrection of the negroes, in 1736, which we +have noticed in the "Legend of the Ravine;" and points out the +particular punishment awarded to many of the actors in that +tragedy:-- + + Antigua, Jan. 15th, 1736. + + "Dear Friend, + +"We are in a great deal of trouble in this island; the burning of +negroes, hanging them up on gibbets alive, racking them upon the +wheel, &c., takes up all our time; that from the 20th of October +to this day, there have been destroyed _sixty-one_ intelligent +negroes, most of them tradesmen, as carpenters, coopers, and +masons. + +"I am almost dead with watching and working, as are many more. +They were going to destroy all the white inhabitants of the +island. 'Count,' the king of the negroes, 'Tomboy,' his general, +and 'Hercules,' his lieutenant-general, who were all racked upon +the wheel, died with obstinacy. Mr. Archibald Hamilton's 'Harry,' +after he was condemned, stuck himself with a knife, in eighteen +different places, four of which were mortal. Colonel Martin's +'Jemmy,' who was hung up alive from noon to eleven o'clock at +night, was then taken down to give information. Colonel Morgan's +'Ned,' after he had been hung up seven days and seven nights, +that his hands grew too small for his hand-cuffs, he got them out +and raised himself, and fell down from a gibbet fifteen feet +high; he was revived with cordials and broths, in hopes to bring +him to confess, but he would not, and was hung up again, and in a +day and a night expired. Mr. Yeaman's 'Quashy Coonah' jumped out +of the fire half burnt, but was thrown in again; and Mr. Lyon's +'Fine,' jumped out of the fire, and promised to confess all, but +it took no effect. In short, our island is in a poor, miserable +condition, and I wish I could get any employment in England to +do." + +I mean not to sicken my readers by too minute details of what +slavery was in its dark and fearful days; but it is proper that a +few instances should be given, that the young in particular may +rejoice they live in a day when "liberty, that thrice-sweet and +gracious goddess," has so ample a domain; and while they delight +in the freedom of British negroes, drop a tear of pity to the +fate of those unfortunates who are torn every year from all the +endearing ties of country, friends, and home, that they may +obtain for their unfeeling masters a little more of the "honey of +Hybla," which is so sweet, that even peace of mind is too often +sacrificed for it. + +The examples which I have already given may be said to have +happened many years ago; but still, for long after that, the life +of a slave was looked upon as of very little value, provided the +master was reimbursed for the cash they cost. If brought before a +magistrate one day, they were, perhaps, condemned and executed +the day after; and should a condemned criminal accost a passer-by +in these words--"Ah! buddy you no no me now; but p'raps you +will," and such salutation be heard by the sentinel, that person, +if even a stranger, and guiltless, perhaps, of all offence, was +taken up on suspicion of having some dealing with the captive, +and in some instances suffered death with him. The intrigues +which were carried on between negroes in those days, rendered it, +it is said, expedient to adopt these harsh measures. + +I have heard it asserted, that the reason slaves first came to be +tried by jury, in 1785, was this:--A black man was brought up +before two magistrates, on suspicion of having committed some +heinous crime; and after hearing the case, the culprit was +condemned and executed. A week or two elapsed, and something +transpired to lead to a suspicion that he was not the guilty +party. Through the exertion of a Mr. Gunthorpe, the case was +tried again; and the result was, that the man was pronounced +innocent. After that it was ordained, that no slave should be +condemned to _death_, without being first brought before a jury, +consisting of six persons. + +For the particulars of this case, I am indebted to an old man +well known in Antigua. He bears the burthen of eighty-six years, +and is still as active and strong as many a one only half that +age. I heard him speak very highly of our late gracious majesty +William IV., who, when he was in the navy, visited Antigua for +some time. "Prince Henry was a good young gentleman, God bless +his memory!" cried the old man. "I used to wait upon him, and +have often heard him speak of what good he would do, should he +ever come to the throne. He has spared many a black person a good +flogging. And when we all heard he was king, every one said--God +bless him!" Old Mascall, for that is his name, can tell many a +tale of other days, and no doubt has seen many shocking sights in +the course of his long life. I heard him tell of another +gentleman, who used to treat his slaves in a most barbarous +manner, giving them commonly fifty lashes at one time, and then +calling for a lighted candle, drop melted sealing-wax upon the +gashes. His cook used to be chained to a "fifty -six," (a weight +of fifty-six pounds,) with a chain long enough to enable him to +walk from the kitchen to the house; and his washer used also to +be chained in like manner to her wash-tub, in which situation, my +informant told me, one woman dropped down dead, with her chains +around her.[6] With regard to this piece of cruelty, all that I +can say, but which on no account do I offer as an excuse, is, +that the negroes are very stubborn, and given to prevarication. +They have so often represented themselves ill, when such has not +been the case, that they might avoid their day's labour, that +when really suffering from sickness, they have seldom met with +any sympathy. + + + ------ + +[3] Although the slave-trade had been abolished, yet it was still +customary for the island slaves to change owners as a horse +would; but the Antiguans becoming sensible of such inhuman +practice, few purchasers could be found, consequently negroes +were of less value in the way of traffic. As regards their +labour, however, they were of equal value to their masters in +Antigua, as the slaves of other colonies. + +[4] A sign that they were new subjects. + +[5] See Chambers' Edinburgh Journal. + +[6] Old Mascall's information may be doubted by some, but it +certainly agrees with the authenticated cruelties which were +practised in former years, the details of which have been omitted +from want of space. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXI. + + + + Negroes: Palliations, _but not excuses_, for former cruelties-- + A harsh planter--Crimes of slaves--The little negroes' + dinner-hour--A character--Negroes' want of thought--Bartering + their weekly provisions--Pilfering--The Rock Dungeon--A + Tortolian slave-master--The murdered slave--Branding--Slave + cargo--Remarks upon slavery--A good slave-master--A kind + attorney--Negro gratitude. + +When I undertook this work, I laid down for myself one uniform +rule, the propriety of which my readers must admit, which was, to +adhere strictly to facts without fear or favour. I mourn to think +that any one, much more a Briton, should have practised those +cruel deeds which were perpetrated even in this island, in former +days. I am well aware how much patience it requires to deal with +negroes, and also how strong the force of example is. We all of +us are liable to err; those passions which it has pleased the +Giver of all to ingraft in our bosoms, although not to be +extirpated, as the disciples of Zeno would have us believe, +require to be kept under strict restraint, or else how soon we +may be led to commit acts we ourselves would be the first to +condemn. Self-control is no easy matter; the wise man says--"He +who ruleth his own spirit is greater than he who taketh a city." +Nothing will enable us to overcome ourselves but a deep feeling +of religion. In those early times of slavery there was no settled +place of worship--no sound of the "church-going" bell in Antigua; +and men who might have left England with the best of feelings, +from living in this manner, and having to deal with stubborn and +aggravating characters, in time grew callous. + +The flowers which deck this beautiful world require the suns and +dews of heaven to support their fragile forms; the birds which +charm us with their melody look up to their Maker's hand for +their daily food; can it be supposed, then, that man, a weak and +sinful creature, can walk uprightly without a daily intercourse +with his God? No; let philosophers boast as they will, man's +greatest strength is in his weakness; and it is from the spread +of Christianity in these parts, and Christian pastors taking the +place of those "blind leaders of the blind," who, in former days, +presumed to preach the gospel here, that people are enabled to +bear with the negroes, and not give way to such violent acts of +resentment again them. As I remarked in the conclusion of the +former chapter, I cannot, _dare not_ offer these remarks as an +excuse for cruelty; but while I reprobate such conduct as I have +been describing, I cannot help thinking how different the time +was then to what it is now--how the bright day-spring has chased +away the clouds of night. + +But my melancholy subject is not yet ended; a few more acts +remain to be exhibited before the curtain falls. There was some +years ago an Antiguan planter who was of such a tyrannical +disposition, that he was an object of dread to the whole negro +population, until at length he made himself so hated by them, +from his cruel punishment, that he fancied his life in danger, +and therefore quitted the island, and remained absent for many +years. It was customary for many persons at that time to send, or +threaten to send, negroes who were refractory or lazy, to Mr. +---- for punishment, and so dreaded was his name, that, in most +cases, it procured good behaviour and declarations of amendment; +for hard, indeed, was the fate of those who fell into his hands. +It is said that Mr. ---- has been known to order two drivers to +stretch a slave, no matter whether male or female, upon the +ground, and to flog them until he rode round his estate, (which +was one of good extent,) and upon his return, if he did not think +the gashes sufficiently open, he would make them continue their +demoniac employment for a longer period. The operation of +flogging was thus performed:--the unfortunate victims of their +barbarity were stretched upon the earth their full-length, four +men held them down, while one or more drivers, with their immense +cart-whips, lacerated the flesh at every stroke. Sometimes after +this violent discipline of the whip, more humane masters, if they +can be termed so, have ordered their bleeding backs to be washed +with pickle, in order to prevent mortification; but Mr. ---- +would not allow this to be done; he would not let them have any +assistance; but chains have been put upon them, and they have +been led back to their dungeon, and maggots have been known to +breed in their flesh! + +This is no tale of fiction, no "Castle of Udolpho," to horrify +the mind with its ideal fancies; no, it is the plain, unvarnished +tale of truth, of what our poor negroes once suffered in +Christian countries from those who professed themselves Christian +masters. I mean not to say that every slave-owner was a man of +blood; God forbid they should have been, for then every breeze +that blew would have been loaded with groans--every sun that rose +would have witnessed mangled bodies. No; there were many, very +many, in Antigua who treated their slaves with the utmost +kindness, even in slavery's early days; but more particularly in +this generation, when milder principles were inculcated, and +milder punishments put into effect. + +But, it may be inquired, what was the fault of negroes? Surely +they must be crimes of great magnitude to call for so severe a +use of the whip. In answer, we can only observe that these +faults, or crimes, or errors, call them what you will, were +various. For example: sometimes a mule or two strayed into a +cane-field and cropped the young canes, or part of the herd of +cattle broke away from the cattle-keepers when inattentive to +them, and devoured, or trod down, a piece of yams. Some of the +slaves ran away for a day or two, and others returned saucy +answers, (which all negroes are very competent to do;) some were +lazy, some did their work ill, and some again were behind the +time in which they were required by law to commence their daily +labour in the field; the list was called over by the overseer +before they arrived, and they were reported "absent." + +Another frequent crime was theft. In times of slavery, as already +shewn, instead of giving money to the negroes as a recompence, +every necessary was found them by their owners--their dress, +their houses, their doctor, and their food. The common practice +upon estates was, to distribute to the negroes dresses twice in +the year, and their provisions once or twice in the week. This +consisted (as mentioned in a former part of this work) of so many +yards of cloth, shirting, flannel, and so many woollen caps, +handkerchiefs, &c., for their wardrobes; and for their weekly +provision so many pounds of yams, herrings, or mackerel, &c., for +each grown person; and at Christmas time, a further supply of +salt pork and wheat flour. + +The little children had their own allowance, and upon those +estates where the proprietor or manager cared for their welfare, +an old woman was employed to boil it for them; and about noon +they all marched up to the "great house" with their calabashes in +their hands, which answered the purpose of plate and bason, to +partake of the "savoury messes" not "which the _neat-handed_ +Phillis dresses," for these pic'ni'es cook was anything but +neat-handed or clean. + +I have often been amused, upon visiting an estate belonging to +Sir Geo. Thomas, Bart., where the attorney was a kind and humane +master, at seeing these little people eat their dinners. There +was a large paved court before the door, around which the little +_blackies_ were seated, waiting in silence for their share. The +old woman having seen them well arranged, returned for the pot, +which was placed in the centre, and contained various +ingredients, as yams, potatoes, corn-flour dumplings, herrings, +with a good supply of water, &c., forming a kind of +"_olla-podrida_." How many little black sparkling eyes were fixed +upon that pot and its contents, while the old woman took the +important office of distributing it into the numerous attending +calabashes. When the information "All done, massa," meaning that +the pot was empty, was given, (for the master was present to see +that these poor little children got their proper portion,) and +Mr. ----, with an arch smile, asked, "No more herring left?" and +the negative given, they all rose, one by one, and fetched their +own share, when, without any spoon but what Dame Nature gave them +in their fingers, it quickly found its way to their mouths, +without a drop being wasted; the calabashes turned down, shewed +the important business was over, and the old woman and her charge +departed to their accustomed pursuits. + +Years have passed since I witnessed those scenes, but I fancy I +can see that old woman now. Age is not famous for loveliness, and +I am sure none was there. She must have been in her youth very +tall, but when I knew her, time had bent her form and grizzled +her woolly hair. Her complexion was of a coal black, with a most +sinister expression of countenance; her dull black eyes were +never still; her face looked as if every moment added another +wrinkle, while an immense pair of elephant legs completed the +picture. She was very famous, I afterwards found out, for giving +the children the liquid portion of the mess, and reserving the +herrings for herself, which occasioned Mr. ----'s question. + +But to resume the sadder part of my picture, (for the digression +I have been led into may be termed one of the "lights" of +slavery,) slaves' crimes and slaves' punishments. Upon the +"allowance days," as they were called, the negroes were very +flush of provisions; and having no thoughts of a "rainy day," or, +in other words, putting by a portion for the other days of the +week, they sold them for anything that took their fancy. The +consequence of this was, that for the rest of the week they were +in a state of starvation, and unless any friend ministered to +their wants, they very likely entered their master's provision +grounds, and stole part of the productions. This, of course, was +discovered in the morning, the culprits generally detected, and +they received their punishment, varying in degrees of severity, +according to the disposition of their masters. At one time this +system of bartering the food given them by their owners for +indifferent articles was so prevalent, that complaints were laid +before the house of assembly; and in the year 1814, an act passed +which was intended as a preventive against this practice. + +Another crime of slaves was to milk the cattle upon the estates, +and sell the milk in town; and this again called for the use of +the whip. Molasses and sugar were also stolen in great +quantities, and sold to persons making ginger drink; sugar-cakes, +as they are termed, which are composed of sugar, molasses, +ginger, and cocoa-nut, boiled up together; and many other +different sweets. Even persons who ought to have known better, +encouraged slaves in stealing, by buying of them sugar for +domestic purposes. This also called for the interposition of the +law; and slaves so offending were to be whipped, and sent to work +in the street-gang. I have mentioned the street-gang in a former +chapter; but it may be well to remark, that the slaves comprising +it were worked two and two together, by having an iron collar +round their necks, and connected by a chain, not exactly the size +and thickness of that formerly shewn in "Aldermanbury;"[7] but +rather like those used upon the convicts in the different +dockyards in England. + +These were the most frequent offences of slaves. Those of a +higher degree, such as murders, and running away for more than +three months, were, as we have already seen, punished in a +severer manner. Although the slave-owner had redress by the laws +of the island, for all faults committed by his slaves, revolting +as it is to think of, there were some masters who thought +thirty-nine lashes[8] too mild a punishment for such crimes: they +would rather take the law into their own hands, and flog their +slaves by the hour. They liked to see mangled bodies,--to hear +heart-rending groans, and have the supreme felicity of ordering +them back to their dungeons, garnished, perhaps, with chains, as +in the case of Mr. ----. I have laid before my readers, or at +least endeavoured to do so, slaves' crimes and slaves' +punishments; and it is for them to say whether they deserved such +severe discipline. In another part I shall have to enlarge upon +the vices of negroes, and their perverseness of disposition; but +it now remains for me to give one or two more instances of +cruelty; and I will then banish from these pages the melancholy +subject. + +A gentleman of this island, as I have been made to understand, +had a female _mustee_[9] slave belonging to him. This slave +committed some misdemeanor, whether great or small I am unable to +say; but at all events, her master had her locked up for the +night in a place of horrors, called the "Rock Dungeon." The woman +was in the last stage of pregnancy; in that place, removed from +all assistance, she was confined during the night; and when the +morning came, and that den of misery was opened, her poor baby +was found to be devoured by the rats! This deed was done by one +of our great men, an honourable too. It may be said, he could not +foresee the catastrophe, and the woman might have given him great +provocation, which no doubt she did; but still, would any humane +master have shut up a female in such a condition in such a place? +By the advice of the magistrates, this woman and her remaining +children were afterwards sold, as her master and herself could +never agree. This is not the only instance in which his name has +been brought before the public. Some strange reports were abroad +of his shooting one of his negro boys; and of his killing +another, and burying him in a pond. These circumstances were +brought before the slavery committee of the House of Lords in +1832; and in an examination of a divine, the rector of the parish +in which the gentleman resided, he was asked if he knew anything +about them? The Rev. Mr. ---- returned for answer--"Yes, I heard +a report about them, but do not know if they were correct." And +again--"I never heard of his killing a negro; but I heard of his +burying a white matross in the sand; but that was only hearsay. I +only heard of it from persons, perhaps, that were not his +friends. With regard to shooting a negro, he went and gave +himself up for that; and I believe he was acquitted, or the +coroner's inquest brought in a verdict of 'accidental death.' +There was some sort of a trial; but I believe there was a great +deal said about it, that probably he did not deserve,--I think +so." This was the rector's opinion: whether the gentleman alluded +to was guilty, is more than I can say; we can but hope he was +not. The matter rests between himself and his God; but if he did +act in this manner, if he was guilty of these deaths, conscience +must at times give him some sharp twinges.[10] + +I have in a former page referred to the trial of a planter for +the murder of his slave. It did not occur in Antigua, I am happy +to say; but as Antiguan barristers pleaded for and against the +culprit, it may not be amiss to give a short account of it. The +offender against justice was a member of the council at Tortola; +and upon his estate in that island these horrible cruelties were +perpetrated. I cannot go into the details of the case, which were +most revolting in their circumstances; but will just give the +heads. This man--this vampire he might be called--was found +guilty, and executed upon the common gallows, for the murder of +_one_ of his slaves, a poor African; but there were eight other +indictments for murder ready made out against the same +individual, whose cruelty of disposition was proverbial. + +"Prosper," the name of the murdered man, was, as before remarked, +a poor African, one who, to use the words of the counsel for the +crown, "was murdered by the man, to promote whose interests the +strength of his youth was exhausted;" and his crime was, eating +one mango, which fell off a tree he was watching. For this one +fault, the poor fellow was whipped, until not one piece of black +skin was left upon him, from his hip to his hand; afterwards +ironed, and thrown into a loathsome dungeon. The next day he was +brought out and whipped again, because he had not six shillings +to pay his master, (the sum demanded for the eaten mango, that +would cost about three farthings sterling,) until nature was +exhausted, and he fainted. But he awoke to consciousness and +agony; the dungeon was again his refuge, and chained to two other +objects of misery, he passed that wretched night. Here he +remained five days, suffering unspeakable tortures; but at the +end of that time, these three miserable creatures contrived to +make their escape. Poor "Prosper," however, was too near death to +go far; he crawled into his own hut, which was near, and after +lingering for a few days, expired,--a prey to the worms before +the last sigh had left his lips. When discovered, his remains +were so offensive, that a hole was dug at his hut door, he was +shovelled in, a little dirt thrown over, and he was left to +repose in his irons, until that great day, when master and slave +must appear before one bar.[11] Who can read this account without +a deep feeling of horror? What will my readers say when I further +mention, that when this monster was brought up under a writ of +habeas corpus, his lawyer, a barrister of Antigua, asserted, that +"it was no greater offence, in law, for an owner to kill his +slave, than it would be to kill his dog!" + +Another cruel act of proprietors in those days was to brand the +negroes with their owner's initials. This was done with a red-hot +iron, upon young and old, male and female. Indeed, altogether, +the negroes were treated more like cattle than human beings. +Before the abolition of the slave-trade, cargoes of from 100 to +200, and upwards, used frequently to be brought to this island. +When landed, they were generally in a state of nudity, with the +exception of strings of beads tied round them; and in this state +they remained until purchased. Upon the arrival of these cargoes +of "livestock," the merchants sometimes made an offer for the +whole, and then retailed them out, should their offer be +accepted. At other times, the master or supercargo of the vessel +had them sold at public auction, or disposed of a part, and +carried the remainder to another market. Those merchants who +dealt principally in this commodity used to provide themselves +with a long room, for the reception of these poor creatures, +where they were placed all together, like so many horses or mules +--the floor being littered down with trash.[12] They were fed +twice a-day with rice, horse-beans, or cornflour; and every +morning and evening, they were placed in a rank, two and two +together, and driven to a pond to water. When persons wanted +negroes, they went to the slave-store, and had several brought +out to look at--made them skip, jump, run, and dance, to see if +they were strong, and their limbs in perfect order; and then, if +approved of, their price was paid in "paltry gold," and they +became the property of a new master, a being like themselves, +only differing, perhaps, in the colour of their skin. + +Montesquieu, an eminent French writer, speaking of the +unlawfulness of thus entrapping and selling these poor Africans, +says--"The strongest reason which can be given for using negroes +like beasts of burden is their having black skins and flat +noses." Our own immortal Cowper, when writing upon this subject, +expresses himself in a similar manner:-- + + "He finds the fellow guilty of a skin + Not colour'd like his own; and, having power + T' enforce the wrong, for such a worthy cause + Dooms and devotes him as his lawful prey." + +That men, fashioned by the hands of the same Creator, descended +from the same common parent, could thus buy and sell their +fellow-creatures just as they would a horse or a cow, seems +almost incredible. Future generations will, no doubt, be inclined +to discredit such a report, as the wild tale of some imaginary +mind. Even in this day, in this island, it causes surprise to +many to think they acted so; and the different paragraphs in an +old Antigua newspaper, which now lies before me, would appear +almost as strange to them as they do to me. Among the list of +imports for the week, in this old paper, are "_seven negroes_, +five casks of coffee, one bag of cotton, and an old copper +kettle!" Thinking of slavery as I do, I could almost say, with +the poet-- + + "No! dear as freedom is, and in my heart's + Just estimation prized above all price, + I had much rather be myself the slave, + And wear the bonds, than fasten them on him." + +I am aware that many people, speaking of the propriety of +slavery, argue in this manner--"Has it not existed since the days +of Noah? And did not the Almighty appear to sanction it then? Can +it be more unlawful now?" I grant, that it has existed since +those early days:--"A servant of servants shall he be unto his +brethren" was, I know, the curse of Canaan; but reasoners like +these should study the laws which the All-wise made for the +prevention of cruelty to the Hebrew slaves or servants. Let them +compare what slavery is, or rather what it was, with the slavery +of biblical history. "Rule not over him (the servant or slave) +with _rigour_ but fear thy God;" and again--"Harden not thine +heart, nor shut thine hand, for remember, he is thy _brother_." +These were the words of One who cannot err. In all ages of the +world, man's pride has made him love to domineer over his +fellows; and where it is allowed by law, there are many who would +rather have slaves to do their orders, than be at the trouble of +persuading their inferiors. + +I am happy to say, I have never met with any ocular demonstration +of the successive cruelties I have been describing. It has been +my good fate to reside in Antigua when a milder spirit in general +seemed to actuate men; or if, in some of their bosoms, the demon +of persecution still kept his abode, shame prevented its making +its appearance. I have, it is true, heard the sound of the +driver's whip, when the gang have been working; but it seemed to +be used as a kind of stimulant, like the crack of the carter's +whip, when he drives his team, to urge on his horses. + +I have seen a dungeon, but its only occupants were rats; I have +met with stocks and shackles, but they were thrown about as +useless lumber. Still, I have no doubt there have been cruelties +perpetrated here since my residence; but, thank God, I never +witnessed them. I have often heard the voice of childhood +supplicating mercy; it has been in the town, among the lower +classes, who have been chastising their little servant. I have +felt for the little creatures, as they begged for pardon; but +pity was all I could give them. But now, the case is altered: +slavery is no more--the whip is banished; and even the little +children will scarcely take a blow. I was amused the other day, +with a scene which took place before our dwelling: the actors, a +mother and her child. The mother had a small cane in her hand, as +if about to chastise her daughter, a child of about six years +old, who begged very hard for forgiveness. "Do, mammy, don't lick +me; me beg your pardon, ma'am. Oh! don't lick me, mammy; me no do +so no more." The mother relented, and let go the child's hands, +who, turning round immediately the fear of coercion was removed, +stamped her little foot upon the ground, and, raising her tiny +fist, exclaimed--"War you lick me for? Me free--me no b'longs to +you!" + +I visited some few estates in this island during the latter years +of slavery, and I was happy to find that they were conducted +under a mild system, and the slaves appeared happy and contented. +At one of these, the proprietor seemed to be very much beloved by +his people; but he had an ear always open to their complaint; a +hand ever ready to minister to their wants; and under the free +system, his kindness as a slave-owner is not forgotten. This +gentleman is a magistrate; and at the time I am speaking of, he +had frequent complaints brought before him from the negroes of +the adjoining estates, for all negroes are very litigious. I am +sure he deserved credit for the patience with which he heard +their tiresome stories; and so the negroes appeared to think too, +for I have often heard them say to one another, when departing +from the house, "Wen me free, me come lib with dis massa; for if +eber dere one good massa in Antigua, he one." + +An instance deserves to be recorded of another planter, with whom +I have the honour to be acquainted; which proves there were +slave-masters whose hearts were not of adamant; who could be kind +to the poor creatures so entirely under their control; and that +some marks of gratitude and affection could be shewn by a +_slave_. In 1831, the island was in a very unsettled state, from +abolishing the Sunday markets, and not appointing another day for +the negroes to bring their provisions into town to sell. Constant +fires occurred on different estates; no sooner was one +extinguished, than another was discovered. The militia was on +duty night and day; and serious alarm was abroad for the safety +of the island. + +The gentleman alluded to was attorney for several estates; the +one he resided upon was a very large property, belonging to Sir +George Thomas, and possessed a gang of about 250 negroes. His +militia duty called him to a distance, and he was obliged to +leave his wife and children, surrounded by all the slaves: how +far the spirit of mutiny and disaffection had crept in among +them, he was unable to say. + +Whilst these thoughts were passing in his mind, and of course +rendering him very uneasy, a few of the head slaves upon the +plantation waited upon him. I cannot give the precise words they +made use of, but they were to this effect: "Master, you have +always been very kind to us, to our wives, and to our children; +you have never given us harsh language, or cruel beatings; and +while we did our work orderly and quietly, you have been most +indulgent to us. Master, we thank you for it, we feel grateful, +very grateful; and we here solemnly pledge ourselves to guard +with our lives your wife, your children, and your property, as +you have guarded us and ours." The attorney trusted the negroes; +he left the estate; and he found them act as they had promised. +Oh, if anything can gild the dark picture of slavery, such +instances as these will; and in these days of freedom, such men +can lay their heads upon their pillows with ease, and bless God, +that in the day of power, they were kept from exercising undue +severity upon their defenceless slaves. + + + ------ + +[7] The office of the Anti-slavery Society. + +[8] By the Mosaic law, criminals were not to receive more than +forty stripes at one time, and for one offence; but that there +might be no fear of breaking the commandment, the Jews were in +the habit of giving one _less_ than the allowed number. Their +whips were made with three thongs, or tails, and with this +instrument the criminals received thirteen stripes, making the +number of blows thirty-nine. Now the implement used for whipping +negroes was a _cat_, with _nine_ tails; and as thirty-nine lashes +were given with it, the poor slaves received altogether 351 +stripes at one time--a humane punishment, it must be allowed! + +[9] See Chapter XLIII. + +[10] From Anti-slavery Reports. + +[11] It was customary in those days to bury negroes upon the +estate to which they belonged, the burying-ground being generally +near their houses. + +[12] Dry leaves of the sugar-cane. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXII. + + + + Negroes: The assertion that negroes are careless of all + domestic ties confuted by anecdotes--"Shadows" of negro + character--Excuses for them--Conversion to Christianity--Belief + of the Africans that after death they shall return to Africa-- + Instance of it--Africans and Creoles--Superstitions--Obeah. + +Since writing the preceding chapter, it has been represented to +me, that I have painted slavery in too gloomy colours, +particularly the parting of husband and wife, parent and +children, by sale; that the negroes are an unfeeling race; that +parental or connubial affections are seldom felt by them; or if +experienced at all, it is but very partially. As a proof of this, +it is said that in Africa husbands will sell their wives and +children, brothers their sisters, mothers their daughters, for a +mere trifle. I am aware that such has been the case, particularly +in times of scarcity, when part of a family has been disposed of +to provide food for the rest. The Capuchin friars, in their +mission to Congo, mention, that one day hearing a man making a +great outcry, and saying, "I have no wife, no child, no brother! +Miserable wretch that I am! I once had all these, but I sold +them;" they asked him the reason for his acting so. "To purchase +drink," was the reply; "and if I had them again, I should do the +same." But this is a single circumstance; possibly, such an utter +want of feeling would not be found in the rest of the tribe. Why +_should_ not love pervade the breast of the black as well as the +white? That it does do so, may be proved by many pathetic +instances. + +A master of slaves in Kingston, Jamaica, owned a negro who was +the mother of two fine little boys. Being in want of cash, the +master disposed of one. The poor mother, in the agony of maternal +feeling at having her offspring thus turned from her, made a +hideous lamentation; and for this crime, as it was termed, her +owner commanded her to receive a severe flogging. She had still +one, however, left, and she would sit for hours, holding it in +her arms, and pouring upon its unconscious ear her tale of +sorrow. But alas! the spoiler came again: her master wanted more +money, and regardless of the heart-rending cries of the +distracted mother, who begged him not to take her last, her +best-beloved, the child was sold. This utter bereavement "turned +her heart within her," and caused "the light of madness" to +kindle in her eye. + +A short time ago, I was speaking to an old woman whom I knew when +she was a slave upon McKinnon's estate; and among other +questions, I asked her, "Juncho," (her name,) "are you happier +now than when you was a slave--are you better off now than you +was then? or would you be satisfied to return to slavery, and +become once more the property of your old master?" "Missis," +returned the poor old creature, "me no going to tell 'tory, me +'peak de truth; me no better off now den me war den, nor no so +well self; for den me hab house and garden, an me could raise +'tock, (meaning poultry, &c.,) an plant yam, an pittates, +(potatoes,) an green, an ebery ting else; and now me free, me hab +notting." "And where is your house now?" I asked, to hear what +she would say. "Why, wen August com, massa call me, and he say, +Me no want you to lib here no more; you no good to work, you must +go, me want your house to gib to one oder somebody dats 'trong; +no ole like you; and you garden me want. So you know, missis, me +forced to go; so me come to town wid me daughter, and me lib wid +she, for me can do but lilly work now." "Then you would rather be +a slave again?" "Oh, no, missis, me no want to be slabe gen, me +sure. God made me free--God put it in buckra heart to set me +free, an me bless God for it; me no want to be slabe gen." "But I +understood you, that you were better off in the time of slavery-- +that you had many comforts then that you cannot obtain now, and +yet you tell me you do not want to be a slave again--tell me the +reason." "Well, missis, it true me better off den dan me am now, +for since me free, me no get much; sometimes me no eat bread all +day, for me daughter hab so many pic'nees (children) she no able +to gib me much; but den me no me free; me no God gib me free, and +slabery is one bad something sometimes." I went on to ask her +what she meant by a "bad something," for I was anxious to know +what the negroes thought of slavery and freedom. "S'pose, den," +said Juncho, "s'pose you hab one pic'nee, dat pic'nee sick; well, +he put in de sick house; me 'bliged to go field, me want to go +see me sick pic'nee, but me no must go, me hab to work till +ebening 'praps; wen work done, me go see me poor sick pic'nee, +but me must no 'top wid he. Me hab make haste go; den me pic'nee +say, 'Mammy, 'top wid me, no go, mammy:' but me forced to go and +leabe me poor pic'nee. Den 'gen, missis, 'praps me pic'nee do +something bad, something he no ought to do, and massa take he and +tie he two hands up to one tree, else he make two men 'tretch he +upon de ground, an den de driber lick he so, an me cry to see him +lick so, and me pic'nee bawl, but me no dare say, 'Don't do so, +massa; let him go,' but me hab to go way and lebe he dere; so you +see, missis, dat make me say me no lub slabery. Now wen me noung, +me hab to work hard, hab dig cane hole, weed cane, pick grass, do +ebery ting; but now me ole, and no able to work, dey take away me +house, 'cause me no b'longs to dem, but den me no me free, and me +bless God me am free." This was Juncho's tale: it proves negroes +do feel for their relations when in trouble, or suffering from +illness; but with regard to her being turned out of her house +after freedom, I think is not quite correct, for I never heard of +an Antiguan planter doing so. Perhaps all of her children who +could be of any service to the estate, by working upon the +property, quitted it, and the manager might have told her, that +if they did not return, she must leave too. + +Another instance, which illustrates the doctrine that negroes do +feel affection towards each other, is related by one who used to +frequent the slave markets. One day, going his rounds, he saw two +fine intelligent-looking youths, with their arms clasped tightly +round each other, and being pleased with their appearance, he +went up, and asked the price of the eldest of the two. After some +talk, the bargain was completed, and the negro became the +property of his new master. + +While this business was going on between the buyer and seller, +the youths looked on with the deepest feeling of attention +depicted upon their sable faces. When the younger perceived that +his companion was about to be led away from him, he clung to him +with almost supernatural strength. Suddenly he released his hold, +sprang up, for he had thrown himself down upon his knees, +commenced jumping with all his might, dancing, and putting +himself into a thousand different attitudes, to shew his strength +and the pliancy of his limbs, in hopes the purchaser would take +him also. All, however, was of no avail, and his sorrowing friend +in affliction was about to be led away; when the poor fellow, as +if to try the last resort, flew up to the gentleman, threw his +arms around him, and with the most expressive looks of agony, +seemed to beseech his pity. Nature has not made every one +insensible to the voice of woe; he saw and felt for the boy's +grief, and he lightened the bands of slavery by buying them both. + +Another anecdote is related by a resident of Nevis, who had +occasion to purchase some slaves, and accordingly, upon the +arrival of a Guinea ship with a cargo of negroes, he went to +inspect them. As they appeared strong and active, Mr. ---- made a +bargain for a certain number. After the lapse of some months, +finding that he wanted an increase of hands to carry on the work +of the estate, and another cargo having arrived, he visited the +capital, and purchased a further supply of negroes, which were +also conducted to his plantation. Upon their arrival, the former +lot came forward to welcome the new comers; and amongst the +number a young negress, who, when she had looked upon a female of +about the same age as herself, suddenly started, her lips +quivered with emotion, her eyes glistened, and then, as if fully +assured, she started forward, and threw her arms around the neck +of the girl who had attracted her attention, and who had been +similarly affected, and burst into a flood of tears. Tenderly and +fervently did these children of nature embrace each other, long +did their mutual tears flow, until, when they had partly regained +their composure, their master asked if they had known each other +in Africa. In a voice of joy which vibrated upon every heart, the +one who had first arrived, and who had acquired a little English, +replied--"Oh, massa, she me own dear sissy!" + +In many instances the character of the negroes is very bad-- +sullen, obstinate, and revengeful, given to lying, stealing, and +deceit. Still I do not so much attribute this to their pristine +state, as I do to the way in which they have formerly been +treated. The Africans, torn from their native country and all +their former connexions, made to work beneath a broiling sun +harder than they were ever accustomed to do, beaten for the +slightest fault, and scorned as the meanest reptile, could form, +it is to be supposed, no very favourable opinion of their +masters. Memory would at times transport them home; again, in +fancy, would they roam their native wilds, or with their +well-known companions rouse the tawny lion from his lair, or +chase the fleet-footed antelope. Once more would the song be +heard, once more, in imagination, would they join the festive +dance beneath the spreading branches of some noble mimosa; but in +the midst of this joyous scene, the voice of the overseer would +be heard, or the crack of the driver's whip dissolve their airy +castles, and they would return to despondency and despair. + +Ignorant of the God that made them, and of the mild doctrines of +Christianity, no wonder the dark spirit of revenge took +possession of their breasts. The feelings of the parents were +naturally enough inculcated into the minds of their children, and +this, strengthened, perhaps, by harsh treatment from their +owners, has conspired to render the negro character, in great +measure, what I am sorry to say it is. + +But we ought now to look for brighter days: a great deal has been +done for the negroes, much even before emancipation; schools have +been erected in all parts of the island, and instruction +proffered, both to young and old. The labours of the Moravian and +Wesleyan missionaries have, without doubt, done a great deal of +good to society at large by teaching the divine truths to the +black population, and striving to make them learn the important +fact that they have something else to look for besides the +gratification of the present moment. As an episcopalian myself, I +feel sorry that the church of England should have been less +forward some years ago in their labour of love. True it is there +has been, from the time these missionaries first came to the +island, up to the present, a great number of churches and +parsons. But of these, few, I am sorry to say, practised the pure +doctrine they pretended to preach; indeed, many openly denied by +their lives what they taught with their lips: their motto was-- +"Do as I say, not as I act;" which conduct, although it ought not +to make religion less respected, has, in a great measure, a +tendency to that effect among all classes. "For how," would many +exclaim, "could they enforce the seventh commandment when they +wilfully broke it?--or teach a proper respect to the ordinances +of God, when (as some have been known to do) they have left a +card-table to read the service at church, and then returned to +finish their game?" But those days have passed away: Antigua now +possesses another race of clergymen very different to those +alluded to; men of pious lives, and of ardent desire to further +the cause of Christianity. The rector of St. John's, the Rev. R. +Holberton, is an evangelical preacher, and has proved a great +acquisition to the island. This gentleman is one who does not +preach for the sake of the _loaves and fishes_ alone, but strives +to do his duty as an humble follower of his divine Master. To his +talents as an orator, he adds the more sterling quality of +earnest zeal in his vocation, evinced by the bright example he +sets, of joining practice to precept. His discourses are not in +that flowery style which, working upon the feelings and +imagination, produces but a transitory impression; he rather +strives to speak to the heart than please the ear. Like a skilful +surgeon, he probes the wound he hopes to heal, and then offers +the "balm of Gilead," and binds it up with the essence of love. I +once more beg pardon of my readers for my digressions; but I +could not let the opportunity pass, without noticing the great +difference between the former race of clergymen and those of the +present day; I will now return to my more immediate subject--the +outlines of the negro character. + +Before their conversion to Christianity, the Africans firmly +believed that after death they would return to Africa, and there +enjoy uninterrupted felicity. Under this idea, suicide was very +frequent among them, particularly when they fell to the share of +an austere and cruel master. But now this imagination is almost +lost sight of: they are taught so to live, that, after death, +they may inherit a better land than Africa: still I have met with +some of the old people who seemed to entertain the opinion. + +A short time previous to emancipation, I remember talking with a +negro who fostered this belief. He was rather a remarkable +personage: when in the prime of manhood, he must have possessed +great strength, if we may judge from height and breadth. His +cheeks, arms, and back of his hands, were deeply tattooed with +different devices; his complexion was of a clear black, and his +countenance very intelligent; nor had he that remarkable flatness +of nose and thickness of lips by which the natives of Guinea are +so particularly distinguished. He told me he had been "long +'nough" in the West Indies, (which phrase I found, by inquiry, +extended to about four and twenty years,) and that he was a +prince in his own country--brother, I think I understood him, to +the King of Benguela, or something he pronounced very much like +it; that, during a war with a neighbouring tribe, he was taken +prisoner, sold to some merchants at Calabar, from whom he was +purchased, with several others, by the captain of a slaver, and +brought to the West Indies. Several persons whom he knew were on +board the same vessel, but that they all died, with the exception +of one woman. I afterwards saw this female, who confirmed him in +the report of being a great man among his countrymen, where, she +said, she could not speak to him, from her inferior station in +life. Poor fellow; aged, (for I suppose he must have been about +seventy,) infirm, and miserable--brought from comparative +affluence to poverty, from governing others, to be himself a +slave;--the tear of pity would not be restrained. + +The circumstances under which I became acquainted with him +excited also my sympathy. The estate had been, for a long time, +robbed of its ground provisions, and to discover, if possible, +the offenders, the owner had given orders not to distribute to +the negroes their usual share of salt food, until the guilty +parties confessed their crime. This poor old man came up to the +"great house"[13] one morning to beg the owner's lady to +intercede with "his massa" for him, that he might have some +herrings to eat with his potatoes; "For," said he, "me ole now, +missis--me want something to 'trengthen me; do, missis, beg massa +gib me lilly salt provision." His tremulous voice, as it broke +upon my ear, called my attention to him, and thus caused the +introduction. + +Seeing that I pitied him, he continued, "But now me ole, me soon +go hom--me no 'top much longer to trouble me massa!" I asked him +what he meant, and where was his home. "To me own country--to +Africa!" he replied, the "light of other days" beaming, for a +moment, in his eyes.--"What! now you are so _old_? You have less +chance of returning there than you ever had."--"Oh! missis, you +no sabby, (understand.) Me mean me die soon, an' den me go home-- +den me happy, den me hab no mo' work, no sick no mo', no hungry +no mo'; me ole bone no ache den, but me get 'trong den an' happy +too!" Poor fellow! before this he must have gone "home;" a better +home than even Africa I hope he may have found it, for + + "Though earth has full many a beautiful spot, + As a poet or painter may shew; + Yet more lovely and beautiful, holy and bright, + To the hopes of the heart, and the spirit's delight, + Is the land that no mortal may know." + +There are not many Africans now in Antigua who were brought there +as slaves, they having principally died off, but there are a +great many who have been captured in slavers, and brought here by +some of her majesty's ships, who have been made free, after +serving an apprenticeship of some years. These persons are termed +by the Creole negroes _Willeyforce nagers_, (Wilberforce,) and +between them are constant bickerings--the Creole blacks looking +upon themselves as so far superior. Whenever they meet and enter +into conversation, it generally terminates in a quarrel; and at +such times, the actions they make with their hands, and the +clamour of their tongues, would almost lead you to imagine murder +was intended. The African has generally the advantage over the +Creole in garrulity; but when this is perceived by the other +party, he exerts all his energies, "works up each corporal agent +to the terrible feat," elevates his voice to the pitch of a +bagpipe, throws aloft his arms, and, with fire-flashing eyes and +quivering lips, exclaims--"You, _you Willeyforce nager, you!_" +This is decisive; the African is stunned; and, with crest-fallen +brow, goes his way, and leaves the ground to the victor. + +I am now about to enter upon my "shadows" of negro character; and +as I have not screened the master, neither can I gloss over the +faults of the servant, or slave. The most predominant trait in +their character is superstition; indeed, there never was a race +so universally inclined to this weakness. What is called _Obeah_, +has existed since the first introduction of negroes into these +islands; it is one of those dark and fearful practices which they +brought with them from Africa, where the devil is still openly +worshipped, and temples built to his honour. Few English people +can have any idea of the dreadful extent to which the practice of +Obeah was carried in the West Indies, in former days. It led the +unhappy followers of it on, from one crime to another, until the +gallows was too often their end. Many, and many a one, has sunk +into a premature grave, from the awful dread of Obeah hanging +over them. These Obeah men and women are supposed to have entered +into a league with the spirit of darkness, and by his aid are +enabled to bring hidden things to light, and do many other +marvellous actions; and to offend one of these person was, they +thought, to seal their doom. + +At one time, poisoning was so frequent a crime among these +followers of Obeah, that in the year 1809, it required the strong +arm of the law to subdue it. The old people are acquainted with +many of the wild plants indigenous in the country; and they often +recommend them as specifics in certain diseases. They also appear +equally familiar with those plants which yield poison. When +irritated with denials of what they wished for, or suffering from +jealousy, or any other strong passion, instances have been known +of the negroes applying to these Obeah people, and, for a small +sum, receiving from them one of their deadly draughts, so +prepared as to render death either almost immediate, or, as was +most common, lingering. + +I heard of an instance of this nature occurring in Antigua during +my stay there. I cannot take upon myself to vouch for its +authenticity, as it does not appear there were sufficient grounds +of complaint against the suspected parties, to warrant their +apprehension; I will, however, give the report then current in +the island. An English gentleman, a native of Huntingdonshire, +resided upon a property about eight miles from the capital, of +which he was the manager. Upon one occasion, he had the favour +asked him, by a female belonging to the estate, to give her a +bason of milk; which request, from some reason or the other, was +refused. The matter passed off, and no more was thought about it +by the manager. A short time afterwards, he received an anonymous +scrawl, warning him to be careful of what he ate or drank. This +production was treated, as most anonymous ones ought to be, with +contempt. Another note was received, and met with no more +attention than the former. At length, sorrow came within his +door; his son, a boy of about fourteen, strong and full of life +and joy, suddenly fell ill, death claimed his prey, and he was +consigned to an early tomb. This melancholy duty was but just +performed, when his sister, a laughter-loving girl of twelve +years, fell a victim to that all-conquering monster; and but a +few more revolving suns, and the younger sister also departed for +"that bourne from whence no traveller returns." Whether any _post +mortem_ examination of the bodies took place I am unable to say, +but report attributed their deaths to the milk they used being +poisoned. + +This terrible crime does not, it is true, rage to the extent it +once did; but even in these days of freedom, Obeah men and women +are still to be met with, and many negroes consult them when they +have lost anything, are suffering from protracted pain, or when +they wish to injure any one they may have quarrelled with. One of +the Antiguan magistrates related to me the following +circumstance, which had recently occurred. A man who had formerly +lived with him as groom, but who for some time past had suffered +severely from an ulcerated leg, brought a complaint before him, +against another of his sex. It appeared the defendant was one who +practised Obeah, to increase his worldly store; and the other +poor fellow, ignorant, and depressed in spirit from the almost +incurable state of his leg, was induced to apply to him for +advice. The Obeah man agreed to cure him, provided he received +ten dollars for his pains. This the infirm man was unable to do, +but said he had a surtout and a pair of black trousers at home, +and if he would take them in place of the money, he would go and +fetch them. The offer was accepted by the conjuror, the surtout +and trousers were put into his hands, and the ceremony commenced. +The diseased man was ordered to seat himself upon the ground, +while Mr. Conjuror took a calabash of some liquid, and poured it +upon his head, rubbed it very hard, and then putting his mouth to +that part called the "crown of the head," sucked it for some +time, and producing a tooth, said he had extracted it by those +means, and that his leg would soon get well. Some weeks having +elapsed, and the limb still continuing in the same state, the man +began to think he had been imposed upon, and consequently brought +the case before the magistrate, in hopes of getting his surtout +and trousers returned. + +The negroes, with but few exceptions, firmly believe the Obeah +people can insert different articles, such as pieces of glass +bottles, old rags, nails, stones, &c., into the flesh of those +they dislike, and that the afflicted are obliged to get one of +the same craft to relieve them. + +I once heard a servant of mine relating a circumstance to a group +of sable listeners, which illustrates this subject. His wife had +lost a gown for sometime, and could not account for its strange +disappearance. Soon after she experienced very odd sensations, +but was unable to say what was the matter with her. In her +distress she applied to the negro doctress upon the estate, but +could receive no relief from her, until at length one of her +friends advised her to consult an old Obeah woman who resided +near, and to her she accordingly went. As soon as this Obeah +woman saw her, she informed her she had "enemies," and it was +from their machinations all her illness proceeded; but that if +she would come to her again on a certain day, she would consult +"Obeah" about it, and, by his assistance, conjure the evil things +out of her, provided she brought "all the money she could +procure." At the appointed time the woman attended, and after +many mysterious rites had been performed, the necromancer +proceeded apparently to draw out of the sufferer's arms and legs, +pieces of the gown she had lost, various sized pieces of glass, +parts of an old shoe, and many other similar articles. This was +related with the utmost seriousness of countenance, and no doubt +firmly believed in by the reciter. One of the party asked if his +wife derived any benefit. "Why," said John, "she say she do, but +me no no; me no see she look much better; hab to pay plenty money +tho'; Obeah no like it if yo no gib much." + +Another practice of these Obeah people is to dig a hole before +the door of a house where the resident is obnoxious to them, and +in it place their favourite commodities--old rags and pieces of +glass bottle. If the person for whose injury these articles are +intended, unconsciously passes over, their health decays, or else +they will never be better off in the world than they were at that +day. This the negroes also firmly believe; and so true is the old +proverb, "Fancy kills and fancy cures," that many, knowing such +charm has been practised upon them, have taken it to heart, and +in a short time died. + +It has ever been customary, and in these days of freedom it is +not discontinued, to give the negroes upon the different estates, +a plot of ground to plant provisions in, independent of their +wages. The "negro-ground," as it is called, is frequently +situated at some distance from their houses, and consequently, +when its different productions are ripe, it is extremely liable +to be robbed. To prevent this as far as possible, it is customary +to go to an Obeah person, and, for a certain sum, obtain from +them a bottle, partly filled with some mysterious mixture,[14] or +else a piece of charmed wood, which they hang up in their grounds +over against where their provisions are growing. This generally +has the desired effect, for daring indeed must be that person who +would steal those articles under the protection of Obeah. + + + ------ + +[13] Proprietor's residence. + +[14] I have been lately favoured with the sight of an "Obeah +bottle," which was picked up a few weeks ago by J. Fairclough, +Esq., a gentleman of Antigua, at his residence, the grounds of +which are washed by the sea. The bottle has evidently been +immersed in the water for some period, from the number of +barnacles formed upon it, as also from the appearance of the +cork. Its principal contents are two large nails, a bent pin, a +few minute shells, and a conglomeration of substances of which I +can give no correct statement. It is filled with a dark liquid, +which stains the bottle, and gives the idea of something deadly; +but it may only arise from the action of acids upon the iron +nails. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXIII. + + + + Negroes: Superstition--Trials by ordeal--Flower-fence--Bible + and key--A way to recover stolen property--Charm to prevent a + scolding tongue--Jumbies--A night's adventure--The soldier's + last jump--Jumbies calls--Betsey, the nurse--The haunted house + --A cure--The drowning boys--The murdered woman--The jumby's + revenge. + +In the former chapter I endeavoured to give some description of +the doctrine of Obeah. There are also several mysterious rites +current among the negroes on which they rely to find out a thief. +One of these trials by ordeal is thus performed: they procure +some of the leaves of the "flower-fence," or "Barbados' pride," +(called by the negroes "doodle doo,") and lay them in a heap, in +some peculiar manner, with a black dog (not a quadruped, but a +small copper coin of about three farthings sterling, current in +this island a few years ago) in the middle. They do not tie this +bundle together, but by the manner in which it is placed they are +enabled to raise it to the neck of the suspected person without +its falling to pieces. The accused is then to say, (holding the +bundle under their throat at the same time,) "Doodle doo, doodle +doo, if me tief de four dog, (or what- ever it may be that is +missing,) me wish me tongue may loll out of me mout." If nothing +takes place, the person is innocent, and the charm is tried upon +another, until the guilty one's turn comes, when immediately +their tongue hangs out of their mouth against their will. + +Another trial by ordeal (which, I believe, has formerly been +practised in England, and has probably been taught them by the +whites) is thus performed:--A door-key is placed between the +leaves of the Bible, upon the 18th and 19th verses of the 50th +Psalm, and the book is then bound tightly round so that the key +cannot fall out; care must be taken at the same time that the key +is sufficiently large, that after being placed upon the verses +mentioned, part of the handle or bole may be left out. Two +persons, the accused and accuser, balance the bound book by +placing the first finger of the right hand under the bole of the +key, and in this situation make use of the following incantation, +(as I suppose I must call it:) "By St. Peter, by St. Paul, you +tief me hog," (or whatever else it may be that is stolen;) the +accused answers, "By St. Peter, by St. Paul, me no tief you hog;" +this is repeated thrice by both parties. If the accused is +guilty, the key immediately turns, but if not, the charm is tried +upon all who are suspected, until the event takes place. What St. +Peter or St. Paul have to do with this, I could never learn, but +to me it seems very shocking to make a conjuring book of the +Bible. In respect to this part of superstition, the negroes are +like the natives of the east, who never lose anything without +trying some charm, either by balls of wax, grains of rice, or +something similar.[15] There is another curious way by which the +negroes endeavour to recover their stolen property. For example: +If they lose a fowl or a pig, or indeed any other article, and +they suspect it is stolen by their neighbours, they walk up and +down the street, calling out, "Let go me fowl--let go me fowl! If +you no let go me fowl, me tro grabe durtty upon you. Let go me +fowl, me say!" If the person who stole the fowl hears this +denunciation, he immediately looses it, in terror of the +consequences; but if the threat is not attended to, the owner of +the lost biped takes a dog (the same copper coin I have before +mentioned) and an egg, and proceeds to a burial-ground. Here they +look out for the grave of one of their friends, and depositing +the dog and the egg, make use of an incantation, and taking up a +little of the soft mould off the grave, depart. This mould, or +_grabe durtty_, as they term it, they sprinkle all about in those +streets where they think the suspected parties are more likely to +walk, believing, that if the thief passes over it, it immediately +causes his body to swell, and no medicine can give relief--death +alone can end their misery. So terrible to the negroes is the +denunciation, "Me tro grabe durtty upon you," that if possible, +they will restore the goods pilfered to the last particle. + +They have several other charms, all of which they deem +infallible. When they fancy they are under the power of Obeah, +they procure a snake, kill and skin it; when the skin is +thoroughly dried, they bind it round their leg, and feel easier +in mind, supposing the one charm will counteract the other. +Again, if sent out of an errand, and they loiter about, to +prevent any scolding from their employers, they pick a blade of a +peculiar species of grass, and place it under their tongue, which +they believe has the power of preventing any angry words. This +also is done when they wish to escape punishment or detection. + +I am aware that it is not the negroes alone who are given to +superstition--to using charms and observing omens; the Greeks and +Romans were famous for this practice; and in my own country, +among the lower classes, most of the old women have a cramp-bone +in their pockets, to drive away pains; the tip of a tongue, or a +stone with a hole in it, for luck; and a horseshoe nailed to the +door, to prevent the entrance of witches. Our seamen, too, are +strict disciples of superstition, and rear her many an altar. I +once heard a captain of a merchantman who trades to Antigua, +speaking of this subject, and laughing at the generality of +sailors for paying attention to this or that omen. "I don't +believe in anything of the kind," said he. "What can a dolphin, +or a Mother Cary's chicken, (the stormy petrel,) have to do with +a gale of wind? It's nonsense,--altogether nonsense. Of course, +though, it would be only a madman _who would whistle in a storm_ +or sail on a Friday, if they could possibly help it!" I wished to +ask what poor Friday[16] had done, or if Eolus disliked +whistling. + +All superstitious people, in every part of the world, are prone +to believe in the existence of imaginary beings; and while the +English have their ghosts, the Scotch their brownies, and the +Irish their banshees, the negroes have their jumby.[17] These +creatures, like all of their class, love to frequent churchyards, +lonely roads, and the margin of ponds. They are represented by +the believers in this creed to be very revengeful and malicious; +strangling children, knocking down people, frightening old women +into fits, and indeed, doing all the mischief they can. I have +heard that "Spring Gardens," the part of the town we reside in, +is a favourite spot for their ambulations; but I cannot say I +have as yet formed any acquaintance with these _fleshless_ +beings. Many are the tales related of their exploits,--tales more +terrible than that of the poor ghost in "Hamlet," whose "lightest +word would harrow up the soul." But as I have too much love for +my readers, to wish to "freeze their blood," and all those other +dreadful threats his ghostship promised his hopeful son, I will +merely relate a few little incidents about these night-loving +people. + +A servant who once lived with us had occasion to go a few miles +into the country after dark. Upon his return the next day, he +gave the following most frightful account of his night's +adventure. He said, that after getting a little way out of the +town, a string of jumbies met him, dressed all in white, who held +up their bony fingers at him in a menacing manner. He was very +much alarmed, he said, but determined to proceed as fast as he +could, without looking behind him; for if by any chance he had +happened to turn his head, they would have immediately strangled +him. Finding they could not get this advantage over him, they +went behind him, and "whispered soft and low"--"James! James!" +Although not over-pleased at this salutation, he thought it best +to bear it in silence, and hurry on as fast as he could. + +At length he came to a pond, known by the name of "Tom Long's +Pond," which is always reckoned a favourite resort for jumbies--a +kind of Vauxhall of theirs, I suppose. Here he met with another +troop, who joined their comrades in tormenting him, until our +poor benighted traveller hardly knew what to do. Fear overcame +him, the perspiration streamed from off his brow, and his +excessive emotion caused "each particular hair to stand on end, +like quills upon the fretful porcupine." In this awful situation, +he remembered, that if he dispossessed himself of his upper +garment, turned it before the jumbies' faces, and then put it on +again, wrong side out, they could not hurt him. He tried this +remedy; and as soon as his dress was altered, his unpleasant +companions gave a loud scream, fled from him in every direction, +and left him to prosecute his walk in silence and solitude. + +This is James's version of the circumstance. I, who was an +unknown, but attentive listener, could not help asking (so +wishful was I of gaining information upon this _important_ +subject) if there was any great merit in turning his coat. "Oh, +yes!" was the reply; "jumbies can never hurt you, if you can only +have strength to turn your jacket." So, it appears, that whatever +may be the character of jumbies in other respects, they shew +their good sense in disliking _turncoats_. + +During the first few weeks of my residence in this island, I was +staying upon an estate a few miles from the capital. Having for +some length of time seen nothing but the "sky above and the sea +below," it may be imagined how happy I was once more to tread +_terra firma_; and I lost no time in exploring this, to me, new +world. In these rambles, I was attended by my servant, a +rosy-cheeked English girl, who gave utterance to her surprise at +tropical scenes and tropical customs, in like sentences to these: +"Lawk, ma'am!" "Well, I never!" "Lawk-a-daisy-me!" One day we +wandered far and wide; and after many devious routes, my +attention was at last attracted by the appearance of a cluster of +trees. I am very fond of these ornaments of the vegetable world; +I love to watch the play of the sunbeams upon their leaves--to +listen to the melody of the gentle gale, as it whispers among +them; and when in this "far, far west," they greeted my eye with +their verdant foliage, I was anxious to make their acquaintance. +Upon a nearer approach, I found they formed a complete fringe to +a kind of rivulet; they were mangroves, and very beautiful they +looked. We walked by the side of them for some distance, and at +length came upon the high-road, which crosses the rivulet. Here +we fell in with a few larger trees, of a different species; and +near to them was a spring of water. A soothing silence reigned +around, occasionally broken by the murmuring of the breeze, the +buzzing of those pigmies of the feathered race--the +humming-birds, or the coo of the ground-doves, those constant +frequenters of all sylvan spots. Now and then, the faint hum of +human voices broke upon the ear, as the slaves were returning +from the cane-fields, it being near the close of the day. + +Altogether, I was quite pleased with the spot, and hardly knew +how to leave it. As I was returning to the house, with "pensive +steps and slow," I overtook the driver, one of the head slaves +upon the property. With the native politeness which many negroes +possess, he pulled off his hat, with "How d'ye, missis?" his +black sparkling eyes, his white teeth glistening through his +thick lips, his ebon complexion, and his large straw hat, +rendered him quite a novelty to me. I remarked to him, what a +pretty spot the spring was situated in, and thought it must be +very serviceable to the estate. "Yes, missis," rejoined he; "it +one pretty 'pring 'nough; but me no like to go dere much at +night." I asked the reason; it brought the following tale:--"Some +time aback, one soger buckra run away from de barracks. He was +gone long time, till at last sombody go tell upon he where he go +hide. De soger cappen send two oder sogers to go look for he, an +bring he to town; bery well, dey find he, an was going to fetch +he back to town, when, just as he get to dis 'pring, 'fore de +oder sogers no war he go do, he jump, bram! right into de 'pring; +an by de time dey manage to get he out, he go dead; so eber since +dat time, jumbies come see soger's jumby, an dey 'top here an +make dance; so we no lub to come here much self." + +A similar circumstance has been related to me by the attorney of +the estate. A negro belonging to the property, who for several +months had given way to idle, dissolute habits, at length so far +forgot himself as to become a runaway. After being absent for +some time, intelligence was brought to the attorney that he had +been seen skulking about the capital; and accordingly, other +negroes were despatched to endeavour to find him and bring him +back to the estate. Their undertaking proved successful, the +runaway was secured, and the party set out upon their journey +home. Upon the road the man remarked--"He wished he could die, +for he had no cause to run away, and he should be ashamed to meet +his friends, for he knew not what excuse to make," and proceeded +in this strain until gaining the "spring," at the entrance of the +estate; he gave a sudden start, and before his companions were +aware of his intentions, he had leaped into the water. By the +time assistance could be procured, the man was dead; and his +friends had the melancholy office of burying his swollen corpse. + +The negroes have an idea, that if a jumby calls them, and they +return an answer, they will very soon die. I have often called a +servant by name at night, and could get no answer, when I was +well aware they must have heard me; and upon asking them the +reason have had the following reply given me--"Me no no, missis, +it was you; me tink it one jumby calling me." + +If a child is born with a caul it is preserved with religious +veneration. My milk-woman came to see me one day with her two +little babies; the little creatures had each a small black bag +tied round their necks with a piece of black ribbon. I asked the +mother what this was for; she said they were both born with +cauls, and that if it was not always kept near them, the jumbies +would strangle them the first time they were left alone; nor was +this all, for if they did not wear it upon their persons, they +would see the jumby (or spirit) of every one that died. + +I mourned to think how superstition prevailed in these parts, +what then was my surprise upon soon after taking up an English +newspaper of late date, to see the, following advertisement:--"A +child's caul to be disposed of, _a well-known preventive against +drowning, &c. Price, ten guineas._ Address, post-paid, to A. B. +C., to the care of Mr. Evans, Hyde Park newspaper-office, 42, +Edgware Road!" + +Had I not seen and read this myself, I could not have believed +it. While we write and talk of the superstition of the negroes, +although we mourn that its influence should extend so far, yet +there is greater allowance to be made for them from want of +education; but that such an enlightened people as the English +should put such an advertisement in a public paper is almost +incredible. A certain preventive against drowning!--why, +superstition in her gala days could not have furnished a more +striking instance of her power! That any rational creature should +believe such an assurance is astonishing. I firmly hope, for the +honour of my country people, that the _ten guinea_ advertisement +remains unanswered. + +I had an old nurse living with me a few years ago, an African, +but who had been brought to this island as a slave when she was +about ten years of age. She is a firm believer in jumbles, and is +one of those privileged people who, it is said, can talk to these +gloomy beings, and, by some potent charm known only to +themselves, hinder them from playing any mischievous trick. For +this reason she was frequently called upon to use her art, when +the jumbies troubled any of the little negroes. When this was the +case, she went into a room by herself, and entered into a +conversation with the invisibles, and by some means or the other, +succeeded in drawing them away. No one else, who has not a +similar power, dares to remain by; for they believe if they did, +the jumbies would blow upon them, and throw them into a fit, or +else cause their immediate death. Betsey, for that is her name, +like most of her class, is very fond of talking to herself, and +one day I remember hearing the following soliloquy. It was about +some lady in the island who wore false hair and false teeth:-- +"Eh, eh! you eber hear such a ting as that tho', dat missis hab +one sombody's hair, all curly curly, so tie it on he head, an say +he b'longs to he; an den dat no all self, for he hab one +sombody's teeth too! Eh, eh! me wonder how he like, me no go do +so, war for? s'pose jumby cum an say, gib me me hair, gib me me +teeth, war me go do den; jumby no like people com take der tings +away." I ought here perhaps to remark, that when negroes are +talking, they seldom use but one of the genders, and that the +masculine, in direct opposition to Lindley Murray. + +It is also a very prevalent opinion among the negroes that if +they beg one of their dying friends to "trouble" any one they +dislike, (that is, for his spirit or jumby to appear to him,) the +jumby, which they expect to rise on the third day from death, +will do their bidding, and that the person so haunted can never +take rest until he himself dies. Their opinion respecting the +immortality of the soul is, as far as I can understand it, this-- +that if a person die one day and is buried the next, during the +succeeding night, the spirit, or as they term, it the "jumby," +rises, and either goes to heaven, or, if during life they have +committed any crime, or met with a violent death, wanders about +the earth, until by prayers, fumigations, or something of the +kind, it is laid to rest.[18] + +When a jumby haunts a house, they get a coal-pot, upon which they +place a quantity of pepper, salt, _nuno_, (the wild basil,) part +of a horse's hoof, and a little brimstone. This coal-pot is set +in the middle of the house, with the back and front doors open, +and is allowed to burn until after midnight; at the same time, +they stick over the doors and windows, and in the corners of the +house, bunches of "milk-bush," another wild plant. This ceremony +always takes place during the night, but they allow the bush to +remain until it withers. Whilst these articles are burning, the +friends who are assembled in the "haunted house," and the +residents themselves, are employed in "cursing the jumby," +telling it to "go where he com from," "that if he one good +somebody he would hab been at rest," &c.; and just as the clock +strikes twelve at midnight, the windows are opened, and a +quantity of water thrown out to wet the "jumby" and send it away, +for as long as the coal-pot continues burning, they believe the +jumby cannot pass through the house, but is still lurking about +the yard watching for an opportunity of getting in.[19] Strange +as this may read, it is firmly believed in, and actually +practised up to the present time, not only by negroes, but by +many of the better sort of people. + +When a negro wishes a jumby to hurt his enemies, he makes use of +various charms to effect his purpose; one of which the following +anecdote will illustrate. About two years ago, two black boys +went to a pond at the head of the town, to water a horse. The one +that was riding the animal carried it far into the pond, and by +some mishap or the other, fell off. His friend viewed him +struggling in the water; he saw him sink, and rise to the +surface,--again he disappeared; and although the spectator of +this melancholy scene was but a very little fellow, he leaped in +to his assistance. But oh! the frenzied grasp of death! well may +it be said, "What pain it is to drown!" or, in the words of the +homely proverb, "A drowning man will catch at a straw,"--the +dying boy saw the hand stretched to his aid; and grasping the +proffered palm, both sank to rise no more. Some person residing +near the pond gave the alarm, and by means of drags, the bodies +were recovered. + +A relation of one of these poor boys had an ill-feeling towards +an acquaintance, with whom she had quarrelled, and she thought +this a good opportunity of injuring her enemy. Under pretence of +plaiting this woman's hair, (towards whom the ill-feeling +existed,) she contrived to cut off a good portion of it, which +she placed in the hand of the boy, just before the coffin was +screwed down, at the same time pronouncing the word "remember." +The consequence of this was, (as my negro informant related it,) +"de pic'nee jumby trouble he so, (meaning, I suppose, the +relation's adversary,) dat he no no war for do, till at last he +go out of he head, an' he neber been no good since." + +If any one is murdered, and the murderer is not discovered, the +jumby of the victim cannot rest, but is continually roaming about +the spot where the bloody deed was committed, or else tormenting +the perpetrator of the crime, until they are obliged to confess +the fault. I have heard an old woman talk of a murder, which was +committed some time ago, where the spirit of the murdered woman +pointed out to her friends the person of her destroyer. It +occurred upon an estate called "Jonas's," and as "brother +Jonathan" lately said of a most improbable tale, "is +extraordinary, if true." A female slave upon the property was +suddenly taken ill, and before medical aid could be procured, she +died. There was strong suspicion that she met her death by +swallowing some deleterious drug; but who tendered the "poisoned +chalice," none could tell. The next day the body was to be +consigned to the tomb. It was customary at that period to bury +the slaves about the negro houses, and porters carried the coffin +upon their shoulders to the grave. At the time appointed the +company assembled; the porters took up the coffin, and the +procession formed. But, lo! instead of going to the grave, the +men commenced walking very fast in an opposite direction; the +walk increased to a run; the company in amaze called after them +to know the meaning; "It's the jumby in the coffin," was the +reply of the porters. On, on they went, up to the "buff," (as the +negroes call the proprietor's house,) down again,--round the +negro houses, here and everywhere, the jumby carried them. + +The two white overseers upon the estate came to inquire into this +mysterious proceeding. Upon being told the circumstance, they +laughed at it, and said it was the porters' nonsense; that if +they would put the coffin down, they (the overseers) would take +it up and prove it was no jumby running them. This proposition +was joyfully agreed to, and the coffin shifted to the shoulders +of the overseers. Once more the procession formed, and they +started for the grave; but this time it was worse than ever; the +jumby obliged the white men to run with their burden, until they +nearly fainted with fatigue, and caused them most lustily to call +out for the former bearers to relieve them. + +Again the porters commenced their melancholy office of carrying +to the grave a corpse that would not be buried. The same ground +was again passed over, but no effort of theirs could lead them to +gain the intended place of burial. At length, forced on by the +jumby, they made up to a negro house, the door of which was shut; +and before they could ask for admittance, the coffin was impelled +through it, breaking it into pieces, and was dashing forwards +against the face of a man, the only inmate, who, frightened and +horrified at the encounter, was endeavouring to effect his +escape. This at length he accomplished, but not before he bore +upon his head and face the marks of a jumby's revenge. The open +door gained, he fled as if ten thousand demons were hanging upon +his steps, while the corpse, satisfied at having pointed out its +murderer, bowed itself upon the bearers' shoulders, and then +allowed them to carry it quietly to its last resting-place. + +Time flew on, and no tidings of the murderer were heard, until +about six months had elapsed, when a party of negroes went into a +copse to cut wood. They had almost penetrated through its tangled +mazes, when they thought they saw something lying under the +brushwood; and upon a nearer approach, discovered it to be the +man who had fled from the attack of the jumby. He was in a dying +condition, and according to the old women who related the +circumstance, "He face 'top most like one buckra, all _whitey +whitey_, from de jumby licking he so;" a great compliment to us +whites! But to return to our story. The negroes picked him up, +and carried him home, where he lived long enough to confess, that +a quarrel having arisen between himself and the deceased woman, +he procured "something" from an Obeah man, which he put into some +soup, and which caused her death. + +Like everything else, my story has an end; and now let me ask my +readers what they think of it? I am sure they will join with me +in deploring that superstition has still so many votaries. Oh! +that her reign was at an end! Yet there are some negroes who are +getting over the dread of these things. An old woman remarked one +day, "Missis, me hear of jumby, but me neber see dem; me can't go +say dere non ob dem, but me say, if one sombody do good, God will +neber let dem hurt you; an we ought to pray, dat wen we go dead, +He will gib us some place ob rest." + + + ------ + +[15] The manner in which these East Indian charms are tried is as +follows:--When a trial by wax is agreed upon, a number of persons +write their names upon scraps of paper, including those of the +parties who may be suspected. These scraps are enclosed in balls +of wax, and are thrown into a bason of water; those which float +at the top are opened, and whatever name is written therein is +believed to be the thief. When an ordeal of rice is tried, a few +grains of that article are placed upon the tongue of the supposed +culprit: if the party is innocent, the rice, when chewed, mixes +with the saliva, and is expectorated of a milky consistence; but +if, on the contrary, guilty, no power can moisten it, but it +comes out a dry powder. I should not feel at all surprised at +seeing this last charm turn out true, for of course the natives +firmly believe the truth of it, and the guilty one's conscience +must upbraid him, and his emotion probably parch his mouth. With +regard to the _wax trial_, I cannot so readily account for it. +Mr. Forbes, in his "Oriental Memoirs," mentions seeing both of +these charms, as well as many others, (being nine in number,) +tried; some of which are sanctioned by the British authorities. +He goes on further to state, that in _all cases_ where he was +present, they came true. I could not take upon myself to +discredit what this clever and ingenious writer says; much, very +much may be attributed to the effect of a strong imagination, +which most Eastern nations possess. + +[16] The dislike to this day is supposed to arise from the +Crucifixion. + +[17] The term "jumby" is applied to all supernatural beings. + +[18] A similar idea to this still exists in the Department Indre, +France. The inhabitants believe that after death the soul of the +deceased flies about the apartment where the dissolution took +place, seeking some cranny by which to escape to heaven. For this +reason, as soon as any one is supposed to be near death, the +friends of the dying person take care to remove every vessel that +contains liquid, fearing the soul may fall in, and thus be lost. +In Scotland, something of the sort seems to be believed in among +the lower classes; for when a person is in the last agonies, the +doors of the house are set open, that the soul may find no +impediment in the way of its escape. The ancient Jews, according +to Dr. Lightfoot, were of an opinion that the soul of the +deceased hovered about its former tenement until after the lapse +of three days, when it sought the regions of bliss or misery. + +[19] This ceremony is performed nightly until the house is so +thoroughly fumigated that the "jumby" quits in despair. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXIV. + + + + Seeming paradoxes explained--Negro suspicion--Instances of it-- + Stealing--Its various characters--Leasing--The dead canaries-- + Broken promises--Idleness--Negro wages--Their present lot-- + Domestics. + +In continuing my "shadows" of negro character, methinks I hear my +good readers cry out, "Why, here is nothing but paradoxes. In a +former chapter the negroes were all and everything, but now it +appears the tables are turning, and, Proteus-like, assume another +shape." Stop a little, my kind friends; a word or two in my own +defence, if you please. What may appear paradoxical at first, +upon further research may not prove so; the sky we admire for its +beautiful cerulean tint is not in _reality_ blue. I have before +remarked, that I should have to give the "shadows," as well as +the "lights" of negro character. I am sorry to be obliged to do +so, for I wish them well; but as, in describing the early days of +slavery, I have not screened the master, so must I now give the +real outlines of the negro. I ever did, and ever shall detest the +name of slavery, and glad do I feel that it is done away with, at +least in British colonies, if only for the honour of my dear +native isle; and while I have to write of negro vices, I again +repeat, that they do not so much result from the natural bias of +their character, as from the effects of the bonds they have so +long worn, which, degrading them in their own eyes, have +conspired to render them what they are. Time can only correct +their errors: let us, then, not despair, but hope for the best. +Surely we ought to see some amendment in the rising generation, +and we shall do so, I feel assured, if their old relations do not +poison their minds, by telling them, because they are taught to +read and write, it will be a degradation for them to work in a +cane-field. + +In the latter part of the preceding chapter, an account was given +of their various superstitions; the next strong trait in their +character is suspicion. They can seldom be brought to think you +have an eye to their interest in any new arrangement you may make +with them in their domestic concerns. If you address them with +kindness, they suspect you have some motive for so doing, +prejudicial to their welfare. Should you inquire after their +living, the quantity of live-stock they keep, or any other little +domestic comfort, or, indeed, ask them where they live, or who +they work for, the same thoughts possess their mind. + +It is strange, too, that they will hardly ever sell any of their +poultry or meat, or, indeed, anything else they may have to +dispose of, to the proprietor or manager residing upon the same +estate as themselves. No! they prefer bringing it miles, perhaps, +to town, and probably getting less for it, than if they had +disposed of it to their masters. If asked to do so, they commonly +find some excuse; it is too old or too young, or too fat or too +lean, or they cannot catch it, or else they want it for +themselves. This singular practice arises from suspicion; they +are fearful of letting their masters know what their resources +are, and what they do with their property. For this reason, they +prefer going to a dark shop to purchase what they want. They do +not like to be recognised by any one while thus employed; nor for +any one to know how much money they lay out, or what they buy. +There are some retail shops, or _stores_, as they are called in +the West Indian idiom, which are scarcely six feet high, and +which of course are very dark and uncomfortable; yet, as +unpleasant as these stores or shops may look to the eye, they are +for that very reason frequented by the negroes. I am, in this +part of my subject, more particularly speaking of the state of +affairs before emancipation, but I believe this mistrust of their +employers still continues. In former days, so fearful were the +slaves of letting their masters know how much money they +possessed, that it was a common practice of theirs to bury it; +and often death overtook them before they could tell their +relations in what spot they had deposited it, and consequently it +was lost. If "Daddy Whelan," the notorious "treasure-seeker," in +Mrs. Hall's interesting tale of the "Crock of Gold," was here, he +might be more fortunate than in his own country. + +In receiving money they are equally suspicious; I have had +opportunities of seeing this under the free system. It is +customary upon estates to pay the labourers on the Friday, or +early on the Saturday morning, and it is curious to see how they +count and re-count their money, fearing the paymaster may have +cheated them. In one or two instances brought beneath my own eye, +a negro has returned his wages, with--"No right, massa, money no +'nough;" it has been counted again, the pay-book referred to, +when instead of being _too little_, it has proved to be _too +much_; the surplus deducted, and the right sum handed to the +negro, he grumbles again, because he brought it back. + +Another, and I am also sorry to say, very prevailing trait in the +character of my black brethren is, stealing. This they appear to +think no crime, so long as they are not found out; and when by +any unforeseen occurrence they are, it is not for the criminality +of the act they mourn, but for fear they may not have another so +good an opportunity of repeating their exploit. In many +instances, they are so adroit in purloining articles, that they +are almost competent to give advice and instruction to the +"light-fingered gentry" of "London and its vicinity." It seems +impossible to break them of this habit of pilfering, so strong is +it engrafted in them; people are never safe from their +depredations. Upon estates they steal the sugar, molasses, +cane-juice, (to make into vinegar, which they sell for a +penny-halfpenny sterling a bottle;) cut down the canes, as soon +as, or even before, they get ripe; milk the cattle; pick the +cocoa-nuts; and, in a word, take all they can get. + +The merchants suffer from their depredations in various ways. +They not only take up goods they never intend to pay for, but +they steal whatever they can lay their hands upon. Nothing comes +amiss to them; and be you as clever and cunning as you may, they +will be sure to outwit you, in one way or the other. Should you +be the owner of a small craft, which you man with a few black +sailors, and which you employ in trading between the different +islands, you are sure to lose something in every voyage. Your +rope and canvas is gone--_nobody_ knows how; a cask of salt-fish +is opened and robbed of its contents--_nobody_ touched it. If dry +goods form your cargo, pieces of shirting, bales of cotton, or +something of the kind, generally take their departure--_nobody_ +saw them. + +If you employ a carpenter, your nails and lumber are sure to +commit suicide or something of the sort, I suppose, for they are +gone, and _nobody_ used them. A mason steals your lime; a cooper +steals your staves and hoops; a painter steals your oil, your +turpentine, and paint; and domestic servants steal all they can. +Some negroes employ themselves in walking about from store to +store, selecting various dresses, handkerchiefs, ribbons, +gentlemen's coats and vests, or any similar article, which they +carry, they say, to shew Mrs. this or Mr. that; but, somehow or +other, these persons are generally very much afflicted with that +malady, want of memory, and they forget to return the goods in +question. The shopkeepers have suffered so much from this +infirmity, that now they will not deliver anything to be looked +at, unless the messenger brings a written order. But this +resolution does not at all intimidate these clever thieves; they +get a scrap of paper written in a lady's or gentleman's name, and +unless some errors in orthography, or a particular specimen of +bad writing, leads to a suspicion of their authenticity, they +often succeed in getting a "pretty considerable deal of goods," +as the Americans say. + +Others, again, go to a store and ask to be shewn some +shingles;[20] they take two or three as a sample, and if approved +of, they are to return for so many bundles. About ten yards +further, they meet with another store, and here they procure +another sample; and so they go on, until, in time, enough is +obtained to patch their houses. In the same manner, they get +samples of tea, peas, rice, coffee, &c., which saves them having +the very disagreeable necessity of paying for what they use. + +Some of the country negroes fall upon another plan of levying +contributions upon the public. They make love to a pig or a fowl, +or some other article belonging to their neighbours, but which +they will not steal upon any account; accordingly they entice or +carry them to a convenient distance, and leave them there. After +a little time has elapsed, they return by the same road, and as +soon as they perceive the articles, whatever they may be, +(although left there by themselves,) they exclaim, "Eh! eh! me +lucky true to-day, me find dis fowl; well, me want it 'nough, me +sure!" In this manner, they endeavour to stifle the "still small +voice within us," while, should they be accused of this, they +immediately cry out, "Well, me neber know if one somebody find +one someting he call tief for it!" + +I should have enlarged upon the thefts of our domestic servants, +but really, upon thinking over it, the task appears too arduous. +I might write and write and never finish,--it would, in truth, be +"a story without an end;" for this system of stealing is so +indelibly implanted in some of their minds, that no measures you +can try will break them of it. You may use the greatest leniency +towards them, argue with them in the kindest manner, point out to +them the sinfulness of their ways, it makes no impression upon +them--they only wait until you retire, or are off your guard, and +the same theft will be repeated. Nor are coercive measures of +more avail; you may take them before a magistrate, who will +commit them to the house of correction; when the period of their +punishment is expired, and they are again at liberty, they return +to their illegal habits with redoubled avidity, as if to make up +for lost time. I do not say this is the case with all; a few +weeks spent in confinement has often the effect of restoring to +society a reformed member. To thieving we must add lying, and in +this accomplishment many of them are so well skilled, that +Ferdinand Mendez Pinto must have hid his diminished head. It is +really wonderful to hear to what extent they will carry their +lying; for example, if you miss anything and inquire after it, +they will deny peremptorily they ever saw it, when, at the same +time, they know full well where it is, but do not want the +trouble of fetching it. They will rather tell a story at any time +than be forced to use the least exertion. While I am writing, I +hear complaints of this. A servant of ours has just drawn a +lucifer match, and knowing how careless all negroes are of +throwing about fire, the question has been asked her, "Where did +you put the match after using it?"--"Upon the table," was the +reply.--"Are you sure of that, and that it was extinguished +before you left it?"--"Yes, sir."--"Susan, go and look; I cannot +believe her, I am sorry to say." Susan returns with the box of +lucifers; the match, _still burning_, has been replaced in the +box, and the lid put on, to the imminent hazard of setting the +house on fire, had it not been fortunately discovered. My +attention being drawn by this colloquy, I ask, "Grace, how can +you use yourself to tell such stories?--are you not a +Sunday-school scholar?"--"I forgot, ma'am." They never own they +do tell a story; they always forget, or else they boldly stick to +their first assertion, let the contrary be as plain as it may. + +Another bad practice of theirs is, that if they have committed +any error which might be remedied, or neglected to do anything +which might afterwards be performed, they will never let you +know, until it is too late. I had a very beautiful pair of +canaries, who greeted me every morning with the sweetest of +songs. I loved the little creatures--"for the bird that we nurse +is the bird that we love;" and in this far distant land, away +from all my kith and kin, with the exception of one for whom we +are taught to forsake all other earthly ties, they were my +constant companions. Months rolled on, and the fervour of a +tropical sun fevered my blood, and parched my lips. I sighed for +the pure breeze of my own dear land; and as my little birds +warbled their sweet, clear song, memory carried me back to those +pleasant fields, where, in my early days, I gathered the fragrant +hawthorn, and listened to each "wood-note wild." But, alas! a +wide, wide ocean rolled between me and them, which may be very +easily crossed in imagination, but not so in reality; and +consequently, I had to content myself with leaving the crowded +town, and trying the country air. I left my little birds to the +care of a domestic, with particular injunctions to give them +daily fresh seed and water. From time to time, when I saw her, I +inquired after her little charge; they were quite well, was +always the answer, until at length, when I returned, I found my +poor little favourites dead--dead from starvation; and when I +spoke about it, and asked why such stories were told me, all the +satisfaction I got was--"I forgot dem." + +It has been remarked, in black workmen, that if they promise to +come and complete a particular job on a certain day, and they +conclude with "Please God, me come,"[21] they seldom keep to +their word, for if they can procure another job which they think +will pay them better, they consider it of no importance +disappointing their first employer. In the same manner, they will +engage to build a house, or indeed any other work, for a certain +sum; if, after going partly through it, and drawing all the money +they can, they find it will not pay them as well as they at first +supposed, instead of representing it to the parties, and resting +upon their generosity to enlarge the sum, or else putting up with +the result, they immediately leave it, and you may get it done +the best way you can. So, again, upon estates, a party of negroes +will undertake to plant or hole a piece of canes for so much: if +they find it will pay them very well, they keep on; but if, on +the contrary, they think they have not made so good a bargain as +they imagined, they shoulder their hoes, and away they start. +This habit of not speaking the truth is so proverbial, that it +gives rise to the vulgar adage--"a negro lies like a horse +trotting." I have heard of a white emigrant from Anguilla saying, +"that he would never again believe a negro, until he saw hair +growing within the palm of his hand," so notorious is this +propensity. + +Idleness is another fault in many negroes: everything that is +done by them is done lazily. If working upon an estate, as long +as the master's eye is upon them, they get on pretty well; but as +soon as he retires, down go their hoes. I should think this, in +great measure, must be attributed to their having been so long +used to working under a driver; for although they are free in +body, they are far from free in mind. I am sure they ought not to +do this; for, badly as they used to be treated some ninety or a +hundred years ago, since they have been free, and, indeed, for +many years before, only that they bore the name of slaves, they +have had nothing to complain of. I am, and ever have been, a +stanch advocate of anti-slavery doctrines; and, consequently, +this assertion coming from me may be considered of some weight. +It is said, that immediately after their emancipation, the wages +of the negroes were rather low; but that, I am sure, cannot be +said now. The common rate of wages is a shilling sterling per +day; but then they often work "task-work," as they call it, and +in that case frequently get from three to four shillings. Indeed, +their earnings depend entirely upon their own exertions; for the +estates upon which they work will always find employment for +them. + +Besides this actual sum, it must be remembered, that they enjoy +various privileges, which our English labourers can never hope +for. The negroes have their houses found them, a spot of ground +to plant provisions in, a doctor and medicine when they are ill, +and a certain quantity of molasses and rum when doing certain +work. Besides all this, they have the liberty of picking what +wood they please, of keeping what stock they like, provided they +keep their pigs, sheep, and goats, confined or tied up, that they +may not injure the young canes, which injunction they regularly +break. Then, again, they pick the grass, sheep and goat meat, +growing upon the property, which they bring into the capital of +an evening, and generally sell for three bits, another shilling +sterling. And not only this; but as West Indian property is but +seldom enclosed, they think it but fair to gather what fruit they +choose from the several trees growing about the estates, and +which they also bring into town, and sell in the market. Would +that many of our poor English peasantry were as well off as the +negroes now are, instead of suffering, as they often do, from +cold and hunger. What Englishman would let them help themselves +to the produce of their orchards! I have often before remarked +how much I detest the name of slavery--there is something so +revolting in the idea of men selling and buying their +fellow-creatures; but I cannot hear the West Indian negroes +_pitied_ for their hard lot, when I know that in _these days_ it +is so much the contrary, without trying to put my English friends +in possession of the real state of things. + +It is observable, that but few negroes are to be met with who do +not possess some money; and, in dress, they deny themselves +nothing that pleases them, or, as they say, "fills their eye." +Many, since emancipation, have purchased many spots of land, +built houses, and appear to have many comforts, and almost every +head negro keeps his pony or his horse, while others run their +stanhopes. As I have already observed at the beginning of this +chapter, many may think I am writing paradoxes; but such is not +the case, and any one intimate with West Indian affairs will +confirm my statements. The fact is, great changes have taken +place in this island as well as everywhere else; in former days, +when those dreadful acts of cruelty which I have recorded used to +be practised, religion was held in very slight regard. That the +negroes are a very provoking race all must allow who have any +dealings with them; and men with strong passions, uninfluenced by +Christian feelings, possessed of wealth, and having their slaves +entirely under their control, were apt to give way to resentment +against them when in error, and commit those deeds at which their +descendants blush. + +But now the case is very different; the negro has been freed, and +his rights as a man acknowledged. Still his interests are so +inseparably connected with those of his employers, that the +subversion of the one must end in the ruin of the other. What +would any one think, who has the interest of these important +colonies at heart, of the introduction of slave-made sugar into +England at any rate of duty, and leaving the West Indian planter +(after having cheerfully acquiesced in emancipation) to bear the +burden of this high rate of wages. Although no one can deny that +most of the Antiguan planters have benefited by emancipation, in +the way of cultivating their estates, yet free labour, generally +speaking, and from what has fallen beneath my own observation, +cannot cope with slavery. No! it is the whip, and the whip alone, +which can give to England the cheap sugar she is promised. Who, +then, would not rather give a penny a pound more for their sugar, +than, after having freed the British negro, eat that which is +seasoned with the tears and groans of foreign slaves. + +It is among the domestic servants that negro idleness is most +severely felt, for there are ways of making the others work, +although the whip is banished, by checking their pay. In the case +of our house-servants, however, it is not so easy; they seem to +have no wish to please their employers. If left to themselves, +they care not how the day passes, so long as they get through it; +one English servant will do twice the work two Creoles will. +Probably this arises in great measure from the practice of having +so many servants to do the work that two or three at furthest +ought to do. I have frequently seen six or seven domestics +lounging upon the floor of an anteroom, amusing themselves with +stringing "jumby-beads," as a pretty little red and black seed is +called, sucking sugar-canes, or telling _nancy stories_,[22] or +else singing one of their favourite songs; perfectly at their +ease, it is immaterial to them whether their daily business is +completed or not. If their mistress calls, it is often unheeded; +or else it is, "Bro' James call see Agnes to tell aunty Jenny +missis call he," (Anglicised, "Brother James, call sister Agnes +to tell aunt Jenny," &c.) Thus they loiter away the day; whilst +their _missis_, after in vain endeavouring to be heard, or at +least attended to, resigns her fair form to the couch, and that +listlessness which many Creole ladies like to indulge in during +the heat of the day. + + + ------ + +[20] Used instead of tiles for the tops of houses. + +[21] A by-word with the negroes when making appointments. + +[22] Tales of _diablerie_. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXV. + + + + Negroes: "Shadows" continued--The crime of murder--Instances of + it--Hon. Sam. Martin--Giles Blizard--Adam Ogilvie. + +The next crime I have to mention, in this continuation of dark +tints, is murder. This dreadful act, however, I am happy to say, +is not very common now; in these days they seldom embrue their +hands in human blood; but in former years, years of moral +darkness, the negroes used frequently to suffer death for the +Obeah practice of poisoning, or in some other way taking the +lives of their fellow-creatures, particularly those who had +authority over them, and who, in the exercise of that authority, +made use of harsh measures. Perhaps it may not be uninteresting +to some of my readers to narrate a few instances of the most +remarkable murders which have been committed in Antigua; for, +strange as it may appear, almost every one likes to hear of deeds +of blood. + +In 1701, a dreadful murder occurred, the details of which are as +follows:--The speaker of the house of assembly, the Hon. Samuel +Martin, the owner of that beautiful and romantic property "Green +Castle," had for some reason or the other refused his slaves +their usual Christmas holiday, and compelled them to work +throughout the day. This infraction upon what they considered +their right so exasperated his negroes, that on the 25th of +December, 1701, they with one accord rose upon their master, +determined to take sure revenge. Accordingly, at the dead hour of +the night, they broke open the doors of his mansion, and rushing +to the chamber of Major Martin, fell upon him, and actually +hacked him to death, with the hoes they had been using in the +cultivation of his sugar-canes. + +Shocked at the dreadful fate of her husband, and fearing the same +terrible death from the infuriated slaves, should they discover +her, Mrs. Martin fled from the scene of horror, and with her +frightened children, sought safety within the precincts of a +neighbouring cane-field. Here she remained throughout the +remainder of that awful night; until when the morning came, and +the bright sun arose and chased away the clouds of darkness, she +summoned courage to leave her place of concealment, and throw +herself and children upon the protection of her friends. The body +of the unfortunate Major Martin (after an inquest had been held +upon it) was interred in the churchyard of St. John's; and the +chief actors in the tragical affair were afterwards brought to +condign punishment. Mrs. Martin lived for many years after this +sad event, and married for her second husband Governor Byam, +(vide Appendix, Byam Lineage.) The father of Major Martin was the +first of the name who emigrated to the West Indies, and the +ancestor of the present Sir Henry Martin, who traces his descent +from thence.[23] + +About seventy years ago, a gentleman of the name of Giles Blizard +owned an estate in that part of Antigua called Pope's Head, which +estate at the present day is added to another, and the whole is +in possession of the Hon. Bertie E. Jarvis. Giles Blizard was a +true planter of the olden time. He resided in an old roomy +mansion upon his estate, where wealth and meanness were strongly +contrasted,--where the silver flagons and costly salvers +glittered amid the coarse earthenware of England, like a proud +and high-born beauty, who by some strange chance has been mixed +with the common herd,--where the polished surface of the mahogany +furniture mocked the unwashed walls and darkened roof of the +apartments, whose protruding beams afforded safe protection to +innumerable hordes of insects. Surrounded by his numerous slaves, +the old gentleman exercised the power of a prince, and gave no +bad idea of the Saxon Thane, or more haughty feudal baron. +Everything in his dwelling was conducted upon a scale of heavy +munificence; his table groaned beneath the weight of its various +viands; but there was no order, no delicacy observed in the +arrangement of them. Like the generality of Antiguan planters, he +was hospitable in the extreme; his doors were ever open, and +every visiter was sure of a hearty welcome. A stranger would have +been surprised at having wines of the choicest vintage handed to +him by a bare-footed butler, or his every movement attended to by +a host of half-naked negroes; but such was the domestic +arrangement of the old Antiguan mansions. Giles Blizard was +supposed to be exceedingly rich, and to keep by him a noble +portion of hard cash, which in _those golden days_ was generally +in the form of doubloons and joes.[24] He was fond of boasting of +his ample share of this world's wealth; and this exciting the +rapacity of two of his slaves, prompted them to murder him, that +they might become possessed of his store. A convenient +opportunity for perpetrating this foul deed had long been waited +for, and was at length obtained. + +At the close of a gloomy day, in the last month of the year, the +old gentleman seated himself upon a sofa, and prepared to take +his evening nap, attended only by a black boy of the name of +Diamond. The evening was tempestuous; and between the pauses of +the storm, the inmates of the apartment listened once or twice, +as they thought they heard approaching footsteps; but the wind +shook the ill secured shutters with such violence as to drown all +other sounds, until at length they supposed that it was nothing +but fancy, or the hollow moaning of the blast. + +Giles Blizard was at that period of life when to many the +pleasures and luxuries of this world seem sweeter from the +certainty that they are drawing near their close, for often, very +often, is it that-- + + "Aged men, full loth and slow, + The vanities of life forego; + And count their youthful follies o'er, + Till mem'ry lends her light no more." + +Thoughts similar to these might float through the brain of the +old gentleman, for Giles Blizard was a lover of conviviality, and +many a festive scene had those old walls witnessed; but the hands +of an antique clock, painted in various devices, pointed to the +hour of midnight, and once more adjusting his head, the planter +sank to sleep. + +The two slaves, the intended murderers, who, through a crack in +the shutter, had been watching the movement of their master and +his youthful attendant, perceiving by his unaltered position and +deep breathing that he slept, and having full proof of the +other's being in that oblivious state from the sound of his nasal +organs, quietly took off the shutter, and entered the apartment, +armed with a blunderbuss. Placing their hands upon the shoulders +of the old gentleman, and holding the deadly weapon to his ear, +they demanded where he kept his cash. In vain their victim prayed +for mercy--in vain solicited the boon of one short hour to +collect his scattered thoughts; the murderers were not to be +turned from their fell purpose; the finger was pressed upon the +fatal trigger, and the deed was done; the soul of Giles Blizard +winged its way to the vast shores of eternity, and the sofa where +he laid him down in full confidence of safety was covered with +his brains, and blood, and silver hairs. + +Shocking as it is to humanity to relate, one of the criminals was +the natural son of the old man, who, although he was not the +actual murderer, was the instigator of the dreadful act; for +when, at his master's earnest prayer for mercy, the black man +seemed to relent, Geoffry (the name of Mr. Blizard's coloured +son) told him to do it at once, and make sure of it, or else he +would himself. After the perpetration of this atrocious crime, +the murderers placed the blunderbuss upon a table, close to the +side of their victim, with a glass of brandy and water near it, +supposing that, when discovered, it would be surmised that it was +an act of self-destruction; but murder is an offence "that's +rank, it smells to heaven," and, in most instances, the slayer is +discovered. The boy, who really slept upon the entrance of the +men, was awakened by the noise; but perceiving the blunderbuss, +and hearing the conversation which ensued between his master and +his murderers, he became alarmed, and, to ensure his own safety, +counterfeited sleep. Upon the morrow's dawn he hastened to relate +the circumstance, and by these means the offenders were brought +to justice. They were carried before a magistrate, and condemned +to suffer death by decapitation on the following day, which was +Christmas-day; but Mr. Rose, the then marshal, got it postponed +until the day after, thinking that a greater number of spectators +would be present, to whom it would act as a warning. The culprits +were taken down to a spot where such scenes were generally +performed, and which still goes by the name of Gallows Bay, and +there, after being blindfolded, they were bound to the upright +post of the gallows, their right hands first struck off, and then +their heads. The heads, after being dipped in pitch, were stuck +upon spikes, and the hands nailed under them, while their bodies +were carried down to the water's edge, and there burned in a +lime-kiln. This, I think, was the last time decapitation was +practised in Antigua, although in former years that mode of +execution was very frequent; it may be said, perhaps, that it is +more dreadful to the sight than pain to the culprit, for a +skilful executioner at one stroke would sever the head from the +body; but I must say I am very happy that now no whitened skull +or distorted features are likely to meet my sight in an evening +walk. + +The next most remarkable murder committed in Antigua was one in +which a young man of good extraction was the unfortunate victim. +About the year 1800, Mr. Adam Ogilvie, son to Sir John Ogilvie, +arrived in Antigua, to take charge of his father's property in +that island. Young Ogilvie was in the spring of life, for he had +not numbered more than twenty years, and all things glittered +around him, and presented to his eye a fair and pleasing +prospect. But, alas! for man "nought ministers delight but what +the glowing passions can engage;" drawn by that alluring goddess, +Pleasure, who hides beneath a smiling mask her haggard and +distorted visage, Mr. Ogilvie was led into a train of debauchery, +and, among other excesses, formed an illicit connexion with a +female named Molly belonging to the property. To this female +might justly be applied the hackneyed sentence, "Frailty, thy +name is woman!" for during this intercourse with her master, she +proved _enceinte_ by one of the servants, a boy of the name of +"Martin;" and fearing a disclosure of her infamy, and not willing +to give up her favoured suitor, she, in conjunction with him and +two other slaves upon the property, planned the murder of her +unfortunate master. During the residence of Mr. Ogilvie upon the +estate, he thought proper to have some of the negroes punished +for various offences committed by them, among whom were the +accomplices of Martin and Molly, and this was one cause of their +so readily joining them in their diabolical scheme. + +On the night chosen for the execution of their design, Mr. +Ogilvie retired early to-bed, and soon tasted that sweet restorer +--balmy sleep. His murderers, after waiting a sufficient time to +assure themselves of the fact, proceeded in a body to his +apartment, attended by the wicked, heartless Molly, bearing a +candle and lanthorn in her hand, for the purpose of giving light +to the men while in performance of their demoniacal office of +strangling Mr. Ogilvie. Upon gaining the bedside of their +sleeping victim, who, unconscious of his fate, perhaps some + + "Fantastic measure trod o'er fairy fields," + +or else dreamt of health, long life and honours, all alas! fated +to exist but in the brain--the murderous party sprang upon him, +and as a refinement in cruelty, awoke him, and with many +imprecations, informed him that for his ill conduct, they were +come for the purpose of taking his life. Death is common to all; +but then to die by violent hands in the midst of health and +vigour; to be so rudely awakened from an earthly slumber, so soon +to be consigned to that last long sleep, which all must do, + + "When we have shuffled off this mortal coil;" + +how hard to bear! What "tempest to the soul!" Oh! how that victim +begged! how promised to be all they wished, would they but give +him that one boon--life, which, when once taken, can never be +restored. All was of no avail! To each agonized entreaty, no +answer was returned, but a firmer grasp upon his throat. Mr. +Ogilvie had ever been in the practice of sleeping with loaded +pistols under his pillow, and in this moment of danger, one of +his first cares was to possess himself of those weapons. But here +again Molly stepped in as his evil genius; for to carry fully +into effect her murderous intentions, she had, during the +preceding day, contrived to take out the flints. The tragedy +hastened to a close; disappointed in his hopes of defence, and +pinioned by his murderers, Mr. Ogilvie's struggles became fainter +and fainter--his sighs burst thicker from his lips--the blood +gushed in torrents to his head and face, as his deadly enemies +pressed more tightly the heaving throat--his blood-shot eyes +started from their sockets--and with one sharp pang, one choking +frenzied cry, his spirit winged its flight to another sphere, and +his body sank on the pillow a blackened corpse. + +The dreadful deed completed, no feeling of contrition, no twinge +of conscience haunted the murderers; but taking the key of the +cellar, they hastened to convey to the chamber of the dead, a +bottle of wine, and another of shrub. After enjoying themselves +with a portion of these liquors, they placed the remainder upon +the bed, at the feet of their inanimate victim, thinking that as +Mr. Ogilvie had lately given way to excessive inebriety, an +indulgence in that vice would be considered as the cause of his +death, when the body should be discovered. + +Long did the overseer upon the property wait the following +morning for the appearance of his employer; anxiously did he +watch the door, as hour after hour rolled away; but the door +still remained closed, and his patience becoming exhausted, and +fearful of some misfortune, he at length determined to burst it +open. This effected, the dreadful truth quickly forced itself +upon his conviction; there lay Mr. Ogilvie stiff and cold, who +only the day before exulted in all the glow and strength of +youth. As no information could be obtained from either of the +servants, as to whether Mr. Ogilvie had complained of +indisposition during the night, it was thought necessary to call +a coroner's inquest to sit upon the body; and consequently, +Martin, on account of his being the deceased's most constant +attendant, was despatched to convey the necessary information to +the coroner. + +Mr. Ogilvie's estate was situated at the extreme west end of the +island, and at that period, the person who exercised the office +of coroner resided at the extreme east end. Martin, who knew too +well the cause of his unfortunate master's death, found his +interest lay in retarding, rather than urging on his journey, and +from this cause, the coroner did not reach Mr. Ogilvie's +residence until the following day, when the body was found to be +in such a decomposed state, that the coroner's jury could form no +correct opinion as to the cause of his death, and therefore +returned a verdict of "Died by the visitation of God."[25] + +So far all was well with Martin and his associates; no hand +pointed to them, no eye watched their movements. Suspicion was at +rest; and no "foul whisperings" were abroad which would tend to +urge further inquiry into the tragic event. In this manner, three +years rolled away; but murder will out; sooner or later, such +deeds are published in the broad front of heaven. Like the savage +tiger, who, having once tasted human blood, longs for more, +Martin and his accomplices, finding how well they got through +their first murder, resolved to attempt the life of the manager, +Mr. David Simon. + +Mr. Simon had been living upon another estate belonging to the +Ogilvie family and for some time before had been suffering from +severe indisposition. When in a convalescent state, he was +invited by Dr. Ogilvie (who had taken charge of the estates, +after the demise of Mr. Adam Ogilvie) to spend some time with +him, for change of air. The room appropriated for his reception +was the one in which Mr. Adam Ogilvie met his fate: and here it +was that Martin and his party determined to strangle him, as they +had formerly done their master. Night, "sable goddess," from her +ebon throne, "stretched her leaden sceptre o'er a slumbering +world," and Mr. Simon retired to rest; but before he courted the +embrace of sleep, his thoughts dwelt upon that kind Power who had +so graciously supported him throughout a severe fit of illness, +and at length brought him to that state of convalescence when he +could again enjoy those things which make life sweet. Whilst +ruminating upon these subjects, his attention was drawn to a +slight rustle in his apartment, and listening more intently, he +heard a whispering voice exclaim, "Hold him!" His first plan was +to spring from his bed, but in the act of doing so, he was +grappled by one or two of his assassins. Fearful was the struggle +which ensued--the one striving for his life, the others for their +safety, which they well knew would be lost did their intended +victim escape. At length, wonderfully renewed with a sufficient +degree of strength, Mr. Simon was enabled to jump to the back of +the bed, which fortunately happened to be distant two or three +feet from the partition--a place not calculated for the murderers +following up their attack. Here, keeping his assassins at bay, +Mr. Simon redoubled his cries of murder, which at length were +fortunately heard by Dr. Ogilvie, who occupied a distant chamber, +and who quickly coming to his assistance, the culprits became +alarmed, and endeavoured to make their escape by the windows. +This they finally succeeded in doing, but not before Martin (the +individual who, it will be remembered, was sent to call the +coroner on the occasion of Mr. Ogilvie's untimely death) was +fully recognised by the manager and Dr. Ogilvie. The next +morning, it was discovered that Martin and his accomplices had +absconded, upon which, search was made, and in the course of a +short time, they were apprehended and brought up for trial. +Molly, the faithless paramour of Mr. Ogilvie, turned king's +evidence; and in the course of her examination, admitted the +facts of that gentleman's murder, and her own share in that +shocking deed. It may be necessary to observe, that when the +murder of Mr. Ogilvie was determined, the ranger upon the estate, +a man of the name of Jacob, was fully sensible of their +intentions, although he would not aid them in the completion; he +was therefore found guilty as an accessary before the fact, and +with Martin and the others, condemned and executed; his body hung +in chains upon the property as a warning to others. Molly and her +child are still alive, and reside upon the estate where she +played so shameful a part; whether a prey to remorse, I am unable +to say; but we hope she has truly repented, and sought pardon +where it is only to be found--at the throne of Heaven. + +The family annals of Sir John Ogilvie present little but a series +of disasters. Out of nine sons, two died prematurely in the East +Indies, one was killed in Egypt, another fell in the capture of +Martinique, while, as we have already seen, young Adam was +murdered in Antigua. + + + ------ + +[23] For the genealogy of the Martin family, see Appendix. + +[24] A gold coin, of about the value of 3l. 4s.. sterling. The +joe was a gold coin worth about 36s.. sterling. + +[25] Decomposition takes place so soon in this warm country, that +interment is necessary within twenty-four hours after +dissolution. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXVI. + + + + Negroes: The crime of poisoning--Instance of it--Murder of Mr. + Brown--Love and jealousy--The end of unlawful love--Infanticide + --Incendiarism--A late instance of it--Polygamy--Disregard of + marriage vows. + +After having given a short sketch of the murder of Mr. Blizard +and Mr. Ogilvie by their slaves, it was my intention to have +entered more fully into the cases of poisoning which in days gone +by have occurred in this country. But in looking over the +dreadful catalogue of such crimes, I find them so frequent, and +the manner in which they were carried into effect so similar, +that one instance will suffice. + +About twenty years ago, a woman of the name of Betsey, belonging +to a highly respectable family, had a dispute with her mistress. +With the feeling of revenge burning at her heart, she carried her +complaint to a friend, who advised her to consult an Obeah man, +and get him to give her _something_. Not having an opportunity of +going herself, or else not wishful of being known, she sent an +old woman of the name of Jenny, an _attachée_ of the yard, to +obtain the deadly potion, the mysterious _something_, as the +negroes generally termed it. The old woman accordingly visited an +Obeah man of the name of John, who gave her a liquid which was to +be administered to her mistress in some of her nourishment, and +which he said would kill her in one minute. This obtained by +Betsey, who, like most of her tribe, was the slave of her +passions, she resolved to lose no time in carrying her plan of +revenge into execution; accordingly, she handed it to the butler, +with whom, it appears, she had formed a _liaison_, and who was +concerned with her in her plot, with injunctions to put it into +whatever liquid her mistress might order. By some means or the +other, a suspicion that all was not right was raised; certain +circumstances were inquired into, and the result was that Betsey +and her accomplices were tried and executed. Old Jenny, the +messenger employed in their dealings with the Obeah man, was +sentenced to work in the street-gang for a certain period. From +her statement at her trial, that the Obeah man, John, told her +the draught would kill her mistress in "one minute," she ever +after obtained that cognomen from the negroes about the streets. + +In the year 1820-30, another murder was committed, the details of +which are as follows:--A person of the name of Brown was living +as overseer upon an estate called Big Deurs, now in possession of +Messrs. Manning and Anderdon. The negroes upon this property had +been for a long time in the habit of pilfering, and in many +instances Mr. Brown had discovered the offenders, which caused +him to be disliked, and determined one among them, more +heartless, perhaps, than the rest, to undertake his destruction. +On Christmas day, Mr. Brown rode to La Roche's, a neighbouring +estate, and upon his return in the evening, between the hours of +six and seven, he met with his untimely death. + +The slave to whom Mr. Brown had rendered himself particularly +obnoxious was named Cambridge, and this man had long lain in wait +for an opportunity of completing his crime, and for the purpose +had sharpened an old copper skimmer, (used in boiling sugar,) +which he thought would prove an effective weapon. + +Mr. Brown, like too many other white men in this island, carried +on an amour with a woman belonging to the property, named +Christiana, and it was the first intention of Cambridge to murder +her as well as the overseer, supposing it was through her +communications that so many discoveries of thefts had been made. +On the Christmas day, Cambridge dressed himself in his best suit, +and proceeded with many of his fellow slaves to the Methodist +chapel at Parham, intending upon his return home to waylay and +murder the woman, who had also visited the same place of worship. +In pursuance of his plan, he hurried out of chapel immediately +after service, and took up his stand in a part of the road which +he knew Christiana must pass. After waiting in vain for a long +time, a group of negroes at length hastened by, when Cambridge, +whose stock of patience was exhausted, joined them, and asked if +they knew where Christiana was? In answer to his query, they +informed him she had visited a neighbouring estate, and after +remaining there for a short time had proceeded home by another +path. Thus thwarted in his views of obtaining revenge, his +designs upon Mr. Brown gained double hold of him; and hastening +home, he disrobed himself, put on his working-dress, and first +telling his wife, "_That he had lost one opportunity, but he +would take good care he did not lose the next_," quitted the +house, taking the old copper skimmer with him. + +It was a beautiful evening; the moon shone in all her splendour, +and every star that twinkled in the heavens glittered around that +murderer's step. Oh, that such dreadful thoughts should have +possessed that man's mind in the midst of such a lovely scene +upon the evening of that very day when angels proclaimed "Good +will towards man!" But, alas!-- + + "Nor grateful evening mild, nor silent night, + ---------------- nor walk by moon, + Or glittering starlight," + +had any effect upon his hardened heart-- + + "His soul was dark within; + He lived but in the sound + Of shamelessness and sin." + +Many a minute stole away, and Cambridge (who had concealed +himself in a cane-piece, bordering the road his intended victim +must necessarily pass) kept his fatal stand. Not a sound was +heard, save the evening breeze as it whispered among the long +leaves of the sugar-cane, or the occasional croaking of some +night reptile. At length, the tread of a horse's foot was heard, +and warned the murderer to be upon his guard. Unconscious of the +dreadful fate hanging over him, Mr. Brown rode slowly on, +accompanied by a black boy, when, as he was passing between two +cane-pieces, just where the canes grew thick and high, with one +bound the murderer was upon him. A heavy blow from the sharpened +skimmer upon his head, stunned him; and ere a prayer could rise +to his lips, his soul flew to meet his God, and his murderer was +left standing alone, with the stain of human blood upon him.[26] + +The boy who accompanied his unfortunate master was the nephew of +the culprit; but as he was unperceived by Cambridge, he was +enabled to make his escape into the cane-field, where he remained +an unknown observer of the dreadful event. As soon as the +murderer had quitted the spot, the boy hastened to the overseer's +house (not far distant) and related to the inmates the fate of +his master, and the name of his destroyer. An immediate alarm was +given, and, guided by the boy, they quickly reached the scene of +murder, where they discovered the unfortunate overseer, bereft of +life, and presenting an appearance too horrible for description. +They then proceeded in quest of Cambridge, whom they found at his +hut, with his blood-stained garments still upon him, and in the +act of washing his unhallowed hands. + +After a coroner's inquest upon the body, and a verdict (according +to the circumstances of the case) returned, Cambridge was +conveyed to the capital, where he took his trial for murder. He +was found guilty, and condemned to suffer death by hanging; and +to make the punishment more impressive to others, he was ordered +to be carried to Osborn's Pasture, in the vicinity of the spot +where the murder was committed, and there to be hung and +gibbeted. + +Long did his whitened bones glisten in the moonbeams; and as the +wind shook the chains which held the body, many a little negro +who had strayed that way in search of guavas, fled from the spot, +for fear of the "dead man's jumby." + +About ten years ago, murder again stained the annals of Antigua. +The slayer was one of the softer sex, and jealousy prompted her +to the act. She broke into the house where her rival lived, and +in her passion at finding her husband an inmate of the dwelling, +stabbed her who had destroyed her peace. The husband escaped by +the window; and after the perpetration of the deed, the murderess +obtained the assistance of some of her friends, and between them +they dragged the body of the murdered woman to the beach, and +threw it into the sea. Weights were attached to the feet of the +corpse to make it sink; but they were either insufficient, or +they became detached, and the body floated. A negro belonging to +a neighbouring estate, who was out searching for stray cattle, +discovered it among some mangrove trees, and gave the alarm, the +deed was traced to the woman, and she was condemned to follow her +victim to the "tribunal of the Just." + +Since then, this offence has rarely been repeated; but some +instances there have been since my residence in this country, +where the demon Revenge has sealed and stamped them for his own, +and instigated them to perpetrate crimes at which the soul +revolts. A circumstance of this kind occurred in the year 1840. A +black man, of the name of Joseph Gould, formerly belonging to the +Rev. Mr. Gilbert, the descendant of the founder of Methodism in +Antigua, was living in an unlawful state with a coloured girl, of +whom he became jealous, and in consequence resolved to end her +existence. The unfortunate woman was murdered in a very brutal +manner, by means of a thick stick, which completely shattered the +head, and scattered the brains; her fingers and part of her ears +were then cut off, to secure the rings and earrings which she was +too fond of wearing, and the body then flung into a cane-piece. + +The dreadful effluvia first attracted notice; and after some +search, the body was found. A woman came forward and related some +circumstances which occurred upon the last evening the +unfortunate girl was seen alive, which led to the apprehension of +Gould. He was brought to trial,--the evidence was all +circumstantial,--and after a patient investigation of the case, +he was sentenced to transportation for life. It appears, however, +that no opportunity has occurred of putting the sentence into +effect, as he still remains an inmate of the gaol, where it is +said he suffers the stings of a guilty conscience, which conjures +up the shade of the murdered girl before him, soon as "evening +gray" sets in. This is the last case of particular note which has +stained the domestic pages of this pretty little island; and I do +hope, that now education is so liberally tendered, the minds of +all classes may become enlightened, and this horrible crime +become extinct. + +Infanticide has also been too often perpetrated in Antigua, +particularly since emancipation; although, it is true, it does +not prevail to the extent it does in that "emporium of the world" +--London. It is one of those unnatural offences which shews too +clearly our fallen state. "Can a woman forget her sucking child?" +is asked by the inspired Book; and then, as if the sad reality of +what human nature is capable of is remembered, it is added, yes, +"She may forget!" And, alas! those words have indeed proved true: +the mother has indeed forgotten to have compassion upon the +helpless little being which has derived its existence from +herself. + +In the days of slavery, the negroes were not allowed by law to +marry; the union between them in most cases lasting only so long +as agreeable to themselves. From this cause, it was frequent to +find a family of eight or nine children, who all owned, perhaps, +different fathers. This the woman considered no disgrace, and +consequently had no incentive to disguise the fact by destroying +the child. The case, however, is now different with many. Since +schools have been established in this country for the benefit of +the negroes, it has been the constant aim of the parents, in most +cases, to avail themselves of the privilege, by sending their +children to receive instruction. So far all is well; I am a great +advocate for the spread of education among the lower classes, and +think not, with some, that the withholding knowledge from them is +the only security for obedience. "If ignorance is bliss, 'tis +folly to be wise," says one, whose name stands high in the rolls +of literary fame; and those who would wish to debar the poor from +receiving the instruction tendered at the different free-schools +&c. are apt to take this sentence as their motto, without +answering the question it undoubtedly implies, "where _is_ +ignorance bliss?" It is good when the labourer feels his want of +learning, and strives to obtain for his children the boon which +has been denied his own youth. But the great evil which is likely +to ensue in this island, from this liberal gift of education, +until the negroes become more wise, is in this--when they send +their children, particularly their daughters, to a school where +they are taught to read and write, &c., they fancy that any kind +of servitude will be a degradation to them; and consequently +every means in their power are tried to bring them up as +_ladies_, that is, to sit in the house all day, although, for a +remuneration, they will condescend to do a certain portion of +needlework for any one who may require it; or else to get them +appointed teacher in some of the infant schools upon the several +estates. These "young ladies" of course lay aside the ancient +fashion of tying their heads with many-coloured handkerchiefs, +and wear bonnets instead; and that everything may appear in a +proper light, whatever follies or errors they may commit, they +endeavour to screen as far as lies in their power. It is +principally among this class of persons, then, that the crime of +infanticide is to be found: to preserve their own character in +the eyes of the world, they add to their former error the heavier +guilt of murder; and without one pang of remorse, expose to the +hungry dogs the little innocent they ought to have guarded with +double care, as they had already deeply injured it by denying it +a father's protection. Several instances of this kind have lately +occurred within a short period; but the subject is so revolting +to the sensitive mind, that we will banish any further mention of +it from these pages. + +In the list of higher offences, incendiarism must be noticed, +which has been frequently practised by the negroes to carry out +their plans of revenge. Before emancipation, as well as at the +present period, the horizon has been frequently illuminated with +the glare of an incendiary fire. We have already seen, in the +year 1831, how much the negroes resented the abolition of their +Sunday markets, by scattering abroad that devastating element; +and within a few weeks ago, a case of arson occurred in the +capital, which might have proved very fatal in its consequence. + +A highly respectable inhabitant of Antigua, had, with his family, +retired for the night, perfectly unconscious of harm. Who would +not think himself safe within the precincts of his own home?-- +where but in that fortress would we look for rest? Alas! that +human depravity should rage to such an extent that, even in our +own domestic circle, revenge, that deadly "upas," should spring +up, to destroy, with its poisonous exhalation, that great +blessing, family peace! A few words between the servants of the +establishment and their employer led, it is supposed, to the +event, which, had it not been fortunately discovered, might have +hurried a whole family into eternity by one of the most dreadful +deaths. + +On the night in question, a female inmate of his house was unable +to sleep, and after tossing about for some time with a degree of +feverish irritation, her sense of smelling was considerably +annoyed by what appeared to be the smouldering of burning cloth. +Awaking the rest of the family, she communicated to them her +alarm, and on proceeding to the staircase to ascertain the cause, +it was found to be completely enveloped in smoke. Making their +way down with precipitation, a sofa was discovered to be in +flames, which, with some difficulty, was extinguished, and once +more the family prepared to seek their respective chambers. As, +however, they proceeded to the staircase for that purpose, a +lambent line of light was perceived to issue from a small closet +under the stairs, and upon opening the door, it was found to be +in a blaze, and small billets of wood, coals, and other +combustibles, heaped together amid the pile of table-linen, +silver, &c., which the place contained. A reward of one hundred +pounds sterling has been offered by the owner for the purpose of +discovering the offender, but nothing has been elicited which +could lead to the apprehension of the miscreant, who, for the +gratification of an evil passion, would have so heartlessly +injured those who never offended. It appears strange that the +legislature should have taken no notice of this wilful deed +(which might once more have spread the horrors of a conflagration +throughout the town) by increasing the reward offered; it must +have been a great oversight on their part, as their own safety +might depend upon it; for if the perpetrators of the deed remain +unknown, and consequently unpunished, who can say where the evil +may end? + +From taking a short glance at incendiarism, the next point to be +considered is polygamy--and here, again, we see the demoralizing +effects of slavery. It has been before remarked that there was no +legal marriage rite for slaves, such unions being merely +transitory. It is true by what has been called the "Melioration +Act," rewards were held out to such slaves who should preserve +their fidelity in such contracts; and those persons who had the +management of negroes were forbidden to encourage immorality +among the women by their own example. But, alas for Antigua! when +were these regulations put in force? No European can imagine to +what extent such vices were carried in former days, vices which +will still be painfully felt by society for many, many years to +come--at any rate, until this generation shall have passed away; +and, even then, the plague-spot will, perhaps, shew its taint. +When the light of day began to dawn upon this benighted part of +the globe by the introduction of Christianity among the negroes, +they were encouraged by the Moravians and Methodists to choose a +partner from among the other sex, and, in the face of the +congregation, vow to each other fidelity and love. Although, of +course, such marriages were not held binding by law, it was hoped +that it would in some measure check the increase of immorality; +and, in some instances, it might have done so, but the greater +part violated those vows without compunction, or held them only +until a fresh object gained their attention. It has been +frequently known for a man thus married to maintain his wife and +his mistress in the same house, which arrangement occasioned +frequent domestic broils; and in such cases, the man, being +applied to as umpire, has settled the dispute by remarking to his +mistress, "That she must not quarrel with her companion, who was +_his wife_, and that if she did, he would turn her away;" and +then, addressing the aggrieved wife, tell her, for her +consolation, "That she must not mind, because she was his _wife +already!_" + +After the negroes were freed from the thrall of slavery in 1834, +and the same privileges open to them as to the rest of the +British subjects, it was their pride to be married at the +established church. In many instances, they had been already +joined by the Moravian or Methodist preachers, but wishing to get +rid of their partners, who had borne with them the brunt of +slavery, they privately paid their addresses to some of the young +ladies already mentioned, carried them to the altar, and there +married in direct opposition to their former vows, which were as +binding and sacred in the eyes of God as if his grace the +Archbishop of Canterbury had pronounced the nuptial benediction. +Among such an immense number of negroes, it is almost impossible +to discover the offenders in this respect against common decency, +although the clergymen are generally indefatigable in their +exertions to discover the truth. Still, vigilant as they are, +they have been deceived; and instances are known, where parties +have been twice married, even in the episcopal church. In some +cases, a wedding-party have assembled within the sacred walls, +the intended bride and bridegroom waiting at the altar until the +lips of the presiding minister shall have made them one; when, as +that solemn charge has been given, "If either of you know any +impediment why ye may not be lawfully joined together in +matrimony, ye do now confess it," those important words, "I do," +have been suddenly heard, and (as in most cases) a female has +come forward declaring that herself and the guilty beau had been +long ago married at the chapel. When such circumstances have +occurred, and the clergyman refused to re-marry them, it has been +no unfrequent practice for the parties to embark on board a small +vessel, and proceeding to Monserrat, or some other island, there +to procure the completion of their unhallowed purpose. + +Another evil to be deplored is, that even when parties are +lawfully joined in the bands of wedlock, they pay such little +regard to the solemnity of the act. The smart dresses, (for which +often they commit an unlawful deed,) the plentiful breakfast, or +lunch, the gilded cake, and the driving about in borrowed gigs, +is much more thought of by them than the serious, the important +promise of loving one another in sickness and in health, and, +forsaking all others, cleave only unto them who, by the +ordinances of God and man, are made one flesh. From this want of +regard to the serious part of the ceremony, great mischief +ensues. As soon as the novelty has worn off, the husband forgets +the wife he ought to cherish, and the wife forgets his honour +which she is bound to protect. The old leaven cleaves about them, +and throwing off all shame, they follow the bad example of their +parents, (who indeed are less faulty than themselves, not having +had such means of instruction;) and by these means, give to the +country, instead of an honest peasantry, a race of idle +illegitimate children. I would by no means take upon myself to +state, that of the many weddings which weekly take place among +this "sober-hued" people, none remember to keep their +marriage-vows unstained; on the contrary, no doubt many find it +what it should be--a state "ordained for the mutual society, +help, and comfort, that the one ought to have of the other, both +in prosperity and adversity." + + + ------ + +[26] The negroes say that no grass has ever grown in the spot +where the blood dropped since the time of the murder. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXVII. + + + + Negroes: A little change for the better--"Shadows nursed by + night retire"--Respect to age--Filial affection--Generosity-- + Their kindness to the poorer class of whites--Cleanliness--the + opposite vice--Behaviour at church--A black exhorter--Reading + and writing--An anecdote. + +I am happy to find that at length I have got over the most +prominent vices of the negroes. I must say I have a great love +for my species, of whatever shade they may be, and I would at any +time rather have to paint their virtues than their vices. But, +alas for human nature! the latter are by far the most numerous, +or else "men's _evil_ manners live in _brass_, their _virtues_ we +write in _water_." To relieve ourselves for a little from the +dreadful deeds of blood which have so lately engaged our +attention, let us turn from the "shadows," and try to pick out of +the negro character something a little pleasanter--something +which, if we are forbidden to term virtues, we may, at least, +give them the appellation of good qualities. + +In pursuance of our plan, I think we may mention filial +affection, and the respect they pay it. It is but seldom that a +child will behave ill to its parent; on the contrary, they +generally do for them whatever lies in their power. Age, too, is +particularly venerated; and the noisy little negroes at their +sport will stop while one of their old people are passing, with +"How d'ye, marm?" and "How d'ye, me pic'nee?" is the courteous +reply. Generosity may also be mentioned among the "lights" of +their character. When they see one of their own class in +distress, they generally relieve them to the extent of their +ability, and to their sorrows turn a listening ear. When any of +their friends or relatives die, they commonly have some little +offering to make to assist in defraying the expenses of the +funeral. Sometimes they will carry a bottle of wine or porter-- +sometimes bread and cheese, or a few biscuits, &c.; but however +small the article is, it is always gratefully received, for this +feasting at a funeral is as necessary to their idea of etiquette +as giving the corpse a shroud or a coffin. + +Nor do negroes always confine their generosity to their own +colour, of which I can give a striking example. It is true, it +does not much concern either "Antigua" or "the Antiguans," but I +have already apologized for wandering out of my path, and this +comes so _apropos_, that I cannot refrain from mentioning it. In +the course of my peregrinations through different parts of the +world, it has been my fate to meet with many deplorable objects-- +the half-starved diseased negroes--the dirty emaciated North +American Indians, and their miserable squaws, (as they term their +wives,) suffering from the effects of the alcohol they purchase +from their white brethren at the expense of their domestic joys-- +the ragged, quarrelsome "wild Irish," "the finest _pisantry_ in +the world," in their own estimation--the deformed and almost +naked beggars of England; but in all my travels I never saw so +truly wretched a class, taking them altogether, as the poor white +inhabitants of Barbados. I never shall forget the appearance they +presented to my eyes upon my first visit to "Little England," as +the Barbadians in their pride call their pleasant little island. +From the intense heat of the sun, and their constant exposure to +its rays, their complexions are changed from a natural white to a +fiery red. The women allow their long hair to float all down +their backs, and be blown about by every zephyr. This may sound +very pretty in poetry, but it is anything but pretty in _real +life_, particularly when we take into consideration the colour +and state of these locks; the fervent kisses of the "great +luminary" has changed them into the appearance of dirty flax, +while their disordered and matted condition brings the idea +forcibly to your mind, that they have seldom, if ever, undergone +the ordeal of "brush and comb." With respect to their persons, +they are, generally, almost in a state of nudity, or their dress +is put on in such a manner that it leaves you with that +impression; no shoes or stockings envelope their feet, while +their meagre, attenuated forms altogether produce an effect which +no pen can accurately describe. + +The men look even worse than the women, for to their squalid +appearance they add the air of a "Regent-street lounger." Their +castors stand in great want of "Rowland's Macassar," as well as +Dr. Winn's "true anticardiam," which engages to make _old_ +articles look like _new_; the original size has gradually +diminished until it is almost insufficient to cover their +pericranium, while the form beats in distortion those to be daily +seen in the shop-windows of "Lloyd." This _elegant_ article of +dress is placed upon _one side_ of the head, while on the other +protrudes a huge mass of disordered hair. With regard to the +other articles of clothing, they bear anything but the marks of +taste, their coats being generally "out at elbows," and partly +devoid of collars, their trousers reaching about half down their +legs, and the use of shoes and stockings dispensed with; a short +stick denominated a "two _foot_ two" swings from their hands, and +then the costume is complete. Their houses are as dirty as their +persons, and from their incurable habits of idleness, starvation +is often their fate. To these poor unfortunates, the Barbadian +negroes are known to step forth as their guardian angels; they +will work for them, feed them, clothe them, and often shelter +them from the weather, and all this is done without the slightest +wish or prospect of receiving remuneration; their generosity in +some instances knows no bounds, and they will attend to their +every want with the kindness and affection of a parent. Although +we have no such miserable objects in Antigua, still I am +persuaded that, were it the case, the negroes of this island +would not be behind their Barbadian brethren in these acts of +charity; for whenever any European sailors get out of employ, and +wander about the streets in a state of misery, (although brought +on by their own misdemeanour in most instances,) the Antiguan +negroes extend to them their bounty, taking them to their houses +and giving them food, and not unfrequently small sums of money. + +Next to generosity, cleanliness (in most instances) may be ranked +among their good qualities. Those who have any regard to +appearance make frequent use of water, which, in this climate, is +particularly conducive to good health; and they are careful to +make their children follow their example in this particular. In +their houses they are also very cleanly, and their culinary +articles are kept with the greatest care. They are very fond of +sending presents of eatables to their acquaintance, (such as +portions of their breakfast or dinner, &c., particularly +house-servants;) and when this is the case, they always pay some +regard to appearance. A clean white towel is wrapt round it, +whatever the viands may be; and if soup forms a part, it is sure +to be sent in a smart-coloured cup, with a cover. Sundays are the +principal days on which such presents are sent; and an observer +may often catch the little messengers peeping into the utensil +which contains the savoury mess, or tasting it, by inserting one +or more of their fingers, at the hazard of receiving a flogging, +should the tidings reach the donor's ears. + +It must, however, be allowed, that all negroes are not celebrated +for their purity of habits; on the contrary, there are many +exceptions among the indolent, and these present an appearance +painful to behold. Among the men, all the money they can procure +is spent upon that plague of the West Indies, "new rum;" +consequently, what they wear is of no importance to them. They +are, indeed, in a state bordering upon nakedness; and the filthy +manner in which they keep their persons renders them disgusting +in the extreme. A small insect, which is called a _chegoe_, or, +as the negroes express it, "jigger," gets into their feet; and if +not extracted in time, makes its nest and breeds in the flesh. +The dirty and indolent beings I am now describing allow these +insects to breed so fast, and remain until they attain to such a +size, that it is impossible for them to be taken out; and the +consequence is, they feed upon the flesh, until the feet are in +such a state, that they are often obliged to suffer amputation as +far as the knee. Again--the dirt which they allow to remain upon +them for so long a time, produces various horrible complaints, +which, in the end, also call for the knife of the surgeon. This +latter class of persons meet with the abhorrence of all their +tribe, who never fail to express their contempt whenever they +meet; and was it not for the humane conduct of the Rev. R. +Holberton, (whose name must often occur in "Antigua and the +Antiguans,") by seeking them out, and getting them admitted into +the lazaretto, (which owes its origin to his exertions,) many +must expire in the open roads. + +But to return to the good qualities of the negroes. Another thing +worthy of remark is, the quiet and decorous manner in which they +behave in a place of worship. Upon my first arrival in this +country, I was particularly pleased with the conduct of the black +congregation at the episcopal church. Not the least noise was to +be heard--only the voice of the preacher, and the deep, and +apparently heartfelt responses of the people; and during the +sermon, the dropping of a pin upon the floor could have been +heard, so silent and motionless were they. At particular parts of +the service, all were kneeling, with the _appearance_ of the +deepest humility. Nearly all the negroes belong to one sect or +the other, and keep the outward ordinances of religion with +exactness. They all talk of the goodness of God, of their own +unworthiness, and their hopes of salvation, &c.; but, alas! among +many of them, these are words _only_, as far as their general +conduct leads us to conclude. There are others, however, who +appear to have benefited by the instructions of their pastors, +conducting themselves in a praiseworthy manner, thus giving +encouragement to the missionaries,[27] who must feel richly +rewarded for their exertions in behalf of this benighted class, +and for being made, under the hand of the Almighty, the honoured +instruments of snatching them as so many "brands from the +burning." + +Among the higher order of negroes who have joined respective +sects are many who at times officiate as _parsons_ when those of +the "cloth" are absent. They bury the dead, (that is, when such +event takes place in the country,) read prayers to the sick, or +pray extemporaneously, (which is most frequent,) and sometimes +preach in the country chapels. I have heard an anecdote related +of one of these kind of parsons, who used to be very fond of +giving an oration at the grave; or, to shew forth his skill in +reading to the astonished multitude, favoured them with a portion +from some of his favourite authors. On one occasion, when a +minister was about to inter a friend of this black preacher, he +asked permission to read an exhortation after the funeral service +was performed. This request was immediately granted; and, +accordingly, he proceeded to his house, which was near the place +of burial, for his books. It took him some time to collect them +together, so extensive was his library; at length this important +exploit was effected, and he left his house, armed with folios, +quartos, and octavos, and proceeded to the grave. To his great +surprise, upon his arrival, he found the funeral over, the +minister gone, and the mourners dispersed; so, like poor Dominie +Sampson, he had to shoulder his volumes and return also. + +Perhaps it may afford matter of surprise to some of my readers to +hear that the negroes of former days could read or write; but +although slave-owners in general opposed the system of opening +the book of knowledge to their slaves, it is to the honour of +Antigua that she has been the most forward in pursuing a contrary +line of conduct, and allowing her negroes the privilege of being +taught those necessary qualifications. I am again referring to +those dark days of slavery when the negroes were looked upon as +little better than cattle; but in this part of my subject, I +cannot help remarking what a difference a few years has made with +regard to the instruction of the blacks. In former days, as above +alluded to, the negroes were purposely kept in ignorance both of +spiritual and worldly knowledge; all attempts to inform them were +decidedly against the wishes of the proprietors, (I am now +speaking of the West Indies generally,) who thought it one step +towards insurrection. From this state of darkness and bad policy +Antigua was about the first to awake; her efforts were at first +but very slow, and her plans but half formed. But now the case is +very different: schools abound in all parts of the island, both +for young people and adults; there is not a negro who cannot +obtain instruction if he wishes, and among the young there are +none but the very worthless who cannot read. In the statistical +part of this work will be found the number of schools, what sects +they belong to, and also the number of children; but besides +these, there are a great many private schools where the little +black boys and girls who attend are taught reading, writing, and +arithmetic. The Wesleyans were the first who instituted these +schools; they were followed by the Moravians; and upon the +appointment of a bishop to this diocese, the church followed +their example. + +Among the children who are instructed in these various schools, +many of them can read fluently, write a good hand, and cast up an +account with correctness; but with regard to those who gained +their learning at an earlier date, very much cannot be said for +their chirography. I have seen some of their writing, however, +which is very passable, while others, again, presented the +appearance of complete hieroglyphics, and which I should as soon +think of interpreting as the characters on the tomb of "Cheops," +or a Chinese manuscript. An anecdote is related of a person whose +name was Mac Namara; he was considered a superior kind of man for +his line, but was not much of a penman, his writing being chiefly +confined to the signing his own name. One day, his signature was +required in some haste, and taking the pen in hand, he commenced +"Macnamamamama," till at length, turning to some person who stood +near him, "Brother," says he, "tell me when me done; here, don't +you think it looks long enough?." It was his custom, it appears, +when signing his name, to look more to the _length_ than the +spelling, but being rather flurried on this day, he exceeded his +usual limit. + + + ------ + +[27] I include under this term the very zealous and worthy +preachers of the Wesleyan sect, and the kind-hearted Moravians, +as well as the established clergy. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXVIII. + + + + Negroes: Their amusements--Natural ear for music--Singing-- + Dancing--Subscription routs--Christmas balls--The ball-room + decorations--Ball dresses--Gentlemen's appearance--Ladies'-- + Politeness--Supper, and the supper-table--The morning after a + ball--Cards of invitation--The "good night." + +We have now to mention the amusements of the negroes, and their +conduct in their hours of recreation. The blacks have a +remarkable ear for music, and consequently are particularly fond +of singing. Indeed, they can hardly do anything without "forming +their voice to melody." The sailors, when heaving an anchor, have +a peculiar song which they sing in chorus, pulling the cable at +the same time. When moving their houses, (which it is customary +to do in this part of the world,[28]) another ditty is requisite; +and even if you get them to lift any article which obliges them +to use a little exertion, a song must accompany the action. Most +of these songs are extempore, and are sung to some favourite +tune, the poetry being generally a species of parody, or else a +ludicrous composition upon some person who may have attracted +their attention, either by a peculiarity in dress or manners; and +it is surprising how soon the whole tribe learn it. Some negroes +have a clear, sweet, and powerful voice, while others again +resemble the screech of a pair of bagpipes, or give the idea of a +parrot warbling an Italian air. The black boys are nearly all +good whistlers, and some of them will go through, with +correctness, many of our best airs, with variations. They are +also great psalm-singers, the streets often resounding with this +peculiar species of harmony. + +Next to singing, their favourite pastime is, to "trip the light +fantastic toe," and at this sport they are indefatigable. These +dancing parties are differently conducted; at some are danced +quadrilles! (I am not aware if the gallopades and Mazurka have +found their way into these _coteries_ at present, but as all +negroes are great sticklers for fashion, I suppose they have,) at +others only country dances and reels are introduced; while the +Africans are content with their own native dance, and their music +of the _Bangoe_ and _Tum-tum_. Christmas is the principal season +for these assemblies, although there are subscription balls held +once or twice a week in some of the small houses at the back of +the town. These meetings may be very agreeable to the negroes, +but they are anything but agreeable to those unfortunates who may +chance to inhabit houses in the vicinity. Little or no sleep will +visit their eyes upon those nights dedicated to gay Terpsichore, +and they may be led to misquote Shakspeare, and say, "_Dancing_ +murders sleep." The music generally consists of a squeaking +fiddle, a tamborine, (upon which they have a peculiar way of +performing,) and a triangle, played without any regard to time or +melody. The worst characters frequent these houses, and the +refreshments are always levied by contributions upon the public. + +Some of the Christmas balls (or as it is the fashion now to term +them, "quadrille parties") are, however, conducted upon a very +grand scale. The ball-room is decorated with branches of the +cocoa-nut, interspersed with the many beautiful flowers which, in +these sunny climes, grow in such wild profusion, while boughs of +the Pimento (or "Christmas bush," as it is generally called in +this country) and the orange tree, loaded with its tempting +fruit, impart a pleasing fragrance throughout the apartment. +Around the walls, brackets of deal are nailed to support the +innumerable tapers which serve to light up this "temple of +mirth," and throw a radiance upon the countenances of the ebon +beaux and belles. The orchestra generally occupies one end of the +apartment; and the company is arranged, in two lines, the ladies +upon one side, and the gentlemen upon the other. The glittering +throng at "Almacks" cannot outvie in dress with the _glittering +throng_ at an Antiguan negro ball. Fashion exerts her power, and +seldom finds more devoted votaries than among these dark damsels +and their loving swains. + +The dress of the gentlemen consists of a blue, brown, or purple +coat, (not _quite_ equal in make to one of Stultz,) with velvet +collar, and shining brass buttons; pantaloons, which would rival +in whiteness the snows of great St. Bernard; a many coloured +vest, a very smart cravat, silk stockings, and well-polished +pumps or fancy boots, with tassels, &c., in the most approved +fashion. In the folds of the cravat are deposited one or two +brooches, (not quite equalling in splendour and dimensions the +celebrated "brooch of Lorn," but no doubt thought by the wearers +to be very tasteful;) a glittering brass chain, which after +performing countless figures and evolutions around the neck, is +deposited with its accompanying quizzing-glass (set in the same +_precious_ metal) in the waistcoat pocket; sundry brass rings +upon the fingers; a box to contain that fashionable dust, called +by mortals--snuff, ornamented with a _correct_ likeness of "Her +Majesty Queen Victoria," or "Prince Albert," with cheeks of the +colour of red ochre, and eyes "like two full moons;" these, +together with a voluminous silk handkerchief, plentifully +besprinkled with _new rum_, sold under the approved name of "_Eau +de Cologne_," and then the costume is complete. + +Smart as these beaux are, the fair sex make a much greater +display. Their favourite colours are pink, blue, and bright +yellow, and of these their dresses are generally composed; but +the manner in which these several shades are arranged defies all +description. For example--a dress of white gauze or net, over a +yellow slip, is profusely decorated with quillings of blue +ribbon, interspersed with red flowers; or perhaps a blue dress is +ornamented with green trimmings. Of course these dresses are made +in the height of the fashion, very long skirts with flounces, and +tight sleeves, with lace ruffles, and streamers of varied tints, +while the long kid or lace gloves, are drawn up the arm to the +exact point at which such articles are worn. Among the bijouterie +displayed upon these _gala_ nights, may be distinguished a +diversity of brass bracelets, two or three encircling the same +arm; numberless rings, in which the "lively diamond," the ruby's +"deepening glow," the sapphire's "solid ether," the "purple +amethyst," the yellow topaz, and the green emerald, are +wonderfully imitated in coloured _glass_; these _choice gems_ are +liberally bestowed upon every finger, and I am not quite sure +that the _thumb_ is exempted. Splendid brass chains also encircle +their (not) _swan-like_ necks, long pendants gleam from their +ears, and very pink silk stockings, with red, blue, or yellow +shoes, are called in, to astonish with their brilliancy of hue, +the eyes of their attendant youths. But notwithstanding all this +finery, it is upon the adornment of their heads that these ladies +lavish the most time and pains. This may surprise some, when they +consider how devoid the negroes are of that great natural +ornament which Rowland, by the aid of his incomparable +"Macassar," so kindly and bountifully offers to dispense; but +still it is no less true, for what Dame Nature denies, art +bestows in the shape of a false set of curls, or a complete +_toupée_. These ringlets are cleverly fastened on by bands of +different coloured cotton-velvet, and the back of the head is +covered with wreaths of flowers and bunches of ribbons. Those +whose natural hair is long enough, wear it in what they term +"French curls;" but they never fail to have a sufficient quantity +of flowers intermixed with them. + +The gentlemen are particularly polite to the ladies, attending to +their little wants with the greatest assiduity, and watching +their every movement, to anticipate, if possible, their wishes. +The ladies are also quite graceful in their manners, and forget +not to practise those pretty little airs of affectation which +some of their white sisters so ably perform. + +When the tuning of instruments is over, and the musicians, by +stamping their feet and drawing up their persons to their full +height, give notice that they are ready, and have full confidence +in their own powers of drawing from wood and catgut "a concord of +sweet sounds," the ball commences. A gentleman advances with +smirk and bow--"Oh, Miss, will you dance wid me?" "I'se must be +excuse, Mr. Charles Edward, 'cause I'se got to dance wid Mr. +Albert" "Oh, Miss, den me be too late." Another lady is therefore +sought and won--"Wid much pleasure, Mr. Charles Edward." At the +end of the set, refreshments are handed about, and again the +gentlemen vie with each other in shewing forth their gallantry-- +"Miss, will you hab a glass of drink?" "I'se feel much obliged to +you, sir, if you please." The "drink" is composed of ginger, +water, molasses, and "Christmas bush," drank in a fermented +state. + +While the dancing is going on in one room, another apartment, +(or, if the house contains not such a desideratum,) a +neighbouring domicile is being prepared for the supper. Here, +again, their taste is shewn in the arrangement of the flowers &c. +with which the table is decorated, and in the disposal of the +many viands which are prepared for the occasion. They generally +employ a gentleman's servant to superintend, so that this is +often performed in the first style. Among the multitudinous +supply of eatables may be found baked mutton, legs of pork, +turkeys, ducks, fowls, and guinea-birds; hams, tongues, +salt-beef, and cheese; cakes, tarts, and fruits, flanked by no +inconsiderable quantities of yams, sweet potatoes, _Irish_ +potatoes, (as the Creoles always term them, whether they come +from England, Ireland, Scotland, France, or America,) boiled +rice, and bread. Nor must it be supposed these _solids_ want the +accompaniment of liquids--rum, brandy, wines, and brown stout, +are as liberally provided, and as liberally partaken of. + +Perhaps it may be asked, how do the negroes obtain these +different articles specified,--where find the _cash_ to meet +these heavy demands? In the first place, it must be taken into +consideration, that nearly all the negroes who reside in the +country, upon the different estates, keep a great deal of stock; +they have their patch of ground, in which they raise vegetables; +and living as they do nearly all the rest of the year upon less +expensive dishes, they have money enough by them to procure the +above luxuries. Then again, it must be remarked, that it is not +_one_ family which gives these routs, but almost in every +instance it is a joint concern. The company pay a proportion, by +the gentlemen procuring tickets to admit themselves and ladies +for half-a-dollar, about 2s. 3d. sterling, which of itself +affords sufficient means to provide all those sumptuous viands +and costly liquids with which they regale themselves when +fatigued with dancing. The competition for opening the ball is +generally very great, and from one to five dollars is demanded +for that honour; but such has been the contest at times that a +doubloon, or 3l. 4s. sterling, has been offered for obtaining the +enviable post; and this of course further adds to their +resources. + +When these grand balls are held in the country, the servants feel +no reluctance in riding their masters' horses to and from the +place of entertainment; and consequently it is nothing uncommon +for great complaints to be made the next morning by different +gentlemen, when they visit their stables. "Why, Thomas, what's +the matter with this horse? how jaded he looks," says the gent, +addressing his groom; "I hope it's not ill!" "Me no no, massa; me +quite sick meself, dat de trute," replies one of the _beaux_ of +the preceding night. "And this one," continues his master, "his +legs are quite swollen, and he's all over mud; I hope you have +not been riding them last night, sirrah! I know you are full of +tricks!" "Eh, eh! massa, me no say, me quite sick; war for me go +ride de poor dumb brute for, dat's all?" + +While this dialogue passes in the stable between the injured +master and his faulty groom, respecting the state of "de poor +dumb brute," who, had he the power of speech, could, like +Hamlet's ghost, "a tale unfold," a similar conversation takes +place in the house between the mistress and her confidential(!) +domestic. "Celestina, what is the matter with you this morning? +you don't seem to know what you are doing,--are you ill?" "No, +ma'am." "Then what do you look so heavy and dull about?" "Me no +able to sleep last night, missis," is the answer of the fatigued +belle. + +When the family meet around the breakfast table, "My dear," says +the lady, addressing her _cara sposa_, "do you know where John +(the butler) is gone?" "No, my dear," returns her better half, +sipping his mocha; "is he not in the house?" "No; he has not been +seen since last night." "Very strange," rejoins the gentleman. "I +must make inquiries about it as soon as I have looked over the +'Weekly Register;' the fellow gets too bad." At this moment the +door opens, and John enters, his head tied up in a handkerchief +and a quantity of plantain leaves;[29] his countenance, deprived +of its naturally deep black, displays a sickly-looking hue; his +heavy blood-shot eyes, turning from one member of the family to +the other, as if to inquire what they had been saying about him, +and presenting altogether a most rueful appearance. "Why, John," +cries his master, elevating his eyebrows, and wiping his +spectacles, to be certain it is really the lost butler,--"Why, +John, where have you been, and what have you been doing with +yourself?" "Quite sick, massa," returns poor John, in a very +doleful tone; "hab feber all last night, neber sleep 'tall a +'tall; head really hurt me; 'bleive me go get _hager_," &c. The +real fact of the case, John was one of the party the night +before, who had paid their devoirs too zealously to the "rosy +god," "jolly Bacchus," and the consequence was, headache and all +its accompanying et-ceteras, without the benefit of "soda water" +or "Morison's pills of health." + +When these "grand balls" are in contemplation, great is the +flurry and fluster of the conductors; cards of invitation are +issued about eight or ten days before; glasses, lamps, dishes, +&c., are borrowed from managers or overseers upon the estate +where the rout is given, or if in town, from any "buckra" who +they may live with; flowers are begged, or gardens robbed; and +many other necessary deeds achieved. I have several of these +"cards of invite" lying before me, and for the edification of my +readers, I will transcribe one or two of them _verbatim_:--"Mr. +James Hammilton Compliments to Mr. James, and invite him to a +Quadrille party on Tuesday next week, with lady;" addressed, "Mr. +James Hammilton to Mr. James, Spring Gardens." This is written +upon paper, which had once been white, but, alas! too many +touches have tarnished its fair character. The next which comes +to hand is traced upon that particular kind of green paper which +we commonly see wrapped round quills in the stationers' shop +windows, in far-famed London, and is expressed as follows:--"Mr. +James will be happy of Mr. Brown and Lady Company on Saturday the +2nd Quarter of the Moon. Price 4s. 6d. Lower Form."[30] The +direction to this last-named note is, I think, very unique-- + + "Mr. Brown, + "Town!" + +meaning, of course, that the gentleman resided in St. John's, the +capital of Antigua. + +Having given two specimens of their written invitations, perhaps +some of my readers may call out, "Enough!" but there is still one +before me, which looks so very dashing that I cannot pass it by +with any propriety. It is written upon a _red_ card, (placed in a +_blue_ envelope,) in the following manner:-- + +"Mr. Edward and Sam will happy of Mr. Hues Company on the 25th +instant, &c. Quadrilles in Bishopsgate Street. + + "G. Priddeys, + "G. Silises. Stewards. + +(Direction) "Mr. Hues, Esq." + +The ball generally breaks up between four and five, and then +there is great cloaking-up with the ladies, the gentlemen lending +all the assistance. "'Tanky, Mr. _Theopolus_, you're bery kind, +I'se sure." "Miss, anything dat _lays_ in my power for a lady +like you." "Oh, sir! you're very purlite." "Miss Eleanora, does +dis shawl 'blongs to you?" "I'se 'bleive it do, Mr. Frederick." +"Well, I do declare, I thought so, 'cause it's handsome, like its +owner," &c. &c. The _Good nights_ are then repeated, and the +ladies move off, accompanied by their _beaux_, and the late gay +ball-room is left to the smell of expiring tallow-candles, and +lamp-oil; drooping flowers, and broken bottles; sleeping +musicians, and half-starved dogs, who creep in with the hopes of +picking up a stray bone or two; until the bright sun arises, and +bids the inmates bestir themselves to clear away the relics of +their midnight orgies. + + + ------ + +[28] For mode of moving houses, see page 132. + +[29] A negro's specific for the head-ache. + +[30] I am not quite certain what is meant by this expression; but +suppose it relates to the arrangement of the forms, or benches. + + + + + CHAPTER XXXIX. + + + + Negroes: Fondness for "Nancy stories"--Negro loquacity--Their + signification of the word "cursing"--Markets--Confusion of + tongues--Weddings--The drive to church--Wedding banquet-- + Blushing brides--Funerals--"Wake nights"--Funeral procession-- + Christening--High-sounding names. + +After dancing, I think the next favourite pastime of the negroes, +particularly among the younger ones, is to collect together upon +a fine moonlight night, and talk "Nancy stories," (which, as +before remarked, generally consist of tales of _diablerie_,) and +the far-famed "Scheherazade" of the "Arabian Nights" could +scarcely invent more marvellous ones. Some tell of a wondrous +bird, (equalling in magnitude Sinbad's roc,[31]) which in other +days appeared, and completely covered Antigua for some time, +obliging the good people to "light candle all de day, so dat dey +neber no when night come self;" others tell of men turning into +monkeys, (no uncommon thing now-a-days;) some of demons, and +their deeds; and others, again, of golden houses, and streets of +silver, flying dragons, and talking birds. These "Nancy stories" +are generally given in a species of recitativo; but the +conclusion to them all is the same--"I was dere, an see it well +done, and I get a glass of wine for me pains!" The relater of +these tales is held in great repute, and to obtain instruction in +the art, many a little negro will give their dinners, and go +hungry to-bed. + +The negroes are indefatigable talkers, at all times, and in all +seasons. Whether in joy or grief, they ever find full employment +for that little member, the tongue. If none of their acquaintance +are near at hand to enter into conversation with, they talk to +themselves, maintaining different characters, and answering their +own questions. I have often thought two persons were conversing, +but upon inquiry, have found it to be only one. One peculiarity +of expression among the negroes is, that if you have to find +fault with them, and you express your dislike of what they have +been doing in the mildest terms, they immediately say you have +been _cursing_ them. When speaking, their tongues are very +vociferous, and prove extremely disagreeable to a stranger. Upon +my first arrival in this island, I was one day seated in a back +apartment, and wandering with Milton through the blissful shades +of Paradise, when I was aroused by hearing one of our domestics +speaking in a most clamorous manner. I bore it patiently for some +time, until finding it appeared to have no _terminus_, I +exclaimed--"My good Sarah, I should feel particularly obliged if +you would not speak _quite_ so loud." How was I surprised, a few +moments after, to hear the same servant calling, in a still +louder tone, to one of her companions--"Sissy, (_Ang._, sister,) +war for you 'peak so loud? Me 'bleive you no hear how missis +_curse_ me just now for doing dat 'ting!" + +But the market is the place, where the chattering is the loudest +and longest; it is a complete Babel--a scene of confusion almost +unimaginable. Black, brown, and yellow--indeed, almost every tint +which "sober autumn" wears--may be met with in the crowds of men +and women, boys and girls, who frequent the busy spot. The women +scream--men shout--the boys and girls, clad _à la nature_, laugh +--the little pic'nees, (as the negroes call their babies,) +clinging round their mothers' hips, squall. In this warm country, +where meat is obliged to be dressed soon after it is killed, most +of the stock is brought to market alive; so to this tumult of +human voices is added the cry of goats, squeaking of pigs, +cackling of poultry, &c. To increase the noise, the venders call +out the different articles they have for sale:--"Want any corn +_poon?_" (_Ang._, pudding)--"Want any green corn _duckana, +ladies?_" (a similar production)--"Want any _yam_ and +_pitaters?_" (potatoes)--"Here's your peas and pork!" Another +party cries--"Bargain, ladies! Bargain here!"--"Here's your +'trong cloth! Here's your nice handkerchief! tie your head smart +as eber! Here aw you see de last an de bery best, aw you cum buy +um--only a bit and a half," (about 6d. sterling.) One cries out-- +"Pine tarts and pickled peppers!" while another vociferates-- +"Nice fat chickens, ladies, and castor oil!" rather heterogeneous +articles, it must be allowed. + +Evening brings no silence with it; for then the _cries_ increase. +"Candles here, ladies! Candles here! hard, like stones--burn like +wax, (in plain English, _soft as butter_,) two for a half-a-bit!" +(2¼d. sterling.) "Here your nice crackers! (small American +biscuits,) seven for a dog! Here your fine coffee! Cigars here! +Cigars here! only cum see, make you buy! Here your nice cakes!-- +Fish! fish!! fish!!! just come out of the sea, ladies! ladies! +make haste, an buy dem!"--"Sugar-cakes here! Bread here! Salt +fish here! Cum an look, only cum an see!"--"Goat-meat here, +ladies! Sheep-meat! Vine here! (the vine of the sweet potato, +used for fattening stock.)" "Want any grass? Want any wood? Want +any pies? Sweet _oranger_ here! Ripe pear, really nice!" besides +a thousand other announcements, fill the air, and deafen the +hearers. Talk of _London cries!_ oh! they are mere _whispers_ to +the _West Indian ones!_ The "dustman's bell," or the "watchman's +rattle," would, I verily believe, pass unnoticed amid their +stormy tongues. + +At the principal market, which is held upon a Saturday, (the +Sunday markets having been abolished, by orders of the +legislature, in 1831,) all kinds of articles may be met with. +Beef, mutton, pork, and goat's flesh; live pigs, sheep, goats, +and lambs; ducks, fowls, turkeys, geese, and guinea-birds; +potatoes, yams, eddoes, peas, &c.; and fruits of every +description, including the luscious pine-apple, the cooling +melon, the fragrant guava, and the delicious "jelly cocoa-nut." +The market is also plentifully supplied with varieties of fish; +some of which are very delicious fare. Besides these enumerated +articles, hot soups, boiled horse-beans, boiled peas, and Indian +corn, "fungy and pepperpot," (a standing Creole dish,) "fried +fish and dumplings," souse, pigs' heads, and black puddings, with +all kinds of cakes, bread, "drink," spruce-beer, Dyer drink, +(made from a peculiar bark,) and different varieties of +sugar-cakes, are exhibited, to allure the eye, and charm the +taste of the sable beauties who attend this mart. Many other +wares are also sold in this place of bustle, which, according to +the Antigua black bellman, would be "to _tedus_ to _'numerate_." + +It was formerly the custom to ring a market-bell at six in the +morning, and the same hour in the evening, and also to have a +clerk of the market, whose duty it was to see that the street +where the market is held was properly swept, and that the people +dispersed upon the ringing of the bell. For his services he +received the sum of 200l. currency per annum; but the legislature +at last thought it a waste of the public money, and within these +few years the office has been disannulled. There is no +markethouse at present, the principal market being held in a long +street running from the court-house to one of the gates of the +churchyard. It was under consideration of the house of assembly, +some time ago, to erect a covered market, but the proposition was +overruled. + +From a visit to the market, we will take another turn, and +accompany the bridal party in their attendance at the altar. In +former days, during the existence of slavery, the ceremony of +marriage was but seldom performed, consequently the nuptial +feasts were "few and far between." The case, however, is now very +different; for, since the "glorious 1st of August," (1834,) +weddings are very frequent, and many a grand fête is given in +honour of the "saffron-crowned god." The first step upon this +eventful occasion is, of course, to get the bans of marriage +published--or, as they term it, "to hab dere name call out"-- +unless they can afford to purchase a licence, which is the case +with some. Then comes the purchasing of that "small and holy +round," the wedding ring, the bridal dresses, and the wedding +breakfast. When all these preliminaries are arranged with +satisfaction to themselves, the next grand point is to borrow, +from different gentlemen, horses, gigs, and phaetons. Not being +their own property, and not often having the _chance_ of shewing +off their knowledge of the "whip," no mercy is shewn to the +unfortunate animal they that day guide. To give _éclat_ to the +wedding-day by astonishing the inhabitants of the town, the +gentlemen drive as violently as they can up one street, down +another, turn the corners like wildfire, and then, after running +over a chicken or two, or disturbing the ruminations of a few +quiet ducks, deposit their female companion at the church doors, +and start away, in the same random manner, to fetch another fair +dame from her homage at a sixpenny "looking-glass." It is +impossible to describe the noise and confusion which ensues on +mornings when such deeds are done,--Virgil's chariot-race was +nothing to the speed with which these aspiring youths urge on the +foaming steeds. The consequence of this is, that the horse is +very often returned to his owner broken-kneed, or else killed +upon the spot, by the shaft of another gig penetrating its chest; +and the carriage left minus a shaft or a wheel. + +At length the company assemble in the church, the clergyman +arrives, and the ceremony begins. The "blushing bride" has +frequently to snuff up the fumes of her "eau de Cologne," to +support her trembling frame in that moment of excitement, and +many a rent is made in the white kid gloves, as such articles are +drawn off to sign the marriage X, when, as it frequently happens, +the art of writing has been dispensed with in their education. +The ceremony over, the party again enter the different vehicles, +and after driving in the manner before described, re-assemble at +the house where the nuptial banquet has been prepared. This is +conducted in similar style to the "ball supper," already +mentioned; great mirth and jollity prevail at it; the health of +the bride and bridegroom is drunk in "full goblets;" many a loyal +and willing toast, no doubt, given, and then the company +separate. I must not forget to mention that a wedding-cake of +approved dimensions, and splendidly arrayed in gold and silver +leaf is placed in the centre of the table, and calls for many a +sidelong glance from those damsels who, as yet, are doomed to +remain in single blessedness. Sometimes these wedding breakfasts, +or whatever else they choose to term them, are held in the +country; at other times, the company remain in town, and the +bride and bridegroom retire there by themselves to spend a part +of the "honeymoon," and then return to the capital to receive the +complimentary congratulations of their friends, and make their +appearance at church in their wedding attire. + +The dress of the gentlemen upon this eventful occasion is similar +to that worn by them at their balls: brass chains and rings are +rubbed up with chalk in order to restore their pristine +brightness; silk stockings, dyed with the flowers of the Hybiscus +to the colour of a pigeon's legs; and shops and stores ransacked, +to procure waistcoats and stocks of the brightest dyes. The bride +is generally arrayed in white: if they can raise sufficient +_cash_, white silk, satin, or figured "challis" is the material; +but if the funds are rather _low_, white muslin suffices them. +The bonnets are either white satin, or tuscans trimmed with white +ribbon, and wreaths of white flowers are fashionably arranged on +the left side. Veils are sometimes worn upon these occasions, (to +hide their "_blushes_,") and "parasols and sandals," and then the +lady's dressed. The morning after the wedding, the "bride's cake" +is sent round to their numerous acquaintance; and then they +return to their usual business and their dishabille, until the +sound of the "Sabbath bell" bids them open their chests of +cedar-wood,[32] and put on their gala-dress. It may be remarked +that the greater part of these "_blushing brides_," these +"nervous fine ladies," have been living several years in a state +of concubinage with different persons, and are perhaps the +mothers of several children; but still marriage is a state which +"calls up all our hopes and fears," and the black buckras[33] (as +these dashing black people are called in this country) think the +ceremony would be incomplete did they not shew forth some +emotion, or call up from their source some of those + + "---------------------- drops that fall, + When the young bride goes from her father's hall." + +We now come to take a view of their burials. I have in a former +chapter made some mention of these ceremonies; but still there is +a great deal to be said, for be it known, a negro funeral is a +matter of no small importance. + +When the intelligence reaches them that one of their friends has +departed to another world, many of them immediately flock to the +residence of the defunct, and are very ready to assist in the +melancholy but necessary offices which are required to be +performed. The first consideration of the relatives is to procure +a coffin, a decent shroud, and a suit of apparel to inter the +corpse in. The coffin is made of deal boards, _not over thick_, +and is covered with black or white cotton cloth, according to the +age or state of the individual; those persons who cannot afford +to purchase cotton for this purpose have the coffin painted black +or white. Among the higher class of negroes the shroud is made of +white mull muslin, but those of less means purchase cotton +cambric, while the _very poor ones_ are enveloped in a sheet. If +the deceased has a pretty good stock of clothes, the best amongst +them are selected for the occasion. Should it be a man who is +dead, he is arrayed in his "Sunday clothes," with the exception +of coat, shoes, and hat; but if it is a female, her best white +dress is used, a cap trimmed with white ribbon is placed upon her +head, a white band round her waist, silk stockings, and white +gloves. The warmth of the climate necessarily obliges the +interment to take place soon after dissolution; for example, if a +person dies one day, he is buried the next. The intervening night +is called by the negroes "wake night;" and about seven or eight +in the evening a great number of persons of both sexes meet at +the house of death to assist in keeping the "wake." This is +understood to mean, the singing of psalms and hymns over the +corpse; but, in most cases, while the females are so employed in +one part of the house, the young men are laughing, talking, or +playing off practical jokes upon some one whom they deem not +quite so wise as themselves. It sounds very melancholy, should +you chance to be awake at the solemn hour of midnight, to hear +these persons chanting forth their sacred lays, and as the breeze +sweeps its strain to and from your ear, memory "starts up +alarmed, and o'er life's narrow verge looks down" upon a +"fathomless abyss." But in the midst of these thoughts the +heartless laugh breaks upon your ear, like the voice of some +scoffing demon; and "so dies in human hearts the thoughts of +death," for "all men think all men mortal _but themselves!_" + +About five o'clock in the morning, coffee, bread, biscuits, and +cheese, are handed round, and then the company depart, until such +hour as the funeral is arranged to take place. Some of the +nearest friends or relations, however, remain all the time, and +of course partake of the different meals provided; for there is +one thing worthy of note in these negro-funerals--grief never +spoils their appetites. If the person dies in the country, it is +sometimes the practice to bring them into town during the night; +at other times, the funeral takes place in whatever part of the +island they may chance to reside in. The company assemble to a +town-funeral about four o'clock, and (a multiplicity of chairs +having been borrowed from the neighbours for the occasion) seat +themselves, the women in the house, and the men on the shady side +of the street; but as for thinking of _death_, and its important +consequences, it is as far from them as if they were at a ball or +a play. They laugh, they joke, they make bargains, and they +discuss the news of the day, and think no more of the inanimate +corpse within, than if it had been a waxen figure, or an ideal +form. I am sorry to add, that it is not the negroes alone who +exhibit this utter thoughtlessness of heart upon these melancholy +occurrences, as I shall have further to mention when I come to +speak of the superior grades of society. But to resume our +subject: about the time the company are assembled, and the +bearers arrayed in white or black cotton scarfs and hat-bands, +according to the age of the deceased, the hearse arrives; for, it +is to be remarked, it is but seldom that a funeral takes place in +Antigua without the attendance of one of those "carriages for the +dead." The hearses are rather differently constructed from those +used in England, having more the appearance of a van painted +black. There is a top to them in a kind of half-pyramidal form, +mounted by a few brown-black or dirty white feathers; the body of +the hearse is partly railed round, so that the coffin can be +seen, and a door opens behind. They are drawn by two sorry +horses, one perhaps white and the other brown; or, as is often +the case, one a horse about twelve hands high, its companion a +Canadian poney, rough and shaggy as one of the Shetland breed. +Another observable fact is, that these animals are generally as +opposite in tempers as they are in appearance, so that while one +is wishful of going to the east, the other has an incontrollable +desire of proceeding in the opposite direction. This, as may be +supposed, leads to a violent contention between them and the +driver keeps the company standing in the streets and often +endangers even the safety of the vehicle. A stranger could not +fail to notice all these particularities, and also the indecent +manner in which the hearse is driven to the house where the +corpse is, and upon its return from the place of interment-- +namely, as fast as the two horses can possibly be urged. + +Another matter of surprise to a stranger is to see the prodigious +number of persons which attend these funerals, often consisting +of from four to five hundred, and very seldom less than from two +to three. These persons are arranged as follows:--The nearest +members of the family walk immediately after the hearse; if the +deceased is a man, then follow a number of that sex, then a +number of women, after them men again, and so on until the +procession is complete. On the contrary, should the corpse be +that of a female, the women precede the men; the train is +sometimes so long, that it reaches the entire length of a street. +Of course it is not to be supposed that all this multitude is +habited in black; from the short time which intervenes between +the demise and the interment, even the family are unable to +procure mourning, unless, as it sometimes happens, they may +chance to have those sable garments by them; the consequence of +this is, that the procession presents a most motley group. Some +of the followers are indeed habited in black; some in white, with +a little black ribbon and a coloured bonnet; but the greater part +appear in the various hues of the rainbow. As before remarked, at +these funerals almost all their friends give something, if it is +but a bottle of wine, or a small quantity of tobacco, and so +universal is this practice, that I knew a servant who refused to +attend the funeral of his father, because he had not money enough +to give. It used to be the custom in former times, to hand round +to the company cake, wine, rum and water, porter and "drink," but +this is now dispensed with; the greater part of the assemblage +follow the corpse to the place of burial, and then disperse. When +a funeral takes place in the country, however, a grand dinner is +generally provided for the company after the ceremony is over; +and on these occasions all is mirth and joy, and the cup and the +glass is so often replenished, that many of the party return home +in a state of intoxication. It is among the Moravian +congregations the largest funeral processions are seen, the +reason of which is as follows:--As is the case in the established +church, and with the Methodists, the Moravians have formed a +society among their own people, in which every member throws in a +certain sum monthly, and when attacked by illness a doctor is +found them and so much per week allowed until they recover. When +any of these members of the Moravian society die, it is incumbent +upon the rest to follow the deceased to the grave, or if they +fail in so doing, a fine of 2s. currency is imposed upon them; +the consequence is, that, as few like to pay this penalty, they +endeavour upon all occasions to be present. + +A christening sometimes gives rise to another entertainment, +although, of course, not so grand as a wedding or a ball; fruit, +cakes, and wine forming the principal repast. The baby is very +smartly dressed in a long white robe, smart cap or bonnet, and is +carried in the arms of one who acts for the day as an attendant, +with a parasol held over it to screen it from the sun's rays, +although at other times it is exposed to every change of +temperature with scarcely anything to cover it. In former times, +the negroes were generally known by the names of "Sambo," +"Pompey," "Quashy," "Quasheba," &c., &c., but those days have +long ago passed. The "march of intellect" has marched into the +West Indies, and we now have "Arabella Christiana," "Adeline +Floretta," "Rosalind Monimia," &c., for the girls; and "Augustus +Henry," "Alonzo Frederick," "Octavius Edward," and similar +_high-sounding_ names for the boys. "What's in a name?" is a +query. I think a great deal; but really it is perfectly +ridiculous to hear such aristocratic appellations applied to your +servants. The parents are not always satisfied with even two +names, but are unconscionable enough to add a _third_. To hear +them accosted by these lengthy names brings to recollection "Miss +Carolina Wilhelmina Amelia Skeggs," whom Goldsmith has +immortalized. + + + ------ + +[31] A large bird mentioned in the travels of Sinbad the Sailor, +a tale in the "Arabian Nights." + +[32] A chest made of cedar, for the purpose of containing their +wearing apparel, is looked upon by the negroes as quite +indispensable; and consequently, there are but few among them who +do not lay by part of their earnings, that they may be enabled to +procure one. + +[33] It may be necessary to remark, that the word _buckra_, in +the negro tongue, signifies "a white person;" but as the smart +people I have been describing imitate in everything _fairer +brethren_, they are ironically termed "black buckras." + + + + + CHAPTER XL. + + + + Negroes: Further sentences upon "dress"--Sunday transformations + --The black cook and his metamorphosis--Christmas waits--Negro + houses--The mode of building upon estates--Town negro houses-- + Architecture--The mode of moving houses. + +I have in so many places made reference to the style of dress +adopted by the negroes, that to bring it under a particular head +may be deemed superfluous. And yet I cannot let it pass without +saying something more upon this subject. + +I must own I was very much surprised, on first arriving in +Antigua, at the style of dress adopted by these people. That the +negroes were very fond of adorning themselves I was well aware, +but I thought it consisted in a display of what we should term +_trumpery_, such as the worn-out garments of their superiors +which had once been smart; but I was soon undeceived. It was +during the jovial season of Christmas I first made my appearance +in this island, a time of all others devoted by the negroes to +the purpose of exhibiting the contents of their wardrobes. +Christmas-day, and the two succeeding days, are, in this country, +exclusively termed "Christmas;" and poor indeed must be the negro +who does not sport a new dress upon that occasion, even if they +have to wear nothing but rags for the rest of the year. Those of +the _fair sex_ who can afford it, generally purchase three +dresses; one to wear each day, and formed of various materials, +such as silks, (figured and plain,) satins, mousseline de laines, +challis, crapes of different names and textures, or handsome +white muslin robes variously embroidered. The fashion now in +vogue among these _ladies_ is, to have the skirt of their dresses +dropping on the ground for about a quarter of a yard in length, +the bottom terminated by two rows of flounces, _demi-bishop_ +sleeves, and pointed corsages. But the great novelty is in the +arrangement of the different tints, most of them thinking they +are not sufficiently well-dressed if they leave out any of the +prismatic colours. The bonnets are worn just at the back of their +heads, and often present a singular appearance. A negress lately +presented herself to my notice, whose dress deserves particular +attention. Her daily business is to work in the cane-field, and +for some time past I had been used to see her bringing grass for +the use of our horses in a state approximating to nudity. Upon +the Sunday she honoured me with a call the case was, however, +very different. Her dress of figured white muslin was profusely +ornamented with pink ribbon and fringe of the same gay tint, her +silk stockings were "ditto to match," and her shoes yellow, with +white sandals. But her bonnet struck me as most particular; it +was formed of that material called "Tuscan," lined with green, +trimmed with pink, and further decorated with a prodigy among +flowers, a blue rose with silver leaves! + +Another very favourite article of dress amongst these black +belles, is what they term "a Victoria cloak," which is nothing +more or less than a square of coarse net, tamboured, in the +commonest manner, in large flowers; but which, like everything +else of the present day, is named after the queen. I am sure, did +her majesty but know how her name is applied to all kinds of +articles, from a steam-coach in England, to a lap-dog here, she +must think herself greatly honoured! I have already spoken of +their splendid jewellery, and therefore it only remains for me to +mention, that elaborately worked collars, with three rows of +cotton lace round them, fancy reticules, coloured boots and +shoes, and parasols, are to be found composing a part of their +attire. The latter mentioned articles are unfurled, and twirled +about by the young ladies with peculiar grace; but those who are +less modish in their manners generally close them, and carry them +over the right shoulder, with the end sticking up like the point +of a bayonet. A few years ago, the negroes were accustomed to tie +their heads with Madras handkerchiefs of the brightest dyes, or +else wear large leghorn or silk hats, covered with flowers and +ribands; but since emancipation, bonnets are most generally worn, +particularly among the young, although some still prefer the use +of the hat. + +The gentlemen negroes present also a most _dandified_ appearance. +Surtouts or coats of different colour, with velvet collars, +splendid waistcoats, white or coloured trousers, with very +high-heeled boots, are most in vogue. It is customary with these +beaux, when they order a pair of boots, to give particular +injunctions to the cordwainer, to make them in such a manner that +they may "stamp and creak well," when they wear them. To these +specified articles of dress, must be added broad-brimmed hats, +silk umbrellas, (if they can get them, if not, cotton suffices; +but a negro never thinks himself well arrayed without this +article,) and pocket handkerchiefs, one end making its appearance +from the coat pocket. The persons who dress in this manner are +generally coblers, tinkers, carpenters, bricklayers, and +servants. It is almost impossible to know your own domestics, so +great are their metamorphoses. + +In the ship which conveyed us hither, was a black man, who +officiated as cook. Our first place of destination, after leaving +England, was British America, where we arrived in the beginning +of a very severe winter. Sincerely did I pity this poor man, for +his scant and tattered clothing was no protection from the +pitiless blast, and excessive cold of that hyperborean clime. +Being a native of so warm a country as the West Indies, and +having never before experienced the rigours of winter, it was +with some difficulty he could bear up against this (to him) +accumulation of ills. His custom was to remain in the steerage of +the ship, and when any of his messmates tried to arouse him, and +invite him to visit the deck, his only answer was, "I brought all +my fingers and toes from Antigua, and please God, I must try and +carry them back again." After remaining in America for some time, +(suffering _hot aches_, and I know not what beside,) until the +ship had discharged her cargo of _interesting_ emigrants, and +re-loaded with that necessary article "lumber," (_alias_ timber,) +we took our departure, with many a favour of "King Frost's" +hanging about our vessel, in the shape of huge blocks of ice. A +pretty fair wind soon carried us into warmer latitudes, and I +used frequently to remark, how delighted that _poor half-clothed_ +man must be. "Oh! oh!" was the answer, "that poor half-clothed +man, as you call him, is a very respectable and dashing fellow, I +do assure you, in his own country." I thought this assertion +bordering upon the burlesque, but I made no reply, wisely +remembering the old saying, "Time will shew all things." + +At length, after encountering, as every other mortal must, calms +as well as storms, one bright morning brought us to the shores of +fair Antigua. This, as I have before remarked, was during the +season of Christmas, the time for fun and dress among the +negroes. The morning after we landed, I early shook off "tired +nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep," and hurried over the +duties of the toilet in order that I might look about me, and see +what kind of _bipeds_ I had fallen in with. I had not long left +my apartment when I saw a very dashing-looking gentleman enter +the back gate, and approach the door near which I was standing, +admiring the bright sun and blue sky of this December morning. It +certainly struck me as rather surprising, that a gentleman of his +appearance should enter by that part of the house usually +appropriated to the servants, but I supposed it was one of "the +customs" of the country. Not wishing to be in that disagreeable +situation of having to introduce myself, I retired into an inner +apartment; but ere long I learnt, to my great surprise, that the +"_exquisite_," whose appearance caused my sudden departure, was +no less a personage than the black cook from on board the ship. + +Christmas is also the season here, as in England, for roast-beef, +plum-pudding, and plum-cake; most of the negroes endeavour to get +_one_ of these articles, should they not be able to procure them +all; but if their pockets are too low to do this, they purchase a +few raisins to treat their friends with. "Christmas day" is +ushered in with the sound of fiddles and drums; parties of +negroes going round the town about four o'clock in the morning, +playing upon these instruments for the purpose of breaking +people's rest, (for I am sure it cannot amuse;) and then they +have the assurance to call at the different houses during the day +for payment. At the conclusion of this serenade, or _waits_, or +whatever else they choose to term it, the musicians generally +raise their voices to the highest pitch, and call out, "Good +morning to you, massa; good morning to you, missis; good morning +to you, ladies and gentlemen _all!_" a flourish is then given +with fiddle and drum, and they march off to disturb another quiet +household. + +The next point to be considered is the dwellings of the negroes. +The generality of negro houses upon estates contain two +apartments, and are built of stone, cemented by a rough mortar. +The roofs are composed of _trash_ (the dry leaves of the +sugar-cane), loosely piled on, which gives them an untidy +appearance. Some of the industrious people, however, greatly add +to the look of the interior, by neatly ceiling them with the +split boughs of the cocoa-nut, formed into a kind of basket-work. +The best huts have the hall, or sitting-room, paved with bricks, +or a kind of smooth cement, and the sleeping-apartment boarded. +Among the articles of furniture may be found sofas, sideboards of +manchineel, (or some other species of native wood,) mahogany and +deal tables, and a large cedar chest. Besides these articles, +some of them possess decanters, tumblers, wine-glasses, and a +large bowl to make their punch in, with plates and dishes, +tea-cups, and various other kinds of gaudy crockeryware. These +are the residences of the head negroes; the next kind have their +stone-houses unceiled, and only the bare earth for their floor; +they contain but little furniture, two or three chairs of the +country make, a deal table, and a wooden box or two being their +principal stock. Some estates have fallen into a plan of building +their negro-houses entirely of wood, as it has been found that +the negroes prefer hiring themselves where such dwellings have +been provided for them. + +Since emancipation, many proprietors have disposed of part of +their uncultivated lands to the negroes, which are divided into +lots, measuring 30 feet one way, and 40 the other, at 30 dollars, +or 6l. sterling per lot. Upon these spots of ground, the +purchasers have erected houses, some of them very neatly +finished, and containing two rooms, a hall, and chamber; and here +they reside, supporting themselves by working upon different +estates, (where they obtain higher wages than the resident +labourers, on account of not being provided with houses or negro +grounds;) huckstering, or else working their own land. In some +parts of the island, whole villages are formed in this manner; +and from the similarity of the dwellings, and their several +little patches of ground, laid out in rows of different luxuriant +edibles, present, altogether, a very pleasing appearance. Some of +the poorer negroes build their houses in the following manner. A +sufficient number of stakes are firmly driven into the ground at +regular distances; these are interwoven with the branches of the +"black cherry," (a native wood,) stript of their leaves, and the +interstices filled up with clay. The roofs are composed of a +species of coarse grass (called by the negroes, "hurricane +grass," on account of its wild growth,) fastened on with the bark +of the "soursop tree." I cannot speak much for the apparent +comfort of these last-mentioned dwellings; there is one thing, +however, to be considered, warmth is not necessary in this +climate, yet, I should think, the heavy rains which fall at times +must penetrate them, and render their clayey floors still more +unpleasant. The fire with which the negroes cook their victuals +is always made in the open air, unless they fence in a small +portion of ground, and loosely throw a bundle of dry cane-leaves +on the top, in which case it frequently answers for stable and +kitchen. + +Those negroes who reside in the capital invariably have their +houses built of wood; they seldom consist of more than one room, +in which a whole family, of perhaps six or eight persons, eat, +sleep, and live; and from whence issue, upon a Sunday, those +_ladies_ and _gentlemen_ who equal in splendour of dress the +habitants of princely halls. The form of architecture is very +simple; four sides, of equal length, breadth, and height, are +first erected, and the whole surmounted by what is called a +_pitched_ roof, which also consists of four uniform sides, +meeting at the top in a pyramidical form. For further protection +from the weather, this roof is covered thickly over with +"shingles," (flat pieces of board, manufactured in America, for +that purpose, from the wood of the cypress, or cedar,) which are +put on in the same manner as slates. Some of these dwellings have +doors facing to each of the cardinal points, besides a window or +two; so that, when agreeable, they can have a free circulation of +air. When I speak of windows, it must not be understood I mean +such as contain any portion of glass; but simply what Dr. Johnson +calls them, "an opening in a house for light and air." These +houses are generally left destitute of any outward colouring, +except what they acquire from exposure to the weather, but when +paint is made use of, the favourite tints are yellow for the +sides, and red for the roof and doors. As I have before hinted, +many of these small houses are built by pilfering a board or a +plank at a time, or now and then a few shingles. It often +happens, that dwellings which are erected upon this plan, take +some time before they are completed. To assure myself of this +assertion, I need only raise my eyes from my paper, and one of +these _contributory_ edifices greets my view. It was commenced +before I came to the island; and after remaining here for about +two years, and returning to England for near the same period, +upon my second visit to Antigua, I found the house not quite +finished. I could not help observing this house during its tardy +erection; a stroke or two of the hammer now and then broke upon +the silent ear of night, and in the morning it might be perceived +that another board had been added to the side, or a few more +shingles nailed upon the roof. It most frequently happens, that +the possessors of these small tenements have no land of their +own, but pay a small ground-rent for the space occupied by their +habitations. When they are wishful of removing to another part of +the town, like the snail, they carry their houses with them, +which, from the manner of construction, is no difficult matter. +These buildings are always raised a little way from the ground, +and have a step or two at the principal entrance. Sometimes the +space between the ground and the house is entirely filled up with +loose bricks or stones; others have only an empty barrel, or a +few stones piled up at each corner, just sufficient to support +the fabric. + +When a removal is agreed upon, their first care is to hire a few +porters, and an accompaniment of trucks. These "four-wheeled" +carriages are firmly fastened together, and placed under the +house, the slight foundation pulled away, and strong ropes being +attached to the first truck, the porters (with the assistance of +other men, women, and children) commence pulling with all their +might, and the house moves off to the song and chorus adapted to +the occasion. To preserve its equilibrium, two men march on each +side of the house with long poles, which they place against the +side; one of these commences the song, (which is of their own +composition,) and the whole tribe join in the chorus of "Pull +away, my hearties," or similar phrases. In former times, when the +negroes had only the Sunday allowed them to perform any of their +own work, that day was used to execute these removals; but the +noise it occasioned during the period of Divine service was such, +that the legislature found it necessary to prohibit this practice +at the same time they abolished the Sunday markets. + +It is particularly disagreeable to be in the vicinity of these +houses when their owners take it into their heads to remove them. +The negroes are always noisy; but when such deeds are in +contemplation, they are more so than ever; the songs they sing, +the quarrels they have, and the language they use, would tire the +patience of the most stoical. Sometimes a sudden crash is heard, +and the whole edifice comes tumbling to the ground; this leads to +another "wordy war,"--the goddess Discord again waves aloft her +arm,--the whole neighbourhood is in commotion,--and poor I (who, +alas! am a most _unwilling_, but compulsory listener) cannot help +exclaiming--"Oh! that I were in dear old England, where at least +the houses are not moved." + + + + + CHAPTER XLI. + + + + Negroes: Occupations--Agricultural labourers--Black sailors-- + Their excessive gormandizing--The hungry captain's + disappointment--Black cooks--"Melted butter"--A receipt for a + cookery book--The obtrusive fish--Grooms and "house boys"--An + old planter's opinion--Concluding remarks. + +After mentioning the recreations, dress, and general habits of +the negroes, it may be necessary to give some account of their +principal occupations. By far the greater part of the black +population, as will be seen in the statistical portion of this +work, are employed in the cultivation of the sugar-cane, which, +although very laborious, pays them better than any other work. +When engaged in this pursuit, the hours of labour are as follows: +--the bell rings at six o'clock in the morning, and the negroes +proceed to the field, and remain there until nine, when the bell +again rings, and they go to their breakfast; an hour being +allowed for that purpose, they enter the field at ten, and remain +until twelve, when they leave for their dinners; at two they +resume their labours, which continue until six, when their daily +work is finished. It must be remarked, that during the short +days, they scarcely reach the field until near eight; and just as +the sun begins to sink, they confidently assert it is after six, +and refuse to work any longer, let the hour be what it may. +During the time of slavery, such women as were nursing did not +commence working until seven o'clock; but in these days of +freedom, they do not resume the hoe until their children are nine +or ten months old. Some of the negroes gain a very plentiful +subsistence, by buying a horse and cart, and carting manure to +the different estates; others again will agree with a planter to +do a certain portion of work; they procure other labourers, and +when the work is finished, they divide the profits; but let them +do whatever they will, they contrive to make such bargains, that +they never fail in obtaining a _good supply_ of that necessary +evil--money. + +Besides agricultural labourers, there are a great many artisans, +fishermen, and sailors. With regard to these last, I cannot say +whether they are very _firm_ in times of _danger_; but from +ocular demonstration, I can assert, that when the sky and sea +looks fair, they are very careless, although, from July to +October, the West Indian seas are very liable to sudden squalls. +These black sailors generally confine themselves to the +navigation of the Caribbean Sea, making voyages in small vessels +to the different islands. Very few of them know all the points of +the compass, some of them not any--their manner of steering being +more after the manner of the ancients. They see the sun when he +rises, and they know that is the east; they observe him when he +sets, and that, they are aware, is the west. Their mode of +proceeding when upon these voyages is, to keep within sight of +land as much as they can; and in most parts, the channels between +the different islands are so narrow, that this is not difficult; +but to make a bold stretch across, so as to lose all landmarks, +they seldom or never think of. The greatest peculiarity among +these black sailors is their extreme voracity--never were there +greater eaters. In my frequent voyages in these small vessels to +the other islands, I have had numberless opportunities of +observing this; for from the confinement of the cabins, and the +great heat of the climate, the deck is the only supportable part +of the vessel, and there it is the sailors partake of their +dinners. Such piggins of _fungy_, with accompaniments of rice or +potatoes, salt fish, or beef, as I have then seen consumed, and +in such a short period, is really marvellous! Even when at the +helm, they are occupied in eating biscuit, of which they +generally manage to have their pockets full. + +Upon one occasion, I was coming from St. Kitts to Antigua, on +board one of these small craft. The second day from our leaving, +the sailors caught a very large sucking-fish, (_remora_,) which +was scarcely pulled upon the deck, before they commenced the +operation of cooking it. The "captain," as he termed himself, was +that day unfortunately tormented by a violent headache; and after +seeing their prize safely deposited in a huge kettle of water, +laid himself down to sleep, in hopes of getting rid of his +unwelcome visitant. "Soft slumber" sealed his eye for many an +hour; but when at length he awoke, his first demand was for some +of the tempting dish, whose early stage of cookery he had so ably +inspected. "All eat," was the consoling reply to a hungry man. It +was certainly provoking, and so he seemed to think; for he put +himself into a violent passion immediately. "War for you eat aw +dat fish for, eh? fish big so to. War for you go do so? You aw +too much greedy--you aw reg'lar nagers." And with much growling +and grumbling, he was obliged to solace his unappeasable appetite +with a hard biscuit, instead of his favourite fare. + +This _penchant_ for eating among the negro sailors is universally +known. I have heard it remarked, by a gentleman of Antigua, (in +answer to some query upon the subject,)--"Oh! have nothing to do +with small vessels; or, if you _have_, on no account provision +them, but rather pay them so much a week to find themselves; for +those black sailors are never satisfied--they will be eating +eleven hours in the day, and on the twelfth they are, or rather +_pretend_ to be, hungry. This, I am sure, is the fault of their +mothers during infancy; for their common cry to them is--'Eat, me +pic'nee, eat; fill youself, an den go sleep;' so that the custom +grows upon them to that degree, that when they become men, they +cannot break themselves of it." So much for the remark; those who +are acquainted with the subject will, I think, readily assent to +the truth of it. + +In times of slavery, it was customary, among some owners or +managers of slaves, to allow such negroes as were not employed in +the cane-field the privilege of hiring themselves out to +strangers, providing they regularly paid to their masters a +certain sum weekly from the wages they received. Many of them +acquired a good sum by this permission; while others, again, +although they earned high wages, had to pay so large a proportion +to their proprietors, that they were not so well off in pecuniary +matters as those negroes who remained upon the property. Still, +they were comparatively more their own masters; and so dear to +every breast is freedom, that they preferred doing so, and +gaining less. + +Another large body of negroes are to be met with as domestic +servants. That there are some good servants among them none can +deny; but I am sorry to say, they are seldom met with. In +general, the men make better domestics than the females. Some of +those who hire themselves as cooks are very clever in their +profession, and will dress turtle in various delectable forms, +equal, if not superior, to the vaunted cooks at "Cornhill," or +the celebrated "M. de Barre" (late cook to Louis XVIII.) himself. +This is to be the more wondered at, as they have not half the +conveniences in the culinary departments as their brother cooks +on the other side of the water; on the contrary, many an +invention has to issue from their teeming brain, before they can +arrange these matters to their satisfaction. But one precaution +must be carefully observed, in order to insure success: in +cookery, they must be left entirely to their own discretion--no +improvement proposed; for either they are obstinately bent on +following their own plan, and will not adopt any other, or else +they do not fully understand their instructions; and what was +intended as an improvement will result in failure. + +It is the practice in Antiguan cookery, when "melted butter" is +used, merely to oil it, and send it to table in that state, which +to many strangers proves disagreeable. Soon after my arrival in +this country, I begged the cook to adopt some other plan, +explaining at the same time, to the best of my abilities, how it +was commonly done in England. The next day, at dinner, there was +something "in such a" _very_ "questionable shape" upon the table, +that I was fain to summon Mr. Cook from his tenement, to ask what +it might be. "Melted butter, missis," quoth the knight of pots +and kettles. "_Melted butter!_--impossible! it has more the +appearance of pudding, boiled like the French cook's, without a +cloth." "Eh, eh, missis, war for you go call him pudding? you no +tell me put flower in de butter--it _dat_ make him 'top so!" I +was confounded. After my learned dissertation upon melted butter +the day before, (which, by-the-bye, I borrowed from the worthy +Dr. Kitchener himself,) to be served in this manner was too bad; +however, it taught me never for the future to interfere with his +department. + +They have some peculiarities in dressing different meats in +Antigua which I have never heard of being practised in other +countries, although it must be owned my knowledge in such matters +is very limited, not having devoted much of my time to studying +the "Cook's Oracle;" indeed, (the truth must be spoken,) I am +better pleased to form an acquaintance with ragouts, or any other +dainties, when they are upon the table, than I am to inspect +their various formations, or become versed in their different +modes of cookery. But as some of my readers may, with Peter +Pindar, be fond of peeping into pots and pans, I will, for their +benefit, try to elucidate kitchen mysteries for once in my life, +and expound to them the method of _doving_ meat, as the Antiguan +cooks term such process. The first point to be achieved is, of +course, to procure the meat, and then to see that the "igneous +element," as Mr. Dryden learnedly calls fire, has attained a +sufficient degree of heat. These preliminary matters being +adjusted, an iron pot is made thoroughly hot, the meat placed in +it without the aid of water, and the utensil carefully covered +over. In this fiery durance it is allowed to remain until one +side becomes of an approved brown; it is then turned to another, +until at length it arrives at that state of superexcellence, +that, like "Sancho Panza's cow's heel," it has only to cry "Come +eat me, come eat me!" + +The greatest fault to be found with these kitchen gentry, these +black cooks of Antigua, is, that while from various meats and +spices they are compounding ambrosial food for their masters, +they forget the rules of equity, and, like the lordly lion of the +forest, keep the largest share for themselves. This is done with +impunity by all the class; they dread not even the "strong arm of +the law," nor exempt the lawyers themselves from this exaction, +if report speaks true. When discovered in these petty thefts, +they use the greatest art to make you believe it is a mistake, a +slip of (not the tongue, but) the fingers, and, consequently, not +their fault; or else, that "_somebody_" did the deed, and laid +the blame at their door. + +A gentleman proprietor of this island had a servant living with +him who was famed for practising this particular species of +depredation, quite an adept in the art, and who at the same time +possessed a tongue well versed in the doctrine of excuses. Many +and oft have been the occasions when this sable offender has +appropriated to his own share the eatables which ought to have +graced his master's table, and yet escaped without reproof. But +one day, (for so the Fates had willed it,) being pressed for +time, "Lemon" was obliged to transfer to his _pocket_, instead of +a place of more approved security, a fish he had adroitly managed +to purloin, and hurry into the dining-room, (in his double +capacity of cook and footman,) with the remainder properly dished +up. "Truth," says the old proverb, "will pop out its head;" and +although the stubborn fish did not exactly do that, it made +amends by popping out its _tail_, and proved to the master's eye +the undeniable fact of his servant's deviation. Unconscious that +his silent but no less true accuser had betrayed him, the faulty +cook kept his stand, until, at length, his master, pointing at +the same time to the purloined luxury, inquired, "Lemon, what is +that you have in your pocket?" His blushes, if he knew how to +blush, were effectually concealed by the blackness of his skin, +while, with the counterfeit surprise of innocence, he replied to +this question by asking another: "Pocket, massa? war pocket?" And +then, turning his eye to that particular part of his garment, and +perceiving in a moment that the presence of the obtruding fish +could not be denied, with ready cunning, he continued, "You see +dat, massa? you see dat, missis? you eber see how 'de ebil' +(witchcraft) follow me! Ebil come quite in me pocket, come put +fish dere, so make you aw tink me go tief it!" Oh, worthy Lemon! +oh, noble son of Ham! hadst thou lived in the days when Jupiter +and his train peopled bright Olympus, undoubtedly thou wouldst +have been turned into a constellation as a reward for thy +ingenuity! + +Among the grooms and "house-boys" (as the Antiguans call their +domestic men-servants) there are also some to be met with who +have a fair character for general good behaviour, but they are +rare instances--seldom found. The greater part of the grooms are +too fond of galloping their masters' horses, (a practice common +with most negroes, who will ride almost as soon as they can +walk;) and with respect to the latter-mentioned class, indolence +and prevarication form (as we have already seen) too often the +predominant traits in their character. + +Another peculiarity among this tribe is the freedom with which +they address their employers. This has even increased, if +anything, since emancipation; for now they are free, they appear +to think themselves upon an equality with the highest in the +land. They condescend, it is true, to take your money, but at the +same time seem to think it a degradation to do your work. If it +is necessary to find fault with any part of their conduct, they +generally return a saucy answer, or else make this rejoinder-- +"Bery well, as we can't agree, we best part; me no care to hire +meself out again;" and immediately collecting their different +articles together, (including, perhaps, some belonging to their +master or mistress, of course by mistake!) away they go, and the +only plan you can adopt is, to procure another domestic in their +place, who, perhaps, acts even worse. + +I would not wish to be thought unreasonably prepossessed in +favour of my own country-people, but, conscientiously speaking, I +have never met with one black domestic who acts with the same +degree of propriety as most of the English servants do. If you +keep them at their proper distance, they become dissatisfied, and +complain of your being harsh to them; if, on the contrary, you +shew them any degree of attention, and try to make their +situation as comfortable as possible, they then assume too much, +and entirely forget the difference of rank. Try to serve them, +and it is ten chances to one you make them your enemy; do them +ninety-nine favours, and refuse the hundredth, and you are +reviled and blamed as if you had injured them. + +An old English gentleman, who had spent the greater part of his +life in Antigua, and who has several hundreds of these people +under his control, used to say, that "the worse you behave to a +negro, the better he behaves to you." This is a doctrine, +however, which I do not admit, let the negro character be as +defective as it may. + +Oh! slavery, slavery! when will all the train of evils thou hast +originated cease? when will thy pestilential influence be +abolished in these beautiful, but (I must add it) crime-stained +islands? Another and another generation will have to pass away +ere prejudice is no more--ere suspicion is lulled to sleep, +before the servant will learn to look up to his master as his +protector, and the master view without distrust the services of +his domestic, and find in him an humble friend. + + + + + CHAPTER XLII. + + + + Negroes: Employment of the women--Washing--A scene at the pond + --Conversations--The sea-side--"Water frolic"--Hucksters-- + "Damaged flour"--Female porters--Masculine appearance of some + of the females--Indelicacy--Their mode of carrying burdens. + +Having given a short sketch of the manner in which the generality +of the negro-men employ their time, it will be proper also to +mention the occupation of the females. Many of these still follow +the employment to which they have been habituated from their +youth, the cultivation of the sugar-cane. But others, although +used to it in their days of slavery, now they have become free, +look upon it as degrading; and therefore, quitting the estates to +which they formerly belonged, and all the privileges incident to +their country-life, they hire a small house in some of the alleys +or outskirts of the capital, and there take up their abode. Among +this class of women, washing and huckstering are the principal +employments; and it is from the profits arising from these means +that they are enabled to bring up their daughters in comparative +idleness, and send them forth on Sundays dressed in the +ridiculous style I have already described. + +It may not be deemed superfluous to remark how differently +_washing_ is conducted in Antigua to the mode pursued in England. +There, among the good housewives who preside over such ablutions, +it generally occasions gloom and discontent, particularly if the +weather proves foul when the _water frolic_ takes place; in that +case (as the song says)-- + + "The very kittens on the hearth, + They dare not even play; + But away they jump, with many a thump, + Upon a washing day." + +But in this country, where blue skies and sun-shiny days +predominate, the case is quite the reverse. + +Groups of washerwomen may be seen in the morning with large +bundles of clothes upon their heads, their half-naked "pic'nees" +clinging round their hips, and similarly accoutred little urchins +running by their side, wending their way to some of the ponds +near the outskirts of the town. When arrived at the place +favourable for such sports or occupations, their bundles are +first put down, their youngest children placed upon the ground +with one of larger growth to watch over it, their own dress +properly arranged, and then the business of the day commences. + +The clothes are thrown into the pond, and allowed to remain there +until completely saturated with water; they are then taken out, +placed upon large stones, (which are generally to be found about +such spots,) and holding a piece of wood (in shape like a +cricket-bat, which they call a beetle) in their hands, they +commence pounding the articles with all their might, utterly +regardless of loss of buttons, causing large rents, or any other +_et cetera_ which may chance to happen. When they think the +clothes are sufficiently _washed_, (if that term can be applied +to this operation,) they are again steeped in the pond, rinsed +out, and then spread along the ground, to imbibe the heat of the +glaring sun. + +All the time the labour of the hands is going on, the tongue is +by no means idle. The news of the island is discussed; dress, +dances, and religion, descanted on; and the songs upon +individuals (already alluded to) composed. One party of staid +matrons commence a conversation. "You no go prayers last night; +bery well; massa miss yo--why yo no go? Don't you 'member what +godmodder (as they call their leaders in the Moravian society) +say 'bout aunty Nanny, 'cause she no go get her speak last +time?[34] Well! sure the Lor' he one good Lor', (what you keep +bawling so for, you cross pic'nee, eh?--me no gee you one cane to +suck, you good-for-noting you!" addressed by way of parenthesis +to a little crawling _black-a-moor_, who, unable to gain its +mother's attention by more pleasing means, is compelled to raise +its 'importunate call;') yes, me dear sister, de Lor' one good +Lor', and massa parson talk all good talk." Another party of +giddy, laughing girls, chatter away in a different strain. "I +say, Ange', (Angelina,) you see dem _challis_ se (sister) Eleanor +hab selling last week? Well, I buy one, only it no make yet, +'cause I no get money 'nough to buy de black lace to trim it. +I'se wants to hab it make like dat buckra lady's frock, she as +come from England the oder day."--"No, me no seed em; me buy one +robe dress Christmas gone. But did you hear 'bout se +Margate?"--"No; war 'bout she?"--"Eh! eh! you no hear. Why, last +night she war coming home past were de old play-house used to +'tan, when just as she get close de wall, dere she see one big +ole jumby man--ugly so! most kill her, she so frighten. Bery +well! she try to run, but he old jumby knock her down, fall to +lick (_flog_) her in such a manner dat she hab feber all last +night."--"Eh! eh! poor Margate! you b'lieve me, me no tink me +dare go by de ole play-house at night den." + +With conversations such as these they endeavour to lighten their +labours; and during the time the clothes are drying, some form +themselves into parties, and dance on the greensward to the music +of their own voices; others nurse their little children, or boil +their lunch (gipsy fashion;) while the more idle ones stretch +themselves upon the grass, and sleep away the hours until the +cleansed garments are perfectly dry, when they collect their +different articles, and march off to their respective dwellings +in the same manner as they came.[35] + +As remarked at the commencement of this chapter, among those +black women resident in the capital, are to be found an immense +number of hucksters; indeed, in every street, at every corner, +they are to be met with. These persons deal in different +articles; some in cloth of various fabrics, threads, tapes, +laces, &c.; some in salt-fish, corn-meal, (the flour from the +Indian corn,) rice, &c.; and others in fruits, vegetables, soap +and candles. Some of these hucksters occupy small shops of about +fourteen feet square, (which, by the bye, in most cases they are +obliged to use as their sleeping, dining, and dressing room as +well,) where they vend their different wares; while others +frequent the markets, or walk about the town or country with +their goods. These people purchase their goods from the retailers +upon a larger scale, or else buy them at an auction sale, of +which there are sometimes three or four in a day, at the +different merchant's stores. + +There is one peculiarity attending these small dealers, which is +worthy of note--this is, the great love they have for buying +"damaged flour," supposing they will be sure to get a bargain. +Upon this account, it is common among some merchants, when they +are about to dispose of this commodity by public auction, to term +it "damaged," when perhaps the only appearance of such mischance +is, that the barrel is a little dirty. It has been often known +for one of these sullied barrels to bring a larger amount than a +better article, simply because it was put up as damaged. + +Many of these women do nothing else but walk about to the +different sales all day, in hopes of meeting with bargains, +leaving the management of their shop (if they have one) to their +children. When an article is put up, they bid in pounds and +shillings, of which they have no conception; the consequence of +which is, that when they retire from the sale, and get some +friend to add it up in _dollars_ and _bitts_, (current coins,-- +the _dollar_ 4s. sterling, the _bitt_ 4½d.,) they become alarmed +at the amount of their purchases; and as there is no auction duty +to be paid by them, they will not return for the articles, and +consequently the merchant is obliged to bear the loss. + +Some of the females work as porters, hire themselves to mix +mortar for bricklayers, or even dig wells, (or springs as they +are termed in this country,) and clean out ponds. Many of the +negro women, particularly those who live in the country, and are +employed in agriculture, are so very masculine in their voice, +manners, and appearance, that it is at times a matter of doubt to +say to which sex they belong. This may be attributed to the +general system of treatment during slavery: they were required to +work the same as the men; and when punishment was thought +necessary, no regard was paid to their feelings, but their +persons were equally exposed as those of the other sex. Of +course, these proceedings in time rendered them callous, and in +the end, divested them of all those principles of modesty which +are so great an ornament to the feminine character, whether in a +high or low condition of life. The manner in which they were +accustomed to dress during their ordinary employments tended in +great measure to have this effect. A petticoat of coarse +linseywoolsey, or blue check, with a short jacket of similar +materials, constituted the chief part of their covering; and even +this was put on so carelessly, that frequently the upper part of +their persons was left quite bare. While employed in their daily +avocations, it is customary to tie up their garments almost--if +not quite--as high as their knees; and even when walking about +the streets of the capital, if it is rather wet weather, the same +degree of indelicacy is practised. All these causes combined, +tend to lessen the women in the eyes of strangers; although the +Creoles appear to see no indecorum in their style of dress, or +manners. + +Most negroes appear to be possessed of great strength, and will +carry immense loads, the women as well as the men. The head is +the part appropriated by the negroes to bear their burdens. They +carry tables, heavy boxes, boards, barrels, and similar articles, +in this manner; and if they want to convey a cup or a bottle, it +is placed in the same exalted situation. The very little +children, of perhaps not more than three or four years old, will +also place a calabash of water, or a bottle of rum, upon their +heads, and trip along without holding it in the slightest manner. + + + ------ + +[34] A religious ordinance among the Moravians. + +[35] In Barbados, the negroes make a little difference in their +mode of washing. Going down to the sea-side, they make use of the +sea-water, and then spreading them upon the sand, sprinkle them +occasionally with the briny fluid. When (during a short visit to +that island) I saw them thus employed, it recalled forcibly to my +mind the description of the Princess "Nausicaa" in "Pope's +Homer's Odyssey," who at the command of Pallas went to wash the +robes of state in the "mazy waters." + + "Then emulous the royal robes they lave, + And plunge the vestures in the cleansing wave; + (The vestures cleansed o'erspread the shelly sand, + Their snowy lustre whitens all the strand.)" + + + + + CHAPTER XLIII. + + + + Negroes: Exterior appearance--Difference of expression--White + negroes (Albinos)--Description of one--Black and white negroes + --Negroes' "bulls and blunders"--Exchange is no robbery, or the + lost specimens--Negro politeness--Negro tongue--Inebriation-- + Concluding remarks + +It is now necessary to make some mention of the exterior +appearance of this large bulk of the population of Antigua, the +blacks. As most persons are aware, the distinguishing features of +the negro tribe are thick lips and flat noses, to which +peculiarities may be added, their black and woolly hair; but that +there are no exceptions to be met with is an incorrect statement. +Even among the Africans themselves, some intelligent countenances +and expressive features are to be found, while many of the +Antiguan _Creole negroes_ are what may be termed very +good-looking. High and well-formed foreheads, black and sparkling +eyes, aquiline noses, and lips with only a slight pout, are not +uncommon. I would not, however, presume to assert that these +pleasing outlines predominate; on the contrary, a great many of +the negroes are very ill-favoured, approximating to what may be +called hideous; and this is heightened when, in contrast to their +ebon skins, is presented the snowy hair of old age, or when +suffering from that dreadful disease, the _elephantiasis_. Many, +again, are exactly like an ape, only, perhaps, they have not so +much animation in their countenances; while others, from their +thick, sullen-looking features, their over-hanging eyebrows, +white, gleaming tusks, and faces more than half covered with +hair, give no bad picture of "Master Bruin." + +It has been remarked by many persons, that they could not +distinguish one black person from another. A short time spent +among them shews you, however, that this is not the case, there +being, in reality, as much difference in personal appearance as +there is between the natives of England, although, from their +dusky hue, it is not so perceptible at first sight. This +dissimilarity consists, not only in features, but also in +complexion. Some of the negroes are black as "the ebon throne of +night," or the drear raven's wing, others present a kind of +"reddening gloom;" while many have that wan, _spectral_ +appearance, that you may fancy them suffering in the early stage +of the _black jaundice_. + +There have been instances in this island of Albinos being born +among the negroes; one, in particular, of the appropriate name of +"Wonder," belonging to an estate called "Mayers," astonished all +who beheld him. He was said to be as repelling in temper as he +was in person. One of these prodigies of nature was introduced to +me during my stay in the West Indies, and so extraordinary was +his appearance, that I cannot refrain from giving a short +description of him. In person he was rather tall and slender; his +complexion was of the colour of chalk and water, and no tinge of +carnation was to be found either in his lips, cheeks, or gums. +His hair, which, like that of all negroes, was short and woolly, +was perfectly white, as also his eyebrows and eyelashes; these +last were very long and thick, and completely shaded his eyes. Of +this member, the iris was of a very light grey, while what is +called the white of the eye, or more properly, the _albuginea_, +presented a yellow tinge; and, from the manner in which he +screened his eyes with his arm when looking up, he must have +possessed a defective vision. Although he was not absolutely +ugly, yet his appearance was such as to cause an involuntary +repugnance. The person who introduced this strange creature to my +notice acquainted me that he was of a very crabbed temper; but at +this I was not afterwards at all surprised, for wherever he went, +he was a matter of wonder and dislike, and every little negro +called after him as he passed along, "You see dat white nager?-- +well, me no like to be one white nager, me sure!" + +It is said that these "Albinos," or "Dendos," as the negroes call +them, cannot see during the middle of the day, but that at night +their vision is so particularly clear, that they can see to pick +up the smallest object.[36] + +There have also been instances of a negro being born _black and +white_ in Antigua; his parents were both black people, as were +the progenitors of "Wonder," whom I have already mentioned. Dame +Nature does play strange freaks at times; and surely when she +formed these white and "black and white" negroes, she must have +been in one of her most sportive humours. + +Many of the negroes have very good figures; but the assertion of +some authors, that there is scarcely ever a deformed person to be +met with among them, is as untrue as it is ridiculous. I profess +not to be a connoisseur in anatomical beauty, or to know the just +criterion as to what the human shape ought to be, but with regard +to this people, very many of them are anything but perfect in +their organization. One very perceptible defect is, their bodies +being longer in proportion than their legs; and in many +instances, these last-named members have a strong inclination to +_turn in_, or _turn out_;--in plain English, to be +_bandy-legged_. This latter blemish may, perhaps, be attributed +to the manner in which the women carry their children during +infancy: leaning upon one side, they place the child upon the +protruding hip, with its little legs clinging around their body, +which posture, in time, causes those limbs to _bow_ out. This +plan of carrying children is not only commonly practised with +their own offspring, but when engaged as nurses in respectable +families they use their little charge to the same awkward custom, +so that if you lift a Creole child, it immediately clings round +you in the manner described. + +The negroes, like the Irish, are famed for their "bulls and +blunders," in illustration of which, many an anecdote is related. + +During the period that Sir James Leith was residing in Antigua, +as governor of the Leeward Islands, he was very indefatigable in +his geological researches, for which Antigua affords an ample +field. Upon one occasion, his excellency had been labouring very +hard to collect from the bosom of "Mother Earth" specimens which +only a geologist can properly appreciate; and with a well-filled +bag of them, entrusted to the care of a negro servant, he left +the scene of his toils to refresh his animal spirits with some of +the _good things_ of this life. To ensure the safety of his +favourite specimens, the negro was despatched with them to "Dows +Hill," (the place where the governor then resided,) with strict +injunctions to make the best of his way, and carefully deposit +his load in his excellency's study until they could be properly +arranged. + +After receiving his orders, and well poising his load upon his +back, the man started upon his journey. The weather was very +sultry, and the way was very long; the bag was very heavy, and +poor _blacky_ was very tired. Still he plodded on "his weary +way," stopping only now and then to dash the flowing perspiration +from his brow, and had arrived within a mile of his home, when he +was suddenly joined by a friend. "Eh, buddy! (brother) why you +loaded true! War you got in that great big bag?" "'Tornes, +(stones,) me friend." "'Tornes! why war you go do wid dem all, +eh?" "Me no no. Massa gubbunor gib me dem to _fetch_ home, but me +no no war he go do wid dem; me no dem well heaby though." "Well, +if eber me hear de like! for one somebody to go haul all dem +'tornes sich a long way, when dere plenty ob dem all 'bout 'Dows +Hill.' I tell you war me go do if deys gib me dem to carry, me go +heabe dem ebery bit away, an when me get to de 'Hill,' fill me +bag wid some of dem big 'tornes as stop all 'bout dere--sure one +'torne as good as anoder." "'Tank'e, me friend, me neber think ob +dat me sure; but if you just help me down wid dem, me soon do war +you tell me." + +No sooner said than done; the splendid specimens were thrown away +without compunction, and the negro, who found it much easier to +march with an empty bag than with his former load, sped on his +way joyfully. At the bottom of "Dows Hill" he stopped, and once +more replenished his bag with the rough stones, which liberally +bestrewed the pathway, choosing the largest for the purpose. +These he safely conveyed to his master's study, carefully shut +the door, and left them. The surprise and consternation of the +governor when, upon inspecting, as he thought, his hard-earned +specimens, he found only a heap of useless rubbish--the +interrogations he addressed to his servant, and the ludicrous +answers of the negro,--are matters for the imagination to dwell +upon. + +It is customary with many store-keepers in this island to wash +the outside of their stores or shops, yellow, or some other +colour. Should this take the fancy of a negro as he passes, he +immediately exclaims--"Ah, me like dat, massa's 'tore really look +gran; he whitewash he yellow, an make he stop quite good, de +trute!" + +With regard to the negro tongue, much cannot be said for its +purity; the Creole negroes speak a dialect bad enough, but the +Africans' is almost unintelligible. There is one peculiarity in +their mode of speech very remarkable--the making use of only one +gender. For example:--if they speak of a female, or any inanimate +object, they invariably say _he_; thus, if a woman is speaking of +her sister, she says, "_he_, my sissy;" or of something that +particularly attracts their notice, they exclaim--"_he_ one +handsome house," or "_he_ one gran' carriage." + +They have also particular ways to designate persons of all ages +among themselves; their old women they call "grandy," those of a +middle age "aunté," while the younger women are nominated "see," +or "sissy." In the same manner, the old men go by the title of +"daddy," the middle-aged "uncle," and the young men "buddy." In +conversation they seldom pronounce the "s," "th," or "y;" thus, +if they want to say "story," it is "'tory," or "the," it is "de," +"young," it is "noung." + +They are particularly polite whenever they meet, addressing each +other as "Sir," and "Ma'am." Many a dialogue have I heard pass +between the gossips on their way from the Moravian Chapel, +sufficient to excite the risible faculties of a stoic. "How d'ye, +ma'am?" said a dirty-looking man just now, to a woman of a +similar grade; "how you do?--I'se hope you well to-day." "Well, I +tankee, sir--how you do?" "Oh, so so, ma'am, it one long time +since me see you; war you no come up our side?" "Oh, my dear sir, +me no forget you togedder, but me pic'nee been quite sick."[37] +"Me sorry to hear dat, but me hopes he soon get well; me just +been to see de new gubbernor land." "Yes, me here he cum, but me +not able to go; war kind of a gentleman is he?" "Oh, one +noble-looking buckra, an he lady on gran lady; it do you heart +good to see he; me dont tink we eber hab gubbenor like he afore." +"War he named?" "Gubbernor Sir Charles _Gustus Fitzoy_." "Eh, eh, +one big name true." "Well, good morning, sir." "Good morning, +ma'am," and so they separated. + +To a stranger, the negro tongue is as difficult to _write_ as it +is to _speak_. In the different conversations given in that +dialect, indulgence must be craved from my kind readers, both +English and Creole, if they are not correctly written, observing +at the same time that I write them as it seems proper to me, and +in such a manner as they may be understood by those who read, not +always the case when garnished by so many accentual marks. +Perhaps sufficient examples of their mode of talking has been +given, and that by adding more, the reader may be tired, and +myself involved in a maze; I will therefore conclude this subject +by remarking, that it requires more than a moderate stock of +patience to deal with them, for they talk so long, so loud, and +so fast, that if not blest with that virtue to an eminent degree, +you will be sure to lose your temper without avail. + +In my lengthened descriptions of the negro tribe, among the +darker shades of their character inebriation has not been +mentioned, as it is not a general vice among them. Still it +cannot be altogether passed over, for alas! too many have to +deplore the consequences of excessive drinking. In a country +where his actual wants are sooner supplied than in a colder +clime, the labourer has a larger portion to spend upon that +deleterious poison, _new rum_. A few sticks, collected by himself +or his wife, serves to cook his daily meal, a mat forms his +couch, while a coarse garment of cloth is the dress of his +children, and their little feet seldom know the confinement of a +shoe. Their smart dresses (if they have any) are reserved for a +Sunday, or any particular occasion; but the generality of negroes +who are addicted to the vice of drunkenness, seldom pay any +regard to their personal appearance. + +Their excuse for indulging in this habit of drinking is, that +after working all day they require something to strengthen them +and allay their thirst. But the question is, will ardent spirits +do this? or will they not rather, from their heating qualities, +augment the craving? Now, most negroes have a sweet tooth, and a +beverage composed of sugar and water would tend to alleviate +their thirst, and at the same time nourish and enrich their +blood. + +It is very much to be wished that managers and owners of estates +would try and enforce on the minds of their labourers the +pernicious effects of dram-drinking; for a steady, well-ordered +peasantry is a blessing to a country. True it is, the negroes +have a stubborn temper; and yet there are very many to be found +among them who seem willing to follow good advice; in that case, +the "rum-shops" might be forsaken in time, and their frequenters +become, instead of the refuse, the ornament of the class to which +they belong. The time has at length arrived when this despised +and benighted race are treated as rational creatures; when-- + + "Spite of the shade, at length confess'd a man; + Nor longer whipp'd, because he is not white." + +If a society was formed in Antigua, similar to the +"horticultural," or agricultural societies in England, only +extending it to articles of manufacture, it would be the means, +perhaps, of exciting in the minds of the lower classes a worthy +spirit of emulation, and by employing them during their leisure +hours, draw them from their bad associates, and conduct them, by +gentle and persuasive measures, into the paths of virtue. + +The humanity and generosity of the Antiguans is proved by many +charitable institutions; perhaps, then, this remark may be deemed +an imposition upon their goodness; but such is not the case; this +society might be established at very small expense. Twice in the +year, the negroes might be encouraged to bring their little +productions to an appointed place; and the best made, or best +cultivated articles, obtain a prize. The prizes, of course, would +be but small, but surely there are some among this large body of +persons who would esteem them, not for their value, but for the +honour it conferred upon them. It would be well if some of the +philanthropists of the present day would take it into +consideration whether such a society would be advisable or not. +If even but a few individuals were converted from idleness to +industrious habits, the purpose of the institution would be in a +great measure answered, the country benefited, and, in course of +time, others might be led to follow their example. + +Ambition is a principle inherent in man; in all ages, in all +classes, in all shades, it more or less abounds, and when +tempered with reason, becomes, perhaps, more of a virtue than a +vice. While the negro was used as a beast of burden, a creature +without feeling or soul, his mind became degraded, and he could +not exercise his natural powers. But now he is become free, bear +with his ignorance for awhile, and endeavour by every means to +enlighten it. Treat him as a being endowed with the same +capabilities as ourselves; lay before him a just view of life; +point out to his notice the difference between a man under the +control of reason and one who follows the dictates of his own +impetuous will; shew him what industry and perseverance will +accomplish, and, in all probability, there will be some who will +lean to the side of virtue, and feel ambitious to become good +citizens, and worthy members of society. Nor would this be all +the good effected; being virtuous themselves, they would of +course desire their children to be so; and consequently, try all +possible means to procure them good instruction, and endeavour to +bring them up in the paths of rectitude. This is the only way to +banish the taint of slavery from the land, and exempt the rising +generation from those vices which have for so many years been +prevalent, and caused the man of sensibility to blush for his +country. + + + ------ + +[36] Wager, in his "Account of the Isthmus of Darien," published +1699, when speaking of these Albinos, says,--"They are not a +distinct race by themselves; but now and then one is born of a +copper-coloured father and mother." In the night they skip about +"like wild bucks, and run as fast by moonlight, even in the gloom +and shade of the woods, as other Indians do by day; being as +nimble as they, though not so strong." + +[37] In creole language, the term "sick" is applied to all +ailments. + + + + + CHAPTER XLIV. + + + + Remarks upon free system--State of affairs before emancipation + --Trials and casualties--Improved price of land--Sugar estate + during slavery--Benefits of emancipation in the moral state of + the colony--Benefits arising to the planter--Pretended illness + among the negroes--Propositions in their favour--Decrease of + crime--Hopes indulged--"The first of August." + +After dwelling so long upon the gloomy subject of slavery, it is +pleasing to turn to the more cheering prospects of the country +under a system of perfect freedom. + +It must be allowed that, for a few years previous to +emancipation, the Antiguan planters were in a state of great +perturbation. They plainly perceived, from the state of affairs, +that the thraldom of slavery must be broken--that Britain would +no longer allow her children to traffic openly in flesh and +blood; and, finally, that they must, whether with a good grace or +sullen deportment, give up their right to slaves. Still the +change from slavery to freedom was a great revolution, a mighty +crisis; and urgent and inevitable as it was, who could tell what +would be its results. From this cause, property in Antigua +diminished, for some few years, greatly in value; and many +estates might have been then purchased for a comparative trifle. + +But this depression did not continue long, for no sooner was the +deed done, and the chain which bound the negro to his fellow-man +irrecoverably snapped asunder, than it was found, even by the +most sceptical, that free-labour was decidedly more advantageous +to the planter than the old system of slavery. That, in fact, an +estate could be worked for less by free labour than it could when +so many slaves--including old and young, weak and strong--were +obliged to be maintained by the proprietors. Indeed, the truth of +this assertion was discovered even before the negroes were free; +for no sooner did the planters feel that no effort of theirs +could prevent emancipation from taking place, than they commenced +to calculate seriously the probable result of the change, and, to +their surprise, found, upon mature deliberation, that their +expenses would be diminished, and their comforts increased, by +the abolition of slavery.[38] + +The lapse of eight years has proved this to be true; and there is +now scarcely one person, if any, in the island of Antigua, who +would wish to become again a slaveholder. + +Since the period of emancipation, (1834,) Antigua has suffered +from many casualties. There were the severe hurricane, and the +long and harassing droughts of 1835. In 1836, and part of the +following year, the drought returned with increased severity, and +blasted, in great measure, the crops. In 1840, the planters had +again to contend with a season of dry weather, and yet, under all +these disastrous circumstances, the free system has gloriously +worked its way; and by producing larger average crops, (as well +as other advantages, both as regards exports and imports,) has +claimed from all a tribute of praise. + +Although there are some few persons who deny that free labour is +less expensive than slavery, yet the general voice pronounces it +to be a system beneficial to the country. It has been proved to +demonstration that estates which, under the old system, were +clogged with debts they never could have paid off, have, since +emancipation, not only cleared themselves, but put a handsome +income into the pockets of the proprietors. Land has also +increased greatly in value. Sugar plantations that would scarcely +find a purchaser before emancipation, will now command from +10,000l. sterling, while many estates that were abandoned in days +of slavery; are now once more in a state of cultivation; and the +sugar-cane flourishes in verdant beauty, where for so many years +nothing was to be seen but rank and tangled weeds, or scanty +herbage. + +In days of slavery it required an immense capital to establish a +sugar plantation, as well as a large annual expenditure to carry +on the affairs of the estate when established. Perhaps a sugar +estate had a gang of two hundred slaves upon it, yet out of this +large number possibly there might not be more than sixty or +seventy efficient negroes, the surplus being composed of helpless +old men and women, children and infants, and emaciated and +cureless invalids. Still the law obliged the owner to feed, +clothe, house, and procure medical attendance for the entire +number; and little as their allowance was, yet, in dry seasons in +particular, when the crops of yams and other island provisions +failed, the maintenance of so many persons was attended with +great expense, while at the same time, perhaps, not more than +one-third the number were of any use in agricultural employments. + +Under the free system, this tie upon the planter is entirely +annulled; for he now employs but a sufficient number of labourers +to carry on the estate-work, and the negroes support themselves, +as well as their old people and children, out of their weekly +earnings and the privileges which they still enjoy upon the +properties where they are domiciled. + +But this diminishment of expense in the cultivation of the +sugar-cane is not the only benefit which emancipation has brought +to the colony. Setting aside religious principles--which +evidently point out the _sinfulness_ of slavery, as it is known +among modern nations--there were many, very many circumstances, +which tended to render the system obnoxious in the highest +degree. + +I have already spoken of the immorality practised in the West +Indies. It is a topic most harrowing to the feelings, and one +that a sensitive mind cannot descant upon. What was the origin of +that awful state of society? _Slavery!_ Illicit love was not only +countenanced, but actually encouraged upon estates between the +white masters and their black slaves, in order that the gang of +slaves might be enlarged by such unholy means! In these brighter +days of freedom there is, at least, not this inducement to +licentiousness in its most hideous form, and consequently, that +degraded state of morals which marked the annals of former years, +has, in great measure, disappeared. + +Again, slavery occasioned the _planter_ immense trouble and +perplexities in managing his slaves; it engendered continual +heart-burnings and jealousies; it soured his temper, rendered him +callous, deadened those feelings of humanity which the Spirit of +Love has implanted in our breasts, and, however kind and +benevolent he might be in his domestic circle, a few months spent +in managing slaves, and he forgot to exercise his self-control, +and gave way to bursts of passions which, in his calmer moments, +he perhaps bitterly repented of. + +Nor was this all: slavery engendered suspicion. There was not a +single slave-holder or slave-manager who, one time or the other, +was not made the prey to apprehensions, and had his brain filled +with thoughts of rebellions and insurrections. Emancipation has +entirely banished this hydra-like train of evils, and paved the +way for more enlightened and happier times. It has also put an +end, in great measure, to pretended illness among the negroes. +During slavery, this was a practice universal. No sooner did +Monday morning arrive than the manager's door was thronged with +self-elected invalids, and more diseases were then complained of +than even Dr. Buchan would have us believe "flesh and blood are +heir to." Some made their appearance with their heads tied up in +a bundle of banana-leaves--a negro prognosticator of a severe +head-ache; others were suffering from pains in the knees and +ankles, and consequently, such parts of their frame were duly +enveloped in sundry particles of old cloth or dried snake-skins; +while some, again, with woe-begone countenances, expressed "dat +dey felt bad all ober dem." In vain the poor manager protested +their pulse was good, the tongues in a healthy state--the negroes +only groaned the more, gave a longer detail of their aches and +pains, or else, in a very doleful voice, exclaimed--"Massa no +b'leive he, (pointing to their tongues and wrists,) he no worth +b'leiving, for he no 'peak true!" and so the end of the confab +was, that the slaves in question were put upon the sick-list. + +But now the case is generally different. The negroes work for +_money_; they know if they feign illness for a week, they will be +the losers at the end of the month; and as they are very quick in +discovering where their own interest lies, they stick to the hoe +for the sake of the dollars. + +Still, however, pretended illness is not entirely extinct,--there +are some of the labourers who practise it in these days of +freedom, as of erst they did in slavery. In illustration of this +remark, it is a customary plan upon sugar plantations, that if +any of the people quit their work for a certain period, they, +after that time, are required to pay rent for the cottages, with +which, as stationary labourers, they are provided. This is done +in order to ensure their labour, and prevent them from working +upon other estates, where they may receive higher wages as +strangers.[39] + +In order, then, to gain this increase of wages, without having to +pay rent for his house, the negro calls up some pseudo complaint, +and very early in the morning, presents himself before the +manager, with the usual bandages, and the notification that he is +"quite sick." The manager feels grieved at this intelligence, for +he had contemplated doing a particular quantity of work that +week, and required all the labourers he could procure; but as the +negro represents himself so very ill, and he cannot deny the +statement, he is obliged to remain content. No sooner, however, +has the indisposed negro gained his hut, than he throws off all +symptoms of illness, and choosing his best hoe, he secretly +starts away to some other estate, where he is sure to obtain the +additional wages; while his proper master supposes he is +reclining upon his bed, a prey to ill-health. + +It must be remarked, that although the free labourer acts at +times in this disingenuous manner, it is a general opinion that +they work better, and in a more cheerful manner than they did in +days of slavery, when a driver stood over them with his long and +heavy whip, to chastise their least cessation from labour. It +cannot be supposed that I am perfectly cognizant of the real +truth of this statement. I must, therefore, along with my own +observations, take the opinions and arguments of planters, and +other persons connected with agricultural employments, as the +basis of my remarks. + +The facts brought forward in support of this affirmation are +these:--That upon some estates the extent of acres in a state of +cultivation is greater than before the abolition of slavery,-- +other properties make a larger annual crop with one-third the +number of labourers,--and that although many efficient negroes +have emigrated to other islands, estates that were dismantled +have been re-cultivated. In _job-work_, as it is termed, the +negroes accomplish twice as much work as when employed by the +day; the simple reason of which is, that they gain a larger sum +of money by such arrangements. It is a fact that has fallen under +my own observation, that when a piece of land is holed[41] by +_task-work_, the negroes will rise by one or two o'clock during +moonlight, go to the field, and accomplish the usual day's work +(300 cane-holes) by five or six in the morning; and after resting +for a short time, are prepared to take another task, which they +also complete, and have some hours left, in which to till their +own little spot of provision-ground. When the excessive heat of +the climate is taken into consideration, as well as the labour it +requires to dig one _cane-hole_, the work of a negro who can open +_six hundred_ in one day, can be better estimated by those who +are more acquainted with such matters than myself. + +Another proposition in favour of the free system is said to be +the greater docility of the negroes now they are emancipated. Of +this circumstance I am not able to give _personal_ information. +To me they appear as aggravating as ever: equally suspicious, +quarrelsome, and uncivil. Still there are many and great excuses +to be made for them, when we consider how short has been their +life of freedom!--how untutored their minds are!--how debased has +been their state!--the very beast that eats the grass of the +field has, in times past, been equally esteemed with the negro! + +Many planters, as well as other intelligent individuals, have +affirmed to the truth of the statement, "that negroes are more +easily managed as free men, than they were as slaves;" and +certainly such persons ought to be better judges than myself, +whose intercourse with the negro population is, of course, more +restricted. + +Crime is also said to have decreased--that is, in offences of the +higher character. We seldom or ever hear of a murder, or arson; +but petty faults, such as small thefts, breaking canes, breaches +of contract, and insolence to their employers, swell at times +into a large amount. Still it must be remembered, such is not a +proof that misdemeanours are more frequent in freedom than they +used to be during slavery. The reason that these minor violations +of the law appear to have increased is, that under the present +system all defaulters are brought before a magistrate, and their +offences thus published in the eyes of the world; whereas, in +days of slavery, their owner was their judge and corrector, the +whip their punishment, and they received their corporeal +chastisement without any notice of the event reaching the ears of +any stranger. + +It is true, as I have already remarked more than once, the +negroes are a class of individuals very difficult and tiresome to +deal with; the greatest patience is requisite in order to bear +with their strange and harassing dispositions. It is now ten +years since I first came among them; and although great part of +that time has been spent in England, I have lived long enough in +Antigua to know what negroes are. I have studied their characters +in every point, and well as I would wish to speak of them, truth +obliges me to confess I have found them to be very far from +perfect. Still I glory in emancipation, for I looked upon slavery +as a foul and hideous monster, which ought to be exterminated +from every corner of the world; and consequently, I would not +have the bright star of liberty robbed of one of its rays by any +remarks of mine. I yet hope to see the negroes improved in their +mental, as they already are in their temporal affairs. I trust +that, as years roll round, their ill qualities will be +ameliorated, and their virtues increased; that they, as well as +their employers, may learn and practise that golden maxim, "Bear +and forbear;" and that eventually the Antiguan peasantry may be +held up to the other colonies as bright examples of humble worth, +adorning the sphere of life in which they move. + +It is my fervent wish that the negroes may learn properly to +estimate their state as a _free people_, and instead of using +their liberty as a cloak for insolence and impertinence, they may +fulfil the several duties which are required of them with +becoming diligence, and finally meet their reward. + +In summing up this chapter upon free labour, it may be deemed +necessary for me to mention some few particulars of the 1st of +August, 1834, that eventful day, when about thirty thousand human +beings were released from the trammels of slavery, and entered +upon a new state of existence as free men! + +Before the abolition of slavery, it had been supposed by many of +the inhabitants of Antigua, that the negroes, at such an +important era of their lives--the transition from slavery to +freedom, would be led into great and serious excesses, or, at +least, that they would pass the first days of freedom in dance +and song, in riotous feastings and drunken carousals. But when +the time arrived, far different was the result. Instead of that +day being the scene of wild revelry and disorderly jollity, the +negroes passed it as a "Sabbath of Sabbaths," a solemn feast, + + "One bright day of gladness and of rest." + +The churches and chapels throughout the island were thronged to +overflowing; and those persons who were unable to procure seats +within the sacred walls, crowded around the open doors and +windows with eager looks of joy. All the shops and stores in the +island were closed-- + + "The roar of trade had ceased, and on the air + Came holy songs, and solemn sounds of prayer." + +From every valley and dingle and from every height came trooping +joyous groups. Old men and women, whose woolly locks were +silvered by the hand of time--young men and maidens--the robust +and the weak--the parent and the child--all rejoicing that the +day had at length come when the iron yoke of slavery was removed +from their shoulders, and they, like their masters, could boast +that they were free! + +The 1st of August fell upon a Friday, and after enjoying +themselves upon the following day with their friends, and joining +in the ordinances of God upon the Sabbath, the greater part of +the negroes returned to their agricultural and other employments +on the Monday morning with the utmost decorum and good temper. +Defective as the negro character may be, their behaviour at that +eventful period of their lives must elicit praise from the lips +of all, and prove a lasting theme of gratification to the friends +of liberty. + + + ------ + +[38] My readers must clearly understand, that in my remarks upon +free labour, I confine myself exclusively to Antigua. In Jamaica, +Trinidad, and some of the other islands, great complaints are +made upon the working of the free system. Many estates are almost +out of cultivation in Jamaica, and serious fears are entertained +for the future prosperity of the island. To enter into any +disquisition respecting where the fault lies in that colony, +comes not within the focus of the present work; but no doubt, if +the cause be minutely and candidly inquired into, it will be +found that blame is to be attached to _both parties_. + +[39] It may be necessary to explain what is meant by _strangers_, +as well as the reason they receive higher wages. The average rate +of wages is eightpence sterling, per day,[40] with the additional +privilege of a cottage, a plot of ground in which to plant +provisions, and medical attendance. Some estates which are short +handed, endeavour to procure labourers from other plantations, +and as they have not to provide them with anything but their +actual wages, they are enabled to give these strangers (as they +are termed, to distinguish them from the resident labourers) a +few pence more per day. + +[40] Since the late awful earthquake, 8th Feb. 1843, wages have +increased greatly. The sum of 4s. currency, per diem, is now the +usual rate; but some estates have to give from 6s. to 8s. +currency, for the daily work of negroes, when grinding or cutting +canes. + +[41] The process of opening the ground for planting the cane. +This is most laborious work; it is performed with a heavy hoe, +and the holes are from three to four feet square, and about a +foot deep. + + + + + CHAPTER XLV. + + + + A chapter on colour--Gradual removes from the negroes--Middle + classes--Personal appearance--Devotions at their mirrors--Style + of dress--Chapel belles--Passion for dress--Home and home + scenes--The young men--Extreme officiousness--Higher classes of + colour--Coloured Hebes--The chapel tea-party--Gastronomy and + speeches--Wesleyan bazaar, and lunch-table--Gastronomic relics. + +In commencing this "chapter on colour," it may, perhaps, be +deemed _unnecessary_ for me to mention, that there are as many +gradations in _tint_ as there are in _rank;_ but as some of my +readers may not be perfectly aware of the fact, I prefer to be +branded with the title of a "multiplier of words," rather than +omit any subject on which I may be able to afford information. + +The several removes from a black are as follows:--The _mongrel_, +the offspring of a black and mulatto; the _mulatto_, the +offspring of a black and a white; the _mustee_, the offspring of +a mulatto and a white; the _fustee_, the offspring of a mustee +and a white; and the _dustee_, the offspring of a fustee and a +white.[42] This last gradation is the connecting link between the +degraded children of Ham, and the descendants of his more +honoured brethren. It is to be noted, however, that the _mulatto_ +is not _always_ fairer than the _mongrel_, or the _mustee_ than +the mulatto; and children of the same parents often exhibit as +much, if not more, difference of complexion, as those of +Europeans.[43] + +Perhaps it may be considered almost an impertinence in me to +remark--the fact is so well known both in England and the West +Indies--that, among this numerous body of her majesty's subjects, +there are some of the highest respectability. Every West Indian +island has its _élite_, and Antigua is not behind the rest. Many, +very many, could be mentioned, who are superior in every way-- +well-read, strong-minded, with excellent natural talents, and +unexceptionable, both in public and private life. It would afford +me pleasure to name them; but I refrain from doing so, knowing +that their applause will be sooner gained by remaining silent, +and therefore will skim over the more general character of the +class, noting, in the first place, some peculiar traits in their +personal appearance. + +The chief peculiarities in the coloured race are, the extreme +pliancy of limbs, attenuation of person, large black eyes, and a +profusion of black curling hair. The men are generally _under_ +than above the middle size, but in most instances, possessed of +good figures. + +The females are also small and slender, and are noted for an +ambling gait, combined in many of them with an extreme +affectation of manners. Many of them, unknowingly, are warm +admirers of Lord Chesterfield's "Advice," and practise the "airs +and graces" before a looking-glass with an intenseness and +indefatigability which, no doubt, that _great philosopher_ would +fully appreciate. + +We hear of the beautiful Narcissus being so enamoured of his own +lovely features, when reflected in the clear waters, that he +pined into a jonquil. Now, I cannot take upon myself to state +this is exactly the case with the West Indian brunettes; but they +do certainly "lingering look," until a pretty considerable stock +of patience would be exhausted. + +Their toilets are laborious in the extreme; and they might +exclaim, with Lady Mary W. Montague's "Flavia,"-- + + "------------ I oft have sate, + While hours unheeded pass'd, in deep debate + How curls should fall, or where a braid to place; + If blue or scarlet best became my face!" + +Sundays, marriages, and funerals, are the occasions appointed for +making the greatest display. At other periods, a long +dressing-gown, or "wrapper," as it is termed in Antigua, with a +many-coloured cotton kerchief around their shoulders, and their +heads perhaps enveloped in a similar article, and _slip-shod_ +shoes, constitute their attire. But when "high-days and holidays" +come, and an _étalage_ is contemplated, one or two of their +friends are generally called in to officiate as tire-women, and +it must be allowed, their place is then no _sinecure_. + +The style of dress adopted by ladies of this rank, when abroad, +is very superb! Silks and satins of the most approved colours, +challis and mousseline-de-laines of the gayest patterns, +mantelets, and "Victoria cloaks," bonnets covered with flowers, +silk stockings, parasols of the most fashionable dimensions, +gloves of the softest dyes, shoes and boots of every shade, +reticules, with tassels and all complete, and pocket +handkerchiefs, ornamented with lace in the manner dictated by the +changeful goddess, added to a rather exuberant display of +_bijouterie_, whose gold is deeply alloyed, and whose gems owe +their brightest rays to the aid of different coloured _foils_, +serve to increase the charms of the olive-tinged creole beauties. + +Those of this class who frequent the chapel, and term themselves +Methodists, make some slight difference in their apparel. Their +bonnets, for example, are divested of flowers on the _outside_, +for which they make amends by various twinings and +_counter_-twinings of glossy ribbon and cotton lace, and filling +their caps--I beg pardon, I mean their _brides_--but I am such an +indifferent votary of fashion, that I am ever forgetting her +technical terms--their _brides_, then, with such a profusion of +flowers, which be they of Amaranthine birth I know not, but I am +very sure, they are like nothing earthly--that their eyes, nose, +and mouth, just peep forth like sentinels from some guarded +fortress. Others, more scrupulous I suppose, discard the use of +flowers altogether, and in their room call to their aid snowy +_blondes_, and bows and puffs of choicest ribands. Jewellery is +also interdicted, although a few of the smarter of the "chapel +belles" contrive to smuggle a ring or two, a mock-cameo brooch, +or a treble-gilt chain, into their outward adornments. Fashion +is, however, worshipped by all. Their bonnets must be of the +proper size, their collars and capes of the proper shape, their +dresses of the proper length and breadth, and their waists +reduced to the proper circumference. + +But the _sleeves_ of their dresses are the parts appropriated to +the display of their most exquisite skill. _One_ poor human brain +could never invent the puffings, plaitings, and gatherings; +quiltings, flutings, and bandings, which are lavished upon that +peculiar portion of their dress; to devise them must be an +arduous task, to construct them an herculean labour. The +arrangement of their hair is also a work of no trifling nature, +and takes up no small portion of their time; and the dealers in +oils and pomades derive no small profit from such articles, which +are indispensable in making their masses of black locks repose in +their proper position. + +But, jesting apart, it is really the very pinnacle of absurdity, +to see the rage to which dress is carried, by this class of +persons in particular, when their style of living and rank in +society are taken into consideration. Their mothers are of that +class who have been already described when speaking of the +negroes, but who, it must be mentioned, disdain that term. Others +again are mongrels or mulattos; themselves the offspring of those +illicit alliances for which the West Indies, in their days of +darkness, have been so disgracefully noted. These mothers have +had, in almost every instance, the entire management of their +children. Perfectly uneducated themselves, they of course see no +charms in knowledge, and except the simple act of being able to +spell through an easy lesson, or scrawl their own names, these +unfortunate girls are brought up with no higher ambition than the +wearing smart clothes, utterly unbefitting their station, and +spending their lives in brushing and dressing their hair, or +rubbing their teeth with a roll of tobacco. While their mothers, +who keep a small shop, sell in the market, or huckster about the +town to gain a subsistence, think they have performed the part of +a good parent, by procuring for their daughters clothing which +every well-thinking person must mourn to see them arrayed in. + +Their houses are, in many instances, the domiciles I have also +already described in the negro chapters, where, amid all these +smart habiliments, the young persons whom you may see walking out +with the air and dress of a _duchess_, herd together, eat the +coarsest fare, perhaps never know the luxury of a table-cloth; +and where the whole family, including male and female of every +age, take their nightly repose together. Some of these young +females are more industrious, and take in needlework of different +kinds; but the amount of their earnings is lavished upon that +all-absorbing object--dress. This, however, is the only species +of work they will condescend to perform, for as to going out to +service, they scorn the very idea. + +The young men are equally scrupulous in adorning their persons; +although, in many instances, very negligent in improving their +minds. Their dress, which has been already described when +speaking of the _black beaux_, they procure by following the +several trades of tailors, shoemakers, joiners,[44] &c., and +sometimes, I am sorry to say, by less honest means. They are far +behind the females in appearance; for the latter, let them be +ever so uneducated, have a certain gracefulness of manners, +which, as long as they keep their mouths shut, tends to gloss +over their ignorance. I have had opportunities of noticing this +in public places of resort; the missionary bazaars, for example. +The females sit or stand quietly in groups, and offend not the +eye or ear by their coarseness of mien; but, on the contrary, the +men have that dissolute, vulgar, cavalier manner, so +characteristic of low, over-dressed vanity, that, were it in +England, we should be led to keep a steady eye upon our pockets +and watches, and feel ourselves safe only at a distance. Even in +the West Indies, where the "swell mob" does not exist, a kind of +unpleasantness of feeling steals over one upon their near +approach, heightened, or rather produced, by their boldness and +vulgar, officious conduct. They appear to know no difference of +rank, but, in their obtruded remarks, forget their plebeian +origin. This is more apparent in their behaviour to the higher +classes of their own colour, whom they approach with the utmost +familiarity, and unless they are speedily and properly +discountenanced, prove as troublesome as the impertinent little +_gad-flies_ do to a quiet herd of cattle, when standing musing in +some marshy pool.[45] + +The higher class of coloured persons, which embraces a large +portion of the community, I have already slightly glanced at; but +still my work would indeed be incomplete did I not more fully +endeavour to portray their worth and superiority. These are men, +who, if not educated in England, have received the best +instruction the West Indies could afford, aided by their own +strenuous endeavours for information. Hospitable in the highest +degree, with a hand ever open to grasp in friendship that of the +strangers whom fate or the winds may lead to their pretty little +island; living in an easy elegance of style--the possessors of +warm and generous thoughts--the doers of high and noble actions-- +patriots in the full sense of the term, their services ever at +the command of their country; of agreeable conversation and +polished manners; these are the characteristics of many of our +Antiguan coloured gentlemen. Their wives and daughters are, in +several instances, as unexceptionable as themselves, and perform +their social duties in the same pleasing manner. + +Within the last few years, the young people have been more +generally educated in England, and many of them exhibit superior +talents, and have attained to no mean proficiency in the fine +arts. Their manners, too, are, with but few exceptions, very +graceful; their voices soft and mellifluous; and although, +perhaps, rather more silent than in the present age is expected +of women, what they do say is generally to the purpose. + +Among these young daughters of a glowing clime, many very +beautiful girls are to be met with. With a sufficiency of +_embonpoint_ to prevent the appearance of any "right angles" in +their frame, they possess a sylph-like movement and an elastic +step; while the large, black liquid eyes, the glossy jet hair, +the long eye-lashes, and the soft olive tinge of their +complexions, relieved by rosy lips and dazzling white teeth, +would form no bad model for one of Mahomet's _houris_. + +Our sweet little queen has, unwittingly, done much to improve +their beauty, in wearing her own fair hair in the simple style +she does. As true and loyal subjects, the Creole girls can do +nought but follow the example of their royal mistress; and the +massy bunches of curls, which tended to give their features a +degree of thickness really not their own, and caused them to look +more sallow by the contrast, have given place to the more +elegant, Madonna-like bands and braids. + +The place of all others where the greatest display of coloured +beaux and belles are to be found is at the tea-parties given at +the Methodist chapel for charitable purposes. + +It being a beautiful moonlight evening upon the last occasion of +the kind, we determined to avail ourselves of it, and attend the +party whose gastronomic performance was to commence at seven +o'clock. Upon gaining the outer wall of the chapel, we found the +gate guarded by a few of the "new police," and the porter +appointed to receive the tickets of admission, for which the sum +of 2s. 6d. sterling was demanded. + +Passing across the court-yard, we stopped for a few moments at an +open window, to view the interior. The entertainment was held in +the school-room, a large apartment, forming the ground-floor of +the chapel; the walls of which were hung round with various +pictorial embellishments, seen to advantage by the aid of the +numerous lamps. We entered at that auspicious moment when nearly +the whole of the company were assembled, and before the actual +business of the evening commenced. The effect was really very +picturesque, and the scene would have been worthy the painter's +pencil. The whole of the interior, with the exception of a space +all round the apartment, reserved for a promenade, was laid out +with tables, placed breadthwise, surrounded by well-dressed +groups, and covered with all those delicate "cates and +confections," generally introduced at that social meal, which +Cowper has celebrated. + +The heat of the climate rendering it necessary to have all the +windows thrown open, renders the use of large glass shades also +necessary to prevent the tapers from being extinguished by the +fresh land-breeze. On every table a pair of silver candlesticks +supported the delicate sperm or wax candles, the clear light of +which, heightened by their glittering screens, threw an air of +cheerfulness on all. Many elegant little vases, filled with +choice and fragrant flowers, were placed at stated distances, +interspersed with baskets and plates of the most luscious fruits, +while, at each end of the table, with their tea equipages of +silver and china placed before them, was seated a lady-member of +the chapel, whose zeal prompted her to prepare all this pretty +display, for the benefit of the society. Every pillar of the +apartment supported its appropriated lamps, which, reflected in +the bright eyes of the assembled girls, shewed their brown faces +to more advantage. + +In about the centre of the apartment, elevated a foot or two from +the floor, was placed the seraphine, at which a young lady +(sister to the wife of one of the missionaries) presided, with +quiet grace and great skill; and around this instrument were +gathered the missionaries themselves. The business of the evening +commenced by singing a "grace;" upon the conclusion of which, +tea-spoons rattled, tea-cups danced from hand to hand, and every +one appeared resolved to prove, _par experience_, the goodness of +the plenteous fare placed before them. As for myself, I had full +work for my eyes, and postponed the exercise of my masticatory +powers until another opportunity. + +Now, be it known to my English readers, that _tea_ is a beverage +West Indians seldom, if ever, indulge in; except those of the +higher classes. When, then, such a mixed party of coloured +persons meet together for the express purpose of partaking of +that cup "which cheers, but not inebriates," it is done by the +lower classes merely for the sake of fashion, or to shew off +their gala dress. Accordingly, some most ludicrous caricatures +might have been taken, had Cruikshank or Phiz been of the party +instead of myself. Some of this class sipped their tea with the +same apparent relish they would have partaken of so much +decoction of senna, or any other similar luxury the pretty new +"druggist's shop," lately established in St. John's, under the +auspices of a son of "mighty Scotia," so neatly dispenses. +Others, with many a rueful look, talked of the _delights_ of +tea-parties, and of their own fondness for that fragrant herb, +while they beat a tattoo upon their tea-cups; and some, again, +with noble determination of purpose, stirred their smoking cup +until a little cool, and then gulped down the whole quantum, much +in the same way, and with the same happy countenances, as a +_débutant_ generally swallows his first glass of water from some +of our English chalybeate springs. + +The "young men" of the class already noticed, appeared to have +been engaged the preceding forenoon in studying attitudes, for, +collected in groups, they stood leaning against the pillars, +distorting their forms and faces, and striving, I suppose, to +emulate the statues of the "Apollo Belvidere," or the "Farnesian +Hercules." + +Everything in this world has its end, and consequently the time +at length arrived when the repast--to which all appeared to do +justice, and consumed such huge pyramids of cake as was +marvellous in my eyes--was over, and at a signal from one of the +preachers, they all knelt down to prayer; but while thus engaged, +I could hear the repressed jingle of many a silver spoon, which +some more careful dame was placing in security in her box or bag. + +After the prayer, a few hymns were played and sung; during which +period, I took the opportunity of walking with my companion +around the space already mentioned, in order to obtain a full +view of the assembled guests; and then followed some speeches by +the missionaries and one or two of the leading members, which +afforded much interest to the assembled group. + +One old gentleman--a very excellent man, by the way, but rather +too much given to prosing when in the pulpit--spoke in favour of +tea-meetings and of the chapel debt, (to pay off which, these +entertainments were given, as one means of raising money.) +Another preacher gave us a long rambling anecdote of a +bowie-knife; paid high compliments to the ladies, which were +received by a grin of applause; said how much better it was to +have these agreeable parties, and thus raise money, instead of +the old way of trudging about from house to house, begging the +inmates to put down their names for certain sums, and attributing +the happy change to the fertile genius of the "tender sex;" and +concluded by remarking, that in the course of a week or two there +would be a bazaar held at the court-house, for the purpose of +raising more cash to liquidate the chapel debt, at which he +understood there was to be a _solid lunch-table_ spread, besides +one for confectionary; and although he liked tea very well, he +liked lunch a great deal better. + +After Mr. ------ had concluded, a mild, quiet-looking man rose, +who spoke of social intercourse, referred to Job's sons and +daughters; talked of heaven and heavenly enjoyments; and then, +after a few more speeches, more compliments to the ladies, a few +more hymns, and a concluding prayer, came the cloaking, shawling, +and bonneting, and we returned home, altogether pleased with our +visit, and leaving the lady-givers of the repast packing away +their silver urns and tea-pots, and all their other "goods and +chattels," with a clatter and clamour that would have awakened +the "seven sleepers." + +Having been so well pleased with our visit to the tea-party, we +resolved to attend at the Wesleyan Bazaar held at the +court-house; and accordingly, on the day appointed, we drove to +that handsome building, whose walls have seen many a smiling +face, and echoed the sighs of many a heart--so mutable is +everything in this world, sorrow ever treading upon the steps of +joy! + +The day was very warm; and upon entering the crowded apartment, +the smell of the various viands from the predicted _lunch-table_ +completely overcame me for a few seconds; but recovering myself, +after a short sojourn in one of the wings of the building, I +ventured to return and look about me. The upper rooms of the +court-house, where the council and assembly hold their meetings, +had been appropriated to the occasion; the council-chamber (after +having one of the temporary partitions taken down, thus including +the lobby) was cleared of its chairs and tables; and in their +place, fitted up with stalls, placed around the sides of the +apartment, at which some of the chapel-ladies presided. + +Here several little fancy articles were exhibited for sale, at +the usual high prices; the best of which were, a pretty little +baby-house, illustrative of the style of architecture most used +in Antigua, and which was made from the long arrow (or sheath) of +the sugar-cane, and a "pedlar woman" of old England in her red +cloak, black bonnet, and basket on her arm, containing her +numerous diversified wares, and hung round with other miniature +symbols of her trade--the make and gift (with many other elegant +trifles) of the accomplished daughters of a lady of Upper +Holloway, England. + +The other apartment, where the house of assembly hold their +conclaves, was appropriated for the eating part of the amusement; +and a very good amusement some of the company seemed to think it, +if I may judge from appearances. On one long table was displayed +a cold collation, consisting of savoury dishes, suited to the +tastes of all, and where, for the charge of 1s. sterling, any one +might fare most sumptuously. Those who preferred it, partook of +sandwiches, for which the moderate charge of 2¼d. sterling was +demanded; and upon my entrance, my eyes were first attracted by +seeing a huge widow-Barnaby-looking woman, devouring them with a +voracity I certainly did not expect to witness in that place. The +other table displayed confections of various beautiful forms and +kinds, interspersed with fruits and flowers; and where the +younger people also seemed to find full employment. + +Here again I could not help observing the low appearance of many +of the "young men," who, with hats placed on one side of their +heads, and immense quantities of black hair smoothed to a +half-straight fashion by the assistance of a plentiful supply of +lard pomatum, and their thumbs stuck most (_un_)gracefully in +their waistcoat pockets, were pacing the room and shewing off +their smart apparel. I afterwards understood that many of these +over-dressed specimens of mortality contrived to enter the room +without paying the "quarter dollar" (1s. sterling) entrance +money, by fascinating, I suppose, the door-keeper, who was too +_simple-hearted_ to denounce these peacock-like persons of +conduct a sober-robed owl would scorn to be guilty of. + +At length the appetites of all seemed to be appeased,--their +motives for coming (to see and be seen) fully answered,--their +appropriated sum of money expended,--and themselves loaded with +pincushions and _scent-bags_, babies' caps, and reticules, they +began to disperse, and we ourselves took our departure, leaving +some of the matrons, who had _an eye to business_, very eagerly +making bargains for sundry portions of beef and ham, tongues, +poultry, and cold mutton, jellies and cheese-cakes, and other +gastronomic relics. + + + ------ + +[42] This is the creole way of terming these different castes: +the Spanish call them _mulattos_, _tercerones_, _quarterons_, and +_quinterones_. There are also some intermediate names for the +issue of unions between the negroes and coloured people, as +sambos, &c.; but the general term for persons of colour is, +quadroons. + +[43] In illustration of this it may be remarked, that there are +families where some of the brothers or sisters are fair enough to +be taken for English people; while the rest are scarcely +distinguishable from negroes in colour. + +[44] In these remarks, the author begs to say, she means no +disparagement to the other professors of these several trades. +She is well aware that Antigua boasts a most respectable class of +tradesmen--white, black, and coloured--who are an honour to the +colony in which they reside. + +[45] A great portion of this class of persons are the offspring +of those illicit alliances already alluded to in the times of +slavery, and who did not receive their freedom until after the +general emancipation in 1834, or within a short time previous to +that event, when they became so depreciated in value, that their +owners were satisfied to dispose of them at a trifling +remuneration. + + + + + CHAPTER XLVI. + + + + Prejudice--Its former and present character--An act of + resentment--The "Prejudice Bell"--Exclusion of persons of + colour from offices of trust and polished society--The dawn of + better days--The assertions of some authors contradicted-- + Domestic character of the coloured gentry--Hospitality--A day + at a coloured gentleman's country-house--Dwellings--Marriages-- + Great suppression of illicit connexions within these last few + years--Funerals--A scene of riot in former days-- + Provincialisms. + +Before continuing my sketches of colour, it is necessary to say +something about _prejudice_. I mentioned in a former chapter, +that possibly it would be better to bury such a subject in the +gulf of oblivion; but upon mature consideration, I think it +advisable to portray a few of its many instances as well in times +past, as now. + +A candid mind cannot but allow the illiberality, not to call it +by a harsher name, of despising or underrating persons, because +it has pleased their Creator to give them less fair skins. Yet +that these feelings have existed from time immemorial to the +present day is a well-known fact; and the West Indies in +particular has been the place where Prejudice has erected her +stronghold. + +Although, as before remarked, the negroes were only considered as +beasts of burden, their polished and urbane white masters had no +objection to making them the partners of their illicit +intercourse; and then, casting aside all natural affections, +doomed their unoffending children, the issue of such unions, to a +state of degradation. + +In former years, the cruelty of such an act was not, perhaps, so +keenly felt by them. Without any knowledge of religion or share +of education, they grew up devoid of the finer feelings. The +girls, as they approached womanhood, became themselves the +mistresses of white men, or, in the West Indian term, +_housekeepers_, while the males were content to drag on their +existence much in the same way as a tolerated spaniel, which at +one moment is noticed by a gracious nod, and allowed to lick the +feet of its master, while at the next it is kicked out of the +apartment, or spurned from the pathway. + +As time wore on, and knowledge slowly progressed, the fathers of +these poor children were led to send them to some place of +instruction, where, besides acquiring the mere rudiments of +reading and writing, they became grounded in plain, but solid +learning. Having thus passed through the early stages of life, +the males followed mercantile or agricultural pursuits; and as, +perhaps, wealth poured in upon them, and they felt in their own +bosoms their superiority to many of the white inhabitants, their +eyes became more and more opened, and they more and more felt +their degraded state. + +They were debarred from holding any office of trust--were not +allowed to act as jurors--and were prevented from serving in the +militia, until the year 1793, when, as a great concession, or +else because the "great folks" thought it for the public good, +they were allowed to serve as pioneers, or drag the heavy +artillery. The very churchyard was denied them, and their mortal +remains were deposited by the roadside, where only the suicide or +the murderer found a grave; while, should a white man be seen to +take one of them, even the most respectable among the class, by +the hand, in the way of social intimacy, that white man would be +scouted from all ranks of society for his indecorous behaviour. + +In 1798, Mr. Gilbert, (a relation to the Mr. Gilbert, the founder +of Methodism in Antigua,) for many years the superintendent of +his majesty's dockyard at English Harbour, was united in the +bands of wedlock to a highly respectable and accomplished +coloured lady of Antigua. The _iniquity!_ of this action, as they +deemed it, was resented by his brother whites; himself and his +lady were openly insulted; and some wag of the island, who, with +the brains of a calf, fancied himself an Ulysses in wisdom, gave +to the world an example of his would-be wit, by painting Mr. +Gilbert's office-door half _black_ and half _white_.[46] + +Not only were the coloured people refused interment in the +churchyard, but so fearful were the whites of profanation, that +the very _bell_ which tolled out _their demise_ was prohibited +from being used to perform that service for those degraded ones +through whose veins flowed the least drop of Afric's tarnished +blood. Accordingly, a smaller bell (which still hangs in the +belfry) was obtained from an estate in the island, called "Golden +Grove," and which was regularly kept for the sole use of persons +of colour, until within these last few years, when their rights +as fellow-creatures have been allowed, and those mean and pitiful +distinctions of caste, in great measure, done away with. + +The first coloured person who was buried in the churchyard at St. +John's was a merchant's clerk, (whose own blood was tainted, it +is said, but who passed as a white man,) the favourite of his +master. The merchant ordered the funeral to proceed to the +churchyard, and upon the clergyman making his appearance, and no +doubt expressing his surprise at such an unprecedented +circumstance, he (the merchant) insisted upon his performing the +burial service, and dared him to prevent the interment taking +place. The rector thought it prudent to comply, and accordingly +the coloured man reposed by the side of some white person, who +(following the idea of Pollock in his "Course of Time") will, +indeed, feel surprised at the last day, when each one takes again +his own body, to find how long his ashes have been polluted by +mingling in one common dust with him who perhaps was the +offspring of one of his own despised negroes.[47] + +How the coloured people bore all these accumulated indignities, +which were heaped upon them for so many years, would astonish any +sensitive mind; nor if they had joined the negroes in one common +cause against their tyrants would it have produced much surprise. +But they did bear it, and with magnanimity, until time and +circumstance worked the cure, and delivered them from that +thraldom of the mind more galling than any servitude of the body. + +It was not only the soreness of spirit which this state of +affairs inflicted upon the coloured man, but as Prejudice was the +offspring of Slavery, it was consequently the ground-work of that +horrible system of licentiousness which rendered Antigua among +the other West India Islands famous, or rather _infamous_, for so +many years. The coloured women participated in the _prejudice_ of +their masters, and as they became the mothers of female children, +they reared them up in the same spirit, and inculcated into their +minds that it was more honourable and praiseworthy to inhabit the +harem of a white man, than to be the lawful wife of a man of +colour. This conduct was, of course, the grave of all domestic +peace, the destroyer of connubial love; and by its dire, its +_demoniacal_ influences, caused the fairest island in the world +to become, in a moral point of view, a dreary marsh, exhaling the +poisonous miasma. + +Brighter days have, however, at length dawned; the unhallowed +custom of concubinage has greatly decreased; and, indeed, except +among some of the old white planters or merchants, who have +retained the sins of their youth, and some of the low coloured +people, such alliances are generally reprobated. + +The assertion, however, that prejudice is entirely done away +with, is incorrect. It still exists, and that, perhaps, very +strongly; but policy forbids, in great measure, its outward show. +It is true, that white and coloured gentlemen walk, and talk, and +dine together--drink sangaree at one another's houses, sit in the +same juror's box, and are invited, _sans distinction_, at +"Government House;" yet, at the same time, there is a lurking +dislike to them on account of colour, which ever steps in as a +barrier to social intercourse. It is said, that the white ladies +are the strongest upholders of prejudice; but that their refusal +to mix with this class of persons is not occasioned from any +shade of colour, but on account of their general illegitimacy. +This, however, is not the sole cause; for there are illegitimate +white people, whom they are in the constant habit of meeting +without any aversion; while, at the same time, many of the people +of colour, particularly the younger ones, are the offspring of +parents who have been legally united within the sacred walls of +the temple of God, and whose intellectual attainments fit them +for any society. + +It has also been said, that the coloured classes are not of a +sufficient respectability to move among the white inhabitants; +and some few years ago, the question was asked, (in excuse for +excluding them from society,) by one who then filled the highest +station in Antigua--"Would you wish to ask your tailor or your +shoemaker to dine with you?" To this query a most unequivocal +negative might have been given. Differences of rank ought to be +observed; and no one can be blamed for preserving a certain +degree of _etiquette_ in the arrangement of their parties. But, +at the same time--"Are all coloured people tailors and +shoemakers?" "No!" as before remarked, among them are some of the +most respectable merchants and planters; and the whites +themselves, with but few exceptions, follow no higher +occupations. + +Let the lower class of coloured people know and keep their proper +distance, the same as the lower classes do in the mother country; +but allow the upper ones to hold that place in society which +their worth, respectability, wealth, and general deportment, +entitles them to. + +I have already spoken of the extreme familiarity of some of the +low persons of colour, who rest all their pretensions to +gentility upon their smart clothes, or their ability to keep a +horse or a horse and gig. It could not be expected or wished that +such persons should be received into good society, any more than +the low and ignorant of my own countrymen. There is also another +class of coloured people which, although, perhaps, equally +talented and prosperous, from the nature of the business they +follow, are excluded from the tables of the great. Such +distinctions as these are but equitable, and consequently, cannot +be called prejudice; but to debar the whole caste from polished +society on account of _colour_, is an illiberality unworthy of +the "age we live in." + +From a glance at prejudice, and its attendant evils, I will +proceed in my remarks upon the domestic character of the coloured +Creoles. I have already spoken of their hospitality, which is a +virtue apparently indigenous in the island; for white, brown, and +black, rich and poor, seem, as far as lies in their power, +equally open to its influence. The country, as any part of the +island beyond the precincts of the capital is termed, is divided +into small towns, (described in the previous pages;) a few +settlements, which have sprung up since emancipation, and +sugar-estates, or grazing-farms, which, with their "great +houses," managers' and overseers' dwellings, and negro huts, form +themselves complete villages. There are no hotels or places of +public entertainment, where the _sun_-worn traveller can obtain +"rest and refuge;" but if only acquainted by name, you can take +the liberty of driving to any of these country residences, where +you are sure of meeting with a polite and cordial reception. + +Most of these dwellings are very pleasantly situated, generally +upon a gentle slope, and every breeze that blows finds a ready +entrance at the open windows. Some of them are built in the +cottage style, with only one floor, elevated a few feet from the +ground; just affording sufficient room for a snug and cool +cellar, where the good inmates store their generous wines. These +houses contain a spacious hall, (the principal room in a West +Indian house, occupying about two-thirds of the whole dwelling, +and where meals are taken,) a parlour, or drawing-room, generally +opening with folding-doors into the first-named apartment, a +small morning room, four or five bedrooms, and the remainder of +the building is divided into butler's pantry, larders, and a kind +of lobby, where the numerous domestics assemble, and when not +actually engaged in waiting at table, or ministering to their own +ungovernable appetites, stretch themselves along the floor in all +the luxuriance of idleness. The kitchens are detached from the +house, for the purpose of evading the heat and smoke from the +wood fires; and contiguous to them are a long line of "negro +rooms," (as they term the apartments in this country intended for +the use of the domestics,) stables, and coach-houses, +interspersed with "stock" houses for poultry, and pens for the +accommodation of those unseemly animals vulgarly called hogs. + +These country residences are seldom devoid of company, who, in +parties of three or four, leave the confinement of the town for +the advantage of the purer air. The days are spent much after the +same fashion. Between the hours of five and six in the morning, a +tap comes at your chamber-door, and a black-visaged smiling +damsel enters with shoeless feet, and grinning lips shewing their +two rows of ivory, and with the accustomed "mornin', missis," +presents you with a cup of delicious coffee. The morning's +costume arranged with due precision, you quit your chamber, and +passing through the "hall," where two or three black servant boys +are spreading the snowy damask, and otherwise preparing for the +plentiful breakfast, you gain the drawing-room. Stepping through +its open windows or doors, you find yourself in a covered +gallery, amid, perhaps, a group of children and their nurses, +busily employed in various little infantile amusements. Upon the +appearance of "the lady" these, however, are immediately +postponed, as each miniature man or woman comes forward with +native courtesy and outstretched hand, and offers the usual +compliments. + +A grateful breeze greets your cheek with its bland whisperings; +and the early sunbeams, devoid of their intense meridian heat, +glisten on the dew-besprinkled leaves, or dance in the ripples of +the neighbouring ponds. If the property should be a sugar estate, +and it is the season of harvest when you visit it, many a jocund +laugh comes from the mill-door, where, under direction of the +manager or overseer, the sails are unfurled and given to the +wind; and with shout and creak, and cracking of whip, the sober +oxen are dragging home cartloads of golden sugar-canes. Thus the +time wears on;--at one moment watching the busy group at the +mill-door, at another holding converse with the lovely skies, or +following with dazzled glance, the rapid flittings of the +honey-seeking fly-bird;[48] and anon poring over the pages of +some spirit-stirring volume, or in occasional snatches of +conversation with the hospitable hostess. + +At length the master of the domain, in his snow-white dress, and +broad-brimmed hat, returns from his morning ride around the +property, and the other guests assemble; and as the bell rings +for nine o'clock,[49] a black boy, with napkin on his arm, +announces "_breck-fus_ (breakfast) ready, ma'am," and a general +movement takes place. The lady of the house, in her simple +morning dress, presides at the head of her well-stocked table +with a quiet gracefulness of manners, and amid a little racy talk +and pleasant jest the meal proceeds. Tea and coffee, the light +roll-like bread, roasted yams or potatoes, cutlets, ham, tongue, +eggs, _caveached_ fish,[50] and potted meats, are among the lists +of excellences found at a West Indian breakfast, while fresh +butter, (which is reckoned a rarity, and is very troublesome to +procure, being churned in a bottle, by continually shaking it, +and which is served up without the addition of any salt,) and +tempting fruits, fresh gathered from the tree, with the purple +bloom upon them, form the lighter delicacies of the repast. + +The meal over, and finger-glasses handed round, the company quit +the table, and assemble in the drawing-room in order to pass the +morning. The gentlemen leave, on various cares intent--some ride +to town, to pursue their customary avocations, while the master +inspects the labours of his people, settles some magistracy +business, or visits some other estates under his management. The +ladies in the meantime settle themselves to various little +womanly employments. There is the piano, the paint-box, and the +embroidery-frame; a selection of periodicals, new works, (most of +the genteel people are subscribers to the "Library Society,") or +a _porte-feuille_ of prints to look over; lively conversations of +"home and home scenes," (all West Indians call England home,) +promenades in the galleries or verandahs, or romps with the +children to while away the hours. + +About two o'clock the lunch-table is spread, when some of the +gentlemen find time to be present, and more good things are +partaken of. Pepper punch is brewed for "the lords of the +creation;" Hock and Seltzer water introduced, and the delicious +lemonade, made from the limes that moment gathered; and sparkling +water from the peculiar porous jars, which keep it as cool as if +drawn from the bottom of some gelid grot. + +The flies are very troublesome in Antigua, particularly at those +moments when meals are going forward, flying into the plates and +dishes, and almost upon the very portions of food you are +conveying to your mouth; indeed, in one instance, I observed one +of these intruding little insects actually fly into a gentleman's +mouth upon his opening it to utter some witty saying. To guard +against these disagreeable associates in your repast, it is +customary to have a black boy stand behind your chair, with a +large green bough in his hand, with which he brushes backwards +and forwards, in order to drive the intruders away. If the bough +made use of be gathered from any aromatic shrub, it is +particularly agreeable, as it throws a pleasing fragrance around, +at the same time it raises a gentle breeze. + +After lunch, your former amusements are resumed, until the sun +loses a little of its intensity, when bonnets and shawls are +called into requisition, and you stroll to the "boiling-house" to +see the preparation of sugar-boiling going on, and taste the +"sling," (the name given to the sugar when in its liquid state,) +canter over the short turf on the back of some "Bucephalus," or +wander through scenes of sylvan beauty, until the time arrives +when it is necessary to repair to the house to dress for dinner. + +Seven o'clock is the usual time appointed for "this momentous +meal," a time better fitted for this warm climate than an earlier +hour. The dinner generally consists of fish and soup, with the +accompanying Champagne, followed by flesh and fowl, and concluded +by pastry, game, (when in season,) butter, cheese, and +shell-fish. Madeira and Sauterne are the wines generally used at +dinner; and port, claret, cherry-brandy, and other liqueurs, with +luscious Malmsey, are introduced with the dessert, which of +course embraces the choicest of the West Indian fruits. Most of +the higher families possess a good stock of silver and glass, and +the table linen would please the most fastidious. + +The gentlemen do not sit long at their wine, but join the ladies +in the drawing-room, where tea and coffee soon make their +appearance, and the evening is spent in music and conversation +until the ornamental clock points to a late hour, when, family +prayers over, you retire to your chamber, and under cover of a +single sheet, repose in quietness, unless disturbed by an +officious mosquito, which, _sans ceremonie_, has entered by a +peep-hole in the "net" which surrounds the bed. + +The houses of the coloured gentry are neatly and tastefully +furnished. The hall contains its complement of dining-tables, +side-boards, with their glittering burdens, butler's trays and +stands, chairs, and sofas; wall-shades, hand-shades, +suspension-lamps, and china tables--sometimes a book-case and +writing-table, and a few prints in gilt frames. The drawing-room +has its couches, lounging-chairs, and ottomans; its pianofortes, +chiffoniers, and "what-nots;" loo and sofa tables; and all its +little fancy embellishments of ornamental china, albums, and +or-molu clocks. The floors are generally covered with oil-cloths +of various patterns, which are found to answer better in this +warm climate than carpeting; but the days when _mahogany floors_ +were rubbed with _orange juice_ are long since passed, if they +ever existed. I have never seen floors of more costly materials +than "pitch pine," which certainly takes a good polish if rubbed, +but which in that case are very disagreeable to walk over. + +The marriages of the coloured people are more private than they +used to be formerly--that is, among the genteel classes; the +common people still drive about in borrowed gigs and phaetons, +after the fashion already spoken of in the negro chapters. Some +years ago, it was customary to marry by special licence, the +ceremony being performed in the evening at their own dwellings. +This practice has become extinct, and they are now married in +their parish church. The favourite wedding-dress is blonde and +white satin. + +A great reformation has also taken place in their funerals. In +former days, a wake used to be held by all classes on the night +the demise took place; and on the following day, (the day of the +funeral,) immense quanties of "dyer bread" and "biscuit cakes" +(species of pastry) were made, enveloped in white paper, sealed +with black wax, and handed round to the assembled guests, who +often amounted to two or three hundred. Mulled wines, Port and +Madeira sangaree, "mixed porter," (specified quantums of porter, +water, sugar, and spice,) and different kinds of spirituous +liquors, were also provided, sufficient to satisfy the thirst of +Baron Munchausen's whale. If accounts be true, many of these +funeral guests paid such particular attention to these several +preparations from the vine and the hop, that they became greatly +elated thereby, and not unfrequently left the _house of mourning_ +in a state of inebriety. + +Every article of furniture in the house was covered with white, +and many other fatiguing ceremonies observed; but these have long +ago fallen into disuse, only the chamber of death shewing its +white drapery. The corpse, if a male, is attired in his usual +dress, with the exception of coat and shoes; over which is placed +what is termed a _scarf_, made of the finest white muslin or +lawn, crimped round the edges, and fastened round the waist by a +broad band. The ends of this scarf are brought in folds to the +feet, and terminated with bows and rosettes of the same material. +A cambric muslin shroud, also crimped in a deep border, is first +placed in the coffin; which, before the last sad office of +screwing down the lid takes place, is carefully covered over the +corpse, and shuts out from the glance of friends, the features +which they have so often gazed on with pleasure. If the deceased +is a female, an elegant white dress is chosen, with a white satin +band around the waist, white silk gloves and stockings, and a +blonde cap ornamented with white satin. + +If the deceased were unmarried, the coffin is covered with fine +white broad cloth, and elaborately ornamented with silver lace, +nails, plates, and "little angels," (as the negroes term them;) +if married, it is covered with black cloth and black ornaments. +Crape hat-bands and scarfs are now given to the bearers, and +hat-bands to the intimate acquaintance only, for if the deceased +is much respected, three or four hundred persons of all colours +attend the funeral. In the arrangement of the procession, (which +is always a walking one,) an eye is kept to prejudice. Formerly +all coloured persons had coloured bearers, then came a change; +and two white and four coloured men officiated in those +characters; then it came to be three white and three coloured, +and in a late instance, four white and two coloured persons +formed the complement.[51] + +The common coloured people still keep "a wake" upon the death of +their friends; and on such occasions, while one part of the +company are engaged in singing psalms, the others are filling the +women's hats with water, putting pepper into wine, pulling off +their shoes, and playing other vulgar practical jokes, most +irreverent and disgusting at such a season. + +The Antiguans have a peculiar mode of calling articles by +particular names:--thus, potatoes are invariably called _Irish +potatoes_, come they from what part of the world they may; the +common Prussian-blue pea, and wheat-flour, are always termed +_English_ peas, and _English_ flour, although such articles may +come from France or America; ducks are English ducks; _negus_ is +denominated _sangaree_, and spirits and water, _swizzle_. + +This practice is illustrated by the following anecdote, related +of a West Indian, who upon arriving for the first time at a +London hotel, rang the bell for the waiter. Upon that necessary +appendage to such an establishment making his appearance, the +West Indian saluted him in the following Creole manner: "Boy! +d'ye hear? give me a glass of _sangaree;_ and let me have for +dinner English ducks and Irish potatoes." + +The waiter, not used to this specification of articles, was +astounded; he passed his fingers musingly through his lanky +locks, looked up to the ceiling, and down to his Warrenized +shoes, minutely inspected the movement of a fly upon the gilded +mirror, in hopes, no doubt, of deriving information from it, +smoothed the _un_rumpled table-cover, and then being still +utterly unable to comprehend the order, exclaimed, in a very +lamentable tone, "I ham werry sorry, sir, but we have not got no +ducks or potatoes but the _common ones_, and has for the _other +thing_ you _hordered_, we have none in the house just now." + +There are several other peculiar modes of dialect observable +among the Creoles. For instance: If an order is given to open or +shut a window, it is, "Heave up that glass sash," or, "Haul down +that glass sash;" when speaking of east and west, they invariably +say _windward_ and _leeward;_ to throw a stone, is to _fire_ a +stone; if a person is fortunate enough to procure a good +situation, it is immediately said, "He has got a _capital +berth;_" and their men-servants, of every age, are always termed +_boys_.[52] + +Soon after my arrival in this island, I happened to be present, +one evening, when a gentleman was deploring an accident which had +lately occurred. With my mind running upon "wounds and bruises," +I inquired into the circumstances. "Why, that good-for-nothing +_boy_ of mine," was the rejoinder, "went to the pond this +morning, and on bis way back, he _knocked down my horse_." I was +certainly surprised at such an herculean feat, and began to think +of Maximin, the Roman emperor, who, with one blow of his fist, +could knock out a horse's tooth, or break its leg with a kick; +but my wonder was considerably increased upon the entrance of the +_boy_ in question, for instead of his exhibiting any appearance +of great strength, I found him to be, in reality, a decrepit old +man. How this pilgrim of sixty summers could knock down an animal +of such vast strength as a horse, I could not imagine--the +mystery was more and more intricate--but at length, an +elucidation was afforded, and I found out that instead of _the +boy_ knocking down the animal, the animal had knocked down him; +or, in other words, the horse had fallen down with the poor old +man upon his back. + +My sketches of colour are completed. True it is, there are many +other little peculiarities which might be noticed; but for the +present I will bid the coloured classes "farewell," and turning +over the page, mention a few of the "traits and trials" of the +white inhabitants. + + + ------ + +[46] This was not the only indignity offered. Mr. Gilbert was at +that period the notary public, and when the news of his intended +marriage got abroad, "the acting governor of Antigua wrote to the +acting general governor of the Leeward Islands, resident at St. +Christopher's, representing that _he_ (Mr. G.) had so basely +degraded himself as to be unworthy of that office." The +governor-general thought so too; so the public whipper was sent +to demand his notarial commission, and some unknown patriot +removed the painted board, placed over his office, bearing the +words, "John Gilbert, Notary Public," and threw it into the sea. +Mr. Gilbert also held a commission in the militia; but so +horrified were the officers of the corps to which he belonged, +that one of them, in the name of the rest, waited upon Mr. +Gilbert with the pleasing intelligence, "that they were +determined to have no intercourse with him, and would apply for a +court-martial to try him, _for acting in a manner inconsistent +with his rank and station, and the character of an officer, if he +proceeded with this marriage._" For peace' sake, Mr. Gilbert +resigned his commission. When, according to "the universal +practice in these islands," he applied for his marriage licence, +he was refused; the "bans were therefore published in the +church." It is almost needless to remark, that had he made the +lady the object of an illicit intercourse, his conduct would have +been thought nothing but proper by the white inhabitants of +Antigua in those days! + +[47] This circumstance occurred at a period when the clergymen +officiating in Antigua were not of that exemplary character which +distinguishes the generality of the present divines. + +[48] The humming bird, or colibri. + +[49] A bell is rang, a conch shell blown, or an old copper struck +with a piece of stick, to notify the hour when the negroes leave +their work, for the purpose of getting their morning meal; and +this is the usual hour for partaking of that repast among all +classes. + +[50] Fish stewed with vinegar, limes, mace, pepper, onions, &c., +and eaten cold. + +[51] How often trifling matters like these speak a mighty change +in the "spirit of the times!" + +[52] Although these _provincialisms_ happen to occur in this +chapter, it is necessary to remark, that they are made use of by +Creoles of every colour. + + + + + CHAPTER XLVII. + + + + Grades among the _pure in blood_--Aristocrats--The tribe + _fungi_--An overseer's duty--Managers and attorneys--Pickings + and gleanings--Managers' wives and managing ladies-- + Aristocratic shops--"My daughters"--Education--"Field days" of + the militia--The Antiguan aide-de-camp. + +As in commencing my chapter on colour, I deemed it necessary to +mention the different grades and gradations among that +olive-tinted race; so in writing upon the white population of +Antigua, it will be first proper to remark, that there are two +_distinct classes_ to be found among them: the one born in the +island, (but of course of European extraction,) and consequently +termed Creoles;[53] the other, persons of both sexes, who have +emigrated from England in search of wealth, or whose domestic +ties, or government appointments, have caused them to leave the +land of their birth, and made them, for a time at least, +residents in this bonny little island.[54] + +In these two classes, then, are to be found all the descendants +of the fair-haired Saxons, from the president of the island, down +to the low, ignorant, but proud, pauper--proud of his untarnished +blood! who, in Antiguan vulgarism, is known by the appellation of +"bottom-foot buckra." Of this last-mentioned class much may be +said. Many and various are their "traits" of character, and +arduous their "trials" to enable them to "keep up appearances." +But perhaps it may appear more orthodox to scan over the +peculiarities and "manners and customs" of the "tip-tops" first. + +The head of Antiguan society is of course her majesty's +representative--"His Excellency the Governor." Then comes the +"President of the Island," who, in absence of the +commander-in-chief, exercises his duties, and takes his place in +society. After the president, the members of the council and +house of assembly rank next among the grandees, all of whom, no +doubt, are-- + + "Most potent, grave, and reverend signiors." + +Then comes the "bench and the bar,"--the occupiers of pulpits, +and the followers of Galen,--government officers, and the +officers of her majesty's customs,--a few gallant sons of Mars +from some of England's "wooden walls," who in cruising about +these seas, pay Antigua an occasional visit,--officers from the +stationed regiments,--and a long line of merchants, attorneys, +managers, and nondescripts--and there the line is drawn. "These +several gentry," with their wives and daughters, aunts, sisters, +and cousins, constitute the first class among the white +population, or more properly speaking, form the aristocracy of +Antigua. + +But it must be observed, these aristocrats, although forming one +body, mixing in the same society, and equally looking upon +themselves as _exclusives_, may yet be divided into two distinct +classes--the one springing from a good old stock, the other +comprehending the _self-elected_ ones. I shall confine myself +more particularly in this chapter to the latter class, as being +better exemplifiers of the "ups and downs of life." + +Now although the tribe _fungi_, of which the mushroom is a +member, luxuriates better in a damp climate, than in one so +excessively hot; yet some species of them may be met with in all +parts of the world. I have often seen their long slender stalks, +and pallid-looking caps extending the limits of the _vegetable +world_ in Antigua; and therefore it does not surprise me to find +so many of the mushroom family among the animal creation in that +part of the globe, obtruding their tall heads, even in the +aristocratic circles of the community. Like their brethren among +the vegetables, some of them grow upon the ground, and "derive +their nourishment from the soil," while others "spring up on +various substances, presented by nature or art." + +The first of these two varieties of mushrooms are to be met with +among the descendants of those poor white persons, who in former +years came to Antigua to act, in the literal sense of the word, +as "servants of servants," but whose offspring, by dint of petty +traffickings and small gatherings, amassed a sufficient sum of +money to make them forget their origin, and contemning their +natural parents, look for some "Jupiter Ammon" to stand +progenitor for them in their stead. The latter class are the wild +branches of some sapless tree, who, with scarce a change of +raiment in their wallets, or the clink of a coin in their purse, +were shipped off to the West Indies to be killed or cured--reap +dollars like thistles, or starve in the attempt. + +By the "good luck," as it is termed, which sometimes attends such +needy adventurers upon their arrival in this country, they +obtained, perhaps, employment as overseers upon the different +estates, (I am now speaking of the manner in which such affairs +were conducted some years before emancipation, when the +proprietors were obliged, by law, to maintain so many white +servants to so many slaves,) where they were quickly installed +into their duty. This consisted in calling over the names of the +negroes before daylight of a morning, seeing them properly +whipped, when such chastisement was deemed necessary, or perhaps +whipping them, as the case might be; inspecting the labours of +the gang of negroes in the field, who were cutting canes or +preparing the land for planting; flying from thence to the +mill-door, where some awkward "boatswain" had let the +mill-tackling get wrong, (for which crime he was coolly ordered a +dozen or two,) or, perchance, if it were a "cattle-mill" instead +of a "windmill," a gang of mules had turned restive, or one +unfortunate over-driven animal had dropped down dead, or else +three or four of the wooden cogs of the mill were broken, and the +cattle were obliged to be taken out until it should be mended. +Then he had to visit the "rum-still," and overlook the process of +distillation, taking down, upon a dirty piece of paper, the +number of gallons of "high-wines," "rum," and "low-wines." From +the "still" he marched to the "boiling-house," to inspect the +making of sugar; and from thence to the "curing-house," to see +the sugar "potted," (that is, packed in hogsheads, tierces, or +barrels.) Then there were staves to be given out to the coopers, +and boards to the carpenter, besides dispensing medicines to the +sick slaves, and cane-tops to the hungry mules. And then, when +all these multitudinous occupations were performed, and the +different store-houses well secured, he proceeded to the "great +house," and, after scrubbing his face with brown soap and a jack +towel, smoothing, if possible, his straggling, sun-burnt locks, +and exchanging his dirty white jacket for one of broad-cloth, or +a coat whose cuffs and collar bore ample marks of time, he made +his appearance in the dining-room or hall, where a high stool or +an education chair was placed for him near his master, at whose +old jokes and worn-out tales he felt obliged to laugh, while he +indulged in such luxuries as fowls' necks and odd ends of +pudding, washed down by a single glass of wine. + +His labours were now over for the night, unless it were the sugar +harvest, and then he was expected to return to the boiling-house, +where, amid clouds of densest steam, he remained until twelve or +one in the morning, and then, as the last copper was cooled down, +he marched off the tired negroes, and, having well locked the +door, quitted the furnace-like heat of the building to wend his +weary way home in the cold night air. + +During former days of slavery, it has often been the practice to +carry on the boiling of sugar throughout the whole night. Upon +such occasions, the poor overseer had to keep his place in the +boiling-house, to see that the slaves attended to their duty. +There is an anecdote told of a West Indian overseer which proves +him to have been rather clever in the art of dissimulation. He +was a man of reserved manners and of extreme taciturnity, seldom +speaking to the negroes, unless, indeed, giving them a stroke or +two from a rattan which, from custom, he carried in his hand, can +be termed _speaking;_ but he was a favourite with his employer, +who thought him _watchful_ as well as careful--two very necessary +virtues in days of slavery. From some cause or the other, he had +lost the sight of one of his eyes, but which disaster, from a +latent spark of pride, he was very desirous of concealing. While +in the "boiling-house" during the day, quietly seated in his +cherry-tree chair, and narrowly watching the movements of the +negroes, it was his custom to place his hand over the affected +organ. But as evening came on, and "tired nature" craved repose, +he altered his plan of operation, and covering his other eye, he +allowed his rayless orb to glare "horribly stern" upon the +toiling slaves, who, unconscious of his visual defect, and noting +his movements, by which one of his eyes was ever apparently fixed +upon them, exclaimed--"Eh! eh! war dis?--buckra oberseer cleber +true; he make one yeye (eye) sleep while toder keep watch!" + +To return to our overseer's duty. Perhaps some of my readers may +be inclined to think this kind of life described not the most +enviable, and their "good luck" in meeting with such a situation +very illusory. Like, however, the solitary waste in the Eastern +story of "Abdallah," this life of drudgery leads to riches. A few +years over, and if the overseer is "smart" in his business, he +gets promoted to "manager," marries, perhaps, his former master's +daughter, or some other fair one, starts his horse and gig, +purchases a dozen or two of wine, and a decent suit of clothes; +and what with his salary, and the pickings and gleanings procured +from off the property, he begins to make a show, and ventures to +give a dinner-party to the "great people." + +Another year or so, and if the island is blessed with fine and +copious rains, and the estate makes a good crop in consequence, +the proprietor in England experiences great delight, and by the +return packet, despatches a commission, promoting our _ci-devant_ +overseer to the situation of attorney as well as manager. Now, in +truth, he begins to raise his head, like other mushrooms after a +shower of rain, and thinks himself a man of family. His gig is +replaced by a rattling, shaking, tumble-down carriage, drawn by a +pair of spavined horses, and further graced by a shoeless +coachman, his head surmounted by a pitiful beaver, encircled by a +gold or silver band, his only other article of livery consisting +of a scarlet waistcoat, made perhaps from some cast-off militia +uniform. A little meagre black boy, whose habiliments are upon a +similar scale to the coachman's, serves the office of footman, +and attends upon "the ladies" in their morning drive, with a +grace and grimace most admirably seconded by the monkeys in the +zoological gardens of London. Nor is the starting of this +equipage all that marks the change; Mr. Attorney becomes more +egotistical every day--his cellar receives a stock of champagne, +(_or perry_,) and he cries, "Taste my wine--it is excellent, I do +assure you. I cannot drink bad wine; I have never been used to +it!" His larder becomes replenished with richer fare. "Try this +turtle-soup," says he; "you'll find it superb--my cook is +celebrated for his skill. I can tolerate nothing that is +indifferent at _my table_." He procures a commission in the +militia, and sets up for the house of assembly; and being +elected, takes his place among that august body with a vast deal +of dignity. He makes no long speeches, 'tis true; but, instead, +shakes his head with an overpowering gravity, and insinuates, "I +think the more," taking good care, however, to chime in with the +strongest party. + +His family becomes of some importance; his sons are intended for +the bar, or the church; and one is destined to step into his own +shoes. He next looks out for some poor damsel, who, to save +herself from actual starvation, agrees to wear out her strength, +and prostrate her talents in endeavouring to inculcate into the +minds of his daughters the elementary branches of education for a +sum your washerwoman would scorn to take. + +Thus, as we have seen, the overseer rises to manager, the manager +to attorney, and, like the worthless grub, when it puts on the +butterfly's painted wings, and, soaring on the bland and +beautiful zephyr, scorns his former race, who yet remain +grovelling in the dust, and fancies itself of a higher creation; +so the attorney, as he gains the pinnacle of his ambition, +forgets his former lowly state and penniless pockets, and, with +haughty brow and over weening pride, proclaims himself an +aristocrat. How very fast mushrooms do spring up! + +But it may be asked, "What salary does an attorney receive to +enable him to keep up all this state of grandeur? surely it must +be something handsome?" In answer, it must be remarked, that such +affairs are not conducted in the West Indies as they are in +England. This is the country for a poor man to make a display in +--here he may run his carriage without fearing a visit from a +tax-gatherer; or dress up his servant in livery without having to +pay 1l. 4s. per annum. His wine costs him about 2s. sterling per +bottle; claret, 1s.; and "real Cognac" can be obtained for 2s. +6d. Before emancipation, the attorney and manager employed as +many of the slaves as suited them, in the capacity of domestic +servants, which slaves were of course fed from the estate +provision; then the attorney has one or two horses allowed him, +and if he purchases any more from his private funds, the estate +finds them in corn and grass; he keeps a flock of sheep, for +which the property also stands caterer; and now and then his +employer may forward him a hogshead of porter, or a pipe of +Madeira, besides other little presents, consisting of barrels of +beef, or pork, or any other little matters. Thus, in the end, his +pomp and grandeur is kept up at a very moderate charge to his own +pockets. + +It cannot be supposed that I intend to assert, that the +aristocracy of Antigua is wholly composed of the _fungi_ tribe, +or that all her planters are of the upstartish class it has +pleased me to describe. Far from it; an attentive perusal of +these pages will prove, on the contrary, that there are to be +found among them families, whose genealogical tree bears many a +goodly shoot--through whose veins runs a stream of England's +richest blood: the names of Warner, Williams, Byam, Martin, +Ottleys, with many others, have long stood pre-eminent in the +annals of Antigua; while their descendants have kept up their +high station in the society of the island. + +But to return to the mushroom gentry. While they are travelling +the high-road to preferment and honour, their wives are +proceeding with railway speed in the paths of affectation and +conceit. From the more useful occupations of washing their own +clothes, and mending their own stockings, they now play the part +of "my lady," and pass their time in lolling upon a sofa, with an +open book before them, ready to take up should "company" arrive; +or with wondering ears, listen to their daughters bungling +through one of Mozart's waltzes, or stammering over a French +fable. + +Yet it is but proper to observe, all the "ladies" of this class +of aristocrats do not spend their time in this indolent manner. +No--far from it. Many of them have an eye to business amid all +their grandeur, and keep, in a little tenement adapted to the +purpose, a good stock of salt pork and salt fish; mackerels, +herrings, and "alewives;"[55] corn-flour, tobacco, and candles; +besides various articles of finery and coarse cloths, which they +dispense to the negroes upon the neighbouring estates, at the +very moderate profit of about 50 per cent.! Nor is this the +sum-total of their industry; their yard is well supplied with +poultry, their gardens with vegetables, if they lack flowers; and +many a goodly-sized swine enriches their pigsties. When these +last-mentioned quadrupeds have exchanged their Saxon for their +Norman names, as "Wamba" observes, the lady of the house, on +"notable thoughts intent," packs up their delicate "sides and +quarters," and conveys them, or has them conveyed, to a snug +corner of the carriage about to convey her honourable husband to +the capital, to meet in "conclave grave" his noble compeers. +After setting down their master at the door of the court-house, +"Mr. John," the coachman, or "Mr. Thomas," the footman, draws +these choice viands from their retreat; and while the owner of +the defunct pigs is busy in making laws, or settling the affairs +of nations, his servants are disposing of them to the best +bidder, or laying in a store of bread in their stead. In the same +manner, corn-fed mutton, poultry, eggs, and fresh butter, find +their way to St. John's market; and, by the magician-like wand of +commerce, return to our manager's managing lady, in the form of +wine, tea, or loaf-sugar. + +Of course, when these "ladies of distinction" draw on their +mitts, and make their appearance in the drawing-room, the _shop_ +is banished from thoughts and conversation; and if not +literature, at least topics of scandal, rank, and lineage, are +discussed in its place. Some great-great-grandfather, who, from +some freak of royalty has been dubbed knight, or else some +imaginary kinsman, is called up from their long-forgotten tomb, +to stand as a kind of foundation to their present greatness. + +Their daughters are carefully instructed in all the various modes +of setting forth their own charms, and of publishing their own +exalted rank, by expressing their contempt for all beneath them. +The scornful toss of the head, the disdainful curve of the +upper-lip, the affected heave of the shoulders, the insolent +stare, and the air of proud condescension, is studied with far +more intenseness than their grammars or geographies. Meet them +where you will, in the place of worship or the "public show," +their manners are equally haughty; and their boasted pretension +to superiority is even expressed in the very bending of their +knees, when in acts of supposed adoration. + +The more juvenile part of the community are, of course, debarred +by their youth from keeping up with proper dignity their rank in +life; but in the very nursery, the lessons of pride and +affectation are engrafted, soon to become strong and flourishing +shoots. + +The days of extreme ignorance are certainly passed; the days when +the young white Creole was left entirely to the care of their +black, or low-coloured nurses, who imagined they could not better +discharge their duty than by giving them their own way. The days +when girls of fourteen could find no other amusement than, seated +upon the floor, amid their negro attendants, to pass their time +in eating "sling," or sucking sugar-canes, while their listless +mothers lay stretched upon their couch, leaving their children to +learn their alphabet as best they could. In later years, as +before remarked, a poor English girl is generally procured to +instruct them in the early branches of knowledge, curl their +hair, and teach them their "steps," until the period arrives when +their parents deem it necessary to send them to England, and +place them at some suburban seminary. Here they are taught to +sketch a landscape, complete a butterfly in Poonah painting, play +some of the fashionable airs, with variations, upon a piano, +speak Anglicised French, dance a quadrille, and perhaps embroider +a footstool. Their education is then supposed to be completed, +and they are re-shipped to the West Indies, to astonish "papa and +mamma," play their part upon the theatre of life, and swell the +ranks of the female _coterie_. + +In the days when the militia was in being in Antigua, the ladies +of these self-elected aristocrats, were very fond of alluding to +the martial rank of their relatives, particularly in their visits +to England--talking of "my husband, the colonel," "Capt. X------, +my papa," or "Lieut. Z------, my brother." The gentlemen, many of +them, were also very proud of wearing their uniform upon +"field-day," which occurred once a month, and no doubt felt +themselves, as they buckled on their glittering swords, like +"Hudibras, grow valorous." The governor, as commander of the +force, was allowed by the militia laws an honorary staff, which +consisted of six officers, who bore the local rank of +lieutenant-colonels. + +An anecdote is related of a gentleman of Antigua, who formed one +of this _cortège_, and who was no little pleased with his high +rank, and garnished shoulders. Business or pleasure called him to +England, and he carried "home" with him his growing daughters to +gather instruction, and his smart aide-de-camp's dress to reap +applause. Arrived in London, and the fatigues of the voyage over, +our aide-de-camp arrayed himself in his gay uniform, and hiring a +carriage, drove with his daughters to a fashionable seminary. His +card was sent in "Lieutenant-colonel ------" and the lady of the +establishment met him with all possible grace, and bowed and +courtesied to his inquiries with elegant obsequiousness. No +references were of course asked for--no entrance money demanded: +his gay apparel was a sufficient passport, and the gentle +"_maitresse d'ecole_" only thought herself too happy in acquiring +the patronage of an officer of such high rank. + +Time sped on, and the recess was at hand--the young ladies +remained with their instructress during its period--the +scholastic duties were again resumed, and another six months +passed away. The various items swelled to a vast amount, yet no +remittance came--no aide-de-camp made his appearance. A faintish +tremour played around the lady's heart, and, unwillingly, she +began to think of moneyless "soldiers of fortune." Letters were +despatched to put the tardy sire in remembrance of his daughters' +improvements in their various studies, and urge for a +remuneration. But alas! like "sleep," at the call of our fourth +"Henry," it came not; and in the end, the lady was only too happy +to get rid of her fair charges without receiving any payment, +resolving, however, in her mind, never to trust again a West +Indian _aide-de-camp_. + + + ------ + +[53] It is an erroneous opinion held by some English people, that +only coloured persons are called _Creoles;_ the word being, in +its proper sense, applied to all who are born in the West Indies. + +[54] These two classes are of coarse subdivided into many others, +according to their different stages in society. + +[55] A description of salted fish, brought from America. + + + + + CHAPTER XLVIII. + + + + The pure in blood--Aristocrats of the higher order--Law, + physic, and divinity--Merchants and planters--Proprietors' + dwellings--A day at a country-seat--Gastronomy--Beef--"Mary + Swift"--Mutton--Pork--Turtle and City aldermen--Christmas. + +Having, in the preceding chapter, glanced at the "rise and +progress" of the _mushroom_ part of the aristocracy, it may be +deemed requisite for me to enlarge upon the merits of those +members of that body who, to present high bearing, add the claim +of good descent. And yet I know not what to say more than I have +done already in many parts of these pages, that they are fully +entitled to the respect they so universally meet with. For among +them are to be found men of superior knowledge, and distinguished +by the possession of all the cardinal virtues; men in whom +dignity of station is blended with kindliness of heart, and who, +amid the blessings wherewith Providence has blessed them, have an +open purse, and an outstretched hand, ever ready to administer to +the wants of their less fortunate brethren; men of agreeable +manners and pleasing conversation, and whose intercourse with the +polite circle in other parts of the world has corrected any +little errors they might have imbibed from their West Indian mode +of life, and divested them of that narrow-minded spirit so much +to be deplored. + +In this class of individuals are to be found the Creole +proprietor, as well as those who may have purchased estates +within these last few years, and, in consequence, emigrated from +England, clergymen, barristers, and physicians, merchants and +planters, the offspring of the soil itself, or wanderers from the +several countries of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. + +I have already spoken of the worth of many of the clergymen; men +who practise what they preach, and who, in their private as well +as public life, shew forth, by the fruit they bear, that they are +branches of the _true vine_. The barristers are generally +considered men of distinguished abilities, and some of them plead +with powerful eloquence. They also act as solicitors and +attorneys; but they honour the profession too much to speculate +in cargoes of horses or corn-meal, as some of their brothers of +the profession are said to do in an island not seventy miles from +Antigua. In that colony there is at the present day a firm, +consisting of three parties, who, to their numerous duties of +pleading before the bar, add the more primeval occupation of +agriculturists, the partners taking it by turns to play the +planter for the space of three years,[56] and so leaving Coke, +Blackstone, and similar other worthies, study instead the art of +_planting canes_ and _boiling sugar_. How far their professional +knowledge retains its vigour in the interim their several clients +can best tell; I suppose they refrain from tasting the waters of +Lethe, but pay daily orisons at the shrine of Mnemosyne. It must +not be supposed that all the barristers of the island in question +engage in such diversified occupations; many of them pay as much +respect to their profession as their brethren of Antigua do, and +among them are to be found some very clever men. One in +particular is possessed of very superior qualifications, and his +eloquent pleading would gain attention and merit applause even +within the ancient walls of Westminster. His name is also known +in the literary world, and his "Commentaries" upon the laws of +his native island have no doubt often materially benefited his +brother barristers. It is, of course, a work that would not call +for general attention, from its local nature; but if once taken +up, the author employs so many pleasing bands with which to bind +his bundle of _law leaves_ together, that the reader is +irresistibly led to peruse it to the end. + +To return to Antigua. Perhaps the most eminent member of the +Antiguan bar is a Mr. James Scotland, who, although he does not +often indulge in that flowery style of oratory which some of his +brethren of the long robe do, speaks with powerful emphasis, and +is grounded in all the mazy doctrines of the law. Mr. S. is a +scion of a goodly stock. His ancestors emigrated from the mother +country, and became settlers in Antigua, in which island they +filled official situations at an early period, and where they +have ever maintained a high character for philanthropy and +liberal principles, even in days of prejudicial darkness. Such a +line of conduct has often drawn down persecution upon the members +of this family; but at length they have met with the reward of +their unflinching perseverance in seeing that large portion of +the Antiguan community whose interests they have ever supported, +enjoying the privileges of British subjects, without regard to +complexional prejudice. + +The merchants are in most instances unexceptionable characters; +the planters rank high in agricultural knowledge and +respectability; and the physicians are, I believe, generally +noted for their eminent skill. It must be remarked that in this +last-named profession there are no gradations, all the medical +men ranking as M.D., whether they have attained that degree or +not; and so far is this custom carried by the illiterate, that +the very black or coloured boys, who are generally employed to +handle the pestle, also go by the title of "doctor;" nor is it an +uncommon circumstance for these illegitimate sons of Galen to be +called in to visit patients and perform those particular branches +of surgery, phlebotomy and extracting of teeth. The first +physician in Antigua is a Dr. F., a man of versatile and +brilliant talents--an able logician, well versed in polite +literature, of energetic manner, and, what is above all, +possessed of deep, heart-felt philanthropy, based upon that +golden maxim, "Do unto others as you would have others do unto +you." + +Some of the proprietors' dwellings, situated upon their several +estates, in the most cultivated parts of the island, are mansions +which would not disgrace the parks of our English country +gentlemen. They, in most instances, are built upon gently +swelling eminences, spots of extreme beauty; and the contrast +they display between their dazzling white walls, and the deep +verdure of their surrounding groves, over-canopied by a sky of +intense blue, strikes pleasingly upon the eye; while the interior +is fitted up in a style worthy the taste of the occupiers. + +The approach to many of these edifices is by stately avenues of +cedars, whose bright laurel-like leaves set off to advantage the +bunches of delicate trumpet-shaped flowers. Others, again, have +the carriage-road bordered by noble rows of cocoa-nuts or +palmettos, whose long graceful branches bend to the breeze, which +makes pleasing melody as it sighs among them. Their country-seats +embrace prospects of inexpressible loveliness. Nothing of what is +generally termed the sublime, it is true--no frowning precipices +or gigantic mountains, whose hoary heads are ever hid in the +clouds--no impetuous cataracts rushing down the face of wild and +blackened rocks, and hiding at length their angry waters in some +dreadful abyss; the scene is of a more quiet nature, one where +there is such a rich harmony of colouring, such a blending of +earth, and sea, and sky, (for from almost all parts of the island +the ocean can be seen,) that as the eye gazes thereon, a pleasing +calm comes over the beholder, and every discordant passion sinks +to rest.[57] + +In these mansions, a system of open but elegant hospitality is +kept up; and like gentlemen's country-seats in England, they are +seldom devoid of puissant knights and lovely damsels. The day +passes as most days do in the country. Ample respect is paid to +the well-stocked breakfast table, where every West Indian luxury +abounds; and then the gentlemen separate to pursue their +respective avocations; ride round their estates, and mark the +progress of their canes, or as it is said, to hear them grow; +visit the capital, to perform their legislative duties, pay their +respects to his excellency the governor, or scan over accounts +with their agents. The ladies, in the meantime, amuse themselves +with various feminine and elegant employments; sometimes +accompanying their soft voices upon the piano, or on well-strung +harps, playing over those melting ditties which once brought +tears into the eyes of the "gentle shepherd," or the matchless +ploughman of Ayrshire. Others frequent the library, where the +works of our best writers may be met with; but the +spirit-stirring volumes of a Gore, a James, or incomparable +"Boz," are much more eagerly sought after, than a Boyle, a Locke, +or a Newton; but few of our West Indian ladies study philosophy +or metaphysics; a novel, a poem, a book of plays, or modern +travels, are the highest steps they take in literature. + +At length comes the hour of luncheon, when other delicacies are +produced, and duly indulged in; and then the duties of the toilet +have to be attended to--a stray ringlet or a captivating dimple +taken to task--a smile, a look, or an attitude studied, until the +time arrives when a drive in the carriage, or a stroll through +some pleasant vale, is practicable. After enjoying these +exercises for some time, the dressing-room is once more sought, +and beauty receives every assistance that art can give her, in +direct opposition to the advice of the author of the "Seasons." + +About seven, the whole party assemble around the dinner-table, +where luxurious fare and choice wines receive additional _gusto_ +from a profusion of handsome plate, rich glass, snowy +table-linen, and a well-lighted apartment. I cannot in this +place, pass over the head of all West Indian confectionary, a +_floating island_, without further mention. Could I give an +authentic recipe for the making of it, my patriotic spirit would +lead me immediately to do so; but as that is not in my power, I +can only say it is compounded of cream, sugar, guava jelly, and +citron, and is of all sweets the very sweetest. Despite what +Baron Munchausen says to the contrary, I could, were all floating +islands like it, willingly live upon them; and consequently, his +strenuous exertions in driving stakes through them, to render +them stationary, as of erst he says he did St. Christopher's, +would meet with no thanks from me. + +Dr. Johnson has remarked that the hour of dinner is the most +important of the twenty-four; be it so; like all other important, +as well as unimportant matters, time at length brings it to a +close. The drawing-room is once more sought, and in lively +conversation, or listening to soft strains of music, which our +lamented _Mrs. Hemans_ has so beautifully eulogized, the evening +passes away, or is closed in with a sprightly quadrille. + +All West Indians of the higher rank keep a good table; indeed, +the custom has become proverbial. Not only does the island +contribute its fish, flesh, and fowl, but France and England pay +a tribute in the shape of potted meats and soup. The native beef, +it must be allowed, is horrible--lean, tough, and sinewy, it +requires all your masticatory powers to demolish it, and proves +not a bad illustration of the conundrum, "_If_ tough beef-steaks +could speak, what English poet would they name?" "Chaw-sir," +(Chaucer.) Some West Indians, however, have asserted that they do +not like English beef, it is so "fat and tender!" so much for +custom. But the indifferent quality of the Creole beef is easily +accounted for, when the state of the animal before it is killed +is considered. The cattle bred upon the island, although very +small, are used instead of horses in agricultural labour, and are +of consequence of great value to the planter. They therefore +seldom think of killing them while it is possible for them to be +put to the plough, or worked in the cart; but when the planter +finds that they are utterly unfit for work, and that death will +soon put an end to their toil, or when a cow has become so old +and emaciated as to be unable to rear her calves, they make a +virtue of necessity, and give them up to the care of one of the +old men or women, who feed them about the estate for a few weeks, +and occasionally give them a little corn-meal to fatten them, and +then sell them to the butcher. + +I have seen some of these _antediluvian_ creatures, if I may be +allowed to use that term, coming into the capital, particularly +about Christmas, lame and blind, faltering at every step they +made, that it has been a matter of surprise to me how they were +able to reach the shambles; but, poor creatures! there they +arrive, sooner or later, are quickly despatched, and, about seven +o'clock the next morning, you may hear the bellman hallooing out +--"Oyes! oyes! a fine fat ox, bery fat, indeed, to be had at the +shambles of Mary Swift," of famed renown! who, in person, amply +makes up in longitude what she loses in latitude. I cannot help +remarking, in this place, how much more humane the mode of +killing these animals, practised in Antigua, appears than that +customary in England. Here are no horrible slaughter-houses, +still reeking with the blood of those slain before, to harass the +poor animal's sense of smelling, and call for the assistance of +those cruel ropes to pull it in; neither is the dire mallet used, +which often requires so many strokes before life is extinct. A +little grass is scattered down beneath the shade of some +spreading tree, to which the creature is tied, and as it bends +its head, the butcher, with a sharp knife, separates the spinal +marrow between the horns, and death is instant. + +The mutton introduced at the table of the gentry is +super-excellent--small, tender, and not too fat; something like +the Welsh mutton so justly esteemed by the opulent in England. It +is generally fed upon the Indian-corn, and gentlemen kill for +their own use. That procured at the shambles is generally very +indifferent, and not unfrequently goat mutton. Pork is another +viand admitted at times to enlarge the table-store. It is +considered by some to be the first meat in the West Indies; this, +however, I cannot accede to; the warmth of the climate is against +it, and makes it appear unseasonable. Goldsmith, in his "Manners +and Customs," mentions that pigs in the West Indies were always +fed upon sugar-canes. I have made inquiries upon this _important_ +subject, and from the answers received, and my own observations, +am inclined to think that the family of grunters are forced to be +content with less luscious fare. Upon estates, when grinding, +they may, perhaps, get a share of what is termed the _mill-bed_, +but that is all the production of the cane they are allowed to +participate in, unless they march into a cane-field of their own +accord, and stand a chance of getting shot or stuck for their +pains, for a watchman is ever looking out for such intruders, to +whom he plays the executioner's part, and, after decollating, +takes, by right of law, the head for his own share. + +Poultry is also a standing dish at a West Indian dinner. Before +emancipation, all kinds of feathered stock were very plentiful, +and very cheap; fowls could be purchased for from 6d. to 8s. +each, and turkeys, geese, guinea-birds, and ducks, in the same +proportion; but now it is different, the negroes requiring higher +prices for them. Most country gentlemen have, however, a +poultry-yard attached to their residence, and thus escape the +necessity of having to send, perhaps, half over the island before +their want can be supplied. + +Rabbits and pigeons are occasionally added to the luxuries of the +Creole banquet; and venison finds its way from the neighbouring +island of Barbuda. Several very excellent kinds of fish, the +produce both of sea and fresh water, and shell-fish, allure the +eye of the epicure; and last, _not least_, the delicious turtle, +which at certain seasons is vended weekly at 9d. sterling per +pound! with all its rich green fat, its white and yellow eggs! +What would a city alderman say to this? would not his imagination +revel in all the delights of _calipash_ and _calipee_, and _real_ +turtle soup? not made of beef and calf's head, with a few pieces +of turtle floating in it, to _stand its god-father_, as a late +gastronomic writer so aptly describes such soup as may be +obtained at the "London Tavern," or Cornhill, although that is +reckoned very excellent in its way. We are very soon to have the +steam ships running, or rather galloping, between England and +these islands; and I really think it would well repay that very +honourable body the "lord mayor, the sheriffs, and aldermen of +London," to take a trip, if it was only to partake of turtle in +perfection, and quaff a glass of Madeira, mellowed beneath this +burning sun. + +Although hospitality is ever practised in Antigua, Christmas is +the season of the year when conviviality is at its height. Then +relatives meet together from all parts of the island,--then +friendly compacts are renewed, and family differences happily +adjusted, and sweet Concord, with beaming smile, wreaths once +more her golden chain. Although no glittering green mistletoe, +that "holy bough," hangs pendant from the ceiling, and calls the +attention of flashing eyes to its mystic berries, the fragrant +pimento adorns the halls of the rich, as well as the cottages of +the poor, while the laugh and song and + + "Mirth-moving jest," + +throw around their pleasing witcheries. The tables groan beneath +their burdens; and among their goodly fare may be found, as the +old Christmas carol expresses it-- + + "Plum-pudding, goose, capon, minced pies, and roast beef." + + + ------ + +[56] The estate belongs to "the firm." + +[57] The principal of these country residences are--"Claremont," +the seat of the Hon. R. E. Williams; "Cedar Hill," the seat of +the Hon. Wm. Byam, both of them truly paternal looking edifices; +"Gilbert," the seat of the Rev. Nat. Gilbert; "Mount Joshua," the +seat of the Hon. Bertie E. Jarvis; Green Castle, the seat of Sir +H. Martin, &c. + + + + + CHAPTER XLIX. + + + + The pure in blood--Places of amusement--The theatre--"Romeo + Coates"--Jugglers and rope-dancers--Maroon parties--Shooting + season--The Creole beauties--Dress--"The lords of the creation" + --Fops and foppery--Business hours--Scene at the Antigua + post-office--Auction sales--Militia doings--The gallant dragoon + --Guard-nights. + +There are but few places of public amusement in Antigua; no +malls, or parks, or Kensington gardens,--no morning concerts, +Colosseums, or exhibition-rooms,--no "Almacks" of an evening,[58] +or box at the opera, where the Creole beauty may shew forth her +charms with _eclât_. The Antiguan _belle_ has to trust to fortune +to bring her admirers; + + "Unknowingly she strikes, and kills by chance," + +as Dryden expresses it. + +A few years ago, however, there was a theatre in Antigua,[59] +which now and then was frequented by a straggling company of +players, who, in their trips about the West Indies, called in at +Antigua to delight and surprise the inhabitants with their +dramatic lore. Then "Macbeth" grasped his gory dagger,--"Hamlet" +stalked about in sable suit,--"Othello" raved, or "Jaffier" +stormed,--then poor "Juliet" wept, or "Desdemona" prayed, and +many other heroes and heroines of the stage "mouth'd" and "saw'd +the air," with all the grace that strolling players are noted +for. Their ranks augmented by some gentlemen amateur performers +of Antigua, who, not content with entering the lists as knights +of the "buskin and sock," like Hercules, put on the _petticoats_, +to shew, I suppose, their diversity of talents. Much cannot be +said for the performance upon these occasions. One gentleman, in +his metamorphosis, forgot to divest himself of his "Wellington +boots," and there was such a clattering and stamping about with +him, when playing the part of the waiting woman, that I verily +believed the boards were in danger. + +The well-known and eccentric "Romeo Coates," as he is generally +called in London, is a native of Antigua; and many and oft have +been the nights, when he has made his bow before an Antiguan +audience, and trusting in his histrionic powers, claimed the +chaplet which Fame has woven for stage-struck heroes. The +playhouse has, however, been levelled with the ground; and its +site is now occupied by a very respectable private +dwelling-house, in place of the shabby temple, formerly +appropriated to the tragic and comic muse. + +Although the theatre is "no more," Antigua is not always devoid +of public exhibitions. A juggler, or a rope-dancer, now and then +makes his appearance, and having procured an empty store or loft, +throws his body into ten thousand different contortions, for the +amusement of those who feel inclined to throw in their dollars. +At other times, a dwarf, or an "infant phenomenon," do their best +to call a smile into the face of their audience; or a ship-load +of _yankees_, with their stud of horses, and an "incomparable +female rider," as their play-bills have it, erect their marquee +upon the barrack-ground, and for the small remuneration of a +dollar, spring over the moon almost, or act the part of a spitted +ox, dressed by the heat of fire-works. + +During the absence of these "professional characters," the +Antiguans have other methods for getting rid of the time that +hangs too heavy upon their hands. Now and then a _maroon party_, +or West Indian _fête champetre_, is given; when groups of +beautiful girls and gallant youths, stayed matrons, and gentlemen +of riper years, assemble together, with full purpose to enjoy the +passing hours. Some sweet spot, generally near the sea-side, is +chosen for the day's resort; or else some + + "---- green and silent spot amid the hills, + A small and silent dell." + +And beneath the shade of some far-spreading trees, whose boughs +form natural arcades, their rural banquet is spread. Various +pastoral sports are here enjoyed; and although no "Weippert's +band" is in attendance, the sound of the lively violin, or +soft-breathing flute, often floats across the blue waters, and +mingles with the murmur of the playful wavelets. + +At different periods of the year, fancy sales are held in the +court-house, when all classes congregate together, from the +governor's lady, to the lady of the agricultural labourer. These, +with balls at government house, now and then, and occasional +quadrille parties at private houses, Bible and missionary +meetings, and rides and drives in the afternoons, or walks by +moonlight, constitute the chief _amusements_ of the Creole +beauties. + +The gentlemen vary these pastimes with occasional regattas and +races, a day's rabbit-shooting upon Long Island, or, in the +season, they deal destruction with their murderous guns upon the +poor winged tribe, who pay us annual visits. The shooting season +commences about September, when plovers, teals, and wild ducks +migrate from America to these islands, although the quail remains +with us throughout the year. There are game-laws now in force in +Antigua, and consequently, every sportsman has to take out a +licence, before he is at liberty to endanger the lives of the +birds, or may be, the safety of the queen's subjects. Some few +years ago, this was not the case; and whoever felt inclined, went +out shooting. Cobblers, tailors, butcher-boys, and carpenters, +were immediately metamorphosed into gentlemen, and gun-in-hand, +shot-belt and powder-flask slung round them, left the trammels of +the shop and the work-bench, to wage war against the feathered +race. + +Many of the white Creole girls are very beautiful. Their +complexions may vie with the purest Parian marble; while the +softest, most delicate rose-tint mantles in their cheeks, and +every blue vein can be traced, as it courses through their +polished foreheads. The long glossy ringlet, the drooping +eyelash, and the penciled brow, relieve, while they set off, +their natural white; and the little coral lip, and pearly teeth, +make up a _tout ensemble_, more lovely than can be told. Beauty +has ofttimes been compared to flowers, and when looking at some +of these lovely Creoles, they bring to mind that sweet and +elegant rose, known in England as "the maiden's blush." In person +they are generally _petite_, and their hands and feet are +faultless as regards shape or size. Canova might have chosen them +as a model for his Venus. What a pity it is, that extreme +affectation should, in so many instances, spoil their manners, +and deteriorate from their natural charms. Dress is carried to a +great extent. Every pew in the church looks as gay as a box at +the opera. Such feathers and flowers, mantelets and cloaks; such +_capotes_ of _tulle_, and cardinal pelerines; such corsages _à la +vierge_, and skirts _à la Corinne_--crispins of lace, and I know +not what besides, are exhibited by the Antiguan belles, as would +surprise any one who is not well versed in all the changes of the +arbitrary rule of fashion. + +From a glance at the ladies it is but right I should turn to the +"lords of the creation," and remark a few of their peculiarities. +In a small community like Antigua, it is not to be supposed there +are to be met such extreme contrast in dress and appearance as in +the crowded streets of London--and yet some of the gentlemen +emulate the "fops" of Regent-street, while others, again, are so +_outré_ in appearance, that we involuntarily exclaim, "From what +habitable part of the globe could this creature have sprung?" As +is generally the case, the younger gentlemen are those who enlist +under the banners of "foppery;" and then there is such a display +of exquisitely-fitting coats, brilliant satin waistcoats, and +voluminous stocks, or reversed collars and cuffs, and throats _à +la Byron;_ such pointed boots and pumps, clerical-looking hats, +and elegant canes! with wasp-like waists, flowing locks, and +languishing manners, that had Adonis lived in these days and seen +the Antiguan beaux, he would, most undoubtedly, have despised his +own inartificial charms, and have cried with King Richard-- + + "I'll be at charges for a _looking-glass_ + And entertain a score or two of tailors + To study fashions to adorn my body." + +The gentlemen of more advanced years very generally patronize the +blue-coat-and- white-waistcoat school, and some of them follow +the almost obsolete custom of powdering the hair; but white is +the prevailing morning-dress among all classes and all ages, a +dress of all others best suited to this warm climate. + +As bright Hyperion takes from the Creole maidens the _glowing_ +tints for which England's daughters are so famed, so he thinks it +but fair to play many pranks with the complexions of the +gentlemen who own his much-loved and frequented island as their +home. Some he renders so pale and wan, that they appear like +gliding spectres; others are as fiery red as the old English +country market-women's cloaks with which they enwrap themselves +when Winter holds his despotic reign; while some, again, present +the deeper tinge of a full-blown peony; when to these latter +shades are added the silvery honours of old age, the _tout +ensemble_ is most striking. + +The hours of business in Antigua are from about six in the +morning to four in the afternoon; after that period, the lawyer +leaves his musty books and all his _pros_ and _cons;_ the +merchant quits his counting-house, his day-book, and his ledger; +the dealer in fashions and furbelows shuts his varied store; even +the professors of the lancet abandon, for a time, the _cure_ of +the _incurables;_ and away they all hurry, on "pleasure bent," to +enjoy the exercise of riding, driving, or walking, until the day +draws to a close, and their watches point the hour of dinner. + +Many circumstances, however, occur during these "business hours" +which calls for the presence of the trader as well as the +professional man. The packet from England is signalized, and away +they scamper to the post-office, almost before the mails are +landed, to the utter consternation of the poor post-master, and, +with anxious eyes and clamorous tongues, crowd the office-door. +At length, two or three burly sailors, followed by the commander +of the packet, a lieutenant in the navy, are seen approaching the +spot, bearing upon their broad-built shoulders the +long-looked-for mail-bags, well secured in their leathern +envelops. The pushing and jostling increases, as gig after gig +dashes up and sets down its several passengers--horsemen curvet +about, at which lank and miserable-looking dogs bark, +servant-boys grin and chatter--and a group of little children, +just dismissed from one of the free schools, stand gazing +thereon, and wondering "war make dem buckra care so much 'bout +letter?" + +Oh, what a _hurly burly_ it is! what a noise and discord! what a +pushing, and scrambling, and puffing, and panting! At length, the +door is opened, and the postmaster announces, in not very dulcet +tones, "the letters will not be out for two hours," and closes +the portal again. A look of dismay and vexation overspreads the +countenance of all. The first turns to his neighbour, and he, in +_his turn_, looks to the one behind him; one mutters, "How +provoking!" and another says, "I hate to be served so!" while one +of the applicants, a melancholy-looking man, observes, in an +important voice, "The letters _must be sorted_, you know." As no +good can be effected by waiting, they finally disperse, and +endeavour to while away the time until, the two hours having +elapsed, they again besiege the office. A well-applied rap +summons the postmaster. "Are the letters out?"--"No, they will +not be out for another hour!" Time, however, brings many things +to pass, and the letters are at length sorted. Happy now does +that individual feel himself whose name begins with an "A"--for +they always conduct this business alphabetically. A silence +ensues, the letters are distributed, and, too anxious to know +their contents, their several receivers open them upon the spot. + +Various is the intelligence received, as seal after seal is +broken--manifold the subjects discussed. Some talk of failures of +mercantile houses, others of legacies received or in prospect; +some descant upon politics, and others upon the price of sugars; +while another group peruse the London newspapers, inspect +carefully the list of births, deaths, marriages, and +_bankruptcies_, look to see what the Queen and the court are +doing, and then go forth to publish the "varied accidents by +flood and field." + +Another figure emerges from the office-door. A fine +portly-looking man, whose complexion rivals in colour the +_château margaux_ he so liberally indulges in: a pair of +gold-rimmed spectacles surmounts his well-formed nose, a +substantial-looking umbrella is stuck beneath his arm, while in +one hand is borne an open letter, and in the other, a voluminous +silk handkerchief, and a gold snuff-box almost large enough to +play the part of a portmanteau. "Not bad, though," he mutters to +himself, as he carefully looks out for the lapses in the stone +platform which runs along the front of the post-office--"not bad, +though; my last ten hogsheads brought 78s. per cwt.; and my agent +tells me the sugar was not so good as the former shipment, or he +should have got higher prices. I must look to what my manager is +doing; he must exert himself more, or he and I must part. Ay-- +rain again!" and he inspects the movements of the clouds, and +glances for a moment at the vane upon the church-steeple visible +above the surrounding houses. "Well, let me get home first, and +it may rain as long as it likes--all the better for my canes." So +saying, he gains his "top-gig," and carefully stepping in, and +placing his umbrella between his knees, he tells "John" to gather +up the reins, and make haste home. This is a resident proprietor +of a sugar-estate, a man with whom the world has long dealt well. + +Another event that makes an inroad into business-hours, is the +occurrence of an auction-sale. When a gentleman or his family +intends paying a visit to England, one of their first +preparations is to "call an auction," and sell off all their +household furniture, carriages, and horses. Upon these occasions, +they print no compendious catalogues, as is the custom in +England; but an advertisement is inserted in the island weekly +papers, calling the attention of individuals to the fact, that + +"The subscriber being about to proceed to England by the first +opportunity, will dispose of all his fashionable household +furniture, lately imported, consisting of, + HANDSOME FRENCH POLISHED MAHOGANY SIDEBOARD, + Dining, Loo, Card, and other tables, Glass, &c. +Also, a few choice articles of plate and plated goods; also, an +English-built Phaeton and Pair of Horses and + A FLOCK OF SHEEP. + + Y. Z." + +Now, this last announcement is but very seldom true. But as Mr. +Robins, of well-known auctioneering celebrity, calls to his aid +all the high sounding words and flaunting descriptions he can +get, to ensure company at his rooms, so the Antiguan auctioneer, +or _vendue-master_, as one of the craft calls himself, throws out +all the sprats he can in hopes of catching whales. The country +managers and overseers are often good purchasers; and to ensure +their company, the bait of a _flock of sheep_ is held out, which +has more effect in bringing them to the scene of action than +anything else. "I have no sheep," observed a gentleman one day to +an auctioneer he had employed. "Why do you put such notice into +the papers?"--"Oh! I know you have not," quoth the knight of the +hammer; "but it makes the advertisement look so much better, and +draws the attention of the planters--they all like to come when +sheep are to be sold." + +Upon the day of this important undertaking, a red flag is hoisted +before the house, and the bellman perambulates the streets, +announcing that "the sale is just begun." Carpets are not taken +up, and beds taken down, mirrors torn from their resting-places, +and pots and pans brought into the drawing-room, as is often the +case in England; but everything remains in its usual situation, +only, perhaps, with a rather stricter eye to order than is +practised in common; and the auctioneer proceeds from one +apartment to the other, until the whole of the articles are +disposed of. + +The company assemble about twelve o'clock, and the first lots, +consisting of glass-ware, china ornaments, or similar little +_knick-nacks_, are knocked down _very cheap_. Sangaree is then +handed about; and as its potent influence becomes apparent, the +heavier articles are brought forward, and often obtain high +prices. + +As another means of ensuring good company and biddings, a kind of +lunch is provided; and then there is such a cutting-up of hams, +tongues, and salt-beef: such a calling for sangaree, punch, +"swizzle," and porter; such a laughing, choking, talking, and +eating, that a poor quiet body is glad to get into a corner, and +offer up a prayer for silence. + +It is not always, be it remarked, that "the subscriber is going +to England," although such intimation heads the advertisement +that occasions these "auction sales," for very frequently they +are nothing more than an Antiguan scheme for "_raising the +wind_." + +Previous to the abolition of the militia, field-days and reviews +often occurred, to abstract attention from business. Upon such +occasions, the gentlemen took great pride in exhibiting their +epaulettes and garnished coats. + +In proof of this assertion, I need but relate the following +anecdote. A resident of Antigua, who, in days of militia glory, +served in the dragoons, went to a neighbouring island, of which +he was a native, to pay a visit to his friends. In order to +astonish the inhabitants, and create a "sensation," Mr. ------ +determined to land in full uniform. The dress of the dragoons was +very smart, and the swords and steel scabbards they carried, very +long and heavy. Fancy, then, our brave _militaire_, who, by the +bye, is a very short and corpulent personage, with a redundancy +of colour, landing upon a sandy beach, beneath a burning sun, in +all the glory of blue cloth and yellow worsted, with his +Goliah-like weapon, scarcely twelve inches shorter than himself, +dangling, or rather dragging, gracefully by his side. Although of +little stature, he is big of heart; and proudly erecting his +head, and settling his shoulders, he marched along, amid a herd +of astonished boatmen and sea-side loiterers, with all the +dignity of a commander-in-chief. The news spread like wild fire-- +astonishment was at its height--for rich and poor, black, white, +and coloured, all thought their _ci-devant_ neighbour was +Fortune's child, and had been promoted governor of his native +island. Before, however, any procession could be formed, or +salute fired to welcome his arrival, his real rank was +discovered; and as the truth became known, the assembled +multitude one after another departed, and left our gallant +dragoon "alone in his glory." + +In speaking of the militia, I am reminded that I have not yet +mentioned the Christmas guards. Before the emancipation of the +negroes in 1834, martial law was put in force upon the 24th of +December, and continued during the three following days, which, +by law, constituted the Christmas holidays; and a militia guard +stationed at the guard-house in St. John's, in order to protect +the arsenal from any attack which might be made upon it by the +slaves, who were more at their leisure during that period than at +any other part of the year. + +At such times, the whole body of the militia appeared in their +tinselled jackets, and the churches and chapels presented such an +array of glittering steel, and burnished epaulettes, blue and +gold, and red and silver, that the pews looked like beds of +ranunculi. When the guard for the night was comfortably fixed in +the guard-house, a complete scene of dissipation ensued. Wine, +cards, and dice, were liberally indulged in; and not +unfrequently, mirth and festivity paved the way for sorrow, care, +and quarrels. Upon one of these guard-nights, a wealthy German, +since deceased, met with such a run of ill luck at the +gaming-table, that the next morning he was obliged to hire +porters, and despatch the dollars he had lost to the house of his +adversary in _wheel-barrows!_ That was, however, in a time when +dollars were more plentiful in Antigua than they are at the +present day, and when doubloons were in such abundance, that, it +is said, the possessors of these costly coins found it necessary +to deposit them in barrels! But, alas for the bonny little isle! +that golden age has long ago passed by, and in its place we have +one of copper and paper money. + +Before concluding this part of my work, I contemplated to enlarge +upon the "traits and trials" of that portion of the Antiguan +community, who, in absence of other qualifications, rest all +their claims to superiority upon the reputation of their being +_white people_. As these sketches, however, have been already +lengthened more than at first intended, but a very brief mention +of this class of individuals can be given. + +I would not for one moment have it supposed that I am so +heartless as to upbraid them with their poverty--far be it from +me to hint at such a thing--no; it is their pride, their +overweening pride, I notice, and their hard struggles to ape _the +ton_, while at the same time they condescend to receive the +parish allowance, which ought really to be applied to the benefit +of those who possess humbler minds. The "son of Sirach" in his +wisdom, saith--"Three sorts of men my soul hateth, and I am +greatly offended at their lives;" and first among the trio he +mentions, "a poor man that is proud." Now, without making use of +such a strong expression as _hatred_, who can help noticing the +fulsome attempts of these persons to appear greater than they +are? while their wives and daughters, instead of dressing as +becomes their station, and thus rendering themselves respected, +figure away in rainbow-coloured gowns, and bonnets that would +better suit a strolling player, and then falsely think they merit +reward! Some few years ago, about the smartest ladies in the +Episcopal congregation were receiving parochial aid; but upon its +being officially notified that the names of all paupers would be +published, many of these dashing damsels became alarmed, and +resolved rather to depend upon their own unaided exertions than +let the world know how they procured their ribbons and laces. + +But there is another class of white persons, who, although not +dependent upon parochial relief, dress and act equally beyond +their sphere in life. In illustration of this--A lady brings to +Antigua an English servant-girl, and before her mistress can +collect her scattered thoughts, after all the rolling and +bounding, pitching and jumping of the vessel in which she took +passage from Old England, the _femme de chambre_ is turned into +the fine lady; and ere, perhaps, six moons have waned, is united +in the holy bands of wedlock with a _ci-devant_ Irish soldier, +who plays the part of a policeman; a lately-imported English +ploughman; or, in lack of these, some red-faced overseer, who may +stand in want of that somewhat necessary appendage--a wife. +Servitude at an end, our fair lady makes a display of her +dignity, and all the cast-off graces of her former mistress-- +wears very fashionable blonde caps, and long-skirted gowns-- +patronizes hysterics and _eau de Cologne_--and laves her +previously hard-worked fingers with Rowland's Kalydor. Equipped +in all her finery, she next makes her appearance at church, and +when the service is over, bows and courtesies with self-approved +grace to any other _white lady;_ and then takes promenades with +her fiery-faced husband, while visions of future grandeur and +_invites_ to Government House float through her brain. + +If "her lord" should be an overseer, the estate upon which he is +employed generally furnishes him with servants; but if instead, +he is an ex-son of Mars, or some similar grade, our _lady_ +employs a black servant-girl of about eight years of age, to +conduct her domestic affairs; while her husband obtains another +specimen of juvenility, (but of course of an opposite sex,) to +play the part of groom to the Canadian pony he has lately +purchased for about four pounds sterling. + +Although not _quite_ so thick + + "As autumnal leaves that strow the brooks + In Vallambrosa," + +still ladies and gentlemen of the grade above described are no +_raræ aves_ in Antigua; in all parts of the island they more or +less abound, while in affectation and outward adornment they are +not to be equalled among the _pure in blood_. + + + ------ + +[58] In former years there was a subscription assembly held at +"Smith's Tavern," then a noted house of entertainment, where +cards and dancing were resorted to until twelve o'clock, when +supper was introduced, and the festive party broke up about two +in the morning. + +[59] The first Antiguan theatre was established by a party of +amateurs, and opened on 17th Jan. 1788, with Otway's play of +"Venice Preserved." The orchestra was composed of the band of the +69th regiment, (then stationed upon the island,) conducted by Mr. +Green, the late organist of St John's. The prices of admission +were, two dollars to the boxes, and one and a half dollar to the +pit; the funds being appropriated to the erection of a Free +Mason's Lodge (never finished), the remains of which are to be +seen at this day, at the east of the town. + + + + + CHAPTER L. + + + + Zoology--Rabbits--Rats--Horned cattle--Horses--Mules--Asses-- + Sheep--Goats--Domestic animals--Whales--Thrasher--Grampus-- + Porpoise--Shark--Anecdote of the Young Creole--Death of the + sailor-boy--Remora--Pilot fish--Dolphins--Jew fish--Stingray-- + Corramou--Beautiful colours displayed in fish--Parrot fish. + +In an island like Antigua, destitute of every wild animal of +larger growth than a rabbit or a rat, it may be deemed risible to +talk about its _zoology;_ but as that word embraces a description +of all living creatures, I intend to include under it the several +doctrines of ichthyology, entomology, and ornithology. + +Having mentioned rabbit and rats, I will reverse the general +order pursued in writing upon subjects of natural history, and +commence with a slight mention of those animals. The wild rabbit +more particularly abounds in Long Island, a pretty and delightful +spot, already mentioned as belonging to the Hon. Bertie E. +Jarvis. Although rabbits sometimes form a dish at genteel tables, +they are not generally esteemed in Antigua as an article of food. +Many of the Creole negroes express the greatest antipathy to +them, on account of their similitude to a cat; and to offer to +them such a repast would, no doubt, be deemed an insult. I +remember upon one occasion, hearing a woman inquire of a black +carpenter, who was employed about our premises, if he would +purchase from her a rabbit which she had in a basket. "Rabbit?" +interrogated the artisan, his face wearing a most sardonic grin, +"I should _jist_ like to no war you take me for, ma'am? You tink +me go buy _rabbit?_ No, ma'am, me no cum to dat yet; for me +always did say, an me always will say, dat dem who eat rabbit, +eat _pussy,_[60] and dem eat pussy, eat rabbit. Get out wid you +and your rabbit!" + +The rats are a numerous race in Antigua, and feed most lusciously +upon the sugar-cane, to the grief and loss of the planter. The +present race are said to have been introduced into the West +Indies by Sir Charles Price, in hopes of exterminating the Creole +rat. The emigrants' tribe fulfilled their duty with great +fidelity in this respect, and waged a vigorous war with their +brothers of the _furry coat;_ but while thus employed, they +multiplied so fast themselves, that they overran the whole +island, and proved a more troublesome and dangerous foe to the +planters, than their predecessors. These quadrupeds are so fat +and sleek, from feeding upon the juice of the sugar-cane, that +some of the country negroes find them an object of value, and +with addition of pepper and similar spiceries, prepare from them +a delicate _fricassé,_ not to be surpassed by a dish of French +frogs! + +The horned cattle of Antigua, as well as beasts of burden, and +domestic animals, are all of Lilliputian dimensions. Agricultural +labour is generally carried on by help of oxen, and upon this +account, each plantation is provided with a large herd of these +animals, whose patient drudgery often calls for an expression of +sympathy. The horses bred upon the island are, in most instances, +but a very sorry race; still there are some handsome Creole +ponies to be met with, whose slender limbs and bright wild eye +give them the appearance of "sons of the desert." The donkeys and +mules are of diminutive sizes, but retain their asinary qualities +in as great a degree as their patient brethren in the other parts +of the world. + +Sheep, like "Miss Cowslip," are as tall and slender as a poplar. +Their wool falls off as they gain maturity, and is succeeded by +short stiff hairs, like a goat. Many of them are so spotted and +marked, that they might be taken for spaniel dogs, were it not +for their length of legs, and _sheepish_ visage. The sheep, +however, at Long Island, are very deservedly admired. Their backs +are of a deep warm brown colour, and the underneath part of the +body, with the breast, feet, legs, and head, of a glossy coal +black. Their eyes are also black, and very piercing, very much +like the eyes of the stag; and as they raise their long necks, +throw back their well-formed heads, and gaze earnestly at the +stranger who intrudes upon their haunts, they display a higher +degree of animation in their features than any of their species I +ever saw. + +Goats are also a numerous race in Antigua, almost every negro +possessing one or more of these sure-footed creatures: their +milk, as well as that of the sheep, is generally used for +domestic purposes. Cats and dogs also degenerate greatly in size, +and present as attenuated an appearance as if they had been +keeping strict fasts and vigils for a month; the young puppies +are sold for two shillings currency, and the cats are sometimes +bartered between the negroes for a chicken: this last-named +animal often forms an article of food to negro watchmen, who rear +them especially for that purpose. + +The lordly whale at times frequents the West Indian seas. These +huge marine animals generally quit their hyperborean homes in the +summer months, to take a trip along the eastern shores of North +America, and passing through the West Indian Archipelago, return +to their icy regions, where they enjoy, with redoubled pleasure, +their unwieldy gambols amid the stupendous icebergs. In their +passage between the several islands they often meet with various +trials; at times they quit their right course, and flounder about +in shallow water, until at length they are perhaps cast ashore, +where they suffer an untimely and lingering death. One met this +fate at Antigua a few years ago. It was driven upon an +unfrequented part of the coast, where it must have remained for a +long time, until at length the effluvia became so offensive that +it attracted the attention of some negroes, who, going in search +of the cause which so tainted the air, discovered the defunct +whale. It was a very large one, measuring from sixty to seventy +feet in length, and of about thirty feet in circumference; many +of its bones were preserved by the curious as commemorative of +the event. + +But the greatest enemy the whale meets with in the tropic seas is +the thrasher, (a species of squalus;) a fish so called from the +manner in which it attacks its prey. As soon as the thrasher +perceives the whale, he swims rapidly up to it, in a kind of +orbit, until at length, when it approaches near enough, it +compresses its tail, and by a great effort, throws itself out of +the water and falls heavily upon the body of its unoffending +victim. This exploit the thrasher performs again and again, until +at length the whale (which very seldom escapes by speed) spouts +up volumes of blood and water, and with one dreadful convulsion +sighs out its last breath, and its immense carcase floats upon +the ocean until some playful wave flings it upon the shore of +some neighbouring island. In one of my trips from Antigua to +Barbados I witnessed one of these conflicts, and although at a +considerable distance from the place of battle, the blows sounded +audibly in our ears.[61] + +Among the other _Cetaceæ_ which sometimes frequent the waters of +the blue Caribbean, are the grampus and porpoise.[62] I have +heard some master of the small trading vessels express great +apprehension of grampus, who, they say, will at times approach so +near a craft as to endanger its safety; but during my sojourn in +these islands, however, I never heard of such a casualty taking +place. A few years ago, an immense shoal of grampus were driven +ashore at Antigua during a season of stormy weather, and by the +oil they yielded, became a valuable prize. + +But the greatest dread of the mariners in these seas is the shark +--that rapacious and terrific monster whose very name conjures up +a train of horrors. The usual length of the white shark is from +25 to 30 feet; the body oblong, and tapering to the tail, which +is of a semiannular form, and of great strength; the head is +rather flat upon the top; and the jaws, of horrific dimensions, +are armed with numerous rows of flat, jagged, triangular teeth, +(which it has the power of erecting at pleasure,) down to the +very gullet.[63] + +The eyes of the shark are large and prominent; and they appear to +watch their hoped-for prey with the malign glance of an ogre; +while their vision is so acute, that they can distinguish objects +at an immense distance, and will brave any danger to procure +booty with which to fill their ravenous maw. A circumstance +occurred some years ago which evidently proves that the optics of +a shark are anything but defective. + +A young Creole one day escaped from the vigilance of her nurse, +and, attracted by the numerous wild flowerets and gaudy +butterflies she met with, rambled on, reckless of danger, until +at length she approached the sea-side. Here she watched for +awhile the waves as they dashed their snowy foam over the pointed +rocks which lined that part of the beach, until, impelled by the +beauty of the scene, and the heat of the weather, she threw off +her simple tropic dress and wended her way into the smiling +waters. Although not more than six years old, from being +accustomed to bathing, she had learnt to swim with agility; and +gaily did she sport with the bounding billows, until her +attention was arrested by a violent rushing of the waters, when, +upon looking behind her, she saw, fast approaching, what instinct +immediately told her must be a shark. It was but the thought of a +moment to make for the land, upon whose confines she fortunately +was; and urged on by fear, she gained the pointed rocks, followed +by the rapacious monster. Springing from one to the other of +these natural coast-guards, she at length reached the land in +safety; while the greedy shark, fearful of losing its prey, and +regardless of hazard, dashed after, until it became entangled in +the intricacies of the beach, where it floundered about, unable +to extricate itself, until a party of negroes (who had been +working near the spot, and whose attention had been attracted by +the cries of the child) came to the scene of action, and with +ready good will despatched the encaged monster. + +The shark is viviparous, and sometimes five hundred young ones, +of about a foot in length, have been found in the stomach of the +mother. The mouth is placed so far beneath the snout, that the +shark is obliged to turn upon its back to seize its prey. The +fins are large and strong, which enables it to dart quickly +through the water, while the huge dorsal one may often be seen +above the surface of the sea for a long time together, marking +the spot where the dreadful creature lurks beneath. The bays and +harbours of Antigua abound with this voracious marine animal, and +woe betide the unfortunate swimmer who approaches its lair. + +On board the ship which first conveyed me to Antigua, was a +remarkably fine and intelligent lad, "the only son of his mother, +and she was a widow." He had been placed under the care of the +captain of the ship, in order to gain some knowledge of the sea +before sailing with his uncle, the master of a South Sea whaler. +Robert had never quitted his fond parent before, and anxiously +did he look forward to the end of his voyage, hoping that a +letter from his mother would be awaiting his arrival at +Antigua.[64] At length we gained our wished-for haven, and the +passengers quitted the ship to seek their several places of +destination. The packet had arrived, but there was no letter for +poor Robert, who, with a disappointed heart, was obliged to wait +the arrival of another mail. In the meantime, according to the +rules of the merchant's service, he was employed along with the +other lads in many little duties aboard the ship, until one fatal +Saturday, as he was drawing a bucket of sea-water from over the +ship's side, he overbalanced himself, and fell into the depths +beneath. The steward, who was passing, raised an alarm; a boat +was lowered, but without success, for he never rose to the +surface. At length drags were procured, and (after an ineffectual +search of some hours) his body was discovered, but the merciless +sharks had made it their prey; the head, legs, and arms were +gone, and his mutilated trunk alone reposes in the churchyard at +St. John's. It was an untimely and dreadful death, so far from +the land that gave him birth; and the circumstance was rendered +more affecting, by the arrival of the packet the next day, +bringing a letter for him from his mother, expressing her hope of +her darling boy's quick return. + +It is a general custom in St. John's when a horse dies to have it +towed over the bar,[65] in order that it may be cast away in deep +water. These defunct animals are very often made a bait for +shark-fishing; but at times the sharks are so large and so +greedy, that these would-be fishers are obliged to let go their +bait in order to prevent their boat being overturned, and they +themselves become the prey of the monsters. Young sharks are +often exposed in the Antiguan markets for sale; and their flesh, +stewed down with rice or "sweet potatoes," forms, among the +negroes, a savoury supper.[66] + +The common attendants upon the shark are the _remora_, or +sucking-fish, and the pilot-fish, the former deriving its name +from the firm manner in which it can adhere to any foreign +substance. This adhesion is performed by means of a piece of hard +thick skin, of an oval form, about five inches long and two +broad, and which is attached to the head of the fish. This +curious appendage is indented like the roof of a cat's mouth, and +can be drawn up or expanded at pleasure. By these means the +remora fixes itself so firmly to the back of the shark that no +effort of that animal can dislodge it. Some naturalists are of +opinion that the sucking-fish is the friend of the shark in +directing its course and warning it of approaching danger, in the +same way as the hermit-crab acts towards the pinna-marina. Others +think this is a fable, and that, instead of befriending, it in +time becomes the destroyer of the shark by draining its body of +all moisture. I have heard seamen assert, who are often better +observers of nature than is generally supposed, that if by +accident a sucking-fish becomes separated from the shark, it is +unable to provide for itself, and has not even the sense to swim +from approaching danger. A remora was caught by the crew of a +small vessel on board of which I was passenger. It was placed +upon the deck for a few moments in order that I might be better +able to inspect it, but when about to be removed, it was found to +have adhered so firmly to the planks, that no effort, save the +cruel one of cutting off the part, could disengage it. It belongs +to the ray kind, and measures generally from two to five feet in +length; but one was captured off Guadaloupe, which had attained +the unusual length of thirteen feet from head to tail. Many +strange tales have been related of the remora being able to stop +a ship when in full sail, as well as performing other prodigies +of valour; but in this age of wisdom all such statements are +deservedly regarded as fables. + +The pilot-fish, the other attendant upon the shark, is a very +beautiful fish, of a tapering form; it is represented as +encompassed "with chains of pearls, corals, emeralds, and other +precious stones;" and really, from the brilliancy of its scales, +such an idea might be entertained. It was formerly supposed to +precede the shark in order to point out its way, and for this +cause it obtained its name of "pilot-fish." This supposition is, +however, exploded by later observations, which point out that it +attends the shark at a respectable distance, in hopes of +participating in its prey. + +The dolphin, or _delphinus,_ is the next most remarkable and +beautiful fish which frequents the Caribbean. Painters and +sculptors have represented it of a semiannular shape; but the +true figure of the fish is straight and tapering, with the back +very slightly curved. The snout is long and narrow, and armed +with numerous sharp-pointed teeth; the French give it the name of +_Porc de mer;_ it has also been called the "prismatic fish," from +the assertion, that when in the agonies of death it presents the +seven primary colours. Much has been said about the dying +beauties of the dolphin; but how far more beautiful it looks +sporting in its parent element with all the brightness of the +emerald, and enjoying the life that has been given it! The flesh +is firm, and of a very good flavour, although it is a rapacious +fish, waging incessant war upon the poor little flying-fish, and +devouring them with the greatest avidity. + +The largest among the fish esteemed in Antigua as articles of +food is the "Jew-fish," which commonly weighs from three hundred +to four hundred pounds. The flesh is reckoned one of the greatest +luxuries the West Indian seas afford. It is, however, but seldom +caught--probably one reason for its being in such repute--its +visits, like angels', being "few and far between." A +superstitious notion is attached to this fish--that its +appearance bespeaks the death of some magnate of the Island; and +accordingly, when tidings are brought that such fish is captured, +all the old women lay their heads together to plan out who is to +die. The king-fish, grouper, barracoota, cavallie, are equally +esteemed for their gastronomic qualities; there are seasons, +however, when the flesh of the barracoota is poisonous--a +circumstance attributed by some persons to their feeding on +copper banks.[67] The other poisonous fish found near Antigua are +principally the "horse-eyed cavallie," the yellow-billed sprat, +and the conger eel: the flesh of the yellow-billed sprat has +often proved fatal to those who have eaten it, and it has been +known for death to take place six hours after tasting it. The +poison is said by some to be contained in the head. + +The stingray is another native of these seas, the meat of which +is much esteemed by the Creoles. This fish is armed with a long, +slender tail, in the middle of which is a sharp barb; with this +instrument the stingray beats the water, or anything that +approaches it, rapidly, when attacked. The negro fishermen +allege, that the stroke from the stingray's tail products +leprosy, for which cause they are very careful in approaching it; +and a circumstance has been related of a person having been +thrown into a frenzy for forty-eight hours after being struck by +this formidable weapon. + +The _corramou_ is the salmon of the Antiguan fisheries, as far as +regards superiority of flavour. It is caught in the fresh-water +stream which runs throughout the Island, but is rather scarce; it +is the most delicate of the West Indian fish, and ought to be +cooked as soon as taken from its parent stream. Snappers, hinds, +silks, mullets, doctors, angels, old wives, nurses, Spanish +mackerel, &c., are among the other kinds of fish exposed for sale +in the Antiguan markets, some of which are noted for their +excellent taste, the others for their brilliancy of hue; indeed, +the most diversified colours, as yellow, purple, pink, orange, +green, and blue, chequered with gold and silver, and the whole +happily blended together, are to be observed in almost every +species. The parrot fish is the most beautiful of its tribe. Its +scales are of the deepest emerald, and its eyes, composed of +different coloured circles, are as clear as crystal. It feeds +upon shell-fish, which it crushes between its bony jaws, nature +having armed it with such instruments in place of teeth. The +negroes always call it "blue parrat;" its flesh is much esteemed +by them, but the flavour is so rank, that it is never admitted at +any respectable table. It sometimes attains the weight of from +sixteen to twenty pounds. There are a great number of other +edible fish which might be deservedly mentioned, but the pages of +this work have so multiplied, that I must pass them over without +further mention. + + + ------ + +[60] The negroes term all cats, but more particularly kittens, +"pussy." + +[61] The whale belongs to the class _mammalia;_ order, _cete_. +The food of the whale is lump fish, and small marine insects. +Whalebone is procured from the lamina in the upper jaw, (commonly +called whiskers,) which supplies the want of teeth. It is split +and prepared for use in England. + +[62] The grampus generally measures from 15 to 25 feet, and is of +great circumference. It is a very voracious fish, feeding upon +its neighbour the porpoise, when able. It also attacks the whale, +and sometimes makes that huge animal cry out with pain. Pliny, +the great Roman naturalist, who perished in that awful eruption +of Mount Vesuvius, in A.D. 79, which also destroyed the cities of +Herculaneum and Pompeii, when speaking of the grampus, says, "it +is an immense heap of flesh, armed with dreadful teeth." + +The porpoise measures from six to nine feet in length, and may be +found in all parts of the ocean, and even in the mouths of large +rivers. It keeps in large shoals, and if one of the company +receives a wound from the harpoon, the rest fall upon him and +devour him. Formerly, it was esteemed a fish of such rarity, as +to be introduced as royal fare; but in this degenerate age, its +savoury qualities are generally over-looked, unless by sailors, +who sometimes make a portion of it into a sea-pie. + +[63] Some naturalists are of opinion that a fresh row of teeth is +added every year. I have counted five rows in a shark's mouth. + +[64] We went by way of America, and consequently our time from +England was long. + +[65] A shoal running across the harbour of St John's from north +to south. + +[66] Shark, in ichthyology, a species of squalus. + +[67] Labat thinks the reason some of the West Indian fish are +poisonous is on account of their feeding upon the "galley-fish," +a genus of the Zoophyte tribe. + + + + + CHAPTER LI. + + + + Zoology: Orb-fish--Echinus, known to the ancients--Hippocampus + --Trumpet-fish--Toad-fish--Sea-blubber, and galley-fish-- + Sea-polypus--Cat-fish--Crabs, oysters, &c.--Turtle--Land-crab-- + Soldier-crab--Lizards--Guana--Wood-slave--Scorpions--Centipede + --Snakes--Tarantula--Cockroach--Caterpillars and butterflies-- + Ants--Bats--Aquatic birds--Land birds--Humming bird--Anecdote. + +Among the _curiosities_ found about the shores of Antigua, are, +first, the orb-fish, sea-porcupine, or _orbus-major,_ as it is +severally called. This fish varies from seven inches, to two feet +in length; it has no scales, but is armed with sharp spines, +measuring from one to three inches in length, which it can erect +at pleasure--the longest of these spines are placed behind the +eyes, the shortest beneath the body. The mouth is shaped like a +frog; the eyes are round and prominent, and behind them rises two +strong, circular-shaped fins, which it uses with great agility +when swimming. The anal and posterior fins are large and curved; +and the tail strong and well adapted for making way through the +waters. In the middle of the stomach is a bladder filled with +air, by the aid of which it can inflate itself at pleasure, until +it presents the figure of a complete sphere. The meat of the +orbus is said to be excellent, with exception of the head, which +is always thrown away; it is dressed in the same manner as +turtle. When alive, it is a dangerous and formidable enemy in its +native element, as it is not blessed with a very amiable temper. +And when stuffed, it is an object of great curiosity, and well +worthy of a place in a museum. The _echinus,_ or sea-urchin, is +another species of the class and order _vermes, mollusca_. It +does not attain the size of the orbus major, being seldom found +more than five inches in length, but it is covered with sharp +prickles, and can equally inflate itself when angry. The flesh is +eaten with oil, vinegar, and pepper; and in flavour resembles the +lobster. This fish was known to the ancients, who esteemed it a +royal fare, when dressed with mead, parsley, turmeric, and mint. + +The trumpet-fish, or _fistularia,_ is a genus of the order of +_abdominales_. It measures about 18 inches in length. The snout +is cylindrical, like a trumpet, from whence its name; the jaws +are at some distance from the eyes, which are very bright, and +the body tapering to the tail. Its principal food is small fish +and marine worms. + +The hippocampus, or sea-horse, is another surprising little +animal, never exceeding in length nine inches, and about the +thickness of the little finger. The formation of the head is very +much like that of a horse--from whence its familiar name--the +snout is a kind of tube, with a hole at the end, which it can +open or shut at pleasure. The eyes are bright and jut from the +head; behind them are two fins, of the shape and appearance of a +horse's ears, and above them two orifices for respiration, +through which it can spout up the water in a similar manner to +the whale. Down the back runs a line of short, stiff hairs, like +the mane of a horse, which falls off when the animal is dead; and +the whole body is composed of rings with intermediate prickles. +It belongs to the _cartilaginei_ order. The ancients considered +it extremely venomous, even to the slightest touch, but like many +other assertions, it is ill-founded, for I have handled many of +them and received no hurt. Some of the hippocampus are of a dull +chesnut colour, others of a dark grey; when swimming, they +compress their tails, and raise themselves with an undulating +motion, which gives them the appearance of a miniature horse +cantering. + +The toad-fish is another curious little denizen of the deep, of +the same dusky hue as the toad--from whence its name. When gently +rubbed with the finger, it inflates itself into the form of a +ball; and if pressed while in this state, bursts with a sharp +report. It is eaten by many of the negroes, who are not famed for +the delicacy of their palates, although the flesh is very rank. + +The sea-blubber and galley-fish are other varieties of the +_mollusca_ class. They float like a jelly upon the surface of the +sea, near its margin; and are dangerous to fishermen, and those +persons who are in the habit of going into shallow water without +shoes, wounding the feet sorely. If trodden upon, they explode +with a loud noise, like an inflated bladder. These sea-nettles, +(so called from the stinging pain they occasion if touched,) like +the rest of their tribe, feed upon minute shell-fish and +sea-insects. They are viviparous. + +The sea-polypus also inhabit these seas. These wondrous phenomena +of nature belong to the genus _hydra,_ class _vermes,_ order +_zoophyte;_ the distinguishing character of which is, that if any +part of the body be severed, it instantly becomes a perfect +animal. For example, if a polypus be cut transversely into two or +three pieces, each portion becomes a regular animal, and a new +polypus will also be produced from the skin of the old one. If +any of the young polypi be mutilated while growing upon the body +of the parent, the parts cut off will immediately grow again; and +even if the polypus be dispossessed of its extremities, it will +produce young ones before it has attained head or tail. The +sea-anemone is very beautiful when alive. It is of a most lovely +purple, and throws out its numerous feelers like radii from the +centre; these feelers it can contract or expand at pleasure. They +feed, like the rest of their species, upon small marine worms, +insects, and shell-fish, which they have the power of rendering +motionless, (after being entrapped in their long fibrous arms,) +by means of a gluey liquid which oozes out of their bodies. + +The _chætodon,_ or cat-fish, is another inhabitant of the +Caribbean. It is one of the most voracious of its tribe, preying +indiscriminately upon all who approach it, and who it is enabled, +by stratagem or open warfare, to overcome. The body is oblong, +the head small, and the teeth slender, but extremely sharp, and +bending inwards. The fins of the back are scaly, and the +gill-membrane six-rayed. + +Among the shell-fish are lobsters, (some of which attain to an +immense size,) several kinds of crabs,[68] oysters, (which +generally adhere to the mangrove trees,) conchs, whelks, cockles, +star-fish, sea-eggs, and smaller multivalves and bivalves. This +part of the ocean is also very prolific in marine plants, (some +of which, as "sea-feathers," "sea-fans," &c., are very +beautiful,) and corals of several shapes and kinds; the latter +substance is principally used for burning lime. The brain-stone +is also frequently found, as well as many other curiosities, +which are purchased from the negro divers and sent to England, as +presents, but which I must pass over with this brief notice. + +The _testudo Mydas,_ or sea-turtle, frequent the bays of Antigua. +The female is so very prolific, that she sometimes lays 1000 +eggs, which are hatched by the sun, in about 25 days. The merits +of this amphibious animal are too well known to descant upon. The +shell[69] is very hard and strong, and it will carry as much as +700 or 800 lbs. upon its back. One was captured in these seas, a +few years ago which measured six feet across the back, and the +shell formed a good boat for a boy to sail about the harbour in. +In Cuba, they attain a great size, and have been known to walk +off with five or six men standing upon them. A full-grown turtle +has often attained the weight of 500 lbs. There are none of this +race of giants at Antigua; those caught upon her shores are of +smaller dimensions, although of rich flavour. + +The _cancer ruricola,_ or land-crab, is another inhabitant of +Antigua well worthy of note. They live in clefts of rocks, hollow +trees, or deep holes which they dig for themselves in the earth, +and are much esteemed by Creoles for the sweetness of their meat. +Once in the year they march down from their mountain dwellings to +the sea-shore in immense numbers, for the purpose of casting +their spawn. Before starting upon these expeditions, the whole +body meet in "conclave grave," when leaders are chosen, the route +agreed upon, and the whole company divided into three battalions. +The strongest males most gallantly take the lead in order to face +any foe, as well as to act as pioneers; they are followed a short +time afterwards by a battalion of females, and the rear is +brought up by a medley group of stragglers of all ages and sex. +They travel by night, and, as far as possible, keep as straight a +line to the sea-side as if they were going by rail-road, only +that they neither cut through hills, nor fill up dingles, but +march over every impediment with the greatest nonchalance. While +upon their travels, they commonly march with their long nippers +held aloft, and which now and then they clatter together, as if +in defiance of any one they may meet; and if assaulted, they will +grasp their assailants so firmly by them, that very frequently +they leave such members behind them. They have something of the +_ogre_ about their disposition, for if one of their companions +meet with an accident which prevents it travelling as fast as the +rest, the others immediately fall upon and devour it, without any +compunctive feelings. + +As soon as they reach the sea-side, the females prepare to cast +their spawn upon the surface of the sea, leaving it to chance to +bring it to perfection. The females are very prolific; but it is +supposed two-thirds of their eggs fall a prey to the numerous +shoal of fish, which are apparently hovering about, waiting for +their expected treat. After remaining for some time by the +sea-side, they prepare to return to their mountain homes; but +many of them are fatigued by their long journey, and dig holes +about the adjacent parts of the country, where they remain until +they again become strong and fat. It is during these annual +peregrinations that the negroes employ themselves in +crab-catching; which exploit they perform at night by aid of a +torch, when the crabs come out of their holes to feed. Land-crabs +cast their shells annually, and at such periods remain closely +concealed in their holes, almost without motion and without food, +for about the space of six or eight days, during which time the +new shell hardens. They vary in size and colour, some being of a +deep coal black, others of a light yellow, and some streaked in +red and yellow. Their favourite resorts are the burial-grounds, +upon which account many persons have a great antipathy to them as +an article of food. + +The soldier-crab is a curious little animal, totally unprovided +by nature with any shell, so that in order to protect its +delicate body from the attack of its enemies, it is obliged to +look out for the vacated covering of some shell-fish in which to +take up its abode. As the "soldier" increases in bulk, it changes +its habitation, and sometimes, for want of a better dwelling, is +fain to content itself with the cast-off claw of a lobster or a +defunct crab. Although of small size, they are extremely +quarrelsome, and their combats for a favourite shell are very +terrific, and often end fatally to one of the party; upon which +event, the conqueror immediately takes possession of the +fought-for dwelling, and to put an end to the affair, makes his +dinner off the body of his enemy. + +Lizards abound in Antigua; from every fence, from every tree-- +from the copsewood thicket and the wavy cane-field--you may see +their bright little eyes peeping at you. There are about eighty +species of this tribe found in different parts of the world, +included under the name _lacertæ;_ those commonly found in +Antigua are the _agilis,_ or common tree lizard, the ground +lizard, and the guana, or iguana. The common lizard is of a +bright green colour, with the head and feet of an ashy hue; there +are some, however, of a dirty olive brown, with the feet and tail +approaching to black. Like the chameleon, they have the power of +changing their colour; and when angry, they swell out the skin of +the thorax into a kind of pouch, inflating and contracting it +with a clock-like motion. Their tails, of the extreme length of +their bodies, are verticillated, and armed with sharp scales; +their snouts are long and pointed, and their jaws furnished with +numerous small and sharp teeth. They feed upon insects and young +buds, and are particularly quarrelsome among themselves, often +losing the greater part of their tails in their combats. The +lizard is very susceptible of melody, and will remain couched +upon a tree for a long time together, listening to the soft +strains of a flute or piano, or the sound of the human voice. +They are also capable of being tamed, and will frequent the spot +where they have once been fed with bread crumbs. The lizard is +oviparous, and deposits its eggs (which are white, of the shape +of a hen's egg, and about the size of a small kidney bean) in +holes in the ground near the roots of trees, or even in the ashes +by the fire-hearth. + +The ground-lizard is considerably larger than the tree-lizard. It +is of a greenish brown hue, with a blood-red stripe running +longitudinally down each side. The head, ending in a pointed +snout, is also of the same colour, which gives the animal +altogether a disgusting appearance. The mouth is armed with an +infinite number of sharp, slender teeth, the bite from which is +supposed to be very venomous on account of their often leaving +such weapons in the wound they have inflicted. The negroes have a +superstitious notion, that as soon as this reptile has bitten any +one it immediately makes the best of its way to the sea-side, and +as the only means of preventing any ill-consequences to itself, +bathes in the water, and the wounded person receives the +punishment in the shape of leprosy. If, on the contrary, the +individual bitten can reach the sea and perform the ablution +necessary, before the lizard has time to gain that spot, the +reptile pays the penalty, falling a prey to the effects of its +own venom. The tail of the ground-lizard is of extreme length, +and trails along the ground, giving the creature, when walking, a +kind of snake-like motion; when, however, it is attacked by a +dog, or frightened by the sound of approaching footsteps, it +throws this unwieldy member over its back, and starts away with +the greatest activity. The ground-lizard lives in deep holes, +which it burrows in the ground, (from whence its name;) its food +is the young herbage, fruit, vegetables, or anything of the kind +that falls in its way; it holds its prey firmly with its +fore-feet, while it tears it to pieces with its teeth, and then +swallows it with much apparent _gusto,_ putting out its long +slender red tongue, in the manner of a dog. I have often fed a +ground-lizard with the fruit of the soursop, for the purpose of +watching its movements; and if a piece of its favourite fare was +delayed for a little longer than it deemed necessary, it would +turn up its bright round eyes upon me, as if asking why I balked +its appetite. Ground-lizards are also extremely choleric, and +will fight with their own species for an hour together. The mode +of warfare is to spring forwards, grapple each other with their +fore-paws, throw their long tails around each other's body, and +in this situation roll over and over in the dust, until one of +them acknowledges itself conquered by striving to retire. + +The iguana, or guana, sometimes attains the length of from four +or five feet, measuring from the point of the snout to the +extremity of the tail; its usual size, however, is from three to +four feet. It is of a deep emerald green, with the upper part of +the head, the feet, tail, and legs, of a dull ash colour. Along +the summit of the back and tail runs a deeply serrated membrane, +almost like the fin of some fish; the head is surmounted by a +kind of crown, or crest, from which circumstance it has obtained +the name of "king of the lizards;" and underneath its jaws hangs +a kind of comb, which it can inflate when angry or excited. Like +all the _lacerta_ tribe, its mouth is well furnished with teeth, +with which, when exasperated, it inflicts deep wounds; but, in +general, it is a quiet and inoffensive animal, feeding in its +wild state upon leaves of trees, vegetables, insects, or, when it +can procure them, young birds. It climbs with agility, and will +spring from one branch of a tree to the other, like a squirrel. +The flesh is said to be excellent, rivalling in delicacy that of +a chicken. It is eaten in the French islands as a great luxury; +but from its outward appearance, few strangers would be led to +partake of it, unless deceived by its form of cookery.[70] + +The wood-slave is about the same size as the common tree-lizard, +but with a shorter tail. The bite is said to be extremely +venomous, as also the wound inflicted by its sharp claw, which +ends in a kind of nipper, and with which it adheres to the part +with such tenacity, that no power but that of a knife will +extricate it. In colour it approaches a toad; its haunts are amid +old timber or old dwellings, from whence it attains its name of +wood-slave. + +Scorpions are another formidable foe. They are well equipped for +battle, having eight legs, besides two shorter ones fixed on the +fore-part of the head, and answering for hands, with which they +hold their prey; eight eyes, three upon each side of the head, +and two on the back; two feelers, and a long tail, terminated by +a curved sting, underneath which are two instruments resembling a +comb. The poison is contained in a small reservoir, and is +evacuated through two oblong orifices at the top of the sting, at +the moment of the wound being given. The effects are extremely +painful, producing a burning heat, which, if not alleviated, +produces fever. If encaged, and it can discover no means of +escape, the scorpion stings itself to death, rather than remain +in captivity. The body of the parent scorpion becomes the nest of +the young ones, which remain sticking and feeding upon their +mother until she dies, and all nurture is absorbed, when they +fall off and shift for themselves; fifty of these terrific little +creatures have been counted at one time adhering to the body of +their dead parent.[71] + +The _scolopendra,_ or centipede, is another member of the +_aptera_ order, whose bite is equally dreaded with that of the +scorpion. They sometimes attain the length of six inches, and are +as thick as the finger of a man; the common size is, however, +from two to three inches. They lurk in the dark holes and corners +of houses, in the lumber-yards, in the stores, (or warehouses,) +in stone-walls, rotten wood, or indeed, any place where they +think themselves secure from molestation; and from whence they +issue forth and attack whoever falls in their way. They feed upon +insects; and their wars with the cockroaches are most terrible. +Sometimes, however, they fall a victim to their stingless enemy, +who in that case makes a hearty meal upon their remains. The +scolopendra is furnished with numerous feet, from whence it +derives its name of centipede--there being as many of these +members (on each side) as there are joints in their body. The +antennæ are covered with short hairs; they wound with two curved +feelers in the head, armed with two short teeth. The bite is very +painful, and produces (like the scorpion's) severe fever, if some +antidote is not immediately applied. In illustration of this, a +sailor on board a West Indiaman was so severely wounded in the +hand by a centipede, that his life was thought to be in danger; +he was, however, eventually cured, by having roasted onions +applied to the part affected. The workmen employed in pulling +down old buildings, or in removing stacks of lumber, are also +very often dreadfully bitten by these terrible creatures. + +The Antiguan snakes are perfectly harmless; some of them are +beautifully streaked and speckled. Spiders are also very numerous +in this part of the world, and call for the constant use of the +housemaid's broom. The _tarantula,_ or "horse-spider," is the +most celebrated in Antigua. It is about the size of a pigeon's +egg; the body and legs are stout, and thickly covered with stout +black hairs, and the feet armed with triple claws, with which +they hold their prey, while they tear it to pieces with their +forceps. Their bite is very sharp, and is also often attended +with fever; but the strange stories which have been related of +the bite of the tarantula throwing its victims into a state of +lethargy, from which the power of music can alone restore them, +has long ago been proved a fable. + +The cockroach, or _blatta,_ is a most disgusting insect, although +perfectly harmless, being utterly devoid of any weapon of +warfare. It belongs to the order hemiptera, and is furnished with +four plain wings, which, when walking, it conceals beneath its +outward covering. The common cockroach is of a bright brown +colour, with long antennæ, and wings exceeding the body in +length. They are most destructive creatures, preying +indiscriminately upon the contents of the larder, the +linen-chest, or the book-case, or upon any insect they can +overcome by treachery or open combat, or vary their repasts at +times with a taste of the little negroes' fingers, when they go +to-bed with such members in a greasy state. Cockroaches cast +their skins once or twice in the year; during those periods they +present a most revolting appearance, being of a milky white +instead of their usual brown hue. In the day, they lurk in holes +and corners, but no sooner does night approach, or the clouds +threaten rain, than they issue forth by legions, crawl over the +floor or furniture, dash in your face, or commence their work of +devastation upon your property, leaving their nauseous odours +behind them upon whatever they may touch. The _drummer_-cockroach +is of a dingy ash colour; it receives its name from the drumming +noise it makes by striking, it is said, its horny head against +any wooden substance it may come near. It is even more disgusting +than the common cockroach, both as regards form and odour; the +antennæ and wings are shorter, and the body of greater breadth, +and differently marked; the feet are furnished with an adhesive +liquid, which stain anything they pass over. The eggs of the +cockroach are about one-third the size of their bodies; they are +rather flat and long, and are covered with a hard shell of a +brown colour. The parent insect attaches them to walls, curtains, +the interior of boxes or drawers, or, indeed, any place which +they deem convenient for the purpose, by means of a kind of +animal gum with which they are provided. The cockroach has many +enemies to contend against, among whom the domestic fowl is, +perhaps, the most formidable, picking them up, impaling them +alive upon their beaks, or swallowing them with a relish which +none but a fowl could conceive. The avidity with which fowls seek +such food gives rise to the negro proverb, "Dat time cockroach +hab dance, he no ax fowl for to come." They certainly are the +pest of the West Indies; nothing escapes their depredations; and +as the North American Indians have remarked of the deer, "The +more you kill, the more they come." The redeeming qualities of +cockroaches are said to be, that they improve the flavour of +wine, and make excellent fish-sauce! + +There are immense hordes of caterpillars (_erucæ_) in Antigua; +some among them are of great magnitude and beauty, although sad +plunderers of the garden. After grovelling for some time upon the +ground, and then undergoing the transformation of a nympha, they +at length burst from their shelly covering, and, in the plenitude +of life and joy, bound forward in the bright sunshine as so many +gorgeous butterflies. Some of them are beautiful in the extreme, +their velvety coats displaying every tint of the rainbow; but, +alas! like all other beauties, their triumphs are soon over; the +sun rises and sets but seldom for them, and after laying their +300 or 400 eggs, their business in the world is achieved--their +little lives are over, and they again become a "thing of nought." + +Ants also abound, and infest every comer and cupboard in your +dwelling. They have been held up as patterns of industry, and +surely they possess that virtue in an eminent degree, for in vain +does the thrifty housewife use her best endeavours to secure the +contents of her larder from their depredations. They never tire, +but surmount every difficulty, and, like the "Goths" and "Huns" +of old, pour their countless legions over the whole face of the +country. You may, with the greatest caution, suspend your +choicest preserves from the ceiling, thinking that a place of +security, but in a short time it is sure to be discovered by some +roving ant, who, without loss of time, communicates the results +of his foraging to his neighbours. The whole tribe are soon in +motion, the discoverer acts as pioneer, and with great judgment +conducts them over every impediment along the ceiling, down the +string, until at length they gain the sweetmeat, where, _sans +ceremonie,_ they luxuriate at will. At other times, in order to +guard the delicacies from the attacks of the ants, the vessel +which contains it is placed in water, and there all is deemed +quite secure. But not so; the ants are indefatigable; for no +sooner does their sense of smelling tell them some choice dainty +is inclosed therein, than they form a kind of bridge across the +water, by one ant embracing another by the antennæ, and in this +way they transport and enjoy the luxury at pleasure. There are +ants of various sizes, and colours; the large black ant, the +small black, the red ant, the wild ant, &c., but of all these +varieties the sugar-ant is the most disagreeable. It is supposed +the sugar-ant was first brought into the West Indies in a slaver, +from the coast of Guinea, and after destroying vegetation to a +great extent in Dominica, found its way to Antigua, where it +committed great havoc upon the sugar canes. They are of small +size, and of a light-brown colour, tinged with black, and when +crushed, emit a mucilaginous substance of a foetid smell. + +As for flies, it would take an entomologist months to describe +them, so numerous are their varieties; and of insects of a viler +name, not to be mentioned to ears polite, the negroes would no +doubt tell you they are far from being an extinct race. Bats are +among the other denizens of Antigua, whose company is not very +desirable. Some of them attain the size of pigeons; but although +the dreaded "vampire" may be found among the number, we never +hear of any creature falling a prey to its thirst for blood. + +The principal aquatic birds are, boobies, or gannets, man-of-war +birds, coots, gorlings, (a kind of heron,) gulls. The other birds +are, chicken-hawks, (or killa-a-killa, as the negroes call them,) +buzzards, turtle-doves, ground-doves, wild pigeons, quails, a +brown bird, with a most melodious note,--"the nightingale of a +tropic noon," as Coleridge poetically calls it; sparrows, +finches, yellowbreasts, blackbirds, (but not like those sweet +songsters of old England's woods,) several other birds, with +whose names I am unacquainted, and lastly, the pigmy +humming-bird. Speaking of these beautiful little creatures, a +modern author remarks: "The consummate green of the emerald, the +rich purple of the amethyst, and the vivid flame of the ruby, all +happily blended and enveloped beneath a transparent veil of wavy +gold, are distinguished in every species, but differently +arranged and proportioned in each." Pretty as this description +is, it is not quite applicable to the humming-birds of Antigua; +for although the "emerald" may be found, as well as the purple +and gold, in some degree, "the vivid flame of the ruby" will be +sought for in vain. Still it is a lovely little creature, with +its long slender bill, its graceful little head, its sparkling +black eye, and its fairy-like flittings among the fragrant +blossoms of its sunny home. It has been asserted that the +humming-bird is one of the shyest among the feathered tribe; but +to express my own opinion, I think it has as good a stock of +assurance as is possible to conceive for such a minute creature; +while its passions are very strong, and it will attack any bird +who comes within its range. + +An anecdote was related to me during my stay in this island, +which proves how strong maternal love reigns in the breast of a +humming-bird. In order to increase a cabinet of birds, a negro +was dispatched in quest of these little creatures, with orders to +capture all he could; and in the course of his perambulations, he +alighted upon one which had built her tiny nest of cotton in a +secluded dell, and which, at that moment, was engaged in the +office of incubation. Void of pity, the negro seized upon his +prize, (which, with an expectant mother's love, would not quit +her eggs,) broke off the stem of the tree to which the nest was +attached, and carried it the distance of ten or twelve miles to +his master's house, where it remained for four days; and although +under no confinement, the humming-bird would not forsake her +nest, but was conveyed in that situation on board ship, where she +must have died of starvation; for who was to administer to her +the ambrosial dews which formed her food? + +There are many other creatures whose lives and habits might be +given; but as I have already extended this part of my subject to +greater lengths than I had intended, I must conclude, or my task +would reach to many more pages. + + + ------ + +[68] The _cancer graspus_ is the handsomest of its species, being +of a pale yellow, beautifully streaked and spotted with red, and +deeply serrated claws of a pure white. When in its native element +it spouts out the water from two orifices near its eyes, forming +a beautiful and never-ceasing arch. + +[69] It was the shell of a turtle which served that great +monarch, Henry IV. of France, for a cradle. + +[70] The guana has the power of fascinating small birds &c. in +the same manner as the anaconda, or rattle-snake, does. When bent +upon such deeds, it stretches itself baskingly in the sun, and +darts out its long red tongue; the birds, attracted by the sight, +hover round, apparently irresistibly approaching the creature's +mouth, until at length, when drawn within a convenient distance, +the guana makes a sudden start, and with one effort swallows the +poor bird. + +[71] Oldmixon, in his history, says, the scorpions in Barbados +are as big as rats. If so, the present race of scorpions must +have degenerated greatly in size, or else the rats are of a +Lilliputian family. + + + + + CHAPTER LII. + + + + BOTANY. + +In commencing this chapter upon botany, I deem it proper to +mention first the forest trees, confining myself to those +vegetating in Antigua. As, however, it will be necessary to +insert the botanical names, as well as their classifications, and +wishful of throwing as much interest into the subject as +possible, I have, along with my own observations upon these +beauties of the creation, consulted other and more efficient +botanists. It must be remarked, that nearly all the West Indian +trees continue to bud and blossom throughout the year; so that +there is no naked sprays and branches to be seen, as in old +England's woods in winter, but instead, every grove presents an +unchanging canopy of the deepest green. + +One of the commonest flowers in Antigua is the Four o'clock, +_mirabilis jalapa,_ or _marvel of Peru,_ so called from the +circumstance of its opening its pretty petals at that hour of the +day. The leaves are of dark green, and shaped like a heart; the +flowers are of a tubulous form, and of the several colours of +red, white, or purple--the latter are the most common. The seeds +are black and hard, and of a conical structure; the leaves are of +much repute among the old nurses of Antigua, for their efficacy +in relieving tumours, &c., but if it be only fancy, or if they +really possess some medicinal qualities, I leave the gentlemen of +the lancet to determine. + +The Palmetto, _areca oleracea,_ cabbage palm, or mountain +cabbage, is the most beautiful tree in Antigua, and richly +deserves the epithet of king of the West Indian forests. The +trunk rises straight and smooth, and is of a most graceful form, +being about four to seven feet in circumference at the base, and +gradually tapering upwards to the height of from one hundred +feet; it is of a silverish grey colour, and indented with rings, +marking the place of former foot-stalks. The upper part of the +trunk presents a finely turned polished column, of a beautiful +green colour, which diverges gradually from its pedestal until it +attains the centre, when it diminishes in the same manner to the +top, from whence springs an acuminated spatha terminating in a +point. The branches spring from the top of the trunk in an +elegant plume-like manner; as they decay and fall off, they are +succeeded by others bursting from the centre of those that +remain. The young leaves are esteemed delicious when boiled, as +well as the cabbage, which is found in the interior of the green +part of the trunk. The flowers are hermaphrodite; the male calyx +sends forth three petals and nine stamens; the female flower is +like the male, and turns to an oval fruit, enclosing an oval +seed, which will bear a fine polish, and was formerly used for +buttons. A grove of these trees presents a beautiful appearance, +forming indeed a colonnade of finely turned columns, from the top +of which springs a verdant canopy. + +Cocoa-nut Tree, _cocos nucifera,_ belongs to the order monoecia +hexandria. Male calyx is trifid, the corolla three-petalled, with +five stamens; the female calyx is quinquefid, the corolla divided +into three segments, and furnished with three stamens. The +cocoa-nut tree is supposed to have been brought from the Maldives +to the West Indies. It loves a sandy soil, and sometimes attains +the height of eighty feet. The trunk is a straight column, +slightly annulated, and tapering from the base to the summit, +where it expands into branches of about fifteen feet long, and in +a circular form, among which break forth the sheaths, which are +open from top to bottom and full of flowers, or clusters of +embryos. The branches are apparently fastened at the top with +stringy threads, interwoven like a piece of coarse sackcloth; the +pinnæ are of a deep glossy green, and, near the trunk, are often +a foot long. The nut is much esteemed for the sweetness of its +kernel, as well as for the milk and oil it produces. When the +kernel first begins to grow, it is in the form of jelly, which +lines the interior of the shell; as it increases in age, this +jelly thickens, and becomes a solid mass of about a quarter of an +inch thick, and of the whiteness of unsullied snow. The jelly +nuts contain the largest supply of milk, or water, as it is +generally termed in Antigua, often as much as a pint, or a pint +and a half; it is most esteemed in this state, the ripe nut being +seldom eaten in its crude form, but generally compounded into +different kinds of sweetmeats, or shipped to England. Thomson, +speaking of the cocoa-nut, observes-- + + "Amid those orchards of the sun, + Give me to drain the cocoa's milky bowl, + And from the palm to draw its freshening fruit." + +These nuts are enclosed in a thick husk, composed of strong +fibres, thickly matted together, which, when young, is of a +bright green, but which attains a dull brown as it arrives at +maturity; from these husks an excellent dye can be obtained, +while the dried ones are now manufactured into mattresses, +floor-cloths, and all kinds of brooms and mats. The trunk of the +cocoa-nut tree is capable of being made into cordage, and, if +tapped, a clear liquid issues, to which the name of arrack is +given, which, when fermented, becomes an intoxicating drink. The +shell of the nut is sometimes beautifully carved and polished, +and, when mounted in silver, is used as cups or sugar-basins. +From the kernel a clear white oil is extracted, which burns with +great brilliancy, and emits a pleasant odour. + +Whitewood-Tree, _bucida buceras,_ is a beautiful forest-tree, and +one that lives to a great age; there are some still remaining in +the island which are said to be coeval with the first settlers. +It rises to the height of forty or fifty-feet, and is thickly +covered with a light-green foliage, here and there sprinkled with +a leaf of the brightest red. It is said that ships built from its +timber never breeds worms. + +Cedars belong to the _juniperus_ tribe. There are two species in +Antigua, the white and the red. The white is a very beautiful +tree, clothed with a dark-green glossy foliage, from whence +spring flowers of a trumpet-like shape, and of the most delicate +pink or pearly white. It forms a very beautiful avenue to a +gentleman's seat, as well as a road-side border; but the timber +is not of so much value as the red cedar, which is another most +lovely forest-tree, rising sometimes to from sixty to seventy +feet, and of proportionate circumference. The foliage is very +thick, the leaves in form like the English ash; the flowers +(which have not the beauty of its sister tree) are succeeded by +oval berries of a purplish colour. The wood of the cedar is too +well known to need much description. It is of a reddish colour +and of a fragrant smell, and is almost incorruptible, as no worms +will breed in it. It has been related that cedar-wood was found +in the temple of Apollo at Utica, full 2000 years old. + +Silk-cotton Tree, _bombax seva,_ or _Ceiba,_ of the polyandria +order, class monodelphia, is one of the most beautiful +forest-trees of the western world, and a great ornament in tropic +scenery. The trunk rises smooth and straight as a column, to the +height of sixty or seventy feet, and of immense circumference. It +is said to have originally been brought from Africa to the West +Indies, where it now flourishes in splendid magnificence. The +leaves are broad, and of a glossy green, the flowers of a +delicate primrose, and campanulated; the corolla is quinquefid, +from whence rises the pointal, which afterwards turns to a pod of +about four or five inches in length, containing the seeds, and a +profusion of bright beautiful silk. From its extreme shortness, +it has been for a long time held as unfit for any use; but within +these last few years, it is discovered it can be manufactured +into hats. The East Indians use it for stuffings to their +ottomans, cushions, and sofas, on which they recline during the +heat of the day; but the West Indians, less effeminate and +luxurious, allow it to float about in its native copses unheeded, +except by the pretty little humming-bird, which sometimes builds +her fairy nest from its silky fabric. + +The Manchineal, or _hippomane,_ rises from twelve to thirty feet, +branching into several stems, but the main trunk sometimes +attains three feet in circumference. It is a very beautiful tree, +the bark smooth and of a brownish hue; and the leaves, of about +two or three inches in length, are of the same glossy bright +green as the laurel; they are thick and unctuous, and, when +pressed, yield an oily milk. This tree has male catkins, which +are produced at some distance from the embryos. The female +pointal turns to a globular fleshy fruit, containing a rough +woody nut, inclosing fewer or more flat seeds. This fruit is the +celebrated manchineal apple, which, with the most beautiful +exterior, possesses the most poisonous qualities. So dire is this +plant, that the very sun, darting its rays upon it, calls forth +all its dangerous odours, and renders it unsafe to the touch; +while if any one takes shelter beneath its spreading boughs +during a storm, the rain-drops as they trickle off the leaves +blister any part of the skin they fall upon. Its timber is, +however, made use of by cabinet-makers, although, when felling +it, the wood-men, it is said, are obliged to cover their faces +with thick cloth. The Caribs used to dip their arrows in this +juice, which rendered the wound fatal. Poison extracted from this +tree will preserve its venom for 100 years. The apples, if eaten, +are said to be certain death to everything but goats. + +Loblolly-Tree, _varronia-alba,_ (_pisonia subcordata?_) is +another denizen of Antigua, which shews its verdant green canopy +throughout the year. The leaves are broad, glossy, and ovate; the +trunk rises from the bottom in numerous woody stems, which, +though they present a beautiful road-side scenery, are of very +little use, except for fire-wood. + +Sandbox-Tree, _hura crepitans,_ rises to the height of from +twenty to thirty feet. The trunk is straight and thick, and is +armed with short prickles; the branches start from the top, and +abound with an acrid juice. The leaves are broad and long, and of +a dullish green. The male flowers are formed like a tapering +column, and close over each other like the scales of fish; the +female flowers consist of a trumpet-like style, with a quinquefid +stigma. The germen becomes a round woody capsule, compressed at +the ends like an orange, divided into twelve cells, each +containing a flat oblong seed. When these capsules are ripe, they +burst with a loud noise, scattering their seeds and severed cells +to a great distance, and occasioning the negro, who may be +passing at the time, to exclaim, "Eh! eh! de jumbies (ghosts) dun +dere dinner hark dere plates; how dey _mash 'em!_" Before these +pods burst, they are sometimes plucked by the Antiguans, and +after being scraped and garnished with gold paper, are made into +sandboxes, (from whence this tree derives its common name,) and +sent to England as presents for the curious. This tree belongs to +the natural order _tricoccæ_, and to the monoecia class of +plants. + +Logwood, _hæmatoxylon Campechianum_, grows in Antigua, but no use +is made of it in the way of commerce. It rises from the height of +eighteen to thirty feet. The trunk is generally uneven in its +growth, with somewhat of a knotty surface; the branches are +thorny, and thickly covered with lanceolated leaves, and the +flowers, five-petalled, are of a delicate pale purple and yellow. +The pointal afterwards becomes a flat oblong pod, containing a +few kidney-shaped seeds. Altogether it forms a very beautiful +object in woodland scenery. It belongs to the decandria class of +plants. + +Calabash-tree, _crescentia cujete,_ rises to about the height of +the English apple. The trunk is straight and columnar, branching +off at the head into numerous long slender branches, clothed with +dark green foliage. The flower is insignificant; the pointal +afterwards becomes an oblong or globular fruit, of a fine green +colour, and covered with a rind, which, as it approaches to +maturity, attains the hardness and stability of maple wood. The +interior of the fruit is filled with a white pulpy substance +containing the seeds. This the negroes scrape carefully out, and +after divesting the nut of its outer green covering, dry it in +the sun, and then use them as culinary articles, instead of the +more brittle cups and basins of English ware. Some of these +calabashes, as they are generally termed, will hold from one to +two gallons, while others will not contain more than a gill. + +The Pimento, or _Jamaica-pepper,_ is a species of myrtus. It is +one of the most beautiful trees in the western hemisphere, the +trunk rising smooth and shining, and of a silver-grey colour, to +the height of from fifteen to twenty feet, when it branches off +into a rich canopy of dark-green foliage, like the leaves of the +bay-tree. These leaves are very odoriferous; from them may be +expressed oil like that of cloves, and when distilled with rum or +high wines, they rank first among the West Indian simple waters, +known as _bay-rum_. The flowers are white with green stamens, and +emit a pleasing fragrance; while the berries, round, black, and +small, partake of the flavour of all the different spices, from +whence their name, _allspice_. It is said of this tree, as of the +nutmeg in the Moluccas, that the chief means of propagation is by +the birds, who, swallowing the seeds, void them again whole, when +they immediately take root and flourish. + +Barbados-Lilac, _melia azedarach,_ is a very beautiful tree, +rising from twelve to twenty feet. The bark is smooth and of an +ash colour; it is bitter and astringent, and when compounded with +aromatics, has been used (in the form of powders or decoctions) +in fevers and chronic rheumatism. Toddy is said to be extracted +from the young trees. The leaves are of a light green, and the +sweet pale umbelliferous flowers hang in graceful tassels from +every branch. + +Turpentine Tree, _burseræ gummifera,_ belongs to the order +dioecia, class polygamia; the calyx is triphyllous, the corolla +three-leaved, and the seed-vessel tri-valved. It grows very fast, +and sometimes attains a great height. The trunk is of a bright +brown, sometimes mottled with red, and presents a glossy +appearance; the leaves are broad, and of a deep green. It is so +tenacious of life, that it will bud and blossom after being cut +up and planted as posts. + +Nickel, or nickar tree, _guilandina,_ is a curious genus of the +monogynia order, decandria class of plants. There are two +species, the _bonduc,_ or yellow nickar, and the _bonducella,_ or +grey nickar. They are both of them climbing plants, sometimes +attaining the height of fifteen or eighteen feet. The flowers are +quinquefid, the petals of a yellow colour, and growing from the +wings of the stalks. The germen becomes an oblong pod, thickly +covered with slender spines, two-valved, and containing two hard +seeds of the size and shape of a marble; those of the bonduc are +yellow; the bonducella, of a beautiful grey colour, from whence +their respective names. + +Locust-Tree, _hymenæa courbaril;_ order monogynia, class +decandria. This tree sometimes rises to the height of sixty or +seventy feet, in a straight column-like trunk, of two or three +feet in circumference, covered with an ash-coloured bark. The +leaves are of a dark-green, and the flowers, divided into five +segments, and of a pale purple, streaked with yellow, come out in +loose spikes at the end of the branches. The germen becomes a +thick fleshy pod, of four or five inches long, covered with a +hard brown shell, and containing a farinaceous substance, in +taste something like gingerbread, but of a most intolerable +odour, but which is eaten heartily by the negroes. In it is +seated two or three hard brown seeds, of about the size of +marbles, but of an oblong shape. The timber is used for making +bedsteads, &c., while from the roots a dark transparent gum may +be procured, which, when dissolved with spirits of wine, forms an +excellent varnish. + +The Cashew-nut Tree, or _anacardium,_ belongs to the order +dioecia, class polygamia. The cup of the flower is oblong and +quinquefid. The flower is deciduous, and is formed of a single +leaf, divided into five concave segments, with five lanceolated +petals; at the bottom of the calyx is the ovarie, which turns to +a fruit the size and shape of a bury pear, and of a red or yellow +colour; it abounds in a sweet juice, slightly acrid, but which is +much esteemed by the Antiguans in punch or lemonade; from the +apex of the fruit grows the seed, in shape like a hare's kidney, +the upper part of the receptacle being the largest. The shell is +thick and cellular, and abounds in a dark caustic oil, which +blisters the parts it is applied to; it is said to be used by +some West Indian ladies to improve their complexion--it must +prove a very painful wash, I should think; far unlike Rowland's +inimitable Kalydor. When roasted, the kernel is very sweet; they +are often sent to England as presents. It is a common practice in +Antigua, to place the young fruit, when growing, in a +shallow-necked bottle, which is attached to the tree; when the +fruit is full grown, it is severed from the tree, and the bottle +filled with high wines, which keeps it in a state of +preservation. Thus prepared, it is sent to England as a +curiosity, where it raises surprise from the fact of so large a +fruit having entered at so small an aperture as a bottle's mouth. +The milk which oozes from the tree stains of a deep black, which +no ablution will remove. + +Mango-Tree, _mangifera,_ belongs to the polygamia class of +plants. This tree sometimes rises to a great height, and is +covered with a roughish bark. The leaves are often eight or nine +inches long, and about an inch and a half in breadth, and the +flowers start from loose umbels at the end of the branches. The +germen afterwards becomes a large, oblong, fleshy fruit, of a +fine yellow colour, and containing a flat seed covered with a +woolly substance. When good, it has something of the flavour of a +ripe apricot, but the generality of mangos are so strongly +impregnated with turpentine, that it is almost uneatable. When +fermented, an agreeable drink is said to be procured from the +fruit. This tree was introduced into the West Indies from some +part of Africa. In 1798, Admiral Lord Rodney planted it in +Jamaica; he had taken the plants in a French prize from the Isle +of Bourbon. + +Banana, _musa sapientum,_ rises to the height of six or ten feet; +the leaves are about eight inches broad, and three feet long, and +of a bright green colour, deeply veined. The wind, as it blows +them backwards and forwards, severs them at these several veins, +so that in a few days, from unfolding, the banana branches hang +in tattered shreds. The fruit is oblong, and about four inches in +length; the outer covering is yellow, and the flavour something +like that of an over-ripe apple. When cut longitudinally, a +representation of the crucifixion of our Saviour is said to be +perceived, but this, I think, is a vagary of the imagination--at +least, I never could find anything of the sort, although I have +cut many bananas. + +The Custard Apple, _annona reticulata,_ is a genus of the +polygynia order, class polyandria. This tree rises to about the +height of a common apple. The cup of the flower is three-leaved, +from whence start six petals of the heart-shaped kind, and +antheræ are numerous. The pointal becomes a large roundish fruit, +of a pulpy consistence, and containing a great number of black +seeds; it is not held in much repute, and is scarcely eaten +except by the negroes, although Ligon speaks of it as being very +delicious. + +Star-apple, _chrysophyllum cainito,_ belongs to the monogynia +order, and petandria class of plants. It rises to the height of +thirty-five or forty feet, with a smooth straight trunk, from +which shoot several branches at regular distances. The foliage is +of a deep green on the upper side, with the underneath of a +russet colour. The flower is campaniform, divided into ten +segments, but of no great beauty; from the calyx rises the +pointal, which afterwards becomes the fruit, of a globular shape, +and divided into ten cells, in each of which is a flattish glossy +seed. It derives its name from its internal arrangement, which, +when cut transversely, presents the form of a star. + +Papaw, _carica papaya,_ a genus of the decandria order, class +dioecia. The trunk rises in a simple hollow stem, marked in +lozenges, to the height of eighteen or twenty feet; the trees are +male and female; the leaves are large, and divided into several +lobes, and come out upon very long, hollow footstalks, from the +acros or summit of the tree. The male flowers are tubelous, and +divided into five segments; the calyx small, and the filaments +short and long alternately. The colour is a bright primrose, and, +seated as they are upon their pale green flower-stalk, they +present a very beautiful appearance. The female flowers are also +primrose colour, and expand in form of a star, so deeply cut into +six segments, that they appear to consist of so many distinct +leaves. The calyx is quinquedentated; and from the centre rises +the pointal, surmounted by a crest of four leaves. This pointal +afterwards becomes a fleshy fruit, of an oblong or globular form, +covered with a thin rind, and containing, as in a melon, numerous +small black seeds of the pungent flavour of pepper. The fruit, +when good, has the colour, and something of the taste, of an +apricot; when unripe, the internal part is quite white, and in +such state is boiled and dished up in the manner of turnip. It is +also cut into various forms, and, mixed with peppers, cucumbers, +&c., forms the West Indian pickles. The milk which exudes from it +is said to be efficient in making meats tender; and, accordingly, +its good qualities are often put to the test by notable +housewives, who wish to pass off their old fowls, of five or six +generations, for young chickens. From all parts of the tree flows +this acrid milky juice, or _albumen,_ which may be used instead +of egg in clarifying sugar or liquors. It is also said to be a +specific for the toothache. + +Soursop, _annona muricata,_ of the polygynia order, polyandria +class. It is a richly foliaged tree, rising to the height of +about twenty feet. The flowers have a grateful but rather heavy +odour. The calyx is three-leaved; the corolla is large, composed +of six petals--the three outer ones concave and coriaceous, and +of a yellow colour; the three inner ones somewhat smaller and +spherical. The flowers are deciduous, and when they open they +make so loud a report as to occasion a start from those who stand +beneath the tree. The fruit is pulpy, and covered with a thick +green rind, of the consistence of leather, studded over with +green prickles, cone-shaped, and attains a great size; the +interior is cellular, and furnished with oblong glossy seeds, +which spring from the spear-shaped core. The juice makes an +excellent transparent jelly; but in its crude form the fruit is +never introduced at genteel tables, although of a very grateful +flavour: all manner of stock are fond of it, and the little +negroes luxuriate most freely upon it when in season. + +Mamma Sapota, _achras mammosa,_ is a splendid lofty tree, +belonging to the monogynia order, class pentandria. The pistil of +the flower is rather long, and is surrounded by six stamens. The +fruit is globular, and is covered with a thick brown rind; the +eatable part lies between that and the large round seed, which is +covered with a fine thin skin. It is very indigestible when eaten +in its crude state, but makes a luscious sweetmeat, which is +generally esteemed. + +Bread Fruit, _artocarpus,_ belongs to the order monandria, and +the monoecia class of plants. It was brought from Otaheite to +these islands by Captain Bligh, a gentleman well known for his +trials in the "Mutiny of the Bounty." This tree rises to the +height of about forty feet, and is covered with a thick foliage; +the leaves are sometimes a foot and a half long, of an oblong +shape, and when broken, exude a milky juice. The trunk is of a +pale ash colour, with a smoothish bark; the catkins, or male +flowers, have no calyx, but are formed of valves hanging down in +the form of ropes; the corolla has two petals, and concave; the +female flower has neither corolla nor calyx, but the germs are +numerous, connected into a globe. The fruit is globular, and +about the size of a melon; the rind is thick and green, and is +divided hexagonally in the form of net-work; the internal part is +covered with a substance like thick wool. The edible part of the +fruit lies between the skin and the core; it is perfectly white, +and something like new bread, but it must be roasted before +eaten. The taste is insipid, but is said to afford great +nourishment. The milk which oozes from the trunk, when boiled +with cocoa-nut oil, makes an excellent bird-lime, and the wood is +useful for building. + +Sappadilla, _achras sapota,_ of the monogynia order, class +pentandria. The calyx is a perianthum, with six erect concave +leaves; the corolla bears one petal, the full length of the cup; +the germen is globular, and becomes a pulpy fruit of a similar +form, having twelve cells, each containing a glossy oblong black +seed. The fruit is very luscious to the taste, and ranks among +one of the first at an Antiguan table. The tree is about the size +of the oak, and continues to bud and blossom throughout the year: +there are three species of this tree. + +Sugar Apple, _annona squamosa,_ another genus of the polygynia +order, polyandria class. The flower is insignificant, and nearly +scentless; the pointal changes to a cone-shaped fruit of a dead +green colour, divided into oblong compartments, each one +cellular, and furnished with a flat glossy seed. The fruit +abounds in saccharine juice, from whence its name. It grows to +the height of about fifteen feet, and is thickly covered with +oblong leaves, the upper part of a dead green, the underneath +approaching to white. + +Sea-side Grape, _coccoloba uvifera;_ of the order trigynia, and +octandria class of plants. The calyx is divided into five +segments, of a velvety texture; there is no corolla, but the +berry, containing one seed, is formed from the calyx. It +luxuriates most freely in a sandy soil, where it sometimes +attains the height of from eight to fifteen feet. The trunk, or +rather trunks, for it sends up from the root several stems, is +covered with a smooth brown bark. The leaves are orbicular, and +are from five to six inches in circumference; they are of a +bottle-green, and deeply veined, and stand upon short, thick +foot-stalks. The fruit is of a red colour, but when quite ripe, +approaches to black; it contains one seed, in form, like a +cocoa-nut. There are fourteen species of this shrub, of which the +chigery grape, _coccoloba nivea,_ is another denizen of Antigua. +It is not, however, much esteemed for the flavour. The flowers, +which afterwards turn to the fruit, come out at the wing of the +stalk, in racemi of about the length and appearance of white +currants. + +The Shaddock, _citrus decumana,_ order polyandria, class +polyadelphia, is a native of China; it was brought first to the +West Indies by Captain Shaddock; hence its name. It is another +species of the tribe _citrus,_ belonging to the same class and +order as its sister shrubs, the lime and orange. The fruit is of +two kinds--the one with a white pulp, the other of a reddish +colour; the latter is the most esteemed. The fruit is of much +larger dimensions than the orange, with a thick rough rind, which +is capable of being manufactured into a very superior kind of +_bitters_. This tree grows to the height of from eight to twelve +feet, with thick broad leaves, slightly serrated. + +Lime-tree, _citrus limonum,_ of the polyadelphia order, class +polyandria. The calyx is divided into five segments, the corolla +is quinquefid, and of the most delicate white, and with numerous +antheræ tipped with yellow farina. The scent of the flowers is +most delicious; and their silvery whiteness, contrasted with the +glossy green of the foliage, renders it one of the most beautiful +of shrubs. The lime-tree is said to resemble the holly of England +in appearance; it sometimes attains the height of fifteen feet. +Oldmixon, speaking of this shrub, says--"Fifty years ago, the +planters made hedges of them about their houses; their prickles +served for a fortification against the naked negroes." The fruit +is very fragrant, of the colour and shape of a lemon, and about +the size of a hen's egg; the juice is a strong acid. Galisco +mentions that it was the lime-tree and the box which Harpalus +found so much difficulty in cultivating at Babylon. + +The Orange, _citrus aurantium,_ is of the same class and order as +the foregoing. The trunk rises smooth and straight, from six to +ten feet in height, when it divides into several branches, +forming a green canopy. The leaves are oval-shaped, and of a +glossy green; and its beautiful and fragrant flowers spring forth +from numerous flower-stalks at the side of the branches. The +fruit, when gathered, is in a green state, which afterwards +attains a yellow colour. An orange-bough just severed from the +tree, bending gracefully from the weight of its fruit, and +shewing its clusters of pearly blossoms, is a very lovely +picture. + +Avocada Pear, _persea gratissima,_ order trigynia, class +Enneandria, is a lofty tree, crowned with a dense foliage, and +bearing one of the best fruits the island produces. The shape is +that of a quince, covered with a tough, ligneous rind, and +containing one large, compressed globular seed. In flavour, it +somewhat resembles a broiled _vegetable marrow_. It is sometimes +eaten with wine and sugar, but more generally with pepper and +salt. + +Black Cherry, _cerasus occidentalis,_ is a genus of the natural +order rosaceæ. It rises to about the height of 20 or 30 feet. The +wood is much used by the negroes in their wattled houses, as it +is of a flexible nature. The leaves are obovated, and the +delicate-looking flowers hang from every branch. + +The Acacia rises to about twenty feet in branching stems, armed +with long and sharp thorns. The flowers are globular, and of a +bright yellow; they hang from every spray, and load the air with +their fragrant odours. The pointal afterwards becomes a legume, +containing several flat brown seeds, like those of lupins; these +seeds have been found useful in setting dyes, and the gum +produced from the trees is the best that can be used in calico +printing; formerly the flowers were made use of in the materia +medica, but this age of wisdom has expelled those various +conserves which once loaded the shelves of an apothecary's shop. + +Lignum Vitæ, _guaiacum,_ or pack wood, as it is sometimes called, +is another beautiful forest tree of Antigua. It attains the size +of a large oak; the trunk is covered with a hard, brown bark, +although the branches are of a greyish-ash colour. The foliage is +magnificent, and of the sweetest green, while the beauty of the +tree is enhanced by the clusters of cerulean flowers, which hang +in loose umbels from almost every spray. + +Perhaps the most beautiful and fragrant flower which grows in +Antigua is the _frangepanier,_ or _plumeria_. It rises to the +height of from ten to fifteen feet, with a rough, greyish trunk, +from whence start numerous fantastic-shaped branches, convolving +and wreathing their long, naked arms on all sides. From the end +of these branches start large, oblong leaves, standing upon +three-inch footstalks, and forming a beautiful cluster. These +leaves are deciduous, and as they fall off, are succeeded by +bunches of flowers, which grow in umbels, rising from one centre +stem, of about three or four inches in length. These flowers are +of the most delicate pink, shaded off to white, and of a velvety +surface, the lower part of the petals being yellow. They are +divided into five or six segments, and the scent of them is so +delicious, that it ravishes the senses while inhaling its odour. +All parts of this tree abounds in a milky, acrid juice, which +drops freely upon breaking off the least part, or making the +slightest incision. + +Guava Tree, _psidium pomiferum,_ order monogynia, class +icosandria, rises in the manner of a shrub, to the height of from +two to twelve feet. The leaves are ovate, and of a dusky green; +the flowers consist of five segments, produced in a circular +form, with numerous stamens surrounding an ovary of an oblong +form. This becomes a fleshy fruit, of the shape and colour of a +lemon, surmounted by a crest of small leaves. The interior of the +fruit is of a rose-colour, or a pure white, containing numerous +small, yellow seeds; the flavour is exquisite, and the jelly made +from it surpasses the whole world of confectionary. The +celebrated Sir Hans Sloane is said to have been particularly fond +of it; indeed, it is a universal favourite, and cattle and birds +greedily eat the fruit in its crude form. + +Bamboo, _bambusa arundinacea,_ belongs to the order monogynia, +class hexandria. It rises to a great height, sometimes fifty or +sixty feet. The young stalks are almost solid, and are filled +with a sweetish kind of liquid, which, as they progress in age +and become hollow, falls to the bottom of the joint, where it is +stopped by a woody membrane, and concretes into a kind of sugar, +called _tabaxir_. This tabaxir is said to possess strong +medicinal qualities, and was held in such esteem by the ancients, +that it was often sold for its weight in silver. The bamboo is +used in Antigua for spouts, fish-pots, or as posts for fences: it +forms a pretty screen, and as the wind wantons through its +lanceolated leaves, a pleasing melody ensues. + +Physic Nut, _jatropha curcas,_ belongs to the same order and +class as the cassada, &c. It grows to the height of ten or twelve +feet, with a knotty stem, and the leaves (cordate and angular) +starting from the ends of the branches. The flowers are green, +and hang in umbels; they are succeeded by nuts, with the outward +covering green, and containing an oblong kernel, separated by two +milk-white leaves, of a perfect shape. This plant is often used +for fences, and according to old Ligon, is "of so poisonous a +nature that no animal will approach it." This is not correct in +every point, for it produces no ill-consequences, unless taken to +excess, when it acts as a violent cathartic. + +The French Physic Nut, _jatropha multifida,_ is another species +of this tribe. It rises in a shrubby manner, from eight to ten +feet in height, the main stem being covered with a silver-grey +bark, and dividing into several branches at the top. The leaves +are large and lobed, and the flowers, of a purple colour, grow +from the extremity of the branches, in groups. They are succeeded +by nuts, of the same size and appearance as those of the +_jatropha curcas_. + +Peppers, _capsicums,_ genus of the monogynia order, class +pentandria. There are twenty species of this tribe, the principal +of which known in Antigua is the bonnet or bonny pepper, +_capsicum angulosum,_ of a bright yellow; the goat-pepper, or +_capsicum annuum,_ of an oblong figure, and red colour, not much +esteemed for flavour; the cherry-pepper, or _capsicum +cerasiforme,_ also red, in form like a large Kentish cherry--from +whence its name; and the bird-pepper, the most esteemed of all +capsicums. This last is a most beautiful shrub; the leaves are of +the deepest green, and the fruit, with all the rich glow of the +coral, bursting from their light green cups, cluster upon every +bough. It is from the bird-pepper the best cayenne is produced; +when mixed with the yellow bonny, the colour becomes paler, and +is less esteemed. The London adulterators, in order to keep up +that bright red tinge, are in the habit of colouring their +cayenne with red lead. + +The Jasmines are of great beauty and variety in Antigua. The +principal among them are the Arabian jasmine, _jasminum sambac,_ +and the Cape jasmine, _jasminum fragrans_. The leaves are large, +and of a beautiful green, while the silvery blossoms, of a +rose-like form, fill the air with their delicious fragrance. This +shrub is a genus of the monogynia order, belonging to the +diandria class of plants. + +King of Flowers, _lagerstroemia indica,_ is a genus of the +monogynia order, belonging to the polyandria class of plants. It +is one of the ornaments of the Antiguan flower-garden--its rosy +corolla peeping from its bright green leaves; still it is not +near so worthy of praise as its fair consort, the lovely + +Queen of Flowers, _lagerstroemia regina,_ which does not throw +out her delicate pink petals until her slight limbs are bent down +beneath her flowing burden. + +"Lady of the Night," _cestrum nocturnum,_ of the monogynia order, +and pentandria class of plants, one of the sweetest and most +poetical of all the Antiguan flowering shrubs. The flowers are of +a delicate white, and elegantly shaped. As the day draws to a +close, they unfold their lovely petals, which emit the most +delicious odour, and that so powerful, that a single flower will +perfume an entire suite of apartments. It is not "_labour lost_" +to sit up until midnight, to watch the unfolding of this darling +child of Flora's in all her glory; for, in the words of the poet, + + "Her beauty hangs upon the cheek of night, + Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear." + +The Flower Fence, or Barbados pride, _poinciana pulcherrima,_ is +a very beautiful aculeated shrub, of the order monogynia; the +flowers, of a bright red and yellow, are papilionaceous; the +pistilum is long, and the stamens numerous; the seeds are oblong +and glossy, and when beaten up with borax and water are said to +form an excellent cement. There are two species, the red and the +yellow, each equally admired, and which form a most beautiful +garden fence, from whence the name. The leaves of the shrub are +supposed to contain some medicinal qualities, and are +consequently much esteemed by "old women." + +Trumpet Flower, _bignonia unguis,_ is a genus of the angiospermia +order, class didynamia; the calyx is quinquefid, the corolla of +an elegant bell-shape, and is also quinquefoliated. It is one of +the most glowing beauties of the West Indian florist's world. By +some it is called the scarlet jessamin, from its colour. + +The Noyeau-vine, _convolvulus dissectus,_ belongs to the order +monogynia, class pentandria; the flower is campiform, but expands +beneath the influence of the light into the figure of a star. The +petals are of a delicate pearly white, the lower parts of a deep +purple, the leaves of a deep green; and the seeds, black and very +hard, are contained in a three-celled capsule. Noyeau is said to +be extracted from this plant, from whence its name; but setting +aside this doubtful good quality, it is one of the most admired +parasites Antigua produces, and forms a great ornament to a +verandah or balcony. + +Among the other beautiful vines to be met with, are the +passiflora tribe; they are-- + +1st. The Granadilla, _passiflora quadrangularis._ + +2nd. The Water Lemon, _passiflora maliformis,_ and + +3rd. The Conch Nut, _passiflora maliformis._ + +The granadilla bears a large, oblong fruit, with a thick, fleshy +covering, and containing a most delicious pulpy consistence, of a +slightly-acid flavour, with numerous flat seeds. + +The fruit of the water lemon is of a similar flavour, but of +smaller growth, in size and shape more resembling a lemon--from +whence its name--and with a covering more ligneous. The conch nut +is the most acid, and of an inferior quality. It is of a globular +form, with a smooth woody shell. All these varieties form an +elegant arbour, with their glossy green leaves, and their lovely +blossoms, of the same fair form and colour as the passion-flower +--a genus of their own tribe. + +Aloe, a genus of the order monogynia, class hexandria: there are +thirteen species of aloes, the most common of which found in +Antigua is the aloe plant, _aloe vulgaris._ The leaves are broad +and thick, and about from two to three feet long; they are full +of strong fibres, which can be manufactured into cordage, &c. The +aloe plant is commonly used for fences, its long sharp-pointed +leaves proving an excellent repellant to any intruder. From the +centre of the plant rises a smooth green stem, or column, of +about twenty or thirty feet high, broad at the base, and tapering +to the top, where it branches out into numerous pedunculuses, or +flower stalks. This plant has no calyx; the corolla is +monopetalous, and of the colour of the brightest gold, which +produces a splendid appearance when in bloom. They are very hardy +plants, and can scarcely be destroyed even if wished. + +Spanish Needle, _bindens leucantha;_ of the natural order, +compositiæ oppositifoliæ. The leaves are composed of strong +fibres, which are capable of being manufactured into a ship's +cable or a skein of lace thread, a sail for a man-of-war or the +finest cambric handkerchiefs. + +Cactus, _cacteæ_, is an order of plants that abounds in all parts +of the island. They consist of a calyx adhering to the ovary, the +corolla divided into several segments, and the petals variously +coloured. The fruit is a succulent seedy berry, in some species +of a beautiful red colour. The stems are covered with small +tubercles, containing tufts of sharp spines, varying in size. The +"Turk's cap," _melocactus communis,_ is one of the handsomest of +its tribe. It rises in a globular-shaped stem, deeply channelled, +of a green colour, and covered with long spines. The top is +surmounted by a spherical spinal crest, of a beautiful rose +colour, with fleshy seeds of the same glowing tinge. It grows +wild in all the sun-dried plains of Antigua, and forms a singular +contrast to the withered-looking herbage. The prickly pear is +another member of this family; the leaves are thick and oblong, +covered with long spines, and filled with a muculent substance. +The fruit is in form like an English pear, and of a slightly acid +flavour; the rind is thick, and of a red colour, marked near the +base with streaks of yellow; the pulpy interior is of the finest +crimson, and of the consistence of syrup, which is sometimes used +to colour sweetmeats, and affords at times a rich treat to the +little negroes. The fruit starts from the leaves without any +footstalks, and leaf succeeds to leaf, until it attains the +height of from five to six feet. It loves a sandy soil, but on +every bank, or in every pasture, it may be met with; while from +its formidable spines, and thick fleshy leaves, it forms an +excellent fence. There is another species, called the French +prickly pear, the succulent leaf of which is sometimes used as a +vegetable. + +The Egg-Plant, _solanum melongena,_ or _ovigerum,_ is a curiosity +in the vegetable kingdom. It attains the height of from two to +three feet, and is covered with downy leaves of an ovate form. +The fruit is of a globose fleshy berry, of the size, shape, and +colour of a hen's egg, from whence its name. + +There are three species of lilies indigenous to the country, the +most common of which is the Lily-asphodel, _amaryllis equestris,_ +a genus of the monogynia order, hexandria class of plants. The +flower rises from an oblong emarginated spatha; the corolla +consists of six lance-like petals, of a clear white, with long +slender stamens. The seed-bag, or _capsule,_ is composed of three +valves, and contains numerous seeds. + +Cotton Shrub, or _gossypium,_ rises to the height of six or seven +feet. The flower is bell-shaped, and consists of one leaf deeply +cut into several segments, enfolding one another, and of a pale +primrose. From the centre of the flower rises a kind of hollow +cylinder, adorned with chives or filaments. The pointal becomes a +globular fruit, or pod, composed of five cells, containing small, +hard, black seeds, closely enwrapped in the wool, (or cotton, as +it is more generally termed,) which, when ripe, bursts open at +the apex, and discloses the snowy interior. + +Castor Plant, or _palma Christi,_ is a very pretty shrub, rising +to the height of about fifteen feet. It expands into numerous +branches, from which spring dark green leaves, deeply lobed, and +standing upon long footstalks. The flowers are insignificant in +appearance; the germen becomes a three-celled, globular pod, +covered with slender spines, and contains three +beautifully-polished, oblong seeds, of a black and silver-grey +colour. The best castor oil is obtained from these seeds, by +pressure; but the common practice in use among the negroes is to +boil them in water, and skim off the unctuous matter as it rises +to the top. + +Cassada, or cassava, is made from the roots _jatropha,_ or +_janipha manihot_. This plant belongs to the natural order +_euphorbiaceæ,_ and abounds in a juice, the smallest dose of +which is highly dangerous from its poisonous qualities. It, +however, forms a nutritious food after the juice is well +expressed, when it is baked in the form of thin cakes, and +supplies the want of bread. _Farina_ and tapioca are other +preparations from this root, half a pound of which, per diem, is +said to be sufficient to support the strongest man. + +Arrow-root, and _tout-les-mois,_ is the fecula obtained by a +similar process from those several roots, the nutritious +qualities of which are too well known in the sick chamber to call +for further mention. The petals of the arrow-root are of a clear +white, while those of the _tout-les-mois_ are of a fine crimson, +and start from long sheath-like leaves. The French gave the name +to this latter plant, from the fact of its flowering every month. + +There are a great variety of grasses to be met with in Antigua, +the principal of which are--the Guinea-grass, cent. per cent. +grass, (_panicum colonum,_) devil-grass, (_cynodon dactylon,_) +and nut-grass, (_cyperus hydra._) The Guinea-grass was introduced +into the West Indies, from the coast of Guinea, as its name +declares. Jamaica was the first island in which it was +propagated, and that by mere accident. The seed of this species +of herbage was brought from Africa, as food for some curious +birds, natives of that clime, which the captain of a slaver +intended to convey to Jamaica as a present. Soon after their +arrival, the birds died, and the seed was thrown away as useless. +It, however, took root, and flourished surprisingly. The cattle +grazing in that part of the island found it out, and eagerly +feasted upon it, which being perceived by the planters, the +remaining roots were protected for seedlings, and thus the growth +of this species was established, and finally distributed +throughout the other islands, where it now ranks among the most +esteemed of grasses. + +The different species of grain propagated in Antigua are the +Indian Corn, or Maize, and the Guinea Corn--both of them included +in the botanical name, _Zea_. The Indian corn rises to the height +of about five or six feet; the leaves are eleven or twelve inches +long, and two broad, with the edges deeply serrated. The corn, +when ripe, is of a bright golden colour, and the ear is covered +with a brown silken substance, and then enwrapped in a husk +composed of many leaf-like envelopes, which are dried and used by +the negroes for stuffing their beds. + +The Guinea corn attains the height of about seven or eight feet; +the stalk is about the thickness of a small rattan, and is, it is +said, capable of being manufactured into sugar. The main stalk +branches at the top into several pedicles, each of which bears an +ear of corn; the grains are small and round, like shot; they are +inclosed in a black shell, which, as the corn ripens, bursts, and +forms two small leaves. This grain is used chiefly for feeding +horses, &c., although the negroes sometimes manufacture it into +meal, and boil it into a kind of pudding. + +Of the esculent roots, the yam, _dioscorea sativa,_ is the most +valuable the island produces. There are several varieties of this +plant, the roots of some of them weighing from 20 to 30lbs. The +flowers are green, and consist of six segments, the male flowers +having six stamens, and the female three styles. The leaves are +broad, and strongly veined, and are seated upon long spreading +vines. The internal colour of the root varies according to the +species--some being quite white, others white and red blended +together, which are called by the negroes _moonshine,_ and some +of a reddish purple. + +The Sweet Potatoe, _convolvulus batatas,_ is the most common in +Antigua. It grows upon a twining vine, and vegetates best in a +clayey land. The flower is campiform, and the leaves deeply +lobated. There are several varieties of this root, some of which +attain a great size; it abounds in a saccharine milky juice, +which stains the flesh touched by it. + +Eddoes, _arum maximum Ægyptianum,_ are small edible roots, +abounding, in their crude form, in a slimy juice, but when +thoroughly ripe and boiled, attains a dry floury consistence. The +natives consider it as one of their standing vegetables, using it +in soups, &c.; but to an English palate it is generally +distasteful at first trial. + +Squashes, _cucurbita melopepo,_ is a pomiferous herb much +esteemed by the Antiguans. The yellow bell-flower is succeeded by +a small, oblong fruit, which, when boiled, is very similar to the +English vegetable marrow. + +Soap-berry tree, or _saponaria_. The flowers are white and small, +and are succeeded by acrid berries of the size and colour of +small cherries. They were formerly imported to England, where +they were used for waistcoat buttons. If pounded and thrown into +water, it is said they cause the death of all the fish therein. +These berries answer the purpose of soap in washing linen, (from +whence they attain their name,) and are recommended as a specific +for the disease of yaws in poultry. + +There are a great variety of peas in Antigua, but none of them of +the delicate flavour of those usually cultivated in England. The +principal sorts are the pigeon pea, the black-eyed pea, and the +white bean, or Barbados pea. The general use made of these +vegetables is to boil them in soup, which forms a grand dish in +negro cookery; they are used either in their dry or green state. + +Ginger is a genus of the monogynia order, class monandria. There +are ten species, each natives of tropical climates; the common +ginger, or _amomum zingiber,_ is the one most known in Antigua. +The flower-stalks rise by the side of the leaves, (which are of a +light green, and very narrow,) directly from the root; they are +scaly, and from every joint issues a single blue flower, +five-leaved, and shaped like the iris. The ovary afterwards +becomes a triangular fruit, the seed being contained in three +cells. The use of the dried root is too well known in England to +descant upon the virtues of it; the green root is preserved in +sugar, and forms a much admired sweetmeat. + +Pine apple, _ananas,_ is the queen of Antiguan fruits. There are +two varieties, the "black pine," and the "white pine;" of these +the first mentioned is the most esteemed. The flavour of the pine +is exquisite, not to be _described,_ but _eaten_ to have its +excellences fully appreciated; it forms, indeed, a perfect +ambrosia not to be surpassed by that of _Mount Olympus._ + +Water Melon, or _anguria,_ a genus of the diandria order, class +monoecia. The calyx is quinquefid, and the flower +quinquepetalous. The fruit belies not its name, abounding in a +sweet water; it is three-celled, and contains numerous flat +seeds; the scent is very fragrant. There are three kinds of melon +in Antigua, all of which are esteemed for their cooling +qualities. + +Of the capreolated plants, the gourd (_cucurbita_) is the most +common in the island. The flower consists of one leaf, an +expanded campiform, but so deeply divided that it appears upon +first view to be five distinct segments. The germen becomes an +oblong, bottle-shaped fruit, divided into six cells, containing +flat, oblong seeds. The bitter flavour of the gourd is extreme; +but both the fruit and leaves are said to be of great efficacy in +some diseases of the viscera. + +Among the acroydra tribe, the principal found in Antigua is the +Ground Nut, _arachis hypogæa_. It is a genus of the decandria +order, class polyadelphia. The flowers are papilionaceous, and +the leaves of a light green; the nut, which grows from the root, +is not dug until the plant withers. It is roasted before eaten; +the kernel, which is twofold; is very sweet, and forms an +important article of traffic to the petty hucksters. + + + + + CHAPTER LIII. + + + + Government--Governor-in-Chief--Council--Assembly--Government + officers--Judicial officers--Ecclesiastical establishments-- + Schools--Fortifications and military defences--Revenue--Exports + and imports--Population returns. + +Antigua is the usual residence of the captain-general and +governor-in-chief of the Leeward Islands; and in his absence, the +oldest member of council, who is styled president, acts as his +deputy. But in case of the death of the governor, or his removal +from the office, according to a recent arrangement, the +lieutenant-governor of St. Kitt's takes up his residence at +Antigua, and officiates as governor until a fresh appointment is +made. + +The colonial government of Antigua is confided to the +governor-in-chief of the Leeward Islands--a council, nominated by +the governor, and confirmed by the crown--and a house of +assembly, consisting of twenty-five members, representing the +capital town of St. John's, and the twelve divisions, which the +six parishes of the island compose, elected by the freeholders. +The council act in two capacities--the one as the advisers of the +governor in the administration of the executive branch of +government; the other, as an upper house in the legislative +assembly. + +As the appointed advisers and assistants of the governor, his +"privy council," as they are termed, when acting in that +capacity, the members of the council enjoy the title of +"honourable;" and their concurrence, or that of three of their +body, is required to most of the acts of the governor in his +executive capacity. Their appointment, sometimes, is immediate +from the crown, though the governor may, in case of a vacancy, +appoint _ad interim,_ until a confirmation, which is seldom +withheld, is obtained. Leave of absence from the colony may be +granted to a member of the council, by the governor, or his +_locum tenens,_ for six months, which may be extended by the +crown to two years; but by a longer absence, a member incurs the +forfeiture of his office. The governor, moreover, has the power +to suspend any member of the council from the exercise of his +office, until such time as the pleasure of the sovereign may be +made known. + +In their legislative capacity, the council assume to themselves, +with regard to the members of assembly, as nearly as may be, the +relation of the House of Lords to that of the Commons in England. +Their officers are, a clerk and marshal, the former being the +first colonial secretary, and often assuming the functions of the +usher of the black rod. The senior member presides, under the +title of president. They deliberate in private, excluding +strangers, and enjoy the same freedom of debate as do the house +of assembly, as the English parliament. + +The house of assembly, assimilating itself, as it does, as +closely as possible, to the usages of the English House of +Commons, needs no further particular notice. + +The governor, however, discharges two important functions, which +are usually exercised by separate individuals. He acts as +chancellor, or rather, as commissioner of the great seal, and, as +such, presides in the court of equity; and up to the present +time, he has also exercised all the functions of an ordinary, +though, we believe, in practice, seldom going beyond granting +licences for marriages, and admitting the probate of wills--acts +for which he is not allowed to grant deputations; but this +interference in matters of ecclesiastical jurisdiction may +probably soon be dispensed with. + +The chief officers of the island are-- + +1. The _Governor,_ who receives a salary of 3000l. sterling from +the British government, besides certain fees of office--as, on +administering oaths on admission to certain public offices; on +granting letters of administration, probate of wills, marriage +licences, signature and great seal to writs of execution, letters +of guardianship; on every motion made in the Court of Chancery, +and on various other occasions; but the fees on granting leave of +absence to a member of the council, or commissions to public +offices, are usually the exclusive perquisites of his +excellency's private secretary. + +2. _Public Secretary._--His income, arising from fees, is said to +equal, if not exceed, that of the governor. + +3. _Treasurer._--Receives from 800l. to 400l. per annum, and 2½ +per cent. on all taxes and other moneys received; and also the +same on all moneys paid away. He is required to give security on +this appointment, from the governor, to the amount of 10,000l. +currency. + +4. _Master in Chancery._--His income varies with the amount of +business occurring. His fees are, 15s. 2d. for every hour, with +other charges in proportion, when accounts are passing before +him. + +5. _The Registrar of Deeds_ was formerly paid in sugar; but now, +for every ninety-six words recorded in his office, he receives +2s., and the same sum for every year in which a search is made +for any particular deed in his records. The returns of this +office, as of the two preceding, being wholly dependent on fees, +it is not easy to estimate their average amount. + +6. The _Provost Marshal_ receives a fixed salary of 600l., which +is paid from fees, out of which the gaoler also receives a salary +of 160l. All incidental expenses attendant on these two offices +are also discharged from the same fund; and there is always a +surplus remaining, which is placed at the disposal of the +governor. + +7. The _Harbour Master_ receives 50l. per annum currency for +boat-hire, and a fee, varying from 4s. 6d. to 22s. 6d., on +certain vessels coming into the harbour, according to tonnage, +from 30 tons to 300, and upwards. This officer seems less +adequately provided for than any other, considering the attention +required, and the responsibility attendant on his office. + +8. The _Postmaster,_ who is paid by the home government, receives +80l. sterling per annum. + +The judicial officers connected with the colony are numerous, +considered with respect to the population; but as none, with the +exception of the chief judge, receive pecuniary remuneration, and +he only 300l. sterling,[72] and from fees, the appointments, +although high-sounding, are, with this exception, only honorary, +and almost parallel with that of the unpaid, though not less +useful, magistracy of England. The appointments are as follow:--A +chief judge; four assistant justices; a chief baron of the +exchequer; judge of the vice-admiralty court; registrar of the +vice-admiralty court; two masters examiners of chancery; +registrar in chancery; provost marshal, advocate, and +attorney-general; procurator and solicitor-general; three king's +counsel and a coroner, (the latter receiving 300l. per annum +sterling from the colony.) The office of coroner is filled by Sir +Robert Horsford, the attorney-general. To these must be added two +stipendiary magistrates, appointed under the provisions of the +act for the abolition of slavery, and paid by the home +government. + +The ecclesiastical establishment now comprises a bishop, +receiving 2000l.; an archdeacon, receiving 500l. sterling from +the British government; the rector of the parish of St. John, +receiving, with a curate, 330l. from the colony; the rector of +the parish of St. George, who receives a stipend of 230l. +sterling; the rector of the parish of St. Paul's, who receives +250l. sterling; the rector of the parish of St. Peter's, who +receives 300l. sterling; and the rector of the parish of St. +Philip's, who receives a stipend of 275l. sterling. + +The stipends are raised by rates on the several parishes; and in +addition to these, the clergy receive the usual surplice fees. + +There are several day and night schools belonging to the +Established Church--viz., + +St John's--one boys' and one girls'; two infant-schools at the +Rectory; on Manning's Estate, Cedar Valley, Marble Hill, St. +James's, St. Luke's, African Hospital; three evening-schools in +St. John's, and four Sunday-schools, besides at the various +parishes in the island. The instruction which is generally given +is reading and repeating the scriptures and church catechism, and +also certain lessons and hymns. The number of children instructed +by the clergy may be reckoned at about 2300. + +There are twelve churches, including four chapels of ease. One of +these chapels of ease is the private property of the Honourable +and Reverend Nath. Gilbert, the descendant of the founder of +Methodism in this country, which contains 400 sittings. + Sittings. + St. John's church contains 1600 + St. George's 600 + St. Peter's, (town of Parham,) old church 300 + St. Philip's, (near Willoughby Bay) 433 + St. Paul's, (Falmouth) 400 + St. Mary's, (Old Road) 250 + St. John's parish has three chapels of ease--one + at Popehead, called St. James's 420 + Bendall's Bridge, St. Luke's 400 + And one in town 150 + St. Peter's, one chapel of ease, (private property + of Nath. Gilbert) 400 + St. Philip's 260 + St. Paul's, (a temporary chapel at English + Harbour) 350 + St. Mary's, (in Ffryes Valley) 250 + +There is also a temporary chapel at the common gaol, which may be +supposed to contain 150 sittings. The Rev. Robert Holberton +volunteered, in the early part of 1829, to deliver a religious +discourse every Sunday morning, between the hours of seven and +eight o'clock, and has not grown weary in this laudable cause. He +attends the prison at all times when serious consolations are +required, and more particularly those who may have to suffer +death by paying the penalty of the law. + + Account of Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials. + + Baptisms. Marriages. Burials. + + 1836 Parish of St. John's 310 112 150 + St. George's 74 38 36 + St. Peter's 116 52 24 + St. Paul's 74 47 39 + St. Mary's 60 40 14 + St. Philip's 122 40 19 + + Total 756 329 282 + + 1837 Church 662 246 393 + 1838 " 528 316 313 + 1839 " 723 468 420 + + 1837 Wesleyan Society 96 0 112 + 1838 " 108 0 114 + 1839 " 95 0 85 + + 1837 Moravians 383 0 318 + 1838 " 249 0 256 + 1839 " 265 0 254 + +The Wesleyan society has several Sunday-schools, also day +scholars, exclusive of night-schools, which may be reckoned as +follows:--From the "Ladies' Society," and the "Wesleyan +Missionary," conducted by voluntary contributions:-- + Scholars. Teachers. + Sunday-school 1782 155 + Day-school 962 19 + The Moravian Mission has 1115 0 + Besides infant children, whose number may + be estimated at about 1800 0 + The members of their church may be + estimated at about 9000. + +Fortifications.--There are seven forts--namely, + Sterling. + Fort James, which costs the country for captain's + salary 150l. 0s. + Fort George 112l. 10s. + Fort Johnson's Point 60l. 0s. + Fort Byam 50l. 0s. + Old Road 59l. 12s. + Goat Hill Battery 60l. 0s. + Rat Island 60l. 0s. + +The amount expended for the military defence of this country, +sustained by the colony exclusively, not under the control of the +ordnance department, amounts to near 2500l. sterling; and that +incurred by Great Britain in this time of peace is sometimes over +24,000l. sterling. Some years it may be 1000l. or so under, and +particularly now the island has no militia, as it ceased to exist +in July, 1838, by order of her Majesty in council. + +Revenue.--The comparatively yearly revenue may be estimated at +about 19,000l. sterling. The expenditure is generally more, which +is raised by ¼d. assessed upon all lands; 1d. on every 100 lbs. +of sugar; 3d. on every 100 gallons of rum and molasses; a +street-tax, and a per centage upon all dwelling-houses or +merchant-warehouses, according to the exigencies of the case; +also a cistern-tax upon all dwelling-houses of the annual rent of +60l., not having a cistern on or belonging thereto; (while this +is a very necessary precaution in cases of fire, it brings in a +very good revenue;) an import duty imposed by the British +parliament on all American importations, (part of this only is +paid into the island treasury, as a per centage is first detained +by the collector of her Majesty's customs for defraying the +expenses of officers' salaries; however, the surplus paid into +the treasury may be computed at 9000l. currency annually, but has +at times amounted to 16,000l.;) also another import duty, levied +by our colonial legislature on all goods imported not coming +under the act of the imperial parliament, but such as upon all +British or other articles of foreign manufacture may not be +considered dutyable, in that case, 2l. 10s. upon every 100l. is +paid; also an annual sum is paid by every retailer of spirituous +liquors, wines, and beer; and a customs duty on wine imported, +(except it be brought from Madeira and the Western Islands. + + Amount of Export in the Year 1770. + + £. s. d. + To Great Britain 430,210 0 0 + To North America, United States, and the + West India Islands 35,806 17 6 + £466,016 17 6 + + Amount of Export, in the Year 1787. + + To Great Britain, North America, the West + India Islands, United States, and Foreign + Ports, consisted of 284,526 casks of + sugar, 716,545 gallons of rum, 5910 + gallons of molasses, 160,510 pounds of + cotton, 4l. sterling worth of dyeing + woods, and 48,000l. worth of other + miscellaneous articles, which together + amounted to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £592,596 9 0 + + Shipping Inwards, 1831. + + No. of No. of + Vessels. Tons. Men + From Great Britain. 55 11783 634 + From North America. 50 4410 256 + From West Indies. 142 6997 730 + From United States. 58 6692 375 + From Foreign Ports. 80 2608 336 + Totals. 385 32,490 2331 + + Shipping Outwards, 1831. + + No. of No. of + Vessels. Tons. Men + To Great Britain. 55 11498 628 + To North America. 39 3334 197 + To the West Indies. 191 10482 982 + To the United States. 31 3686 211 + To Foreign Ports. 91 3522 399 + Totals. 407 32,522 2417 + + Amount of Exports for 1831. + + £. s. d. + To Great Britain 228,612 0 0 + To North America 12,803 10 0 + To West Indies 37,766 19 6 + To United States 10,372 18 0 + To Foreign Ports 7,090 15 0 + £296,646 2 6 + + Shipping Inwards, 1840. + + Number of + Vessels. Tons. + From Great Britain 51 11,334 + From North America and the West Indies 254 10,968 + From the United States 79 11,657 + From Foreign Ports 158 3,650 + + Total Number of Men 2,925 + Total Number of Vessels 542 + Total Number of Tons 37,609 + + Shipping Outwards, 1840. + + Number of + Vessels. Tons. + To Great Britain 56 12,953 + To North America and the West Indies 251 10,297 + To the United States 26 3,844 + To Foreign Ports 142 10,781 + + Total Number of Men 3,133 + Total Number of Vessels 475 + Total Number of Tons 37,375 + + Amount of Exports, 1840. + + £. s. d. + To Great Britain 401,624 4 6 + To North America and the West Indies 328 0 0 + £401,952 4 6 + + Population. + + Number of Whites.Number of Coloured. Number of Negroes. + 1673 no account taken. no account taken. 500 + 1690 600 no account taken. + 1707 2892 no account taken. 12,892 + 1720 3672 19,186 + 1724 5200 19,800 + 1729 4088 22,611 + 1734 3772 24,408 + 1756 3412 31,428 + 1774 2590 37,808 + 1787 2590 1230 37,808 + 1788 no account taken. no account taken. 36,000 + 1805 3000 1300 36,000 + 1810 3000 37,000 + 1817 no account taken. no account taken. 32,249 + 1824 30,314 + 1827 29,839 + 1831 29,537 + + Census Taken in 1821. + + Area in Number of Number of Total Number of Number of Total + miles White White number of Coloured Coloured number of + square. Males. Females. Whites. Males. Females. Coloured. + St. John's 17,955 644 563 1207 1210 1623 2833 + St. Philip's 10,881 116 46 162 62 99 161 + St. George's 6000 56 35 91 24 44 68 + St. Mary's 14,190 81 43 124 65 94 159 + St. Peter's 8310 100 37 137 53 65 118 + St. Paul's 11,941 142 117 259 292 435 727 + 69,277 1139 841 1980 1706 2360 4066 + Number of + negroes in six + parishes, + 30,985. + +No census has been taken since 1821, but the population now may +be estimated at about the same. The greatest bulk is employed in +agriculture; the manufacture is sugar, rum, and molasses. The +island is supposed to contain 69,299 miles, or 108 square miles, +consequently the average population is estimated to the square +mile in this island to be about 343. + + + ------ + +[72] It most be remarked that this salary is not a determined +one. The judge receives it as a boon from the existing +legislature. His successor may, perhaps, only obtain the _honour_ +conferred by the appointment. + + + + + Supplemental Chapter. + + + +Since the foregoing pages have been written, many and great +events have occurred in Antigua. St. John's, the capital of the +island, has been raised to the dignity of a city, by the mandate +of her most gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, (as announced by +official letter of his excellency the governor-in-chief, Sir +Charles Augustus Fitzroy, K.H., dated 10th November, 1842;) the +church constituted a cathedral church and an episcopal see; and +our former worthy archdeacon has become the Right Rev. the Lord +Bishop of Antigua. The rector of St. John's, the Rev. R. +Holberton, has most deservedly been appointed archdeacon, (as +well as rector,) in the room of Dr. Davis, the present bishop. +The first ordination held in the island took place on Tuesday, +the 25th July, 1843. The governor-in-chief. Sir Charles Augustus +Fitzroy, has ably conducted the government, and made himself +universally and deservedly beloved and respected for his zeal and +strenuous exertions for the common good. His excellency first met +the council and assembly at the court house, on Thursday, the +21st of February, 1842, where he was received by a guard of +honour, (of part of the 81st regiment, then stationed in +Antigua.) After taking his seat in the council chamber, his +excellency delivered in person a most flattering inaugural speech +to the legislature; addresses were then returned by the council +and assembly, to each of which his excellency made most gracious +answers. Upon the breaking up of the meeting, his excellency +returned to government house, where he held a levee, (which was +numerously attended,) and received congratulatory addresses from +the clergymen of the church of England, the Moravian ministers, +the Wesleyan missionaries, and the members of the Presbyterian +association. + +The Scotch kirk has been nearly completed, and opened for divine +service; an able preacher from Scotland, the Rev. A. Brown, is +the officiating minister. Until the opening of the new church, +the court house was kindly lent to the members of this persuasion +to hold their Sunday service in; and where the Rev. Mr. Brown +poured forth a strain of pure, unaffected devotion, and delivered +a series of sermons, whose beauty lay not only in words, but in +the grand religious truths they inculcated. + +Agricultural societies have been formed, much to the interest of +that useful class of men, the agriculturists. In these societies, +prizes have been awarded to the following:-- + + To manager who makes the largest quantity of sugar per acre, on + average crop--a silver tea-pot, value 8l. + + To manager who makes best quality of sugar--a silver cup, value + 7l. + + To manager who makes the largest quantity of sugar per acre, + from second ratoons, being not less than five acres--a silver + ladle, value 4l. + + To manager who has been most successful with his stock during + the year--a silver knife, value 3l. + + To the overseer who shall produce the best plan of a + plantation, pay, boiling-house, and still-house books--a pair + of silver spoons, value 2l. + + To labourers who have worked the greatest number of days in the + year on one property--five prizes, from 10s. to two dollars + each, currency. + + To those parents who have the largest number of children + employed in agriculture--five prizes, from 10s. currency, to + two dollars each. + + To stock-keepers who have remained during the year, and have + been most successful with the stock--five prizes, from 10s. to + two dollars. + +A popular institution for intellectual improvement has also been +instituted at St. John's, in which several lectures have been +given upon various interesting subjects. + +On the 12th of June, 1842, a very bright and beautiful meteor +passed over the town of St. John's, in a direction from east to +west. Its form was globular; and as it passed rapidly along the +heavens, it emitted bright spiral flashes of fire, which gilded +the sky, and threw deep shadows upon the earth. During its +progress, it was attended by a rushing noise, sufficient to call +the attention of those who did not even notice its extreme +brilliancy. Possibly this meteor might have belonged to the class +termed _aerolites;_ many of such phenomena have appeared, from +time to time, in this quarter of the globe: one fell at Bahia, in +Brazil, which weighed 14,000 pounds, and another, (still +preserved in the British Museum,) which fell at Buenos Ayres, +weighed 1400 pounds. + +The next great event to be recorded, is the awful earthquake, +with which Antigua and many of the other Leeward Islands was +visited, on Wednesday, the 8th of February, 1843. About half-past +ten o'clock a. m., a low, hollow, rumbling sound arrested the +attention, and announced, in its own peculiar solemn tone, the +coming of an earthquake. Immediately after this awful warning, a +tremor of the earth was felt, which gradually increasing in +violence, led the frightened inhabitants to rush from their +houses, and seek safety in the open air. Heart-rending were the +screams, fervent and numerous were the calls for mercy, from the +assembled groups. The air was darkened with the dust from the +falling buildings, as well as from the sulphureous exhalations +which issued from the opening earth, and almost stopped +respiration. In Antigua, the extent of damage was immense. Out of +fourteen parish churches, (including the chapels of ease,) only +two remain uninjured. St. Paul's, situated at Falmouth, was +entirely destroyed; as also St. Stephen's chapel of ease, the +district church of All Saints, and the chapel schools of St. +Bartholomew's and St. Mark's, not long ago erected. The new +church of St. Peter's, which has been mentioned in these pages as +being in a state of progress at Parham, and which was expected to +be completed and opened for Divine service in 1843, was also much +rent and injured. The pretty parish church of St. Philip's was +cracked from top to bottom, and rendered unsafe, and the +school-house was levelled with the ground. St. James's chapel of +ease was severely injured, and the north and south wings fell. +The school-room at St. Barnaby's was rent in several places; and +at St. Stephen's a similar building was entirely levelled. The +school-room at Brecknocks was also rendered unsafe. There were +172 sugar-mills upon the island, most of which upon that eventful +morning had been "put in the wind," and were merrily going with +the breeze, crushing between their powerful machinery the golden +canes, and sending a rich stream of luscious juice through the +several pipes into the boiling-houses; of these thirty-five were +entirely levelled with the ground, eighty-two split from top to +bottom, and the remaining fifty-five almost all of them injured, +requiring numerous repairs. Among those most seriously injured +may be mentioned-- + + "Bellevue, Messrs. Shand's--down. + Renfew's--down. + Belmont's--down. + Bath Lodge, property of Walters--down. + Green Castle's, Sir Henry Martin's works and mansion--down. + Lower Freeman's--down. + Sir Geo. Thomas's works, and part of the mansion--down; the + manager was obliged to take up his quarters under a shed. + Little Duers--down. + Big Duers--down. + Ffrys--down. + Elliot's, part of sugar works--down. + Potter's--down. + La Roche's--down. + Baijer Otto Baijer's--down. + Mount Pleasant--down. + Rock Hill--down. + Delap's--down. + George Byam's--partly down. + Patterson's new steam-mill, and works--down. + Monterea's--down. + Paynter's--down. + Gunthorp's--down. + Claremont's, the seat of the Hon. W. E. Williams, untenantable, + and works of two estates--down. + Gambles, Admiral Tollemache's--down. + The Wood--down. + Fryar's Hill--down. + McKinnon's--down. + The newly erected sugar-works of Wm. Williams, Esq.--down. + &c. &c. &c." + +The city of St. John's suffered severely, and after the +earthquake, presented a most dismal appearance. About one-third +of the stores and dwellings were levelled with the ground; and +the remainder (with the exception of those buildings erected of +wood) so shattered and torn, that they were rendered +untenantable. Some of the houses were completely twisted round, +presenting an acute angle to the street, instead of their usual +position. The cranes at the water's edge were many of them lifted +out of the ground; and in several of the stores, streams of water +bubbled up through the interstices of the pavement. The +court-house, police-office, (formerly the old jail,) the arsenal, +the new jail and barracks, the registrar's office, treasurer's +office, governor's secretary's office, (recently erected,) +colonial bank, Antigua library-rooms, &c., were all of them rent +and torn, and several rendered unsafe. The cathedral of St. +John's was damaged to a great extent, the tower being rent from +top to bottom, the north dial of the clock precipitated to the +ground, and part of the east wall of the tower thrown upon the +roof of the church. The handsome altar-piece was entirely +destroyed; and many of the monuments which graced the walls of +the cathedral were hurled from their resting-places, and shivered +into atoms. Of these were the tombs of Lord Lavington, Warner, +Kelsick, Ottley, and Atkinson. The font was thrown off its +pedestal, seven of the large pipes in the front of the organ +knocked out, and much damage done to the interior of that +instrument. The whole of the south-east walls of the cathedral +were thrown into the churchyard, carrying with them some of the +ornamental ground-glass windows. The north-west walls fell in one +mass of ruins, while the north-east protruded beyond the +perpendicular. The north and south vestibules were almost blocked +up by the piles of massy stones and bricks. The churchyard also +presented a melancholy appearance, many of the tombs being rent +open, and split in various places. + +Before this awful event, it had been the intention of the vestry +to enter into a contract for raising the tower, and improving its +architectural adornments, as also to make some alteration in the +chancel. + +The school-room erected near the rectory of St. John's was also +very much dilapidated; and the national-school for girls was so +much injured as to require being taken down. + +The new Wesleyan Chapel was fearfully rent, and doubts were at +first entertained for the safety of the building; but upon a +mature deliberation, it was determined to repair it without +pulling it down; which has since been done. + +The nearly finished Scotch kirk met with a severe injury, its +walls being cracked in several places. + +The ministers of the established church in St. John's performed +service under a large tent, erected to the east of the Daily Meal +Society's buildings, and also in the Conversion Society's +school-room, and the African hospital. + +The Scotch and Wesleyan ministers were accommodated at the Mico +and Moravian school-room, or beneath a grove of trees, near to +the spot where Governor Parke met his fate; and for one day in +the week, at the Moravian Chapel. + +Almost every kitchen and oven in the island was destroyed; and +many of the capacious cisterns ruined. In some of them, the water +was so deeply impregnated with sulphur, or mixed with the fallen +mortar, as to be perfectly unusable. + +Oh! awful indeed was this fearful visitation of the Almighty! The +loftiest looks of men were humbled, and the stoutest hearts were +bowed down. Tremendous--terrible was the shock! The earth reeled +as if about to be over-thrown; and scarce could the strongest man +keep his footing. The island shook from its very centre; and in +many parts the ground opened, and emitted columns of noxious +sulphureous water. The sea felt the powerful hand of its Maker, +and rose several feet above its highest mark; while in some parts +it dashed up the streets to the distance of many yards. + +The excess of terror occasioned by this awful throe of Nature was +so great, that many individuals threw themselves over the wharfs, +and sought refuge in the treacherous waves. Still their fears +were not allayed; for the sea was so turbulent that they were +under the necessity of again seeking dry land to save themselves +from being engulfed in its yawning abyss. The legislature met at +government-house on the 13th, (the court-house being in an unsafe +condition,) by special command, to take into consideration the +best way of averting, as far as human endeavours could, the +direful results likely to accrue from the late calamity. A grant +of 500l. currency was placed at the disposal of a committee, for +the purpose of supporting the roof and plate of the cathedral, +and rendering it in some measure safe for divine worship. The +vestry met on the 24th March, under the tents, and among other +resolutions agreed to make a record of the event in the church +books. The dock-yard at English Harbour--the pride of the +Caribbee Islands--has suffered greatly; the excellent wharfs +racked and rent; in some places they sank down to the level of +the sea, in others, they were heaved up and down, like the +billows of the great deep; the massy stone and brick buildings +erected within the yard were nearly all of them injured; the +officers' quarters severely rent; the cordage stores, &c., +cracked from top to bottom; the fine capacious cisterns ruined. +The superintendent's office, &c., was also much impaired and +rent; and the stone platform which ran along the commissioners' +room moved out of its place, and the pavement beneath literally +wrested up. The guard-house and midshipmen's quarters were +greatly damaged, and the stone building near presented an awful +appearance, one side of it having sunk some depth into the +ground, while that part of the wharf contiguous to it was +fearfully rent. In the boat-house, the massy stone circular +pillars which supported the shed were very much cracked, and one +of them was separated from its pedestal and hurled to the ground. +The blacksmith's shop, paint stores, &c., were left but as +"tottering walls," while the long line of cliffs and stone walls +that topped the hill at the back of the yard were shivered in all +directions. St. Helena was also much injured, and the embattled +walls of Fort Berkley, at the mouth of the harbour, were +overthrown. The superintendent of the yard, Jos. Hart, Esq., +estimated the damage at about £20,000. In many parts of the yard +the ground looked as if ploughed up, while in others, deep and +broad fissures, strongly impregnated with sulphur, opened their +yawning mouths. It was, at first, asserted that the mouth of the +harbour had been obstructed by the fallen rocks; but upon a +careful survey, the water was found to be deeper, if anything, +than before the awful occurrence. At the Ridge, the terrible +effects of the earthquake were also felt. The stone stores and +barracks were either thrown down, or so severely rent that they +were unsafe, and the privates were accommodated under tents for +some time after. The small stone building, situated at the +extreme point of Shirley Heights, (erected for the accommodation +of the signal-man,) fell at the commencement of the shock, +burying beneath its ruins a baby of four months old, but which +was afterwards extricated and restored to its distressed parents +unhurt, with the exception of a trifling scratch. The town of +Falmouth presented but a mass of ruins--its church was levelled +with the ground, and the tombs in the churchyard rent open, as if +the last great day was come. The fortifications at Monk's-hill +were cracked and rent in many places; and near to the spot, a +huge rock was lifted up by the oscillations of the earth, from +the place where it had reposed for centuries, and hurled to the +opposite side of the road. + +Dows Hill, the country residence of the governor, suffered great +injury, and his excellency Sir C. A. Fitzroy lost furniture to +the amount of 1000l. sterling. De Witts, the seat of Sir Robert +Horsford, Knt., solicitor-general of Antigua, was nearly levelled +with the ground, and several other delightful country residences +partly destroyed. The lately established villages were nearly all +dismantled--their neat little stone cottages in ruins. Many of +the Moravian and Wesleyan settlements throughout the island have +suffered very much, as well as several of the forts. Rat Island +battery is also much damaged, as well as the new lunatic asylum +erected there. In many parts of the island, pools of water were +formed, where hitherto no appearance of moisture was to be found; +while in other places, established ponds were completely dried +up. + +The boats and ships in the harbour were fearfully affected. The +island could not be seen for the space of ten minutes, from the +dense cloud which arose from it. The hills which encircle the +harbour were fearfully shaken; and at that part known as +"Hatton's-hill" the effects were truly terrific. The whole of +this eminence, which rises rather conically, is rent into yawning +fissures to the extent of about eighteen or nineteen acres. This +spot had been appropriated to the negroes' provision ground; and +in one place, a portion of their well-cultivated gardens slipped +from the brow of the hill, and, still clothed with its vegetable +productions, half way filled up one of the chasms, (in breadth +from three to four feet,) cleft in the solid ground. Upon the +margin of the sea, another deep abyss presents itself. The solid +rock is rent asunder, in extent to about forty feet long, thirty +feet deep, and near seventy feet wide. That peculiarly shaped +rock known to mariners as "Ship's Stern," and which has proved +for so long a time a sure landmark to pilots, was shivered to +pieces; and McNish's mountain (the highest in the island) very +much rent and fissured. Several shocks were felt during the next +forty-eight hours, and the ground appeared to have a tremulous +motion for several weeks after. A proclamation was issued by his +excellency Sir Charles Augustus Fitzroy, setting apart Friday, +the 14th of February, a day of "public humiliation and +thanksgiving before God, in acknowledgment of his Divine power, +so fearfully and wonderfully displayed, as well as his mercy and +forbearance in sparing the island from utter destruction," which +was kept throughout Antigua. At Barbuda, the earthquake was also +severely felt--all the stone buildings, with the exception of a +small school-room, fell. + +Barbados, St. Vincents, Martinique, Dominica, and St. Thomas, +felt the shock but slightly. Guadaloupe was the greatest sufferer +of the group. One whole town. Point à Pitre, was entirely +destroyed, and upwards of 4000 souls perished, while about 600 +were severely wounded. A few days after the earthquake. Admiral +Gourbeyre, the governor of Guadaloupe, despatched the "Papillon" +man-of-war to Antigua to inquire into its state, and render all +the assistance possible. She brought the intelligence, that out +of the inhabitants of one entire street, only one individual (a +female) was saved alive. Soon after the earthquake, a fire broke +out, and consumed what the earthquake had spared. An American +master of a ship was taken into custody for secreting many +articles of value, (the property of the sufferers,) on board his +ship. His sentence would have been death; but on account of his +having been seen to render assistance to some of the poor +creatures who were partly buried beneath the fallen buildings, it +was mitigated, and he was condemned to serve on board the galley +for a certain term. + +At Monserrat, the effects of the earthquake were severely +experienced. Scarcely a house in the island that had the least +particle of brick-work about it was uninjured; and some were so +rent, that they were obliged to be pulled down. A great many of +the buildings on the sugar estates were levelled with the ground, +and otherwise severely injured. The fall of earth was so great +from the mountain, and the dust so thick, that it was at first +supposed to be a fresh eruption from the _Souffrière_, a volcanic +mountain. + +The following is an extract from a letter from a resident upon +the island:-- + +"I was about five hundred yards from the sulphur pit, opening an +old spring of fresh water; the earthquake commenced gradually-- +the oscillation slow. Though sensible it was an earthquake, I was +under no apprehension, till of a sudden I heard a dreadful noise. +On looking towards the mountain over the sulphur, it was +enveloped in one mass of smoke as I thought. It was then time to +move my quarters, but I was thrown upon my back by the violent +motion. The path that I returned I observed cracking; I called to +the man to be cautious--it was giving way--he came instantly +forward, saying it was well we got over as we did, for the path +was fallen in. The mountain, to the extent of a mile, is rent in +various places. A man this moment has returned from the sulphur, +stating that the crater is open, but does not perceive any +greater appearance of smoke from it than usual." + +We passed Monserrat three days after the earthquake. From the +deck of the steamer we could perceive that large slips from the +mountains were still falling; and every now and then a cloud of +dust arose. + +St. Christopher's also suffered very severely, the damage done +being immense. The stone dwellings and stores in Basseterre, the +capital of the island, fearfully shook and rent,--some of the +finest, but a mass of ruins, and others rendered unsafe. The +north and south vestibules of the parochial church of St. George +were severely injured, as well as the walls of the main building, +which in some places were rent from top to bottom. The clock +stopped at half-past ten, the time the earthquake commenced; many +of the mural monuments which adorned the interior of the church +were also destroyed. The Female Benevolent Institution was much +damaged, and the West Indian Bank rent and split. The +reading-rooms also suffered, the south gable having fallen into +the street beneath. One large dwelling, situated in the square, +and known as "Wall House," fell a complete prey to the violence +of the rockings. The entire side walls fell down, which striking +upon a horse-stable beneath, buried the unfortunate animals in +the ruins. Some of the private dwelling-houses were completely +gutted, nothing remaining of them but the exterior walls. The +gaol was so shattered, that the prisoners had to be removed, and +accommodated for the night in the hospital adjoining. The square +was crowded with a concourse of persons of every age, sex, and +condition--pride, rank, power, were alike forgotten--as upon +bended knees, or with clasped hands and pallid lips, they invoked +the aid of that Great Being "_who rideth upon the wings of the +wind,_" and at whose rebuke "_the earth shook and trembled, and +the foundation also of the hills moved, and were shaken._" + +The estates in the country suffered greatly; steam-engines, +windmills, boiling-houses, proprietors' dwellings, &c., the +labour of many years, were in one moment levelled with the +ground. The works and dwelling-house at Bevan Island, (in the +parish of St John's,) situated upon a cliff, were lifted from +their foundations, and hurled into the ravine below. St. Peter's +church was also greatly injured, as well as the Moravian church +at Cayon. Upon one estate, report said, that three negro-houses +sank into the earth; and in the vicinity, the ground opened, and +a pool of water, of a particularly white and clear quality, was +formed. In the neighbourhood of Sandy Point, at an estate +belonging to the Payne family, the earth also opened, and vomited +forth from its secret depths fumes of sulphureous vapour. Fort +George, at Brimstone Hill, has felt the shock in a serious +manner; while the mountain itself is, in many places, despoiled +of its beauty, from the land-slips which have taken place. From +Mount Misery, the highest point of the island, a long spiral +cloud of white smoke was seen to ascend during the time of the +earthquake; and the sulphureous spring situated in its centre is +said to have overflowed its bounds. + +At Johnstone's, or French River, a melancholy catastrophe +occurred. It is a spot chosen by the washerwomen of Basseterre as +the scene of their necessary avocations; and upon the eventful +morning of the earthquake, about ten of these females were busily +employed in washing, in a natural basin, (formed by huge rocks,) +at the moment of the shock taking place. Seven of these women +fortunately escaped by flight; but the three, who were exactly +underneath the cliff, met a more melancholy fate. At the +commencement of the awful commotion, an immense rock parted from +this cliff, and fell into the stream below. The affrighted +females fled from the scene of danger; but, alas! the increased +oscillations of the earth caused it to rebound with fearful +velocity, and striking against a larger rock, it split into three +or four pieces, and thus dealt destruction to each of the poor +panic-stricken women! From some parts of St. Christopher's, the +Dutch island of St. Eustatia was seen to tremble like an +aspen-leaf. Nevis also felt the dire commotion; the streets of +the capital presented but one mass of ruins. The bath-house, an +immense pile of the strongest masonry, was split and rent in +every direction, and some of the massive stones riven in two. The +court-house was greatly injured--many of the finest of the stores +and dwelling-houses levelled, and the busy marts become mere +heaps of rubbish. In many parts of the island, the earth was rent +open to the extent of several inches--cliffs toppled down-- +columns of water were thrown up, and pools formed, where, prior +to the awful visitation, nothing of the kind was to be perceived. +Many of the estates also suffered great devastations; and some of +the inhabitants left their tottering houses, and took shelter +beneath sheds and outhouses. + +It is impossible to describe the appearance presented in these +different islands; indeed, it baffles all description. The scene +cannot be painted, and language fails to impart the terror and +alarm which prevailed. It was a beautiful day throughout the +archipelago--the sun was abroad in all its glory, shedding a +fervid ray over every object, and gilding the waters of the blue +Caribbean, which lay quietly smiling beneath its influence. The +breeze was as soft as an infant's sigh, and the wide canopy of +heaven was spread aloft in all its beauty. Little then did + + "Coming events cast their shadows before them." + +A few minutes more, and darkness brooded over the land; and then, +as it cleared away, the devastations presented themselves to the +wondering gaze, and caused the strongest mind to quail! Yet, who +could repine? for how signal was the mercy of God, who, amid all +the dire convulsions, spared the lives of so many of his +trembling creatures! + +At the Savannah, besides many other places in the Union, the +shock, which extended north as far as New York, was felt. + +On the 8th February, the day of the great earthquake, the waters +of the river Tiber, which washes the city of Rome, rose suddenly +to such an immense height, as to inundate the houses to the first +story. In Portugal, about the same time, loud subterranean +thunder was heard; and soon after, the earth opened, and sent up +large volumes of water, which overflowed the country for some +miles. In the course of the following month, (March,) shocks of +earthquake were felt in several places, from Liverpool and London +north, as far as Van Dieman's Land south. In Jamaica, several +smart shocks were experienced, which caused great excitement, and +a day of public fast and humiliation was set apart by the +government. The Grand Cayman (one of the three islands called +Caymanas, lying between Jamaica and Cuba) has disappeared. This +group of islands is inhabited principally by the descendants of +the old buccaneers, who used to frequent these seas in former +years, and negro turtle-fishers. They take their name from being +a resort for the _cayman,_ or alligator, who frequent these +shores for the purpose of depositing their eggs in the sand. +Trinidad has also been visited by several shocks of earthquake. + +These several instances shew how very general these awful +convulsions have been within the space of a few weeks; and prove +to us (setting aside superstitious notions) that we ought +seriously to consider "the signs of the times." Great fears were +expressed by many of the credulous in America, upon feeling, or +hearing of the earthquake; as on 1st January, the same year, a +proclamation had been issued, by an American Millerite, in the +following alarming words:-- + +"Great Earthquake!--To all the people far and near, to dreadful +warning give ear. Jan. 11, 1183, there will be a great +earthquake; three shocks in succession in all the whole world. +Let all the people believe, and tremble before God; for the time +will come when the saints will possess the kingdom. Jan. 31, +1843, the door of mercy will be shut against the whole world.-- +Now, my dear friends, I would advise you to flee for mercy, while +the door of mercy is open. The Spirit of God testifies these +things which are coming on the earth." + +As soon as the events of this distressing earthquake became known +in the sister colonies, meetings were held by the legislature, to +take into consideration the best means of alleviating the wants +and distresses of the Antiguan and other sufferers. Barbados was +the first island which despatched a grant for the relief of the +sufferers in the several islands. Trinidad granted 1000l. +sterling; St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Jamaica, the Bahamas, &c., +joined in their benevolence. + +The subject of the great earthquake, and the loss met with by +Antigua, was brought before the House of Commons on the 14th of +March, 1843, by W. A. Mackinnon, Esq., M.P. for Lymington. A +meeting was held in London on the 11th of March, for the purpose +of taking measures for the relief of the sufferers in Antigua. +The agent for the island, Dr. Nugent, presided at the meeting, at +which also the bishop, Dr. Davis, was present, and was requested +by the meeting to attend Dr. Nugent in his interview with the +principal secretary of state for the colonies, for the purpose of +soliciting aid from government. + +Extensive subscriptions have been entered into at London and +Liverpool,[73] &c. Her most gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, +Prince Albert, the Duchess of Kent, and that exemplary and +benevolent lady the Dowager Queen of England, with many of the +nobility and commoners of England, have all most kindly and +liberally bestowed that aid, so truly wanted by the distressed +colonists. + +It must be remarked, that the sufferers by this most awful and +unprecedented occurrence are not to be found among the humbler +grades of life, but in most instances are those who move in the +higher and middle classes--individuals who are, generally +speaking, endued with keener sensibilities, and who will thus +feel more the change which, no doubt, will reduce many of them +from comparative luxury to extreme want, unless most effectual +aid be rendered to them. + +Soon after the earthquake, the Royal Mail Steam-packet Company's +ship Actæon was dispatched from St. Thomas's, to learn the fate +of the colonies. + +The "Thames," the Royal Mail Steam-packet Company's ship, Capt. +Haste, was passing Antigua at the moment of the shock. Capt. +Haste says, "The Thames was brought up as if on a reef of rocks, +to his own dismay, and the dismay of all on board, and continued +for a short period to jump and kick as if beating on rocks." + +The shock was felt severely at sea. "The brig British Queen, +Capt. Kennedy, from Whitehaven, lat. 17° 3' north, long. 58° 45', +ship going six knots, felt a severe shock of earthquake, which +stopped her way when 160 miles due east of the island, on the +8th, which lasted about four minutes." A French brig coming to +St. Thomas's, "off Tortola, felt the shock so severely, he (the +captain) thought that the vessel had struck on a rock." + +Soon after the earthquake. Admiral Sir Charles Adams arrived at +Antigua, in order to inspect the dock-yard. Before the +earthquake, the barometer was noticed to vary from 30° to +one-tenth higher; and on the 8th of February it stood at 30·2 in. + +The next event of importance was the appearance in the heavens of +a most beautiful comet. The first time this beauteous stranger +was observed in Antigua, was on the 3rd of March, 1843. Its first +appearance was like a scarf of clear white, shooting up from the +horizon, and forming an arch of about 30°. The nucleus not being +above the horizon, this phenomenon was supposed to be similar to +the _aurora-borealis;_ but as it gradually ascended the heavens, +this idea was dissipated, and it was clearly seen to be a comet. +Upon the evening it was first observed, a very splendid meteor +passed over the town. Admiral Sir Charles Adams, on his way from +Port Henderson to Spanish Town, Jamaica, observed this wondrous +traveller, and made the following observations upon it, on board +her Majesty's ship "Illustrious:"-- + +"March 4th, 1843. About fifty minutes after sunset, observed a +strong ray of light in the west-by-south quarter, supposed to be +a zodiacal light. + +"March 5th. The same seen. + +"March 6th. It proved to be a comet, the tail subtending an angle +of 37° 14". + +"March 7th. At forty minutes past seven, p. m., angular distance +from Sirius 83° 50", length of tail 34° 28" + +"March 8th, At forty-seven minutes past seven p. m., angular +distance from Sirius 80° 19'; length of tail 29° 54" + +"March 9th. Cloudy. + +"March 10th. At fifty-four minutes past seven, p. m., angular +distance from Sirius, 74° 48' 20"; length of tail, 24° 16'. + +"March 11th. The same was seen,--much less brilliant." + +The appearance of this eccentric body caused great excitement, +occurring as it did so recently after the earthquake. When first +perceived, it was supposed by many to be a lunar rainbow; but its +steady movements and long continuance soon dispelled this idea. +At times the stars could be distinguished through it, while at +other periods they were hidden from observation. This comet, it +appears, was discovered by Mr. Glaisher, of the Cambridge +Observatory, as far back as the 28th of October, 1842. When +discovered, "its north declination was nearly 69°, with right +ascension of 16h. 40m. Now (Dec. 3) it has south declination of +34°, and right ascension of 19h. 16m. From the immense rapidity +of its motion as it approaches its perihelion, it is probable +that it is a comet of very long period. It seems this comet is +not identical with the Chinese one of 1301, but coincides with +the comet of Halley." This is Mr. Glaisher's own statement of the +appearance of this wonderful heavenly body. + +On Good Friday, being the 14th April, 1843, the cathedral of St. +John's was re-opened for public worship, after being temporarily +repaired for that purpose. An appropriate and impressive sermon +was preached by the archdeacon, to a numerous congregation. All +the other places of worship were crowded with attentive hearers. +About eight o'clock in the evening, a sharp shock of earthquake +was felt, which caused many of the inhabitants to rush from their +houses, or from the respective chapels they had congregated in. +Providentially, it did not continue long, and no accident +happened; but from the recent awful convulsion of a similar +nature, it was a moment of extreme terror to many. + +During the month of April, 1843, another comet made its +appearance. This coincides strangely with events of the year +1690, the period of the great earthquake in Antigua, which +devastated great part of the town of St. John's, and rent +"Hatton's Hill," and which was followed by the appearance of two +comets. + +Up to the time of this work going to press, more than 35,000l. +currency have been received from the British West Indian +Colonies, and subscriptions raised in England, for the relief of +the sufferers in the late awful earthquake. Since that dreadful +occurrence, agricultural wages have risen from 4s. to 8s. +currency per diem; and great complaints are made by the planters +for not being able to obtain a sufficient number of labourers to +carry on with expediency the culture of the sugar-cane. + + + ------ + +[73] Francis Shand, Esq., gave 100l. + + Appendix. + + + + + No. 1. + + + +_Copy of the First Commission which was ever granted for the +Government of Barbados and the Leeward Islands._ + +Whereas We have byn crediblie informed by our well-beloved +subject Raphe Merifeild of London, Gentleman, for and on the +behalf of our well-beloved subject Thomas Warner, Gent. That the +said Thomas Warner hath lately descovered fower several Islands +in mayne ocean toward the Continent of America, the one called +the Island of St. Christopher's, alias Merwar's Hope; one other +the Isle of _Mevis;_ one other the Isle of Barbados; and one +other the Isle of Monserate, which said Islandes are possessed +and inhabited only by Savage and Heathen people, and are not, nor +at the tyme of the descovery were in the possession, or under the +gouernment of any Christian Prince, State, or Potentate. And +thereupon, the said Thomas Warner beinge sett forth and supplyed +by the said Raphe Merefeild for that purpose made entrie into the +said Islandes for & on the behalfe of our deare ffather and hath +sithence with the consent and good likinge of the natives made +some good beginninge of a plantation & Colony, and likewise of an +hopefull trade there, and hath caused diverse of our subjects of +this our Realme to remove themselves to the said Islandes, with +purpose to proceede in so hopefull a worke. Know ye therefore, +That we in consideration of the premisses and to the intent that +the said Raphe Merifeild and Thomas Warner may be encouraged and +the better enabled with the more ample countenance and authority +to effect the same, doe by these presents take as well the same +Islandes as all the inhabitants there and alsoe the same Thomas +Warner and other our lovinge subjects under his commande or +government resident on the said Islandes or any of them, and all +lands good or other thinges within the said Islandes or any other +neighbour Islandes to them, or any of them adjoining already by +the said Thomas Warner or his company inhabited or possessed, or +hereafter to be inhabited or possessed, not beinge in the +possession or governement of any other Christian Prince, State or +Potentate, into our Royal protection. And of our especiall grace, +certeyne knoledge, and meree motion have given and granted and by +these presents doe give and grant unto the said Thomas Warner, +duringe our pleasure the custodie of the aforesaid Islandes, and +of everie of them together with full power and authority for us & +in our name & as our Leuitenant to order and despose of any +landes or other thinges within the said Islandes, and to governe, +rule and order all and singular persons which nowe are ore +hereafter shall bee abydinge in the said Islandes or any of them, +as well our natural borne subjects, as the natives and Savages of +the said Islandes and all other that shall happen to be or abyde +there by such good & reasonable orders, articles and ordinances +as were heretofore made and agreed upon betweene them the said +Raphe Merifeild & Thomas Warner or such other good & reasonable +orders & ordinances as shall be most requisite and needfull at +the discretion of him the said Thomas Warner. And all such as +shall disobey, chastise, correct and punish accordinge to their +faults and demeritts. And alsoe with force and stronge hande to +represse and anoye all such as shall in hostile manner attempte +or goe about to encounter the said Thomas Warner or his Company, +or to possess or invade the said Islandes or any of them, or to +ympeache our possession thereof, or to hurt or to annoy him or +our subjects there beinge or any others which hereafter shall goe +or transporte themselves to the said Islandes or any of them. And +generally to doe all such acts, as shall or may tend to the +Establishment of our Government settling a Colony or plantation +advance any trade or commerce there which they the said Raphe +Merefeild & Thomas Warner or either of them shall find mete or +beneficial for us or our Kingdom or subjects straightly +chargeinge and commandinge all manner of persons which now are or +hereafter shall be abydinge in the said Islandes or any of them, +that they be obidient, ayding and assisting to the said Thomas +Warner, in all thinges as to our Leiutenant. And foreasmuch as +the said Raphe Merifeild hath at his owne charges not only +furnished and set forth the said Thomas Warner in the preemisses, +but alsoe byn the means of transportinge our well beloved John +Jeffreson gentleman, & many other our subjects hither and hath +byn the especial furtherer of that whole designe. We doe by these +present give and grant to the said Raphe Merifeild and to his +partners, deputies, factors, servants and assignes, full power +and authority freely to trade and traffique to and from the said +Island for all manner of goods, merchandizes & commodities +whatsoever payinge the customs and other dutyes therefore due. +And alsoe to transporte, send and convey unto the said Islandes +and plantations or any of them, for the mayntenance & +strengtheninge of the same all and everie such our lovinge +subjects as already are or hereafter shall be willing or +desirouse voluntary to enter into, be sent, transported or goe +unto the said Islandes & plantation aforesaid upon with and under +such covenant contract and agreement as betweene them are or +shall be made and agreed upon and to defende themselves in the +same by all lawfull wayes and meanes and generally to doe and +performe all such acts as shall or may tende to the establishment +of our said Government settling a Colony or Plantation uppon the +said Islandes or any of them and the advancement of any trade or +commerce there with the said Thomas Warner and his Company uppon +the said Islandes or any of them without lett disturbance or +interruption of any person or persons beinge our naturall borne +subjects, denizens or strangers. And our further will and +pleasure is, that in case the said Thomas Warner be at this +present dead, or hereafter shall die, our Leiutenant as +aforesaid, then and in that case, we doe hereby authorise and +appoint the said John Jeffreson if he shall be then livinge, in +his room and place. And We, doe hereby give and grant unto him +the like power, authority and prehemience during our pleasure as +is before by these presents lymitted, meant or mentioned to the +said Thomas Warner, and if in case the said John Jeffreson be at +this present dead, or hereafter shall die our Leiutenant as +aforesaid then our English subjects being or which shall be +resident in the said Islandes shall and may elect some other able +and fitte person there resident, to be our Leuitenant whoe by +virtue of these presents shall have the alike power, authority +and preheemience during our pleasure, as is before lymitted +meante or intended to the said Thomas Warner and soe from tyme to +tyme upon the decease of the Leiutenant, the English subjects +there residing shall and may elect a new Leiutenant whoe shall +have the like privilege authority and prehemience during our +pleasure as is above mentioned. In Witness whereof. We have +caused these our Letters to be Patents. + +Witness ourselvese at Southampton, the thirteenth day of +September, in first yeare of our Reigne 1625 + +Per ipsum Regum + +Dupl: + +Great Seal of England + +Wynn and Wolseley. + + + + + No. 2. + + + + GENEALOGY OF THE WARNER FAMILY. + +William Warner, of Framlington, co. of Suffolk, Esq., the +representative of an ancient and distinguished family in that +county, m. Margaret, dau. of Geo. Jermingham, co. Suffolk, Esq., +by whom (among other issue) he left a son, + +Sir Thomas Warner, first English governor, and colonizer of many +of the West India Islands, and who, for his energetic exertions +in extending his majesty's dominions in the American seas, was +graciously complimented, and had the honours of knighthood +conferred upon him by his sovereign, Charles I., at Hampton Court +Palace, 21 Sept. 1629. Sir Thomas m. 1st, Sarah, dau. of Walter +Snelling, of Dorchester, Esq.; and 2ndly, Rebecca, dau. of Thomas +Payne, co. Surrey, Esq. By his first marriage. Sir Thomas had +issue, + 1. Edward. + 2. Mary, buried at Putney, co. Surrey, 29 Dec. 1635. + +By his second wife Sir Thomas had + 3. Philip. + +Sir Thomas Warner, dying in 1648, was succeeded in his estates by +his eldest son, + +Edward, a captain in the army at the early age of thirteen. He +was sent by his father, Sir Thomas Warner, in 1632, with a party +under his command, to colonize Antigua, of which island he was +the first English governor. His lady was made prisoner, and +carried away, by the Caribs, in 1640, (vide p. 9, vol. i.,) and +dying without issue, was succeeded by his brother, + +Philip, colonel in the army, and governor of Antigua in 1674. He +m. Henrietta Ashton, sole heiress of her brother, Col. Henry +Ashton. Col. Philip Warner having acquired great wealth, d. 23 +Oct. 1689, and was buried at St. Paul's, Antigua, leaving issue, +by Henrietta, his wife, two sons and four daus. His eldest son, + +Thomas, inherited the family estates of the Folly and Savannah, +m. Jane, dau. of -- Walrond, of Antigua, Esq., by whom he had +issue four sons and one dau. Col. Thomas Warner, dying in 1695, +was buried at St Paul's, Antigua, 11 Nov. of that year, and was +succeeded in his estates by his eldest son, + i. Edward, a colonel in the army, and member of the Council for + the Island of Antigua; m. Elizabeth, dau. of the Hon. Richard + Scott, (one of King William III.'s counsellors for Barbados,) + by whom he had (among other issue) a son and heir, + Richard-Scott, who dying a minor, at Eltham, in Kent, during + the lifetime of his father, his three surviving sisters + became the co-heirs of the family property--viz., + 1. Grace, born at Cobb's Crop, Antigua, 13 Oct. 1717, died 31 + May, 1754; m. 1st, (in 1735,) Samuel Byam, Esq., the son of + Major S. Byam, and grandson of Col. Willoughby Byam; and + 2ndly, William Fauquier, Esq., F.R.S. By her first husband + (buried at St. George's, Antigua, 14 Jan. 1738) she had + issue one son and one dau., + 1. Samuel, who died 19 Nov. 1761, three weeks before the + day appointed for his marriage, when his sister, + 2. Phillis, became his heir. + By her second husband (buried at Eltham, 21 Dec. 1788, + aged 80) she had, among other issue, + 3. Thomas Fauquier, who died in 1827. + 4. Georgiana, m. 25 May, 1787, George Venables Lord Vernon. + 2. Elizabeth-Anne, born in 1718, and m. in 1739, to Godschall + Johnson, of Bloomsbury-square, Esq., (which family are now + in possession of the Warner estates of Savannah and + Folly,[74]) by whom she had issue. + 3. Jane, born at Christ's Church, Barbados, in 172O, m. at + St. John's, Antigua, 2 Jan. 1738, to the Hon. and Rev. + Francis Byam, rector of St John's, and counsellor of that + island, by whom she had a son, the Hon. Edward Byam, + president of Antigua for nearly fifty years, born at St. + John's, in 1740, who, failing of male issue, is now + represented by his four granddaughters, i. Adelaid; ii. + Anne-Byam; iii. Jane-Elizabeth; iv. Maria-Catherine, + co-heirs of the barony of Lee de Spenser. + ii. Ashton, (second brother of Edward Warner, whose lineage is + traced above,) speaker of the house of assembly, and + attorney-general for Antigua, born in 1691, and m. 8 April, + 1714, Eliza-Anne, (dau. of George Clarke, of Clark's Hill, + Antigua, Esq., and relict of Major Samuel Byam,) who died 2 + June, 1748. The Hon. Ashton Warner died in Feb. 1752, and was + interred in the same vault with his deceased wife, leaving a + numerous issue. + iii. Henry, (third son of Col. Thomas Warner,) clerk of the + assembly, Antigua, in 1724, born in 1693, and buried at the + family vault on the Savannah Estate, in that island, in 1731, + in the 39th year of his age. + iv. Philip, baptized at St Paul's, Antigua, and mentioned in + his father's will, 27 Sept. 1695, as "my youngest son + Philip." + +Among the numerous children of the Hon. Ashton Warner, Speaker of +the house of assembly, his youngest sons were, + i. Samuel-Henry, born 11 Dec. 1733, and appointed deputy + provost-marshal of Antigua, who, marrying in 1762, was father + of the Hon. Samuel Warner, late president of Antigua, and + brigadier-general of the militia in that island, and who died + in 1838. + ii. Daniel, treasurer of Antigua, born in 1724, m. 2 Feb. 1746, + Rebecca, dau. of Thomas Freeman, Esq.[75] He was killed on + board H.M. sloop of war, "Virgin," 25 March, 1760, while + defending that vessel from the attack of three French + privateers, leaving, among other issue, a son, + Thomas, born 12 Feb. 1753, and m. in 1790, Dorothy, dau. of + the Hon. Francis Ffrye, dying in 1825, at Sevenoaks, co. + Kent, left, among other issue, three sons, + 1. Daniel-Francis, rector of Hoo, co. of Kent, born 9 June, + 1795, m. in 1818, Sylviana-Maria, dau. of Robert-Walter + Vaughan, of the city of Bristol, by whom he has issue + nine children. + 2. Thomas-Shirley, stipendiary magistrate of Monserrat, + born 24 May, 1797, and m. 9 May, 1825, Rebecca, dau. of + the Hon. Henry Hamilton, of the island of Monserrat, by + whom he has issue six children. + 3. Samuel-Ashton, rector of St George's, Antigua, in 1826, + born 30 May, 1790, and m. 10 June, 1824, Mary, dau. of + Stephen-Ross Willock, of Antigua, Esq., by whom he has + six children. + + + ------ + +I cannot conclude this detail of the Warner family without +relating an anecdote of the celebrated ring, mentioned in Hume's +History of England, as given by Queen Elizabeth to the Earl of +Essex, and which jewel is now in possession of a descendant of +Sir Thomas Warner. + +When Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex, the far-famed favourite of +Queen Elizabeth, was in the hey-day of his power and her +majesty's regard, the queen presented him with a diamond ring, +which she ordered him to keep with the strictest care, so that +should he at any time want to beg a boon, or be so unfortunate as +to fall under her majesty's displeasure, and thus incur imminent +danger from the malevolence of his enemies, he might return it to +her as a talisman, when she pledged her word to accede to his +request, or forgive him, and grant him her protection.[76] It is +unnecessary to enter into the various circumstances which led to +the downfall of this accomplished young nobleman; suffice it to +say, that, led astray by self-interested flatterers, and his own +headstrong passions, which scorned reproof, the Earl of Essex +engaged in a conspiracy against her majesty, and which being +detected, he was tried by his compeers, and condemned to pay +forfeit of his crimes, by suffering decollation. Queen Elizabeth, +although deeply grieved at this defalcation of her kinsman from +his loyalty, as well as from his gratitude towards her, still +remembered with pity the unfortunate earl, then in the full bloom +of manhood, and celebrated for every grace which can adorn a +nobleman, and anxiously looked for the appearance of the ring she +had given to him, in order that some excuse might be afforded her +for granting him a pardon. Days, however, rolled by, and Essex +made no appeal to her majesty's clemency; until, at length, +deeming him too haughty to return the talismanic jewel which +might have saved his life, Elizabeth became incensed against him +--the high blood of her father, "bluff old Hal," rose in her +veins, and, signing his death-warrant, he was beheaded on Tower +Hill, 25th Feb. 1601. About two years after this tragic event, +Catharine, the first Duchess of Nottingham, (daughter of Henry +Lord Hunsdon, and a relative of the unfortunate earl,) was seized +with a mortal illness, and finding her life drawing to a close, +she despatched a messenger to the queen, beseeching her majesty +to visit her immediately, as she had tidings to communicate to +her, which, without doing, she could not die in peace. Elizabeth, +anxious to soothe her last moments, complied with her request, +and, little deeming what those tidings were, presented herself at +the bed-side of the dying countess, who, summoning up all her +failing energies, related, in the hollow tones of death, the +following circumstances:-- + +That during the period the Earl of Essex was confined in the +Tower, under sentence of death, he was desirous of obtaining a +faithful messenger who would convey to her majesty a ring, which +he had, at a happier hour, received from her hand, on the sight +of which he hoped the queen's mercy would be extended to him. +Distrusting, however, those placed about him, he waited in vain +for an opportunity; until, one morning, as he was gazing from his +prison window, he perceived a boy, with whose open countenance he +became so impressed, that he determined to trust him with his +secret, and, making signals to him, (which were observed and +answered by the lad,) the earl "engaged him by money and +promises," to convey the ring, which he took from his finger, to +Lady Scroop,[77] (a friend of his lordship's,) and beg her to +present it to her majesty. The youth readily undertook the +commission; but, from some mistake, instead of conveying it to +Lady Scroop, he carried it to her sister, the Countess of +Nottingham. This lady shewed it to her husband, the admiral, the +implacable foe to Essex, who commanded her, under pain of his +heaviest displeasure, to conceal the jewel, and not to breathe a +word of the event to mortal ears. The countess complying with her +lord's command, the queen was kept in ignorance, and the Earl of +Essex fell a victim to his supposed stubbornness, for, according +to Camden, the chief reason that prevented Queen Elizabeth from +granting him a pardon was his obstinacy in not supplicating for +mercy. + +As soon as the countess had concluded her relation, she earnestly +begged her majesty's forgiveness; but the queen, losing all +command of herself at this harrowing statement, violently shook +the dying woman, and exclaiming, " +" left the apartment in an agony of grief. As soon as she gained +her dressing-closet, she threw herself upon the floor, tearing +her grey hair, and calling upon the name of Essex. She refused to +sleep upon a bed, and, according to some authors, would never +after receive any sustenance. This, however, must be a mistake, +for the Countess of Nottingham died on the 25th February, 1603, +and her majesty did not depart this life until the 24th of March +following--a period of about twenty-seven days. + +After the demise of Queen Elizabeth, this ring passed, with the +other jewels to her successor, James I., from whom it was handed +down to his unfortunate son, Charles I., and who, at the +instigation of his queen, Henrietta Maria, presented it to Sir +Thomas Warner. From Sir Thomas Warner, it passed (in a direct +line) to his great grandson. Col. Edward Warner, who bequeathed +it by will (dated 27th Dec, 1732, proved in the P. C. of +Canterbury, 21st Feb. following) to his brother, Ashton Warner, +as "_a diamond ring_, in shape of a heart, given by Queen +Elizabeth to the Earl of Essex." + +From the Hon. Ashton Warner it descended, as an heirloom, to his +son, Joseph Warner, and it is now in possession of Charles +Warner, Esq., solicitor-general of Trinidad. + + + ------ + +[74] This marriage accounts for the Savannah and Folly estates, +having passed into another family. + +[75] For further information of this gentleman, the reader is +referred to Appendix No. 19. + +[76] The queen's attachment to Essex might perhaps, in great +measure, arise from the fact of his being her relative--as shewn +in the following table, viz., + +Anne Boleyne, united to Henry VIII., king of England, had issue a +daughter, + Elizabeth, afterwards queen of England. + Mary Boleyne, (sister to Anne Boleyne,) married to William + Cary, had issue a daughter, + Catharine Cary, married to Francis Knolleys, K.G., had + (among other issue) a daughter, + Lettice Knolleys, married to Walter Devereaux, Earl of + Essex, K.G., who had issue a son, + Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex, the favourite. + +[77] Philadelphia Cary, second daughter to Henry Lord Hunsdon, +married to Thos. Scroop, of Bolton, in Yorkshire, who succeeded +his father in his title, in 1592, made governor of Carlisle +Castle, and warden of the West Marches, in 1593, and K. G. in +1599. + + + + + No. 3. + + + + MEMORIAL OF THE WINTHORPE FAMILY. + +This gentleman (Samuel Winthorpe, Esq. of Antigua) was the son of +John Winthorpe, of Groton Hall, co. Suffolk, Esq., by his wife, +Margaret, dau. of Sir John Tindall, Knt., master in Chancery, and +ancestor of the present Chief Justice Tindall. Mr. Winthorpe's +family had early embraced the Protestant religion, and were among +the most stanch supporters of that creed; and in those dark days, +when Popery once again reared its head in England, the +grandfather of this John Winthorpe attended the martyr Philpots +to the stake, as one of his latest friends. In after years, Mr. +J. Winthorpe, fearing religious persecution, sold off all his +property, (bringing him in 500l. or 600l. per annum, a great sum +in those days,) and emigrated to New England, then a forest +waste, where, in process of time, he became its first governor, +and from whence he kept up a private correspondence with Oliver +Cromwell, then Protector of the Commonwealth. Besides Samuel +Winthorpe, the ancestor of the Antiguan branch of the family, he +had two sons, + i. Stephen, a colonel in the army, appointed by Cromwell to a + command in Scotland, and was afterwards a member of his + parliament, died in 1659, the year prior to the Restoration, + and + ii. John, who succeeded his father in the government of New + England, and was a regular correspondent and distinguished + member of the Royal Society in Old England, died 5th April, + 1676, aged 70. + +Samuel Winthorpe, Esq., visiting Holland, espoused there a Dutch +lady, (whose name we have not been able to ascertain,) with whom +he immediately afterwards emigrated to Antigua, and died there +about 1675. He left by his wife a numerous progeny of sons and +daughters, among whom, Samuel, Joseph, and Henry, inherited a +large estate from their father, but who (by means, it is said, +little creditable to the parties concerned to relate) were +deprived of their patrimony, and, consequently, their place and +station in that insular community. The daughters married into +some of the best Antiguan families, and became the ancestresses +of the Williams, Thomas, and Ffry families. For further +particulars of the Winthorpe family, the reader may consult +"Mathew's History of New England," and "Farmer's Genealogical +Register" of that settlement, as well as later works upon the +United States of North America. + + + + + No. 4. + + + + GENEALOGY OF THE BYAM FAMILY. + +Lieut.-Gen. William Byam was descended in a direct line, on his +father's side, from Caradoc Vraich Vras, Earl of Hereford, Lord +of Radnor, one of the knights of the celebrated Round Table of +King Arthur, (a.d. 540,) who himself sung his praises, +emphatically styling him one of the "Pillars of Britain." He was +founder of a dynasty of princes not extinguished till after the +Norman invasion, when Blethin, the last of the regal order, was +slain by Bernard Newmarch, near Brecknock, in 1094, and his +territory appropriated to himself and parcelled out amongst his +followers. + +His son, Cawrdave, was equally, if not more celebrated than his +father, being also extolled in the Triads, and, like King Arthur +himself chosen (besides the enjoyment of his own territory) to be +"Unbennaeth," or supreme monarch of Britain. + +Caw succeeded his father in his patrimonial inheritance, at this +time entitled the Principality of Ferlex and Brecon; and + +Gloyw succeeded him; and + +Hoyw him, flourishing a.d. 640. + +Kynvard, regulus of Ferlex and Brecon, succeeded his father, +Hoyw; and + +Kyndeg, who was contemporary with Cadwallader, and lived a.d. +703, succeeded him. + +Teithwalch, his son, gained a signal victory over his rival, the +Mercian king, at Carno, in Brecknockshire, (opposite to the +village of Crickhowell,) and in commemoration of which an immense +circle and pile of stones is to be seen to this day. + +But the encroachment of the Saxons in his son Tegyd's time became +more formidable than ever, considerably circumscribing his +limits, that had originally embraced all the territories lying +between the two rivers of Wye and Severn; and + +Tangwyd, his son, succeeded to very straitened limits, being +reduced to the lordship of Radnor, with parts of Montgomery and +Brecon; and + +Anarawd, his son, succeeded as regulus of Radnor and Brecon, in +the time of Egbert, king of the West Saxons, who united the whole +heptarchy into one entire kingdom, henceforward called that of +"England." To Anarawd succeeded his son, + +Gwyngwy, who, though greatly reduced in territory, still affected +the regal title, calling himself "Brenhin" Ferlex a Brecheiniog. +And to Gwyngwy succeeded his son, + +Hugan, called by John de Castares, "Prince of West Wales," but by +the Welsh historians, more modestly, the "Prince of Brecknock." +To Hugan succeeded + +Druffin, so humbled as to be persuaded or compelled to row King +Edgar in his barge on the river Dee, being one of the tributary +kings who acted that derogatory part, which served to inflate the +pride of that vain-glorious but powerful English monarch. Druffin +m. Crusella, dau. of Idwal ap Meyrick, and was succeeded by his +son, + +Maynarch, who m. Ellen, dau. of Eineon ap Seliff, Lord of the +Cantred of Seliff. Maynarch was succeeded by + +Blethin, the last prince of his house and family; for William +Rufus promising to Bernard Newmarch (England at that time having +been effectually conquered and possessed by the Normans) all he +could conquer in Wales, that adventurer (at the time gentleman of +the bedchamber to this the second of the Norman kings) set out +for the principality, and the enfeebled prince collecting, on a +sudden, all his diminished forces, a battle ensued in the +neighbourhood of Brecknock, in which he was worsted and himself +slain. The conqueror and his eleven Norman knights (whom, tempted +by the prize, he had invited to partake of his enterprise) +entered into possession; and the last act of royalty shewn to +this unhappy prince by his subjects and followers was the +conveying his corse to the Abbey of Strata Florida, in +Cardiganshire, and there interring it amongst the princes of +Wales, with all the pomp the circumstances allowed. Thus, after a +possession of between five and six hundred years, was this family +divested of every mark of regal dignity. Rhys Goch, however, his +brother, was permitted to retain a small possession on the +confines of the county, entitled the lordship of Ystradew, +(afterwards usurped by the Clares, and came into possession of +the Herberts, Earls of Pembroke.) Rhys Goch, or Rhys the Red, +married Joan, daughter of Cadogan[78] ap Elistan Glorith, (whose +arms are still quartered by the Byam family,) and by her had +Kynwillen, who married Jonnett, dau. and co-heir of Hawell, +Prince of Caerleon, (to whom Henry II. allowed that city, and +twelve miles around circumadjacent country,) and by her, whose +arms are still likewise borne by the Byams, Kynwillen had +Kynwell, who married Gladwys, dau. of Sitsilt ap Duvenwall, Lord +of Gwent, and seventh Baron of Abergavenny, by right of tenure of +the castle thereof, (from the Norman conquest,) and by her had +Arthur, who married Ellen, the dau. of Meirick ap Cradog, +(ancestor of the Matthews, and of the present Earls of Llandaff,) +and had Howell, who married Jone, dau. of Grono ap Llowarth, Lord +of Kebor, and had Griffith, who married Jonnett, dau. and sole +heir of Grono ap Treherne ap Blaith ap Elvarch, Lord of Penrose, +in Monmouthshire, a possession which she conveyed to her +husband's family, in whose family it remained several centuries, +and the ruins of the mansion are still extant, and by her (whose +arms the Byams still bear) Griffith had David. David marrying +Maud, dau. to Llewelyn Vaughan, of Lansamllo, had Howel Gam, who +marrying Joan, dau. to Adam ap Rees ap Eineon Sais, had Meiric, +and Meiric marrying Gwenllian, dau. to Gwyllim ap Jenkin, had +Ievan ap Meirick, of Penrose, Esq., (from whom, in the time of +his son and grandson, and by the blending of ap that followed +their name with his of Ievan, or Evan, came the name of Abyam, +and at length Byam;) for this Ievan, or Evan, had a son, Jenkin, +or John, that was the first to whom the surname was assigned, and +was of Maerdy, in Monmouthshire, and he a son, Thomas, of same +place, and who marrying Johanna, dau. of Llewelyn ap Gwyllim, had +a son, Edward, who was both of Maerdy, in Monmouthshire, +aforesaid, and of Bath, in Somersetshire, in Subsidy Rolls of +which city he is included, 45 of Henry VIII., 1545, under the +name of Edward Abyam, (the ultimate name as now used being +scarcely, as yet, determined,) and this Edward Abyam dying in +Jan. 1594, was buried at the Abbey Church, 2 Feb. following, +leaving by Welthian, his wife, the dau. of Robert Gamage, (of the +Glamorganshire family of that name,) Thomas Byam, his son and +heir, of Bath, and Lawrence Byam, ancestor of the family now in +question. + +Lawrence Byam was of Brasennose College, Oxford, and entering +into holy orders, he was, on 17th June, 1575, by letters patent +under privy seal from Queen Elizabeth, presented to the rectory +of Luckham. He married Anne, or Agnes, dau. of Henry Yewings, of +Capton, in Stogumber, in co. of Somerset, by whom (who survived +her husband, and was buried at Bicknoller, 8 Dec. 1623) he had +four sons, all great loyalists in their day, and the three +eldest, Henry, John, and Edward, all in holy orders, and of +Exeter College, Oxford, (which they entered at the respective +dates of 1597, 1599, and 1600.) + +Henry, the eldest, succeeding his father in the rectory of +Luckham, was chaplain in ordinary to Charles II., and the +companion of that monarch in his exile, both by sea and land. "He +engaged," says Wood, in his "Athenæ Oxoniensis," "his five sons +in the royal cause, four of whom were captains in the regiment +raised by their father in his majesty's behalf. In 1636, he had +become prebendary of Wells, and afterwards canon of Exeter. For +his faithful adherence to the royal cause he was severely pointed +at by the opposite party. His wife and daughter perished at sea, +in their attempts to escape into Wales, in order to avoid the +cruelties of the enemy. He attended the king in his exile to +Jersey and the Scilly Islands. He was universally esteemed for +his great sanctity, his knowledge of literature, his loyalty to +his sovereign, and his charity to his fellow-creatures. His +sermons were afterwards published by Hamnet Ward, vicar of +Sturminster Newton Castle, in Dorsetshire, and who also wrote the +epitaph on his tomb, still extant in Luckham church, (for which +see 'Collinson's Somersetshire;' and also for further account of +him, 'Echard's History of England,' under the year 1669.) He died +at the advanced age of 89." + +His brother, John, D.D., rector of Clotworthy, in same county, +following his footsteps, shared his fate, in suffering in his own +person, and those of all his children, unmerited persecutions, +but which to recount would fill a volume. Edward was the son from +whom the Antigua Byams came. He was admitted a student of Exeter +College, Oxford, 31 Oct. 1600, then aged 16, and instituted to +the vicarage of Dulverton, co. of Somerset, 4 Aug. 1612. On 22 +July, 1613, he married, at Walton, in same county, Elizabeth, the +dau. of Anthony Eaglesfield, rector of that place, and vicar of +Chewton Mendip, some time fellow of Queen's Coll., Oxford, (being +of kin with founder;) but in 1625, this Edward Byam transported +himself into Ireland, where he became precentor of Cloyne +Cathedral, (the next dignity therein to that of dean,) and dying +at his seat at Kilwillin, on the river St. Bride's, in co. of +Cork, on 6 June, 1639, he was buried in the chancel of the parish +church of Castle Lyons. His funeral certificate, signed by his +widow, who survived him, being given in to Ulster's office, +Dublin, and letters of administration taken out for him in +prerogative court of same place, his second son, + +William Byam, born at the house of his uncle, (the aforesaid Dr. +Henry Byam,) at Luckham, 9 March, 1622-3, entered at Trinity +Coll., Dublin, as "Scolarium Commensalis," 24 May, 1639, just +before his father's death, and he it was that was first of the +name and family in the West Indies. The civil wars breaking out +soon after the above-mentioned period, he entered on a military +life, and distinguished himself in the manner already recounted, +at Bridgwater and elsewhere. He married Dorothy Knollys, dau. of +Frances Knollys, of Standford-in-the-Vale, co. Berks, Esq., son +of Richard Knollys, next brother of William, the only lawful Earl +of Banbury, K.G. By this marriage the Byams became connected with +the first families in England, and even with royalty itself, as +shewn by the following table[79]--viz., + Edward 1st, King of England, m. (2nd) Margaret, dau. of Philip + III. of France, and had issue, + Thomas Plantagenet, surnamed "of Brotherton," Earl of Norfolk + and Suffolk, and grand mareschal of England, m. Alice, dau. + of Sir Robert Halys, Knt., and had issue one dau., + Margaret Plantagenet, Duchess of Norfolk, m. John Segrave, Lord + Segrave, and had issue a dau., + Elizabeth, one of the heirs of Lord Segrave, m. John Mowbray, + Lord Mowbray, and had issue, + Thomas Mowbray, created Duke of Norfolk, 1398, earl marshal of + England, and Earl of Nottingham. He m. Elizabeth, sister and + one of the heirs of Thomas Fitz-Allen, Earl of Arundel; died + in 1400, and left issue, + Margaret, eldest dau. and one of the heirs of Thomas Mowbray, + Duke of Norfolk, m. Sir Robert Howard, Knt., and had issue, + John Howard, created Duke of Norfolk, 1483, m. Catherine, dau. + of William, Lord Moleyns. The Duke of Norfolk was slain at + Bosworth Field, 22 Aug., and was buried at Leicester, 1485, + leaving issue a son, + Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk. His father having been + attainted, he was restored to the title, and m. Elizabeth, + dau. and heir of Sir Frederick Tilney, Knt., and died in + 1524, leaving issue a dau., + Elizabeth, m. Thomas Boleyne, Viscount Rochford, created Earl + of Wiltshire and Earl of Ormond, by Henry VIII., and had + issue two daus. and one son, + 1. George Boleyne, Viscount Rochford, beheaded, May, 1536. + 2. Anne, youngest dau. of Thomas, Viscount Rochford, m. Henry + VIII., King of England. She being beheaded, 19 May, 1536, + left issue, + Elizabeth, Queen of England, born a.d. 1533, died a.d. + 1603. + 3. Mary, eldest dau. of Thomas, Viscount Rochford, Earl of + Wiltshire and Ormond, m. William Cary, esquire to the body + of Henry VIII., and had, among other issue, a dau., + Catherine, (sister of Henry Cary, created Lord Hunsdon,) + lady of the bedchamber to her cousin-german, Queen + Elizabeth, m. Sir Francis Knollys, K.G., and dying in 1568, + was buried at Westminster Abbey, leaving issue a dau., + Lettice, who m. Walter Devereaux, Earl of Essex, by whom + she had Robert, Earl of Essex, the far-famed favourite of + Queen Elizabeth, and a son, Richard Knollys, (brother and + heir to William Knollys, created Earl of Banbury,) m. Joan, + dau. of John Higham, co. Suffolk, and had issue, Francis + Knollys, of Standford-in-the-Vale, co. Berks, m. Alice, + sister and co-heir of Sir Wm. Beecher, Knt., clerk to privy + council, and dying 4 Aug. 1640, left issue a dau., Dorothy, + who, as already mentioned, m. Lieut.-Gen. Wm. Byam. + +Lieut.-Gen. William Byam dying at Antigua, (will proved there +1670-1,) left, by Dorothy, his wife, among other issue, two sons, +Willoughby and Edward. In this way the Byam family became divided +into two distinct branches, Willoughby being the ancestor of the +present Byams of "Cedar Hill," and Edward that of "Pensive Hall," +or "Martin Byam's," and a dau., Mary, m. to Col. George Needham, +of the island of Jamaica, the son of Sir Robert Needham, first +Viscount Kilmoray, and by whom she was ancestress of the present +Gen. Needham, of that island, and of the Lords Seaford and Howard +de Walden. + +Edward Byam, youngest son of Lieut.-Gen. Byam, was governor of +the Leeward Islands,[80] 1715, and president of the council of +Antigua in 1707, born at Surinam, 1663-4, and m. 1st, Mary, dau. +of Samuel Winthorpe, and granddau. of John Winthorpe, first +governor of New England, and of Groton Hall, co. Suffolk; 2ndly, +Lydia, dau., of William Thomas, aunt of Sir George Thomas, and +relict of Samuel Martin, of Green Castle, Antigua, (ancestor of +the present Sir Henry and Sir Byam Martin.) Col. Edward Byam is +described by Oldmixon, in his "British Empire in America," as a +man of the best head and fortune in British America; and also as +the most popular man in the Leeward Islands. He commanded, in the +attack upon the island Guadaloupe, on the breaking out of the war +of succession, in the reign of Queen Anne, a regiment raised by +himself in Antigua, and a part of the Enniskillen, or 27th regt. +of the line. At the head of this force, he attacked and carried +in gallant style the port called "Les petits Habitans," and +obliged the enemy to retire. He is honourably mentioned in the +London Gazette, No. 3912, from May 6th to May 10th, and also in +the "Annals of the Reign of Queen Anne." By his first wife, Mary, +he had one son and one dau.--viz., + Edward, m. Walthian Devonshire, and died at Antigua, 29 May, + 1745. + Mary, born 13 Oct. 1690, m. Col. Thomas Williams, of the Old + Road, Antigua. + +By his second wife, Lydia, relict of Samuel Martin, he had three +sons and two daus.--viz., + i. George, born at Antigua, 24 April, 1704, m. Henrietta- + Maria, dau. of Col. John Ffrys, of Antigua, and died 12 Nov. + 1734, leaving issue two sons and four daus.--viz., + 1. George, of Apps Court, co. Surrey, m. Louisa, dau. of + Peter Bathurst, Esq., M.P., of Clarendon Park, co. Wilts, + and niece of Earl Bathurst, and was buried at St George's, + Antigua, 7 Nov. 1779, had issue, 1. George Byam, died an + infant, in 1774; 2. Selina, m. Rev. William Hony, of + Liskeard, co. Cornwall, and has issue; 3. Elizabeth, m. + Mark Batt, of Lawell House, Co. Devon, and d. s. p.; 4 and + 5. Louisa and Henrietta-Maria, both d. unm. + 2. John, died at Antigua, 26 Oct. 1754, unm. + 3. Mary, m. 1st, ---- Lyons, of Antigua, and 2ndly, Daniel + Mathew, of Antigua, and Felix Hall, co. Essex, some time + high-sheriff for that county, had issue, 1. Daniel-Byam + Mathew, of Felix Hall, who m. Elizabeth, dau. of Sir Edward + Deering, Bart.; 2. George, who m. Euphemia Hamilton, and + had issue a son, the present George B. Mathew, capt. in + Coldstream Guards, and late M.P. for Shaftesbury, who m. at + St George's, Hanover Square, April, 1835, the dau. and heir + of Henry Hoare, Esq., and granddau. of the celebrated + antiquary, Sir Richard Colt Hoare, Bart.; 3. Elizabeth, who + m. Robert, fourth Viscount Galway; 4. Louisa, who m. + Admiral Lord Gambier; and 5. Jane, who m. Samuel Gambier, + commissioner of the navy. + 4. Elizabeth, d. unm. in 1806. + 5 and 6. Henrietta Maria and Lydia, both d. unm. + ii. William, of Byams, Antigua, and of Westbourn House, co. + Middlesex. He was a colonel in the army, and member of the + privy council, Antigua; born 3 July, 1706; admitted of + Christ's Coll., Cambridge, 21 June, 1720, B.A. 1724, m. 1735, + Anne, dau. of Col. John Gunthorpe, member of council, + Antigua, and had issue, + 1. Martin, member of the council, Antigua, born 29 Sept. + 1742, admitted a fellow commoner of Sidney Coll., + Cambridge, 30 April, 1761, m. in 1771, Elizabeth, dau. of + Stephen Blizard, judge of court of common pleas, Antigua, + and relict of William Warner, of Antigua. He died June, + 1805, s. p., and was buried at Lyndhurst, Hants. + 2. Edward, lieut. R.N., born 15 Sept. 1743, m. Anne, dau. of + William Gunthorpe, of Antigua, Esq. He was lost in the + "Ville de Paris," after her capture, in 1782, leaving, by + Anne, his wife, a son and dau., + 1. William-Henry, capt. R.N., who m. his first cousin, + Alicia, dau. of Anthony Wyke, Esq. of Monserrat, and died + 26 Nov. 1838, s. p. + 1. Louisa, only dau. of her father, Edward Byam, d. unm. at + Kensington, in 1835. + 3. Anne, eldest dau., born 27 Sept. 1744, m. 13 Jan. 1763, to + Anthony Wyke, Esq. of Monserrat, and died 18 June, 1814, + leaving a dau., Alicia, m. to her first cousin, William + Henry Byam, (see above.) + 4. William, capt. in 68th regt. of foot, and of Woodborough, + in Somersetshire, born 7 Nov. 1753, m. in 1781, Mary, only + dau. of Rev. Richard Burgh, of Mount Bruis, co. Tipperary, + Ireland, and died in France, 27 April, 1830, leaving issue + three sons and three daus.--viz., + 1. Martin-William, born 19 Aug. 1783, m. Elizabeth, dau. of + Thomas Bull, of Bostock Hall, co. Chester, and died 22 + April, 1836. + 2. Rev. Richard-Burgh, member of council, Antigua, fellow + of King's Coll., Cambridge, vicar of Kew and Petersham, + Co. Surrey, born 26 Jan. 1785. + 3. Edward-Samuel, late commissary-general of the police in + the Mauritius, and civil commissary of Port Louis, in + which situation he distinguished himself by his undaunted + zeal and inflexible efforts to suppress the slave trade + in that island, as may be seen in a recent work of Sir + Thomas Fowell Buxton, Bart. on the slave trade, p. 220. + Mr. Byam is also a gentleman of great antiquarian + research, and a Celtic scholar, as well as the compiler + of a "Genealogical Table of the Kings of England," + reckoned one of the best that has been published; born 5 + Aug. 1788, m. at the ambassador's chapel, Paris, 26 + March, 1818, Eleanor, eldest dau. of Andrew Murray, prior + of Rathdowney, in Queen's County, and of Claremonts, co. + Wicklow, and niece of Viscount Frankfort de Montmorency, + and had issue, Edward de Montmorency Byam, who died an + infant, and was buried at Harpenden, in co. of Herts. + 4. Martha, eldest dau., born 7 May, 1782, and living unm. + 5. Anna-Maria, born 15 March, 1786, living unm. + 6. Alicia-Juliana, born 10 April, 1787, m. 21 Aug. 1805, + Wm. Leeves, Esq. of Tortington House, co. Sussex. + 5. Alice, second dau. of William Byam, born 29 Sept. 1746, m. + 23 April, 1763, Samuel Eliot, Esq. of Antigua, and died 13 + Dec. 1827, and was buried in the family vault of Lord Lee + Despencer, at Mereworth, leaving four daus., 1. Anne, m. + Lieut.-Gen. Sir Henry Crosby, of Barnesville Park, co. + Gloucester; 2. Elizabeth, m. Sir Thomas Stapleton, Lord Lee + de Spenser; 3. Mary, m. Robert Cambden Cope, colonel of + Armagh militia; and 4. Alice, m. to William Hay Carr, Earl + of Errol, father of the present peer. + iii. Alice, born 19 May, 1711, m. 11 July, 1728, Robert + Freeman, of Antigua, Esq., and had issue. + iv. Lydia, born 14 Aug. 1713, m. 9 Nov. 1734, to her cousin, + Edward Byam, of Cedar Hill, Antigua, and of Clay Hill, co. + Middlesex, from whom descends that branch of the family. + v. Francis, clerk, M.A., rector of St. John's, Antigua, and + member of the privy council at that island, born 8 May, 1709, + admitted a student of Trinity Coll., Cambridge, 1728, and m. + 1738, Jane, dau. and co-heir of Edward Warner, of Eltham, co. + Kent, member of privy council, Antigua, dying at Antigua, + left issue four sons and one dau.--viz., + 1. Edward Byam, judge of the court of vice-admiralty, and + president of the council of Antigua for near half a + century, born 21 Dec. 1740, and m. 7 July, 1763, Rebecca, + dau. of Stephen Blizard, judge of court of common pleas, + Antigua, dying 8 Feb. 1817, left issue an only child and + heir, + Jane, m. 10 June, 1784, Thomas Norbury Kerby, of Weir's + Estate, Antigua, who died while in the execution of his + office of commander-in-chief, (for the time being,) his + wife, Jane, dying at Hampton Court Palace, in 1837, left + by him an only child, + Anne-Byam Kerby, born in 1796, and m. the Hon. Miles + Stapleton, rector of Mereworth, co. Kent, third son of + Lord Lee de Spencer, by whom she had issue, + Adelaide, for whom her majesty the queen-dowager most + graciously stood sponsor, born 22 Oct. 1822; + Ann-Byam, born in 1823; and two other daus. + 2. Sir Ashton-Warner Byam, Knt., A.B. of Sidney Coll., + Cambridge, attorney-general of Grenada, and a great + luminary of the law in the Western world, born 1 June, + 1744, d. unm. 25 Dec. 1790, and was buried in St John's, + Antigua. + 3. William, of Santa Crux, d. s. p. + 4. Richard-Scott, M.D., born 20 Dec. 1753, and died at Bath, + unm., 17 Dec. 1832. + 5. Grace, only dau., born 1 Jan. 1752, and m. 3 March, 1767, + to Thomas Ottley, Esq. of the island of St. Vincent, by + whom she had a numerous issue--viz., 1. George W. Ottley, + of Parry's Estate; 2. Francis-Byam Ottley, of Wier's + Estate; 3. Matilda Ottley, m. to Hastings Elwyr, barrister; + 4. Jane, m. 1st, Valentine Horsford, Esq., by whom she had + five sons, and 2ndly, to Lord James O'Brien, brother and + presumptive heir to the Marquis of Thomond; and 5. Rebecca + Ottley, m. to the Hon. Langford-Lovel Hodge, who dying 24 + Jan. 1817, left issue a son, Langford-Lovel Hodge, Esq., m. + the dau. of -- Hart, Esq. of Dorset Square, Brighton, by + whom he has issue. + +The remaining son of Lieut.-Gen. William Byam was Willoughby +Byam, (from whom the present family of the Cedar Hill Byams +descend.) He was a lieut.-col. in the army, and commanded the +body-guard of the commander-in-chief, Gen. Codrington, in the +expedition against the island of St. Christopher's, in 1690, when +he received a mortal wound in the neck, of which he soon after +died. He is honourably mentioned in the London Gazette of that +period, Nos. 2590 and 2602, and left, among other issue, two +sons, William and Samuel. Samuel Byam, the younger son, was a +major in the army, and dying early in life, (in 1712,) left, by +Elizabeth, his wife, the dau. of George Clarke, of Parker's Hill, +in Antigua, (and who re-married Ashton Warner, Esq.,) a son, a +second Samuel, who marrying Grace, dau. of Col. Edward Warner, +left Phillis, the heir of her brother, a third Samuel, (that d. +unm.,) and she (Phillis) m. 1st, Charles Wollaston, Esq., M.D., +F.R.S., (physician to her majesty Queen Charlotte,) and 2ndly, +James Frampton, Esq. of Moreton, in Dorsetshire, and for whose +issue, _vide_ "Burke's _Commoners_"--1st, "Shirley, of Eatington +Park, co. Warwick," vol. i. p. 49; 2ndly, "Wollaston, of +Shenton," vol. iii. p. 419; 3rdly, "Frampton, of Moreton, in co. +Dorset," vol. iv. p. 193. + +William Byam, son and heir, of Cedar Hill, Antigua, colonel in +the army, member of the privy council, and also one of the +general council of the Leeward Islands, m. Mary, dau. of John +Yeamans, of Mill Hill, Old Road, Antigua, lieut.-governor of that +island, and had issue, + i. Willoughby, died young, and was buried, 7 July, 1714, at + Oxford. + ii. Yeamans, died young, and was buried at Oxford, in 1714. + iii. Edward, of Cedar Hill, Antigua, and Clay Hill, co. + Middlesex, admitted a student of Trinity Coll., Cambridge, m. + (his first cousin) Lydia, dau. of Edward Byam, governor of + Antigua, in 1734. + iv. John-Sampson, died in 1766, unm. + v. Willoughby, (second of the name, the first having died an + infant,) died unm. in 1764. + vi. Henry, D.D., m. Hester, dau. of John Gunthorpe, of Antigua, + Esq., and dying, left issue by his wife, 1. Hester Byam, m. 7 + Aug. 1781, Anthony Munton, d. s. p.; 2. Mary-Gunthorpe Byam, + born 9 Nov. 1748, m. in 1771, to Col. William Dundas, brother + to Lord Viscount Melville; 3. Anne Byam, living at Pear Tree + Lodge, near Southampton, unm. in 1838; 4 and 5. Henry and + Edward Byam, died infants. + vii. Anne, (second dau. living,) m. in 1727, Crooke Thomas, of + London, merchant. + viii. Mary, (eldest dau.,) m. 21 March, 1738, to Warner + Tempest, Esq. of Antigua, and of Moulsey, co. Surrey; and + ix. Rebecca, m. to Thomas Freeman, Esq. of Antigua. + +Edward Byam, son and heir of William Byam, dying 13 June, 1768, +left by Lydia, his wife, issue, + i. William, of Cedar Hill, son and heir. + ii. Samuel, who m. 30 June, 1764, Elizabeth, dau. and heir of + Thos. Sheppard, Esq. of Antigua, and died in 1786, leaving + issue one dau., Lydia, m. to the Rev. Robt. Sutton, of East + Dereham, Norfolk, and has issue. + iii. Edward, buried at Antigua, in 1795. + iv. Lydia. + v. Rebecca, m. to -- Davies, R.N., died s. p. + +William Byam, son and heir, of Cedar Hill, and Sunny Hill, co. +Pembroke, member of the privy council, Antigua, m. 26 June, 1766, +Martha, dau. of Edward Rogers, of Lanwnda, in Pembrokeshire, +died, and was buried at St. George's, Antigua, 1 Oct. 1779, +leaving issue, + i. Edward, son and heir. + ii. Samuel, D.D. of University Coll., Oxford, vicar of + Catterick, co. York, and chaplain in ordinary to George III., + born in 1769, and m. Jane, dau. of John Welsh, of the island + of St Christopher's, dying at Brusselles, 24 April, 1816, + leaving issue, + 1. William-Geo.-Munton, born 5 Aug. 1804, late lieut. in 43rd + Light Infantry. + 2. Adolphus-Elizabeth, born 5 Sept. 1805, capt in Madras + artillery, and secretary to the court of Hydrabad, died at + the Cape of Good Hope, in 1839, s. p. + 3. Henry-James, born in 1813, an officer in the service of + the Queen of Spain, died at San Sebastien, 5 Aug. 1837, s. + p. + 4. Cornelia-Rachel-Munton, born 23 Feb. 1803, m. Baron + Augustus de Firkes, of Mittau, in Courland, and died in + 1826. + 5. Augusta-Louisa-Anne, born 4 Nov. 1806, and m. Frederick + Shallet Lomax, of Netley Park, co. Hants. + iii. Lydia, bapt. 4 Sept. 1772, died on her passage from + Antigua, unm. + +Edward Byam, the son and heir, was a member of the house of +assembly of Antigua, born in 1767, and m. Christiana Matilda, +dau. of Matt. Ryan, of Dublin, barrister-at-law, died 27 May, +1795, leaving issue by his wife, + i. William, son and heir. + ii. Edward, late major in the 15th Hussars, now lieut.-col. in + the army. He served in the battles of Salamanca, Vittoria, + Orthes, and Waterloo, of Warblington Lodge, co. Hants, born + 24 Dec. 1794, and m. 10 Sept 1829, at the residence of the + British minister at the court of Florence, Elizabeth Augusta, + dau. of Sir Grenville Temple, Bart., and has issue, + 1. Willoughby-Temple, born 15 Aug. 1832. + 2. Henry-Edward, born 22 Aug. 1835. + 3. Edward, born in April, 1842. + 4. Matilda-Augusta-Anne, born 28 June, 1830. + 5. Agnes- Welthian, born 7 June, 1831. + 6. Maria-Christiana-Elizabeth, born 6 Jan. 1834. + 7. Augusta-Temple, born 10 May, 1837. + +William Byam, the present representative of the Cedar Hill +branch, and of Westwood House, co. Hants, member of the council, +Antigua, and late lieut.-col. of the Local Dragoons, m. in 1815, +Martha, dau. of Thomas Rogers, of Antigua, and has issue, + i. Edward-Gamage, an officer in the 59th regt. born 30 June, + 1823. + ii. Thomas-Rogers, born 12 Dec. 1826. + iii. William, born 10 Feb. 1828. + iv. Lydia, born 31 Dec. 1818, m. 18 May, 1837, to Francis + Shand, Esq. of Liverpool, and of Everton, co. Lancaster; and + v. Martha, born 29 Aug. 1821. + +Col. William Byam served under the "hero of a hundred fights," +the Duke of Wellington, in the battles of Orthes, Toulouse, and +Waterloo, in which latter he was dangerously wounded, and in +those ensanguined plains he belied not his high name, nor the +deeds of his fathers, whom we find so often figuring in the +annals of Antigua, leading its troops to battle, filling some +high official situation, or spilling their hearts' best blood in +defence of their native shores! + + + ------ + +[78] Ancestor of the now Earls of Cadogan. + +[79] This pedigree, and that of the Byam family in general, has +been authenticated by Herald's College, by certificate, dated +"College of Arms, 27 July, 1841." + +[80] So termed by the Heralds of the College of Arms, although +only mentioned in Antiguan history as lieut.-governor of the +island. + + + + + No. 5. + + + +_Copy of the Grant of Land to Col. Philip Warner, after the +Restoration of Antigua to the English Crown, in_ 1667. + +William Lord Willoughby of Parham Captn Generall and Chief +Governor of Barbados and the rest of the Caribee Islands, To all +whom these presents shall come greeting--Whereas the King's most +excellent Majestie hath by due Conquest regained to himself ye +sole and absolute right and propriet unto and in ye said Island +of Antigua and every part thereof. The said Island having been +lately taken and conquered by the f.french and since retaken and +reduced to his Majestie's obedience by his Majestie's forces. And +Whereas the Assembly or Representatives of the said Island have +acknowledged and recognized His Majestie's said title by Conquest +and have wholly submitted to ye same. Now know ye by virtue of +the power and authority to me given by His Majestie's Letters +Pattents under the great Seale of England bearing date the third +day of January in the yeare one thousand six hundred sixty and +six and by his instructions under his privy signett bearing date +the fourth day of February in ye said year enabling me to grant +and confirm estates in His Majestie's behalfe in the said Caribee +Islands. I the said William Lord Willoughby for divers good and +lawful considerations Have given granted remised released and +confirmed and doe by these Presents give grant release remise and +confirme unto Coll Phillip Warner his Heires and Assignes for +Ever all ye right title interest or demand which his said +Majestie now hath or heretofore had to a certaine plantation or +parcell of land situate laying and being ye Island Antigua +aforesaid commonly called and known by the name of the Savanna +The Westward part of which is bounded upon ye lands of _Thomas +Compton_ in Falmouth Division and part of ye lands called +Picadilla the North East thereof in part bounded with ye . . . . +of _George Mould_ the land of _William Phillips_ ye lands of +_John Andrews_ and ye land of _Phillip Lenird_ and part wth ye +sea. The Southward part thereof is bounded by a line drawn from +the head of English Harbor Creeke through the Valley towards +Crosse Cove in falmo harbor and from ye head of ye aforesaid +Creeke two hundred foot or forty geometricall paces from ye high +water marke observing ye turnings and windings of English Harbor +to ye Southermost end of the Sandy Bay at ye mouth of the said +Harbor, and part with ye sea The Eastermost part wholly bounded +wth ye sea side. Together withall and singular the Houses +Edifices, Buildings Timber, Timber trees, Woods, Underwoods, +Waters, Water-courses, Rights, Members Jurisdictions, Wayes, +Easemts Proffits, Priviledges, Commodities, Hereditaments, and +Appurtenances whatsoever to ye same belonging or any wayes +apertaining To Have and to Hold the said Plantation or parcell of +land wth all and singular ye appurtenances to him ye said Coll +Phillip Warner his Heires and Assignes and to ye only use +benefitt and behoaf of him ye said Phillip Warner his heires and +Assignes in Free . . . . Yielding and paying therefore yearly for +ever unto His Majestie his heires and Successors one Eare of +Indian Corne att or upon ye feast of ye Birth of our Lord Christ +in full satisfaction of all rents and services for ever. In +Witness whereof, I have hereunto sett my hand and caused His +Majestie's Seale appointed for Barbados and ye rest of the +Caribee Islands to be affixed the Eleventh day of Aprill in the +twentieth yeare of ye Reigne of our Soveraigne Lord Charles the +Second King of England Scotland France and Ireland Defender of ye +Faith Anno que Domini One thousand Six hundred Sixty Eight. + + + ------ + + _Copy of the Grant of Land to Col. Philip Warner, restored to + him after his acquittal upon the charge of murdering his + half-brother, the Indian Warner, in_ 1676. + +To all Xion People to whom these presents shall come William +Stapleton Capn Genl over all His Majties Leeward Islands in +America Sendeth Greetinge Know ye that I William Stapleton Capn +Gen as aforesaid in pursuance of His moste Excellent Majties +Charles the Second his Commission to me directed Bareing date the +tenth day of February and by virtue of an article in ye same +Impowering me to Sell Lett and dispose of all such lands +tenements and Hereditaments in and upon any or either ye said +Islands which shall fall or by Law Ellapse or otherwise become +due or belonging unto our Said Soveraigne Lord ye King and the +same or any part of Pall thereof from time to time to dispose of +under such moderate quitt Rents acknowledgements or securities to +be reserved to His Majestie his Heires and Successors by mee +shall bee deemed meete and convenient. And further by one other +Article in his Majties said Commission I am fully Impowered and +authorized by his said Majtie to grant Letters and Charters of +Incorporasion to all Citties, Townes, Boroughs and other places +wthn any or either ye said Islands or plantations respectively +wth all liberties, franchises, and priviledges requisite and +usually granted to any such wthn the kingdom of England which +said grants charters or priviledges soe by me granted and +------------ His Majties great Scale appointed for his said +Leeward Islands, and beinge duly Entered inrold and recorded +shall be good and effectuall in Law against any Pson, Power or +Authoritie what so ever. Know ye therefore that I the said +William Stapleton Capn Genl &ca by virtue of my said Commission +and ye severall Powers to mee therein given for and in ye behalfe +of our Soueraigne Lord ye King, for divers good and lawfull +causes and considerations hereinafter in the Psents mentioned and +expressed and forasmuch as Coll Phillip Warner of the Island of +Antigua stands possessed of a certain freehold and plantation or +Pall of land in and upon ye said Island of Antigua commonly +call'd or known by the name of the Savanna by virtue of a grant +and Pattent had and obtained by the said Coll Phillip Warner from +and under the hand of William Lord Willoughby of Parham late Capn +Genl and Governor in Chiefe of Barbadose and the rest of the +Leeward Islands and sealed wth the greate Seale then appointed by +his Majtie for the said Islands bearing date the 11th day of +April 1668. I have at the speciall instance and request of him ye +said Coll Phillip Warner Given granted released remised and +confirmed as I doe by these Psents give grant release remise and +confirme unto the said Coll Phillip Warner his heires and +assignes for ever the said Plantation and freehold under the name +and title of the Manor of _fframingham_ and doe by virtue of this +my Pattent invest him the said Coll Phillip Warner his Heires and +Assignes for ever in Right Title and Interest of the said +Plantation in a Mannor and Royaltie Lyinge wthn the Limits and +bounds hereinafter mentioned and expressed. That is to say the +Westward part of the said land being bounded wth the land of Mr +_William Wainwright_ and Crowne land in Falmouth Harbor To the +North wth the land of Mr _Nathl Monck_ and the land anciently +call'd and known by name of Piccadille Hills and to the North +East wth the land late of _George Mould_ the lands of _John +Pinchin Richard Law_ and _Richard Willis_ and part wth the sea. +The East and South East part thereof bounded wholie with ye low +water marke upon ye Severall Bayes, Poyntes, and Clifts at ye sea +side the South and South west part the said land and manner is +alsoe bounded with the Sea in English Harbour to the low water +marke observeing the severall turnings and windings of the said +Harbor and Creeke thereunto belongeing and from the Head of the +Eastmost Creeke through the Vallie to the adjacent round Hill +next to Cobb's Crosse Cove. And from thence to the sea in Falmo +Harbor, Together with all ye Ponds Creekes Coves inlets waters, +watercourses. Houses, Edifices buildings Orchards lands meadows +Leasowes Pastures Commons Sugar Mills Timber and Timber Trees +woods and underwoods Advowsons reversions rents Securitties, +wrecks, wafes, Estrayes Royaltties Liberties Privileges +Jurisdictions, hereditaments Together wth all other Rights, +Privileges, and power by Law warranted or allowed to any Royaltie +or Maner whatsoever saving onely and excepted to His Majtie his +Heires and Successors all Mines and Mineralls of Gould and Silver +which shall ly or be within the said Manor or the lands thereunto +belongeinge or appertainge. To have and to Hold the said Manor +lands tenements and all the premises in _fee simple_ to him the +said Coll Phillip Warner his heires and Assignes for ever and of +and in every part or Pall thereof wth the appurtenances +Royallties, Jurisdictions and Privileges heretofore in these +Psents mentioned and expressed to bee and Inure and shall bee +deemed adjudged Esteemed reputed and taken to bee and Inure to +the onely use benefit and behoofe of the said Coll Phillip Warner +his heires and assignes for ever. Yieldinge and payeinge +therefore yearly for ever unto his Majtie his heires and +successors a full growne _Bore_ at or upon ye Feast and Birth of +our Lord Christ if lawfully demanded which payment shall be +accepted reputed and taken in full satisfaction and discharge of +all other rents services duties taxes or Impositions layed or to +be layed by any Law authortie Custome or Usage Whatsoever. In +Testimony whereof I have hereunto sett my hand and caused His +Majtie's Great Seal prepared and appoynted for this and the rest +of the Leeward Islands to be hereunto affixed the 3rd _of +November_. In the one and Thirtieth Year of the Reigne of our +Soveraigne Lord Charles ye Second King of England Scotland France +and Ireland Defender of the Faith &c Anno Domi 1679. + + + + + No. 6. + + + + _A Remonstrance of the inhabitants of the island of Antigua why + they soe very earnestly craved authority and commission from + his Excellency, William Stapleton Captain General and Governor + in chief, in and over all his Majesties Leward Cariba Islands + in America. To kill and destroy the Indians inhabiting in ye + Island of Dominica and likewise for ye craveing ayde from the + neighbouring Islands under his Excellency's command which was + promised us._ + +It is to well knowne as well to ye inhabitants of this Island as +to ye other merchants and traders amongst us since its first +being inhabited by Christians, or very near that time that ye +said Indians have not ceased by their continual incursions and +very many horrid murders, ripping up women with child, burning of +houses, and carrying away into miserable captivity, their +children and others, allmost to ye utter ruine of this collony, +whilst Indian Warner of late going under the name of Thomas +Warner was a chief leader and actor amongst ye said Indians +untill the year of our Lord 1657 when some of ye inhabitants of +this Island with the assistance of Mountserrat and others went +against them although by their subtility it proved almost +ineffectual, yett in ye year 1660, ye said Indian Warner with +other Indians came to Collo Xpher Keynell[81] then governor of +this Island, to make peace which was then agreed unto and wee had +for some small tyme rest from their allmost continual Alaroms, +but they soon fell to their accustomed cruelltys by robing, +murdering and carrieing away others of the inhabitants, so that +we were again constrained to make war against them to our +exceeding charge and ye losse of our crops at which tyme we +requested Collo Phillip Warner to goe in pson against them in +hopes he might by faire means have brought ye said Indian Warner +to have been helpful to our party in finding out and persueing +those othere breakers of ye sd peace, but all our endeavours +proved fruit-lesse and procured us nothing more but fair +promises, but he would not go or appear against those that +himselfe would say were our enemies, but on the contrary would +give them notice of our arrival, although we spared not, at any +tyme, to furnish him and those he called his friends with what +necessaries they wanted. + +Notwithstanding in the year 1666 they began again their old +villainies and outragious practices, not regarding that peace, +but rather lookeing on us as their tributaries, a barbarous +conclusion drawn from our kindnesses, Indian Warner being all +this while amongst them, and would never give us any notice of ye +designs against us, which drew us to conclude he was still +against us, by consent, if not in pson, for those by him +protected as his friends and nearest relations, were chief in +comitting many outtrages murders, rapes and burneings, by which +means we were wholly putt from labour, which if at any time wee +attempted to follow their poisoned arrows were soon in some of +our sides, which spake nothing but death, soon after ye said +Indian Warner was carried prisoner by the French to St. +Xphers[82] being however his friends and nearest relations still +persued their bloody practises against the poore Inhabitants of +this Island for as often as ye men engaged the Ffrench enemy, the +said Indians were comitting their murders, rapes and other +villanyss amongst ye women and children, and when the Ffrench had +subdued ye Island and disarmed our inhabitants and carried away +our negroes and what else they thought fitt, then did these +Indians prosecute all villanies imaginable against our naked +inhabitants haveing nothing but the mercy of God to protect +ourselves from their cruelties, at which time, we having +submitted to the Ffrench on their promise of safety from ye +barbarisme of the said Indians, ye said Indians came to the house +of Collo Cardine late Governr of this Island who cyvilly treated +them, but at their departure desired him in friendship to walk +with them to the sea-side, where they cruelly murdered him, and +those that were with him, cutting off Collo Cardine's head, +broyled it and carried it to Dominica in triumph. But before +their departure returned to Collo Cardine's house, and carried +away his wife children and others, with them into captivity where +some of them perished. + +Neare to this same tyme they went to the house of Mr. Thomas +Taylor pretending friendshipp and by him they were kindly +entertained, but before they departed they murdered ye said +Taylor, Mr. Thomas Beadle minister, Mr. Robert Boyers, wounding +others with poisoned arrows to death and carried away Mrs Taylor +and children, Mrs. Chrew and children, Mrs Lynt[83] and children, +with many to tedious to relate, and in these and ye like bloody +practises they continued untill a peace was proclaimed betwixt +our more gracious king, ye Ffrench, and Dutch. All which bloody +cruelties were acted and done by ye Chiefs of Indian Warner's +friends, without the least cause or provocation on our part. + +And since ye peace made with them by the Lord William Willoughby, +although they have been kindly received and entertained by our +inhabitants out of respect to the said peace, yett they soon +begain their accustomed cruelties fore comeing to Parham Hill +plantation in agreeable manner were civilly and librally +entertained at their departure murdered several seamen that were +taking in tobacco, and planters that were carrying the same to ye +boats with out any manner of provocation. + +Some of ye said Indians being soone after apprehended at +Mountserrat by our generall, who intended to have given them a +due reward for ye said murders, but such was our clemency towards +them, that if by any means wee could have brought them to live +peaceably by us, wee made our humble addresses unto our generall +to lett them goe, which we hardly obtained from his Excellency, +but no sooner were they loose but they comitted roberies upon ye +said Island. + +Such hath always been their requitalls of any kindnesses or +civilities shewn them, and amongst these Indians were the freinds +and associates of the said Indian Warner and by him then +interceeded for alledging they were not the persons that had done +the said murders, although afterwards appeared that these whom he +a called his friends were the men that comitted ye said murder. + +And to manifest the truth thereof, one of his nearest allies, in +the yeare 1674 came with other Indians to the plantation of Collo +Phillip Warner and killed severall Christians and carried away +sixteen negroes, and one Christian child, whom they afterwards +cruelly murdered, and at the return of the said Indians from this +Island, Indian Warner mett them at Guardeloup and craved share of +the booty they had brought from Antigua, and afterwards some of +ye goods [_obliterated_] Collo Warner's boyling house at their +being last there comitting of murders aforesaid were found in the +village belonging to Indian Warner in Dominica and were brought +back by some of Collo Warner's servants. + +Thus hath the said Indian Warner often dealt treacherously, +pretending freindshipp, but proving and absolute enemy, not only +to this Island, but to our whole nation, for himself declared +that he had a Ffrench comission, and said that he would rather +serve ye Spaniards then ye English and finding ourselves to be +neare our utter ruine by his fraud and treachery, we were +constrained humbly to crave ayde of our captain generall to give +us his comission to make war against the said Indians, without +exception that we might labour by his just power to redeem +ourselves from those cruel practices which wee had long laine +under, which he was pleased to grant. + +We then besought Collo Phillip Warner, our governor to goe in +person against them, which at our earnest request he was pleased +to undertake and with very great difficulty and hazard did doe +such service upon them which hath procured our ease and rest in +some measure to this tyme, although not without continnall +watching and warding to our great charge and trouble, they still +threatening a bloody revenge upon this place. + +And it is evident, had not Collo Warner's party beene quick in +giving the first blow, upon those our bloody enemies, he and +those with him had received the same measure from our pretended +freinds but utter enemies. Who had agreed with those hee called +our enemies to destroy Collo Warner and his party and to that end +had them at rediness at hand, but God Almighty prevented them, +not sufferinge him any longer to raigne in his barbarous +practices of which this Island might give a large acompt for +neare forty yeares past and whether ye said Indian Warner with +his associates received not a due recompense for their villanys +and barbarous practices wee appeal to God and all ye world. + + (Signed) Richard Boraston. Rowld. Williams. + (Autographs) Jonas Watts. Paul Hicks. + Jacob Hill. Jere. Watkins. + Saml. Irish. Richd. Ayres. + Daniel Pellar. John Cade. + Thomas Beck. Will Thomas. + Franc. Carlisle. John Mayer. + 1676 Tho. Turner. Samuel Jones. + +May it please your honours, + +The sense wee have of the sufferings of Collo Phillipe Warner, +our late governor by and for an action by which wee have received +soe many advantages, and which the prayers of our inhabitants +constrained him by ------ comission to undertake, hath highly +obliged us to suplicate your honours, on his behalfe. Not that we +doubt his being justly dealt with, and according to law, but to +give your honors to understand that it was not by any designe or +private concern of Collo Phillip Warner that carried on that warr +and that action wherein it is said Indian Warner fell. But it was +founded on the supplication of the inhabitants here, that for +many yeares enjoyed little rest from the incursions of those +Indians of Dominica and amongst them those of Warner's family. +Some crying for their husbands slaine with poisoned arrows, +others for their children snatcht from them. Those and the such +like were the common complaints here. Until by their humble +addresse to our generall they obtained comission to goe under the +command of Collo Warner who was not easily wrought upon to +undertake it; but being highly importuned by all, he at length +complied and by that action we have since enjoyed much peace and +they have not dared to putt foot uppon our shoare, which we +wholly attribute to God's mercy towards us, but that action as +the second cause. This wee humbly offer unto your honors fearing +you may not otherwise be given to understand, what was the first +cause that moved to that action, as will appear if all papers +relating thereunto may be perused. We have not more to request +from your honrs than to give your favourable constructions of the +matter humbly take leave and subscribe ourselves your most humble +servants, + + Richard Boraston, &c. &c. + +Falmo July ye 25th, 1676. + +To ye Honble. his Maties. justices of Oyer and terminer appointed +for the triall of Collo Phillip Warner in ye Island of Barbadoes + +These humbly are sent. + +It was not Col. Warner alone who was implicated in this affair, +although he plays the most prominent part. Many of the offenders +had their lands taken from them, until the issue of their trial +was known; but Col. Warner and Lieut. Ffrye, of their own free +will, delivered up their possessions, immediately upon their +being charged with the crime already narrated, as may be learnt +from the following passage extracted from an old record (speaking +of those persons who had been dispossessed of their lands):-- + +"Excepted the lands of Collo Phillip Warner at the ffig tree, and +at the Road being resigned up freely by himself. Also excepted +the lands of Lieut. John Ffrye, lying and beinge in the body of +this Island beinge resigned up freely by him." + + + ------ + +[81] Christopher Reynall. + +[82] St. Christopher's. + +[83] Lynch. + + + + + No. 7. + + + + GENEALOGY OF THE WILLIAMS FAMILY. + +The family of the Williams' trace their colonial descent from + +-- Williams, Esq., who was supposed to have emigrated from +England under the auspices of William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, +and, by tradition, is said to have been the first Englishman who +set foot in the Island of Antigua. He planted and settled the +family estate at Old Road, and dying, left a son, + +Rowland, colonel in the army, and the first white child born in +the colony, about the year 1632. He fulfilled for some time the +office of governor of Antigua, and in the attack upon the French, +to recover St Christopher's, in 1690, he gallantly distinguished +himself, having under his command a body of eight hundred +Antiguan troops. He died in 1713, at the advanced age of eighty, +universally lamented by all who knew him, and was interred in the +parish church of Old Road, of which edifice he was the principal +founder. His will is now to be seen in the Prerogative Court of +Canterbury. He left issue, by his wife, two sons, Thomas, his +heir, and Samuel, student of Christ's College, Oxford, of which +university he was a distinguished member. He is honourably +mentioned by Oldmixon, in his "British Empire." He died at an +early age (probably in his father's lifetime) s. p. + +Thomas, son and heir of the above Col. Rowland Williams, was a +colonel in the army, of Old Road estate, Antigua, and of +Newlands, co. Surrey, m. in 1705, Mary, dau. of Edward Byam, +(then fulfilling the government of Antigua,) by his first wife, +Mary, dau. of Samuel Winthorpe, Esq., and granddau. of John +Winthorpe, first governor of New England, and of Groton Hall, co. +Suffolk. The likeness of this lady (Mary, the wife of Col. Thomas +Williams) was in possession of the late Rowland-E. Williams, at +Newlands. Col. Thomas Williams dying, left issue, by Mary, his +wife, + i. Edward, son and heir. + ii. Rowland, died s. p. + iii. Samuel, entered at University College, Oxon, 3 November, + 1737, died s. p. + iv. Sarah, died s. p. + +Edward, son and heir, of Old Road. Antigua, and Newlands, in the +parish of Thames Ditton, co. Surrey, born 9 May, 1710, m. in +1747, Mary, dau. of -- Bennet, of Penryth, co. Cumberland. He, +dying 6 April, 1784, was buried at Thames Ditton, aforesaid, +leaving issue by his wife, + i. Rowland-Edward, son and heir. + ii. Samuel, who possessed an estate in Hampshire, and dying s. + p. in 1825, was buried at Lyndhurst, in that county. + +Rowland-Edward, as eldest son, inherited the family estates of +Old Road, Antigua, and Newlands, co. Surrey, born 18 Dec 1784, m. +Mary, dau. of Robert Symes, of the Island of Jamaica, Esq., and +dying 28 Nov. 1826, in the seventy-eighth year of his age, left +issue two sons, + +i. Rowland-Edward, son and heir. + +ii. Samuel Williams, captain in the Royal Navy, and two daus. + +Rowland-Edward Williams, as eldest son, possesses the family +estates in England and Antigua, the patrimonial domains of his +ancestors, who came in among the first settlers; member of her +Majesty's privy council in that island, and late captain in the +10th regiment of Hussars, m. Mary-Anne, dau. of Sir Patrick Ross, +K.C.B., (then captain-general and governor-in-chief of the +Leeward Caribbee Islands,) who, dying at the early age of +thirty-two, left issue by him two sons, one of which only +survives. + + + + + Nos. 8 & 9. + + + + GENEALOGY OF THE CODRINGTON FAMILY. + +One of the great ancestors of the Codrington family was John de +Codrington, grandson of Geoffrey Codrington, standard-bearer to +Henry V., 1415; he afterwards purchased the manor of Wapeley in +1455, living to the great age of 112; died in 1475. From this +source descends the family of Codrington connected with Antigua. + +Geoffrey Codrington, of Codrington, co. Gloucester, left issue a +son, Robert, of the same place, and also of Sodbury. Robert had +issue three sons, Morvail, Humphry, and John. + +John, m. and had issue, Christopher, and Edward. + +Edward, m. and had a son, + +Thomas, who m. and had a son, + +Simon, who died in 1618, leaving by his wife, Anne, co-heiress of +Richard Seacole, of Didmarton, co. Gloucester, three sons, + +i. John. ii. Giles. iii. Robert. + +Robert Codrington, m. Anne, co-heiress of Richard Stubbs, and +left issue, Christopher, and John. John was of Didmarton, and +died in 1670. + +Christopher, the eldest son, was a lieutenant-colonel in the +army, and settled in Barbados in the year 1649, after having +contended in the Royal cause; he married and had two sons, +Christopher, and John, the latter colonel of the Life-guards in +Barbados, of whom presently. + +Christopher, the elder son, was governor of the Leeward Islands +in 1689, and died in 1698, leaving, by ------, his wife, two +sons, Christopher, the celebrated founder of All Souls', Oxford, +and John, who died in the lifetime of his brother. + +Christopher, the elder son, was the purchaser, from his cousin, +Samuel, of Doddington, in Gloucestershire, and was appointed to +succeed his father in the government of the Leeward Islands, in +1698. Among his great possessions in the West Indies, he had an +estate called "Betty's Hope," in Antigua, from whence, 22 Feb. +1702, was dated his will, making such munificent bequests for the +foundation of a college in Barbados, and to All Souls' College, +Oxford, which is thus described in a contemporary work, among the +remarkable events of the year 1710:-- "About the same time (21 +July, 1710) came advice from the Leeward Islands of the death of +Col. Christopher Codrington, for some time captain-general of +those Islands. He left the bulk of his estate to his +cousin-german, Col. William Codrington, of Barbados, (and also of +Antigua,) which is reckoned to amount to 40,000l. and upwards. He +most generously bequeathed 20,000l. to the Society for +Propagating the Faith in that part of the world; and having for +many years been Fellow of All Souls', Oxford, gave that college +10,000l., as also his noble library, valued at 6000l. more. He +ordered his body to be buried there, and allowed only 20l. for a +gravestone upon it, but left 1500l. for erecting a monument for +his father in _Westminster Abbey_." And to his remaining estates, +his cousin, Col. William Codrington succeeded accordingly. He was +a Member of the Council of the Island of Antigua, and son of Col. +John Codrington, of the Life-guards, Barbados, by his wife, the +dau. of Col. Bates, of the same island. Col. William Codrington +is spoken of in very high terms by "Oldmixon," in his "British +Empire in America," _as one of the two men of the best heads and +best fortunes in British America_, (Col. Edward Byam, as already +mentioned, being the other,) and was very deservedly created a +Baronet, 21 April, 1721. He died 17 Dec. 1738, leaving by his +wife, Elizabeth, dau. of William Bethel, of Swindon, co. York, +Esq., four sons, + i. William, second Bart., who succeeded him, and of whom + hereafter. + ii. John-Archibald, died s. p. in 1759. + iii. Christopher, m., and died s. p. in 1797. + iv. Edward. + +To John Archibald he bequeathed his Barbados estates. To +Christopher he bequeathed an estate called "Rooms's," in Antigua. +To Edward the Folly estate in that island, (now modernized into +"Bath Lodge,") and comprising "Betty's Hope," the "Cotton +Estate," and the "Cables," all in the Island of Antigua, and the +entire Island of Barbuda, in the general bequest to his eldest +son and successor. + +Sir William, second Bart., M.P. for Minehead, co. Somerset, dying +11 March, 1792, left, by Anne, his wife, the dau. of -- Acton, +Esq., a son and heir of his own name--viz., + +Sir William, third Bart., who died in France in 1816, whereupon +his cousin, + +Christopher-Bethel Codrington, of Dodington Park, co. Gloucester, +assumed the title, asserting his cousin to have died in France, +without lawful issue. He was the son of Edward, by his wife, +Rebecca Le Sturgeon, and grandson of Sir William, the first +Bart., the son of Col. John Codrington, Treasurer of Barbados, by +his wife, the dau. of Col. Bates, of the same island, as already +mentioned. Besides Christopher-Bethel, of Dodington Park, Edward +was the father of Sir Edward Codrington, the hero of Navarino, +G.C.B., K.S.L., K.S.G., and Rear-Admiral of the Blue; and also of +Caroline, the wife of Joseph-Lyons Walrond, of Walrond's and +Lyon's Estates, in Antigua, and of Dulford House, co. Devon, and +by whom she has, Bethel Walrond, Esq., formerly M.P. for Sudbury, +who m. in 1829, Lady Janet Erskine, dau. of the Earl of Rosslyn. +Sir Christopher-Bethel, of Dodington Park, aforesaid, m. 15 Aug. +1796, the Hon. Carolina-Georgiana-Harriott Foley, dau. of Thomas, +second Lord Foley, (by Harriott, dau. of William, second Earl of +Harrington, by Caroline Fitzroy, dau. of Charles, second Duke of +Grafton, K.G.,) and by her had, (among other children,) + +Sir William-Christopher, the present Bart., born 12 March, 1805, +and m. Lady Georgiana Somerset, dau. of his Grace the present +Duke of Beaufort. + +It may be right to observe, that the title is disputed by his +cousin, William-Raimond Codrington, who alleges himself to be the +legitimate son of William, the third Bart., but this is a +litigation into which we shall not enter. + + + + + No. 10. + + + + GENEALOGY OF THE MATHEW FAMILY. + +The family of the Mathews originally came from Glamorganshire, +(where they were one with the Mathews, Earls of Llandaff,) +emigrated to the West Indies, from Cornwall, in the Heraldic +Visitation for which county, in 1622, they are mentioned. The +lineal descent of the present branch of the family, from the +first settler of the name, may be traced in the following manner +--viz., + +Abednego Mathew, of Pennetenny and St. Kew, co. Cornwall, born in +1629, was a colonel in the army, and emigrating to the West +Indies, obtained grants of land, first in Antigua, and afterwards +in St Christopher's, of which island he became governor, through +the interest (it is supposed) of his second cousin, George, Duke +of Albemarle, and Sir Richard Grenville, and which situation he +honourably filled until his death, 18 April, 1681. He m. a Miss +Sparrow, a West Indian heiress, by whom he left issue two sons, + i. Charles, colonel in the army, m. Miss Dashwood. His arms, + impaled with those of Dashwood, are given in a General Atlas, + published in 1721, to which work he was a subscriber. + ii. William, Knt. + +Sir William Mathew was one of the brightest luminaries the West +Indies produced: a brave soldier--an accomplished gentleman--a +true friend--and a good governor. He was colonel of Monk's own +regiment, the Coldstream-guards, and highly distinguished himself +by his gallant bearing and true martial glory, at the siege of +Namur, Neerwinden, &c., under William III. In 1702, he was +nominated brigadier-general of her Majesty's Guards; and in 1704, +appointed captain-general and governor-in-chief of the Leeward +Caribbee Islands, and sailing from England at the beginning of +June, in a squadron consisting of five men-of-war, and six +transports, arrived at Antigua, the seat of his government, 14 +July, 1704, where he died 4th Dec following. Sir William Mathew +m. Katharine, Baroness Van Leempat, an heiress of the celebrated +family of that name in Holland, and who accompanied Mary, Queen +of William III., to England as one of the maids of honour. The +nuptials were celebrated at Kingston, co. Surrey. The Baroness +accompanied her husband to the West Indies, where she surviving +him nineteen years, died at St Christopher's, 26 March, 1723. Sir +William left issue by his lady, + +i. Abednego. ii. Edward. iii. William, of whom hereafter. i. +Susan. ii. Louisa. + +William (third son of Sir William Mathew) was another +distinguished officer in her Majesty's service, +brigadier-general, and colonel in the Coldstream-guards, and +served as second in command under Lord Peterborough, in the +Peninsular wars. General Mathew acted as lieut.-governor of the +Leeward Islands in 1730; and 13 Sept. 1752, was appointed +captain-general, and commander-in-chief. He m. 1st, Anne, dau. of +General Thomas Hill, Governor of Nevis, who died s. p.; and +2ndly, ----, dau. of the Hon. Daniel Smith, President, and +sometime governor of Nevis, a great heiress, possessing estates +in St. Kitts, Nevis, and Antigua, by whom he had issue four sons, + i. William, died young. + ii. Daniel, of Antigua, and Felix Hall, co. Essex, Esq., + sometime high-sheriff for that co. He m. at Antigua, 10 May, + 1750, Mary, dau. of George Byam, and grandson of Governor + Edward Byam, by whom he had issue, + 1. Daniel-Byam, of Felix Hall, and Antigua, m. Elizabeth, + dau. of Sir Edward Deering, Bart., (by whom issue.) + 2. George, m. Euphemia, dau. of John Hamilton, Esq., by whom + he had issue a son, George, captain in the + Coldstream-guards, and late M.P. for Shaftesbury, m. in + 1835, the dau. and heir of the celebrated antiquary, Sir + Richard-Colt Hoare, Bart., and has issue a son, born 5 + March, 1839. + 1. Mary, m. to James, Lord Gambier, K.C.B., admiral. + 2. Jane, m. to Samuel Gambier, commissioner in the navy. + 3. Elizabeth, m. in 1779, to Robert-Monckton Arundel, + Viscount Galway, by whom, among other issue, she had + William-George, the present viscount, born in 1782. + iii. Edward, major-general in the army, and governor of + Grenada, and sometime equerry to the Queen's household, m. 31 + March, 1743; Lady Jane Bertie, dau. of the third Duke of + Ancaster,[84] and by her (who died 21 July, 1793) had issue, + 1. Mathew, born 11 Sept. 1762, 2. Jane, m. 30 Aug. 1776, + Thomas Maitland, of Herts, Esq. + iv. Abednego, m. ----, and had issue two daus., the second of + which, Mary-Buckly, m. Hugh, Viscount Carlton. + + + ------ + +[84] The three only daus. of this third Duke of Ancaster m. West +Indians: Lady Mary-Bertie, the eldest, was united to Samuel +Greathead, Esq. of Guy's Cliff, and M.P. for Coventry, and died +13 May, 1774; Albemia, the second dau. of his Grace, m. Frances +Beckford, Esq., and died 12 Feb. 1754; and Jane, (as already +seen,) m. Major-Gen. Edward Mathew, and had issue a son, +Brownlow-Bertie Mathew, who assumed the name and arms of Bertie, +in accordance with the will of his maternal uncle, Brownlow, last +Duke of Ancaster, and Marquess of Lindsey. + + + + + No. 11. + + + + _List of the Members of the House of Assembly at the time of + the death of Governor Parke, copied from the Original Returns._ + + Dr. Daniel Mackinnon. + Mr. Edward Chester. + Returns made by John Col. John Gamble. + Gamble, Esq. Mr. William Granodle. St. John's Town. + By Richard Oliver, Col. Thomas Williams. + Esq. Major John Tomlinson. St. John's Division. + Captain John Pigott. New North Sound + By Edward Byam, Esq. Captain John Painter. Division. + Mr. Jacob Morgan Dickenson Bay + By S. Watkins, Esq. Samuel Watkins, Esq. Division. + Richard Cockran, Esq. + By Charles Lloyd, Esq. Charles Lloyd. Nonsuch Division. + By Thomas Osterman, Col. John Ffrye. Old Road and Bermudian + Esq. Captain John Roe. Valley Div. + By John Haddon, Esq. Mr. Andrew Murry. Five Islands. + Mr. John Elliot. + By John Kerr, Esq. John Kerr, jun. Belfast. + Edward Warner, Esq. Falmouth and + By John Horsford, Esq. Isaac Horsford, Esq. Rendezvous Bay. + By Nathaniel Crump, Mr. Samuel Phillips. Old North Sound + Esq. Nathaniel Crump. Division. + Mr. Baptist Looby. Willoughby Bay + By G. Lucas, Esq. G. Lucas. Division. + By Francis Rogers, Mr. Francis Carlisle. + Esq. Mr. William Hamilton. Popeshead Division. + + + + + No. 12. + + + + LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF GOVERNOR PARKE. + +It may not be uninteresting to some of my readers to peruse a +copy of the will of that unhappy man, Governor Parke: it is here +inserted. It is worthy of notice, that anxious as Col. Parke was +to perpetuate his name, it has become utterly extinct. The latter +sentence of his will was written upon the morning of the very day +in which he met his fate:-- + +"In the name of God, Amen. I, Daniel Parke, Capt.-Gen. and Chief +Governor, &c., of all the Leeward Islands, make this, my last +Will and Testament, in manner following: (Imprimis, I bequeath my +soul to Almighty God.) I give all my estate in these islands, +both land and houses, negroes, debts, and so forth, to Thos. +Long, Esq. and Mister Ceasar Rodney, for the use of Mistress Lucy +Chester, being the daughter of Mistress Katharine Chester,[85] +though she is not yet christened, and if her mother thinks fit to +call her after any other name, I still doe bequeath all my estate +in the four islands of my government to her; but in case she dies +before she attains the age of twenty-one years, then I bequeath +the same to her mother, Mistress Katharine Chester, that it shall +be and remain in the hands of my loving friends, Collonel Thos. +Long and Mister Ceasar Rodney, the produce of the same to be paid +into her own hands, but to no other person whatsoever, and after +the decease of the said Mistress Katharine Chester, then I +bequeath the same to my godson, Julius Ceasar Parke, and his +heirs for ever, but in case the said youngest daughter of the +said Mistress Katharine Chester lives to marry and have children, +I give the whole to her eldest son, and the heirs male of his +body, and for the want of such heirs, to her second son's son, +and the heirs of his body, and for want of such, to her next, and +so on to her heir, provided still, he that heirs itt, calls +himself by the name of Parke; and my will is, that the said +youngest daughter of Mistress Katharine Chester alter her name, +and that she calls herself by the name of Parke, and that +whosoever shall marry her, calls himself by the name of Parke, +and that she and the heirs of her body, themselves by the name of +Parke, and use my coat of arms which is yet of my family of the +county of Essex, but in case she refuses, or her heirs, to call +themselves by the name of Parke, then my will is, that all my +estate, both real and personal, go to my godson, Julius Ceasar +Parke, to him and the heirs of his body for ever, and for want of +such heirs, to the heirs of my daughter Francis Curtis, and for +want of such heirs, to the heirs of the body of my daughter Lucy +Bird, always provided whoever shall enjoy this my estate, shall +call themselves by the names of Parke. + +"Item, I give to my daughter Francis Curtis, all my estate, both +real and personal, either in Virginia or England, and the heirs +of her body, provided they shall call themselves by the name of +Parke, and for want of such heirs, to the heirs of the body of my +daughter Lucy Bird, and for want of such heirs, to the heirs of +the body of the youngest daughter, now living, of Mistress +Katharine Chester, and for want of such heirs, to the heirs of +the body of Julius Ceasar Parke, provided still, that whoever has +this my estate shall call themselves by the name of Parke, and in +case of failure of heirs, or that they refuse to call themselves +by the name of Parke, then my Will is, that my estate go to the +poor of the parish of White Church, in Hampshire, but my Will is, +that my daughter Francis Curtis pay out of my estate in Hampshire +and Virginia, the following legacies and all my debts, that is, +to my daughter Lucy Bird, one thousand pounds sterling; to my +godson Julius Ceasar Parke, fifty pounds sterling each year +during his life; to my three sisters and their children, fifty +pounds to buy them rings; and to my Executors, hereafter named in +England, each twenty pounds, and my Will is, that Thos. Long, +Esq. of this island, and Mister Ceasar Rodney, and Major Saml. +Byam, be my Executors in trust for the performance of what is to +be done with my estate in the Leeward Islands; and that Micajah +Perry, Esq., Mister Thomas Laws, and Mr. Richard Perry, of +London, merchant, be Executors in trust for the performance of +what is to be done in England and Virginia, and I doe hereby +Revoke all former Wills, Declaring this to be my last Will and +Testament, being writ with all my owne hand, signed and sealed in +St John's, in Antigua, the Twenty-ninth day of January, in the +year of our Lord, One thousand seven hundred nine and ten. + +"Sealed, published, and Declared to be his Will and Testament, + +Daniel Parke. + +"In the presence of us, +"Herbert Pember, +"John Birmingham, +"William Martin. + +"December the seventh. One thousand seven hundred and ten, I doe +appoint in the room of Collonel Thos. Long, deceased, Mister +Abraham Redwood to be one of my Executors in trust, to see this +my Will performed. + +"Daniel Parke. + +"By the Honourable Walter Hamilton, Esq., Lieut-Gen. and +Commander-in-Chief in and over all her Majesty's Leeward Charibbe +Islands in America, and ordering of the same for the time being, +December twentieth, One thousand seven hundred and ten. + +"Then Hubert Pember, of the said island, Esq., and William +Martin, of the town of St. John's, vintner, personally came and +appeared before me, and made oath on the Holy Evangelists of +Almighty God, that they were present, and did see his late +Excellency Daniel Parke, Esq., late Capt. Gen. and +Governor-in-Chief of the Leeward Islands, sign, seal, publish, +and declare the within instrument of writing, as and for his last +Will and Testament, and were subscribing witnesses to the same, +and that the said Daniel Parke was then of perfect mind, memory, +and understanding, to the best of their judgment and knowledge. + +"Sworn before me the day and year above written, + +"Walter Hamilton. "Robt. Pember. +"Wm. Martin." + + + ------ + +[85] Wife of Edward Chester, Esq. + + + + + No. 13. + + + + ACCOUNT OF THE MACKINNON FAMILY. + +This Dr. Mackinnon (mentioned page 81, vol. 1,) was the second +son of Lacklin More Mac'kinnon, chieftain of the powerful +Highland clan of the Mac'Kinnons. He was the founder of the +Mackinnon family in Antigua; and as his estates in that island +are still in the hands of his representative, Wm. Alex. +Mackinnon, Esq., a short account of that gentleman's lineal +descent, from the celebrated Dr. Mackinnon, may not prove +superfluous. + + Genealogy. + +Dr. Daniel Mackinnon, of Dickenson's Bay, Antigua, member of the +legislature in that island, representing the town of St. John's +in the assembly convened 22 May, 1710, and one of the most +influential men of his day, m. Alice, dau. of William Thomas, +Esq. of Antigua, and ancestor of the present Sir George Thomas, +Bart., by whom he had issue, + i. William, of whom hereafter. + ii. Charles, m. the dau. of ---- Cunningham, Esq., of St. + Christopher's, by whom he had issue. + iii. Elizabeth, m. at St. John's, Antigua, 28 April, 1708, 1st, + Francis Carlisle, Esq. of Antigua, the second of the name in + that island, by whom she had a dau., Alice, who m. Ralph + Payne, Esq. of St. Christopher's, (nephew of Sir Charles + Payne, created a baronet in 1737,) and who, on her decease, + m. 2ndly, Margaret Galway, and by her had Admiral John Payne, + and Gen. Sir William Payne, who m. Lady Harriet Quin, dau. of + the Earl of Dunraven, and who, in 1814, took the name of + Galway. He was succeeded by his son, the present Baronet in + 1831.) But by Alice Carlisle, the first wife of the aforesaid + Ralph Payne, he had Sir Ralph Payne, K.B., late Lord + Lavington, of whom a more ample detail will be found in + another place (vide page 136, and Appendix No. 15.) Elizabeth + (the dau. of Dr. Daniel Mackinnon above mentioned) m. 2ndly, + at a very advanced age, John Gray, of Antigua, Esq. + +i. William Mackinnon, son and heir, succeeded his father, Daniel +Mackinnon, born in 1697, died 8 Oct. 1767, and was buried in +Abbey Church, Bath, where there is a monument erected to his +memory, m. Charity, second dau. of William Yeamans, of Mill Hill, +Antigua, by whom he left issue, + i. William, son and heir, of whom hereafter. + ii. Elizabeth, m. Thomas Fraser, Esq., M.D., of Antigua, by + whom she had, 1. William-Mackinnon Fraser, of London and of + Bath; 2. Jane, m. to Charles Grant, Esq., chairman of the + Hon. East India Company, by whom she had the present Lord + Glenelg; 3. Charity, m. to William Chambers, Esq. M.D., by + whom she was the mother of the celebrated physician of the + same name now living. To revert to the son, + +i. William Mackinnon, (the son of William, by his wife, Charity +Yeamans,) who m. Dorothy, the dau. of Henry Vernon, Esq., of an +ancient family of that name, in Staffordshire, and had issue, + i. William, of whom presently. + ii. Daniel, Esq., barrister-at-law, who m. Rachel, dau. of + Thomas Eliot, Esq., and had issue. + iii. Henry, major-general in the army, who was slain at + Badajos, Spain, by the explosion of a mine, leaving, by + Catharine, his wife, dau. of Sir John Call, Bart., (since + re-married to A. R. Prior, Esq.,) 1. George, a colonel in the + army, and of the Coldstream Regt. of Guards, and 2. Donald, + captain in -- Regt. of Infantry. + +i. William, the eldest son, m. Harriott, the dau. of Francis +Ffrye, of Bermudian Valley, Antigua, Esq., by whom he had, + i. William-Alexander, now a most able and useful M.P., + representing Lymington, in Hampshire, m. to Emma, dau. of + Joseph Palmer, Esq. + ii. Daniel, colonel in the Coldstream regt. of Guards. + iii. Harriott, the wife of the Rev. Dr. Molesworth, rector of + Rochdale, in Lancashire. + + + + + No. 14. + + + + PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE NEGRO INSURRECTION OF 1736. + +"_His Excellency and Council to the Gentlemen of the Assembly,_ + +"Gentlemen-- + +"I think fit to lay before you a remonstrance I have received +from the justices who have examined into the intended +insurrection of the negroes. I could not forbear remarking to +this board the grateful sense I have of this great service, and +have found here every member as moved as myself. I cannot doubt +but the Assembly will give a _public testimony_ of their +satisfaction and acknowledgment to the gentlemen, from whose +wisdom, public zeal, and indefatigable care, we found a crime of +the deepest die, and of universal danger, and the public safety +secured by the most criminal having been brought to justice. + + "By command, + + "De la Court Walsh, &c." + + + ------ + + "_Members of the Assembly to his Excellency._ + +"We are extremely sensible of the zeal and integrity with which +the magistrates have acted, in endeavouring to discover and +punish the principal offenders in the insurrection intended by +the slaves of this island, as well as of the prudence and temper +with which they have proceeded in this matter; and, therefore, we +shall not be wanting on our part, to testify our acknowledgment +for the same, by appointing some members of our house to return +these our thanks upon that account. + + "Thos. Kerby, Speaker." + + + ------ + +The following relates to the execution of "Frank," one of the +conspirators of the Ravine:-- + +"Gentlemen-- + +"I sent you a report of the justices of the conspiracies, dated +15th instant, upon which I observed to you, that the execution of +the negro "Frank," belonging to E. Chester, Esq., had been +suspended from Friday the 17th, to this 20th of December, upon +some information and application to the justices; which, having +been considered fully by them, he is, accordingly, this day to +suffer the aforesaid sentence of death, by being burnt in Otto's +Pasture. + + "By command, &c. + +"Council Chamber, 20th Dec. 1736." + + + ------ + +In the thirtieth chapter of this work, will be found another +letter from a white inhabitant of Antigua, to a friend in +England, giving a fuller account of the mode of execution +practised upon some of the unfortunate actors in this melancholy +affair. The military strength of Antigua at this period consisted +of "Monk's Hill," mounted with thirty guns; a fort, known as +"Great Fort," at the entrance of St. John's Harbour, mounted with +fourteen guns; and seven other batteries, with twenty-six pieces +of cannon. + + + + + No. 15. + + + + GENEALOGY OF THE THOMAS FAMILY. + +The family of Sir George Thomas is certainly of Welsh extraction, +and, by tradition, came from Glamorganshire, and still possess +considerable property in Antigua. The first of the name in the +island was + +William Thomas, of Bristol, Esq., who afterwards emigrating to +Antigua, became a member of the legislature of that island, and +in such capacity signed the "Remonstrance," drawn up in the case +of Col. Philip Warner, in 1676. He married, at St. Augustine's, +Bristol, 2 Nov. 1665, Lydia Tomlinson, by whom he had issue two +sons and two daus.--viz., + i. William, son and heir, member of her majesty's council in + Antigua, died in or about 1717, leaving his nephew, George + Thomas, his heir. + ii. George, (second son of William Thomas,) col. in the army, + m. -- Winthorpe, dau. of Samuel Winthorpe, of Antigua, Esq., + and sister of the first wife of Edward Byam. Col. Thomas + dying 13 May, 1707, left issue two sons and one dau.--viz., + 1. George, first Bart., of whom hereafter. + 2. William, who m. -- Yeamans, dau. of John Yeamans, of Mill + Hill, Antigua, Esq., and dying, left issue, + William, who was killed in a duel, and left his estate to + his sister. + Elizabeth, who m. Frances Farley, Esq., and dying s. p., + left her estate to her husband. + 3. Elizabeth, m. William Dunbar, of Dickenson's Bay, Antigua, + Esq. + iii. Lydia, who m. 1st, the Hon. Samuel Martin, and 2ndly, + Governor Byam. + iv. Alice, m. to Dr. Daniel Mackinnon, of Antigua, the first + settler of the name in that island. + +Sir George Thomas, Bart., who inherited the estates of his uncle, +the Hon. William Thomas, was appointed governor of the Leeward +Islands, 25 Jan. 1752, and afterwards created a Baronet. He left +issue, by his wife, Lydia, dau. of John King, Esq. of Antigua, + i. William, second Bart. + i. Lydia, who m. John White, Esq. of Chichester, M.P., and + whose granddau., Frances, m. Gen. Crosbie. + ii. Margaret, m. to Arthur Freeman, Esq., by whom she had, + among other issue, Inigo Freeman, of Ratten, near Eastbourne, + Sussex, and who assumed the name of Thomas, m. 1st, + Charlotte, dau. of Henry Peirce, Esq. of Bedale, co. York; + and 2ndly, Frances, dau. of Viscount Middleton, and has issue + by both marriages. + +Sir George Thomas dying at Upper Brook-street, London, 31 Dec. +1774, was succeeded by his eldest son, + +Sir William, who was living at Pickitt's Hill, co. Hants, in +1745, high-sheriff for Sussex in 1767, m. Margaret, only dau. and +heir of Walter Sydserfe, Esq. of Antigua, and Soho, London, and +had issue, + i. Sir George, third Bart. + i. Anne, m. in 1774, to Stephen Popham, Esq. + ii. Elisabeth, m. to Andrew Lyon, of Edinburgh, Esq. + iii. Maria, m. to General Popham. + iv. Margaret, m. to William Roe, Esq. + v. Lydia, m. to Alexander Adair, Esq. + +Sir William died 16 Dec. 1779, and was succeeded by his eldest +son, + +Sir George, of Dale Park, co. Sussex, m. 1st, Jane-Louisa, dau. +of Alexander Salis, Esq. of Andelheim, Alsace, Switzerland, by +whom he had issue, + Sir George-William-Lewis, fourth Bart. + +Sir George (third Bart.) m. 2ndly, Sophia, dau. of Admiral John +Montague, who was living in 1843, s. p., and dying in 1816, was +succeeded by his son, + +Sir George-William-Lewis, present Bart., born about 1768, m. +Elizabeth, dau. of Richard Welsh, Esq., by whom he has issue, + i. George, died in 1820. + ii. Montague. iii. William. + i. Helen. ii. Sophia. + iii. Louisa-Leonora, m. in 1841, to -- Browne, Esq., 41st regt. + at Weymouth. + iv. Elizabeth. + + + + + No. 16. + + + + GENEALOGY OF THE CARLISLES AND LAVINGTONS. + +The first of the Carlisle family of whom we find any record, was + +Richard Carlisle, who m. Elizabeth, dau. of Richard Conyers, and +had issue, + +Thomas Carlisle, who m. Anne, dau. of -- Bussell, Esq. of co. +Somerset, and had, among other children, + +Francis Carlisle, of Mells, in Somerset, and who was included in +the Heraldic Visitation of that county for the year 1623. He m. a +lady whose name is not on record, but who was alive in 1663, when +her son bequeathed her an annuity of 15l. for her life. This son +was a second + +Francis Carlisle, of Wemden, and of Durleigh, near Bridgewater, +at the former of which places is a property still known by the +name of "Carlisle's." The first Francis Carlisle had another son, +viz., John Carlisle, prebendary of Comb, in the cathedral of +Wells, between 1661 and 1667, and who, on 7 June, 1664, proved +his brother Francis' will in the Archdeacon's Court at Taunton, +and in which will, mention is made of a third + +Francis Carlisle, plainly the first settler of the name in +Antigua, young at the date of his father's death, in 1664, but +who afterwards emigrated to Antigua, where he became a member of +the legislature in 1676, on 25 July of which year, in such +capacity, he signed a remonstrance in vindication of Col. Philip +Warner, inserted in another place, (vide p. 317.) His son, + +Col. Francis Carlisle, was still alive in 1732, when we find him +named as executor to the will of Col. Edward Warner, the +representative, in this island, of Sir Thomas Warner, and the +owner of the Folly and Savannah estates. He (Col. Francis +Carlisle) m. at St John's, Antigua, 28 April, 1708, Anne, dau. of +Daniel Mackinnon, Esq., and had an only dau. and heiress, + +Alice Carlisle, who m. at St John's, Antigua, 8 July, 1735, the +Hon. Ralph Payne, chief justice, and afterwards governor of St +Christopher's, and by whom, who died 1762, she had (besides a +dau. Elizabeth, the wife of Drury Ottley, Esq., who died at his +house in Bryanstone-square, London, 22 April, 1822) a son, + +Sir Ralph Payne, K.B., created Lord Lavington, who succeeded to +this estate on the death of his mother, at St Christopher's, in +1760, at the time when a general sickness prevailed in that +island. Lord Lavington was born at Basseterre, in the parish of +St George, in the island of St. Christopher's, 19 March, 1739, +and before his elevation to the peerage, in the imperial +parliament, he represented the several places of Shaftesbury, +Camelford, and Plympton. In 1771, he was made Knight of the Bath; +and in 1795, was raised to the peerage by the title of Baron +Lavington of Lavington. He m. at St George's, Hanover-square, 1 +Sept. 1767, Frances, Baroness Kolbel, one of the ladies who +accompanied her Majesty Queen Charlotte, on her leaving Germany, +as the bride elect of King George III. Lord Lavington died at +Antigua, 1 Aug. 1807, leaving to his lady his estates for her +life. + + + + + No. 17. + + + + GENEALOGY OF SIR CHARLES AUGUSTUS FITZROY. + +William Crosby, brigadier-general, col. of the Royal Irish, +equerry to the Queen of George II., appointed governor of the +Leeward Islands, and afterwards of New York, in 1730,[86] m. +Grace, the sister of George Montague, Earl of Halifax, and dying +10 March, 1736, left issue by her a dau., + +Elizabeth, who m. 1st, Lord Augustus Fitzroy, second son of +Charles, second Duke of Grafton,[87] and 2ndly, James Jefferys. +She dying 21 Dec. 1788, left by her first husband a son, + +Augustus-Charles Fitzroy, third Duke of Grafton, who m. 29 Jan. +1756, Anne Liddell, dau. and sole heir of Henry, Lord +Ravenscroft, by whom he had issue, + i. George-Henry, fourth Duke of Grafton, who m. Charlotte, dau. + of James, third Earl of Waldegrave, by whom he had a son, + Henry Fitzroy, Earl of Euston, the present Duke of Grafton. + ii. Charles, a general in the army, and colonel of the 48th + Regiment of Foot, m. 20 June, 1795, Frances, dau. of Edward + Millar Munday,[88] of Shepley, co. Derby, the issue of which + marriage was a son, + Sir Charles-Augustus Fitzroy, K.H., the present + commander-in-chief of the Leeward Islands, born 10 June, + 1796, m. Lady Mary Lennox, dau. of Charles, fourth Duke of + Richmond, by which marriage he has issue. + + + ------ + +[86] Philip Crosby, Esq., another descendant of this family, and +a distinguished admiral in the British navy, in 1792, m. +Elizabeth, dau. of William Gunthorpe, Esq. of Bugle Hall, co. +Southampton, and of Winthorpe, in the island of Antigua. + +Lieut.-Gen. Henry Crosby, another of that family, died at Bath, +17 Jan. 1822, aged 79; m. Anne, dau. of the late Samuel Eliot, +Esq. of Belfast Division, in the island of Antigua. + +[87] Henry, the father of this Charles, was the first Duke of +Grafton, so created 11 Sept. 1675. He was mortally wounded by a +shot, that broke two of his ribs, while heading a party in an +assault upon the city of Cork, 21 Sept. 1690, and of which he +died, 9 Oct. following. His son, Charles, (the second Duke of +Grafton,) had two sons, who dying in his lifetime, (the eldest, +George, Earl of Euston, s. p.,) he was succeeded in his title by +his grandson, the son of Lord Augustus Fitzroy, by his wife, +Elizabeth Crosby, of whose marriage mention is made in Oldmixon's +"History of the British Empire," vol. i. p. 260:-- + +"Judge Morris makes mention of Lord Augustus Fitzroy being at New +York, where was then a man-of-war, on board of which that lord +had a command, and while he was in this city, he took to wife a +dau. of the governor, (Brigadier-General Crosby,) an agreeable +young lady." We need hardly repeat, this lady was the +great-grandmother of the present commander-in-chief. Sir C. A. +Fitzroy. + +[88] William Munday, of Markinton, co. Derby, Esq., another +member of this family, m. Harriott-Georgiana, dau. of James +Frampton, of Moreton, co. Dorset, Esq., and granddau. of Phillis +Byam, an heiress of the island of Antigua. + + + + + No. 18. + + + + GENEALOGY OF THE WILLOUGHBY FAMILY. + +The Willoughby family trace from a long line of noble ancestors, +the first of whom known in England was + +Sir John de Willoughby, one of the followers of William, Duke of +Normandy, who, on the conquest of England, gave to him the +lordship from him called Willoughby, in Lincolnshire; and from +this Sir John, we pass to his descendant, in a direct line, + +Sir William de Willoughby, who, the 54th of the reign of Henry +III., was signed with the cross, as the phrase then was, and +accompanied Prince Edward (afterwards King Edward I.) into the +Holy Land. He m. Alice, dau. of John, Lord Beke, of Eresby, and +had issue, + +Sir Robert de Willoughby, who, the 4th of Henry II., inherited, +as next heir, the estates of Anthony Bec, bishop of Durham, and +was summoned to parliament, in three years afterwards, as Baron +Willoughby de Eresby. From this nobleman we pass to his +great-great-grandson, and lineal descendant, + +William Willoughby, fifth Baron Willoughby de Eresby, who died in +1409, leaving, by Lucy, his first wife, dau. of Roger, Lord +Strange, two sons--viz., + i. Robert, sixth Baron Willoughby de Eresby, ancestor of the + Willoughbys of Eresby. + ii. Sir Thomas, a soldier of distinction, and one of the heroes + of Agincourt. He m. Joan, the dau. and heir of Sir Richard + FitzAlan, and was succeeded by his son, + +Sir Robert, who, dying in his minority, was succeeded by his +brother, + +Sir Christopher, who was made a Knight of the Bath, 6 July, 1483. +He m. Margaret, dau. of Sir William Jennet, and by her (among +other children) had, + +Sir Christopher, knighted for his gallant conduct at the siege of +Tournay, temp. Henry VIII. He m. Elizabeth, dau. of Sir George +Talboys, and by her had, + +Sir William, Knt., who was elevated to the peerage, by letters +patent, dated 16 Feb. 1547, in the dignity of Lord Willoughby of +Parham. His lordship having distinguished himself in the wars of +Henry VIII., was made lieutenant of Calais, 4th of Edward VI., +and resided there the remainder of that reign. He m. Elizabeth, +the dau. and heir of Sir Thomas Heneage, by whom he had, + +Charles, second Lord Willoughby of Parham, who espoused Lady +Margaret Clinton, dau. of Edward, first Earl of Lincoln, by whom +he had issue, + +William, who died before his father, leaving issue, by Elizabeth, +his wife, dau. and heir of Sir Christopher Hilliard, a son, + +William, third Lord Willoughby of Parham, who succeeded his +grandfather. This nobleman died in 1617, leaving issue, by his +wife, Lady Frances Manners, dau. of John, fourth Earl of Rutland, +three sons, Henry, Francis, and William. Henry was the fourth +lord, but dying in his infancy, his brother + +Francis succeeded him, and became fifth Lord Willoughby of +Parham. This nobleman, on whose account, in the first and +principal degree, we have introduced the present lineage, married +Elizabeth, second dau. and co-heir of Edward Cicil, Visct. +Wimbledon, and had issue one son, William, who died young, and +three daughters, + i. Diana, m. to Heneage, Earl of Winchilsea. + ii. Frances, m. to William Brereton, Lord Brereton, of Laghlin, + in Ireland; and + iii. Elizabeth, m. to Roger Jones, Visct. Ranelagh. + +This nobleman--viz., Francis, fifth Lord Willoughby--was one of +the most celebrated characters of his age, but whose fortune +brought him to Antigua, and the other Caribbee Islands, of which +he became one of the most distinguished and notable governors; +having under his command at one time, the whole archipelago of +which the British empire in those parts consist. + +Those who would wish to be fully acquainted with the character +and conduct of this nobleman, must consult all the annals of the +eventful period in which he lived, comprising the entire epoch of +the civil wars, and which, from first to last, abound with +anecdotes and facts relating to his personal history. We find him +first mentioned in connexion with the siege of Newark, a place he +gallantly besieged and took, sword in hand, at twelve o'clock at +night; and also at the termination of the civil commotions, as +state prisoner in the Tower of London, for attempting (after his +return from the West India Islands, in 1652) to raise a rebellion +against the government of the Protector, Oliver Cromwell. + +In 1649, when the English fleet revolted from the parliament and +the service of the Commonwealth, they chose this nobleman, +Francis Lord Willoughby, for their commander and admiral; a +capacity in which he attended upon his Majesty Charles II., then +in Holland. Pointing out to his Majesty the islands in the West +Indies which still remained faithful to his cause, and unsubdued, +and where had congregated a vast assemblage of gallant royalists +--the island of Barbados alone counting several thousands of them +--his Majesty proposed to him to give him a commission of +governor thereof, provided only he would go out and assume the +command in his own person; terms with which Lord F. Willoughby +was readily induced to comply--obtaining also a commission from +the Earl of Carlisle, to whom those islands had been previously +granted. Thus armed at all points, he arrived at the island of +Barbados at the beginning of the year 1650. The first act of his +lordship's government, and of the ardent spirits there assembled +and associated with him, was, now that Charles I. had perished by +the fatal axe, to proclaim Charles II., his son, as his +successor;--this was done when, by the laws of the Commonwealth, +it was felony and death to acknowledge the Prince of Wales as +king of England, or rightful heir of any of the territories +thereunto belonging;--and Charles II. was proclaimed accordingly, +on 7th May, 1650. But the legislature of Barbados being at this +time engaged in some affairs of a very delicate nature, they +wished to bring them to a close before any new commander assumed +the head of the government; they therefore entreated his lordship +to suspend his authority for the space of three months, when, on +his return at the end of that period, they promised him all due +submission--an arrangement to which Lord Willoughby assenting, he +left Barbados, with some of his personal friends, (Major Byam in +the number,) and came to Antigua, where they again proclaimed +Charles II. as king of England and the territories thereto +belonging. This seems to be the first occasion of his visiting +the shores of this island; for at the end of the specified term +he returned to Barbados, where, at the expiration of little more +than another year, a fleet arrived for the reduction of that +colony, an account of which will be found in the annals of the +Byam family. (Vide page 40, vol. i.) + +Lord Willoughby availing himself of the comprehensive nature of +the terms then and there obtained, went to England. After the +restoration of Charles II. to the throne of his ancestors, his +lordship renewed his pretensions to Antigua and other West India +colonies; and again obtaining a commission, dated 12th June, +1663, he shipped himself for those ports, and arrived at Barbados +in the August following. In another part of this work is given an +account of his loss off the Saint's Island, near Guadaloupe, with +a large fleet under his command, destined for the recovery of St. +Christopher's, recently taken by the French. On his plantations +at Surinam, his lordship expended no less than £26,000, a vast +sum in those days, equal to £150,000 according to the value of +money in our time; and these possessions (all lost by the +surrender of Surinam, according to the terms of the treaty of +Breda) his lordship, by his will, bequeathed to his nephew, +Lieut-Gen. Henry Willoughby; his Barbados property to his next +nephew, William; and his Antigua estates to his dau., Lady +Brereton, already mentioned. Of this possession of his lordship's +in the island of Antigua, we find traces in the maps of the same, +as late as 1748, wherein on "Collins's" estate, near Nonsuch +Harbour, is marked down, "My lord's pond," "My lord's cove," +evidently in allusion to his lordship's former possessions, and +perhaps personal residence in the island. Lord Francis Willoughby +dying without male issue him surviving, his brother + +William succeeded to his hereditary honours, and became sixth +Lord Willoughby of Parham, and obtaining letters patent for the +renewal of his brother Francis's commission, dated 3 Jan. 1666-7, +he shipped himself for these colonies, where he arrived soon +afterwards. His sons Henry and William, acted conspicuous parts +in the West India islands, where, together with their father, +they found their grave, though no memorial of them now seems to +exist, nor, indeed, have the exact dates of their deaths been +ascertained; but their father, William, Lord Willoughby, by whom +the most ancient of the Antigua laws, as they now exist in the +printed statutes book, were signed, died at Barbados, on 10 +April, 1673. To the circumstance of the considerable mortality in +this family (occurring in these islands) may fairly be traced the +speedy extinction of their hereditary honours, and thus enabling +a foot soldier (collaterally related to those who died in the +Western hemisphere) to claim and recover the ancient honours of +the Willoughby family; for Edward Willoughby, a private in the +confederate army, serving under the illustrious Duke of +Marlborough, perceiving the family honours vacant, and knowing +himself to be a cadet of the house, laid claim to them, and +succeeded in establishing his right to the same, though he did +not long enjoy them, dying in April, 1713, when his brother +Charles succeeded him. It would not be consistent with the plan +of this work to pursue the history of this family further than to +observe, that the title finally became extinct in 1779, in the +person of George Willoughby, the seventeenth Lord Willoughby of +Parham. + +The present Earl of Abingdon traces his descent from George, +seventh Lord Willoughby of Parham, (who succeeded [on the failure +of male issue] William, sixth Lord Willoughby of Parham, +capt.-gen. of the Leeward and Windward Caribbee Islands, and who +died 10 April, 1673,) in the following manner:-- + +Elizabeth, dau. and sole heir of George, seventh Lord Willoughby, +m. James Bertie, second son of James Bertie, second Earl of +Abingdon, (by his wife, Eleanor, dau. of Sir Henry Leigh,) and +had issue a son, who succeeded his grandfather as Willoughby, +third Earl of Abingdon, born in 1692, m. Anna-Maria, dau. of Sir +John Cullin, by whom he had issue, Willoughby, fourth Earl of +Abingdon, born in 1740, m. Charlotte, dau. and coheir of Sir +Peter Warren, K.G., and dying in 1799, was succeeded by his son, +Montague, fifth and present Earl of Abingdon, born in 1784, m. +Emily, dau. of Gen. Thomas Gage, by whom he has issue a son, Lord +Norreys, born in 1808, M.P. for co. of Oxford. + + + + + No. 19. + + + + GENEALOGY OF THE MARTIN FAMILY, OF GREEN CASTLE. + +-- Martin, colonel in the army. He emigrated to the West Indies, +and became proprietor of an estate at Surinam, at which colony, +soon after the Restoration, he swore to having been present at +Charing Cross, London, when Charles, Prince of Wales, was +proclaimed King, under the title of Charles II., and when his +proclamation was read, commanding all persons _then in office_ to +continue so until further notice. This gentleman is said to have +been, under the appellation of Sovereign, the chief magistrate of +Belfast It is supposed he died at Surinam, previous to the +removal of that colony to Antigua, according to the terms of the +treaty of Breda, in 1667, leaving, by ----, his wife, a son, + +Samuel Martin, major in the army, speaker of the house of +assembly in Antigua, in 1689, during the administration of +Christopher Codrington, the elder. He m. 1st, 18 Aug. 1690, the +relict of Christopher Reynall, (who died 8 Aug. 1691, s. p.;) and +2ndly, 28 Jan. 1692, Lydia, dau. of the Hon. William Thomas, of +Antigua, by whom (who re-married Governor Edward Byam) he left +issue three sons, + i. Samuel, son and heir, of whom hereafter. + ii. Thomas, M.D., born in Antigua, died at Jamaica in 1747, + leaving issue. + iii. Josiah, president of the Council of Antigua, m. 1st, Mrs. + Chester, and 2ndly, Mary, dau. of William Yeamans, of New + York, by whom he left a numerous issue. + +Major Samuel Martin being murdered 25 Dec. 1701, was buried at +St. John's, Antigua, and was succeeded in his estates by his +eldest son, + +Samuel, (above mentioned,) a minor at his father's death, but +became afterwards colonel in the army, and speaker of the house +of assembly in Antigua, from about 1753 to 1763. He was possessed +of great virtues and eminent qualifications, and having insured +the goodwill of all his contemporaries, died in 1788, universally +lamented, at the advanced age of about 90 years, leaving by his +first wife, Frances, dau. of John Yeamans, Esq. of Mill Hill, +Antigua, + i. Henrietta, wife of Col. Anstar FitzGerald, (of the Desmond + family,) and who was ancestor of William Thomas FitzGerald, + the poet, and John Fonblanque, the present Commissioner of + Bankruptcies, and + ii. Samuel, treasurer to the Princess of Wales, M.P. for + Camelford and Hastings, and one of the joint-secretaries of + the treasury. He is famous for the duel he fought with the + celebrated Wilkes, who received a wound in the encounter. + Samuel Martin died s. p. + +And by his second wife, Sarah, dau. of Edward Wyke, of Monserrat, +Esq., Col. Martin had three sons, + i. Henry, of whom hereafter. + ii. Josiah, appointed governor of North Carolina, 8 Dec. 1770. + iii. William-Byam, of White Knights, Reading, high-sheriff for + the county of Berks, in 1787, died in 1816, leaving by his + wife Charlotte, dau. of Col. Yorke, three sons--viz., 1. + Samuel, lieut.-col. in the guards; killed in France, 13 Dec. + 1813; m. Elizabeth, dau. of Samuel Rolleston, Esq., by whom + he left issue three sons and one dau.; 2. William-Byam, + resident in Hyderabad, now of Hyde-park-corner-terrace; and + 3. Henry-Yorke-Byam, d. unm. in 1808. + +Sir Henry, commissioner of the navy, M.P., born in 1733, created +a Baronet in 1791. He m. Eliza-Anne, dau. of Harding Parker, +Esq., by whom he had issue, + i. Sir William-Henry, second Baronet. + ii. Josiah, collector of the customs, Antigua. + iii. Sir Byam, G.C.B., M.P., comptroller of the navy; m. + Catherine, dau. of Commissioner Fanshawe, by whom he has + issue, 1. Capt William-Fanshawe Martin, R.N.; 2. Capt + Henry-Byam Martin, R.N., and a dau. + iv. Judith, m. to John-Poll. Bastard, Esq., Devon. + +Sir William-Henry, second Baronet, born in 1768, died in 1842, +leaving issue by his wife, Catherine, (to whom he was married 23 +Jan. 1792,) dau. of Thomas Powell, Esq., a son and heir, + +Sir Henry, the third and present Baronet, born in 1801, and +married to his first cousin, Catharine, the dau. of Sir Byam +Martin, G.C.B. + + + + + No. 20. + + + + GENEALOGY OF THE FREEMAN FAMILY. + +The lineage of the Freeman family may be traced from Arthur +Freeman, of Lincoln's-inn-fields, London, and of Antigua, Esq., +who espoused Dorothy, relict of George Symes, Esq. of Antigua, +(by which marriage the estates called "Freeman's," in Antigua, +now in possession of Inigo-Freeman Thomas, Esq., came into that +family,) and had issue a son, Thomas, who m. Rebecca, dau. of +Col. Wm. Byam, (_see_ Byam's _Pedigree_,) and by her had, + i. Arthur, of whom hereafter. + ii. Thomas, m. Anne, dau. and co-heir of Col. John Wickham, of + Old North Sound, in the Island of Antigua, and by which + marriage he became possessed of the estate still known by the + name of "Wickhams." Dying, he left issue two sons, 1. Thomas, + speaker of the house of assembly, Antigua, in 1790, m. + Christiana, second dau. of Francis Ffry, of Bermudian Valley, + Antigua, Esq., by whom (who died at Cheltenham, 23 Feb. 1808) + he had a son, Thomas-Inigo-Wickham Freeman, Esq., a capt. in + the army, and late of his Majesty's 18th Hussars, and of + Wickhams, in the island of Antigua, as lineal descendant of + John Wickham aforesaid, (of the family of the celebrated + William of Wickham, the founder of Winchester College, and + New College, Oxford,) whose arms Capt. Freeman quarters with + his own; and 2. Arthur, an accomplished scholar, and rector + of St. Paul's, Antigua, where he died in 1815. + iii. Byam, m. Anne, dau. and co-heir of Thomas Watkins, Esq. of + Popeshead, Antigua, by whom he had an only child, Harriet, + the wife of Thomas Oliver, Esq. of Boston, in North America, + who had issue two daus., Alice, late wife of Captain Haynes, + R.N., and Emily, who m. -- Elton, Esq. + iv. Robert, v. Charles, both died unm. + i. Elizabeth, m. to Richard Kirwan, Esq. + ii. Rebecca, m. to Daniel Warner, Esq. + iii. Mary, m. to -- Phillis, Esq. + iv. Charlotte, m. to General Sherington Talbot, (son of John + Talbot, Bishop of Durham, and brother of Charles, Lord + Talbot, lord chancellor of England, and ancestor of the now + Earl Talbot,) by whom she had an only dau., born at Antigua + during the raging of a hurricane, 28 July, 1751, and + appropriately christened "Indiana;" m. at St George's, + Bloomsbury, 1773, to Louis-Peake Garland, Esq., by whom she + had two sons, Nathaniel, and Peake Garland, Esqs., the former + of Ensom, in Surrey, and the latter a barrister-at-law, + recently deceased at Cheltenham. + +Arthur Freeman (the eldest son of Thomas and Rebecca Freeman) m. +Margaret, dau. of Sir George Thomas, first Bart., and dying in +1780, left two sons and three daus., Inigo and George, who, in +conformity with the will of their maternal grandfather, assumed +the name of Thomas. (For Inigo-Freeman Thomas, _see_ Thomas' +_pedigree in this work_.) George, who was lieut.-col. in the 11th +Hussars, and proprietor of an estate at Popeshead, in Antigua, +died unm. in Nov. 1827. + + THE END. + + T. C. Savill, Printer, 107, St. Martin's Lane. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Antigua and the Antiguans, Volume II +(of 2), by Anonymous + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANTIGUAAND THE ANTIGUANS, VOL II *** + +***** This file should be named 38789-8.txt or 38789-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/7/8/38789/ + +Produced by Paul Flo Williams + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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