diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/54500-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/54500-0.txt | 11910 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 11910 deletions
diff --git a/old/54500-0.txt b/old/54500-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5723c3e..0000000 --- a/old/54500-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,11910 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Journal of a West India Proprietor, by -Matthew Gregory Lewis - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Journal of a West India Proprietor - Kept During a Residence in the Island of Jamaica - -Author: Matthew Gregory Lewis - -Release Date: April 7, 2017 [EBook #54500] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOURNAL OF A WEST INDIA PROPRIETOR *** - - - - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - - - - - - - - -JOURNAL OF A WEST INDIA PROPRIETOR, - -Kept During A Residence In The Island Of Jamaica. - -By Matthew Gregory Lewis - -Author of “The Monk,” “The Castle Spectre,” “Tales Of Wonder,” &c. - -London: John Murray, Albemarle Street. - -MDCCCXXXIV - - -“I WOULD GIVE MANY A SUGAR CANE, - -MAT. LEWIS WERE ALIVE AGAIN!” - -BYRON. - - -[Illustration: 0001] - -[Illustration: 0007] - - - - -ADVERTISEMENT. - - -The following Journals of two residences in Jamaica, in 1815-16, and in -1817, are now printed from the MS. of Mr. Lewis; who died at sea, on the -voyage homewards from the West Indies, in the year 1818. - - - - -JOURNAL OF A WEST INDIA PROPRIETOR - - -Expect our sailing in a few hours. But although the vessel left the -Docks on Saturday, she did not reach this place till three o’clock on -Thursday, the 9th. The captain now tells me, that we may expect to sail -certainly in the afternoon of to-morrow, the 10th. I expect the ship’s -cabin to gain greatly by my two days’ residence at the “--------------,” - which nothing can exceed for noise, dirt, and dulness. Eloisa would -never have established “black melancholy” at the Paraclete as its -favourite residence, if she had happened to pass three days at an inn -at Gravesend: nowhere else did I ever see the sky look so dingy, and the -river “_Nunc alio patriam quaero sub sole jacentem_.”--Virgil. - - - - -1815. NOVEMBER 8. - - -(WEDNESDAY) - -I left London, and reached Gravesend at nine in the morning, having been -taught to exso dirty; to be sure, the place has all the advantages of -an English November to assist it in those particulars. Just now, too, -a carriage passed my windows, conveying on board a cargo of passengers, -who seemed sincerely afflicted at the thoughts of leaving their dear -native land! The pigs squeaked, the ducks quacked, and the fowls -screamed; and all so dolefully, as clearly to prove, that _theirs_ was -no dissembled sorrow? And after them (more affecting than all) came -a wheelbarrow, with a solitary porker tied in a basket, with his head -hanging over on one side, and his legs sticking out on the other, who -neither grunted nor moved, nor gave any signs of life, but seemed to -be of quite the same opinion with Hannah More’s heroine, “Grief is for -_little_ wrongs; despair for mine!” - -As Miss O’Neil is to play “Elwina” for the first time to-morrow, it is -a thousand pities that she had not the previous advantage of seeing the -speechless despondency of this poor pig; it might have furnished her -with some valuable hints, and enabled her to convey more perfectly to -the audience the “expressive silence” of irremediable distress. - - -NOVEMBER 10. - -At four o’clock in the afternoon, I embarked on board the “Sir Godfrey -Webster,” Captain Boyes. On approaching the vessel, we heard the loudest -of all possible shrieks proceeding from a boat lying near her: and who -should prove to be the complainant, but my former acquaintance, the -despairing pig, He had recovered his voice to protest against entering -the ship: I had already declared against climbing up the accommodation -ladder; the pig had precisely the very same objection. So a _soi-disant_ -chair, being a broken bucket, was let down for us, and the pig and -myself entered the vessel by the same conveyance; only pig had the -precedence, and was hoisted up first. The ship proceeded three miles, -and then the darkness obliged us to come to an anchor. There are only -two other cabin passengers, a Mr. J------ and a Mr. S------; the -latter is a planter in the “May-Day Mountains,” Jamaica: he wonders, -considering how much benefit Great Britain derives from the West Indies, -that government is not careful to build more churches in them, and is of -opinion, that “hedicating the negroes is the only way to make them appy; -indeed, in his umble hopinion, hedication his hall in hall!” - - -NOVEMBER 11. - -We sailed at six o’clock, passed through “Nob’s Hole,” the “Girdler’s -Hole,” and “the Pan” (all very dangerous sands, and particularly the -last, where at times we had only one foot water below us), by half past -four, and at five came to an anchor in the Queen’s Channel. Never having -seen any thing of the kind before, I was wonderfully pleased with the -manoeuvring of several large ships, which passed through the sands at -the same time with us: their motions seemed to be effected with as much -ease and dexterity as if they had been crane-necked carriages; and the -effect as they pursued each other’s track and windings was perfectly -beautiful. - - -NOVEMBER 12. (SUNDAY.) - -The wind was contrary, and we had to beat up the whole way; we did not -reach the Downs till past four o’clock, and, as there were above sixty -vessels arrived before us, we had some difficulty in finding a safe -berth. At length we anchored in the Lower Roads, about four miles off -Deal. We can see very clearly the double lights in the vessel moored -off the Goodwin sands: it is constantly inhabited by two families, who -reside there alternately every fortnight, except when the weather delays -the exchange. The “Sir Godfrey Webster” is a vessel of 600 tons, and was -formerly in the East India service. I have a very clean cabin, a place -for my books, and every thing is much more comfortable than I expected; -the wind, however, is completely west, the worst that we could have, and -we must not even expect a change till the full moon. The captain pointed -out a man to me to-day, who had been with him in a violent storm off -the Bermudas. For six hours together, the flashes of lightning were so -unintermitting, that the eye could not sustain them: at one time, the -ship seemed to be completely in a blaze; and the man in question (who -was then standing at the wheel, near the captain) suddenly cried out, -“I don’t know what has happened to me, but I can neither see nor stand;” - and he fell down upon the deck. He was taken up and carried below; and -it appeared that the lightning had affected his eyes and legs, in a -degree to make him both blind and lame, though the captain, who was -standing by his side, had received no injury: in three or four days, the -man was quite well again. In this storm, no less than thirteen vessels -were dismasted, or otherwise shattered by the lightning. - -Sea Terms.--_Windward, from_ whence the wind blows; _leeward, to_ which -it blows; _starboard_, the _right_ of the stern; _larboard_, the _left_; -_starboard helm_, when you go to the left; but when to the right, -instead of larboard helm, _helm a-port_; _luff you may_, go nearer to -the wind; _theis (thus)_ you are near enough; _luff no near_, you -are too near the wind; the _tiller_, the handle of the rudder; the -_capstan_, the weigher of the anchor; the _buntlines_, the ropes which -move the body of the sail, the _bunt_ being the body; the _bowlines_, -those which spread out the sails, and make them swell. - - -NOVEMBER 13. - -At six this morning, came on a tremendous gale of wind; the captain -says, that he never experienced a heavier. However, we rode it out with -great success, although, at one time, it was bawled out that we were -driving; and, at another, a brig which lay near us broke from her -moorings, and came bearing down close upon us. The danger, indeed, from -the difference of size, was all upon the side of the brig; but, luckily, -the vessels cleared each other. This evening she has thought it as well -to remove further from so dangerous a neighbourhood. There is a little -cabin boy on board, and Mr. J------ has brought with him a black -terrier; and these two at first sight swore to each other an eternal -friendship, in the true German style. It is the boy’s first voyage, and -he is excessively sea-sick; so he has been obliged to creep into his -hammock, and his friend, the little black terrier, has crept into the -hammock with him. A boat came from the shore this evening, and reported -that several vessels have been dismasted, lost their anchors, and -injured in various ways. A brig, which was obliged to make for Ramsgate, -missed the pier, and was dashed to pieces completely; the crew, however, -were saved, all except the pilot; who, although he was brought on shore -alive, what between bruises, drowning, and fright, had suffered so much, -that he died two hours afterwards. The weather has now again become -calm; but it is still full west. - - -NOVEMBER 14. (TUESDAY.) - - -THE HOURS. - - Ne’er were the zephyrs known disclosing - - More sweets, than when in Tempe’s shades - - They waved the lilies, where, reposing, - - Sat four and twenty lovely maids. - - Those lovely maids were called “the Hours,” - - The charge of Virtue’s flock they kept; - - And each in turn employ’d her powers - - To guard it, while her sisters slept. - - False Love, how simple souls thou cheatest! - - In myrtle bower, that traitor near - - Long watch’d an Hour, the softest, sweetest! - - The evening Hour, to shepherds dear. * - - In tones so bland he praised her beauty, - - Such melting airs his pipe could play, - - The thoughtless Hour forgot her duty, - - And fled in Love’s embrace away. - - Meanwhile the fold was left unguarded-- - - The wolf broke in--the lambs were slain: - - And now from Virtue’s train discarded, - - With tears her sisters speak their pain. - - Time flies, and still they weep; for never - - The fugitive can time restore: - - An Hour once fled, has fled for ever, - - And all the rest shall smile no more! - -* L’heure du berger. - - -NOVEMBER 15. - -The wind altered sufficiently to allow us to escape from the Downs; -and at dusk we were off Beachy Head. This morning, the steward left the -trap-door of the store-hole open; of course, I immediately contrived to -step into it, and was on the point of being precipitated to the -bottom, among innumerable boxes of grocery, bags of biscuit, and porter -barrels;--where a broken limb was the _least_ that I could expect. -Luckily, I fell across the corner of the trap, and managed to support -myself, till I could effect my escape with a bruised knee, and the loss -of a few inches of skin from my left arm. - - -NOVEMBER 16. - -Off the Isle of Wight. - - -NOVEMBER 17. - -Off the St. Alban’s Head. Sick to death! My temples throbbing, my head -burning, my limbs freezing, my mouth all fever, my stomach all nausea, -my mind all disgust. - - -NOVEMBER 18. - -Off the Lizard, the last point of England. - - -NOVEMBER 19. (SUNDAY.) - -At one this morning, a violent gust of wind came on; and, at the rate of -ten miles an hour, carried us through the Chops of the Channel, formed -by the Scilly Rocks and the Isle of Ushant. But I thought, that the -advance was dearly purchased by the terrible night which the storm made -us pass. The wind roaring, the waves dashing against the stern, till at -last they beat in the quarter gallery; the ship, too, rolling from side -to side, as if every moment she were going to roll over and over! Mr. -J------ was heaved off one of the sofas, and rolled along, till he was -stopped by the table. He then took his seat upon the floor, as the more -secure position; and, half an hour afterwards, another heave chucked him -back again upon the sofa. The captain snuffed out one of the candles, -and both being tied to the table, could not relight it with the other: -so the steward came to do it; when a sudden heel of the ship made him -extinguish the second candle, tumbled him upon the sofa on which I was -lying, and made the candle which he had brought with him fly out of the -candlestick, through a cabin window at his elbow; and thus we were all -left in the dark. Then the intolerable noise! the cracking of bulkheads! -the sawing of ropes! the screeching of the tiller! the trampling of -the sailors! the clattering of the crockery! Every thing above deck and -below deck, all in motion at once! Chairs, writing-desks, books, boxes, -bundles, fire-irons and fenders, flying to one end of the room; and the -next moment (as if they had made a mistake) flying back again to the -other with the same hurry and confusion! “Confusion worse confounded!” - Of all the inconveniences attached to a vessel, the incessant noise -appears to me the most insupportable! As to our live stock, they seem to -have made up their minds on the subject, and say with one of Ariosto’s -knights (when he was cloven from the head to the chine), “_or corvien -morire_” Our fowls and ducks are screaming and quacking their last by -dozens; and by Tuesday morning, it is supposed that we shall not have -an animal alive in the ship, except the black terrier--and my friend the -squeaking pig, whose vocal powers are still audible, maugre the storm -and the sailors, and who (I verily believe) only continues to survive -out of spite, because he can join in the general chorus, and help to -increase the number of abominable sounds. - -We are now tossing about in the Bay of Biscay: I shall remember it as -long as I live. The “beef-eater’s front” could never have “beamed more -terrible” upon Don Ferolo Whiskerandos, “in Biscay’s Bay, when he took -him prisoner,” than Biscay’s Bay itself will appear to _me_ the next -time that I approach it. - - -NOVEMBER 20. - -Our live stock has received an increase; our fowls and ducks are dead to -be sure, but a lark flew on board this morning, blown (as is supposed) -from the coast of France. In five minutes it appeared to be quite at -home, eat very readily whatever was given it, and hopped about the deck -without fear of the sailors, or the more formidable black terrier, with -all the ease and assurance imaginable. - -I dare say, it _was_ blown from the coast of France! - - -NOVEMBER 21. - -The weather continues intolerable. Boisterous waves running mountains -high, with no wind, or a foul one. Dead calms by day, which prevent -our making any progress; and violent storms by night, which prevent our -getting any sleep. - -Every thing is in a state of perpetual motion. “_Nulla quies intus_ (nor -_outus_ indeed for the matter of that), _nullâque silentia parte_” We -drink our tea exactly as Tantalus did in the infernal regions; we keep -bobbing at the basin for half an hour together without being able to get -a drop; and certainly nobody on ship-board can doubt the truth of the -proverb, “Many things fall out between the cup and the lip.” - - -NOVEMBER 23. - - -PANDORA’S BOX. (Iliad A.) - - Prometheus once (in Tooke the tale you’ll see) - - In one vast box enclosed all human evils; - - But curious Woman needs the inside would see, - - And out came twenty thousand million devils. - - The story’s spoil’d, and Tooke should well be chid; - - The fact, sir, happen’d thus, and I’ve no doubt of it: - - ’Twas not that Woman raised the coffer’s lid, - - But when the lid _was_ raised, Woman popp’d out of it. - - “But Hope remain’d”--true, sir, she did; but still - - All saw of what Miss Hope gave intimation; - - Her right hand grasp’d an undertaker’s bill, - - Her left conceal’d a deed of separation. - -N. B. I was most horribly sea-sick when I took this view of the subject. -Besides, grapes on shipboard, in general, are remarkably sour. - - -NOVEMBER 24. - - “Manibus date lilia plenis; - - Purpureos spargam flores!” - -The squeaking pig was killed this morning. - - -NOVEMBER 25. - -Letters were sent to England by a small vessel bound for Plymouth, and -laden with oranges from St. Michael’s, one of the Azores. - - -NOVEMBER 26. - -A complete and most violent storm, from twelve at night till seven the -next morning. The fore-top-sail, though only put up for the first time -yesterday, was rent from top to bottom; and several of the other sails -are torn to pieces. The perpetual tempestuous weather which we have -experienced has so shaken the planks of the vessel, that the sea enters -at all quarters. About one o’clock in the morning I was saluted by a -stream of water, which poured down exactly upon my face, and obliged me -to shift my lodgings. The carpenter had been made aware that there was -a leak in my cabin, and ordered to caulk the seams; but, I suppose, -he thought that during only a two months’ voyage, the rain might very -possibly never find out the hole, and that it would be quite time enough -to apply the remedy when I should have felt the inconvenience. The best -is, that the carpenter happening to be at work in the next cabin when -the water came down upon me, I desired him to call my servant, in order -that I might get up, on account of the leak; on which he told me “that -the leak could not be helped;” grumbled a good deal at calling up the -servant; and seemed to think me not a little unreasonable for not lying -quietly, and suffering myself to be pumped upon by this shower-bath of -his own providing. - -But if the water gets _into_ the ship, on the other hand, last night the -poor old steward was very near getting out of it. In the thick of the -storm he was carrying some grog to the mate, when a gun, which drove -against him, threw him off his balance, and he was just passing through -one of the port-holes, when, luckily, he caught hold of a rope, and -saved himself. A screech-owl flew on board this morning: I am sure we -have no need of birds of ill omen; I could supply the place of a whole -aviary of them myself. - - -NOVEMBER 28. - -Reading Don Quixote this morning, I was greatly pleased with an instance -of the hero’s politeness, which had never struck me before. The Princess -Micomicona having fallen into a most egregious blunder, he never so -much as hints a suspicion of her not having acted precisely as she -has stated, but only begs to know her reasons for taking a step so -extraordinary. “But pray, madam,” says he, “why _did_ your ladyship land -at Ossuna, seeing that it is not a seaport town?” - -I was also much charmed with an instance of conjugal affection, in the -same work. Sancho being just returned home, after a long absence, the -first thing which his wife, Teresa, asks about, is the welfare of the -ass. “I have brought him back,” answers Sancho, “and in much better -health and condition than I am in myself.” “The Lord be praised,” said -Teresa, “for this his great mercy to me!” - - -NOVEMBER 29. - -The wind continues contrary, and the weather is as disagreeable and -perverse as it can well be; indeed, I understand that in these latitudes -nothing can be expected but heavy gales or dead calms, which makes them -particularly pleasant for sailing, especially as the calms are by far -the most disagreeable of the two: the wind steadies the ship; but when -she creeps as slowly as she does at present (scarcely going a mile in -four hours), she feels the whole effect of the sea breaking against -her, and rolls backwards and forwards with every billow as it rises and -falls. In the mean while, every thing seems to be in a state of the most -active motion, except the ship; while we are carrying a spoonful of soup -to our mouths, the remainder takes the “glorious golden opportunity” to -empty itself into our laps, and the glasses and salt-cellars carry on -a perpetual domestic warfare during the whole time of dinner, like the -Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Nothing is so common as to see a roast -goose suddenly jump out of its dish in the middle of dinner, and make -a frisk from one end of the table to the other; and we are quite in the -habit of laying wagers which of the two boiled fowls will arrive at the -bottom first. - -N.B. To-day the fowl without the liver wing was the favourite, but the -knowing ones were taken in; the uncarved one carried it hollow. - - -NOVEMBER 30 - - - “Do those I love e’er think on me?” - - How oft that painful doubt will start, - - To blight the roseate smile of glee, - - And cloud the brow, and sink the heart! - - No more can I, estranged from home, - - Their pleasures share, nor soothe their moans - - To them I’m dead as were the foam - - Now breaking o’er my whitening bones. - - And doubtless now with newer friends, - - The tide of life content they stem; - - Nor on the sailor think, who bends - - Full many an anxious thought on them. - - Should that reflection cause me pain? - - No ease for mine their grief could bring; - - Enough if, when we meet again, - - Their answering hearts to greet me spring. - - Enough, if no dull joyless eye - - Give signs of kindness quite forgot; - - Nor heartless question, cold reply, - - Speak--“all is past; I love you not.” - - Too much has heav’n ordain’d of woe, - - Too much of groans on earth abounds, - - For me to wish one tear to flow - - Which brings no balm for sorrow’s wounds. - - Love’s moisten’d lid and Friendship’s sigh, - - I could not see, I could not hear! - - To think “they weep!” more fills mine eye, - - And smarts the more each tender tear. - - Then, if there be one heart so kind, - - It mourns each hour the loss of me; - - Shrinks, when it hears some gust of wind, - - And sighs--“Perhaps a storm at sea!” - - Oh! if there be an heart _indeed_, - - Which beats for me, so sad, so true, - - Swift to its aid, Oblivion, speed, - - And bathe it with thy poppy’s dew; - - My form in vapours to conceal, - - From Pleasure’s wreath rich odours shake; - - Nor let that heart one moment feel - - Such pangs as force my own to ache. - - Demon of Memory, cherish’d grief! - - Oh, could I break thy wand in twain! - - Oh, could I close thy magic leaf, - - Till those I love are mine again! - - -DECEMBER 1. (FRIDAY.) - -The captain to-day pointed oat to me a sailor-boy, who, about three -years ago, was shaken from the mast-head, and fell through the scuttle -into the hold; the distance was above eighty feet, yet the boy was taken -up with only a few bruises. - - -DECEMBER 3. (SUNDAY.) - -The wind during the last two days has been more favourable; and at nine -this morning we were in the latitude of Madeira. - - -DECEMBER 5. - -Sea Terms.--_Ratlines_, the rope ladders by which the sailors climb -the shrouds; the _companion_, the cabin-head; _reefs_, the divisions by -which the sails are contracted; _stunsails_, additional sails, spread -for the purpose of catching all the wind possible; the fore-mast, -main-mast, mizen-mast; _fore_, the head; _aft_, the stern; _being -pooped_ (the very sound of which tells one, that it must be something -very terrible), having the stern beat in by the sea; _to belay a rope_, -to fasten it. - - -DECEMBER 6. - -I had no idea of the expense of building and preserving a ship: that in -which I am at present cost £30,000 at its outset. Last year the repairs -amounted to £14,000; and in a voyage to the East Indies they were more -than £20,000. In its return last year from Jamaica it was on the very -brink of shipwreck. A storm had driven it into Bantry Bay, and there -was no other refuge from the winds than Bear Haven, whose entrance -was narrow and difficult; however, a gentleman from Castletown came on -board, and very obligingly offered to pilot the ship. He was one of the -first people in the place, had been the owner of a vessel himself, was -most thoroughly acquainted with every inch of the haven, &c. &c., and so -on they went. There was but one sunken rock, and that about ten feet in -diameter; the captain knew it, and warned his gentleman-pilot to keep -a little more to the eastward. “My dear friend,” answered the Irishman, -“now do just make yourself _asy_; I know well enough what we are -about; we are as clear of the rock as if we were in the Red Sea, by -Jasus;”--upon which the vessel struck upon the rock, and there she -stuck. The captain fell to swearing and tearing his hair. “God damn you, -sir! didn’t I tell you to keep to eastward? Dam’me, she’s on the rock!” - “Oh! well, my dear, she’s now _on_ the rock, and, in a few minutes, you -know, why she’ll be _off_ the rock: to be sure, I’d have taken my oath -that the rock was two hundred and fifty feet on the other side of her, -but----“--“Two hundred and fifty feet! why, the channel is not two -hundred and fifty feet wide itself! and as to getting her off, bumping -against this rock, it can only be with a great hole in her side.”--“Poh! -now, bother, my dear! why sure----“--“Leave the ship, sir; dam’me, sir, -get out of my ship this moment!” Instead of which, with the most smiling -and obliging air in the world, the Irishman turned to console the -female passengers. “Make yourselves _asy_, ladies, pray make yourselves -perfectly _asy_; but, upon my soul, I believe your captain’s mad; no -danger in life! only make yourselves _asy_, I say; for the ship lies on -the rock as safe and as quiet, by Jasus, as if she were lying on a mud -bank!” Luckily the weather was so perfectly calm, that the ship having -once touched the rock with her keel bumped no more. It was low water; -she wanted but five inches to float her, and when the tide rose she -drifted off, and with but little harm done. The gentleman-pilot then -thought proper to return on shore, took a very polite leave of the -lady-passengers, and departed with all the urbanity possible; only -+thinking the captain the strangest person that he had ever met with; -and wondering that any man of common sense could be put out of temper by -such a trifle. - - -DECEMBER 7. - -Yesterday we had the satisfaction of falling in with the trade wind, and -now we are proceeding both rapidly and steadily. The change of climate -is very perceptible; and the deep and beautiful blue which colours the -sea is a certain intimation of our approach to the tropic. A few flying -fish have made their appearance; and the spears are getting in order -for the reception of their constant attendant, the dolphin. These spears -have ropes affixed to them, and at one end of the pole are five barbs, -at the other a heavy ball of lead: then, when the fish is speared, the -striker lets the staff fall, on which down goes the lead into the sea, -and up goes the dolphin into the air, who is in the utmost astonishment -to find itself all of a sudden turned into a flying fish; so determines -to cultivate the art of flying for the future, and promises itself -a great many pleasant airings. The dolphin and the flying fish are -beautifully coloured, and both are very good food, particularly the -latter, which move in shoals like the herring, and are about the size -of that fish. They are supposed to feed on spawn and sea animalculæ, -and will not take the bait; but on the shores of Barbadoes, which they -frequent in great multitudes, they are caught in wide nets, spread upon -the surface of the sea; then, upon beating the waters around, the fish -rise in clouds, and fly till, their fins getting dry, they fall down -into the nets which have been spread to receive them. The dolphin is -seldom above three feet long; the immense strength which he exerts in -his struggles for liberty occasions the necessity of catching him in the -way before described. - - -DECEMBER 8. - -At three o’clock this afternoon we entered the tropic of Cancer; and if -our wind continues tolerably favourable, we may expect to see Antigua on -Sunday. On crossing the line, it was formerly usual for ships -to receive a visit from an old gentleman and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. -Cancer: the husband was, by profession, a barber; and, probably, the -scullion, who insisted so peremptorily on shaving Sancho, at the duke’s -castle, had served an apprenticeship to Mr. Cancer, for their mode of -proceeding was much alike, and, indeed, very peculiar: the old gentleman -always made a point of using a rusty iron hoop instead of a razor, tar -for soap, and an empty beef-barrel was, in his opinion, the very best -possible substitute for a basin; in consequence of which, instead of -paying him for shaving them, people of taste were disposed to pay for -not being shaved; and as Mrs. Cancer happened to be particularly partial -to gin (when good), the gift of a few bottles was generally successful -in rescuing the donor’s chin from the hands of her husband; however, -to-day this venerable pair “peradventure were sleeping, or on a -journey,” for we neither saw nor heard any thing about them. - - -DECEMBER 9. - -When, after his victory of the 1st of June, Lord Howe again put to sea -from Portsmouth, the number of women who were turned on shore out of the -ships (wives, sisters, &c.) amounted to above thirty thousand! - - -DECEMBER 10. (Sunday.) - - What triumph moves on the billows so blue? - - In his car of pellucid pearl I view, - - With glorious pomp, on the dancing tide, - - The tropic Genius proudly ride. - - The flying fish, who trail his car, - - Dazzle the eye, as they shine from afar; - - Twinkling their fins in the sun, and show - - All the hues which adorn the showery bow. - - Of dark sea-blue is the mantle he wears; - - For a sceptre a plantain branch he bears; - - Pearls his sable arms surround, - - And his locks of wool with coral are crown’d. - - Perpetual sunbeams round him stream; - - His bronzed limbs shine with golden gleam; - - The spicy spray from his wheels that showers, - - Makes the sense ache with its odorous powers. - - Myriads of monsters, who people the caves - - Of ocean, attendant plough the waves; - - Sharks and crocodiles bask in his blaze, - - And whales spout the waters which dance in his rays. - - And as onward floats that triumph gay, - - The light sea-breezes around it play; - - While at his royal feet lie bound - - The Ouragans, hush’d in sleep profound. - - Dark Genius, hear a stranger’s prayer, - - Nor suffer those winds to ravage and tear - - Jamaica’s savannas, and loose to fly, - - Mingling the earth, and the sea, and the sky. - - From thy locks on my harvest of sweets diffuse, - - To swell my canes, refreshing dews; - - And kindly breathe, with cooling powers, - - Through my coffee walks and shaddock bowers. - - Let not thy strange diseases prey - - On my life; but scare from my couch away - - The yellow Plague’s imps; and safe let me rest - - From that dread black demon, who racks the breast: - - Nor force my throbbing temples to know - - Thy sunbeam’s sudden and maddening blow; - - Nor bid thy day-flood blaze too bright - - On nerves so fragile, and brain so light: - - And let me, returning in safety, view - - Thy triumph again on the ocean blue; - - And in Britain I’ll oft with flowers entwine - - The Tropic Sovereign’s ebony shrine! - - Was it but fancy? did He not frown, - - And in anger shake his coral crown? - - Gorgeous and slow the pomp moves on! - - Low sinks the sun--and all is gone! - -“And pray now do you mean to say that you really saw all this fine -show?” Oh, yes, really, “in my mind’s eye, Horatio,” as Shakspeare says; -or, if you like it better in Greek-- - -[Greek line] Odyssey, A. - - -DECEMBER 11. - -A dead centipes was found on the deck, supposed to have made its way on -board, during the last voyage, among the logwood. This is not the only -species of disagreeable passengers, who are in the habit of introducing -themselves into homeward bound vessels without leave. While sleeping -on deck last year, the Captain felt something run across his face; and, -supposing it to be a cock-roach, he brushed off a scorpion; but not -without its first biting him upon the cheek: the pain for about four -hours was excessive; but although he did no more than wash the wound -with spirits, he was perfectly well again in a couple of days. - - -DECEMBER 12. - -Since we entered the tropic, the rains have been incessant, and most -violent; but the wind was brisk and favourable, and we proceeded -rapidly. Now we have lost the trade-wind, and move so slowly, that it -might almost be called standing still. On the other hand, the weather -is now perfectly delicious; the ship makes but little way, but she moves -steadily: the sun is brilliant; the sky cloudless; the sea calm, and so -smooth that it looks like one extended sheet of blue glass; an awning is -stretched over the deck; although there is not wind enough to fill the -canvass, there is sufficient to keep the air cool, and thus, even -during the day, the weather is very pleasant; but the nights are quite -heavenly, and so bright, that at ten o’clock yesterday evening little -Jem Parsons (the cabin boy), and his friend the black terrier, came on -deck, and sat themselves down on a gun-carriage, to read by the light of -the moon. I looked at the boy’s book, (the terrier, I suppose, read over -the other’s shoulder,) and found that it was “The Sorrows of Werter.” I -asked who had lent him such a book, and whether it amused him? He said -that it had been made a present to him, and so he had read it almost -through, for he had got to Werter’s dying; though, to be sure, he did -not understand it all, nor like very much what he understood; for he -thought the man a great fool for killing himself _for love_. I told him -I thought every man a great fool who killed himself for love or for any -thing else: but had he no books but “The Sorrows of Werter?”--Oh dear, -yes, he said, he had a great many more; he had got “The Adventures of -a Louse,” which was a very curious book, indeed; and he had got besides -“The Recess,” and “Valentine and Orson,” and “Ros-lin Castle,” and a -book of Prayers, just like the Bible; but he could not but say that he -liked “The Adventures of a Louse” the best of any of them. - - -DECEMBER 13. - -We caught a dolphin, but not with the spear: he gorged a line which was -fastened to the stern, and baited with salt pork; but being a very large -and strong fish, his efforts to escape were so powerful, that it -was feared that he would break the line, and a _grainse_ (as the -dolphin-spear is technically termed) was thrown at him: he was struck, -and three of the prongs were buried in his side; yet, with a violent -effort, he forced them out again, and threw the lance up into the air. I -am not much used to take pleasure in the sight of animal suffering; but -if Pythagoras himself had been present, and “of opinion that the soul -of his grandam might haply inhabit” this dolphin, I think he must -still have admired the force and agility displayed in his endeavours to -escape. Imagination can picture nothing more beautiful than the colours -of this fish: while covered by the waves he was entirely green; and as -the water gave him a case of transparent crystal, he really looked like -one solid piece of living emerald; when he sprang into the air, or swam -fatigued upon the surface, his fins alone preserved their green, and -the rest of his body appeared to be of the brightest yellow, his scales -shining like gold wherever they caught the sun; while the blood -which, as long as he remained in the sea, continued to spout in great -quantities, forced its way upwards through the water, like a wreath of -crimson smoke, and then dispersed itself in separate globules among the -spray. From the great loss of blood, his colours soon became paler; -but when he was at length safely landed on deck, and beating himself to -death against the flooring, agony renewed all the lustre of his tints: -his fins were still green and his body golden, except his back, which -was olive, shot with bright deep blue; his head and belly became -silvery, and the spots with which the latter was mottled changed, -with incessant rapidity, from deep olive to the most beautiful azure. -Gradually his brilliant tints disappeared: they were succeeded by one -uniform shade of slate-colour; and when he was quite dead, he exhibited -nothing but dirty brown and dull dead white. As soon as all was over -with him, the first thing done was to convert one of his fins into -the resemblance of a flying fish, for the purpose of decoying other -dolphins; and the second, to order some of the present gentleman to be -got ready for dinner. He measured above four feet and a half. - - -DECEMBER 14. - -At noon to-day, we found ourselves in the latitude of Jamaica. We were -promised the sight of Antigua on Sunday next, but that is now quite out -of the question. We made but eight miles in the whole of yesterday; and -as Jamaica is still at the distance of eighteen hundred miles, at this -rate of proceeding we may expect to reach it about eight months hence. -The sky this evening presented us with quite a new phenomenon, a -rose-coloured moon: she is to be at her full to-morrow; and this -afternoon, about half-past four, she rose like a disk of silver, -perfectly white and colourless; but, as she was exactly opposite to the -sun at the time of his setting, the reflection of his rays spread a kind -of pale blush over her orb, which produced an effect as beautiful as -singular. Indeed, the size and inconceivable brilliance of the sun, the -clearness of the atmosphere, which had assumed a faint greenish hue, -and was entirely without a cloud, the smoothness of the ocean, and the -aforesaid rose-coloured moon, altogether rendered this sunset the most -magical in effect that I ever beheld; and it was with great reluctance -that I was called away from admiring it, to ascertain whether the merits -of our new acquaintance, the dolphin, extended any further than his -skin. Part of him, which was boiled for yesterday’s dinner, was rather -coarse and dry, and might have been mistaken for indifferent haddock. -But his having been steeped in brine, and then broiled with a good deal -of pepper and salt, had improved him wonderfully; and to-day I thought -him as good as any other fish. - -Our wind is like Lady Townley’s separate allowance: “that little has -been made less;” or, rather, it has dwindled away to nothing. We are now -so absolutely becalmed, that I begin seriously to suspect all the crew -of being Phæacians; and that at this identical moment Neptune is amusing -himself by making the ship take root in the ocean; a trick which he -played once before to a vessel (they say) in the days of Ulysses. I -have got some locust plants on board in pots: if we continue to sail -as slowly as we have done for the last week, before we reach Jamaica my -plants will be forest trees, little Jem, the cabin-boy, will have been -obliged to shave, and the black terrier will have died of old age long -ago. Great numbers of porpoises were playing about to-day, and tumbling -under the ship’s very nose. When in their gambols they allow themselves -to be seen above the surface, they are of a dirty blackish brown, and as -ugly as heart can wish; but in the waves they acquire a fine sea-green -cast, and their spouting up water in the sunbeams is extremely -ornamental. - - - -THE HELMSMAN. - - Hark! the bell 1 it sounds midnight!--all hail, thou new - - heav’n! - - How soft sleep the stars on their bosom of night! - - While o’er the full moon, as they gently are driven, - - Slowly floating the clouds bathe their fleeces in light. - - The warm feeble breeze scarcely ripples the ocean, - - And all seems so hush’d, all so happy to feel! - - So smooth glides the bark, I perceive not her motion, - - While low sings the sailor who watches the wheel. - - That sailor I’ve noted--his cheek, fresh and blooming - - With health, scarcely yet twenty springs can have - - seen; - - His looks they are lofty, but never presuming, - - His limbs strong, but light, and undaunted his mien. - - Frank and clear is his brow, yet a thoughtful expression, - - Half tender, half mournful, oft shadows his eye; - - And murmurs escape him, which make the confession, - - If not check’d by a hem, they had swell’d to a sigh. - - His song is not pour’d to beguile the lone hour, - - When in-watch on deck ’tis his duty to keep; - - Nor of painful reflection to weaken the power, - - Nor chase from his eyelids the pinions of sleep. - - Tis so sad...’tis so sweet... and some tones come so - - swelling, - - So right from the heart, and so pure to the ear;-- - - That sure at this moment his thoughts must be dwelling - - On one who is absent, most kind and most dear. - - Perhaps on a mother his mind loves to linger, - - Whose wants to relieve, the rough seas hath he - - cross’d; - - Who kiss’d him at parting, and vow’d he could bring her - - No jewel so dear as the one she then lost! - - No, no! ’tis a sweetheart, his soul’s cherish’d treasure, - - Those full melting notes... hark! he breathes them - - again! - - So mournful, and yet they’re prolong’d with such plea - - sure........ - - Oh, nothing but love could have prompted the strain. - - Yet, whate’er be the cause of thy sadness, young seaman, - - That the weight be soon lighten’d, I send up my vow; - - From the stings of remorse, I’ll be sworn, thou’rt a - - freeman, - - No guilt ever ruffled the smooth of that brow! - - That sigh which you breath’d sprang from pensive - - affection; - - That song, though so plaintive, sheds balm on the - - heart; - - And the pain which you feel at each fond recollection, - - Is worth all the pleasures that vice could impart. - - Oh, still may the scenes of your life, like the present, - - Shine bright to the eye, and speak calm to the breast; - - May each wave flow as gentle, each breeze play as - - pleasant, - - And warm as the clime prove the friends you love best! - - And may she, who now dictates that ballad so tender, - - Diffuse o’er your days the heart’s solace and ease, - - As yon lovely moon, with a gleam of mild splendour, - - Pure, tranquil, and bright, over-silvers the seas! - - -DECEMBER 16. - -What little wind there is blows so perversely, that we have been obliged -to alter our course; and instead of Antigua, we are now told that the -Summer Islands (Shakspeare’s “still vexed Bermoothes”) are the first -land that we must expect to see. - -I am greatly disappointed at finding such a scarcity of monsters; I had -flattered myself, that as soon as we should enter the Atlantic Ocean, -or at least the tropic, we should have seen whole shoals of sharks, -whales, and dolphins wandering about as plenty as sheep upon the South -Downs: instead of which, a brace of dolphins, and a few flying fish and -porpoises, are the only inhabitants of the ocean who have as yet taken -the trouble of paying us the common civility of a visit. However, I am -promised, that as soon as we approach the islands, I shall have as many -sharks as heart can wish. - -As I am particularly fond of proofs of conjugal attachment between -animals (in the human species they are so universal that I set no store -by them), an instance of that kind which the captain related to me this -morning gave me great pleasure. While lying in Black River harbour, -Jamaica, two sharks were frequently seen playing about the ship; -at length the female was killed, and the desolation of the male was -excessive:-- - - “Che faro senz’ Eurydice?” - -What he did _without_ her remains a secret, but what he did _with_ her -was clear enough; for scarce was the breath out of his Eurydice’s -body, when he stuck his teeth in her, and began to eat her up with all -possible expedition. Even the sailors felt their sensibility excited -by so peculiar a mark of posthumous attachment; and to enable him to -perform this melancholy duty the more easily, they offered to be his -carvers, lowered their boat, and proceeded to chop his better half in -pieces with their hatchets; while the widower opened his jaws as wide -as possible, and gulped down pounds upon pounds of the dear departed as -fast as they were thrown to him, with the greatest delight and all the -avidity imaginable. I make no doubt that all the while he was eating, he -was thoroughly persuaded that every morsel which went into his -stomach would make its way to his heart directly! “She was perfectly -consistent,” he said to himself; “she was excellent through life, -and really she’s extremely good now she’s dead!” and then, “unable to -conceal his pain,” - - “He sigh’d and swallow’d, and sigh’d and swallow’d, - - And sigh’d and swallow’d again.” - -I doubt, whether the annals of Hymen can produce a similar instance -of post-obitual affection. Certainly Calderon’s “_Amor despues de la -Muerte_” has nothing that is worthy to be compared to it; nor do I -recollect in history any fact at all resembling it, except perhaps a -circumstance which is recorded respecting Cambletes, King of Lydia, a -monarch equally remarkable for his voracity and uxoriousness; and who, -being one night completely overpowered by sleep, and at the same time -violently tormented by hunger, eat up his queen without being conscious -of it, and was mightily astonished, the next morning, to wake with -her hand in his mouth, the only bit that was left of her. But then, -Cambletes was quite unconscious what he was doing; whereas, the shark’s -mark of attachment was evidently intentional. It may, however, be -doubted, from the voracity with which he eat, whether his conduct on -this occasion was not as much influenced by the sentiment of hunger as -of love; and if he were absolutely on the point of starving, Tasso might -have applied to this couple, with equal truth, although with somewhat a -different meaning, what he says of his “Amanti e Sposi;”-- - - ----“Pende - - D’ un fato sol e l’ una e l’ altra vita - -for if Madam Shark had not died first, Monsieur must have died himself -for want of a dinner. - - -DECEMBER 17. (Sunday.) - -On this day, from a sense of propriety no doubt, as well as from having -nothing else to do, all the crew in the morning betook themselves to -their studies. The carpenter was very seriously spelling a comedy; -Edward was engaged with “The Six Princesses of Babylon;” a third was -amusing himself with a tract “On the Management of Bees;” another had -borrowed the cabin-boy’s “Sorrows of Werter,” and was reading it aloud -to a large circle--some whistling--and others yawning; and Werter’s -abrupt transitions, and exclamations, and raptures, and refinements, -read in the same loud monotonous tone, and without the slightest respect -paid to stops, had the oddest effect possible. “She did not look at me; -I thought my heart would burst; the coach drove off; she looked out of -the window; was that look meant for me? yes it was; perhaps it might be; -do not tell me that it was not meant for me. Oh, my friend, my friend, -am I not a fool, a madman?” (This part is rather stupid, or so, you -see, but no matter for that; where was I? oh!) “I am now sure, Charlotte -loves me: I prest my hand on my heart; I said ‘Klopstock;’ yes, -Charlotte loves me; what! does Charlotte love me? oh, rapturous thought! -my brain turns round:--Immortal powers!--how!--what!--oh, my friend, my -friend,” &c. &c. &c. I was surprised to find that (except Edward’s Fairy -Tale) none of them were reading works that were at all likely to amuse -them (Smollett or Fielding, for instance), or any which might interest -them as relating to their profession, such as voyages and travels; -much less any which had the slightest reference to the particular day. -However, as most of them were reading what they could not possibly -understand, they might mistake them for books of devotion, for any -thing they knew to the contrary; or, perhaps, they might have so much -reverence for all books in print, as to think that, provided they did -but read something, it was doing a good work, and it did not much matter -what. So one of Congreve’s fine ladies swears Mrs. Mincing, the waiting -maid, to secrecy, “upon an odd volume of Messalina’s Poems.” Sir Dudley -North, too, informs us, (or is it his brother Roger? but I mean the -Turkey merchant: ):--that at Constantinople the respect for printed -books is so great, that when people are sick, they fancy that they can -be _read_ into health again; and if the Koran should not be in the way, -they will make a shift with a few verses of the Bible, or a chapter or -two of the Talmud, or of any other book that comes first to hand, rather -than not read something. I think Sir Dudley says, that he himself cured -an old Turk of the toothache, by administering a few pages of “Ovid’s -Metamorphoses;” and in an old receipt-book, we are directed for the -cure of a double tertian fever, “to drink plentifully of cock-broth, and -sleep with the Second Book of the Iliad under the pillow.” If, instead -of sleeping with it under the pillow, the doctor had desired us to read -the Second Book of the Iliad in order that we _might_ sleep, I should -have had some faith in his prescription myself. - - -DECEMBER 19. - -During these last two days nothing very extraordinary, or of sufficient -importance to deserve its being handed down to the latest posterity, has -occurred; except that this morning a swinging rope knocked my hat into -the sea, and away it sailed upon a voyage of discovery, like poor La -Perouse, to return no more, I suppose; unless, indeed,--like Polycrates, -the fortunate tyrant of Samos, who threw his favourite ring into the -ocean, and found it again in the stomach of the first fish that was -served up at his table,--I should have the good luck (but I by no means -reckon upon it) to catch a dolphin with my hat upon his head: as to a -porpoise, he never could squeeze his great numskull into it; but our -dolphin of last week was much about my own size, and I dare say such -another would find my hat fit him to a miracle, and look very well in -it. - - -DECEMBER 20. - -The weather is so excessively close and sultry, that it would be allowed -to be too hot to be pleasant, even by that perfect model for all future -lords of the bedchamber, who was never known to speak a word, except -in praise, of any thing living or dead, through the whole course of his -life: but, at last, one day he met with an accident--he happened to die; -and the next day he met with another accident--he happened to be damned: -and immediately upon his arrival in the infernal regions, the Devil (who -was determined to be as well bred as the other could be for his ears,) -came to pay his compliments to the new-comer, and very obligingly -expressed his concern that his lordship was not likely to feel satisfied -with his new abode; for that he must certainly find hell very hot and -disagreeable. “Oh, dear, no!” exclaimed the Lord of the Bedchamber, “not -at all disagreeable, by any manner of means, Mr. Devil, upon my word -and honour! Rather _warm_, to be sure.” In point of heat there is no -difference between the days and the nights; or if there is any, it is -that the nights are rather the hottest of the two. The lightning is -incessant, and it does not show itself forked or in flashes, but in wide -sheets of mild blue light, which spread themselves at once over the -sky and sea; and, for the moment which they last, make all the objects -around as distinct as in daylight. The moon now does not rise till near -ten o’clock, and during her absence the size and brilliancy of the stars -are admirable. In England they always seemed to me (to borrow a phrase -of Shakspeare’s, which, in truth, is not worth borrowing,) to “peep -through the blanket of the dark;” but here the heavens appear to be -studded with them on the outside, as if they were chased with so many -jewels: it is really Milton’s “firmament of living sapphires;” and what -with the lightning, the stars, and the quantity of floating lights which -just gleamed round the ship every moment, and then were gone again, -to-night the sky had an effect so beautiful, that when at length the -moon thought proper to show her great red drunken face, I thought that -we did much better without her. - -The above-mentioned floating lights are a kind of sea-meteors, which, as -I am told, are produced by the concussion of the waves, while eddying in -whirlpools round the rudder; but still I saw them rise sometimes at so -great a distance from the ship, and there appeared to be something so -like _Will_ in the direction of their course,--sometimes hurrying -on, sometimes gliding along quite slowly; now stopping and remaining -motionless for a minute or two, and then hurrying on again,--that I -could not be convinced of their not being Medusæ, or some species -or other of phosphoric animal: but whatever be the cause of this -appearance, the effect is singularly beautiful. As to air, we have not -enough to bless ourselves with. I had been led to believe, that when -once we should have fallen in with the trade winds, from that moment -we should sail into our destined port as rapidly and as directly as -Truffaldino travels in Gozzi’s farce; when, having occasion to go from -Asia to Europe, and being very much pressed for time, he persuades a -conjuror of his acquaintance to lend him a devil, with a great pair of -bellows, the nozzle of which being directed right against his stern, -away goes the traveller before the stream of wind, with the devil after -him, and the infernal bellows never cease from working till they have -blown him out of one quarter of the globe into another: but our trade -winds must “hide their diminished heads” before Truffaldino’s bellows. -It seems that like the Moors, “in Africa the torrid,” they are “of -temper somewhat mulish;” for, although, to be sure, when they _do_ blow, -they will only blow in one certain direction, yet very often they will -not blow at all; which has been our case for the last week: indeed, they -seem to be but a queerish kind of a concern at best. About three years -ago a fleet of merchantmen was becalmed near St. Vincent’s: in a few -days after their arrival, there happened a violent eruption of a volcano -in that island, nor was it long before a favourable breeze sprang up. -Unluckily, one of the ships had anchored rather nearer to the shore than -the others, and was at the distance of about one hundred and fifty yards -from the stream of the trade wind; nor could any possible efforts of -the crew, by tacking, by towing, or otherwise, ever enable the vessel -to conquer that one hundred and fifty yards: there she remained, as -completely becalmed as if there were not such a thing as a breath of -wind in the universe; and on the one hand she had the mortification to -see the rest of the merchantmen, with their convoy (for it was in the -very heat of the war), sail away with all their canvass spread and -swelling; while, on the other hand, the sailors had the comfortable -possibility of being suffocated every moment by the clouds of ashes -which continued to fall on their deck every moment, from the burning -volcano, although they were not nearer to St. Vincent’s than eight or -nine miles; indeed that distance went for nothing, as ashes fell upon -vessels that were out at sea at least five hundred miles; and Barbadoes -being to windward of the volcano, such immense quantities of its -contents were carried to that island as almost covered the fields; and -destroying vegetation completely wherever they fell, did inconceivable -damage, while that which St. Vincent’s itself experienced was but -trifling in proportion. - -Our captain is quite out of patience with the tortoise pace of our -progress; for my part I care very little about it. Whether we have -sailed slowly or rapidly, when a day is once over, I am just as much -nearer advanced towards April, the time fixed for my return to England; -and, what is of much more consequence, whether we have sailed slowly -or rapidly, when a day is once over, I am just as much nearer advanced -towards “that bourne,” to reach which, peaceably and harmlessly, is -the only business of life, and towards which the whole of our existence -forms but one continued journey. - - -DECEMBER 21. - -We succeeded in catching another dolphin today; but he had not a hat on; -however, I just asked him whether he happened to have seen mine, but to -little purpose; for I found that he could tell me nothing at all about -it; so, instead of bothering the poor animal with any more questions, we -eat him. - - -DECEMBER 22. - -About three years ago the Captain had the ill luck to be captured by a -French frigate. As she had already made prizes of two other merchantmen, -it was determined to sink his ship; which, after removing the crew and -every thing in her that was valuable, was effected by firing her own -guns down the hatchways. It was near three hours before she filled, then -down she went with a single plunge, head foremost, with all her sails -set and colours flying. This display of the ship’s magnificence in her -last moments reminded me of Mary Queen of Scots, arraying herself in her -richest robes that she might go to the scaffold. If Yorick had fallen -in with this anecdote in the course of his journey, the situation of the -Captain, standing on the enemy’s deck, and seeing his “brave vessel” - in full and gallant trim, possessing all the abilities for a long -existence, yet abandoned by every one, and sinking from the effect of -her own shot, might have furnished him with a companion for his old -commercial Marquis, lamenting over the rust of his newly recovered -sword. - - -DECEMBER 23. - - -THE DOLPHIN. - - Does then the insatiate sea relent? - - And hath he back those treasures sent, - - His stormy rage devoured? - - All starred with gems the billows bound, - - And emeralds, jacinths, sapphires round - - The bark in spray are showered. - - No, no!’t is there the Dolphin plays; - - His scales, enriched with sunny rays, - - Celestial tints unfold; - - And as he darts, the waters blue - - Are streaked with gleams of many a hue, - - Green, orange, purple, gold! - - And brighter still will shine your skin, - - Poor fish, more dazzling play each fin, - - On deck when dying cast; - - Like good men, who, expiring, bless - - The Power that calls them, all confess - - Your brightest hour your last. - - And now the Spearman watchful stands! - - The five-pronged grainse, which arms his hands, - - Your scales is doomed to gore; - - The lead will sink, and soon on high, - - Borne from the deep, perforce you’ll fly, - - Nor e’er regain it more. - - Weep, Beauty, weep! those vivid dyes, - - Those splendours, but the harpooner’s eyes - - To strike his victim call! - - Ambition, mark the Dolphin’s close-- - - To dangerous heights he only rose - - To find the heavier fall! - - Mark, too, ye witty, rich, and gay, - - How quick those sportive fins could play, - - How gay, how rich was he! - - He moves no more--he’s cold to touch-- - - He’s dull--dark--dead! The Dolphin’s such, - - And such we all must be! - -There is a technical fault in the above lines: the grainse, or -dolphin-spear, has five barbs; but the _harpooner_ never uses a lance -with more than a single point. However, the word was so agreeable to my -ear, that I could not find in my heart to leave it out. - - -DECEMBER 24. (Sunday.) - -At length we have crawled into the Caribbean Sea. I was told that we -were not to expect to see land to-day; but on shipboard our not seeing -a thing _to-day_ by no means implies that we shall not see it before -_to-morrow_; for the nautical day is supposed to conclude at noon, -when the solar observation is taken; and, therefore, the making land -_to-day_, or not, very often depends upon our making it before twelve -o’clock, or after it. This was the case in the present instance; for -noon was scarcely passed when we saw Descada (a small island totally -unprovided with water, and whose only produce consists in a little -cotton), Guadaloupe, and Marie Galante, though the latter was at so -great a distance as to be scarcely visible. At sunset Antigua was in -sight. - - -DECEMBER 25. - -The sun rose upon Montserrat and Nevis, with the _Rodondo_ rock between -them, “apricis natio gratissima mergis,--” for it is perpetually covered -with innumerable flocks of gulls, boobies, pelicans, and other sea -birds. Then came St. Christopher’s and St. Eustatia; and in the course -of the afternoon we passed over the _Aves_ bank, a collection of sand, -rock, and mud, extending about two hundred miles, and terminated at each -end by a small island: one of them inhabited by a few fishermen, the -other only by sea birds. Of all the Atlantic isles the soil of St. -Christopher’s is by some supposed to be the richest, the land frequently -producing three hogsheads an acre. I rather think that this was the -first island discovered by Columbus, and that it took its name from -his patron-saint. Montserrat is so rocky, and the roads so steep and -difficult, that the sugar is obliged to be brought down in bags upon -the backs of mules, and not put into casks, till its arrival on the sea -shore. - -The weather is now quite delicious; there is just wind enough to send -us forward and keep the air cool: the sun is brilliant without being -overpowering; the swell of the waves is scarcely perceptible; and the -ship moves along so steadily, that the deck affords almost as firm -footing as if we were walking on land. One would think that Belinda had -been smiling on the Caribbean Sea, as she once before did on the Thames, -and had “made all the world look gay.” During the night we passed Santa -Cruz, an island which, from the perfection to which its cultivation has -been carried, is called “the Garden of the West Indies.” - - -DECEMBER 28. - -Having left Porto Rico behind us, at noon today we passed the insulated -rock of Alcavella, lying about six miles from St. Domingo, which is now -in sight. As this part of the Caribbean Sea is much infested by pirates -from the Caraccas, all our muskets have been put in repair, and to-day -the guns were loaded, of which we mount eight; but as one of them, -during the last voyage, went overboard in a gale of wind, its place -has been supplied by a _Quaker_, i. e. a sham gun of wood, so called, -I suppose, because it would not fight if it were called upon. These -pirate-vessels are small schooners, armed with a single twenty-four -pounder, which moves upon a swivel, and their crew is composed of -negroes and outlaws of all nations, their numbers generally running from -one hundred to one hundred and fifty men. To-day, for the first time, -I saw some flying fish: we have also been visited by several men-of-war -birds and tropic birds; the latter is a species of gull, perfectly -white, and distinguished by a single very long feather in its tail: its -nautical name is “the boatswain.” - -As we sail along, the air is absolutely loaded with “Sabean odours -from the spicy shores” of St. Domingo, which we were still coasting at -sunset. - - -DECEMBER 30. - -At day-break Jamaica was in sight, or rather it would have been in -sight, only that we could not see it. The weather was so gloomy, and the -wind and rain were so violent, that we might have said to the Captain, -as one of the two Punches who went into the ark is reported to have said -to the patriarch, during the deluge, “Hazy weather, Master Noah.”--I -remember my good friend, Walter Scott, asserts, that at the death of a -poet the groans and tears of his heroes and heroines swell the blast and -increase the river; perhaps something of the same kind takes place at -the arrival of a West India proprietor from Europe, and all this rain -and wind proceed from the eyes and lungs of my agents and overseers, -who, for the last twenty years, have been reigning in my dominions with -despotic authority; but now - - “Whose groans in roaring winds complain, - - Whose tears of rage impel the rain;” - -because, on the approach of the sovereign himself, they must evacuate -the palace, and resign the deputed sceptre. “Hinc illæ lachrymæ!” this -is the cause of our being soaked to the skin this morning. However, -about noon the weather cleared up, and allowed us to verify, with our -own eyes, that we had reached “the Land of Springs,” without having been -invited by any Piccaroon vessel to “walk the plank” instead of the deck; -which is a compliment very generally paid by those gentry, after they -have taken the trouble of laying a plank over the side of a captured -ship, in order that the passengers and the crew may walk overboard -without any inconvenience. - -We arrived at the east end of the island, passed Pedro Point and -Starvegut Bay, and arrived before Black River Bay (our destined harbour) -soon after two o’clock; but here we were obliged to come to a stand -still: the channel is very dangerous, extremely narrow, and full of -sunken rocks; so that it can only be entered by a vessel drawing so -much water as ours with a particular wind, and when there is not any -apprehension of a sudden squall. We were, therefore, obliged to drop -anchor, and are now riding within a couple of miles of the shore, but -with as utter an incapability of reaching it as if we were still -at Gravesend. The north side of the island is said to be extremely -beautiful and romantic; but the south, which we coasted to-day, is low, -barren, and without any recommendation whatever. As yet I can only look -at Jamaica as one does on a man who comes to pay money, and whom we are -extremely well pleased to see, however little the fellow’s appearance -may be in his favour. - -We passed the whole of the day in vain endeavours to work ourselves -into the bay. At one time, indeed, we got very near the shore, but the -consequence was, that we were within an ace of striking upon a rock, -and very much obliged to a sudden gust of wind, which, blowing right off -shore, blew us out of the channel, and left us at night in a much more -perilous situation than we had occupied the evening before, though even -that had been by no means secure. At three o’clock, the other passengers -went on shore in the jolly-boat, and proceeded to their destination; -but as I was still more than thirty miles distant from my estate, I -preferred waiting on board till the Captain should have moored his -vessel in safety, and be at liberty to take me in his pinnace to -Savannah la Mar, when I should find myself within a few miles of my own -house. - -In the course of the afternoon, one of the sailors took up a fish of a -very singular shape and most brilliant colours, as it floated along upon -the water. It seemed to be gasping, and lay with its belly upwards; -it was supposed to have eaten something poisonous, as whenever it was -touched it appeared to be full of life, and squirted the water in our -faces with great spirit and dexterity. But no sooner was he suffered -to remain quiet in the tub, than he turned upon his back and again was -gasping. He had a large round transparent globule, intersected with red -veins, under the belly, which some imagined to proceed from a rupture, -and to be the occasion of his disease. But I could not discover any -vestige of a wound; and the globule was quite solid to the touch; -neither did the fish appear to be sensible when it was pressed upon. No -one on board had ever seen this kind of fish till then; its name is the -“Doctor Fish.” - -A black pilot came on board yesterday, in a canoe hollowed out of the -cotton-tree; and when it returned for him this morning, it brought us a -water-melon. I never met with a worse article in my life; the pulp is of -a faint greenish yellow, stained here and there with spots of moist red, -so that it looks exactly as if the servant in slicing it had cut his -finger, and suffered it to bleed over the fruit. Then the seeds, being -of a dark purple, present the happiest imitation of drops of clotted -gore; and altogether (prejudiced as I was by its appearance), when I had -put a single bit into my mouth, it had such a kind of Shylocky taste of -raw flesh about it (not that I recollect having ever eaten a bit of raw -flesh itself), that I sent away my plate, and was perfectly satisfied as -to the merits of the fruit. - - - - -1816.--JANUARY 1. - -At length the ship has squeezed herself into this champagne bottle of -a bay! Perhaps, the satisfaction attendant upon our having overcome -the difficulty, added something to the illusion of its effect; but the -beauty of the atmosphere, the dark purple mountains, the shores covered -with mangroves of the liveliest green down to the very edge of the -water, and the light-coloured houses with their lattices and piazzas -completely embowered in trees, altogether made the scenery of the Bay -wear a very picturesque appearance. And, to complete the charm, -the sudden sounds of the drum and banjee, called our attention to a -procession of the John-Canoe, which was proceeding to celebrate the -opening of the new year at the town of Black River. The John-Canoe is a -Merry-Andrew dressed in a striped doublet, and bearing upon his head a -kind of pasteboard house-boat, filled with puppets, representing, some -sailors, others soldiers, others again slaves at work on a plantation, -&c. The negroes are allowed three days for holidays at Christmas, and -also New-year’s day, which being the last is always reckoned by them as -the festival of the greatest importance. It is for this day that they -reserve their finest dresses, and lay their schemes for displaying their -show and expense to the greatest advantage; and it is then that the -John-Canoe is considered not merely as a person of material consequence, -but one whose presence is absolutely indispensable. Nothing could -look more gay than the procession which we now saw with its train of -attendants, all dressed in white, and marching two by two (except when -the file was broken here and there by a single horseman), and its band -of negro music, and its scarlet flags fluttering about in the breeze, -now disappearing behind a projecting clump of mangrove trees, and then -again emerging into an open part of the road, as it wound along the -shore towards the town of Black River. - - ----“Magno telluris amore - - Egressi optatâ Troes potiuntur arena.” - -I had determined not to go on shore, till I should land for good and -all at Savannah la Mar. But although I could resist the “telluris -amor,” there was no resisting John-Canoe; so, in defiance of a broiling -afternoon’s sun, about four o’clock we left the vessel for the town. - -It was, as I understand, formerly one of some magnitude; but it now -consists only of a few houses, owing to a spark from a tobacco-pipe or -a candle having lodged upon a mosquito-net during dry weather; and -although the conflagration took place at mid-day, the whole town was -reduced to ashes. The few streets--(I believe there were not above two, -but those were wide and regular, and the houses looked very neat)--were -now crowded with people, and it seemed to be allowed, upon all hands, -that New-year’s day had never been celebrated there with more expense -and festivity. - -It seems that, many years ago, an Admiral of the Red was superseded on -the Jamaica station by an Admiral of the Blue; and both of them gave -balls at Kingston to the “_Brown Girls;”_ for the fair sex elsewhere are -called the “Brown Girls” in Jamaica. In consequence of these balls, all -Kingston was divided into parties: from thence the division spread into -other districts: and ever since, the whole island, at Christmas, is -separated into the rival factions of the Blues and the Reds (the Red -representing also the English, the Blue the Scotch), who contend -for setting forth their processions with the greatest taste and -magnificence. This year, several gentlemen in the neighbourhood of Black -River had subscribed very largely towards the expenses of the show; -and certainly it produced the gayest and most amusing scene that I ever -witnessed, to which the mutual jealousy and pique of the two parties -against each other contributed in no slight degree. The champions of -the rival Roses,--the Guelphs and the Ghibellines,--none of them could -exceed the scornful animosity and spirit of depreciation with which the -Blues and the Reds of Black River examined the efforts at display of -each other. The Blues had the advantage beyond a doubt; this a Red -girl told us that she could not deny; but still, “though the Reds were -beaten, she would not be a Blue girl for the whole universe!” On the -other hand, Miss Edwards (the mistress of the hotel from whose window we -saw the show), was rank Blue to the very tips of her fingers, and had, -indeed, contributed one of her female slaves to sustain a very important -character in the show; for when the Blue procession was ready to set -forward, there was evidently a hitch, something was wanting; and there -seemed to be no possibility of getting on without it--when suddenly we -saw a tall woman dressed in mourning (being Miss Edwards herself) rush -out of our hotel, dragging along by the hand a strange uncouth kind of -a glittering tawdry figure, all feathers, and pitchfork, and painted -pasteboard, who moved most reluctantly, and turned out to be no less a -personage than Britannia herself, with a pasteboard shield covered with -the arms of Great Britain, a trident in her hand, and a helmet made -of pale blue silk and silver. The poor girl, it seems, was bashful at -appearing in this conspicuous manner before so many spectators, and hung -back when it came to the point. But her mistress had seized hold of her, -and placed her by main force in her destined position. The music struck -up; Miss Edwards gave the Goddess a great push forwards; the drumsticks -and the elbows of the fiddlers attacked her in the rear; and on went -Britannia willy-nilly! - -The Blue girls called themselves “the Blue girls of Waterloo.” - Their motto was the more patriotic; that of the Red was the more -gallant:--“Britannia rules the day!” streamed upon the Blue flag; -“Red girls for ever!” floated upon the Red. But, in point of taste and -invention, the former carried it hollow. First marched Britannia; then -came a band of music; then the flag; then the Blue King and Queen--the -Queen splendidly dressed in white and silver (in scorn of the opposite -party, her train was borne by a little girl in red); his Majesty wore -a full British Admiral’s uniform, with a white satin sash, and a huge -cocked hat with a gilt paper crown upon the top of it. These were -immediately followed by “Nelson’s car,” being a kind of canoe decorated -with blue and silver drapery, and with “Trafalgar” written on the front -of it; and the procession was closed by a long train of Blue grandees -(the women dressed in uniforms of white, with robes of blue muslin), -all Princes and Princesses, Dukes and Duchesses, every mother’s child of -them. - -The Red girls were also dressed very gaily and prettily, but they had -nothing in point of invention that could vie with Nelson’s Car and -Britannia; and when the Red throne made its appearance, language cannot -express the contempt with which our landlady eyed it. “It was neither -one thing nor t’other,” Miss Edwards was of opinion. “Merely a few yards -of calico stretched over some planks--and look, look, only look at it -behind! you may see the bare boards! By way of a throne, indeed! Well, -to be sure, Miss Edwards never saw a poorer thing in her life, that she -must say!” And then she told me, that somebody had just snatched at a -medal which Britannia wore round her neck, and had endeavoured to force -it away. I asked her who had done so? “Oh, one of the Red party, _of -course!_” The Red party was evidently Miss Edwards’s Mrs. Grundy. -John-Canoe made no part of the procession; but he and his rival, -John-Crayfish (a personage of whom I heard, but could not obtain a -sight), seemed to act upon quite an independent interest, and go about -from house to house, tumbling and playing antics to pick up money for -themselves. - -A play was now proposed to us, and, of course, accepted. Three men and -a girl accordingly made their appearance; the men dressed like the -tumblers at Astley’s, the lady very tastefully in white and silver, -and all with their faces concealed by masks of thin blue silk; and they -proceeded to perform the quarrel between Douglas and Glenalvon, and the -fourth act of “The Fair Penitent.” They were all quite perfect, and had -no need of a prompter. As to Lothario, he was by far the most comical -dog that I ever saw in my life, and his dying scene exceeded all -description; Mr. Coates himself might have taken hints from him! As -soon as Lothario was fairly dead, and Calista had made her exit in -distraction, they all began dancing reels like so many mad people, till -they were obliged to make way for the Waterloo procession, who came to -collect money for the next year’s festival; one of them singing, -another dancing to the tune, while she presented her money-box to the -spectators, and the rest of the Blue girls filling up the chorus. I -cannot say much in praise of the black Catalani; but nothing could be -more light, and playful, and graceful, than the extempore movements of -the dancing girl. Indeed, through the whole day, I had been struck with -the precision of their march, the ease and grace of their action, the -elasticity of their step, and the lofty air with which they carried -their heads--all, indeed, except poor Britannia, who hung down hers in -the most ungoddess-like manner imaginable. The first song was the old -Scotch air of “Logie of Buchan,” of which the girl sang one single -stanza forty times over. But the second was in praise of the Hero of -Heroes; so I gave the songstress a dollar to teach it to me, and drink -the Duke’s health. It was not easy to make out what she said, but as -well as I could understand them, the words ran as follows:-- - - “Come, rise up, our gentry, - - And hear about Waterloo; - - Ladies, take your spy-glass, - - And attend to what we do; - - For one and one makes two, - - But one alone must be. - - Then singee, singee Waterloo, - - None so brave as he!” - ---and then there came something about green and white flowers, and a -Duchess, and a lily-white Pig, and going on board of a dashing man of -war; but what they all had to do with the Duke, or with each other, I -could not make even a guess. I was going to ask for an explanation, but -suddenly half of them gave a shout loud enough “to fright the realms of -Chaos and old Night,” and away they flew, singers, dancers, and all. The -cause of this was the sudden illumination of the town with quantities of -large chandeliers and bushes, the branches of which were stuck all over -with great blazing torches: the effect was really beautiful, and the -excessive rapture of the black multitude at the spectacle was as well -worth the witnessing as the sight itself. - -I never saw so many people who appeared to be so unaffectedly happy. -In England, at fairs and races, half the visiters at least seem to have -been only brought there for the sake of traffic, and to be too busy to -be amused; but here nothing was thought of but real pleasure; and that -pleasure seemed to consist in singing, dancing, and laughing, in seeing -and being seen, in showing their own fine clothes, or in admiring those -of others. There were no people selling or buying; no servants and -landladies bustling and passing about; and at eight o’clock, as we -passed through the market-place, where was the greatest illumination, -and which, of course, was most thronged, I did not see a single person -drunk, nor had I observed a single quarrel through the course of the -day; except, indeed, when some thoughtless fellow crossed the line of -the procession, and received by the way a good box of the ear from the -Queen or one of her attendant Duchesses. Every body made the same remark -to me; “Well, sir, what do you think Mr. Wilberforce would think of the -state of the negroes, if he could see this scene?” and certainly, to -judge by this one specimen, of all beings that I have yet seen, -these were the happiest. As we were passing to our boat, through the -market-place, suddenly we saw Miss Edwards dart out of the crowd, and -seize the Captain’s arm--“Captain! Captain!” cried she, “for the love of -Heaven, only look at the _Red_ lights! Old iron hoops, nothing but old -iron hoops, I declare! Well! for my part!” and then, with a contemptuous -toss of her head, away frisked Miss Edwards triumphantly. - - -JANUARY 2. - -The St. Elizabeth, which sailed from England at the same time with our -vessel, was attacked by a pirate from Carthagena, near the rocks of -Alcavella, who attempted three times to board her, though he was at -length beaten off so that our Piccaroon preparations were by no means -taken without foundation. - -At four o’clock this morning I embarked in the cutter for Savannah -la Mar, lighted by the most beautiful of all possible morning stars: -certainly, if this star be really Lucifer, that “Son of the -Morning,” the Devil must be “an extremely pretty fellow.” But in spite -of the fineness of the morning, our passage was a most disagreeable -concern: there was a violent swell in the sea; and a strong north wind, -though it carried us forward with great rapidity, overwhelmed us with -whole sheets of foam so incessantly, that I expected, as soon as the sun -should have evaporated the moisture, to see the boat’s crew covered with -salt, and looking like so many Lot’s wives after her metamorphosis. - -The distance was about thirty miles, and soon after nine o’clock -we reached Savannah la Mar, where I found my trustee, and a whole -cavalcade, waiting to conduct me to my own estate; for he had brought -with him a curricle and pair for myself a gig for my servant, two black -boys upon mules, and a cart with eight oxen to convey my baggage. The -road was excellent, and we had not above five miles to travel; and as -soon as the carriage entered my gates, the uproar and confusion which -ensued sets all description at defiance. The works were instantly all -abandoned; every thing that had life came flocking to the house from all -quarters; and not only the men, and the women, and the children, but, -“by a bland assimilation,” the hogs, and the dogs, and the geese, and -the fowls, and the turkeys, all came hurrying along by instinct, to see -what could possibly be the matter, and seemed to be afraid of arriving -too late. Whether the pleasure of the negroes was sincere may be -doubted; but certainly it was the loudest that I ever witnessed: they -all talked together, sang, danced, shouted, and, in the violence of -their gesticulations, tumbled over each other, and rolled about upon -the ground. Twenty voices at once enquired after uncles, and aunts, and -grandfathers, and great-grandmothers of mine, who had been buried long -before I was in existence, and whom, I verily believe, most of them only -knew by tradition. One woman held up her little naked black child to me, -grinning from ear to ear;--“Look, Massa, look here! him nice lilly neger -for Massa!” Another complained,--“So long since none come see we, Massa; -good Massa, come at last.” As for the old people, they were all in one -and the same story: now they had lived once to see Massa, they were -ready for dying to-morrow, “them no care.” - -The shouts, the gaiety, the wild laughter, their strange and sudden -bursts of singing and dancing, and several old women, wrapped up -in large cloaks, their heads bound round with different-coloured -handkerchiefs, leaning on a staff, and standing motionless in the middle -of the hubbub, with their eyes fixed upon the portico which I occupied, -formed an exact counterpart of the festivity of the witches in Macbeth. -Nothing could be more odd or more novel than the whole scene; and yet -there was something in it by which I could not help being affected; -perhaps it was the consciousness that all these human beings were my -_slaves_;--to be sure, I never saw people look more happy in my life; -and I believe their condition to be much more comfortable than that of -the labourers of Great Britain; and, after all, slavery, in _their_ -case, is but another name for servitude, now that no more negroes can be -forcibly carried away from Africa, and subjected to the horrors of the -voyage, and of the seasoning after their arrival: but still I had -already experienced, in the morning, that Juliet was wrong in saying -“What’s in a name?” For soon after my reaching the lodging-house at -Savannah la Mar, a remarkably cleanlooking negro lad presented himself -with some water and a towel: I concluded him to belong to the inn; and, -on my returning the towel, as he found that I took no notice of him, he -at length ventured to introduce himself, by saying,--“Massa not know me; -_me your slave!_”--and really the sound made me feel a pang at the -heart. The lad appeared all gaiety and good humour, and his whole -countenance expressed anxiety to recommend himself to my notice; but the -word “slave” seemed to imply, that, although he did feel pleasure then -in serving me, if he had detested me he must have served me still. I -really felt quite humiliated at the moment, and was tempted to tell -him,--“Do not say that again; say that you are my negro, but do not call -yourself my slave.” - -Altogether, they shouted and sang me into a violent headach. It is now -one in the morning, and I hear them still shouting and singing. I gave -them a holiday for Saturday next, and told them that I had brought -them all presents from England; and so, I believe, we parted very good -friends. - - -JANUARY 3. - -I have reached Jamaica in the best season for seeing my property in a -favourable point of view; it is crop time, when all the laborious work -is over, and the negroes are the most healthy and merry. This morning I -went to visit the hospital, and found there only eight patients out of -three hundred negroes, and not one of them a serious case. Yesterday I -had observed a remarkably handsome Creole girl, called Psyche, and she -really deserved the name. This morning a little brown girl made her -appearance at breakfast, with an orange bough, to flap away the flies, -and, on enquiry, she proved to be an emanation of the aforesaid Psyche. -It is evident, therefore, that Psyche has already visited the palace of -Cupid; I heartily hope that she is not now upon her road to the infernal -regions: but, as the ancients had two Cupids, one divine and the other -sensual, so am I in possession of two Psyches; and on visiting the -hospital, _there_ was poor Psyche the second. Probably this was the -Psyche of the sensual Cupid. - -I passed the morning in driving about the estate: my house is frightful -to look at, but very clean and comfortable on the inside; some of the -scenery is very picturesque, from the lively green of the trees and -shrubs, and the hermitage-like appearance of the negro buildings, all -situated in little gardens, and embosomed in sweet-smelling shrubberies. -Indeed, every thing appears much better than I expected; the negroes -seem healthy and contented, and so perfectly at their ease, that our -English squires would be mightily astonished at being accosted so -familiarly by their farmers. This delightful north wind keeps the air -temperate and agreeable. I live upon shaddocks and pine-apples. The -dreaded mosquitoes are not worse than gnats, nor as bad as the Sussex -harvest-bugs; and, as yet, I never felt myself in more perfect -health. There was a man once, who fell from the top of a steeple; and, -perceiving no inconvenience in his passage through the air,--“Come,” - said he to himself, while in the act of falling, “really this is well -enough yet if it would but last.” Cubina, my young Savannah la Mar -acquaintance, is appointed my black attendant; and as I had desired him -to bring me any native flowers of Jamaica, this evening he brought me a -very pretty one; the negroes, he said, called it “John-to-Heal,” but -in white language it was _hoccoco-pickang_; it proved to be the wild -Ipecacuanha. - - -JANUARY 4. - -There were three things against which I was particularly cautioned, and -which three things I was determined _not_ to do: to take exercise after -ten in the day; to be exposed to the dews after sun-down; and to sleep -at a Jamaica lodging-house. So, yesterday, I set off for Montego Bay at -eight o’clock in the morning, and travelled till three; walked home from -a ball after midnight; and that home was a lodging-house at Montego -Bay; but the lodging-house was such a cool clean lodging-house, and the -landlady was such an obliging smiling landlady, with the whitest of -all possible teeth, and the blackest of all possible eyes, that no harm -could happen to me from occupying an apartment which had been prepared -by _her_. She was called out of her bed to make my room ready for me; -yet she did every thing with so much good-will and cordiality; no quick -answers, no mutterings: inns would be bowers of Paradise, if they were -all rented by mulatto landladies, like Judy James. - -I was much pleased with the scenery of Montego Bay, and with the -neatness and cleanliness of the town; indeed, what with the sea washing -it, and the picturesque aspect of the piazzas and verandas, it is -impossible for a West Indian town so situated, and in such a climate, -not to present an agreeable appearance. But the first part of the road -exceeds in beauty all that I have ever seen: it wound through mountain -lands of my own, their summits of the boldest, and at the same time -of the most beautiful shapes; their sides ornamented with bright green -woods of bamboo, logwood, prickly-yellow, broad-leaf, and trumpet trees; -and so completely covered with the most lively verdure, that once, -when we found a piece of barren rock, Cubina pointed it out to me as a -curiosity;--“Look, massa, rock quite naked!” The cotton-tree presented -itself on all sides; but as this is the season for its shedding its -leaves, its wide-spreading bare white arms contributed nothing to the -beauty of the scene, except where the wild fig and various creeping -plants had completely mantled the stems and branches; and then its -gigantic height, and the fantastic wreathings of its limbs, from which -numberless green withes and strings of wild flowers were streaming, -rendered it exactly the very tree for which a landscape-painter -would have wished. The air, too, was delicious; the fragrance of the -Sweet-wood, and of several other scented trees, but above all, of the -delicious Logwood (of which most of the fences in Westmoreland are made) -composed an atmosphere, such, that if Satan, after promising them “a -buxom air, embalmed with odours,” had transported Sin and Death thither, -the charming couple must have acknowledged their papa’s promises -fulfilled. - -We travelled these first ten miles (Montego Bay being about thirty from -my estate of Cornwall) without seeing a human creature, nor, indeed, any -thing that had life in it, except a black snake basking in the sunshine, -and a few John Crows----a species of vulture, whose utility is so great -that its destruction is prohibited by law under a heavy penalty. In a -country where putrefaction is so rapid, it is of infinite consequence to -preserve an animal which, if a bullock or horse falls dead in the field, -immediately flies to the carcass before it has time to corrupt, and -gobbles it up before you can say “John Crow,” much less Jack Robinson. -The bite of the black snake is slightly venomous, but that is all; as -to the great yellow one, it is perfectly innoxious, and so timid that it -always runs away from you. The only dangerous species of serpent is the -Whip-snake, so called from its exactly resembling the lash of a whip, in -length, thinness, pliability, and whiteness; but even the bite of this -is not mortal, except from very great neglect. The most beautiful tree, -or, rather, group of trees, all to nothing, is the Bamboo, both from its -verdure and from its elegance of form: as to the Cotton tree, it -answers no purpose, either of ornament or utility; or, rather, it is not -suffered to answer any, since it is forbidden by law to export its down, -lest it should hurt the fur trade in the manufacture of hats: its only -present use is to furnish the negroes with canoes, which are hollowed -out of its immense trunks. I am as yet so much enchanted with the -country, that it would require no very strong additional inducements to -make me establish myself here altogether; and in that case my first care -would be to build for myself a cottage among these mountains, in which I -might pass the sultry months, - - “E bruna-si; ma il bruno il bel non toglie.” - - -JANUARY 5. - -As I was returning; this morning; from Montego Bay, about a mile from my -own estate, a figure presented itself before me, I really think the -most picturesque that I ever beheld: it was a mulatto girl, born upon -Cornwall, but whom the overseer of a neighbouring estate had obtained -my permission to exchange for another slave, as well as two little -children, whom she had borne to him; but, as yet, he has been unable -to procure a substitute, owing to the difficulty of purchasing single -negroes, and Mary Wiggins is still my slave. However, as she is -considered as being manumitted, she had not dared to present herself -at Cornwall on my arrival, lest she should have been considered as an -intruder; but she now threw herself in my way to tell me how glad she -was to see me, for that she had always thought till now (which is the -general complaint) that “_she had no massa_” and also to obtain a regular -invitation to my negro festival tomorrow. By this universal complaint, -it appears that, while Mr. Wilberforce is lamenting their hard fate in -being subject to a master, _their_ greatest fear is the not having a -master whom they know; and that to be told by the negroes of another -estate that “they belong to no massa,” is one of the most contemptuous -reproaches that can be cast upon them. Poor creatures, when they -happened to hear on Wednesday evening that my carriage was ordered for -Montego Bay the next morning, they fancied that I was going away for -good and all, and came up to the house in such a hubbub, that my agent -was obliged to speak to them, and pacify them with the assurance that I -should come back on Friday without fail. - -But to return to Mary Wiggins: she was much too pretty not to obtain her -invitation to Cornwall; on the contrary, I _insisted_ upon her coming, -and bade her tell her _husband_ that I admired his taste very much for -having chosen her. I really think that her form and features were the -most _statue-like_ that I ever met with: her complexion had no yellow in -it, and yet was not brown enough to be dark--it was more of an ash-dove -colour than any thing else; her teeth were admirable, both for colour -and shape; her eyes equally mild and bright; and her face merely broad -enough to give it all possible softness and grandness of contour: her -air and countenance would have suited Yarico; but she reminded me most -of Grassini in “La Vergine del Sole,” only that Mary Wiggins was a -thousand times more beautiful, and that, instead of a white robe, she -wore a mixed dress of brown, white, and dead yellow, which harmonised -excellently well with her complexion while one of her beautiful arms was -thrown across her brow to shade her eyes, and a profusion of rings -on her fingers glittered in the sunbeams. Mary Wiggins and an old -Cotton-tree are the most picturesque objects that I have seen for these -twenty years. - -On my arrival at home, my agent made me a very elegant little present of -a scorpion and a couple of centipedes: the first was given to him, but -the large centipede he had shaken out of a book last night, and having -immediately covered her up in a phial of rum, he found this morning that -she had produced a young one, which was lying drowned by her side. - -I find that my negroes were called away from their attention to the -works yesterday evening (for the crop is now making with the greatest -activity), and kept up all night by a fire at a neighbouring estate. -On these occasions a fire-shell is blown, and all the negroes of the -adjoining plantations hasten to give their assistance. On this occasion -the fire was extinguished with the loss of only five negro houses; but -this is a heavy concern to the poor negro proprietors, who have lost in -it their whole stock of clothes, and furniture, and finery, which -they had been accumulating for years, and to which their attachment is -excessive. - - - -LANDING. - - When first I gain’d the Atlantic shore, - - And bade farewell to ocean’s roar, - - What gracious power my bosom eased, - - My senses soothed, my fancy pleased, - - And bade me feel, in whispers bland, - - No Stranger in a Stranger-land? - - ’T was not at length my goal to reach, - - And tread Jamaica’s burning beach: - - ’T was not from Neptune’s chains discharged, - - To move, think, feel with powers enlarged: - - Nor that no more my bed the wave, - - Ere morning dawn’d, might prove my grave:-- - - A livelier chord was struck: a spell, - - While heav’d my heart with gentle swell, - - Crept o’er my soul with magic sweet, - - And made each pulse responsive beat. - - No Sheep-bell e’er to Pilgrim’s ear, - - Wandering in woods unknown and drear; - - No midnight lay to Spanish maid, - - Conscious by whom the lute was played; - - Not on the breeze the sounding wings - - Of him who nurture homeward brings - - To mother-bird, whose callow brood - - Pain her fond heart with chirps for food,-- - - E’er seem’d more charming than to me, - - (When two long months had past at sea, - - During whose course my thirsty ear - - No softer voice, no strain could hear - - Nearer allied to love and pity, - - Than the strong bass of seaman’s ditty,) - - Seem’d by the sea-gale round me flung, - - Approaching sounds of female tongue! - - No, Venus, no! Small right hast thou - - To claim for this my grateful vow; - - N or on thine altar now bestows - - My hand the gift of one poor rose! - - No eager glance, no heighten’d dye - - Blush’d on my cheek, nor fired mine eye; - - I heard, nor felt, at each soft note, - - Flutter my heart, and swell my throat. - - Those sounds but spoke of bosom-balm, - - Of pity prompt and kindness calm; - - Of tender care, of anxious zeal; - - For here were breasts whose hearts could feel! - - ’T was as to guest in stranger halls - - If voice of friend a welcome calls: - - Such pleasure soothes the starting maid, - - Who finds some jewel long mislaid; - - Pleasure, which blessed dew supplies, - - To ease the heart, and float the eyes; - - As when in pain attentions prove - - A mother’s care, a sister’s love. - - To Woman, Life its value owes! - - Robb’d of her love, its dawn and close - - Would find nor aid, nor soothing care; - - Its middle course no joys would share. - - Childhood in vain would thirst and cry, - - And Age, unheeded, moan and die; - - And Manhood frown to see the hours - - Weave scentless wreaths unblest with flowers. - - It beam’d on cheek of sable dye; - - No matter, since ’t was _woman’s_ eye! - - Each phrase the tortured language broke; - - Enough for me--’t was _woman_ spoke! - - Once raven locks my temples wore; - - Time has pluck’d many, sorrow more: - - Through forty springs (thank God they’re run) - - These weary eyes have seen the sun; - - And in that space full room is found - - For flowers to fade, and thorns to wound. - - But now, (all fancy’s freaks supprest, - - Each thread-bare sneer and wanton jest,) - - With hand on heart in serious tone, - - With thanks, with truth, I needs must own, - - Wide as I’ye roam’d the world around, - - Roam where I would, I ever found, - - The worst of Women still possest - - More virtues than of Men the best. - - And, oh! if shipwreck proves my lot, - - Guide me, kind Heav’n, to some lone cot - - Where _woman_ dwells! Her hand she’ll stretch - - In pity to the stranger-wretch; - - If virtuous want mine eye surveys, - - Nor mine the power his head to raise, - - I’ll pour the tale in _woman’s_ ear, - - She’ll aid, and, aiding, drop a tear. - - And when my life-blood sickness drains, - - And racks my nerves, and fires my brains, - - What kinder juice, what livelier power, - - Than mineral yields, or opiate flower, - - Can make me e’en in pain rejoice?-- - - A few sweet words in that sweet voice! - - -JANUARY 6. - -This was the day given to my negroes as a festival on my arrival. A -couple of heifers were slaughtered for them: they were allowed as much -rum, and sugar, and noise, and dancing as they chose; and as to the two -latter, certainly they profited by the permission. About two o’clock -they began to assemble round the house, all drest in their holiday -clothes, which, both for men and women, were chiefly white; only that -the women were decked out with a profusion of beads and corals, and gold -ornaments of all descriptions; and that while the blacks wore jackets, -the mulattoes generally wore cloth coats; and inasmuch as they were all -plainly clean instead of being shabbily fashionable, and affected to -be nothing except that which they really were, they looked twenty times -more like gentlemen than nine tenths of the bankers’ clerks who swagger -up and down Bond Street. It is a custom as to the mulatto children, that -the males born on an estate should never be employed as field negroes, -but as tradesmen; the females are brought up as domestics about the -house. I had particularly invited “Mr. John-Canoe” (which I found to be -the polite manner in which the negroes spoke of him), and there arrived -a couple of very gay and gaudy ones. I enquired whether one of them was -“John-Crayfish;” but I was told that John-Crayfish was John-Ca-noe’s -rival and enemy, and might belong to the factions of “the Blues and the -Reds;” but on Cornwall they were all friends, and therefore there -were only the father and the son---Mr. John-Canoe, senior, and Mr. -John-Canoe, junior. - -The person who gave me this information was a young mulatto carpenter, -called Nicholas, whom I had noticed in the crowd, on my first arrival, -for his clean appearance and intelligent countenance; and he now begged -me to notice the smaller of the two John-Canoe machines. “To be sure,” - he said, “it was not so large nor so showy as the other, but then it -was much better _proportioned_ (his own word), and altogether much -prettier;” and he said so much in praise of it, that I asked him whether -he knew the maker? and then out came the motive: “Oh, yes! it was made -by John Fuller, who lived in the next house to him, and worked in the -same shop, and indeed they were just like brothers.” So I desired to see -his _fidas Achates_, and he brought me as smart and intelligent a little -fellow as eye ever beheld, who came grinning from ear to ear to tell me -that he had made every bit of the canoe with his own hands, and had set -to work upon it the moment that he knew of massa’s coming to Jamaica. -And indeed it was as fine as paint, pasteboard, gilt paper, and -looking-glass could make it! Unluckily, the breeze being very strong -blew off a fine glittering umbrella, surmounted with a plume of John -Crow feathers, which crowned the top; and a little wag of a negro boy -whipped it up, clapped it upon his head, and performed the part of an -impromptu Mr. John-Canoe with so much fun and grotesqueness, that he -fairly beat the original performers out of the pit, and carried off -all the applause of the spectators, and a couple of my dollars. The -John-Canoes are fitted out at the expense of the rich negroes, who -afterwards share the money collected from the spectators during their -performance, allotting one share to the representator himself; and it -is usual for the master of the estate to give them a couple of guineas -apiece. - -This Nicholas, whom I mentioned, is a very interesting person, both from -his good looks and gentle manners, and from his story. He is the son -of a white man, who on his death-bed charged his nephew and heir to -purchase the freedom of this natural child. The nephew had promised to -do so; I had consented; nothing was necessary but to find the substitute -(which now is no easy matter); when about six months ago the nephew -broke his neck, and the property went to a distant relation. Application -in behalf of poor Nicholas has been made to the heir, and I heartily -hope that he will enable me to release him. I felt strongly tempted to -set him at liberty at once; but if I were to begin in that way, there -would be no stopping; and it would be doing a kindness to an individual -at the expense of all my other negroes--others would expect the same; -and then I must either contrive to cultivate my estate with fewer -hands--or must cease to cultivate it altogether--and, from inability to -maintain them, send my negroes to seek bread for themselves--which, as -two thirds of them have been born upon the estate, and many of them -are lame, dropsical, and of a great age, would, of all misfortunes that -could happen to them, be the most cruel. Even when Nicholas was speaking -to me about his liberty, he said, “It is not that I wish to go away, -sir; it is only for the name and honour of being free: but I -would always stay here and be your servant; and I had rather be an -under-workman on Cornwall, than a head carpenter any where else.” - Possibly, this was all palaver (in which the negroes are great dealers), -but at least he _seemed_ to be sincere; and I was heartily grieved that -I could not allow myself to say more to him than that I sincerely wished -him to get his liberty, and would receive the very lowest exchange for -him that common prudence would authorize. And even for those few kind -words, the poor fellow seemed to think it impossible to find means -strong enough to express his gratitude. - -Nor is this the only instance in which Nicholas has been unlucky. It -seems that he was the first lover of the beautiful Psyche, whom I -had noticed on my arrival. This evening, after the performance of the -John-Canoes, I desired to see some of the girls dance; and by general -acclamation Psyche was brought forward to exhibit, she being avowedly -the best dancer on the estate; and certainly nothing could be more -light, graceful, easy, and spirited, than her performance. She perfectly -answered the description of Sallust’s Sempronia, who was said--“Sal tare -elegantius, quam necesse est probæ, et cui cariora semper omnia, quam -decus et pudicitia fuit.” When her dance was over, I called her to me, -and gave her a handful of silver. “Ah, Psyche,” said Nicholas, who was -standing at my elbow, “Massa no give you all that if massa know you -so bad girl! she run away from me, massa!” Psyche gave him a kind of -pouting look, half kind, and half reproachful, and turned away. And then -he told me that Psyche had been his wife (_one_ of his wives he should -have said); that he had had a child by her, and then she had left him -for one of my “white people” (as they call the book-keepers), because -he had a good salary, and could afford to give her more presents than a -slave could. “Was there not another reason for your quarrelling?” said -my agent. “Was there not a shade of colour too much?”--“Oh, massa!” - answered Nicholas, “the child is not my own, that is certain; it is -a black man’s child. But still I will always take care of the child -because it have no friends, and me wish make it good neger for -massa--and _she_ take good care of it too,” he added, throwing his arm -round the waist of a sickly-looking woman rather in years; “she my wife, -too, massa, long ago; old now and sick, but always good to me, so I -still live with her, and will never leave her, never, massa; she Polly’s -mother, sir.” Polly is a pretty, delicate-looking girl, nursing a -young child; she belongs to the mansion-house, and seems to think it as -necessary a part of her duty to nurse _me_ as the child. To be sure she -has not as yet insisted upon suckling me; but if I open a _jalousie_ -in the evening, Polly walks in and shuts it without saying a word. “Oh, -don’t shut the window, Polly.”--“Night-air not good for massa;” and she -shuts the casement without mercy. I am drinking orangeade, or some such -liquid; Polly walks up to the table, and seizes it; “Leave that jug, -Polly, I am dying with thirst.”--“More hurt, massa;” and away go Polly -and the orangeade. So that I begin to fancy myself Sancho in Barataria, -and that Polly is the Señor Doctor Pedro in petticoats. - -The difference of colour, which had offended Nicholas so much in -Psyche’s child, is a fault which no mulatto will pardon; nor can the -separation of castes in India be more rigidly observed, than that -of complexional shades among the Creoles. My black page, Cubina, is -married: I told him that I hoped he had married a pretty woman; why had -he not married Mary Wiggins? He seemed quite shocked at the very idea. -“Oh, massa, me black, Mary Wiggins sambo; that not allowed.” - -The dances performed to-night seldom admitted more than three persons -at a time: to me they appeared to be movements entirely dictated by the -caprice of the moment; but I am told that there is a regular figure, and -that the least mistake, or a single false step, is immediately noticed -by the rest. I could indeed sometimes fancy, that one story represented -an old duenna guarding a girl from a lover; and another, the pursuit of -a young woman by two suitors, the one young and the other old; but this -might be only fancy. However, I am told, that they have dances which not -only represent courtship and marriage, but being brought to bed. Their -music consisted of nothing but Gambys (Eboe drums), Shaky-shekies, and -Kitty-katties: the latter is nothing but any flat piece of board beat -upon with two sticks, and the former is a bladder with a parcel of -pebbles in it. But the principal part of the music to which they dance -is vocal; one girl generally singing two lines by herself, and being -answered by a chorus. To make out either the rhyme of the air, or -meaning of the words, was out of the question. But one very long song -was about the Duke of Wellington, every stanza being chorussed with, - - “Ay! hey-day! Waterloo! - - Waterloo! ho! ho! ho!” - -_I_ too had a great deal to do in the business, for every third word was -“massa;” though how I came there, I have no more idea than the Duke. - -The singing began about six o’clock, and lasted without a moment’s pause -till two in the morning; and such a noise never did I hear till then. -The whole of the floor which was not taken up by the dancers was, -through every part of the house except the bed-rooms, occupied by men, -women, and children, fast asleep. But although they were allowed rum and -sugar by whole pailfuls, and were most of them _merry_ in consequence, -there was not one of them drunk; except indeed, one person, and that -was an old woman, who sang, and shouted, and tossed herself about in an -elbow chair, till she tumbled it over, and rolled about the room in a -manner which shocked the delicacy of even the least prudish part of the -company. At twelve, my agent wanted to dismiss them; but I would not -suffer them to be interrupted on the first holiday that I had given -them; so they continued to dance and shout till two; when human nature -could bear no more, and they left me to my bed, and a violent headache. - - - -JANUARY 7. (Sunday.) - -In spite of their exertions of last night, the negroes were again with -me by two o’clock in the day, with their drums and their chorusses. -However, they found themselves unable to keep it up as they had done on -the former night, and were content to withdraw to their own houses -by ten in the evening. But first they requested to have tomorrow to -themselves, in order that they might go to the mountains for provisions. -For although their cottages are always surrounded with trees and shrubs, -their provision grounds are kept quite distinct, and are at a distance -among the mountains. Of course, I made no difficulty of acceding to -their request, but upon condition, that they should ask for no -more holidays till the crop should be completed. For the purpose of -cultivating their provision-grounds, they are allowed every Saturday; -but on the occasion of my arrival, they obtained permission to have the -Saturday to themselves, and to fetch their week’s provisions from the -mountains on the following Monday. All the slaves maintain themselves -in this manner by their own labour; even the domestic attendants are not -exempted, but are expected to feed themselves, except stated allowances -of salt fish, salt pork, &c. - - - -JANUARY 8. - -I really believe that the negresses can produce children at pleasure; -and where they are barren, it is just as hens will frequently not lay -eggs on shipboard, because they do not like their situation. Cubina’s -wife is in a family way, and I told him that if the child should live, -I would christen it for him, if he wished it. “Tank you, kind massa, -me like it very much: much oblige if massa do that for _me_, too.” So -I promised to baptize the father and the baby on the same day, and said -that I would be godfather to any children that might be born on the -estate during my residence in Jamaica. This was soon spread about, and -although I have not yet been here a week, two women are in the straw -already, Jug Betty and Minerva: the first is wife to my head driver, the -Duke of Sully; but my sense of propriety was much gratified at finding -that Minerva’s husband was called Captain. - -I think nobody will be able to accuse me of neglecting the religious -education of my negroes: for I have not only promised to baptize all the -infants, but, meeting a little black boy this morning, who said that his -name was Moses, I gave him a piece of silver, and told him that it was -for the sake of Aaron; which, I flatter myself, was planting in his -young mind the rudiments of Christianity. - -In my evening’s drive I met the negroes, returning from the mountains, -with baskets of provisions sufficient to last them for the week. By -law they are only allowed every other Saturday for the purpose of -cultivating their own grounds, which, indeed, is sufficient; but by -giving them every alternate Saturday into the bargain, it enables them -to perform their task with so much ease as almost converts it into -an amusement; and the frequent visiting their grounds makes them grow -habitually as much attached to them as they are to their houses and -gardens. It is also adviseable for them to bring home only a week’s -provisions at a time, rather than a fortnight’s; for they are so -thoughtless and improvident, that, when they find themselves in -possession of a larger supply than is requisite for their immediate -occasions, they will sell half to the wandering higglers, or at Savanna -la Mar, in exchange for spirits; and then, at the end of the week, they -find themselves entirely unprovided with food, and come to beg a supply -from the master’s storehouse. - - -JANUARY 9. - -The sensitive plant is a great nuisance in Jamaica: it over-runs the -pastures, and, being armed with very strong sharp prickles, it wounds -the mouths of the cattle, and, in some places, makes it quite impossible -for them to feed. Various endeavours have been made to eradicate this -inconvenient weed, but none as yet have proved effectual. - - -JANUARY 10. - -The houses here are generally built and arranged according to one -and the same model. My own is of wood, partly raised upon pillars; it -consists of a single floor: a long gallery, called a piazza, terminated -at each end by a square room, runs the whole length of the house. On -each side of the piazza is a range of bed-rooms, and the porticoes of -the two fronts form two more rooms, with balustrades, and flights of -steps descending to the lawn. The whole house is virandoed with shifting -Venetian blinds to admit air; except that one of the end rooms has -sash-windows on account of the rains, which, when they arrive, are so -heavy, and shift with the wind so suddenly from the one side to the -other, that all the blinds are obliged to be kept closed; consequently -the whole house is in total darkness during their continuance, except -the single sash-windowed room. There is nothing underneath except a few -store-rooms and a kind of waiting-hall; but none of the domestic negroes -sleep in the house, all going home at night to their respective cottages -and families. - -Cornwall House itself stands on a dead flat, and the works are built in -its immediate neighbourhood, for the convenience of their being the more -under the agent’s personal inspection (a point of material consequence -with them all, but more particularly for the hospital). This dead flat -is only ornamented with a few scattered bread-fruit and cotton trees, a -grove of mangoes, and the branch of a small river, which turns the mill. -Several of these buildings are ugly enough; but the shops of the cooper, -carpenter, and blacksmith, some of the trees in their vicinity, and the -negro-huts, embowered in shrubberies, and groves of oranges, plantains, -cocoas, and pepper-trees, would be reckoned picturesque in the most -ornamented grounds. A large spreading tamarind fronts me at this moment, -and overshadows the stables, which are formed of open wickerwork; and an -orange-tree, loaded with fruit, grows against the window at which I am -writing. - -On three sides of the landscape the prospect is bounded by lofty purple -mountains; and the variety of occupations going on all around me, and -at the same time, give an inconceivable air of life and animation to the -whole scene, especially as all those occupations look clean,--even those -which in England look dirty. All the tradespeople are dressed either -in white jackets and trousers, or with stripes of red and sky-blue. One -band of negroes are carrying the ripe canes on their heads to the mill; -another set are conveying away the _trash_, after the juice has been -extracted; flocks of turkeys are sheltering from the heat under the -trees; the river is filled with ducks and geese; the coopers and -carpenters are employed about the puncheons; carts drawn some by six, -others by eight, oxen, are bringing loads of Indian corn from the -fields; the black children are employed in gathering it into the -granary, and in quarrelling with pigs as black as themselves, who are -equally busy in stealing the corn whenever the children are looking -another way: in short, a plantation possesses all the movement and -interest of a farm, without its dung, and its stench, and its dirty -accompaniments. - - -JANUARY 11. - -I saw the whole process of sugar-making this morning. The ripe canes -are brought in bundles to the mill, where the cleanest of the women -are appointed, one to put them into the machine for grinding them, and -another to draw them out after the juice has been extracted, when she -throws them into an opening in the floor close to her; another band of -negroes collects them below, when, under the name of _trash_, they are -carried away to serve for fuel. The juice, which is itself at first of a -pale ash-colour, gushes out in great streams, quite white with foam, -and passes through a wooden gutter into the boiling-house, where it is -received into the siphon or “cock copper.” where fire is applied to it, -and it is slaked with lime, in order to make it granulate. The feculent -parts of it rise to the top, while the purer and more fluid flow through -another gutter into the second copper. When little but the impure scum -on the surface remains to be drawn off, the first gutter communicating -with the copper is stopped, and the grosser parts are obliged to find a -new course through another gutter, which conveys them to the distillery, -where, being mixed with the molasses, or treacle, they are manufactured -into rum. From the second copper they are transmitted into the first, -and thence into two others, and in these four latter basins the scum is -removed with skimmers pierced with holes, till it becomes sufficiently -free from impurities to be _skipped off_, that is, to be again ladled -out of the coppers and spread into the coolers, where it is left -to granulate. The sugar is then formed, and is removed into the -_curing-house_, where it is put into hogsheads, and left to settle for a -certain time, during which those parts which are too poor and too liquid -to granulate, drip from the casks into vessels placed beneath them: -these drippings are the molasses, which, being carried into the -distillery, and mixed with the coarser scum formerly mentioned, form -that mixture from which the spirituous liquor of sugar is afterwards -produced by fermentation: when but once distilled, it is called “low -wine;” and it is not till after it has gone through a second -distillation, that it acquires the name of rum. The “trash” used for -fuel consists of the empty canes, that which is employed for fodder and -for thatching is furnished by the superabundant cane-tops; after so many -have been set apart as are required for planting. After these original -plants have been cut, their roots throw up suckers, which, in time, -become canes, and are called _ratoons_: they are far inferior in juice -to the planted canes; but then, on the other hand, they require much -less weeding, and spare the negroes the only laborious part of the -business of sugar-making, the digging holes for the plants; therefore, -although an acre of ratoons will produce but one hogshead of sugar, -while an acre of plants will produce two, the superiority of the -ratooned piece is very great, inasmuch as the saving of time and labour -will enable the proprietor to cultivate five acres of ratoons in the -same time with one of plants. Unluckily, after three crops, or five at -the utmost, in general the ratoons are totally exhausted, and you are -obliged to have recourse to fresh plants. - -Last night a poor man, named Charles, who had been coachman to my uncle -ages ago, was brought into the hospital, having missed a step in the -boiling-house, and plunged his foot into the siphon: fortunately, the -fire had not long been kindled, and though the liquor was hot enough to -scald him, it was not sufficiently so to do him any material injury. -The old man had presented himself to me on Saturday’s holiday (or -_play-day_, in the negro dialect), and had shown me, with great -exultation, the coat and waistcoat which had been the last present -of his old massa. Charles is now my chief mason, and, as one of the -principal persons on the estate, was entitled, by old custom, to the -compliment of a _distinguishing_ dollar on my arrival; but at the same -time that I gave him the dollar, to which his situation entitled him, I -gave him another for himself, as a keepsake: he put it into the pocket -of “his old massa’s” waistcoat, and assured me that they should never -again be separated. On hearing of his accident, I went over to the -hospital to see that he was well taken care of; and immediately the poor -fellow began talking to me about my grandfather, and his young massa, -and the young missies, his sisters, and while I suffered him to chatter -away for an hour, he totally forgot the pain of his burnt leg. - -It was particularly agreeable to me to observe, on Saturday, as a proof -of the good treatment which they had experienced, so many old servants -of the family, many of whom had been born on the estate, and who, though -turned of sixty and seventy, were still strong, healthy, and cheerful. -Many manumitted negroes, also, came from other parts of the country to -this festival, on hearing of my arrival, because, as they said,--“if -they did not come to see massa, they were afraid that it would look -ungrateful, and as if they cared no longer about him and Cornwall, now -that they were free.” So they stayed two or three days on the estate, -coming up to the house for their dinners, and going to sleep at night -among their friends in their own former habitations, the negro huts; and -when they went away, they assured me, that nothing should prevent their -coming back to bid me farewell, before I left the island. All this may -be palaver; but certainly they at least play their parts with such an -air of truth, and warmth, and enthusiasm, that, after the cold hearts -and repulsive manners of England, the contrast is infinitely agreeable. - - “Je ne vois que des yeux toujours prêts à sourire.” - -I find it quite impossible to resist the fascination of the conscious -pleasure of pleasing; and my own heart, which I have so long been -obliged to keep closed, seems to expand itself again in the sunshine of -the kind looks and words which meet me at every turn, and seem to wait -for mine as anxiously as if they were so many diamonds. - - -JANUARY 12. - -In the year ‘80, this parish of Westmoreland was kept in a perpetual -state of alarm by a runaway negro called _Plato_, who had established -himself among the Moreland Mountains, and collected a troop of banditti, -of which he was himself the chief. He robbed very often, and murdered -occasionally; but gallantry was his every day occupation. Indeed, being -a remarkably tall athletic young fellow, among the beauties of his own -complexion he found but few Lucretias; and his retreat in the mountains -was as well furnished as the haram of Constantinople. Every handsome -negress who had the slightest cause of complaint against her master, -took the first opportunity of eloping to join _Plato_, where she found -freedom, protection, and unbounded generosity; for he spared no pains -to secure their affections by gratifying their vanity. Indeed, no Creole -lady could venture out on a visit, without running the risk of having -her bandbox run away with by Plato for the decoration of his sultanas; -and if the maid who carried the bandbox happened to be well-looking, he -ran away with the maid as well as the bandbox. Every endeavour to seize -this desperado was long in vain: a large reward was put upon his head, -but no negro dared to approach him; for, besides his acknowledged -courage, he was a professor of Obi, and had threatened that whoever -dared to lay a finger upon him should suffer spiritual torments, as well -as be physically shot through the head. - -Unluckily for Plato, rum was an article with him of the first necessity; -the look-out, which was kept for him, was too vigilant to admit of -his purchasing spirituous liquors for himself; and once, when for that -purpose he had ventured into the neighbourhood of Montego Bay, he was -recognised by a slave, who immediately gave the alarm. Unfortunately -for this poor fellow, whose name was Taffy, at that moment all his -companions happened to be out of hearing; and, after the first moment’s -alarm, finding that no one approached, the exasperated robber rushed -upon him, and lifted the bill-hook, with which he was armed, for the -purpose of cleaving his skull. Taffy fled for it; but Plato was the -younger, the stronger, and the swifter of the two, and gained upon him -every moment. Taffy, however, on the other hand, possessed that one -quality by which, according to the fable, the cat was enabled to save -herself from the hounds, when the fox, with his thousand tricks, was -caught by them. He was an admirable climber, an art in which Plato -possessed no skill; and a bread-nut tree, which is remarkably difficult -of ascent, presenting itself before him, in a few moments Taffy was -bawling for help from the very top of it. To reach him was impossible -for his enemy; but still his destruction was hard at hand; for Plato -began to hack the tree with his bill, and it was evident that a very -short space of time would be sufficient to level it with the ground. -In this dilemma, Taffy had nothing for it but to break off the branches -near him; and he contrived to pelt these so dexterously at the head of -his assailant, that he fairly kept him at bay till his cries at length -reached the ears of his companions, and their approach compelled the -banditti-captain once more to seek safety among the mountains. - -After this Plato no longer dared to approach Montego town; but still -spirits must be had:--how was he to obtain them? There was an old -watchman on the outskirts of the estate of Canaan, with whom he had -contracted an acquaintance, and frequently had passed the night in his -hut; the old man having been equally induced by his presents and by -dread of his corporeal strength and supposed supernatural power, to -profess the warmest attachment to the interests of his terrible friend. -To this man Plato at length resolved to entrust himself: he gave him -money to purchase spirits, and appointed a particular day when he would -come to receive them. The reward placed upon the robber’s head was more -than either gratitude or terror could counterbalance; and on the same -day when the watchman set out to purchase the rum, he apprised two of -his friends at Canaan, for whose use it was intended, and advised _them_ -to take the opportunity of obtaining the reward. - -The two negroes posted themselves in proper time near the watchman’s -hut. Most unwisely, instead of sending down some of his gang, they saw -Plato, in his full confidence in the friendship of his confidant, arrive -himself and enter the cabin; but so great was their alarm at seeing this -dreadful personage, that they remained in their concealment, nor dared -to make an attempt at seizing him. The spirits were delivered to the -robber: he might have retired with them unmolested; but, in his rashness -and his eagerness to taste the liquor, of which he had so long been -deprived, he opened the flagon, and swallowed draught after draught, -till he sunk upon the ground in a state of complete insensibility. The -watchman then summoned the two negroes from their concealment, who bound -his arms, and conveyed him to Montego Bay, where he was immediately -sentenced to execution. He died most heroically; kept up the terrors of -his imposture to his last moment; told the magistrates, who condemned -him, that his death should be revenged by a storm, which would lay waste -the whole island, that year; and, when his negro gaoler was binding him -to the stake at which he was destined to suffer, he assured him that he -should not live long to triumph in his death, for that he had taken -good care to Obeah him before his quitting the prison. It certainly -did happen, strangely enough, that, before the year was over, the most -violent storm took place ever known in Jamaica; and as to the gaoler, -his imagination was so forcibly struck by the threats of the dying -man, that, although every care was taken of him, the power of medicine -exhausted, and even a voyage to America undertaken, in hopes that a -change of scene might change the course of his ideas, still, from the -moment of Plato’s death, he gradually pined and withered away, and -finally expired before the completion of the twelvemonth. - -The belief in Obeah is now greatly weakened, but still exists in some -degree. Not above ten months ago, my agent was informed that a negro -of very suspicious manners and appearance was harboured by some of my -people on the mountain lands. He found means to have him surprised, and -on examination there was found upon him a bag containing a great variety -of strange materials for incantations; such as thunder-stones, cat’s -ears, the feet of various animals, human hair, fish bones, the teeth of -alligators, &c.: he was conveyed to Montego Bay; and no sooner was it -understood that this old African was in prison, than depositions were -poured in from all quarters from negroes who deposed to having seen him -exercise his magical arts, and, in particular, to his having sold such -and such slaves medicines and charms to deliver them from their -enemies; being, in plain English, nothing else than rank poisons. He -was convicted of Obeah upon the most indubitable evidence. The good old -practice of burning has fallen into disrepute; so he was sentenced to be -transported, and was shipped off the island, to the great satisfaction -of persons of all colours--white, black, and yellow. - - -JANUARY 13. - -Throughout the island many estates, formerly very flourishing and -productive, have been thrown up for want of hands to cultivate them, -and are now suffered to lie waste: four are in this situation in my own -immediate neighbourhood. Finding their complement of negroes decrease, -and having no means of recruiting them, proprietors of two estates have -in numerous instances found themselves obliged to give up one of them, -and draw off the negroes for the purpose of properly cultivating the -other. - -I have just had an instance strikingly convincing of the extreme nicety -required in rearing negro children. Two have been born since my arrival. -My housekeeper was hardly ever out of the lying-in apartment; I always -visited it myself once a day, and sometimes twice, in order that I -might be certain of the women being well taken care of; not a day passed -without the inspection of a physician; nothing of indulgence, that -was proper for them, was denied; and, besides their ordinary food, the -mothers received every day the most nourishing and palatable dish that -was brought to my own table. Add to this, that the women themselves were -kind-hearted creatures, and particularly anxious to rear these children, -because I had promised to be their godfather myself. Yet, in spite -of all this attention and indulgence, one of the mothers, during the -nurse’s absence for ten minutes, grew alarmed at her infant’s apparent -sleepiness. To rouse it, she began dancing and shaking it till it was in -a strong perspiration, and then she stood with it for some minutes at an -open window, while a strong north wind was blowing. In consequence, -it caught cold, and the next morning symptoms of a locked jaw showed -itself. The poor woman was the image of grief itself: she sat on her -bed, looking at the child which lay by her side with its little hands -clasped, its teeth clenched, and its eyes fixed, writhing in the agony -of the spasm, while she was herself quite motionless and speechless, -although the tears trickled down her cheeks incessantly. All assistance -was fruitless: her thoughtlessness for five minutes had killed the -infant, and, at noon to-day it expired. - -This woman was a tender mother, had borne ten children, and yet has now -but one alive: another, at present in the hospital, has borne seven, and -but one has lived to puberty; and the instances of those who have had -four, five, six children, without succeeding in bringing up one, in -spite of the utmost attention and indulgence, are very numerous; so -heedless and inattentive are the best-intentioned mothers, and so -subject in this climate are infants to dangerous complaints. The locked -jaw is the common and most fatal one; so fatal, indeed, that the midwife -(the _graundee_ is her negro appellation) told me, the other day, “Oh, -massa, till nine days over, we _no hope_ of them.” Certainly care -and kindness are not adequate to save the children, for the son of a -sovereign could not have been more anxiously well treated than was the -poor little negro who died this morning. - -The negroes are always buried in their own gardens, and many strange and -fantastical ceremonies are observed on the occasion. If the corpse be -that of a grown person, they consult it as to which way it pleases to -be carried; and they make attempts upon various roads without success, -before they can hit upon the right one. Till that is accomplished, they -stagger under the weight of the coffin, struggle against its force, -which draws them in a different direction from that in which they had -settled to go; and sometimes in the contest the corpse and the coffin -jump off the shoulders of the bearers. But if, as is frequently the -case, any person is suspected of having hastened the catastrophe, the -corpse will then refuse to go any road but the one which passes by the -habitation of the suspected person, and as soon as it approaches his -house, no human power is equal to persuading it to pass. As the negroes -are extremely superstitious, and very much afraid of ghosts (whom they -call the _duppy_), I rather wonder at their choosing to have their dead -buried in their gardens; but I understand their argument to be, that -they need only fear the duppies of their enemies, but have nothing to -apprehend from those after death, who loved them in their lifetime; -but the duppies of their adversaries are very alarming beings, equally -powerful by day as by night, and who not only are spiritually terrific, -but who can give very hard substantial knocks on the pate, whenever they -see fit occasion, and can find a good opportunity. - -Last Saturday a negro was brought into the hospital, having fallen into -epileptic fits, with which till then he had never been troubled. As the -faintings had seized him at the slaughter-house, and the fellow was an -African, it was at first supposed by his companions, that the sight -and smell of the meat had affected him; for many of the Africans cannot -endure animal food of any kind, and most of the Ebres in particular are -made ill by eating turtle, even although they can use any other food -without injury. However, upon enquiry among his shipmates, it appeared -that he had frequently eaten beef without the slightest inconvenience. -For my own part, the symptoms of his complaint were such as to make me -suspect him of having tasted something poisonous, specially as, just -before his first fit, he had been observed in the small grove of mangoes -near the house; but I was assured by the negroes, one and all, that -nothing could possibly have induced him to eat an herb or fruit from -that grove, as it had been used as a burying-ground for “the white -people.” But although my idea of the poison was scouted, still the -mention of the burying-ground suggested another cause for his illness to -the negroes, and they had no sort of doubt, that in passing through the -burying-ground he had been struck down by the duppy of a white person -not long deceased, whom he had formerly offended, and that these -repeated fainting fits were the consequence of that ghostly blow. The -negroes have in various publications been accused of a total want of -religion, but this appears to me quite incompatible with the ideas -of spirits existing after dissolution of the body, which necessarily -implies a belief in a future state; and although (as far as I can make -out) they have no outward forms of religion, the most devout Christian -cannot have “God bless you” oftener on his lips than the negro; nor, on -the other hand, appear to feel the wish for their enemy’s damnation more -sincerely when he utters it. - -The Africans (as is well known) generally believe, that there is a life -beyond this world, and that they shall enjoy it by returning to their -own country; and this idea used frequently to induce them, soon after -their landing in the colonies, to commit suicide; but this was never -known to take place except among fresh negroes, and since the execrable -slave-trade has been abolished, such an illusion is unheard of. As to -those who had once got over the dreadful period of “seasoning,” they -were generally soon sensible enough of the amelioration of their -condition, to make the idea of returning to Africa the most painful that -could be presented to them. But, to be sure, poor creatures! what with -the terrors and sufferings of the voyage, and the unavoidable hardships -of the seasoning, those advantages were purchased more dearly than any -in this life can possibly be worth. God be thanked, all that is now -at an end; and certainly, as far as I can as yet judge, if I were now -standing on the banks of Virgil’s Lethe, with a goblet of the waters of -oblivion in my hand, and asked whether I chose to enter life anew as -an English labourer or a Jamaica negro, I should have no hesitation -in preferring the latter. For myself, it appears to me almost worth -surrendering the luxuries and pleasures of Great Britain, for the single -pleasure of being surrounded with beings who are always laughing and -singing, and who seem to perform their work with so much _nonchalance_, -taking up their baskets as if it were perfectly optional whether they -took them up or left them there; sauntering along with their hands -dangling; stopping to chat with every one they meet; or if they meet no -one, standing still to look round, and examine whether there is nothing -to be seen that can amuse them, so that I can hardly persuade myself -that it is really _work_ that they are about. The negro might well say, -on his arrival in England--“Massa, in England every thing work!” for -here nobody appears to work at all. - -I am told that there is one part of their business very laborious, the -digging holes for receiving the cane-plants, and which I have not as yet -seen; but this does not occupy above a month (I believe) at the utmost, -at two periods of the year; and on my estate this service is chiefly -performed by extra negroes, hired for the purpose; which, although -equally hard on the hired negroes (called a jobbing gang), at least -relieves my own, and after all, puts even the former on much the same -footing with English day-labourers. - -But if I could be contented to _live_ in Jamaica, I am still more -certain, that it is the only agreeable place for me to die in; for I -have got a family mausoleum, which looks for all the world like the -theatrical representation of the “tomb of all the Capulets.” Its outside -is most plentifully decorated “with sculptured stones,”-- - -“Arms, angels, epitaphs, and bones.” - -Within is a tomb of the purest white marble, raised on a platform of -ebony; the building, which is surmounted by a statue of Time, with his -scythe and hour-glass, stands in the very heart of an orange grove, now -in full bearing; and the whole scene this morning looked so cool, so -tranquil, and so gay, and is so perfectly divested of all vestiges of -dissolution, that the sight of it quite gave me an appetite for being -buried. It is a matter of perfect indifference to me what becomes of -this little ugly husk of mine, when once I shall have “shuffled off -this mortal coil;” or else I should certainly follow my grandfather’s -example, and, die where I might, order my body to be sent over for -burial to Cornwall; for I never yet saw a place where one could lie down -more comfortably to listen for the last trumpet. - - -JANUARY 14. (Sunday.) - -I gave a dinner to my “white people,” as the book-keepers, &c. are -called here, and who have a separate house and establishment for -themselves; and certainly a man must be destitute of every spark of -hospitality, and have had “Caucasus horrens” for his great-grandmother, -if he can resist giving dinners in a country where Nature seems to -have set up a superior kind of “London Tavern” of her own. They who -are possessed by the “Ci-borum ambitiosa fames, et lautæ gloria mensæ,” - ought to ship themselves off for Jamaica out of hand; and even the lord -mayor himself need not blush to give his aldermen such a dinner as is -placed on my table, even when I dine alone. Land and sea turtle, quails, -snipes, plovers, and pigeons and doves of all descriptions--of which the -ring-tail has been allowed to rank with the most exquisite of the winged -species, by epicures of such distinction, that their opinion, in matters -of this nature, almost carries with it the weight of a law,--excellent -pork, barbicued pigs, pepperpots, with numberless other excellent -dishes, form the ordinary fare; while the poultry is so large and fine, -that if the Dragon of Wantley found “houses and churches to be geese and -turkies” in England, he would mistake the geese and turkies for -houses and churches here. Then our tarts are made of pineapples, and -pine-apples make the best tarts that I ever tasted; there is no end of -the variety of fruits, of which the shaddock is “in itself an host;” but -the most singular and exquisite flavour, perhaps, is to be found in the -granadillo, a fruit which grows upon a species of vine, and, in fact, -appears to be a kind of cucumber. It must be suffered to hang till it is -dead ripe, when it is scarcely any thing except juice and seeds, which -can only be eaten with a spoon. It requires sugar, but the acid is truly -delicious, and like no other separate flavour that I ever met with; what -it most resembles is a _macedoine_, as it unites the different tastes of -almost all other fruits, and has, at the same time, a very strong -flavour of wine. - -As to fish, Savannah la Mar is reckoned the best place in the island, -both for variety and _safety_; for, in many parts, the fish feed upon -copperas banks, and cannot be used without much precaution: here, none -is necessary, and it is only to be wished that their names equalled -their flesh in taste; for it must be owned, that nothing can be less -tempting than the sounds of Jew-fish, hog-fish, mud-fish, snappers, -god-dammies, groupas, and grunts! Of the Sea Fish which I have hitherto -met with, the Deep-water Silk appears to me the best; and of rivers, the -Mountain-Mullet: but, indeed, the fish is generally so excellent, and in -such profusion, that I never sit down to table without wishing for the -company of Queen Atygatis of Scythia, who was so particularly fond of -fish, that she prohibited all her subjects from eating it on pain of -death, through fear that there might not be enough left for her majesty. - -This fondness for fish seems to be a sort of royal passion: more than -one of our English sovereigns died of eating too many lampreys; though, -to own the truth, it was suspected that the monks, in an instance -or two, improved the same by the addition of a little ratsbane; and -Mirabeau assures us, that Frederick the Second of Prussia might have -prolonged his existence, if he could but have resisted the fascination -of an eel-pye; but the charm was too strong for him, and, like his -great-grandmother of all, he ate and died--“All for eel-pye, or this -world well lost!” And now, which had to resist the most difficult -temptation, Frederic or Eve? _She_ longed to experience pleasures yet -untasted, and which she fancied to be exquisite: _he_, like Sigismunda, -pined after known pleasures, and which he knew to be good; _she_ was the -dupe of imagination; _he_ fell a victim to established habit. Which was -the most deserving pardon? There is a question for the bishops: those -clergymen who reside constantly on their livings (as all clergymen ought -to do, or they ought not to be clergymen), I shall, in charity, believe -to have something better to do with their time than to solve it. - -The provision-grounds of the negroes furnish them with plantains, -bananas, cocoa-nuts, and yams: of the latter there is a regular harvest -once a year, and they remain in great perfection for many months, -provided they are dug up carefully, but the slightest wound with the -spade is sufficient to rot them. Catalue (a species of spinach) is a -principal article in their pepper-pots; but in this parish their most -valuable and regular supply of food arises from the cocoa-finger, or -coccos, a species of the yam, but which lasts all the year round. These -vegetables form the basis of negro sustenance; but the slaves also -receive from their owners a regular weekly allowance of red herrings -and salt meat, which serves to relish their vegetable diet; and, indeed, -they are so passionately fond of salted provisions, that, instead of -giving them fresh beef (as at their festival of Saturday last), I have -been advised to provide some hogsheads of salt fish, as likely to afford -them more gratification, at such future additional holidays as I may -find it possible to allow them in this busy season of crop. - - -JANUARY 15. - -The offspring of a white man and black woman is a _mulatto_; the mulatto -and black produce a _sambo_; from the mulatto and white comes the -_quadroon_; from the quadroon and white the _mustee_; the child of a -mustee by a white man is called a _musteefino_; while the children of a -musteefino are free by law, and rank as white persons to all intents and -purposes. I think it is Long who asserts, that two mulattoes will never -have children; but, as far as the most positive assurances can go, since -my arrival in Jamaica, I have reason to believe the contrary, and that -mulattoes breed together just as well as blacks and whites; but they are -almost universally weak and effeminate persons, and thus their children -are very difficult to rear. On a sugar estate one black is considered -as more than equal to two mulattoes. Beautiful as are their forms in -general, and easy and graceful as are their movements (which, indeed, -appear to me so striking, that they cannot fail to excite the admiration -of any one who has ever looked with delight on statues), still the women -of colour are deficient in one of the most requisite points of female -beauty. When Oromases was employed in the formation of woman, and -said,--“Let her enchanting bosom resemble the celestial spheres,” he -must certainly have suffered the negress to slip out of his mind. Young -or old, I have not yet seen such a thing as a _bosom_. - - -JANUARY 16. - -I never witnessed on the stage a scene so picturesque as a negro -village. I walked through my own to-day, and visited the houses of the -drivers, and other principal persons; and if I were to decide according -to my own taste, I should infinitely have preferred their habitations -to my own. Each house is surrounded by a separate garden, and the -whole village is intersected by lanes, bordered with all kinds of -sweet-smelling and flowering plants; but not such gardens as those -belonging to our English cottages, where a few cabbages and carrots just -peep up and grovel upon the earth between hedges, in square narrow beds, -and where the tallest tree is a gooseberry bush: the vegetables of the -negroes are all cultivated in their provision-grounds; these form their -_kitchen-gardens_, and these are all for ornament or luxury, and are -filled with a profusion of oranges, shaddocks, cocoa-nuts, and peppers -of all descriptions: in particular I was shown the abba, or palm-tree, -resembling the cocoa-tree, but much more beautiful, as its leaves are -larger and more numerous, and, feathering to the ground as they grow -old, they form a kind of natural arbour. It bears a large fruit, or -rather vegetable, towards the top of the tree, in shape like the cone of -the pine, but formed of seeds, some scarlet and bright as coral, others -of a brownish-red or purple. The abba requires a length of years to -arrive at maturity: a very fine one, which was shown me this morning, -was supposed to be upwards of an hundred years old; and one of a very -moderate size had been planted at the least twenty years, and had only -borne fruit once. - -It appears to me a strong proof of the good treatment which the negroes -on Cornwall have been accustomed to receive, that there are many very -old people upon it; I saw to-day a woman near a hundred years of age; -and I am told that there are several of sixty, seventy, and eighty. I -was glad, also, to find, that several negroes who have obtained their -freedom, and possess little properties of their own in the mountains, -and at Savannah la Mar, look upon my estate so little as the scene of -their former sufferings while slaves, that they frequently come down -to pass a few days in their ancient habitations with their former -companions, by way of relaxation. One woman in particular expressed her -hopes, that I should not be offended at her still coming to Cornwall now -and then, although she belonged to it no longer; and begged me to give -directions before my return to England, that her visits should not be -hindered on the grounds of her having no business there. - -My visit to Jamaica has at least produced one advantage to myself. -Several runaways, who had disappeared for some time (some even for -several months), have again made their appearance in the field, and I -have desired that no questions should be asked. On the other hand, after -enjoying herself during the Saturday and Sunday, which were allowed for -holidays on my arrival, one of my ladies chose to _pull foot_, and did -not return from her hiding-place in the mountains till this morning. Her -name is Marcia; but so unlike is she to Addison’s Marcia, that she is -not only as black as Juba, (instead of being “fair, oh! how divinely -fair!”) but,--whereas Sempronius complains, that “Marcia, the lovely -Marcia, is left behind,” the complaint against my heroine is, that -“Marcia, the lovely Marcia,” is always running away. In excuse for her -disappearance she alleged, that so far was her husband from thinking -that “she towered above her sex,” that he had called her “a very bad -woman,” which had provoked her so much, that she could not bear to stay -with him; and she assured me, that he was himself “a very bad man;” - which, if true, was certainly enough to justify any lady, black -or white, in making a little incognito excursion for a week or so; -therefore, as it appeared to be nothing more than a conjugal quarrel, -and as Marcia engaged never to run away any more (at the same time -allowing that she had suffered her resentment to carry her too far, when -it had carried her all the way to the mountains), I desired that an act -of oblivion might be passed in favour of Cato’s daughter, and away she -went, quite happy, to pick hog’s meat. - -The negro houses are composed of wattles on the outside, with rafters of -sweet-wood, and are well plastered within and whitewashed; they consist -of two chambers, one for cooking and the other for sleeping, and are, in -general, well furnished with chairs, tables, &c., and I saw none without -a four-post bedstead and plenty of bed-clothes; for, in spite of the -warmth of the climate, when the sun is not above the horizon the negro -always feels very chilly. I am assured that many of my slaves are very -rich (and their property is inviolable), and that they are I’ll never -without salt provisions, porter, and even wine, to entertain their -friends and their visiters from the bay or the mountains. As I passed -through their grounds, many little requests were preferred to me: one -wanted an additional supply of lime for the whitewashing his house; -another was building a new house for a superannuated wife (for they have -all so much decency as to call their sexual attachments by a conjugal -name), and wanted a little assistance towards the finishing it; a third -requested a new axe to work with; and several entreated me to negotiate -the purchase of some relation or friend belonging to another estate, and -with whom they were anxious to be reunited: but all their requests were -for additional indulgences; not one complained of ill-treatment, hunger, -or over-work. - -Poor Nicholas gave me a fresh instance of his being one of those whom -Fortune pitches upon to show her spite: he has had four children, none -of whom are alive; and the eldest of them, a fine little girl of four -years old, fell into the mill-stream, and was drowned before any one was -aware of her danger. His wife told me that she had had fifteen children, -had taken the utmost care of them, and yet had now but two alive: -she said, indeed, fifteen at the first, but she afterwards corrected -herself, and explained that she had had twelve whole children and three -half ones by which she meant miscarriages. - -Besides the profits arising from their superabundance of provisions, -which the better sort of negroes are enabled to sell regularly once -a week at Savannah la Mar to a considerable amount, they keep a large -stock of poultry, and pigs without number; which latter cost their -owners but little, though they cost me a great deal; for they generally -make their way into the cane-pieces, and sometimes eat me up an hogshead -of sugar in the course of the morning: but the most expensive of the -planter’s enemies are the rats, whose numbers are incredible, and are so -destructive that a reward is given for killing them. During the last six -months my agent has paid for three thousand rats killed upon Cornwall. -Nor is the sugar which they consume the worst damage which they commit; -the worst mischief is, that if through the carelessness of those whose -business it is to supply the mill, one cane which has been gnawed by the -rats is allowed admittance, that single damaged piece is sufficient to -produce acidity enough to spoil the whole sugar. - - -JANUARY 17. - -In this country there is scarcely any twilight, and all nature seems to -wake at the same moment. About six o’clock the darkness disperses, the -sun rises, and instantly every thing is in motion: the negroes are -going to the field, the cattle are driving to pasture, the pigs and the -poultry are pouring out from their hutches, the old women are preparing -food on the lawn for the _pickaninnies_ (the very small children), whom -they keep feeding at all hours of the day; and all seem to be going to -their employments, none to their work, the men and the women just as -quietly and leisurely as the pigs and the poultry. The sight is really -quite gay and amusing, and I am generally out of bed in time to enjoy -it, especially as the continuance of the cool north breezes renders the -weather still delicious, though the pleasure is rather an expensive -one. Not a drop of rain has fallen since the 16th of November; the young -canes are burning; and the drying quality of these norths is still more -detrimental than the want of rain, so that these winds may be said to -blow my pockets inside out; and as every draught of air, which I inhale -with so much pleasure, is estimated to cost me a guinea, I feel, while -breathing it, like Miss Burney’s Citizen at Vauxhall, who kept muttering -to himself with every bit of ham that he put into his mouth, “There goes -sixpence, and there goes a shilling!” - - -JANUARY 18. - -A Galli-wasp, which was killed in the neighbouring morass, has just -been brought to me. This is the Alligator in miniature, and is even more -dreaded by the negroes than its great relation: it is only to be found -in swamps and morasses: that which was brought to me was about eighteen -inches in length, and I understand that it is seldom longer, although, -as it grows in years, its thickness and the size of its jaws and -head become greatly increased. It runs away on being encountered, and -conceals itself; and it is only dangerous if trampled upon by accident, -or if attacked; but then its bite is a dreadful one, not only from its -tongue being armed with a sting (the venom of which is very powerful, -although not mortal), but from its teeth being so brittle that they -generally break in the wound, and as it is hardly possible to extract -the pieces entirely, the wound corrupts, and becomes an incurable sore -of the most offensive nature. Luckily, these reptiles are very scarce, -but nothing can exceed the terror and aversion in which they are held by -the negroes. This dead one had been lying in the room for several -hours, yet, on my servant’s accidentally stirring the board on which -the galli-wasp was stretched for my inspection, my little negro servant -George darted out of the room in terror, and was at the bottom of the -staircase in a moment. The skin of this animal appeared to be like -shagreen in looks and strength, and was almost entirely composed of -layers of very small scales; the colours were brownish-yellow and -olive-green, the teeth numerous and piercing, and the claws of the feet -very long and sharp: altogether it is a hideous and disgusting creature. -As to the alligator of Jamaica, it is a timid animal, which never -was known to attack the human species, though it frequently takes the -liberty of running away with a dog or two, which appears to be their -venison and turtle. There is no river on my estate large enough for -their inhabiting; but, in Paradise River, which is not above four miles -off, I understand that they are common. - - -JANUARY 19. - -A young mulatto carpenter, belonging to Horace Beckford’s estate of -Shrewsbury, came to beg my intercession with his overseer. He had been -absent two days without leave, and on these occasions it is customary -for the slaves to apply to some neighbouring gentleman for a note in -their behalf’ which, as I am told, never fails to obtain the pardon -required, as the managers of estates are in general but too happy to -find an excuse for passing over without punishment any offences which -are not very heinous; indeed, what with the excellent laws already -enacted for the protection of the slaves, and which every year are still -further ameliorated, and what with the difficulty of procuring more -negroes--(which can now only be done by purchasing them from other -estates),--which makes it absolutely necessary for the managers to -preserve the slaves, if they mean to preserve their own situations,--I -am fully persuaded that instances of tyranny to negroes are now very -rare, at least in this island. But I must still acknowledge, from my own -sad experience, since my arrival, that unless a West-Indian proprietor -occasionally visit his estates himself, it is utterly impossible for him -to be _certain_ that his deputed authority is not abused, however good -may be his intentions, and however vigilant his anxiety. - -My father was one of the most humane and generous persons that ever -existed; there was no indulgence which he ever denied his negroes, and -his letters were filled with the most absolute injunctions for their -good treatment. When his estates became mine, the one upon which I am -now residing was managed by an attorney, considerably advanced in years, -who had been long in our employment, and who bore the highest character -for probity and humanity. He was both attorney and overseer; and it was -a particular recommendation to me that he lived in my own house, and -therefore had my slaves so immediately under his eye, that it was -impossible for any subaltern to misuse them without his knowledge. His -letters to me expressed the greatest anxiety and attention respecting -the welfare and comfort of the slaves;--so much so, indeed, that when I -detailed his mode of management to Lord Holland, he observed, “that if -he did all that was mentioned in his letters, he did as much as could -possibly be expected or wished from an attorney;” and on parting with -his own, Lord Holland was induced to take mine to manage his estates, -which are in the immediate neighbourhood of Cornwall. This man died -about two years ago, and since my arrival, I happened to hear, that -during his management a remarkably fine young penn-keeper, named Richard -(the brother of my intelligent carpenter, John Fuller), had run away -several times to the mountains. I had taken occasion to let the -brothers know, between jest and earnest, that I was aware of Richard’s -misconduct; and at length, one morning, John, while he blamed his -brother’s running away, let fall, that he had some excuse in the extreme -ill-usage which he had received from one of the bookkeepers, who “had -had a spite against him.” The hint alarmed me; I followed it, and -nothing could equal my anger and surprise at learning the whole truth. - -It seems, that while I fancied my attorney to be resident on Cornwall, -he was, in fact, generally attending to a property of his own, or -looking after estates of which also he had the management in distant -parts of the island. During his absence, an overseer of his own -appointing, without my knowledge, was left in absolute possession of -his power, which he abused to such a degree, that almost every slave -of respectability on the estate was compelled to become a runaway. The -property was nearly ruined, and absolutely in a state of rebellion; and -at length he committed an act of such severity, that the negroes, -one and all, fled to Savannah la Mar, and threw themselves upon the -protection of the magistrates, who immediately came over to Cornwall, -investigated the complaint, and _now_, at length, the attorney, who -had known frequent instances of the overseer’s tyranny, had frequently -rebuked him for them, and had redressed the sufferers, but who still -had dared to abuse my confidence so grossly as to continue him in his -situation, upon this public exposure thought proper to dismiss him. Yet, -while all this was going on--while my negroes were groaning under the -iron rod of this petty tyrant--and while the public magistrature was -obliged to interfere to protect them from his cruelty--my attorney had -the insolence and falsehood to write me letters, filled with assurances -of his perpetual vigilance for their welfare--of their perfect good -treatment and satisfaction; nor, if I had not come myself to Jamaica, -in all probability should I ever have had the most distant idea how -abominably the poor creatures had been misused. - -I have made it my business to mix as much as possible among the negroes, -and have given them every encouragement to repose confidence in me; and -I have uniformly found all those, upon whom any reliance can be -placed, unite in praising the humanity of their present superintendant. -Instantly on his arrival, he took the whole power of punishment into his -own hands: he forbade the slightest interference in this respect of any -person whatever on the estate, white or black; nor have I been able to -find as yet any one negro who has any charge of harsh treatment to bring -against him. - -However, having been already so grossly deceived, I will never again -place implicit confidence in any person whatever in a matter of such -importance. Before my departure, I shall take every possible measure -that may prevent any misconduct taking place without my being apprised -of it as soon as possible; and I have already exhorted my negroes to -apply to the magistrates on the very first instance of ill-usage, should -any occur during my absence. - -I am indeed assured by every one about me, that to manage a West-Indian -estate without the occasional use of the cart-whip, however rarely, is -impossible; and they insist upon it, that it is absurd in me to call -my slaves ill-treated, because, when they act grossly wrong, they are -treated like English soldiers and sailors. All this may be very true; -but there is something to me so shocking in the idea of this execrable -cart-whip, that I have positively forbidden the use of it on Cornwall; -and if the estate must go to rack and ruin without its use, to rack -and ruin the estate must go. Probably, I should care less about this -punishment, if I had not been living among those on whom it may be -inflicted; but now, when I am accustomed to see every face that looks -upon me, grinning from ear to ear with pleasure at my notice, and -hear every voice cry “God bless you, massa,” as I pass, one must be an -absolute brute not to feel unwilling to leave them subject to the lash; -besides, they are excellent cajolers, and lay it on with a trowel. -Nicholas and John Fuller came to me this morning to beg a favour, “and -beg massa hard, quite hard!” It was, that when massa went away, “he would -leave his picture for the negroes;” that they might talk to it, “all just -as they did to massa.” Shakspeare says-- - - “A little flattery does well sometimes!” - -But, although the mode of expressing it may be artifice, the sentiment -of good-will may be shown. A dog grows attached to the person who feeds -and makes much of him; and as they have never experienced as yet any but -kind treatment from me personally, it would be against common sense and -nature to suppose that my negroes do not feel kindly towards me. - - -JANUARY 20. - -THE RUNAWAY. - - Peter, Peter was a black boy; - - Peter, him pull foot one day: - - Buckra girl, him * Peter’s joy; - - Lilly white girl entice him away. - - Fye, Missy Sally, fye on you! - - Poor Blacky Peter why undo? - - Oh! Peter, Peter was a bad boy; - - Peter was a runaway. - -* _The negroes never distinguish between “him” and “her” in their -conversation_. - - Peter, him Massa thief--Oh! fye! - - Missy Sally, him say him do so. - - Him money spent, Sally bid him bye. - - And from Peter away him go; - - Fye, Missy Sally, fye on you! - - Poor Blacky Peter what him do? - - Oh! Peter, Peter was a sad boy; - - Peter was a runaway! - - Peter, him go to him Massa back; - - There him humbly own him crime: - - “Massa, forgib one poor young Black! - - Oh! Massa, good Massa, forgib dis time!”-- - - Then in come him Missy so fine, so gay, - - And to him Peter thus him say: - - “Oh! Missy, good Missy, you for me pray! - - Beg Massa forgib poor runaway!” - - “Missy, you cheeks so red, so white; - - Missy, you eyes like diamond shine I - - Missy, you Massa’s sole delight, - - And Lilly Sally, him was mine! - - Him say--6 Come, Peter, mid me go!’-- - - Could me refuse him? Could me say 6 no?’--» - - Poor Peter--‘no’ him could no say! - - So Peter, Peter ran away!”-- - - Him Missy him pray; him Massa so kind - - Was moved by him prayer, and to Peter him says - - “Well, boy, for this once I forgive you!--but mind! - - With the buckra girls you no more go away! - - Though fair without, they’re foul within; - - Their heart is black, though white their skin. - - Then Peter, Peter with me stay; - - Peter no more run away!”-- - - -JANUARY 21. (Sunday.) - -The hospital has been crowded, since my arrival, with patients who -have nothing the matter with them. On Wednesday there were about thirty -invalids, of whom only four were cases at all serious; the rest had “a -lilly pain here, Massa,” or “a bad pain me know nowhere, Massa,” and -evidently only came to the hospital in order to sit idle, and chat away -the time with their friends. Four of them the doctor ordered into the -field peremptorily; the next day there came into the sick-house six -others; upon this I resolved to try my own hand at curing them; and -I directed the head-driver to announce, that the presents which I had -brought from England should be distributed to-day, that the new-born -children should be christened, and that the negroes might take -possession of my house, and amuse themselves till twelve at night. The -effect of my prescription was magical; two thirds of the sick were hale -and hearty, at work in the field on Saturday morning, and to-day not a -soul remained in the hospital except the four serious cases. - -The christening took place about four o’clock. Sully’s infant, which -had been destined to perform a part on this occasion, had died in -the hospital; but this morning the father came to complain of his -disappointment, and to beg leave to substitute a child _by another_ -wife, which had been born about two months before my arrival; and as -the father is a very serviceable fellow, and the mother, besides having -brought up three children of her own, had the additional merit of having -reared an infant whose own mother had died in child-bed, I broke through -the rule of only christening those myself who should be born since my -coming to Jamaica, and granted his request. By good luck, the first -child to be named was the offspring of Minerva and Captain; so I told -the parents that as it would be highly proper to call the boy after -the greatest Captain that the world could produce, he should be named -Wellington; and that I hoped that he would grow up to serve _me_ in -Jamaica as well as the Duke of Wellington had served his massa, the -King of England, in Europe. The Duke of Sully’s child I wanted to call -Navarre; but the father had brought over a free negro from Savannah la -Mar to stand godfather, who was his _fidus Achates_, by the name of John -Davies, and I found that he had set his heart upon calling the boy John -Lewis, after his friend and myself; so John Lewis he was. - -There ought to have been a third child, born at seven months, whom -the _graundee_ had reared with great difficulty, and dismissed, quite -strong, from the hospital; the mother had taken great care of it -till the tenth day, when she was entitled to an allowance of clothes, -provisions, &c.; but no sooner had she received her reward, than on that -very night she suffered the child to remain so long without food, while -she went herself to dance on a neighbouring estate, that it was brought, -in an exhausted state, back to the hospital; and, in spite of every -care, it expired within four and twenty hours after its return. - -The ceremony was performed with perfect gravity and propriety by all -parties; I thought it as well to cut the reading part of it very short; -but I read a couple of prayers, marked the foreheads of the children -with the sign of the cross, and, instead of the concluding prayer, I -substituted a wish, “that God would bless the children, and make them -live to be as good servants to me, as I prayed him to make me a kind -massa to them;” upon which all present very gravely made me their lowest -bows and courtesies, and then gave me a loud huzza; so unusual a mode -of approbation at a christening that it had nearly overturned my -seriousness; and I made haste to serve out Madeira to the parents and -assistants, that they might drink the healths of the new Christians and -of each other. The mothers and the _graindee_ were then called up to -the table, and the ladies in a family way were arranged behind them. - -_Their_ title in Jamaica is rather coarse, but very expressive. I asked -Cubina one day “who was that woman with a basket on her head?” - -“Massa,” he answered, “that one belly-woman going to sell provisions -at the Bay.” As she was going to sell _provisions_, I supposed that -_belly_-woman was the name of her trade; but it afterwards appeared that -she was one of those females who had given in their names as being then -labouring under - - “The pleasing punishment which women bear;” - -and who, in consequence, were discharged from all severe labour. I then -gave the _graundee_ and the mothers a dollar each, and told them, that -for the future they might claim the same sum, in addition to their usual -allowance of clothes and provisions, for every infant which should be -brought to the overseer alive and well on the fourteenth day; and I also -gave each mother a present of a scarlet girdle with a silver medal in -the centre, telling her always to wear it on feasts and holidays, when -it should entitle her to marks of peculiar respect and attention, such -as being one of the first served, and receiving a larger portion than -the rest; that the _first_ fault which she might commit, should be -forgiven on the production of this girdle; and that when she should -have any favour to ask, she should always put it round her waist, and -be assured, that on seeing it, the overseer would allow the wearer to -be entitled to particular indulgence. On every additional child an -additional medal is to be affixed to the belt, and precedence is to -follow the greater number of medals. I expected that this notion of -an order of honour would have been treated as completely fanciful and -romantic; but to my great surprise, my manager told me, that “he never -knew a dollar better bestowed than the one which formed the medal of the -girdle, and that he thought the institution likely to have a very good -effect.” - -Immediately after the christening the Eboe drums were produced, and in -defiance of Sunday the negroes had the irreverence to be gay and happy, -while the presents were getting in order for distribution. All the men -got jackets, the women seven yards of stuff each for petticoats, &c., -and the children as much printed cotton as would make a couple of -frocks. The Creoles were delighted beyond measure when some of the -African male negroes exclaimed, “Tank, massa,” and made a low courtesy -in the confusion of their gratitude. As they were all called to receive -their presents alphabetically in pairs, some of the combinations were -very amusing. We had Punch and Plato, Priam and Pam, Hemp and Hercules, -and Minerva and Moll come together. By twelve they dispersed, and I went -to bed, as usual on these occasions, with a violent headach. - - -JANUARY 22. - -While I was at dinner, a violent uproar was heard below stairs. On -enquiry, it proved to be Cubina, quarrelling with his niece Phillis -(a goodlooking black girl employed about the house), about a broken -pitcher; and as her explanation did not appear satisfactory to him, -he had thought proper to give her a few boxes on the ear. Upon hearing -this, I read him such a lecture upon the baseness of a man’s striking a -woman, and told him with so much severity that his heart must be a bad -one to commit such an offence, that poor Cubina, having never heard a -harsh word from me before, scarcely knew whether he stood upon his head -or his heels. When he afterwards brought my coffee, he expressed his -sorrow for having offended me, and begged my pardon in the most humble -manner. I told him, that to obtain mine, he must first obtain that -of Phillis, and he immediately declared himself ready to make her any -apology that I might dictate. So the girl was called in; and her uncle -going up to her, “I am very sorry, Phillis,” said he, “that I gave way -to high passion, and called you hard names, and struck you: which I -ought not to have done while massa was in the house;” (here I was going -to interrupt him, but he was too clever not to perceive his blunder, and -made haste to add) “nor if he had _not_ been here, nor at all; so I hope -you will have the kindness to forgive me this once, and I never will -strike you again, and so I beg your pardon.” And he then put out his -hand to her in the most frank and hearty manner imaginable; and on -her accepting it, made her three or four of his very lowest and most -graceful bows. I furnished him with a piece of money to give her as a -peace-offering; they left the room thoroughly reconciled, and in five -minutes after they and the rest of the servants were all chattering, -laughing, and singing together, in the most perfect harmony and -good-humour. I suppose, if I had desired an upper servant in England to -make the same submission, he would have preferred quitting my service to -doing what he would have called “humbling himself to an inferior;” or, -if he had found himself compelled to give way, he would have been sulky -with the girl, and found fault with every thing that she did in the -house for a twelvemonth after. - -On the other hand, there are some choice ungrateful scoundrels among -the negroes: on the night of their first dance, a couple of sheep -disappeared from the pen, although they could not have been taken -from want of food, as on that very morning there had been an ample -distribution of fresh beef; and last night another sheep and a quantity -of poultry followed them. Yesterday, too, a young rascal of a boy called -“massa Jackey,” who is in the frequent habit of running away for months -at a time, and whom I had distinguished from the cleverness of his -countenance and buffoonery of his manners, came to beg my permission -to go and purchase food with some money which I had just given him, -“because he was almost starving; his parents were dead, he had no -provision-grounds, no allowance, and nobody ever gave him anything.” - Upon this I sent Cubina with the boy to the storekeeper, when it -appeared that he had always received a regular allowance of provisions -twice a week, which he generally sold, as well as his clothes, at the -Bay, for spirits; had received an additional portion only last Friday; -and, into the bargain, during the whole of that week had been fed from -the house. What he could propose to himself by telling a lie which must -be so soon detected, I cannot conceive; but I am assured, that unless a -negro has an interest in telling the truth, he always lies--in order to -keep his tongue in practice. - -One species of flattery (or of _Congo-saw_, as we call it here) amused -me much this morning: an old woman who is in the hospital wanted to -express her gratitude for some stewed fish which I had sent her for -supper, and, instead of calling me “massa,” she always said--“Tank him, -_my husband_.” - - -JANUARY 24. - -This was a day of perpetual occupation. I rose at six o’clock, and went -down to the Bay to settle some business; on my return I visited the -hospital while breakfast was getting ready; and as soon as it was over, -I went down to the negro-houses to hear the whole body of Eboes lodge a -complaint against one of the book-keepers, and appoint a day for their -being heard in his presence. On my return to the house, I found two -women belonging to a neighbouring estate, who came to complain of cruel -treatment from their overseer, and to request me to inform their trustee -how ill they had been used, and see their injuries redressed. They said, -that having been ill in the hospital, and ordered to the field while -they were still too weak to work, they had been flogged with much -severity (though not beyond the limits of the law); and my head driver, -who was less scrupulously delicate than myself as to ocular inspection -of Juliet’s person (which Juliet, to do her justice, was perfectly ready -to submit to in proof of her assertions), told me, that the woman had -certainly suffered greatly; the other, whose name was Delia, was -but just recovering from a miscarriage, and declared openly that the -overseer’s conduct had been such, that nothing should have prevented her -running away long ago if she could but have had the heart to abandon -a child which she had on the estate. Both were poor feeble-looking -creatures, and seemed very unfit subjects for any severe correction. I -promised to write to their trustee; and, as they were afraid of being -punished on their return home for having thrown themselves on my -protection, I wrote a note to the overseer, requesting that the women -might remain quite unmolested till the trustee’s arrival, which was -daily expected; and, with this note and a present of cocoa-fingers and -salt fish, Delia and Juliet departed, apparently much comforted. - -They were succeeded by no less a personage than _Venus_ herself--a poor, -little, sickly, timid soul, who had purchased her freedom from my -father by substituting in her place a fine stout black wench, who, being -Venus’s _locum tenens_, was, by courtesy, called Venus, too, though her -right name was “Big Joan;” but, by some neglect of the then attorney, -Venus had never received any title, and she now came to beg “massa -so good as give paper;” otherwise she was still, to all intents and -purposes, my slave, and I might still have compelled her to work, -although, at the same time, her substitute was on the estate. Of course, -I promised the paper required, and engaged to act the part of a second -Vulcan by releasing Venus from my chains: but the paper was not the only -thing that Venus wanted; she also wanted a petticoat! She told me, that -when the presents were distributed on Sunday, the petticoat, which she -would otherwise have had, was, of course, “given to the _other_ Venus;” - and though, to be sure, she was free now, yet, “when she belonged to -massa, she had always worked for him well,” and “she was quite as glad -to see massa as the other Venus,” and, therefore, “ought to have quite -as much petticoat.” I tried to convince her, that for Venus to wear a -petticoat of blue durant, or, indeed, any petticoat at all, would be -quite unclassical: the goddess of beauty stuck to her point, and finally -carried off the petticoat. - -Venus had scarcely evacuated the premises, when her place was occupied -by the minister of Savannah la Mar, with proposals for instructing the -negroes in religion; and the minister, in his turn, was replaced by one -of the Sunday-night thieves, who had been caught while in the actual -possession of one of my sheep and a great turkey-cock; and, to make the -matter worse, the depredator’s name was Hercules! Hercules, whom Virgil -states to have exercised so much severity on Cacus, when his own oxen -were stolen, was taken up himself for stealing my sheep in Jamaica! The -demi-god had nothing to say in his excuse: he had just received a large -allowance of beef:--therefore, hunger had no share in his transgression; -and the committing the offence during the very time that I was giving -the negroes a festival, rendered his ingratitude the more flagrant. - -I perfectly well understood that the man was sent to me by my agent, -in order to show the absolute necessity of sometimes employing the -cart-whip, and to see whether I would suffer the fellow to escape -unpunished. But, as this was the first offender who had been brought -before me, I took that for a pretext to absolve him: so I lectured -him for half an hour with great severity, swore that on the very next -offence I would order him to be sold; and that if he would not do his -fair proportion of work without being lashed, he should be sent to -work somewhere else; for I would suffer no such worthless fellows on my -estate, and would not be at the expense of a cart-whip to correct him. -He promised most earnestly to behave better in future, and Hercules was -suffered to depart: but I am told that no good can be expected of him; -that he is perpetually running away; and that he had been absent for -five weeks together before my arrival, and only returned home upon -hearing that there was a distribution of beef, rum, and jackets going -forward; in return for all which, he stole my sheep and my poor great -turkey-cock. - -But now came the most puzzling business of the day. About four years -ago, two Eboes, called Pickle and Edward, were rivals, after being -intimate friends: Pickle (who is an excellent faithful negro, but not -very wise) was the successful candidate; and, of course, the friendship -was interrupted, till Edward married the sister of the disputed fair -one. From this time the brothers-in-law lived in perfect harmony -together; but, during the first festival given on my arrival, Pickle’s -house was broken open, and robbed of all his clothes, &c. The thief was -sought for, but in vain. On Monday last I found Pickle in the hospital, -complaining of a pain in his side; and the blood, which had been taken -from him, gave reason to apprehend a pleurisy arising from cold; but, as -the disorder had been taken in its earliest stage, nothing dangerous -was expected. The fever abated; the medicines performed their offices -properly; still the man’s spirits and strength appeared to decline, and -he persisted in saying that he was not better, and should never do -well. At length, to-day, he got out of his sick bed, came to the house, -attended by the whole body of drivers, and accused his brother-in-law -of having been the stealer of his goods. I asked, “Had Edward been seen -near his house? Had any of his effects been seen in Edward’s possession? -Did Edward refuse to suffer his hut to be searched?” No. Edward, who was -present, pressed for the most strict scrutiny, and asserted his perfect -ignorance; nor could the accuser advance any grounds for the charge, -except his belief of Edward’s guilt. “Why did he think so?” After -much beating about the bush, at length out came the real _causa -doloris_--“Edward had _Obeahed_ him!” He had accused Edward of breaking -open his house, and had begged him to help him to his goods again; and -“Edward had gone at midnight into the bush” (i. e. the wood), and “had -gathered the plant whangra, which he had boiled in an iron pot, by -a fire of leaves, over which he went pufij puffie!” and said the -sautee-sautee; and then had cut the whangra root into four pieces, three -to bury at the plantation gates, and one to burn; and to each of these -three pieces he gave the name of a Christian, one of which was Daniel, -and Edward had said, that this would help him to find his goods; but -instead of that, he had immediately felt this pain in his side, and -therefore he was sure that, instead of using Obeah to find his goods, -Edward had used it to kill himself. “And were these all his reasons?” I -enquired. “No; when he married, Edward was very angry at the loss of -his mistress, and had said that they never would live well and happily -together; and they never _had_ lived happily and well together.” - -This last argument quite got the better of my gravity. By parity of -reasoning, I thought that almost every married couple in Great Britain -must be under the influence of Obeah! I endeavoured to convince the -fellow of his folly and injustice, especially as the person accused was -the identical man who had detected the Obeah priest harboured in one -of my negro huts last year, had seized him with his own hands, and -delivered him up to my agent, who had prosecuted and transported him. It -was, therefore, improbable in the highest degree, that he should be an -Obeah man himself; and all the bystanders, black and white, joined me in -ridiculing Pickle for complaints so improbable and childish. But anger, -argument, and irony were all ineffectual. I offered to christen him, and -expel black Obeah by white, but in vain; the fellow persisted in saying, -that “he had a pain in his side, and, _therefore_, Edward must have -given it to him;” and he went back to his hospital, shaking his head all -the way, sullen and unconvinced. He is a young strong negro, perfectly -well disposed, and doing his due portion of work willingly; and it -will be truly provoking to lose him by the influence of this foolish -prejudice. - - -JANUARY 25. - -I sent for Edward, had him alone with me for above two hours, and -pressed him most earnestly to confide in me. I gave him a dollar to -convince him of my good-will towards him; assured him that whatever -he might tell me should remain a secret between us; said, that I was -certain of his not having used any poison, or done any thing really -mischievous; but as I suspected him of having played some monkey-tricks -or other, which, however harmless in themselves, had evidently operated -dangerously upon Pickle’s imagination, I begged him to tell me precisely -what had passed, in order that I might counteract its baleful effects. -In reply, Edward swore to me most solemnly, “by the great God Almighty, -who lives above the clouds,” that he never had used any such practices: -that he had never gone into the wood to gather whangra; and that he had -considered Pickle, from the moment of his own marriage, as his brother, -and had always, till then, loved him as such. His eyes filled with tears -while he protested that he should be as sorry for Pickle’s death as if -it were himself; and he complained bitterly of having the ill name of -an Obeah man given to him, which made him feared and shunned by his -companions, and entirely without cause. But he said that he was certain -that Pickle would never have suspected him of such a crime, if a third -person had not put it into his head. There is a negro on my estate -called Adam, who has been long and strongly suspected of having -connections with Obeah men. When Edward was quite young, he was under -this fellow’s superintendence, and he now assured me, that Adam had -not only endeavoured to draw him into similar practices, but had even -pressed him very earnestly to lay a magical egg under the door of a -book-keeper whose conduct had been obnoxious. Edward had positively -refused: from that moment his superintendent, from being his protector, -had become his enemy, had shown him spite upon every occasion; and he it -was, he had no doubt, who, for the purpose of injuring him, had put this -foolish notion into Pickle’s head. - -Upon enquiry it appeared, that on the very morning succeeding Pickle’s -entering the hospital, this suspected man had gone there also, on -pretence of sickness, and had remained there to watch the invalid; -although it was so evident that nothing was the matter with him, that -the doctor had frequently ordered him to the field, but the man had -always found means for evading the order. The first thing that we now -did was to turn him out of the sick-house, neck and heels; I then -took Edward with me to Pickle’s bedside, where the former told his -brother-in-law, that if he had ever done any thing to offend him, he -heartily begged his pardon; that he swore by the Almighty God that -he had never been in the bush to hurt him, nor any where else; on the -contrary, that he had always loved him, and wished him well; and that he -now begged him to be friends with him again, to forget and forgive all -former quarrels, and to accept the hand which he offered him in all -sincerity. The sick man also confessed, that he had always loved Edward -as his brother, had “eaten and drunk with him for many years with -perfect good-will,” and that it was his ingratitude for such affection -which vexed him more than any thing. On this I told him, that I insisted -upon their being good friends for the future, and that I should never -hear the word Obeah, or any such nonsense, mentioned on my estate, -on pain of my extreme displeasure. I promised that, as soon as Pickle -should be quite recovered, I would buy for him exactly a set of such -things as had been stolen from him; that Edward should bring them to his -house, to show that he had rather give him things than take them away; -and I then desired to see them shake hands. They did so, with much -apparent cordiality; Edward then went back to his work; and this -evening, when I sent him a dish from my table, Pickle desired the -servant to tell me, that he had hardly any fever, and felt “_quite so -so_,” which, in the negro dialect, means “a great deal better.” I begin, -therefore, to hope that we shall save the foolish fellow’s life at last, -which, at one time, appeared to be in great jeopardy. - -There was a great dinner and ball for the whole county given to-day at -Montego Bay, to which I was invited; but I begged leave to decline this -and all other invitations, being determined to give up my whole time to -my negroes during my stay in Jamaica. - - -JANUARY 26. - -Every morning my agent regales me with some fresh instance of -insubordination: he says nothing plainly, but shakes his head, and -evidently gives me to understand, that the estate cannot be governed -properly without the cart-whip. It seems that this morning, the women, -one and all, refused to carry away the _trash_ (which is one of the -easiest tasks that can be set), and that without the slightest pretence: -in consequence, the mill was obliged to be stopped; and when the driver -on that station insisted on their doing their duty, a little fierce -young devil of a Miss Whaunica flew at his throat, and endeavoured to -strangle him: the agent was obliged to be called in, and, at length, -this petticoat rebellion was subdued, and every thing went on as usual. -I have, in consequence, assured the women, that since they will not be -managed by fair treatment, I must have recourse to other measures; and -that, if any similar instance of misconduct should take place, I was -determined, on my return from Kingston, to sell the most refractory, -ship myself immediately for England, and never return to them and -Jamaica more. This threat, at the time, seemed to produce a great -effect; all hands were clasped, and all voices were raised, imploring me -not to leave them, and assuring me, that in future they would do their -work quietly and willingly. But whether the impression will last beyond -the immediate moment is a point greatly to be doubted. - - -JANUARY 27. - -Another morning, with the mill stopped, no liquor in the boiling-house, -and no work done. The driver brought the most obstinate and insolent of -the women to be lectured by me; and I bounced and stormed for half -an hour with all my might and main, especially at Whaunica, whose -ingratitude was peculiar; as she is the wife of Edward, the Eboe, whom -I had been protecting against the charge of theft and Obeahism, and had -shown him more than usual kindness. They, at last, appeared to be very -penitent and ashamed of themselves, and engaged never to behave ill -again, if I would but forgive them this present fault; Whaunica, in -particular, assuring me very earnestly, that I never should have cause -to accuse her of “bad manners” again; for, in negro dialect, ingratitude -is always called “bad manners.” My agent declares, that they never -conducted themselves so ill before; that they worked cheerfully and -properly till my arrival; but now they think that I shall protect them -against all punishment, and have made regularly ten hogsheads of sugar -a week less than they did before my coming upon the estate. This is the -more provoking, as, by delaying the conclusion of the crop, the latter -part of it may be driven into the rainy season, and then the labour -is infinitely more severe both for the slaves and the cattle, and more -detrimental to their health. - -The minister of Savannah la Mar has shown me a plan for the religious -instruction of the negroes, which was sent to him by the ecclesiastical -commissaries at Kingston. It consisted but of two points: against the -first (which recommended the slaves being _ordered_ to go to church on -a Sunday) I positively declared myself. Sunday is now the absolute -property of the negroes for their relaxation, as Saturday is for the -cultivation of their grounds; and I will not suffer a single hour of it -to be taken from them for any purpose whatever. If my slaves choose to -go to church on Sundays, so much the better; but not one of them shall -be _ordered_ to do one earthly thing on Sundays, but that which he -chooses himself. The second article recommended occasional pastoral -visits of the minister to the different estates; and in this respect I -promised to give him every facility--although I greatly doubt any good -effect being produced by a few short visits, at considerable intervals, -on the minds of ignorant creatures, to whom no palpable and immediate -benefit is offered. It appears, indeed, to me, that the only means of -giving the negroes morality and religion must be through the medium of -education, and their being induced to read such books in the minister’s -absence as may recall to their thoughts what they have heard from him; -otherwise, he may talk for an hour, and they will have understood but -little--and remember nothing. There is not a single negro among my whole -three hundred who can read a line; and what I suppose to be wanted -on West-Indian estates is not an importation of missionaries, but of -schoolmasters on Dr. Bell’s plan, if it could by any means be introduced -here with effect. However, in the mean while I told the minister, that -I was perfectly well inclined to have every measure tried that might -enlighten the minds of the negroes, provided it did not interfere with -their own hours of leisure, and were not compulsory. I mentioned to -him a plan for commencing his instructions under the most favourable -auspices, of which he seemed to approve; and he has promised to make -occasional visits on my estate during my absence, which may do good and -can do no harm; and, even should it fail to make the negroes religious, -will, at least, add another humane inspector to my list. Soon after the -minister’s departure, John Fuller came to repair one of the windows. Now -John is in great disgrace with me in one respect. Instead of having a -wife on the estate, he keeps one at the Bay, so that his children will -not belong to me. Phillis, too, who formerly lived with John, says, that -she parted with him, because he threw away all his money upon the Bay -girls; though John asserts that the cause of separation was his catching -the false Phillis coming out of one of the book-keepers’ bedrooms. - -However, it is certain, that now his connections are all at the Bay; and -I have assured him, that if he does not provide himself with a wife at -Cornwall, before my return from Kingston, I will put him up to auction, -and call the girls together to bid for him, one offering half a dozen -yams, and another a bit of salt fish; and the highest bidder shall carry -him off as her property. But to-day, as he came into the room just as -the minister left it, I told him that Dr. Pope was coming to give the -negroes some instruction; and that he had left part of a catechism for -him, which he was to get by heart against his next visit. John promised -to study it diligently, and went off to get it read to him by one of the -book-keepers. Several of his companions came to hear it from curiosity, -and the book-keeper read aloud:-- - - “John Fuller is gone to the Bay, boys, - - On the girls to spend his cash; - - And when John Fuller comes home, boys, - - John Fuller deserves the lash.” - -So John went away shaking his head, and saying, “Massa had told him, -that the minister had left that paper to make him a better Christian. -But he was certain that the minister had nothing to do with that, and -that massa had made it all himself about the Bay girls.” - - -JANUARY 28. (Sunday.) - -I shall have enough to do in Jamaica if I accept all the offices that -are pressed upon me. A large body of negroes, from a neighbouring -estate, came over to Cornwall this morning, to complain of hard -treatment, in various ways, from their overseer and drivers, and -requesting me to represent their injuries to their trustee here, and -their proprietor in England. The charges were so strong, that I am -certain that they must be fictitious; however, I listened to their story -with patience; promised that the trustee (whom I was to see in a few -days) should know their complaint;--and they went away apparently -satisfied. Then came a runaway negro, who wanted to return home, and -requested me to write a few lines to his master, to save him from the -lash. He was succeeded by a poor creature named Bessie, who, although -still a young woman, is dispensed with from labour, on account of her -being afflicted with the _cocoa-bay_, one of the most horrible of negro -diseases. It shows itself in large blotches and swellings, and which -generally, by degrees, moulder away the joints of the toes and fingers, -till they rot and drop off; sometimes as much as half a foot will go at -once. As the disease is communicable by contact, the person so afflicted -is necessarily shunned by society; and this poor woman, who is married -to John Fuller, one of the best young men on the estate, and by whom she -has had four children (although they are all dead), has for some time -been obliged to live separated from him, lest he should be destroyed by -contracting the same complaint. She now came to tell me, that she wanted -a blanket, “for that the cold killed her of nights;” cold being that -which negroes dislike most, and from which most of their illnesses -arise. Of course she got her blanket; then she said, that she wanted -medicine for her complaint. “Had not the doctor seen her?” - -“Oh, yes! Dr. Goodwin; but the white doctor could do her no good. -She wanted to go to a black doctor, named Ormond, who belonged to -a neighbouring gentleman.” I told her, that if this black doctor -understood her particular disease better than others, certainly she -should go to him; but that if he pretended to cure her by charms or -spells, or any thing but medicine, I should desire his master to -cure the black doctor by giving him the punishment proper for such an -impostor. Upon this Bessie burst into tears, and said “that Ormond was -not an Obeah man, and that she had suffered too much by Obeah men to -wish to have any more to do with them. She had made Adam her enemy by -betraying him, when he had attempted to poison the former attorney; he -had then cursed her, and wished that she might never be hearty again: -and from that very time her complaint had declared itself; and her poor -pickaninies had all died away, one after another; and she was sure that -it was Adam who had done all this mischief by Obeah.” Upon this, I put -myself in a great rage, and asked her “how she could believe that God -would suffer a low wicked fellow like Adam to make good people die, -merely because he wished them dead?” - -“She did not know; she knew nothing about God; had never heard of any -such Being, nor of any other world.” I told her, that God was a great -personage, “who lived up yonder above the blue, in a place full of -pleasures and free from pains, where Adam and wicked people could not -come; that her pickaninies were not dead for ever, but were only gone up -to live with God, who was good, and would take care of them for her; and -that if she were good, when she died, she too would go up to God above -the blue, and see all her four pickaninies again.” The idea seemed so -new and so agreeable, to the poor creature, that she clapped her hands -together, and began laughing for joy; so I said to her every thing that -I could imagine likely to remove her prejudice; told her that I should -make it a crime even so much as to mention the word Obeah on the estate; -and that, if any negro from that time forward should be proved to have -accused another of Obeahing him, or of telling another that he had been -Obeahed, he should forfeit his share of the next present of salt-fish, -which I meant soon to distribute among the slaves, and should never -receive any favour from me in future; so I gave Bessie a piece of money, -and she seemed to go away in better spirits than she came. - -This Adam, of whom she complained, is a most dangerous fellow, and the -terror of all his companions, with whom he lives in a constant state -of warfare. He is a creole, born on my own property, and has several -sisters, who have obtained their freedom, and are in every respect -creditable and praiseworthy; and to one of whom I consider myself as -particularly indebted, as she was the means of saving poor Richard’s -life, when the tyranny of the overseer had brought him almost to the -brink of the grave. But this brother is in every thing the very reverse -of his sisters: there is no doubt of his having (as Bessie stated) -infused poison into the water-jars through spite against the late -superintendent. It was this same fellow whom Edward suspected of -having put into his brother-in-law’s head the idea of his having been -bewitched; and it was also in his hut that the old Obeah man was found -concealed, whom my attorney seized and transported last year. He is, -unfortunately, clever and plausible; and I am told that the mischief -which he has already done, by working upon the folly and superstition of -his fellows, is incalculable; yet I cannot get rid of him: the law will -not suffer any negro to be shipped off the island, until he shall have -been convicted of felony at the sessions; I cannot sell him, for nobody -would buy him, nor even accept him, if I would offer them so dangerous -a present; if he were to go away, the law would seize him, and bring him -back to me, and I should be obliged to pay heavily for his re-taking -and his maintenance in the workhouse. In short, I know not what I can do -with him, except indeed make a Christian of him! This might induce the -negroes to believe, that he had lost his infernal power by the superior -virtue of the holy water; but, perhaps he may refuse to be christened. -However, I will at least ask him the question; and if he consents, I -will send him--and a couple of dollars--to the clergyman--for he shall -not have so great a distinction as baptism from massa’s own hand--and -see what effect “white Obeah” will have in removing the terrors of this -professor of the black. - -As to my sick Obeah patient, Pickle, from the moment of his -reconciliation with his brother-inlaw he began to mend, and has -recovered with wonderful rapidity: the fellow seems _really_ grateful -for the pains which I have taken about him; and our difficulty now is -to prevent his fancying himself too soon able to quit the hospital, so -eager is he to return “to work for massa.” - -There are certainly many excellent qualities in the negro character; -their worst faults appear to be, this prejudice respecting Obeah, and -the facility with which they are frequently induced to poison to the -right hand and to the left. A neighbouring gentleman, as I hear, has now -three negroes in prison, all domestics, and one of them grown grey in -his service, for poisoning him with corrosive sublimate; his brother -was actually killed by similar means; yet I am assured that both of them -were reckoned men of great humanity. Another agent, who appears to be in -high favour with the negroes whom he now governs, was obliged to quit an -estate, from the frequent attempts to poison him; and a person against -whom there is no sort of charge alleged for tyranny, after being brought -to the doors of death by a cup of coffee, only escaped a second time by -his civility, in giving the beverage, prepared for himself to two young -book-keepers, to both of whom it proved fatal. It, indeed, came out, -afterwards, that this crime was also effected by the abominable belief -in Obeah: the woman, who mixed the draught, had no idea of its being -poison; but she had received the deleterious ingredients from an Obeah -man, as “a charm to make her massa good to her;” by which the negroes -mean, the compelling a person to give another every thing for which that -other may ask him. - -Next to this vile trick of poisoning people (arising, doubtless, in a -great measure, from their total want of religion, and their ignorance -of a future state, which makes them dread no punishment hereafter for -themselves, and look with but little respect on human life in others), -the greatest drawback upon one’s comfort in a Jamaica existence seems to -me to be the being obliged to live perpetually in public. Certainly, if -a man was desirous of leading a life of vice _here_, he must have set -himself totally above shame, for he may depend upon every thing done -by him being seen and known. The houses are absolutely transparent; the -walls are nothing but windows--and all the doors stand wide open. No -servants are in waiting to announce arrivals: visiters, negroes, dogs, -cats, poultry, all walk in and out, and up and down your living-rooms, -without the slightest ceremony. - -Even the Temple of Cloacina (which, by the bye, is here very elegantly -spoken of generally as “_The_ Temple,”) is as much latticed and as -pervious to the eye as any other part of my premises; and many a time -has my delicacy been put to the blush by the ill-timed civility of some -old woman or other, who, wandering that way, and happening to cast her -eye to the left, has stopped her course to curtsy very gravely, and pay -me the passing compliment of an “Ah, massa! bless you, massa! how day?” - - -JANUARY 29. - -I find that Bessie’s black doctor is really nothing more than a -professor of medicine as to this particular disease; and I have ordered -her to be sent to him in the mountains immediately. Several gentlemen -of the county dined with me to-day, and when they left me, one of the -carriages contrived to get overturned, and the right shoulder of one of -the gentlemen was dislocated. Luckily, it happened close to the house; -and as the physician who attends my estate had dined with me also, a -boy, on a mule, was despatched after him with all haste. He was soon -with us, the bone was replaced with perfect ease, and this morning the -patient left me with every prospect of finding no bad effects whatever -from his accident. - -We had at dinner a land tortoise and a barbecued pig, two of the best -and richest dishes that I ever tasted;--the latter, in particular--which -was dressed in the true maroon fashion, being placed on a barbecue (a -frame of wicker-work, through whose interstices the steam can ascend), -filled with peppers and spices of the highest flavour, wrapt in plantain -leaves, and then buried in a hole filled with hot stones, by whose -vapour it is baked, no particle of the juice being thus suffered to -evaporate. I have eaten several other good Jamaica dishes, but none so -excellent as this, a large portion of which was transferred to the most -infirm patients in the hospital. Perhaps an English physician would have -felt every hair of his wig bristle upon his head with astonishment, at -hearing me ask, this morning, a woman in a fever, how her bark and -her barbe cued pig had agreed with her. But, with negroes, I find that -feeding the sick upon stewed fish and pork, highly seasoned, produces -the very best effects possible. - -Some of the fruits here are excellent, such as shaddocks, oranges, -granadelloes, forbidden fruit; and one between an orange and a lemon, -called “the grape or cluster fruit,” appears to me quite delicious. For -the vegetables, I cannot say so much, yams, plantains, cocoa poyers, -yam-poys, bananas, &c. look and taste all so much alike, that I scarcely -know one from the other: they are all something between bread and -potatoes, not so good as either, and I am quite tired of them all. The -Lima Bean is said to be more like a pea than a bean, but whatever it be -like, it appeared to me very indifferent. As to peas themselves, nothing -can be worse. The achie fruit is a kind of vegetable, which generally -is fried in butter; many people, I am told, are fond of it, but I could -find no merit in it. The palm-tree (or abba, as it is called here) -produces a long scarlet or reddish brown cone, which separates into -beads, each of which contains a roasting nut surrounded by a kind of -stringy husk--which, being boiled in salt and water, upon being chewn -has a taste of artichoke, but the consistence is very disagreeable. The -only native vegetable, which I like much, is the ochra, which tastes -like asparagus, though not with quite so delicate a flavour. - -As to fish, the variety is endless; but I think it rather consists in -variety of names than of flavour. From this, however, I must except the -Silk-Fish and Mud-Fish, and above all, the Mountain-Mullet, which is -almost the best fish that I ever tasted. All the shell-fish, that I have -met with as yet, have been excellent; the oysters have not come, in -my way, but I am told that they are not only poor and insipid, but -frequently are so poisonous that I had better not venture upon them; and -so ends this chapter of the “Almanach des Gourmands” for Jamaica. - - -JANUARY 30. - -There were above twenty ladies literally at my feet this morning. I went -down to the negro-village to speak to Bessie about going to her black -doctor; and all the refractory females of last week heard of my being -there, and came in a body to promise better conduct for the future, and -implore me not to go away. The sight of my carriage getting ready to -take me to Kingston, and the arrival of post-horses, had alarmed them -with the idea that I was really going to put my threats into execution -of leaving them for ever. They had artfully enough prevailed on the -wife of Clifford (the driver whom Whannica had collared) to be their -spokes-woman; and they begged, and lifted up their folded hands, and -cried, and fell on the ground, and kissed my feet--and, in short, acted -their part so well, that they almost made me act mine to perfection, and -fall to blubbering. I told them, that I certainly should go to Kingston -on Thursday; but if I had good accounts of them during my absence, I -should return in a few days;--if, on the contrary, the idle negroes -continued to refuse to work without compulsion, then, in justice to -the good ones (who last week were obliged to do more than their share), -those punishments, which I had stopped, must be resumed;--but that, as -Cornwall would be unsupportable to me, if I could not live there without -hearing the crack of the abominable cart-whip all day long, I would not -return to it, but ship myself off for England, and never visit them or -Jamaica any more. And then I talked very sternly and positively about -“punishments” and “making bad negroes do their work properly,” and every -third word was the cart-whip, till I almost fancied myself the princess -in the “Fairy Tale,” who never opened her mouth, but out came two toads -and three couple of serpents. However, to sweeten my oration a little at -the end, I told them, that, “having enquired closely into the characters -of the present book-keepers, I had found no charge against any of them -except one, who was accused of having occasionally struck a negro, of -using bad language to them, and of being a hasty passionate man, though -in other respects very serviceable to the estate. But although these -faults were but trifling, and some of them not proved, so determined -was I to show that I would suffer no white person on the estate who -maltreated the negroes, either by word or deed, that I had determined to -make an example of him for the warning of the rest; and accordingly had -dismissed him this morning.” - -The man in question (by his own account) had made himself obnoxious to -them; and on hearing of his discharge, they, one and all, sprawled upon -the ground in such a rapture of joy and gratitude, that now I may safely -say with Sir Andrew Aguecheek, “I was adored once!” - -The book-keeper had denied positively the charge of striking the -negroes, and ascribed it to the revenge of the Eboe Edward, whom he had -detected in cutting out part of a boiling-house window, in order that he -might pass out stolen sugar unperceived; for, to do the negroes justice, -it is a doubt whether they are the greatest thieves or liars, and the -quantity of sugar which they purloin during the crop, and dispose of at -the Bay for a mere trifle, is enormous. However, whether the charge -of striking were true or not, it was sufficiently proved that this -book-keeper was a passionate man, and he said himself, “that the negroes -had conceived a spite against him,” which alone were reasons enough for -removing him. Indeed, I had the less scruple from the slight nature of -his offence making it easy for him to find another situation; and I -have besides desired him to stay out his quarter on the estate, and -then receive a double salary on going away, which will free him from any -charge of having been dismissed disgracefully. - - -JANUARY 31. - -I went to enquire after my petitioners Juliet and Delia, and had the -satisfaction to find that the trustee had enquired into their complaint; -and, as it appeared not to be entirely unfounded, he had done every -thing that was right and necessary. Aberdeen, too, the runaway cooper, -who had applied to me to obtain his pardon, had been suffered to return -to his work unpunished; and as it had been found that his flight had in -a great measure been occasioned by his being in a bad state of health, -which rendered him apprehensive of being put to labour beyond his -strength, he had been permitted to select his own occupation, which, -of course, was the easiest one in his trade. But I found it a more -difficult matter to ascertain the truth or falsehood of the charges -brought to me on Sunday last: the books positively contradicted them, -but the register might have been falsely kept; and as the negroes -persisted most positively in their complaint against the overseer -(particularly as to his having curtailed them of the legal allowance of -time for their meals, and the cultivation of their own grounds) with the -concurrence of the trustee, I wrote to the magistrates of the county, -desiring that they would summon the negroes in question before a -council of protection, and examine into the injuries of which they had -complained to me. - - -FEBRUARY 1. (Thursday.) - -I left Cornwall for Spanish Town at six in the morning, accompanied by -a young naval officer, the son of my next neighbour, Mr. Hill of Amity, -who not only was good enough to lend me a kittereen, with a canopy, to -perform my journey, but his son to be my _cicerone_ on my tour. The -road wound through mountain passes, or else on a shelf of rock so -narrow--though without the slightest danger--that one of the wheels was -frequently in the sea, while my other side was fenced by a line of bold -broken cliffs, clothed with trees completely from their brows down to -the very edge of the water. Between eight and nine we reached a solitary -tavern, called Blue-fields, where the horses rested for a couple of -hours. It had a very pretty garden on the sea-shore, which contained -a picturesque cottage, exactly resembling an ornamental Hermitage; and -leaning against one of the pillars of its porch we found a young girl, -who exactly answered George Colman’s description of Yarico, “quite -brown, but extremely genteel, like a Wedgewood teapot.” She told us that -she was a Spanish creole, who had fled with her mother from the disputes -between the royalists and independents in the island of Old Providence; -and the owner of the tavern being a relation of her mother, he had -permitted the fugitives to establish themselves in his garden-cottage, -till the troubles of their own country should be over. She talked -perfectly good English, for she said that there were many of that nation -established in Providence. Her name was Antonietta. Her figure was light -and elegant; her black eyes mild and bright; her countenance intelligent -and good-humoured; and her teeth beautiful to perfection: altogether, -Antonietta was by far the handsomest creole that I have ever seen. - -From Blue-fields we proceeded at once to Lakovia (a small village), a -stage of thirty miles. Here we found a relay of horses, which conveyed -us by seven o’clock to “the Gutturs;” a house belonging to the -proprietor of the post-horses, and which is situated at the very foot of -the tremendous May-day Mountains. The house is an excellent one, and we -found good beds, eatables, and, in short, every thing that travellers -could wish. The distance from Lakovia to “the Gutturs” is sixteen miles. - - -FEBRUARY 2. - -Yesterday the only very striking point of view (although the whole of -the road was picturesque) was “the Cove,” situated between Blue-fields -and Lakovia, and which resembled the most beautiful of the views of -coves to be found in “Cook’s Voyages,” but our journey to-day was a -succession of beautiful scenes, from beginning to end. Instantly on -leaving “the Gutturs,” we began to ascend the May-day Mountains, and it -was not till after travelling for five and twenty miles, that we found -ourselves at the foot of them on the other side, at a place called -Williamsfield, about twelve miles from the toll-house, where we rested -for the night. To be sure, the road was so rough, that it was enough to -make one envy the Mahometan women, who, having no souls at all, could -not possibly have them jolted out of their bodies; but the beauty of the -scenery amply rewarded us for our bruised sides and battered backs. The -road was, for the most part, bounded by lofty rocks on one side, and -a deep precipice on the other, and bordered with a profusion of noble -trees and flowering shrubs in great variety. In particular, I was struck -with the picturesque appearance of some wild fig-trees of singular size -and beauty. Although there were only two of us, besides servants, we -found it necessary to employ seven horses and a couple of mules; and, as -our cavalcade wound along through the mountains, the Spanish look of our -sumpter-mules, and of our kittereens (which are precisely the vehicle in -which Gil Bias is always represented when travelling with Scipio towards -Lirias) gave us quite the appearance of a caravan; nor should I have -been greatly surprised to see a trap-door open in the middle of the -road, and Captain Rolando’s whiskers make their appearance. Every one -spoke to me with contempt of this south road, in respect of beauty, -when compared with the north; however, it certainly seemed to me more -beautiful than any road which I have ever travelled as yet. - - -FEBRUARY 3. - -A stage of twenty miles brought us to Old Harbour, and, passing through -the Dry River, twelve more landed us at Spanish Town, otherwise called -St. Jago de la Vega, and the seat of government in Jamaica, although -Kingston is much larger and more populous, and must be considered as -the principal town. We found very clean and comfortable lodgings at Miss -Cole’s. Spanish Town has no recommendations whatever; the houses are -mostly built of wood: the streets are very irregular and narrow; every -alternate building is in a ruinous state, and the whole place wears -an air of gloom and melancholy. The government house is a large -clumsy-looking brick building, with a portico the stucco of which -has suffered by the weather, and it can advance no pretensions to -architectural beauty. On one side of the square in which it stands there -is a small temple protecting a statue of Lord Rodney, executed by Bacon: -some of the bas-reliefs on the pedestal appeared to me very good; -but the old admiral is most absurdly dressed in the habit of a Roman -General, and furnished out with buskins and a truncheon. The temple -itself is quite in opposition to good taste, with very low arches, -surmounted by heavy bas reliefs out of all proportion. - - -FEBRUARY 4. (Sunday.) - -We breakfasted with the Chief Justice, who is my relation, and of my -own name, and then went to the church, which is a very handsome one; the -walls lined with fine mahogany, and ornamented with many monuments of -white marble, in memory of the former governors and other principal -inhabitants. It seems that my ancestors, on both sides, have always had -a taste for being well lodged after their decease; for, on admiring one -of these tombs, it proved to be that of my maternal grandfather; but -still this was not to be compared for a moment with my mausoleum at -Cornwall. After church I went home with the Rector, who is one of -the ecclesiastical commissaries, and had a long conversation with him -respecting a plan which is in agitation for giving the negroes something -of a religious education. We afterwards dined with the member for -Westmoreland; and as every body in Jamaica is on foot by six in the -morning, at ten in the evening we were quite ready to go to bed. - - -FEBRUARY 5. - -The Chief Justice went with me to Kingston, where I had appointed the -agent for my other estate in St. Thomas-in-the-East to meet me. The -short time allotted for my stay in the island makes it impossible to -attend properly both to this estate and to Cornwall at this first visit, -and therefore I determined to confine my attention to the negroes on -the latter estate till my return to Jamaica. I now contented myself by -impressing on the mind of my agent (whom I am certain of being a most -humane and intelligent man) my extreme anxiety for the abolition of the -cart-whip; and I had the satisfaction of hearing from him, that for a -long time it had never been used more than perhaps twice in the year, -and then only very slightly, and for some offence so flagrant that it -was impossible to pass it over; and he assured me, that whenever I visit -Hordley, I may depend upon its not being employed at all. On the other -hand, I am told that a gentleman of the parish of Vere, who came over -to Jamaica for the sole purpose of ameliorating the condition of his -negroes, after abolishing the cart-whip, has at length been constrained -to resume the occasional use of it, because he found it utterly -impossible to keep them in any sort of subordination without it. - -There is not that air of melancholy about Kingston which pervades -Spanish Town; but it has no pretensions to beauty; and if any person -will imagine a large town entirely composed of booths at a race-course, -and the streets merely roads, without any sort of paving, he will have, -a perfect idea of Kingston. - - -FEBRUARY 6. - -The Jamaica canoes are hollowed cotton-trees. We embarked in one of them -at six in the morning, and visited the ruins of Port Royal, which, last -year, was destroyed by fire: some of the houses were rebuilding; but -it was a melancholy sight, not only from the look of the half-burnt -buildings, but the dejected countenances of the ruined inhabitants. -I returned to breakfast at the rectory, with two other ecclesiastical -commissaries; had more conversation about their proposed plan; and -became still more convinced of the difficulty of doing any thing -effectual without danger to the island and to the negroes themselves, -and of the extreme delicacy requisite in whatever may be attempted. -We afterwards visited the school of the children of the poor, who are -educating upon Dr. Bell’s system; and then saw the church, a very large -and handsome one on the inside, but mean enough as to its exterior. I -was shown the tombstone of Admiral Benbow, who was killed in a naval -engagement, and whose ship afterwards - - “Bore down to Port Royal, where the people flocked very - - much - - To see brave Admiral Benbow laid in Kingston Town - - Church,” - -as the admiral’s Homer informs us. - -The church is a large one, but it is going to be still further extended; -the negroes in Kingston and its neighbourhood being (as the rector -assured me) so anxious to obtain religious instruction, that on Sundays -not only the church but the churchyard is so completely thronged with -them, as to make it difficult to traverse the crowd; and those who are -fortunate enough to obtain seats for the morning service, through fear -of being excluded from that of the evening, never stir out of the church -during the whole day. They also flock to be baptized in great numbers, -and many have lately come to be married; and their burials and -christenings are performed with great pomp and solemnity. - -One of the most intelligent of the negroes with whom I have yet -conversed, was the coxswain of my Port Royal canoe. I asked him whether -he had been christened? He answered, no; he did not yet think himself -good enough, but he hoped to be so in time. Nor was he married; for he -was still young, and afraid that he could not break off his bad habits, -and be contented to live with no other woman than his wife; and so he -thought it better not to become a Christian till he could feel certain -of performing the duties of it. However, he said, he had at least cured -himself of one bad custom, and never worked upon Sundays, except on some -very urgent necessity. I asked what he did on Sundays instead: did he go -to church?--No. Or employ himself in learning to read?--Oh, no; though -he thought being able to read _was a great virtue_; (which was his -constant expression for any thing right, pleasant, or profitable;) but -he had no leisure to learn, no week days, and as he had heard the parson -say that Sunday ought to be a day of rest, he made a point of doing -nothing at all on that day. He praised his former master, of whose son -he was now the property, and said that neither of them had ever occasion -to lay a finger on him. He worked as a waterman, and paid his master ten -shillings a week, the rest of his earnings being his own profit; and -when he owed wages for three months, if he brought two his master would -always give him time for the remainder, and that in so kind a manner, -that he always fretted himself to think that so kind a master should -wait for his rights, and worked twice as hard till the debt was -discharged. He said that kindness was the only way to make good negroes, -and that, if _that_ failed, flogging would never succeed; and he advised -me, when I found my negro worthless, “to sell him at once, and not stay -to flog him, and so, by spoiling his appearance, make him sell for less; -for blacks must not be treated now, massa, as they used to be; they can -think, and hear, and see, as well as white people: blacks are wiser, -massa, than they were, and will soon be still wiser.” I thought the -fellow himself was a good proof of his assertion. - -I left Kingston at two o’clock, in defiance of a broiling sun; reached -Spanish Town in time to dine with the Attorney-General; and went -afterwards to the play, where I found my acquaintance Mr. Hill of Covent -Garden theatre performing Lord William in “The Haunted Tower,” and Don -Juan in the pantomime which followed. The theatre is neat enough, but, I -am told, very inferior in splendour to that in Kingston. As to the -performance, it was about equal to any provincial theatricals that I -ever saw in England; although the pieces represented were by no means -well selected, being entirely musical, and the orchestra consisting of -nothing more than a couple of fiddles. My stay in Spanish Town has been -too short to admit of my inspecting the antiquities of it, which must be -reserved for a future visit, although I never intend to make a longer -than the present. The difference of climate was very sensible, both at -Spanish Town and Kingston; and the suffocating closeness made me long to -breathe again in the country. - -The governor happened to be absent on a tour in the north; but I had an -opportunity of seeing many of the principal persons of the island during -my residence here; and the civilities which I received from all of them -were not only more than I expected, but such as I should be unreasonable -if I had desired more, and very ungrateful if I could ever forget them. - - -FEBRUARY 7. - -We were to return by the North Road, and set out at six in the morning. -The first stage was to the West Tavern, nineteen miles; and nothing can -be imagined at once more sublime and more beautiful than the scenery. -Our road lay along the banks of the Rio Cobre, which runs up to Spanish -Town, where its floods frequently commit dreadful ravages. Large masses -of rock intercept its current at small intervals, which, as well as its -shallowness, render it unnavigable. The cliffs and trees are of the -most gigantic size, and the road goes so near the brink of a tremendous -precipice, that we were obliged always to send a servant forwards to -warn any other carriage of our approach, in order that it might stay in -some broader part while we passed it. A bridge had been attempted to -be built over the river, but a storm had demolished it before its -completion, and nothing was now left standing but a single enormous -arch. In like manner, “the Dry River” sets all bridges at defiance: when -we crossed it between Old Harbour and Spanish Town, it was nothing but -a waste of sand; but its floods frequently pour down with irresistible -strength and rapidity, and sometimes render it impassable for weeks -together. I was extremely delighted with the first ten miles of this -stage: unluckily, a mist then arose, so thick, that it was utterly -impossible even to guess at the surrounding scenery; and the morning was -so cold, that I was very glad to wrap myself up in my cloak as closely -as if I had been travelling in an English December. - -By the time of our leaving the West Tavern the mist had dispersed, and I -was able to ad mire the extraordinary beauty of Mount Diavolo, which we -were then crossing. Though we had left the river, the road was still a -narrow shelf of rock running along the edge of ravines of great depth, -and filled with broken masses of stone and trees of wonderful magnitude; -only that at intervals we emerged for a time into places resembling -ornamental parks in England, the lawns being of the liveliest verdure, -the ground rising and falling with an endless variety of surface, and -enriched with a profusion of trees majestic in stature and picturesque -in their shapes, many of them entirely covered with the beautiful -flowers of “hogsmeat,” and other creeping plants. The logwood, too, is -now perfectly golden with its full bloom, and perfumes all the air; and -nothing can be more gay than the quantity of wild flowers which -catch the eye on all sides, particularly the wild pine, and the wild -ipecacuanha. We travelled for sixteen miles, which brought us to our -harbour for the night,---a solitary tavern called Blackheath, situated -in the heart of the mountains of St. Anne. - - -FEBRUARY 8. - -The road soon brought us down to the very brink of the sea, which we -continued to skirt during the whole of the stage. It then brought us to -St. Anne’s Bay, where we found an excellent breakfast, at an inn quite -in the English fashion,--for the landlady had been long resident in -Great Britain. Every thing was clean and comfortable, and the windows -looked full upon the sea. This stage was sixteen miles: the next was -said to be twenty-five; but from the time which we took to travel it, I -can scarcely believe it to be so much. Our road still lay by the -sea-side, till we began to ascend the mountain of Rio Bueno; from which -we at length perceived the river itself running into the sea. It was at -Porto Bueno that Columbus is said to have made his first landing on the -island. Rio Bueno is a small town with a fort, situated close to the -sea. Here also we found a very good inn, kept by a Scotchman. - -The present landlady (her father being from home) was a very pretty -brown girl, by name Eliza Thompson. She told me that she was only -residing with her parents during her _husband’s_ absence; for she was -(it seems) the _soi-disant_ wife of an English merchant in Kingston, and -had a house on Tachy’s Bridge. This kind of establishment is the highest -object of the _brown_ females of Jamaica; they seldom marry men of their -own colour, but lay themselves out to captivate some white person, who -takes them for mistresses, under the appellation of housekeepers. - -Soon after my arrival at Cornwall, I asked my attorney whether a -clever-looking brown woman, who seemed to have great authority in -the house, belonged to me?--No; she was a free woman.--Was she in -my service, then?--No; she was not in my service. I began to grow -impatient.--“But what _does_ she do at Cornwall? Of what use is she in -the house?”--“Why sir, as to use.... of no great use, sir;” and then, -after a pause, he added in a lower voice, “It is the custom, sir, in -this country, for unmarried men to have housekeepers, and Nancy is -mine.” But he was unjust in saying that Nancy is of no use on the -estate; for she is perpetually in the hospital, nurses the children, -can bleed, and mix up medicines, and (as I am assured) she is of more -service to the sick than all the doctors. These brown housekeepers -generally attach themselves so sincerely to the interests of their -protectors, and make themselves so useful, that they in common retain -their situation; and their children (if slaves) are always honoured by -their fellows with the title of Miss. My mulatto housemaid is always -called “Miss Polly,” by her fellow-servant Phillis. This kind of -connection is considered by a brown girl in the same light as marriage. -They will tell you, with an air of vanity, “I am Mr. Such-a-one’s -_Love!_” and always speak of him as being her _husband_; and I am told, -that, except on these terms, it is extremely difficult to obtain the -favours of a woman of colour. To gain the situation of housekeeper to a -white man, the mulatto girl - - “directs her aim; - - This makes her happiness, and this her fame.” - - -FEBRUARY 9. - -The sea-view from a bridge near Falmouth was remarkably pleasing; -a stage of eighteen miles brought us to the town itself, which I -understand to be in size the second in the island. - -However various are the characters which actors sustain, I find their -own to be the same every where. Although the Jamaica company did not -consist of more than twenty persons, their green-room squabbles had -divided it, and we found one half performing at Falmouth. We did not -wait for the play, but proceeded for twenty-two miles to Montego Bay, -where I once more found myself under the protecting roof of Miss Judy -James. - -On our return from dinner at Mr. Dewer’s, we discovered a ball of brown -ladies and gentlemen opposite to the inn. No whites nor blacks were -permitted to attend this assembly; but as our landlady had two nieces -there, under her auspices we were allowed to be spectators. The females -chiefly consisted of the natural daughters of attorneys and overseers, -and the young men were mostly clerks and book-keepers. I saw nothing at -all to be compared, either for form or feature, to many of the humbler -people of colour, much less to the beautiful Spaniard at Blue-fields. -Long, or Bryan Edwards, asserts that mulattos never breed except with a -separate black or white; but at this ball two girls were pointed out to -me, the daughters of mulatto parents; and I have been assured that -the assertion was a mistake, arising from such a connection being very -rarely formed; the females generally preferring to live with white men, -and the brown men having thus no other resource than black women. As to -the above girls, the fact is certain; and the different shades of -colour are distinguished by too plain a line to allow any suspicion of -infidelity on the part of their parents. - - -FEBRUARY 10. - -We passed the day at Mr. Plummer’s estate, Anchovy Bottom. - -When Lord Bolingbroke was resident in America, large flocks of turkeys -used to ravage his corn-fields; but, from their extreme wildness, he -never could make any of them prisoners. He had a barn lighted by a large -sash window, and into this he laid a train of corn, hiding some servants -with guns behind the large doors, which were folded back. The turkeys -picked up the corn, and gradually were enticed to enter the barn. But -as soon as a dozen had passed in, the servants clapped the doors to with -all possible expedition. Now they reckoned themselves secure of their -game; but to their utter consternation, the turkeys in a body darted -towards the light, dashed against the glass, forced out the wood-work, -and away went turkeys, glass, wood-work, and all. - - -FEBRUARY 11. (Sunday.) - -I reached Cornwall about three o’clock, after an excursion the most -amusing and agreeable that I ever made in my life. Almost every step -of the road presented some new and striking scene; and although we -travelled at all hours, and with as little circumspection as if we had -been in England, I never felt a headach except for one half hour. On my -arrival, I found the satisfactory intelligence usually communicated to -West Indian proprietors. My estate in the west is burnt up for want of -moisture; and my estate in the east has been so completely flooded, that -I have lost a whole third of my crop. At Cornwall, not a drop of rain -has fallen since the 16th of November. Not a vestige of verdure is to -be seen; and we begin to apprehend a famine among the negroes in -consequence of the drought destroying their provision grounds. This -alone is wanting to complete the dangerous state of the island; -where the higher classes are all in the utmost alarm at rumours of -Wilberforce’s intentions to set the negroes entirely at freedom; the -next step to which would be, in all probability, a general massacre of -the whites, and a second part of the horrors of St. Domingo: while, -on the other hand, the negroes are impatient at the delay; and such -disturbances arose in St. Thomas’s in the East, last Christmas, as -required the interposition of the magistrates. They say that the negroes -of that parish had taken it into their heads that _The Regent and -Wilherforce_ had actually determined upon setting them all at liberty at -once on the first day of the present year, but that the interference of -the island had defeated the plan. Their discontent was most carefully -and artfully fomented by some brown Methodists, who held secret and -nightly meetings on the different estates, and did their best to mislead -and bewilder these poor creatures with their fantastic and absurd -preaching. These fellows harp upon sin, and the devil, and hell-fire -incessantly, and describe the Almighty and the Saviour as beings so -terrible, that many of their proselytes cannot hear the name of Christ -without shuddering. One poor negro, on one of my own estates, told the -overseer that he knew himself to be so great a sinner that nothing could -save him from the devil’s clutches, even for a few hours, except singing -hymns; and he kept singing so incessantly day and night, that at length -terror and want of sleep turned his brain, and the wretch died raving -mad. - - -FEBRUARY 12. - -A Sir Charles Price, who had an estate in this island infested by rats, -imported, with much trouble, a very large and strong species for the -purpose of extirpating the others. The new-comers answered his purpose -to a miracle; they attacked the native rats with such spirit, that in a -short time they had the whole property to themselves; but no sooner had -they done their duty upon the rats, than they extended their exertions -to the cats, of whom their strength and size at length enabled them -completely to get the better; and since that last victory, Sir Charles -Price’s rats, as they are called, have increased so prodigiously, that -(like the man in Scripture, who got rid of one devil, and was taken -possession of by seven others) this single species is now a greater -nuisance to the island than all the others before them were together. -The best, mode of destroying rats here is with terriers; but those -imported from England soon grow useless, being blinded by the sun, while -their puppies, born in Jamaica, are provided by nature with a protecting -film over their eyes, which effectually secures them against incurring -that calamity. - - -FEBRUARY 12. - -Poor Philippa, the woman who used always to call me her “husband,” and -whom I left sick in the hospital, during my absence has gone out of -her senses; and there cannot well happen any thing more distressing, as -there is no separate place for her confinement, and her ravings disturb -the other invalids. There is, indeed, no kind of bedlam in the whole -island of Jamaica: whether this proceeds from people being so very -sedate and sensible, that they never go mad, or from their all being so -mad, that no one person has a right to shut up another for being out -of his senses, is a point which I will not pretend to decide. One of my -domestic negroes, a boy of sixteen, named Prince, was abandoned by his -worthless mother in infancy, and reared by this Philippa; and since her -illness he passes every moment of his leisure in her sick-room. On the -other hand, there is a woman named Christian, attending two fevered -children in the hospital; one her own, and the other an adopted infant, -whom she reared upon the death of its mother in child-birth; and there -she sits, throwing her eyes from one to the other with such unceasing -solicitude, that no one could discover which was her own child and which -the orphan. - - -FEBRUARY 13. - -Two Jamaica nightingales have established themselves on the orange tree -which grows against my window, and their song is most beautiful. This -bird is also called “the mocking-bird,” from its facility of imitating, -not only the notes of every other animal, but--I am told--of catching -every tune that may be played or sung two or three times in the house -near which it resides, after which it will go through the air with the -greatest taste and precision, throwing in cadences and ornaments that -Catalani herself might envy. - -But by far the most curious animal that I have yet seen in Jamaica is -“the soldier,” a species of crab, which inhabits a shell like a snail’s, -so small in proportion to its limbs, that nothing can be more curious -or admirable than the machinery by which it is enabled to fold them -up instantly on the slightest alarm. They inhabit the mountains, but -regularly once a year travel in large troops down to the seaside to -spawn and change their shells. If I recollect right, Goldsmith gives a -very full and entertaining account of this animal, by the name of “the -soldier crab.” They are seldom used in Jamaica except for soups, which -are reckoned delicious: that which was brought to me was a very small -one, the shell being no bigger than a large snail’s, although the animal -itself, when marching with his house on his back, appears to be above -thrice the size; but I am told that they are frequently as large as a -man’s fist. Mine was found alone in the public road: how it came to be -in so solitary a state, I know not, for in general they move in armies, -and march towards the sea in a straight line; I am afraid, by his being -found alone, that my soldier must have been a deserter. - - -FEBRUARY 14. - -To-day there was a shower of rain for the first time since my arrival; -indeed, not a drop has fallen since the 16th of November; and in -consequence my present crop has suffered terribly, and our expectations -for next season are still worse. - - -FEBRUARY 18. (Sunday.) - -The rain has brought forth the fire-flies, and in the evening the hedges -are all brilliant with their numbers. In the day they seem to be torpid -beetles of a dull reddish colour, but at night they become of a shining -purple. The fire proceeds from two small spots in the back part of the -head. It is yellow in the light, and requires motion to throw out its -radiance in perfection; but as soon as it is touched, the fly struggles -violently, and bends itself together with a clicking noise like the snap -of a spring; and I understand that this effort is necessary to set it in -motion. It is sufficiently strong to turn itself upwards with a single -movement, if lying on its back: some people say that it is always -obliged to throw itself upon its back in order to take wing; but this -I have, again, heard others contradict. When confined in a glass, the -light seems almost extinguished; nothing can be discerned but two pale -yellow spots; but on being pressed by the hand it becomes more brilliant -than any emerald, and when on the wing it seems entirely composed of the -most beautifully coloured fire. - - -FEBRUARY 20. - -I attended the Slave Court, where a negro was tried for sheep-stealing, -and a black servant girl for attempting to poison her master. The former -was sentenced to be transported. The latter was a girl of fifteen, -called Minetta: she acknowledged the having infused corrosive sublimate -in some brandy and water; but asserted that she had taken it from the -medicine chest without knowing it to be poison, and had given it to -her master at her grandmother’s desire. This account was evidently a -fabrication: there was no doubt of the grandmother’s innocence, although -some suspicion attached to the mother’s influence; but as to the girl -herself, nothing could be more hardened than her conduct through the -whole transaction. She stood by the bed to see her master drink the -poison; witnessed his agonies without one expression of surprise or -pity; and when she was ordered to leave the room, she pretended to -be fast asleep, and not to hear what was said to her. Even since her -imprisonment, she could never be prevailed upon to say that she was -sorry for her master’s having been poisoned; and she told the people in -the gaol, that “they could do nothing to her, for she had turned king’s -evidence against her grandmother.” She was condemned to die on Thursday -next, the day after to-morrow: she heard the sentence pronounced without -the least emotion; and I am told, that when she went down the steps of -the courthouse, she was seen to laugh. - -The trial appeared to be conducted with all possible justice and -propriety; the jury consisted of nine respectable persons; the bench of -three magistrates, and a senior one to preside. There were no lawyers -employed on either side; consequently no appeals to the passions, no -false lights thrown out, no traps, no flaws, no quibbles, no artful -cross-examinings, and no brow-beating of witnesses; and I cannot say -that the trial appeared to me to go on at all the worse. Nobody appeared -to be either for or against the prisoner; the only object of all present -was evidently to come at the truth, and I sincerely believe that they -obtained their object. The only part of the trial of which I disapproved -was the ordering the culprit to such immediate execution, that -sufficient time was not allowed for the exercise of the royal -prerogative, should the governor have been disposed to commute the -punishment for that of transportation. - - -FEBRUARY 21. - -During my excursion to Spanish Town, the complaining negroes of -Friendship, who had applied to me for relief, were summoned to Savannah -la Mar, before the Council of Protection, and the business thoroughly -investigated. Their examination has been sent to me, and they appear -to have had a very fair hearing. The journals of the estate were -produced;--the book-keepers examined upon oath; and in order to make out -a case at all, the chief complainant contradicted himself so grossly, -as left no doubt that the whole was a fabrication. They were, therefore, -dismissed without relief, but also without punishment, in spite of their -gross falsehoods and calumnies; and although they did not gain their -object, I make no doubt that they will go on more contentedly for having -had attention paid to their complaints. It was indeed evident, that -Nelly (the chief complainant) was actuated more by wounded pride than -any real feeling of hardship; for what she laid the most stress upon -was, the overseer’s turning his back upon her, when she stated herself -to be injured, and walking away without giving her any answer. - -There are so many pleasing and amusing parts of the character of -negroes, that it seems to me scarcely possible not to like them. But -when they are once disposed to evil, they seem to set no bounds to the -indulgence of their bad passions. A poor girl came into the hospital -to-day, who had had some trifling dispute with two of her companions; on -which the two friends seized her together, and each fixing her teeth on -one of the girl’s hands, bit her so severely, that we greatly fear her -losing the use of both of them. I happened also to ask, this morning, to -whom a skull had belonged, which I had observed fixed on a pole by the -roadside, when returning last from Montego Bay. I was told, that about -five years ago a Mr. Dunbar had given some discontent to his negroes in -the article of clothing them, although, in other respects, he was by no -means a severe master. However, this was sufficient to induce his head -driver, who had been brought up in his own house from infancy, to form -a plot among his slaves to assassinate him; and he was assisted in -this laudable design by two young men from a neighbouring property, who -barely knew Mr. Dunbar by sight, had no enmity against him whatever, and -only joined in the conspiracy in compliment to their worthy friend -the driver. During several months a variety of attempts were made for -effecting their purpose; but accident defeated them; till at length they -were made certain of his intention to dine out at some distance, and of -his being absolutely obliged to return in the evening. An ambuscade was -therefore laid to intercept him; and on his passing a clump of trees, -the assassins sprang upon him, the driver knocked him from his horse, -and in a few moments their clubs despatched him. No one suspected the -driver; but in the course of enquiry, his house as well as the other was -searched, and not only Mr. Dunbar’s watch was found concealed there, -but with it one of his ears, which the villain had carried away, from a -negro belief that, as long as the murderer possesses one of the ears -of his victim, he will never be haunted by his spectre. The -stranger-youths, two of Dunbar’s negroes, and the driver, were tried, -confessed the crime, and were all executed; the head of the latter being -fixed upon a pole _in terrorem_. But while the offenders were still in -prison, the overseer upon a neighbouring property had occasion to find -fault in the field with a woman belonging to a gang hired to perform -some particular work; upon which she flew upon him with the greatest -fury, grasped him by the throat, cried to her fellows--“Come here! come -here! Let us Dunbar him!” and through her strength and the suddenness -of her attack had nearly accomplished her purpose, before his own slaves -could come to his assistance. This woman was also executed. - -This happened about five years ago, when the mountains were in a very -rebellious state. Every thing there is at present quiet. But only last -year a book-keeper belonging to the next estate to me was found with -his skull fractured in one of my own cane-pieces; nor have any enquiries -been able to discover the murderer. - - -FEBRUARY 22. - -During many years the Moravians have been established upon the -neighbouring estate of Mesopotamia. As the ecclesiastical commissaries -had said so much to me respecting the great appetite of the negroes for -religious instruction, I was desirous of learning what progress had been -made in this quarter, and this morning I went over to see one of the -teachers. He told me, that he and his wife had jointly used their best -efforts to produce a sense of religion in the minds of the slaves; that -they were all permitted to attend his morning and evening lectures, -if they chose it; but that he could not say that they showed any great -avidity on the subject. It seems that there are at least three hundred -negroes on the estate; the number of believers has rather increased than -diminished, to be sure, but still in a very small proportion. When this -gentleman arrived, there were not more than forty baptised persons: he -has been here upwards of five years, and still the number of persons -“belonging to his church” (as he expressed it) does not exceed fifty. Of -these, seldom more than ten or a dozen attend his lectures at a time. As -to the remaining two hundred and fifty, they take no more notice of his -lectures or his exhortations, than if there were no such person on the -property, are only very civil to him when they see him, and go on in -their own old way, without suffering him to interfere in any shape. By -the overseer of Greenwich’s express desire, the Moravian has, however, -agreed to give up an hour every day for the religious instruction of the -negro children on that property: and I should certainly request him to -extend his labours to Cornwall, if I did not think it right to give -the Church of England clergymen full room for a trial of their intended -periodical visitations; which would not be the case, if the negroes -were to be interfered with by the professors of any other communion: -otherwise I am myself ready to give free ingress and egress upon my -several estates to the teachers of any Christian sect whatever, the -Methodists always excepted, and “Miss Peg, who faints at the sound of an -organ.” - -For my own part, I have no hope of any material benefit arising from -these religious visitations made at quarterly intervals. It seems to me -as nugatory as if a man were to sow a field with horse-hair, and expect -a crop of colts. - - -FEBRUARY 23. - -This morning my picture was drawn by a self-taught genius, a negro -Apelles, belonging to Dr. Pope, the minister; and the picture was -exactly such as a self-taught genius might be expected to produce. It -was a straight hard outline, without shade or perspective; the hair -was a large black patch, and the face covered with an uniform layer -of flesh-colour, with a red spot in the centre of each cheek. As to -likeness, there was not even an attempt to take any. But still, such as -they were, there were eyes, nose, and mouth, to be sure. A long red -nose supplied the place of my own snub; an enormous pair of whiskers -stretched themselves to the very corner of my mouth; and in place -of three hairs and a half, the painter, in the superabundance of his -generosity, bestowed upon me a pair of eye-brows more bushy than Dr. -Johnson’s, and which, being formed in an exact semicircle, made the eyes -beneath them stare with an expression of the utmost astonishment. The -negroes, however, are in the highest admiration of the painter’s skill, -and consider the portrait as a striking resemblance; for there is a very -blue coat with very yellow buttons, and white gaiters and trow-sers, and -an eye-glass so big and so blue, that it looks as if I had hung a pewter -plate about my neck; and a bunch of watch-seals larger than those with -which Pope has decorated Belinda’s great great grandsire. John Fuller -(to whom, jointly with Nicholas, the charge of this inestimable treasure -is to be entrusted) could not find words to express his satisfaction at -the performance. “Dere massa coat! and dere him chair him sit in! and -dere massa seals, all just de very same ting! just all as one! And oh! -ki! dere massa pye-glass!” In the midst of his raptures he dropped the -picture, and fractured the frame-glass. His despair now equalled his -former joy;--“Oh, now what for him do? Such a pity! Just to break it -after it was all done so well! All so pretty!” However, we stuck the -broken glass together with wafers, and he carried it off, assuring me, -“that when massa gone, he should talk to it every morning, all one as -if massa still here.” Indeed, this “talking to massa” is a favourite -amusement among the negroes, and extremely inconvenient: they come to me -perpetually with complaints so frivolous, and requests so unreasonable, -that I am persuaded they invent them only to have an excuse for “talk -to massa;” and when I have given them a plump refusal, they go away -perfectly satisfied, and “tank massa for dis here great indulgence of -talk.” - -There is an Eboe carpenter named Strap, who was lately sick and in great -danger, and whom I nursed with particular care. The poor fellow thinks -that he never can express his gratitude sufficiently; and whenever he -meets me in the public road, or in the streets of Savannah la Mar, he -rushes towards the carriage, roars out to the postilion to stop, and if -the boy does not obey instantly, he abuses him with all his power; “for -why him no stop when him want talk to massa?”--“But look, Strap, your -beast is getting away!”--“Oh! damn beast, massa.”--“But you should go to -your mountain, or you will get no vittle.”--“Oh, damn vittle, and damn -mountain! me no want vittle, me want talk wid massa;” and then, all that -he has got to say is, “Oh massa, massa! God bless you, massa! me quite, -_quite_ glad to see you come back, my own massa!” And then he bursts -into a roar of laughter so wild and so loud, that the passers-by cannot -help stopping to stare and laugh too. - - -FEBRUARY 24. - -On the Sunday after my first arrival, the whole body of Eboe negroes -came to me to complain of the attorney, and more particularly of one of -the book-keepers. I listened to them, if not with unwearied patience, -at least with unsubdued fortitude, for above an hour and a half; and -finding some grounds for their complaint against the latter, in a few -days I went down to their quarter of the village, told them that to -please them I had discharged the book-keeper, named a day for examining -their other grievances, and listened to them for an hour more. When the -day of trial came, they sent me word that they were perfectly satisfied, -and had no complaint to make. I was, therefore, much surprised to -receive a visit from Edward, the Eboe, yesterday evening, who informed -me, that during my absence his fellows had formed a plan of making a -complaint _en masse_ to a neighbouring magistrate; and that, not only -against the attorney, but against myself “for not listening to them when -they were injured;” and Edward claimed great merit with me for having -prevented their taking this step, and convinced them, that while I was -on the estate myself, there could be no occasion for applying to a third -person. Now, having made me aware of my great obligations to him, here -Edward meant the matter to rest; but being a good deal incensed at -their ingratitude, I instantly sent for the Eboes, and enquired into the -matter; when it appeared, that Edward (who is a clever fellow, and has -great influence over the rest) had first goaded them into a resolution -of complaining to a magistrate, had then stopped them from putting their -plan into execution, and that the whole was a plot of Edward’s, in order -to make a merit with me for himself at the expense of his countrymen. -However, as they confessed their having had the intention of applying -to Mr. Hill as a magistrate, I insisted upon their executing their -intention. I told them, that as Mr. Hill was the person whom they had -selected for their protector, to Mr. Hill they should go; that they -should either make their complaint to him against me, or confess that -they had been telling lies, and had no complaint to make; and that, as -the next day was to be a play-day given them by me, instead of passing -it at home in singing and dancing, they should pass it at the Bay in -stating their grievances. - -This threw them into terrible confusion; they cried out that they wanted -to make no complaint whatever, and that it was all Edward’s fault, who -had misled them. Three of them, one after the other, gave him the lie to -his face; and each and all (Edward as well as the rest) declared that go -to the Bay they absolutely would _not_. The next morning they were all -at the door waiting for my coming out: they positively refused to go to -Mr. Hill, and begged and prayed, and humbled themselves; now scraping -and bowing to me, and then blackguarding Edward with all their might and -main; and when I ordered the driver to take charge of them, and carry -them to Mr. Hill, some of them fairly took to their heels, and ran away. -However, the rest soon brought them back again, for they swore that -if one went, all should go; and away they were marched, in a string of -about twenty, with the driver at their head. When they got to the Bay, -they told Mr. Hill that, as to their massa, they had no complaint to -make against him, except that he had compelled them to make one; and -what they said against the attorney was so trifling, that the magistrate -bade the driver take them all back again. Upon which they slunk away to -their houses, while the Creoles cried out “Shame! shame!” as they passed -along. - -Indeed, the Creoles could not have received a greater pleasure than -the mortification of the Eboes; for the two bodies hate each other as -cordially as the Guelphs and Ghibellines; and after their departure -for the Bay, I heard the head cook haranguing a large audience, and -declaring it to be her fixed opinion, “that massa ought to sell all the -Eboes, and buy Creoles instead.” Probably, Mrs. Cook was not the less -loud in her exclamations against the ingratitude of the Eboes, from her -own loyalty having lately been questioned. She had found fault one day -in the hospital with some women who feigned sickness in order to remain -idle. “You no work willing for massa,” said Mrs. Cook, “and him so vex, -him say him go to Kingston to-morrow, and him wish him neber come back -again!”--“What!” cried Philippa, the mad woman, “you wish massa neber -come back from Kingston?” So she gave Mrs. Cook a box on the ear with -all her might; upon which Mrs. Cook snatched up a stick and broke the -mad woman’s pate with it. But though she could beat a hole in her head, -she never could beat out of it her having said that she wished massa -might never come back. And although Philippa has recovered her senses, -in her belief of Mrs. Cook’s disloyalty she continues firm; and they -never meet without renewing the dispute. - -To-day being a play-day, the gaiety of the negroes was promoted by a -distribution of an additional quantity of salt-fish (which forms a most -acceptable ingredient in their pepper-pots), and as much rum and sugar -as they chose to drink. But there was also a dinner prepared at the -house where the “white people” reside, expressly for none but the -_piccaninny-mothers_; that is, for the women who had children living. I -had taken care, when this play-day was announced by the head driver, to -make him inform the negroes that they were indebted for it entirely to -these mothers; and to show them the more respect, I went to them after -dinner myself, and drank their healths. The most respectable blacks on -the estate were also assembled in the room; and I then told them that -clothes would wear out, and money would be spent, and that I wished to -give them something more lasting than clothes or money. The law -only allows them, as a matter of right, every alternate Saturday for -themselves, and holidays for three days at Christmas, which, with all -Sundays, forms their whole legal time of relaxation. I therefore granted -them as a matter of right, and of which no person should deprive them on -any account whatever, _every_ Saturday to cultivate their grounds; and -in addition to their holidays at Christmas, I gave them for play-days -Good-Friday, the second Friday in October, and the second Friday in -July. By which means, they will in future have the same number of -holidays four times a year, which hitherto they have been allowed only -once, i.e. at Christmas. The first is to be called “the royal play-day,” - in honour of that excellent Princess, the Duchess of York; and the -negroes are directed to give three cheers upon the head driver’s -announcing “The health of our good lady, H. R. H. the Duchess of York.” - And I told them, that before my leaving the island, I should hear them -drink this health, and should not fail to let Her Royal Highness know, -that the negroes of Cornwall drank her health every year. This evidently -touched the right chord of their vanity, and they all bowed and -courtesied down to the very ground, and said, that would do them much -high honour. The ninth being my own birthday, the July play-day is to -be called “the massa’s” and that in October is to be in honour of the -piccaninny-mothers, from whom it is to take its name. - -The poor creatures overflowed with gratitude; and the prospective -indulgences which had just been announced, gave them such an increase of -spirits, that on returning to my own residence, they fell to singing and -dancing again with as much violence as if they had been a pack of French -furies at the Opera. The favourite song of the night was, - - “Since massa come, we very well off;” - -which words they repeated in chorus, without intermission (dancing all -the time), for hours together; till, at half-past three, neither my eyes -nor my brain could endure it any longer, and I was obliged to send them -word that I wanted to go to bed, and could not sleep till the noise -should cease. The idea of my going to bed seemed never to have occurred -to them till that moment. Fortunately, like Johnson’s definition of wit, -“the idea, although novel, was immediately acknowledged to be just.” So -instantly the drums and gumbies left off beating; the children left -off singing; the women and men left off dancing; and they all with one -accord fell to kicking, and pulling, and thumping about two dozen of -their companions, who were lying fast asleep upon the floor. Some were -roused, some resisted, some began fighting, some got up and lay down -again; but at length, by dint of their leading some, carrying others, -and rolling the remainder down the steps, I got my house clear of my -black guests about four in the morning. - -Another of their popular songs this evening was-- - -“All the stories them telling you are lies, oh!” - -which was meant as a satire upon the Eboes. My friend Strap being an -Eboe, and one who had hitherto generally taken a leading part in all -the discontents and squabbles of his countrymen, I was not without -apprehensions of his having been concerned in the late complaint. I was, -therefore, much pleased to find that he had positively refused to take -any share in the business, and had been to the full as violent as any of -the Creoles in reprobating the ingratitude of the Eboes. Today he -came up to the house dressed in his best clothes, to show me his seven -children; and he marched at their head in all the dignity of paternal -pride. He begged me particularly to notice two fine little girls, who -were twins. I told him that I had seen them already. “Iss! iss!” he -said; “massa see um; but massa no _admire_ um enough yet.” Upon which -I fell to admiring them, tooth and nail, and the father went away quite -proud and satisfied. - - -FEBRUARY 25. - -Yesterday it was observed at George’s Plain, an estate about four miles -off, that the water-mill did not work properly, and it was concluded -that the grating was clogged up with rubbish. To clear it away, a negro -immediately jumped down into the trench upon a log of wood; when he felt -the log move under him, and of course jumped out again with all possible -expedition. It was then discovered that the impediment in question -proceeded from a large alligator which had wandered from the morass, -and, in the hope of finding his way to the river, had swam up the -mill-trench till he found himself stopped by the grating; and the banks -being too high for him to gain them by leaping upwards, and the place -of his confinement too narrow to admit of his turning round to go back -again, his escape was impossible, and a ball, lodged near his eye, soon -put an end to him. I went over to see him this morning; but I was not -contented with merely seeing him, so I begged to have a steak cut off -for me, brought it home, and ordered it to be broiled for dinner. One of -the negroes happened to see it in the kitchen; the news spread through -the estate like wildfire; and I had immediately half a dozen different -deputations, all hoping that massa would not think of eating the -alligator, for it was poisonous. However, I was obstinate, and found the -taste of the flesh, when broiled with pepper and salt, and assisted by -an onion sauce, by no means to be despised; but the consistence of the -meat was disagreeable, being as tough as a piece of eel-skin. Perhaps -any body who wishes to eat alligator steaks in perfection, ought to keep -them for two or three days before dressing them; or the animal’s age -might be in fault, for the fellow was so old that he had scarcely -a tooth in his head; I therefore contented myself with two or three -morsels; but a person who was dining with me ate a whole steak, and -pronounced the dish to be a very good one. The eggs are said to be -very palatable; nor have the negroes who live near morasses, the same -objection with those of Cornwall to eating the flesh; it is, however, -true that the gall of the alligator, if not extracted carefully, will -render the whole animal unfit for food; and when this gall is reduced to -powder, it forms a poison of the most dangerous nature, as the negroes -know but too well. - - -FEBRUARY 26. - -I had given the most positive orders that no person whatever should -presume to strike a negro, or give him abusive language, or, however -great the offence might be, should inflict any punishment, except by -the sole direction of the trustee himself. Yet, although I had already -discharged one bookkeeper on this account, this evening another of them -had a dispute in the boiling-house with an African named Frank, because -a pool of water was not removed fast enough; upon which he called him a -rascal, sluiced him with the dirty water, and finally knocked him down -with the broom. The African came to me instantly; four eye-witnesses, -who were examined separately, proved the truth of his ill-usage; and I -immediately discharged the book-keeper, who had contented himself with -simply denying the blow having been given by him: but I told him that I -could not possibly allow his single unsupported denial to outweigh five -concordant witnesses to the assertion; and that, if he grounded his -claim to being believed merely upon his having a white skin, he -would find that, on Cornwall estate at least, that claim would not be -admitted. The fact was established as evident as the sun; and nothing -should induce me to retain him on my property, except his finding some -means of appeasing the injured negro, and prevailing on him to intercede -in his behalf. This was an humiliation to which he could not bring -himself to stoop; and, accordingly, the man has left the estate. -Probably, indeed, the attempt at reconciliation would have been -unsuccessful; for when one of his companions asked Frank whether, if -Mr. Barker would make him a present, he had not better take it, and -beg massa to let him stay, he exclaimed, in the true spirit of a -Zanga,--“No, no, no! me no want present! me no want noting! Me no beg -for Mr. Barker! him go away!”--I was kept awake the greatest part of the -night by the songs and rejoicings of the negroes, at their triumph over -the offending book-keeper. - - -FEBRUARY 27. - -The only horned cattle said to be fit for Jamaica work, are those which -have a great deal of black in them. The white are terribly tormented -by the insects, and they are weak and sluggish in proportion to their -quantity of white. On the contrary I am told that such a thing as -a black horse is not to be found in the island; those which may be -imported black soon change their colour into a bay; and colts are said -to have been dropped perfectly black, which afterwards grew lighter and -lighter till they arrived at being perfectly white. - - -FEBRUARY 28. - -Hearing that a manati (the sea-cow) had been taken at the mouth of -the Cabrita River, and was kept alive at the Hope Wharf I got a -sailing-boat, and went about eight miles to see the animal. It was -suffered to live in the sea, a rope being fastened round it, by which -it could be landed at pleasure. It was a male, and a very young one, not -exceeding nine feet in length, whereas they have frequently been found -on the outside of eighteen. The females yield a quart of milk at a -time: a gentleman told me that he had tasted it, and could not have -distinguished it from the sweetest cow’s milk. Unlike the seal, it never -comes on shore, although it ventures up rivers in the night, to feed on -the grass of their banks; but during the day it constantly inhabits the -ocean, where its chief enemy is the shark, whose attacks it beats off -with its tail, the strength of which is prodigious. It was killed this -morning, and the gentleman to whom it belonged was obliging enough -to send me part of it; we roasted it for dinner, and, except that its -consistence was rather firmer, I should not have known it from veal. - - -FEBRUARY 29. - -The wife of an old negro on the neighbouring estate of Anchovy had -lately forsaken him for a younger lover. One night, when she happened to -be alone, the incensed husband entered her hut unexpectedly, abused her -with all the rage of jealousy, and demanded the clothes to be restored, -which he had formerly given her. On her refusal he drew a knife, and -threatened to cut them off her back; nor could she persuade him to -depart, till she had received a severe beating. He had but just left the -hut, when he encountered his successful rival, who was returning home: -a quarrel instantly ensued; and the husband, having the knife still -unsheathed in his hand, plunged it into the neck of his antagonist. It -pierced the jugular vein; of course the man fell dead on the spot; and -the murderer has been sent to Montego Bay, to take his trial. - - - -MARCH 1. (Friday.) - -One of my house-boys, named Prince, is son to the Duke of Sully; and -to-day his Grace came to beg that, when I should leave Jamaica, I would -direct the boy to be made a tradesman, instead of being sent back to be -a common field-negro: but my own shops are not only full at present, but -loaded with future engagements. Sully then requested that I would send -his son to learn some other trade (a tailor’s, for instance) at Savannah -la Mar, as had been frequently done in former times; but this, also, I -was obliged to refuse. I told him, that formerly a master could pay for -the apprenticeship of a clever negro boy, and, instead of employing him -afterwards on the estate, could content himself with being repaid by -a share of the profits; but that, since The Abolition had made it -impossible for the proprietor of an estate to supply the place of one -negro by the purchase of another, it would be unjust to his companions -to suffer any one in particular to be withdrawn from service; as in -that case two hundred and ninety-nine would have to do the work, which -was now performed by three hundred; and, therefore, I could allow my -negroes to apply themselves to no trades but such as related to the -business of the property, such as carpenters, coopers, smiths, &c. “All -true, massa,” said Sully; “all fair and just; and, to be sure, a tailor -or a saddler would be of no great use towards your planting and getting -in your crop; nor----” - -He hesitated for a moment, and then added, with a look of doubt, and in -a lower voice,--“Nor--nor a fiddler either, I suppose, massa?” I began -to laugh. “No, indeed, Sully; nor a fiddler either!” It seems the lad, -who is about sixteen, very thoughtless, and _un tantino_ stupid, has a -passion for playing the fiddle, and, among other trades, had suggested -this to his father, as one which would be extremely to his taste. We -finally settled, that when the plough should be introduced on my estate -(which I am very anxious to accomplish, and substitute the labour of -oxen for that of negroes, wherever it can possibly be done), Prince -should be instructed in farming business, and in the mean while should -officiate as a pen-keeper to look after the cattle. - -Just now Prince came to me with a request of his own. “Massa, please, me -want one little coat.”--“A little coat! For what?”--“Massa, please, for -wear when me go down to the Bay.”--“And why should you wear a little -coat when you go to the Bay?”--“Massa, please, make me look eerie -(buckish) when me go abroad.” So I assured him that he looked quite -eerie enough already; and that, as I was going away too soon to admit -of my seeing him in his little coat, there could not be the slightest -occasion for his being a bit _eerier_ than he was. A master in England -would probably have been not a little astonished at receiving such a -request from one of his groom-boys; but here one gets quite accustomed -to them; and when they are refused, the petitioners frequently laugh -themselves at their own unreasonableness. - - -MARCH 2. - -Most of those negroes who are tolerably industrious, breed cattle on my -estate, which are their own peculiar property, and by the sale of which -they obtain considerable sums. The pasturage of a steer would amount, in -this country, to £12 a year; but the negro cattle get their grass from -me without its costing them a farthing; and as they were very desirous -that I should be their general purchaser, I ordered them to agree among -themselves as to what the price should be. It was, therefore, settled -that I should take their whole stock, good and bad indifferently, at the -rate of £15 a head for every three-year-old beast; and they expressed -themselves not only satisfied, but very grateful for my acceptance of -their proposal. John Fuller and the beautiful Psyche had each a steer -to sell (how Psyche came to be so rich, I had too much discretion to -enquire), and they were paid down their £15 a piece instantly, which -they carried off with much glee. - - -MARCH 3. (Sunday.) - -In this country it may be truly said that “it never rains but it pours.” - After a drought of three months, it began to rain on Thursday morning, -and has never stopped raining since, with thunder all the day, and -lightning all the night; one consequence of which incessant showers is, -that it has brought out all sorts of insects and reptiles in crowds: the -ground is covered with lizards; the air is filled with mosquitoes, and -their bite is infinitely more envenomed than on my first arrival. A -centipede was found squeezed to death under the door of my bed-room this -morning. As to the cock-roaches, they are absolutely in legions; every -evening my negro boys are set to hunt them, and they kill them by dozens -on the chairs and sofas, in the covers of my books, and among the leaves -in my fruit-baskets. Yesterday I wanted to send away a note in a great -hurry, snatched up a wafer, and was on the point of putting it into my -mouth, when I felt it move, and found it to be a cockroach, which had -worked its way into the wafer-box. - - -MARCH 4. (Monday.) - -Since my arrival in Jamaica, I am not conscious of having omitted any -means of satisfying my negroes, and rendering them happy and secure from -oppression. I have suffered no person to be punished, except the two -female demons who almost bit a girl’s hands off (for which they received -a slight switching), and the most worthless rascal on the estate, whom -for manifold offences I was compelled, for the sake of discipline, to -allow to pass two days in the bilboes. I have never refused a -favour that I could possibly grant. I have listened patiently to all -complaints. I have increased the number of negro holidays, and have -given away money and presents of all kinds incessantly. Now for my -reward. On Saturday morning there were no fewer than forty-five persons -(not including children) in the hospital; which makes nearly a fifth of -my whole gang. Of these, the medical people assured me that not above -seven had any thing whatever the matter with them; the rest were only -feigning sickness out of mere idleness, and in order to sit doing -nothing, while their companions were forced to perform their part of -the estate-duty. And sure enough, on Sunday morning they all walked away -from the hospital to amuse themselves, except about seven or eight: they -will, perhaps, go to the field for a couple of days; and on Wednesday we -may expect to have them all back again, complaining of pains, which (not -existing) it is not possible to remove. Jenny (the girl whose hands were -bitten) was told by the doctoress, that having been in the hospital -all the week, she ought not, for very shame, to go out on Sunday. -She answered, “She wanted to go to the mountains, and go she would.” - “Then,” said the doctoress, “you must not come back again on Monday at -least.” - -“Yes,” Jenny said, “she _should_ come back;” and back this morning -Jenny came. But as her wounds were almost completely well, she had tied -packthread round them so as to cut deep into the flesh, had rubbed dirt -into them, and, in short, had played such tricks as nearly to produce a -mortification in one of her fingers. - -The most worthless fellow on the whole property is one Nato,--a thief, a -liar, a runaway, and one who has never been two days together out of the -hospital since my arrival, although he has nothing the matter with him; -indeed, when the other negroes abused him for his laziness, and leaving -them to do his work for him, he told them plainly that he did not mean -to work, and that nobody should make him. The only real illness which -brought him to the hospital, within my knowledge, was the consequence of -a beating received from his own father, who had caught him in the act of -robbing his house by the help of a false key. In the hospital he found -his wife, Philippa, the mad woman, with whom he instantly quarrelled, -and she cut his head open with a plate; and as she might have served -one of the children in the same way, we were obliged to confine her. -Her husband was thought to be the fittest person to guard her; and -accordingly they were locked up together in a separate room from the -other invalids, till a straight waistcoat could be made. The husband was -then restored to freedom, and desired to go to work, which he declared -to be impossible from illness; yet he disappeared the whole of the next -day; and on his return on the following morning, he had the impudence to -assert that he had never been out of the hospital for an hour. For this -runaway offence, and for endeavouring to exasperate his wife’s phrensy, -he was put into the bilboes for two days: on the third he was released; -when he came to me with tears in his eyes, implored me most earnestly to -forgive what had past, and promised to behave better for the future, -“to so good a massa.” It appeared afterwards, that he had employed his -absence in complaining to Mr. Williams, a neighbouring magistrate, -that, “having a spite against them, although neither he nor his wife -had committed any fault, I had punished them both by locking them up -for several days in a solitary prison, under pretence of his wife’s -insanity, when, in fact, she was perfectly in her senses.” Unluckily, -one of my physicians had told Mr. Williams, that very morning, how much -he had been alarmed at Cornwall, when, upon going into a mad woman’s -room, her husband had fastened the door, and he had found himself shut -up between them; the woman really mad, and the man pretending to be so -too. The moment that Nato mentioned the mad woman as his wife, “What -then,” said Mr. Williams, “you are the fellow who alarmed the doctor so -much two days ago?” Upon which Nato had the impudence to burst into a -fit of laughter,--“Oh, ki, massa, doctor no need be fright; we no want -to hurt him; only make lilly bit fun wid him, massa, that all.” On which -he was ordered to get out of Mr. Williams’s house, slunk back into the -Cornwall hospital, and in a few days came to me with such a long story -of penitence, and “so good massa,” that he induced me to forgive him. - -To sum up the whole, about three this morning an alarm was given that -the pen-keeper had suffered the cattle to get among the canes, where -they might do infinite mischief; the trustee was roused out of his bed; -the drivers blew their shells to summon the negroes to their assistance; -when it appeared, that there was not a single watchman at his post; the -watch-fires had all been suffered to expire; not a single domestic was -to be found, nor a horse to be procured; even the little servant boys, -whom the trustee had locked up in his own house, and had left fast -asleep when he went to bed, had got up again, and made their escape to -pass the night in play and rioting; and although they were perfectly -aware of the detriment which the cattle were doing to my interests, not -a negro could be prevailed upon to rouse himself and help to drive them -out, till at length Cubina (who had run down from his own house to mine -on the first alarm) with difficulty collected about half a dozen -to assist him: but long before this, one of my best cane-pieces was -trampled to pieces, and the produce of this year’s crop considerably -diminished.--And so much for negro gratitude! However, they still -continue their eternal song of “Now massa come, we very well off;” - but their satisfaction evidently begins and ends with themselves. They -rejoice sincerely at being very well off, but think it unnecessary to -make the slightest return to massa for making them so. - - -MARCH 5. - -The worst of negro diseases is “the cocoa-bag” it is both hereditary and -contagious, and will lurk in the blood of persons apparently the most -healthy and of regular habits, till a certain age; when it declares -itself in the form of offensive sores, attended with extreme debility. -No cure for it has yet been discovered: there are negro doctors, who -understand how to prepare diet drinks from simples of the island, which -moderate its virulence for a time; but the disease itself is never -entirely subdued. On the contrary, “the yaws,” although it defies the -power of medicine, ultimately cures itself. This, also, is communicated -by contact, and that of so slight a nature, that a fly, which had -touched an ulcer produced by the yaws, has been known to convey the -infection by merely alighting on the wound of a cut finger. It generally -shows itself by a slight pimple, which is soon converted into a sore; -and this spreads itself gradually over the invalid’s whole body, till -having made its progress through the system completely, its virulence -gradually abates, and at length the disease disappears all together. As -“the yaws” can only be taken once, inoculation has been tried upon -the most hopeful subjects; but the disease showed itself with as much -violence as when contracted in the natural way. - - -MARCH 6. - -Nato has kept his promise as yet, and has actually past a whole week -in the field; a thing which he was never known to do before within the -memory of man. So I sent him a piece of money to encourage him; and told -him, that I sent him a _maccarony_ for behaving well, and wished to know -whether any one had ever given him a maccarony for behaving ill. I hear -that he was highly delighted at my thinking him worthy to receive a -present from me, and sent me in return the most positive assurances of -perseverance in good conduct. On the other hand, Mackaroo has not -only run away himself, but has carried his wife away with him. This is -improving upon the profligacy of British manners with a vengeance. In -England, a man only runs away with another person’s wife: but to run -away with his own--what depravity!--As to my ungrateful demigod of a -sheep-stealer, Hercules, the poor wretch has brought down upon himself -a full punishment for all his misdeeds. By running away, and sleeping in -the woods, exposed to all the fury of the late heavy rains, he has -been struck by the palsy. Yesterday some of my negroes found him in the -mountains, unable to raise himself from the ground, and brought him in -a cart to the hospital; where he now lies, having quite lost the use of -one side, and without any hopes of recovery. He is still a young man, -and in every other respect strong and healthy; so that he may look -forward to a long and miserable existence. - - -MARCH 8. - - -THE HUMMING BIRD. - - Deck’d with all that youth and beauty - - E’er bestow’d on sable maid, - - Gathering bloom her fragrant duty, - - Down the lime-walk Zoè stray’d. - - Many a logwood brake was ringing - - With the chicka-chinky’s cry; - - Many a mock-bird loudly singing - - Bless’d the groves with melody. - - Fly-birds, on whose plumage showers - - Nature’s hand her wealth profuse, - - Humming round, from banks of flowers - - Suck’d the rich ambrosial juice. - - There an orange-plant, perfuming - - All the air with blossoms white, - - Near a bush of roses blooming, - - Charm’d at once the scent and sight. - - Of that plant the loveliest daughter, - - One sweet bloom-bough all preferr’d; - - When his glittering eye had caught her, - - Oh, how joy’d the Humming Bird! - - Here the fairest blossoms thinking, - - Swift he flies, nor loads the stem; - - Poised in air, and odour drinking, - - Fluttering hangs the feather’d Gem. - - Sure, he deems, these cups untasted, - - Many a honied drop allow! - - Soon he finds his labour wasted; - - Bees have robb’d that orange bough. - - Wandering bees, at blush of morning, - - Drain’d of all their sweets the bells; - - Then the rifled beauty scorning, - - How his angry throat he swells! - - See his bill the blossoms rending; - - Round their leaves in wrath he throws; - - Then, once more his wings extending, - - Flies to woo the opening rose. - - (e Mark, my Zoe,” said her mother, - - (t Mark that bough, so lovely late! - - Thou in bloom art such another-- - - Such, perhaps, may be thy fate. - - (e Some wild youth may charm and cheat thee, - - Sip thy sweets, and break his vow; - - Then the world will scorn and treat thee - - As the Fly-Bird did just now.” - - British mothers thus impress on - - Virgin minds some maxim true; - - Zoè heard and used the lesson - - Just as British daughters do. - - -MARCH 9. - -The shaddock contains generally thirty-two seeds, two of which only will -reproduce shaddocks; and these two it is impossible to distinguish: the -rest will yield, some sweet oranges, others bitter ones, others again -forbidden fruit, and, in short, all the varieties of the orange; but -until the trees actually are in bearing, no one can guess what the fruit -is likely to prove; and even then, the seeds which produce shaddocks, -although taken from a tree remarkable for the excellence of its fruit, -will frequently yield only such as are scarcely eatable. So also -the varieties of the mango are infinite: the fruit of no two trees -resembling each other; and the seeds of the very finest mango (although -sown and cultivated with the utmost care) seldom affording any thing -at all like the parent stock. The two first mangoes which I tasted were -nothing but turpentine and sugar; the third was very delicious; and yet -I was told that it was by no means of a superior quality. The _sweet_ -cassava requires no preparation; the _bitter_ cassava, unless the juice -is carefully pressed out of it, is a deadly poison; there is a third -kind, called the _sweet-and-bitter_ cassava, which is perfectly -wholesome till a certain age, when it acquires its deleterious -qualities. Many persons have been poisoned by mistaking these various -kinds of cassava for each other. As soon as the plantain has done -bearing, it is cut down; when four or five suckers spring from each -root, which become plants themselves in their turn. Ratoons are suckers -of the sugar-cane: they are far preferable to the original plants, -where the soil is rich enough to support them; but they are much better -adapted to some estates than to others. Thus, on my estate in St. -Thomas’s in the East, they can allow of ten ratoons from the same plant, -and only dig cane-holes every eleventh year; while, at Cornwall, the -strength of the cane is exhausted in the fourth ratoon, or the fifth -at furthest. The fresh plants are cane-tops; but those canes which bear -_flags_ or feathers at their extremities will not answer the purpose, as -dry weather easily burns up the slight arrows to which the flags adhere, -and destroys them before they can acquire sufficient vigour to resist -the climate. - - -MARCH 10. (Sunday.) - -I find that I have not done justice to the cotton tree, and, on the -other hand, have given too much praise to the Jamaica kitchen. The first -cotton trees which I saw, were either withered by age, or struck by -lightning, or happened to be ill-shaped of their kind; but I have since -met with others, than which nothing could be more noble or picturesque, -from their gigantic height, the immense spread of their arms, the colour -of their stems and leaves, and the wild fantastic wreathings of their -roots and branches. As to the kitchen, nothing can be larger and -finer in appearance than the poultry of all kinds, but nothing can be -uniformly more tough and tasteless; and the same is the case with all -butcher’s meat, pork excepted, which is much better here than in Europe. -The fault is in the climate, which prevents any animal food from being -kept sufficiently long to become tender; so that when a man sits down -to a Jamaica dinner, he might almost fancy himself a guest at Macbeth’s -Covent-Garden banquet, where the fowls, hams, and legs of mutton are all -made of deal boards. I ordered a duck to be kept for two days; but it -was so completely spoiled, that there was no bearing it upon the table. -Then I tried the expedient of boiling a fowl till it absolutely fell to -pieces; but even this violent process had not the power of rendering it -tender. The only effect produced by it was, that instead of being helped -to a wing of solid wood, I got a plateful of splinters. Perhaps, my -having totally lost my appetite (probably from my not being able to -take, in this climate, sufficient of my usual exercise) makes the meat -appear to me less palatable than it may to others; but I have observed, -that most people here prefer living upon soups, stews, and salted -provisions. For my own part, I have for the last few weeks eaten nothing -except black crabs, than which I never met with a more delicious article -for the table. I have also tried the _soldier_ soup, which is in great -estimation in this island; but although it greatly resembled the very -richest cray-fish soup, it seemed to be composed of cray-fish which had -been kept too long. The _soldiers_ themselves were perfectly fresh, for -they were brought to the kitchen quite alive and merry; but I was told -that this taste of staleness is their peculiar flavour, as well as their -peculiar scent even when alive, and is precisely the quality which forms -their recommendation. It was quite enough to fix my opinion of the soup: -I ate two spoonfuls, and never mean to venture on a third. - - -MARCH 12. - -The most general of negro infirmities appears to be that of lameness. -It is chiefly occasioned by the _chiga_, a diminutive fly which works -itself into the feet to lay its eggs, and, if it be not carefully -extracted in time, the flesh around it corrupts, and a sore ensues not -easily to be cured. No vigilance can prevent the attacks of the chiga; -and not only soldiers, but the very cleanest persons of the highest -rank in society, are obliged to have their feet examined regularly. The -negroes are all provided with small knives for the purpose of extracting -them: but as no pain is felt till the sore is produced, their extreme -laziness frequently makes them neglect that precaution, till all kinds -of dirt getting into the wound, increases the difficulty of a cure; and -sometimes the consequence is lameness for life. - -There is another disease which commits great ravages among them; for -although in this climate its quality is far from virulent, and it is -easy to be cured in its beginning, the negro will most carefully conceal -his having such a complaint, till it has made so great a progress -that its effects are perceived by others. Even then, they will never -acknowledge the way in which they have contracted it; but men and women, -whose noses almost shake while speaking to you, will still insist upon -it that their illness arises from catching cold, or from a strain in -lifting a weight, or, in short, from any cause except the true one. Yet -why they act thus it is difficult to imagine; for certainly it does not -arise from shame. - -Indeed, it is one of their singular obstinacies, that, however ill they -may be, they scarcely ever will confess to the physician what is really -the matter with them on their first coming into the hospital, but will -rather assign some other cause for their being unwell than the true one; -and it is only by cross-questioning, that their superintendents are able -to understand the true nature of their case. Perhaps this duplicity is -occasioned by fear; for in any bodily pain it is not possible to be more -cowardly than the negro; and I have heard strong young men, while the -tears were running down their cheeks, scream and roar as if a limb was -amputating, although the doctoress was only applying a poultice to a -whitlow on the finger. I suppose, therefore, that dread of the pain of -some unknown mode of treatment makes them conceal their real disease, -and name some other, of which they know the cure to be unattended with -bodily suffering or long restraint. In the disease I allude to, such -a motive would operate with peculiar force, as one of their chief -aversions is the necessarily being long confined to one certainly not -fragrant room. - - -MARCH 13. - -The Reporter of the African Institution asserts, in a late pamphlet, -that in the West Indies the breeding system is to this day discouraged, -and that the planters are still indifferent to the preservation of -their present stock of negroes, from their confidence of getting fresh -supplies from Africa. Certainly the negroes in Jamaica are by no -means of this Reporter’s opinion, but are thoroughly sensible of their -intrinsic value in the eyes of the proprietor. On my arrival, every -woman who had a child held it up to show to me, exclaiming,--“See massa, -see! here nice new neger me bring for work for massa;” and those who had -more than one did not fail to boast of the number, and make it a claim -to the greater merit with me. Last week, an old watchman was brought -home from the mountains almost dead with fever; he would neither move, -nor speak, nor notice any one, for several days. For two nights I sent -him soup from my own table; but he could not even taste it, and always -gave it to his daughter. On the third evening, there happened to be no -soup at dinner, and I sent other food instead; but old Cudjoe had been -accustomed to see the soup arrive, and the disappointment made him fancy -himself hungry, and that he could have eaten the soup if it had been -brought as usual: accordingly, when I visited him the next morning, he -bade the doctoress tell me that massa had send him no soup the night -before. This was the first notice that he had ever taken of me. I -promised that some soup should be ordered for him on purpose that -evening. Could he fancy any thing to eat _then?_--“Milk! milk!” So milk -was sent to him, and he drank two full calabashes of it. I then tried -him with an egg, which he also got down; and at night, by spoonfuls at -a time, he finished the whole bason of soup; but when I next came to see -him, and he wished to thank me, the words in which he thought he could -comprise most gratitude were bidding the doctoress tell me he would do -his best not to die yet; he promised to _fight hard_ for it. He is -now quite out of danger, and seems really to be grateful. When he was -sometimes too weak to speak, on my leaving the room he would drag his -hand to his mouth with difficulty, and kiss it three or four times -to bid me farewell; and once, when the doctoress mentioned his having -charged her to tell me that he owed his recovery to the good food that -I had sent him, he added, “And him kind words too, massa; kind words -do neger much good, much as good food.” In my visits to the old man, I -observed a young woman nursing him with an infant in her arms, which (as -they told me) was her own, by Cudjoe. I therefore supposed her to be his -wife: but I found that she belonged to a _brown_ man in the mountains; -and that Cudjoe hired her from her master, at the rate of thirty pounds -a year! - -I hope this fact will convince the African _Reporter_, that it is -possible for some of this “oppressed race of human beings”--“of these -our most unfortunate fellow-creatures,”--to enjoy at least _some_ of the -luxuries of civilised society; and I doubt, whether even Mr. Wilberforce -himself, with all his benevolence, would not allow a negro to be quite -rich enough, who can afford to pay thirty pounds a year for the hire of -a kept mistress. - - -MARCH 14. - -Poor Nato’s stock of goodness is quite exhausted; and the day before -yesterday he returned to the hospital with most piteous complaints of -pains and aches, whose existence he could persuade no person to credit. -His pulse was regular, his skin cool, his tongue red and moist, and the -doctor declared nothing whatever to be the matter with him. However, -on my arrival, he began to moan, and groan, and grunt, and all so -lamentably, that every soul in the hospital, sick or well, burst into a -fit of laughter. For my part, I told him that I really believed him to -be very bad; and that, as he met with no sympathy in the hospital, I -should remove him from such unfeeling companions. Accordingly I had -a comfortable bed made for him in a separate house. Here he was -plentifully supplied with provisions: but, in order that he might enjoy -perfect repose daring his illness, the doors were kept locked, and no -person allowed to disturb him with their conversation; while, by the -doctor’s orders, he was obliged to take frequent doses of Bitter-Wood -and Assafotida. Shame would not suffer him to get well all at once; so -yesterday he still complained of a pain in his chest, and begged to be -blooded. His request was granted; and the blood proved to be so pure -and well-coloured, that every one exclaimed, that for a man who had -such good blood to part with it so wantonly was a shame and a folly. The -fellow was at length convinced that his tricks would serve no object; -and this morning he begged me to suffer him to return to his duty, -and promised that I should have no more cause to complain of him. So -I consented to consider his cure as completed, and he set off for the -field perfectly satisfied with his release. - - -MARCH 15. - -On opening the Assize-court for the county of Cornwall on March 4., -Mr. Stewart, the Custos of Trelawny, and Presiding Judge, said, in his -charge to the jury, he wished to direct their attention in a peculiar -manner to the infringement of slave-laws in the island, in consequence -of charges having been brought forward in England of slave laws not -being enforced in this country, and being in fact perfect dead letters. -The charge was unfounded; but it became proper, in consequence, for the -bench to call in a strong manner on the grand jury to be particularly -vigilant and attentive to the discharge of this part of their duty. The -bench at the same time adverted to another subject connected with the -above. Many out of the country, and _some in it_, had thought proper -to interfere with our system, and by their insidious practices and -dangerous doctrines to call the peace of the island into question, and -to promote disorder and confusion. The jury were therefore enjoined, in -every such case, to investigate it thoroughly, and to bring the parties -concerned before the country, and not to suffer the systems of the -island, as established by the laws of the land, to be overset or -endangered. It was their bounden duty to watch over and support the -established laws, and to act against those who dared to infringe them; -and that, otherwise, it was imperiously called for on the principle -of self-preservation. Every country had its peculiar laws, on the due -maintenance of which depended the public safety and welfare. I read all -this with the most perfect unconsciousness; when, lo and behold! I have -been assured, from a variety of quarters, that all this was levelled at -myself! It is I (it seems) who am “calling the peace of the island -in question;” who am “promoting disorder and confusion;” and who am -“infringing the established laws!” I should never have guessed it! By -“insidious practices” is meant (as I am told) my overindulgence to my -negroes; and my endeavouring to obtain either redress or pardon for -those belonging to other estates, who occasionally appeal to me for -protection: while “dangerous doctrines” alludes to my being of opinion, -that the evidence of negroes ought at least to be _heard_ against white -persons; the jury always making proportionable abatements of belief, -from bearing in mind the bad habits of most negroes, their general want -of probity and good faith in every respect, and their total ignorance of -the nature of religious obligations. At the same time, these defects may -be counterbalanced by the respectable character of the particular negro; -by the strength of corroborating circumstances; and, finally, by the -irresistible conviction which his evidence may leave upon the minds -of the jury. They are not obliged to _believe_ a negro witness, but I -maintain that he ought to be _heard_, and then let the jury give their -verdict according to their conscience. But this, in the opinion of the -bench at Montego Bay, it seems, is “dangerous doctrine!” At least, the -venom of my doctrines is circumscribed within very narrow limits; for -as I have made a point of never stirring off my own estate, nobody could -possibly be corrupted by them, except those who were at the trouble of -walking into my house for the express purpose of being corrupted. - -At all events, if I _really_ am the person to whom Mr. Stewart alluded, -I must consider his speech as the most flattering compliment that I ever -received. If my presence in the island has made the bench of a whole -country think it necessary to exact from the jury a more severe -vigilance than usual in all causes relating to the protection of -negroes, I cannot but own myself most richly rewarded for all my pains -and expense in coming hither, for every risk of the voyage, and for -every possible sacrifice of my pleasures. There is nothing earthly that -is too much to give for the power of producing an effect so beneficial; -and I would set off for Constantinople to-morrow, could I only be -convinced that my arrival would make the Mufti redress the complaints of -the lower orders of Turks with more scrupulous justice, and the Bashaws -relax the fetters of their slaves as much as their safety would permit. -But I cannot flatter myself with having done either the one or the other -in Jamaica; and if Mr. Stewart _really_ alluded to me in his charge, I -am certainly greatly obliged to him; but he has paid me much too high a -compliment;--God grant that I may live to deserve it! - - -MARCH 16. - -Hercules, the poor paralytic runaway, has neither moved nor spoken since -his being brought into the hospital. For the two last days he refused -all sustenance; blisters, rubbing with mustard, &c. were tried without -producing the least sensation; and in the course of last night he -expired without a groan. - -Another offender, by name Charles Fox, is also under the doctor’s hands, -suffering under the effects of his own transgressions. Having been -Pickle’s shipmate, he professed the strongest attachment to him, and was -perpetually at his house; till Pickle’s wife made her husband aware that -love for herself was the real object of his shipmate’s visits. Finding -her story disbelieved, she hid Pickle behind the bed, when he had an -opportunity of hearing the solicitations of his perfidious Pylades; and, -rushing from his concealment, he gave Fox so complete a thrashing, -that he was obliged to come to the hospital. Here is another proof that -negroes, “our unfortunate fellow-creatures,” are not without some of -the luxuries of civilised life; old men of sixty keeping mistresses, and -young ones seducing their friends’ wives; why, what would the Reporter -of the African Institution have? - -It is only to be wished, that the negroes would content themselves with -these fashionable peccadilloes; but, unluckily, there are some palates -among them which require higher seasoned vices; and besides their -occasional amusements of poisoning, stabbing, thieving, &c., a plan has -just been discovered in the adjoining parish of St. Elizabeth’s, for -giving themselves a grand fête by murdering all the whites in the -island. The focus of this meditated insurrection was on Martin’s Penn, -the property of Lord Balcarras, where the overseer is an old man of the -mildest character, and the negroes had always been treated with peculiar -indulgence. Above a thousand persons were engaged in the plot, three -hundred of whom had been regularly sworn to assist in it with all the -usual accompanying ceremonies of drinking human blood, eating earth from -graves, &c. Luckily, the plot was discovered time enough to prevent any -mischief; and yesterday the ringleaders were to be tried at Black River. - - -MARCH 17. (Sunday.) - -The Cornwall Chronicle informs us, that, at the Montego Bay assizes, a -man was tried on the Monday, for assaulting, while drunk, an officer who -had served with great distinction, and calling him a coward; for which -offence he was sentenced to a month’s imprisonment and fine of £100; and -on the Tuesday the same man brought an action against another person -for calling him a “drunken liar,” for which he was awarded £1000 for -damages! A plain man would have supposed two such verdicts to be rather -incompatible; but one lives to learn. - -I remember to have read the case of a French nobleman, who was accused -of impotence by his wife before the Parliament of Paris, and by a -farmer’s daughter for seduction and getting her with child before the -Parliament of Rouen; he thought himself perfectly sure of gaining either -the one cause or the other: but, however, he was condemned in both. -Certainly the poor Frenchman had no luck in matters of justice. - -To make the matter better, in the present instance, the man was a -clergyman; and his cause of quarrel against the officer was the latter’s -refusal to give him a puncheon of rum to christen all his negroes in a -lump. - - -MARCH 22. - -Mr. Plummer came over from St. James’s to-day, and told me, that the -“insidious practices and dangerous doctrines” in Mr. Stewart’s speech -were intended for the Methodists, and that only the charge to the grand -jury respecting “additional vigilance” was in allusion to myself; but he -added that it was the report at Montego Bay, that, in consequence of -my over-indulgence to my negroes, a song had been made at Cornwall, -declaring that I was come over to set them all free, and that this was -now circulating through the neighbouring parishes. If there be any such -song (which I do not believe), I certainly never heard it. However, my -agent here says, that he has reason to believe that my negroes really -have spread the report that I intend to set _them_ free in a few years; -and this merely out of vanity, in order to give themselves and their -master the greater credit upon other estates. As to the truth of an -assertion, that is a point which never enters into negro consideration. - -The two ringleaders of the proposed rebellion have been condemned at -Black River, the one to be hanged, the other to transportation. The plot -was discovered by the overseer of Lyndhurst Penn (a Frenchman from -St. Domingo) observing an uncommon concourse of stranger negroes to a -child’s funeral, on which occasion a hog was roasted by the father. He -stole softly down to the feasting hut, and listened behind a hedge -to the conversation of the supposed mourners; when he heard the whole -conspiracy detailed. It appears that above two hundred and fifty had -been sworn in regularly, all of them Africans; not a Creole was among -them. But there was a _black_ ascertained to have stolen over into the -island from St. Domingo, and a _brown_ Anabaptist missionary, both of -whom had been very active in promoting the plot. They had elected a King -of the Eboes, who had two Captains under him; and their intention was -to effect a complete massacre of all the whites on the island; for which -laudable design His Majesty thought Christmas the very fittest season -in the year, but his Captains were more impatient, and were for striking -the blow immediately. The next morning information was given against -them: one of the Captains escaped to the woods; but the other, and the -King of the Eboes, were seized and brought to justice. On their trial -they were perfectly cool and unconcerned, and did not even profess to -deny the facts with which they were charged. - -Indeed, proofs were too strong to admit of denial; among others, a copy -of the following song was found upon the King, which the overseer had -heard him sing at the funeral feast, while the other negroes joined in -the chorus:-- - - -SONG OF THE KING OF THE EBOES. - - Oh me good friend, Mr. Wilberforce, make we free! - - God Almighty thank ye! God Almighty thank ye! - - God Almighty, make we free! - - Buckra in this country no make we free: - - What Negro for to do? What Negro for to do? - - Take force by force! Take force by force! - - CHORUS. - - To be sure! to be sure! to be sure! - -The Eboe King said, that he certainly had made use of this song, and -what harm was there in his doing so? He had sung no songs but such as -his brown priest had assured him were approved of by John the Baptist. -“And who, then, was John the Baptist?” He did not very well know; only -he had been told by his brown priest, that John the Baptist was a friend -to the negroes, and had got his head in a pan! - -As to the Captain, he only said in his defence, that if the court would -forgive him this once, he would not do so again, as he found the whites -did not like their plans which, it seems, till that moment they had -never suspected! They had all along imagined, no doubt, that the whites -would find as much amusement in having their throats cut, as the blacks -would find in cutting them. I remember hearing a sportsman, who was -defending the humanity of hunting, maintain, that it being as much the -nature of a hare to run away as of a dog to run after her, consequently -the hare must receive as much pleasure from being coursed, as the dog -from coursing. - - -MARCH 23. - -Two negroes upon Amity estate quarrelled the other day about some -trifle, when the one bit the other’s nose off completely. Soon after his -accident, the overseer meeting the sufferer--“Why, Sambo,” he exclaimed, -“where’s your nose?” - -“I can’t tell, massa,” answered Sambo; “I looked every where about, but -I could not find it.” - - -MARCH 24. (Sunday.) - -Every Sunday since my return from Kingston I have read prayers to -such of the negroes as chose to attend, preparatory to the intended -visitations of the minister, Dr. Pope. About twenty or thirty of the -most respectable among them generally attended, and behaved with great -attention and propriety. I read the Litany, and made them repeat the -responses. I explained the Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer to them, -teaching them to say each sentence of the latter after me, as I read it -slowly, in hopes of impressing it upon their memory. Then came “the -good Samaritan,” or some such apologue; and, lastly, I related to them -a portion of the life of Christ, and explained to them the object of -his death and sufferings. The latter part of my service always seemed -to interest them greatly; but, indeed, they behaved throughout with much -attention. Unluckily, the head driver, who was one of the most zealous -of my disciples, never could repeat the responses of the Litany without -an appeal to myself, and always made a point of saying--“Good Lord, -deliver us; yes, sir!” and made me a low bow: and one day when I -was describing the wonderful precocity of Christ’s understanding, as -evidenced by his interview with the doctors in the temple, while but -a child, the head driver thought fit to interrupt me with--“Beg massa -pardon, but want know one ting as puzzle me. Massa say ‘the child,’ and -me want know, massa, one ting much; was Jesus Christ a boy or a girl?” - Like my friend the Moravian, at Mesopotamia, I cannot boast of any -increased audience; and if the negroes will not come to hear massa, I -have little hope of their giving up their time to hear Dr. Pope, who -inspires them with no interest, and can exert no authority. Indeed, I am -afraid that I am indebted for the chief part of my present auditory to -my quality of massa rather than that of priest; and when I ask any of -them why they did not come to prayers on the preceding Sunday, their -excuse is always coupled with an assurance, that they wished very much -to come, “because they wish to do _any thing_ to oblige massa.” - - -MARCH 25. - -The negroes certainly are perverse beings. They had been praying for -a sight of their master year after year; they were in raptures at my -arrival; I have suffered no one to be punished, and shown them every -possible indulgence during my residence amongst them; and one and all -they declare themselves perfectly happy and well treated. Yet, previous -to my arrival, they made thirty-three hogsheads a week; in a fortnight -after my landing, their product dwindled to twenty-three; daring this -last week they have managed to make but thirteen. Still they are not -ungrateful; they are only selfish: they love me very well, but they -love themselves a great deal better; and, to do them justice, I verily -believe that every negro on the estate is extremely anxious that -all should do their full duty, except himself. My censure, although -accompanied with the certainty of their not being punished, is by no -means a matter of indifference. If I express myself to be displeased, -the whole property is in an uproar; every body is finding fault with -every body; nobody that does not represent the shame of neglecting my -work, and the ingratitude of vexing me by their ill-conduct; and then -each individual--having said so much, and said it so strongly, that he -is convinced of its having its full effect in making the others do their -duty--thinks himself quite safe and snug in skulking away from his own. - - -MARCH 26. - -Young Hill was told at the Bay this morning, that I make a part of the -Eboe King’s song! According to this report, “good King George and -good Mr. Wilberforce” are stated to have “given me a paper” to set the -negroes free (i. e. an order), but that the white people of Jamaica will -not suffer me to show the paper, and I am now going home to say so, and -“to resume my chair, which I have left during my absence to be filled by -the Regent.” - -Since I heard the report of a rebellious song issuing from Cornwall, I -have listened more attentively to the negro chaunts; but they seem, -as far as I can make out, to relate entirely to their own private -situation, and to have nothing to do with the negro state in general. -Their favourite, “We varry well off,” is still screamed about the estate -by the children; but among the grown people its nose has been put out of -joint by the following stanzas, which were explained to me this morning. -For several days past they had been dinned into my ears so incessantly, -that at length I became quite curious to know their import, which I -learned from Phillis, who is the family minstrel. It will be evident -from this specimen, that the Cornwall bards are greatly inferior to -those of Black River, who have actually advanced so far as to make an -attempt at rhyme and metre. - - -NEGRO SONG AT CORNWALL. - - Hey-ho-day! me no care a dammee! (i. e. a damn,) - - Me acquire a house, (i. e. I have a solid foundation to - - build on,) - - Since massa come see we--oh! - - Hey-ho-day! neger now quite eerie, (i. e. hearty,) - - For once me see massa--hey-ho-day! - - When massa go, me no care a dammee, - - For how them usy we--hey-ho-day! - -An Alligator, crossing the morass at Bellisle, an estate but a few miles -distant from Cornwall, fell into a water-trench, from which he struggled -in vain to extricate himself, and was taken alive; so that, according to -the vulgar expression, he may literally be said to “have put his foot -in it.” Fontenelle says, that when Copernicus published his system, he -foresaw the contradictions which he should have to undergo--“Et il se -tira d’affaire très-habilement. Le jour qu’on lui présentoit le premier -exemplaire, scavez-vous ce qu’il fit? Il mourut;” which was precisely -the resource resorted to by the alligator. He died on the second morning -of his captivity, and his proprietor, Mr. Storer, was obliging enough to -order the skin to be stuffed, and to make me a present of him. Neptune -was despatched to bring him (or rather her, for nineteen eggs were found -within her) over to Cornwall; and at dinner to-day we were alarmed with -a general hubbub. It proved to be occasioned by Neptune’s arrival (if -Thames or Achelous had been despatched on this errand, it would have -been more appropriate) with the alligator on his head. In a few minutes -every thing on the estate that was alive, without feathers, and with -only two legs, flocked into the room, and requested to take a bird’s-eye -view of the monster; for as to coming near her, _that_ they were much -too cowardly to venture. It was in vain that I represented to them, that -being dead it was utterly impossible that the animal could hurt them: -they allowed the impossibility, but still kept at a respectful distance; -and when at length I succeeded in persuading them to approach it, upon -some one accidentally moving the alligator’s tail, they all, with one -accord, set up a loud scream, and men, women, and children tumbled out -of the room over one another, to the irreparable ruin of some of -my glasses and decanters, and the extreme trepidation of the whole -side-board. - -***** - -The negro-husband, who stabbed his rival in a fit of jealousy, has been -tried at Montego Bay, and acquitted. On the other hand, the King of the -Eboes has been hung at Black Hiver, and died, declaring that he left -enough of his countrymen to prosecute the design in hand, and revenge -his death upon the whites. Such threats of a rescue were held out, -that it was judged advisable to put the militia under arms, till the -execution should have taken place; and also to remove the King’s Captain -to the gaol at Savannah la Mar, till means can be found for transporting -him from the island. - - -MARCH 27. - -The Eboe Captain has effected his escape by burning down the prison -door. It is supposed that he has fled towards the fastnesses in the -interior of the mountains, where I am assured that many settlements of -run-away slaves have been formed, and with which the inhabited part of -the island has no communication. However, the chief of the Accompong -Maroons, Captain Roe, is gone in pursuit of him, and has promised -to bring him in, alive or dead. The latter is the only reasonable -expectation, as the fugitive is represented as a complete desperado. - -***** - -The negroes have at least given me one proof of their not being entirely -selfish. When they heard that the boat was come to convey my baggage to -the ship at Black River, they collected all their poultry, and brought -it to my agent, desiring him to add it to my sea-stores. Of course -I refused to let them be received, and they were evidently much -disappointed, till I consented to accept the fowls and ducks, and then -gave them back to them again, telling them to consider them as a present -from my own hen-house, and to distinguish them by the name of “massa’s -poultry.” - - -MARCH 28. - -I have been positively assured, that an attempt was made to persuade the -grand jury at Montego Bay, to present me for over-indulgence to my own -negroes! It is a great pity that so reasonable an attempt should not -have succeeded.--The rebel captain who broke out of prison, has been -found concealed in the hut of a notorious Obeah-man, and has been lodged -a second time in the gaol of Savannah la Mar. - - -MARCH 29. - -About two months ago, a runaway cooper, belonging to Shrewsbury estate, -by name Edward, applied to me to intercede for his not being punished on -his return home. As soon as he got the paper requested, he gave up -all idea of returning to the estate, and instead of it went about the -country stealing every thing upon which he could lay his hands; and -whenever his proceedings were enquired into by the magistrates, he -stated himself to be on the road to his trustee, and produced my letter -as a proof of it. At length some one had the curiosity to open the -letter, and found that it had been written two months before. - - -MARCH 30. - -This was the day appointed for the first “Royal play-day,” when I bade -farewell to my negroes. I expected to be besieged with petitions and -complaints, as they must either make them on this occasion or not at -all. I was, therefore, most agreeably surprised to find, that although -they had opportunities of addressing me from nine in the morning till -twelve at night, the only favours asked me were by a poor old man, who -wanted an iron cooking pot, and by Adam, who begged me to order a little -daughter of his to be instructed in needle-work: and as to complaints, -not a murmur of such a thing was heard; they all expressed themselves to -be quite satisfied, and seemed to think that they could never say -enough to mark their gratitude for my kindness, and their anxiety for -my getting safe to England. We began our festival by the head driver’s -drinking the health of H. R. H. the Duchess of York, whom the negroes -cheered with such a shout as might have “rent hell’s concave.” - -Then we had a christening of such persons as had been absent on the -former occasion, one of whom was Adam, the reputed Obeah-man. In the -number was a new-born child, whom we called Shakspeare, and whom Afra, -the Eboe mother, had very earnestly begged me to make a Christian, as -well as a daughter of hers, about four or five years old; at the same -time that she declined being christened herself! In the same manner -Cubina’s wife, although her father and husband were both baptised on the -former occasion, objected to going through the ceremony herself; and the -reason which she gave was, that “she did not like being christened while -she was with child, as she did not know what change it might not produce -upon herself and the infant.” - -After the christening there was a general distribution of salt-fish by -the trustee; and I also gave every man and woman half a dollar each, and -every child a maccarony (fifteen pence) as a parting present, to -show them that I parted with them in good-humour. While the money was -distributing, young Hill arrived, and finding the house completely -crowded, he enquired what was the matter. “Oh, massa,” said an old -woman, “it is only _my son_, who is giving the negroes all something.” - -I also read to them a new code of laws, which I had ordered to be put in -force at Cornwall, for the better security of the negroes. The principal -were, that “a new hospital for the lying-in women, and for those who -might be seriously ill, should be built, and made as comfortable as -possible; while the present one should be reserved for those whom the -physicians might declare to be very slightly indisposed, or not ill at -all; the doors being kept constantly locked, and the sexes placed in -separate chambers, to prevent its being made a place of amusement by -the lazy and lying, as is the case at present.”--“A book register of -punishments to be kept, in which the name, offence, and nature and -quantity of punishment inflicted must be carefully put down; and also -a note of the same given to the negro, in order that if he should think -himself unjustly, or too severely punished, he may show his note to my -other attorney on his next visit, or to myself on my return to Jamaica, -and thus get redress if he has been wronged.”--“No negro is to be -struck, or punished in any way, without the trustee’s express orders: -the black driver so offending to be immediately degraded, and sent to -work in the field; and the white person, for such a breach of my orders, -to be discharged upon the spot.”--“No negro is to be punished till -twenty-four hours shall have elapsed between his committing the fault -and suffering for it, in order that nothing should be done in the heat -of passion, but that the trustee should have time to consider the matter -coolly. But to prevent a guilty person from avoiding punishment by -running away, he is to pass those twenty-four hours in such confinement -as the trustee may think most fitting.”--“Any white person, who can be -proved to have had an improper connection with a woman known publicly -to be living as the wife of one of my negroes, is to be discharged -immediately upon complaint being made.” I also gave the head driver -a complete list of the allowances of clothing, food, &c. to which the -negroes were entitled, in order that they might apply to it if -they should have any doubts as to their having received their full -proportion; and my new rules seemed to add greatly to the satisfaction -of the negroes, who were profuse in their expressions of gratitude. - -The festival concluded with a grander ball than usual, as I sent for -music from Savanna la Mar to play country dances to them; and at twelve -o’clock at night they left me apparently much pleased, only I heard some -of them saying to each other, “When shall we have such a day of pleasure -again, since massa goes to-morrow?” - - -MARCH 31. (Sunday.) - -With their usual levity, the negroes were laughing and talking as gaily -as ever till the very moment of my departure; but when they saw my -curricle actually at the door to convey me away, then their faces grew -very long indeed. In particular, the women called me by every endearing -name they could think of. “My son! my love! my husband! my father!” - -“You no my massa, you my tata!” said one old woman (upon which another -wishing to go a step beyond her, added, “Iss, massa, iss! It was -you”);----------and when I came down the steps to depart, they crowded -about me, kissing my feet, and clasping my knees, so that it was with -difficulty that I could get into the carriage. And this was done with -such marks of truth and feeling, that I cannot believe the whole to be -mere acting and mummery. - -I dined with Mr. Allwood at Shaftstone, his pen near Blue-fields, and at -half past seven found myself once more on board the Sir Godfrey Webster. - -To fill up my list of Jamaica delicacies, I must not forget to mention, -that I did my best to procure a Cane-piece Cat roasted in the true -African fashion. The Creole negroes, however, greatly disapproved of -my venturing upon this dish, which they positively denied having tasted -themselves; and when, at length, the Cat was procured, last Saturday, -instead of plainly boiling it with negro-pepper and salt, they made into -a high seasoned stew, which rendered it impossible to judge of its real -flavour. However, I tasted it, as did also several other people, and we -were unanimous in opinion, that it might have been mistaken for a very -good game-soup, and that, when properly dressed, a Cane-piece Cat must -be excellent food. - -One of the best vegetable productions of the island is esteemed to be -the Avogada pear, sometimes called “the vegetable marrow.” It was not -the proper season for them, and with great difficulty I procured a -couple, which were said to be by no means in a state of perfection. Such -as they were, I could find no great merit in them; they were to be eaten -cold with pepper and salt, and seemed to be an insipid kind of melon, -with no other resemblance to marrow than their softness. - - -APRIL 1. (Monday.) - -At eight this morning we weighed anchor on our return to England. - - -YARRA. - - Poor Yarra comes to bid farewell, - - But Yarra’s lips can never say it! - - Her swimming eyes--her bosom’s swell-- - - The debt she owes you, these must pay it. - - She ne’er can speak, though tears can start, - - Her grief, that fate so soon removes you; - - But One there is, who reads the heart, - - And well He knows how Yarra loves you! - - See, massa, see this sable boy! - - When chill disease had nipp’d his flower, - - You came and spoke the word of joy, - - And poured the juice of healing power. - - To visit far Jamaica’s shore - - Had no kind angel deign’d to move you, - - These laughing eyes had laugh’d no more, - - Nor Yarra lived to thank and love you, - - Then grieve not, massa, that to view - - Our isle you left your British pleasures: - - One tear, which falls in grateful dew, - - Is worth the best of Britain’s treasures. - - And sure, the thought will bring relief, - - What e’er your fate, wherever rove you, - - Your wealth’s not given by pain and grief, - - But hands that know, and hearts that love you. - - - May He, who bade you cross the wave, - - Through care for Afric’s sons and daughters; - - When round your bark the billows rave, - - In safety guide you through the waters! - - By all you love with smiles be met; - - Through life each good man’s tongue approve you: - - And though far distant, don’t forget, - - While Yarra lives, she’ll live to love you! - - -APRIL 3. - -The trade-winds which facilitate the passage to Jamaica, effectually -prevent the return of vessels by the same road. The common passage is -through the Gulf of Florida, but there is another between Cuba and -St. Domingo, which is at least 1000 miles nearer. The first, however, -affords almost a certainty of reaching Europe in a given time; while you -may keep tacking in the attempt to make the windward passage (as it is -called) for months together. Last night the wind was so favourable for -this attempt, that the captain determined upon risking it. Accordingly -he altered his course; and had not done so for more than a few hours, -when the wind changed, and became as direct for the Gulf, as till then -it had been contrary. The consequence was, that the Gulf passage was -fixed once for all, and we are now steering towards it with all our -might and main. Besides the distance saved, there was another reason -for preferring the windward passage, if it could have been effected. The -Gulf of Florida has for some time past been infested by a pirate called -Captain Mitchell, who, by all accounts, seems to be of the very worst -description. It is not long ago, since, in company with another vessel -of his own stamp, he landed on the small settlement of St. Andrews, -plundered it completely, and on his departure carried off the governor, -whom he kept on board for more than fourteen days, and then hung him at -the yard-arm out of mere wanton devilry; and indeed he is said to show -no more mercy to any of his prisoners than he did to the poor governor. -His companion has been captured and brought into Kingston, and the -conquering vessel is gone in search of Captain Mitchell. If it does -not fall in with him, and _we_ do, I fear that we shall stand but a bad -chance; for he has one hundred men on board according to report, while -we have not above thirty. However, the captain has harangued them, -represented the necessity of their fighting if attacked, as Captain -Mitchell is known to spare no one, high or low, and has engaged to give -every man five guineas apiece, if a gun should be fired. The sailors -promise bravery; whether their promises will prove to be pie-crust, -we must leave to be decided by time and Captain Mitchell. In the mean -while, every sail that appears on the horizon is concluded to be this -terrible pirate, and every thing is immediately put in readiness for -action. - -This day we passed the Caymana islands; but owing to our having always -either a contrary wind, or no wind at all, it was not till the 12th that -Cuba was visible, nor till the 14th that we reached Cape Florida. - - -APRIL 15. - -At noon this day we found ourselves once more sailing on the Atlantic, -and bade farewell to the Gulf of Florida without having heard any news -of the dreaded Commodore Mitchell. The narrow and dangerous part of -this Gulf is about two hundred miles in length, and fifty in breadth, -bordered on one side by the coast of Florida, and on the other, first -by Cuba, and then by the Bahama Islands, of which the Manilla reef forms -the extremity, and which reef also terminates the Gulf. But on both -sides of these two hundred miles, at the distance of about four or -five miles from the main land, there extends a reef which renders the -navigation extremely dangerous. The reef is broken at intervals by large -inlets; and the sudden and violent squalls of wind to which the Gulf is -subject, so frequently drive vessels into these perilous openings, that -it is worth the while of many of the poorer inhabitants of Florida to -establish their habitations within the reef, and devote themselves and -their small vessels entirely to the occupation of assisting vessels -in distress. They are known by the general name of “wreckers,” and are -allowed a certain salvage upon such ships as they may rescue. As a proof -of the violence of the gales which are occasionally experienced in this -Gulf, our captain, about nine years ago, saw the wind suddenly take a -vessel (which had unwisely suffered her canvass to stand, while the -rest of the ships under convoy had taken theirs down,) and turn her -completely over, the sails in the water and the keel uppermost. It -happened about four o’clock in the afternoon: the captain and the -passengers were at dinner in the cabin; but as she went over very -leisurely, they and the crew had time allowed them to escape out of the -windows and port-holes, and sustain themselves upon the rigging, till -boats from the ships near them could arrive to take them off. As -she filled, she gradually sunk, and in a quarter of an hour she had -disappeared totally. - - -APRIL 17. - - -THE FLYING FISH. - - Bright ocean-bird, alike who sharing - - Both elements, could sport the air in, - - Or swim the sea, your winged fins wearing - - The rainbow’s hues, - - Your fate this day full long shall bear in - - Her mind the muse, - - In vain for you had nature blended - - Two regions, and your powers extended; - - Now high you rose, now low descended; - - But folly marred - - Those gifts, the bounteous dame intended - - To prove your guard. - - A flying fish, could bounds include her? - - She winged the deep, if birds pursued her; - - She swam the sky, if dolphins viewed her; - - But now what wish - - Tempts you to watch yon bright deluder, - - Unthinking fish? - - Alas!--a fly above you viewing, - - Gay tints his gilded wings imbuing, - - You mount; and ah! too far pursuing - - At fancy’s call, - - Heedless you strike the sails, where ruin - - Awaits your fall. - - Your fins, too dry, no longer play you, - - And soon those fins no more upstay you; - - You drop; and now on deck survey you - - Jack, Tom, and Bill, - - Who up may take, and down may lay you, - - As suits their will. - - Oh! list my tale, fair maids of Britain! - - This subject fain I’d try my wit on, - - And show the rock you’re apt to split on: - - Then cry not--“Pish!”-- - - You’re all (I’m glad the thought I hit on) - - Just flying fish! - - Beauty, does nature’s hand bestow it? - - It swells your pride, and plain you show it; - - Though wealthy cit, and airy poet - - Your charms pursue, - - Church--physic--law--you he fair, you know it, - - You’ll none, not you! . - - Age looks too dry, and youth too blooming: - - The scholar’s face there’s too much gloom in; - - This man’s too dull, that too presuming; - - His mouth’s too wide!-- - - For mending, Lord! you think there’s room in - - The best, when tried. - - In each you find some fault to snarl at, - - And wilful seek the sun by starlight; - - Till some gay glittering rogue in scarlet, - - Who lures the eye, - - Dazzles poor miss, and then the varlet - - Pretends to fly. - - His flight has piqued, his glitter caught her; - - And soon her mammy’s darling daughter, - - Whose eyes have made such mighty slaughter, - - Charm’d by a fop, - - Is fairly hit ’twixt wind and water, - - And, miss! you drop! - - Then certain fate of fallen lasses, - - When short-lived bliss more frail than glass is, - - To eyes of all degrees and classes - - Exposed you stand, - - And soon your beauty circling passes - - From hand to hand. - - In vain your flattering charms display you; - - From home and parents far away, you - - See former friends with scorn survey you; - - While fools and brutes - - May take you up, or down may lay you, - - As humour suits. - - Oh! mark, dear girls, the moral story - - Of one, who breathes but to adore ye! - - Let no rash action mar your glory; - - But when you wish - - To catch some coxcomb, place before ye - - The flying fish. - - -APRIL 20. - -Two or three years ago, our captain, while his vessel was lying in Black -River Bay, for the purpose of loading, was informed by his sailors, -that their beef and other provisions frequently disappeared in a very -unaccountable manner. However, by setting a strict watch during the -night, he soon managed to clear up the mystery: and a negro, who had -made his escape from the workhouse, and concealed himself on board among -the bags of cotton, was found to be the thief. He was sent back to the -workhouse, of which the chain was still about his neck. But another -negro had better luck in a similar attempt on board of a different -vessel. He contrived to secrete himself in the lower part of it, where -the sugar hogsheads are stored, unknown to any one. As soon as the cargo -was completed, the planks above it were caulked down, and raised no more -till their ship reached Liverpool; when, to the universal astonishment, -upon opening the hold, out walked Mungo, in a wretched condition to be -sure, but still at least alive, and a freeman in Great Britain. During -his painful voyage, he had subsisted entirely upon sugar, of which he -had consumed nearly an hogshead; how he managed for water I could not -learn, nor can imagine. - - -APRIL 23. - -The old steward, this morning, told one of the sailors, who complained -of being ill, that he would get well as soon as he should reach England, -and could have plenty of vegetables; “for,” he said, “the man had only -got a _stomachick_ complaint; nothing but just scurvy!” - - -APRIL 24. - -Sea Terms.--The _sheets_, a term for various ropes; the _halyards_, -ropes which extend the topsails; the _painter_, the rope which fastens -the boat to the vessel; the eight points of the compass, south, south -and by east, south-south east, south east and by east, south-east, -east south and by east, east south east, east and by south east. The -knowledge of these points is termed “knowing how to box the compass.” - - -APRIL 27. - -Many years ago, a new species of grass was imported into Jamaica, by Mr. -Vassal, (to whom an estate near my own then belonged), as he said “for -the purpose of feeding his pigs and his bookkeepers.” Its seeds being -soon scattered about by the birds, it has taken possession of the -cane-pieces, whence to eradicate it is an utter impossibility, the roots -being as strong as those of ginger, and insinuating themselves under -ground to a great extent; so that the only means of preventing it from -entirely choking up the canes, is plucking it out with the hand, which -is obliged to be done frequently, and has increased the labour of the -plantation at least one third. This nuisance, which is called “Vassal’s -grass,” from its original introducer, has now completely over-run the -parish of Westmoreland, has begun to show itself in the neighbouring -parishes, and probably in time will get a footing throughout the island. -St. Thomas’s in the East has been inoculated with another self-inflicted -plague, under the name of “the rifle-ant,” which was imported for the -purpose of eating up the ants of the country; and so to be sure they -did, but into the bargain they eat up every thing else which came in -their way, a practice in which they persist to this hour; so that it -may be doubted whether in Jamaica most execrations are bestowed in -the course of the day upon Vassal’s grass, the rifle-ants, Sir Charles -Price’s rats, or the Reporter of the African Society; only that the -maledictions uttered against the three first are necessarily local, -while the Reporter of the African Society comes in for curses from all -quarters. - - -APRIL 30. (Tuesday.) - -A whole calendar month has elapsed since our quitting Jamaica, -during which the wind has been favourable for something less than -four-and-twenty hours; either it has blown precisely from the point on -which we wanted to sail, or has been so faint, that we scarcely made -one knot an hour. However, on Tuesday last, finding ourselves in the -latitude of the “still-vexed Bermoothes,” by way of variety, a sudden -squall carried away both our lower stunsails in the morning; and at nine -in the evening there came on a gale of wind truly tremendous. The ship -pitched and rolled every minute, as if she had been on the point of -overturning; the hencoops floated about the deck, and many of the -poultry were found drowned in them the next morning. Just as the last -dead-light was putting up, the sea embraced the opportunity of -the window being open, to whip itself through, and half filled the -after-cabin with water; and in half an hour more a mountain of waves -broke over the vessel, and pouring itself through the sky-light, -paid the same compliment to the fore-cabin, with which it had already -honoured the after one. About four in the morning the storm abated, and -then we relapsed into our good old jog-trot pace of a knot an hour. Our -passengers consist of a Mrs. Walker with her two children, and a sick -surgeon of the name of Ashman. - - -MAY 5. (Sunday.) - -We continue to proceed at such a tortoise-pace, that it has been thought -advisable to put the crew upon an allowance of water. - - -MAY 7. - -A negro song.--“Me take my cutacoo, (i. e. a basket made of matting,) -and follow him to Lucea, and all for love of my bonny man-O--My bonny -man come home, come home! Doctor no do you good. When neger fall into -neger hands, buckra doctor no do him good more. Come home, my gold ring, -come home!” This is the song of a wife, whose husband had been Obeahed -by another woman, in consequence of his rejecting her advances. A negro -riddle: “Pretty Miss Nancy was going to market, and she tore her fine -yellow gown, and there was not a taylor in all the town who could mend -it again.” This is a ripe plantain with a broken skin. The negroes -are also very fond of what they call Nancy stories, part of which is -related, and part sung. The heroine of one of them is an old woman named -Mamma Luna, who having left a pot boiling in her hut, found it robbed -on her return. Her suspicions were divided between two children whom she -found at play near her door, and some negroes who had passed that way to -market. The children denied the theft positively. It was necessary for -the negroes, in order to reach their own estate, to wade through a river -at that time almost dry; and on their return, Mammy Luna (who it should -seem, was not without some skill in witchcraft,) warned them to take -care in venturing across the stream, for that the water would infallibly -rise and carry away the person who had stolen the contents of her pot; -but if the thief would but confess the offence, she engaged that no harm -should happen, as she only wanted to exculpate the innocent, and not to -punish the guilty. One and all denied the charge, and several -crossed the river without fear or danger; but upon the approach of a -_belly-woman_ to the bank, she was observed to hesitate. “My neger, my -neger,” said Mammy Luna, “why you stop? me tink, you savee well, who -thief me?” This accusation spirited up the woman, who instantly marched -into the river, singing as she went ( and the woman’s part is always -chanted frequently in chorus, which the negroes call, “taking up the -sing”). - - “If da me eat Mammy Luna’s pease-O, - - Drowny me water, drowny, drowny!” - -“My neger, my neger,” cried the old woman, “me sure now you the thief! -me see the water wet you feet. Come back, my neger, come back.” Still on -went the woman, and still continued her song of - - “If da me eat Mammy Luna’s pease, &c.” - -“My neger, my neger,” repeated Mammy Luna, “me no want punish you; my -pot smell good, and you belly-woman. Come back, my neger, come back; -me see now water above your knee!” But the woman was obstinate; she -continued to sing and to advance, till she reached the middle of the -river’s bed, when down came a tremendous flood, swept her away, and she -never was heard of more; while Mammy Luna warned the other negroes -never to take the property of another; always to tell the truth; and, at -least, if they should be betrayed into telling a lie, not to persist in -it, otherwise they must expect to perish like their companion. Observe, -that a moral is always an indispensable part of a Nancy story. Another -is as follows:--“Two sisters had always lived together on the best -terms; but, on the death of one of them, the other treated very harshly -a little niece, who had been left to her care, and made her a common -drudge to herself and her daughter. One day the child having broken a -water-jug, was turned out of the house, and ordered not to return till -she could bring back as good a one. As she was going along, weeping, -she came to a large cotton-tree, under which was sitting an old woman -without a head. I suppose this unexpected sight made her gaze rather too -earnestly, for the old woman immediately enquired--‘Well, my piccaniny, -what you see?’ ‘Oh, mammy,’ answered the girl, ‘me no see nothing.’ -‘Good child!’ said again the old woman; ‘and good will come to you.’ Not -far distant was a cocoa-tree; and here was another old woman, without -any more head than the former one. The same question was asked her, and -she failed not to give the same answer which had already met with so -good a reception. Still she travelled forwards, and began to feel faint -through want of food, when, under a mahogany tree, she not only saw a -third old woman, but one who, to her great satisfaction, had got a head -between her shoulders. She stopped, and made her best courtesy--‘How -day, grannie!’ ‘How day, my piccaniny; what matter, you no look well?’ -‘Grannie, me lilly hungry.’ ‘My piccaniny, you see that hut, there’s -rice in the pot, take it, and yam-yam me; but if you see one black -puss, mind you give him him share.’ The child hastened to profit by the -permission; the ‘one black puss’ failed not to make its appearance, and -was served first to its portion of rice, after which it departed; and -the child had but just finished her meal, when the mistress of the hut -entered, and told her that she might help herself to three eggs out of -the fowl-house, but that she must not take any of the _talking_ ones: -perhaps, too, she might find the black puss there, also; but if she did, -she was to take no notice of her. Unluckily all the eggs seemed to be -as fond of talking as if they had been so many old maids; and the moment -that the child entered the fowl-house, there was a cry of ‘Take -_me!_ Take _me!_’ from all quarters. However she was punctual in her -obedience; and although the conversable eggs were remarkably fine and -large, she searched about till at length she had collected three little -dirty-looking eggs, that had not a word to say for themselves. The old -woman now dismissed her guest, bidding her to return home without fear; -but not to forget to break one of the eggs under each of the three -trees near which she had seen an old woman that morning. The first egg -produced a water-jug exactly similar to that which she had broken; out -of the second came a whole large sugar estate; and out of the third a -splendid equipage, in which she returned to her aunt, delivered up the -jug, related that an old woman in a red docker (i. e. petticoat) had -made her a great lady, and then departed in triumph to her sugar estate. -Stung by envy, the aunt lost no time in sending her own daughter to -search for the same good fortune which had befallen her cousin. She -found the cotton-tree and the headless old woman, and had the -same question addressed to her; but instead of returning the same -answer--‘What me see,’ said she; ‘me see one old woman without him -head!’ Now this reply was doubly offensive; it was rude, because -it reminded the old lady of what might certainly be considered as a -personal defect; and it was dangerous, as, if such a circumstance were -to come to the ears of the buckras, it might bring her into trouble, -women being seldom known to walk and talk without their heads, indeed, -if ever, except by the assistance of Obeah. ‘Bad child!’ cried the old -woman; ‘bad child! and bad will come to you!’ Matters were no better -managed near the cocoa-tree; and even when she reached the mahogany, -although she saw that the old woman had not only got her head on, but -had a red docker besides, she could not prevail on herself to say more -than a short ‘How day?’ without calling her ‘grannie.’ [Among negroes -it is almost tantamount to an affront to address by the name, without -affixing some term of relationship, such as ‘grannie,’ or ‘uncle,’ or -‘cousin.’] My Cornwall boy, George, told me one day, that ‘Uncle Sully -wanted to speak to massa.’ ‘Why, is Sully your uncle, George?’ ‘No, -massa; me only call him so for honour.’ However, she received the -permission to eat rice at the cottage, coupled with the injunction of -giving a share to the black puss; an injunction, however, which she -totally disregarded, although she scrupled not to assure her hostess -that she had suffered puss to eat till she could eat no more. The old -lady in the red petticoat seemed to swallow the lie very glibly, and -despatched the girl to the fowl-house for three eggs, as she had before -done her cousin; but having been cautioned against taking the talking -eggs, she conceived that these must needs be the most valuable; and, -therefore, made a point of selecting those three which seemed to be the -greatest gossips of the whole poultry yard. Then, lest their chattering -should betray her disobedience, she thought it best not to return into -the hut, and, accordingly, set forward on her return home; but she had -not yet reached the mahogany tree, when curiosity induced her to break -one of the eggs. To her infinite disappointment it proved to be empty; -and she soon found cause to wish that the second had been empty too; -for, on her dashing it against the ground, out came an enormous yellow -snake, which flew at her with dreadful hissings. Away ran the girl; a -fallen bamboo lay in her path; she stumbled over it, and fell. In -her fall the third egg was broken; and the old woman without the head -immediately popping out of it, told her, that if she had treated her as -civilly, and had adhered as closely to the truth as her cousin had done, -she would have obtained the same good fortune; but that as she had shown -her nothing but rudeness, and told her nothing but lies, she must be -contented to carry nothing home but the empty egg-shells. The old woman -then jumped upon the yellow snake, galloped away with incredible speed, -and never showed her red docker in that part of the island any more.” - - -APRIL 8. - -At breakfast the captain was explaining to me the dangerous consequences -of breaking the wheel-rope: two hours afterwards the wheel-rope broke, -and round swung the vessel. However, as the accident fortunately took -place in the day time, and when the sea was perfectly calm, it was -speedily remedied: but this was “talking of the devil and his imps” with -a vengeance. - - -APRIL 10. - -During the early part of my outward-bound voyage I was extremely -afflicted with sea-sickness; and between eight o’clock on a Monday -morning, and twelve on the following Thursday, I actually brought up -almost a thousand lines, with rhymes at the end of them. Having nothing -better to do at present, I may as well copy them into this book. -Composed with such speed, and under such circumstances, I take it for -granted that the verses cannot be very good; but let them be ever so -bad, I defy any one to be more sick while reading them than the author -himself was while writing them. This strange story was found by me in -an old Italian book, called “II Palagio degli Incanti,” in which it was -related as a fact, and stated to be taken from the “Annals of Portugal,” - an historical work. I will not vouch for the truth of it myself; and, at -all events, I earnestly request that no person who may read these verses -will ask me “who the hero really was?” If he does, I shall only return -the same answer which the lady gave her husband when, being on the point -of shipwreck, he requested her to tell him whether she had really ever -wronged his bed? “My dear,” said she, “sink or swim, that secret shall -go to the grave with me.” - - - -THE ISLE OF DEVILS. - - -A METRICAL TALE. - - - “Should I report this now, would they believe me? - - If I should say, I saw such islanders, - - Who, though they were of monstrous shape, yet, note, - - Their manners were more gentle-kind, than of - - Our human generation you shall find - - Many; nay, almost any!”-- - - _Tempest_, Act 3. - - -I. - - Speed, Halcyon, speed, and here construct thy nest: - - Brood on these waves, and charm the winds to rest! - - No wave should dare to rage, no wind to roar, - - Till lands yon blooming maid on Lisbon’s shore. - - That maid, as Venus fair and chaste is she, - - When first to dazzled sky and glorying sea - - The bursting conch Love’s new-born queen exposed, - - The fairest pearl that ever shell inclosed. - - While love’s fantastic hand had joyed to braid - - Her locks with weeds and shells like some sea-maid, - - High seated at the stern was Irza seen, - - And seemed to rule the tide, as ocean’s queen. - - Smooth sailed the bark; the sun shone clear and bright - - The glittering billows danced along in light; - - While Irza, free from fear, from sorrow free, - - Bright as the sun, and buoyant as the sea, - - Bade o’er the lute her flying fingers move, - - And sang a Spanish lay of Moorish love. - - -ZAYDE AND ZAYDA. - - - (From Las Guerras Civiles de Granada.’) - - - Lo! beneath yon haughty towers, - - Where the young and gallant Zayde - - Fondly chides the lingering hours, - - Till they bring his lovely maid. - - Evening shades are gathering round him; - - Doubting fear his heart alarms; - - But nor doubt nor fear can wound him, - - If he views his lady’s charms. - - Hark! the window softly telling, - - Zayda comes to bless his sight; - - Bright as sun-beams clouds dispelling, - - Mild as Cynthia’s trembling light. - - “Dearest, say, to what I’m fated!” - - Cried the Moor, as near he drew: - - “Is the tale my page related, - - Loveliest lady, is it true? - - “To an ancient lord thy beauty - - Does thy tyrant father doom? - - Must my love, the slave of duty, - - Waste in age’s arms her bloom? - - “If my lot be still to languish, - - Thine, another’s bride to be, - - Let thy lips pronounce my anguish; - - ‘Twill be bliss to die by thee!” - - Rising sighs her grief discover; - - Fast her tears, while speaking, pour-- - - “Zayde, my Zayde, our loves are over! - - Zayde, my Zayde, we meet no more! - - “Allah knows, I cherished dearly, - - Fondest hopes of being thine! - - Allah knows, I grieve sincerely, - - When I those fond hopes resign! - - “May some lady, happier, fairer, - - Blest with every charm and grace, - - Whose kind friends would grieve to tear her - - From all comfort, fill my place: - - “May all pleasures greet your bridal; - - May she give you heart for heart! - - Never be she from her idol - - Forced, as I am now, to part!” - - “Rumour did not then deceive me!” - - Wild the Moor in anguish cries: - - “Then ’tis true! for wealth you leave me! - - Wealth has charms for Zayda’s eyes! - - “Blind to beauty, cold to pleasure, - - Ozmyn shall my hopes destroy! - - Yes; though worthless such a treasure, - - He shall Zayda’s charms enjoy! - - “Fare thee well! so soon to sever - - Little thought I, when you said, - - “Thine it is, and thine for ever - - ‘Shall be Zayda’s heart, my Zayde!’” - - -II. - - Scarce moved the zephyr’s wings, while breathed the song, - - And waves in silence bore the bark along. - - ’Twas Irza sang! Rosalvo at her side - - Gazed on his cherub-love, his destined bride, - - Felt at each look his soul in softness melt, - - Nor wished to feel more bliss than then he felt. - - Gainst the high mast, intent on book and beads, - - A reverend abbot leans, and prays, and reads: - - Yet oft with secret glance the pair surveys, - - Marks how she looks, and listens what he says. - - An idle task! The terms which speak their love - - Had served for prayer, and passed unblamed above. - - He finds each tender phrase so free from harm, - - So pure each thought, each look so chaste though warm, - - Still to his book and beads he turns again, - - Pleased to have found his guardian care so vain; - - While oft a blush of shame his pale cheek wears, - - To find his thoughts so much less pure than theirs. - - Oh! they _were_ pure! pure as the moon, whose ray - - Loves on the shrines of virgin-saints to play; - - Pure as the falling snow, ere yet its shower - - Bends with its weight its own pale fragile flower. - - Not fourteen years were Irza’s; nay, tis true, - - Most maids at twelve know more than Irza knew: - - And scarce two more had spread with silken down - - Her youthful cousin’s cheek of glowing brown. - - His tutor sage (in fact, not show, a saint) - - Had kept his heart and mind secure from taint. - - In liberal arts, in healthful manly sports, - - In studies fit for councils, camps, and courts, - - His moments found their full and best employ, - - Nor left one leisure hour for guilty joy. - - Since her blue dove-like eyes six springs had seen, - - Immured in cloistered shades had Irza been, - - From duties done her sole delight deriven, - - And her sole care to please the queen of heaven. - - None e’er approached her, save the pure and good: - - Her promised spouse; that monk who near them stood; - - Her viceroy uncle, and some guardian nun - - Were all she e’er had seen by moon or sun. - - No amorous forms, by wanton art designed, - - Had e’er inflamed her blood, or stained her mind; - - No hint in books, no coarse or doubtful phrase - - E’er bade her curious thought explore the maze - - No glowing dream by memory’s pencil drawn - - Had e’er profaned her sleep, and made her blush at dawn. - - With flowers she decked the virgin mother’s shrine, - - Nor guessed a wonder made that name divine. - - The very love, which lent her looks such fire, - - Ne’er raised one blameful thought, nor loose desire; - - Like streams of gold, which in alembic roll, - - The flames she suffered but refined her soul; - - Made it more free from stain, more light from dross, - - With brighter lustre, and with softer gloss. - - That, which she bore her bridegroom, well might claim - - A brother’s love, and bear a sister’s name: - - And e’en where now her lips in playful bliss - - Sealed on Rosalvo’s eyes a balmy kiss, - - Love’s highest, dearest grace she meant to show, - - Nor thought he more could ask, nor she bestow. - - -III - - From Goa’s precious sands to Lisbon’s shore. - - The viceroy’s countless wealth that vessel bore: - - In heaps there jewels lay of various dyes, - - Ingots of gold, and pearls of wondrous size; - - And there (two gems worth all that Cortez won) - - He placed his angel niece and only son. - - Sebastian sought the Moors! With loyal zeal - - Rosalvo cased his youthful limbs in steel; - - To die or conquer by his sovereign’s side - - He came; and with him came his destined bride. - - E’en now in Lisbon’s court for Irza’s hair - - Virgins the myrtle’s nuptial crown prepare, - - And Hymen waves his torch from Cintra’s towers, - - Hails the dull bark, and chides the slow-winged hours. - - Seldom in this bad world two hearts we see - - So blest, and meriting so blest to be; - - Then oh! ye winds, gently your pinions move, - - And speed in safety home the bark of love. - - Brood, Halcyon, brood: thy sea-spell chaunt again, - - And keep the mirror of the enchanted main, - - Where his white wing the exulting tropic dips, - - Calm as their hearts, and smiling as their lips. - - The charm prevails! Hushed are the waves and still; - - The expanded sails light favouring zephyrs fill. - - Wafting with motion scarce perceived; and now - - In rapture Irza from the vessel’s prow - - Gazed on an isle with verdure gay and bright, - - Which seemed (so green it shone in solar light) - - An emerald set in silver. Long her eyes - - Dwelt on its rocks; and “Oh! dear friend,” she cries, - - And clasps Rosalvo’s hand,--“admire with me - - Yon isle, which rising crowns the silent sea! - - How bold those mossy cliffs, which guard the strand, - - Like spires, and domes, and towers in fairy-land! - - How green the plains! how balsam-fraught the breeze! - - How bend with golden fruit the loaded trees; - - While, fluttering midst their boughs in joyful notes, - - Myriads of birds attune their warbling throats! - - Blooms all the ground with flowers! and mark, oh! mark - - That giant palm, whose foliage broad and dark - - Plays on the sun-clad rock!--Beneath, a cave - - Spreads wide its sparry mouth: while loosely wave - - A thousand creepers, dyed with thousand stains, - - Whose wreaths enrich the trees, and cloathe the plains. - - Dear friend, how blest, if passed my life could be - - In that fair isle, with God alone and thee, - - Far from the world, from man and fiend secure, - - No guilt to harm us, and no vice to lure! - - Bright round the virgin’s shrine would blush and bloom - - That world of flowers, which pour such rich perfume; - - And sweet yon caves repeat with mellowing swell - - Eve’s closing hymn, when chimed the vesper-bell.” - - The pilot heard--“Oh! spring of life,” he cried, - - “How bright and beauteous seems the world untried! - - I too, like you, in youth’s romantic bowers - - Dreamt not of wasps in fruit, nor thorns in flowers; - - And when on banks of sand the sunbeams shone, - - I deemed each sparkling flint a precious stone. - - Ah! noble lady, learn, that isle so fair, - - The fields all roses, and all balm the air, - - That isle is one, where every leaf’s a spell, - - Where no good thing e’er dwelt, nor e’er shall dwell. - - No fisher, forced from home by adverse breeze, - - Would slake his thirst from yon infernal trees: - - No shipwrecked sailor from the following waves - - Would seek a shelter in those haunted caves. - - There flock the damned! there Satan reigns, and revels! - - And thence yon isle is called (( The Isle of Devils!” - - Nor think, on rumour’s faith this tale is given: - - Once, hot in youthful blood, when hell nor heaven - - Much claimed my thoughts, (the truth with shame I tell; - - Holy St. Francis, guard thy votary well! ) - - In quest of water near that isle I drew: - - When lo! such monstrous forms appalled my view, - - Such shrieks I heard, sounds all so strange and dread, - - That from the strand with shuddering haste I fled, - - Plyed as for life my oars, nor backward bent my head. - - And though since then hath flown full many a year, - - Still sinks my heart, still shake my limbs with fear, - - Soon as yon awful island meets mine eye! - - Cross we our breasts! say, ‘Ave!’ and pass by!” - - -IV. - - The isle is past. And still in tranquil pride - - Bears the rich bark its treasures o’er the tide. - - And now the sun, ere yet his lamp he shrouds, - - Stains the pure western sky with crimson clouds: - - Now from the sea’s last verge he sheds his rays, - - And sinks triumphant in a golden blaze. - - Still o’er the heavens reflected splendours flow, - - Which make the world of waters gleam and glow: - - Wide and more wide each billow shines more bright, - - Till all the empurpled ocean floats in light. - - Soon as fair Irza marked the evening’s close, - - Grave from her seat the young enthusiast rose, - - Told o’er her beads, and when the string was said, - - “Ave Maria!” sang the enraptured maid; - - Her look so humble, so devout her air, - - Each worldly wish appeared so lost in prayer, - - All felt, no thought could to her mind be near, - - That man her form could see, her voice could hear: - - Hushed all the ship!--Each sailor checked his glee, - - Clasped his hard hands, and bent his trembling knee; - - And each (as rose that soft mysterious strain, - - Best help in trouble, and sweet balm in pain) - - Gazed on the maid with mingled awe and fear, - - Damp on his cheek perceived the unwonted tear, - - Then raised to Heaven his eyes in earnest prayer, - - And half believed himself already there. - - Low too Rosalvo knelt, nor knew, if now - - For Mary’s grace, or Irza’s, rose his vow. - - Scarce e’en the monk forbore to kneel; his child - - Fondly he viewed, and sweetly, gravely smiled, - - And blessed that God, as swelled each melting note, - - Who gave such heavenly powers to human throat! - - Melodious strains, oh! speed your flight above - - On Neptune’s wings, and reach the ear of Love! - - Oh! spread thy starry robe, celestial queen, - - (For much thine aid she needs!) from ills to screen - - Thy virgin-votaress!--Silence holds the deep, - - And e’en the helmsman’s eyes are sealed by sleep: - - Yet mark yon gathering clouds!--the moon is fled!-- - - Mark too that deathlike stillness, deep and dread! - - And hark!--from yon black cloud an awful voice - - Pours the wild chaunt, and bids the winds rejoice! - - -SONG OF THE TEMPEST-FIEND. - - I marked her!--the pennants, how gaily they streamed!-- - - How well was she armed for resistance! - - The waves that sustained her, how brightly they beamed - - In the sun’s setting rays, and the sailors all seemed - - To forget the storm-spirit’s existence. - - But I marked her!--and now from the clouds I descend! - - My spells to the billows I mutter! - - I clap my black pinions! my wand I extend, - - In darkness the sky and the ocean to blend, - - And the winds mark the charms which I utter. - - Now more and more rapid in eddies I whirl, - - In my voice while the thunder-clap rumbles: - - And now the white mountainous waves, as they curl, - - I joy o’er the deck of the vessel to hurl, - - And laugh, as she tosses and tumbles. - - The crew is alarmed; but the tempest prevails, - - No care from my fury delivers! - - Ere there’s time for their furling the canvass, the sails - - From the top to the bottom I split with my nails, - - And they stream in the blast, rent in shivers! - - The sky and the ocean, fierce battle they wage; - - The elements all are in action! - - No sailor the storm longer hopes to assuage: - - What clamours, what hurry, what oaths, and what rage! - - Oh, brave! what despair, what distraction! - - Their heart-strings, they ache, while my ravage they view; - - Each knee ’gainst its fellow is knocking! - - My eyes, darting lightnings to dazzle the crew, - - Burn and blaze; and those lightnings so forked and so blue - - Make the darkness of midnight more shocking. - - The morn to that vessel no succour shall bring! - - Now high o’er the main-mast I hover; - - Now I plunge from the sky to the deck with a spring, - - And I shatter the mast with one flap of my wing; - - It cracks! and it breaks! and goes over! - - Hew away, gallant seamen! fatigue never dread; - - You shall all rest to-night from your labours! - - The ocean’s wide mantle shall o’er you be spread, - - The white bones of mariners pillow your head, - - And the whale and the shark be your neighbours. - - For I swoop from aloft, and I blaze, and I burn, - - While my spouts the salt billows are drinking: - - And I drive ’gainst the vessel, and beat down the stern, - - And pour in a flood, which shall never return, - - And all cry--66 She’s sinking! she’s sinking!”-- - - The barge?--well remembered!--’tis strong, and ’tis large, - - And will live in the billows’ commotion; - - But now all my spouts from the clouds I discharge, - - And down goes the vessel, and down goes the barge! - - Hurrah! I reign lord of the ocean! - - How their shrieks rose in chorus! Now all is at rest; - - The tempest no longer is brewing! - - My dreams by the harm newly done will be blest, - - So I’ll sleep for a while on a thunder-cloud’s breast, - - Then rouze to hurl round me fresh ruin. - - Hushed is the storm: the heavens no longer frown; - - And o’er that spot, where late the bark went down, - - All bright and smiling flows the treacherous wave, - - Like sunshine playing on a new-made grave. - - Full rose the watery moon: it showed a plank, - - To which, all deadly pale, with tresses dank, - - And robes of white, on which the sea had flung - - Loose wreaths of ocean-flowers, unconscious clung - - A fair frail form:--‘twas Irza!--to the shore - - Each following wave the virgin nearer bore; - - And now the mountain surge overwhelmed the land, - - Then flying left her on the wished-for strand. - - Soon hope and love of life her powers renew; - - Swift towards a cliff she speeds, which towers in view, - - Nor waits the wave’s return’; and now again - - Safe on the shore, and rescued from the main, - - Prostrate she falls, and thanks the Sire of life, - - Whose arm hath snatched her from the billowy strife. - - That duty done, she rose, and gazed around: - - Mossed are the rocks, and flowers bestrew the ground. - - Not distant far, a group of fragrant trees - - Bend with their golden fruit. The ocean-breeze - - Shakes a gigantic palm, which o’er a cave - - Its dark green foliage spreads, and wildly wave - - Their blooming wreaths, all starred with midnight dews, - - A thousand creeping plants of thousand hues. - - Then flashed the dreadful truth on Irza’s view! - - That cave--those trees--that giant palm she knew! - - Then from her lips for ever fled the smile: - - --“Mother of God!” she shrieked, “the Demon-Isle!”-- - - Long on a broken crag she knelt, and prayed, - - And wearied every saint for strength and aid; - - Then speechless, heedless, senseless lay; when, lo! - - Strange mutterings near her roused from torpid woe - - Her soul to fresh alarms. Her head she reared, - - And near her face an hideous face appeared; - - But straight ’twas gone!--In trembling haste she rose, - - And saw a ring of monstrous dwarfs inclose - - Her rugged couch. Not Teniers’ hand could paint - - Forms more grotesque to scare the tempted saint, - - Than here, as on they pressed in circling throng, - - With gnashing teeth seemed for her blood to long, - - And grinned, and glared, and gloated! Quicker grew - - Her breath! Death hemmed her round! As yet, ‘tis true, - - Far off they kept; but soon, more daring grown, - - More near they crept, oft sharpening on some stone - - Their long crookt claws; and still, as on they came, - - They screeched and chattered; and their eyes of flame, - - Twinkling and goggling, told, what pleasure grim - - ‘Twould give to rack and rend her limb from limb: - - --“Heaven take my soul!” she cried,--when, hark! a - - moan, - - So full, so sad, so strange--not shriek--not groan-- - - Something scarce earthly--breathed above her head-- - - ‘Twas heard, and instant every imp was fled. - - What was that sound? What pitying saint from high - - Had stooped to save her? Now to heaven her eye - - Grateful she raised. Almighty powers!--a form, - - Gigantic as the palm, black as the storm, - - All shagged with hair, wild, strange in shape and show, - - Towered on the loftiest cliff, and gazed below. - - On her he gazed, and gazed so fixed, so hard, - - Like knights of bronze some hero’s tomb who guard. - - Bright wreaths of scarlet plumes his temples crowned, - - And round his ankles, arms, and wrists were wound - - Unnumbered glassy strings of crystals bright, - - Corals, and shells, and berries red and white. - - On her he gazed, and floods of sable fires - - Rolled his huge eyes, and spoke his fierce desires, - - As on his club, a torn-up lime, he leaned.-- - - “Help, Heaven!” thought Irza, “‘tis the master-fiend!” - - Not long he paused: he now with one quick bound - - Sprang from the cliff, and lighted on the ground. - - Back fled the maid in terror; but her fear - - Was needless. Humbly, slowly crept he near, - - Then kissed the earth, his club before her laid, - - And of his neck her footstool would have made: - - But from his touch she shrank. He raised his head, - - And saw her limbs convulsed, her face all dread, - - And felt the cause his presence! Sad and slow - - He rose, resumed his club, and turn’d to go. - - Reproachful was his look, but still ’twas kind; - - He climb’d the rock, but oft he gazed behind; - - He reach’d the cave; one look below he threw; - - Plaintive again he moan’d, and with slow steps withdrew. - - She is alone; she breathes again!--Fly, fly!-- - - Ah! wretched girl, too late! with frenzied eye, - - (Scarce gone the master-fiend) his imps she sees, - - Pour from the rocks, and drop from all the trees - - With yell, and squeak, and many a horrid sound, - - And form a living fence to hedge her round: - - --“Now then,” she cried, 4 c all’s over!--oh! farewell, - - Farewell, Rosalvo!” On her knee she fell, - - And told her beads with trembling hands. Yet still - - On came the throng; and soon, with wanton skill - - (Lured by its coral glow and cross of gold), - - One snatch’d her chaplet, nor forsook his hold, - - Though hard she struggled: while more bold, more fierce - - Another seized her arm, and dared to pierce - - With his sharp teeth its snow. The pure blood stream’d - - Fast from the wound, and loud the virgin scream’d; - - And strait again was heard that sad strange moan, - - And instant all the dwarfs again were flown. - - Scarce conscious that she lived, scarce knowing why, - - Half grieved, half grateful, Irza raised her eye: - - Still on the rock (not dared he down to spring) - - Dark and majestic stood the demon-king; - - Then lowly knelt, and raised his arm to wave - - An orange bough, and court her to his cave. - - Lost are her friends; no help, no hope is nigh; - - What can she do, and whither can she fly? - - To him already twice her life she owes, - - And but his presence now restrains her foes. - - On wings of flame the sun had left the main; - - And peeping from the trees, the imps too plain - - Shot darts of rage from their green orbs of sight: - - She heard their gibberings, and she mark’d their spite; - - And, while they eyed her form, their care she saw - - To grind their teeth, and whet each cruel claw. - - Demons alike, the monarch-demon’s breast - - Appear’d least fierce; of ills she chose the best, - - Sought, where profaned her coral rosary lay, - - Then slowly mounted where he show’d the way. - - Cautious he led her tow’rds his lone abode, - - And clear’d each stone that might impede her road. - - With pain she trod: she reach’d the cave; but there - - No more their weight her wearied limbs could bear. - - Exhausted, fainting, anguish, terror, thirst, - - Fatigue o’erpower’d her frame: her heart must burst, - - Her eyes grow dim! Sunk on the rock she lies, - - And sinking, prays she never more may rise. - - Long in this deathlike swoon she lay: at length - - Exhausted nature show’d forth all its strength, - - And call’d her back to life. Her opening eyes - - Beheld a grotto vast in depth and size, - - Whose high straight sides forbade all hopes of flight: - - The fractured roof gave ample space for light, - - Through which in gorgeous guise the day-star shone - - On many a lucid shell and brilliant stone. - - Through pendent spars and crystals as it falls, - - Each beam with rainbow hues adorns the walls, - - Gilds all the roof, emblazes all the ground, - - And scatters light, and warmth, and splendour round. - - Gently on pillowing furs reposed her head; - - With many a verdant rush her couch was spread; - - A gourd with blushing fruits was near her placed, - - Whose scent and colour woo’d alike her taste; - - And round her strewn there bloom’d unnumber’d flowers - - Charming her sense with aromatic powers. - - One only object chill’d her blood with ear: - - Far off removed (but still, alas! too near), - - Scarce breathing, lest a breath her sleep might break, - - There stood the fiend, and watch’d to see her wake. - - In sooth, if credit outward show might crave, - - Than Irza, ne’er had nymph an humbler slave. - - He watched her every glance; her frown he fear’d; - - And if his pains to meet her wish appear’d, - - All pains seem’d far o’er-paid, all cares appeased, - - And so she found but pleasure, he was pleased. - - One power he claim’d, but claim’d that power alone: - - Still, when he left her side, a mass of stone - - Barr’d up the grotto, nor allow’d her feet - - To pass the limits of her bright retreat. - - But when in quest of food not forced to stray, - - In Irza’s sight he wore the livelong day, - - And show’d her living springs and noontide shades, - - Spice-breathing groves, and flower-enamell’d glades. - - For her he still selects the sweetest roots, - - The coolest waters, and the loveliest fruits; - - To deck her charms the softest furs he brings, - - And plucks their plumage from flamingo wings; - - Bids blooming shrubs, to shade her, bend in bowers, - - And strews her couch with fragrant herbs and flowers - - While many an ivy-twisted grate restrains - - The splendid tenants of the etherial plains. - - Then, when she sought her lonesome grot at eve, - - And waved her hand, and warn’d him take his leave, - - Her will was his: he breathed his plaintive moan, - - Gazed one last look, then gently roll’d the stone. - - Perhaps, such constant care and worship paid, - - More fit for angel than for mortal maid, - - At length had won her, with more grateful mind - - To view his gifts, and pay respect so kind; - - But, as her giant-gaoler she esteem’d - - Some prince of subterraneous fire, she deem’d - - His favours snares, his presents only given - - To shake her faith, and steal her soul from heaven. - - Still then her loathing heart remain’d the same, - - Joy’d when he went, and shudder’d when he came; - - And when to share his fruits by hunger press’d, - - Ever she bless’d them first, and cross’d her breast. - - Days creep--months roll--no change! no hope! and oh! - - Rosalvo lost, what hope can life bestow? - - Death, only death, she feels, can end her woes; - - Nor doubts death soon will bring that wish’d-for close; - - For now her frame, her mind, confess disease; - - Painful and faint she moves; her tottering knees - - Scarce bear her weight; and oft, by humour moved, - - Her sickening soul now loathes what late it loved. - - It comes! the moment comes! Her frame is rent - - By sharper pangs; her nerves, too strongly bent, - - Seem on the point to break; her forehead burns; - - Her curdling blood is fire, is ice by turns; - - Her heart-strings crack!--“This hour is sure her last!’ - - Fainting she sinks, and hopes “that hour is pass’d!” - - Wake, Irza, wake to grief most strange and deep! - - Still must thou live, and only live to weep! - - Oh, lift thine aching head, thy languid eyes, - - And mark what hideous stranger near thee lies. - - “Guard me, all blessed saints!”--A monster child - - Press’d her green couch; and, as it grimly smiled, - - Its shaggy limbs, and eyes of sable fire, - - Betray’d the crime, and claim’d its hellish sire! - - “Lost! lost! My soul is lost!” the affrighted maid, - - (Ah, now a maid no more!) distracted, said, - - And wrung her hands. Those words she scarce could say; - - Yet would have pray’d, but fear’d’t was sin to pray! - - That only veil which ne’er admits a stain, - - The veil of ignorance, was rent in twain: - - In spite of virtue, cloisters, horror, youth, - - She knows, and feels, and shudders at the truth. - - That night accursed!--In death-like swoon she slept-- - - Then near her couch if that dark demon crept-- - - Oh! where was then her guardian angel’s aid? - - And would not heavenly Mary save her maid? - - Deprived of sense--betray’d by place and time-- - - Then was she doom’d to share the unconscious crime? - - Debased, deflower’d, and stamp’d a wretch for life, - - A monster’s mother, and a demon’s wife? - - Oh! at that thought her soul what passions tear! - - How then she beats her breast, how rends her hair, - - And bids, with golden ringlets scatter’d round, - - Stream all the air, and glitter all the ground! - - Sighs, sobs, and shrieks the place of words supply; - - And still she mourns to live, and prays to die, - - Till heart denies to groan, and eyes to flow; - - Then, on her couch of rushes sinking low, - - Languid and lost she lies, in silent, senseless woe. - - What lifts her burning head? why opes her eye? - - What makes her blood run back? A faint shrill cry! - - Too well, alas! that cry was understood: - - The monster pined for want, and claim’d its food. - - Then in her heart what rival passions strove! - - How shrinks disgust, how yearns maternal love! - - Now to its life her feelings she prefers; - - Now Nature wakes, and makes her own--“’Tis hers!” - - Loathing its sight, she melts to hear its cries, - - And, while she yields the breast, averts her eyes. - - Not so the demon-sire: the child he raised, - - He kiss’d it--danced it--nursed it--knelt, and gazed, - - Till joyful tears gush’d forth, and dimm’d his sight: - - Scarce Irza’s self was view’d with more delight. - - He held it tow’rds her--horror seem’d to thrill - - Her frame. He sigh’d, and clasp’d it closer still. - - Once, and but once, his features wrath express’d: - - He saw her shudder, as it drain’d her breast; - - And, while reproach half mingled with his moan, - - Snatch’d it from her’s, and press’d it to his own. - - Three months had pass’d; still lived the monster-brat: - - Its sire had sought the wood; alone she sat: - - She sheds no tears--no tears are left to shed; - - Unmoisten’d burn her eyes--her heart seems dead-- - - Her form seems marble. Lo! from far the sound - - Of music steals, and fills the caves around. - - She starts!--scarce breathing--trembling;--“Oh! for - - wings!”-- - - But hark! for nearer now the minstrel sings. . - - - -SONG. - - -1. - - When summer smiled on Goa’s bowers - - They seem’d so fair; - - All light the skies, all bloom the flowers, - - All balm the air! - - The mock-bird swell’d his amorous lay, - - Soft, sweet, and clear; . - - And all was beauteous, all was gay, - - For she was near. - - -2. - - But now the skies in vain are bright - - With Summer’s glow; - - The pea-dove’s call to Love’s delight - - Augments my woé; - - And blushing roses vainly bloom; - - Their charms are fled, - - And all is sadness, all is gloom, - - For she is dead! - - -3. - - Now o’er thy head, my virgin love, - - Rolls Ocean’s wave; - - But fond regret, in myrtle grove, - - Hath dug thy grave. - - Sweet flowers, around her vacant urn - - Your wreaths I’ll twine, - - And pray such flowers, ere Spring’s return, - - May garland mine! - - “He! he!”--That love-lorn dirge--that heavenly - - tongue-- - - That air, she taught him‘t was Rosalvo sung! - - Rosalvo, whom the waves, which wreck’d their bark, - - Had borne, like her, for purpose sad and dark, - - To that strange isle; though far remote the beach - - From Irza’s grot, which Fate ordain’d him reach; - - But now at length his curious search explores - - These rude and slippery crags and distant shores; - - And while he treads his dangerous path, the strains - - Which Irza taught him soothe her lover’s pains. - - She hears his steps, and hears them soon more near; - - And loud she cries--“Rosalvo! Hear! oh, hear! - - ‘Tis Irza calls!” and now more quick, more nigh, - - Down the steep rock she hears those footsteps fly. - - Again she calls. He comes! He searches round; - - He seeks the gate, and soon the gate is found. - - Alas! ‘t is found in vain! the marble guard - - Seem’d rooted as the rock, whose mouth it barr’d. - - Yet still, with labouring nerves, to move the stone - - He struggles. Now he stops; and, hark! A groan! - - But one; then all was hush’d! A sickening chill - - Seized Irza’s heart, and seem’d her veins to thrill. - - Fain had she call’d her youthful bridegroom’s name; - - Her tongue Fear’s numbing fingers seem’d to lame. - - Footsteps!--more near they drew:--slow rolled the - - stone-- - - The infernal gaoler came, but came alone. - - With anxious glance his eye explored the cell; - - But when it fix’d on her’s, abash’d it fell. - - He knelt, and seem’d to fear her frown. He bore - - His club.’T was splash’d with brains! ‘twas wet with - - gore! - - She fear’d--she guess’d--she rush’d--she ran--she - - flew,-- - - Nor dared the fiend her frantic course pursue. - - “Rosalvo! speak! Rosalvo!” Shrill, yet sweet, - - She wakes the echoes. What obstructs her feet? - - ‘T is he, the young, the good, the kind, the fair! - - As some frail lily, which the passing share * - - Or wanton boy hath wounded, droops its head, - - Its whiteness wither’d, and its fragrance fled, - - Low lay the youth, and from his temple’s wound - - With precious streams bedew’d the ensanguin’d ground. - - Then reason fled its seat! She shrieks! she raves! - - And fills with hideous yells the ocean caves; - - Rends her bright locks, and laughs to see them fly, - - And bids them seek Rosalvo in the sky. - - To dig his grave she fiercely ploughs the ground, - - Loud shrieks his name, nor feels the flints that wound - - Her bosom’s globes, and stain their snow with gore, - - As wild she dashes down, and beats in rage the floor. - - Now fail her strength, her spirits; mute she sits, - - Silent and sad; then laughs and sings by fits. - - A statue now she seems, or one just dead, - - Her looks all gloom, her eyes two balls of lead: - - Then simply smiles, and chaunts, with idiot glee, - - “Ave Maria! Benedicite!” - - Till, Nature’s powers revived by rest, again - - The fury passions riot in her brain, - - And all is rage, revenge, and helpless, hopeless pain. - - Days, weeks, months pass. Time came with slow relief; - - But still at length it came. No more her grief - - Disturbs her brain: she knows “that groan was his!” - - And fully feels herself the wretch she is. - - She rises: towards the grotto’s mouth she goes, - - Nor dares the fiend her wandering steps oppose. - - She seeks the spot on which Rosalvo fell, - - On which he died! She knows that spot too well! - - But, lo! no corse was there! All smooth and green - - A velvet turf o’erstrewn with flowers was seen, - - And fenced with roses. “Oh! whose pious care - - Hath deck’d this grave? Hear, gracious Heaven, his - - prayer, - - When most he needs!” While thus in doubt she stands, - - She marks the fiend’s approach. His ebon hands - - Sustain’d a gourd of flowers of various hue; - - He pour’d them, kiss’d the turf, and straight withdrew - - Hither each morn his blooming gifts he bore, - - Smooth’d the green sod, and strew’d it o’er and o’er. - - Hither, each morn, came Irza; on those flowers - - She wept, she pray’d, she sang away her hours. - - So mourns the nightingale on poplar spray *, - - Her callow brood by shepherds borne away, - - Weeps all the night, and from her green retreat - - Fills the wide groves with warblings sad as sweet. - - And still fresh woes succeed. She feels again - - Mysterious pangs, nor doubts her cause of pain. - - Too sure, while lost in maniac state she lay, - - Her sense, her wits, her feeling all away, - - The fiend once more had seized the unguarded hour - - To force her weakness, and abuse his ower. - - “Qualis populeâ,” &c.--Virgil. - - Again Lucina came. That new-born cry, - - Shuddering, again she heard; her fearful eye - - Wander’d around awhile, nor dared to stay. - - “There, there he lies! my child!” With fresh essay - - Once more she turn’d. But when at length her sight - - Dwelt on its face, her wonder--her delight-- - - Can ne’er by tongue be told, by fancy guess’d! - - Frantic she caught, she kiss’d, and lull’d him on her breast. - - Oh! who can paint how Irza loved that child! - - Grieved when he moan’d, and smiled whene’er he smiled! - - His dimpled arm soft on the rushes lay; - - Through his fine skin the blood was seen to play; - - That skin than down of swans more smooth and white; - - Nor e’er shone summer sky so blue and bright, - - As shone the eyes of that same cherub elf; - - In small the model of her beauteous self. - - The scant gold locks which gilt his ivory brow, - - Were sun-beams gleaming on a globe of snow; - - And on his coral lips the red which stood, - - Shamed the first rose, whose milk was Paphia’s blood. - - By fairy-thefts since nurses were beguiled, - - Never stole fairy yet a lovelier child! - - In Nature’s costlier charms no babe array’d, - - At length a mother’s fears and throes repaid: - - Not when Lucina first in myrtle grove, - - To Beauty’s kiss presented new-born Love; - - And while, with wond’ring eyes, the immortal boy - - Imbibed new light, and pour’d ecstatic joy: - - He kiss’d and drain’d by turns her fragrant breast, - - Till amorous ring-doves coo’d the god to rest. - - Mothers may love as much, but never more, - - Nor e’er did mother love so well before, - - As Irza loved that child! Her sable lord - - Mark’d well that love; and now, to health restored, - - He felt her child to home would chain her feet, - - Nor roll’d the stone to close her lone retreat. - - Still, when he went, he with him bore away - - That fav’rite babe, nor fear’d she far would stray. - - Arm’d with his club, she now might safely rove - - Through verdant vale, or weep in shadowy grove; - - For soon the dwarfs were used to bear her sight, - - Knew that dread club, nor dared indulge their spite. - - Still from afar off looks of rage they cast, - - And shrilly squeal’d and clamour’d as she pass’d; - - But by their flight when near she came, ‘twas seen, - - They own’d allegiance, and confess’d their queen. - - One morn her savage lord, in quest of food, - - Forsook tho cave, and sought th’ adjacent wood; - - And as her darling boy he with him bore, - - Irza, unwatch’d, might pace the sounding shore. - - Listless and slow she moved, and climb’d with pain - - A tow’ring cliff, which beetled o’er the main. - - Now three full years had flown, since Irza’s eye - - Had dwelt on human form, and since reply - - From human tongue had blest her ear.’Tis true, - - Throned on a rock, which spread before her view - - The sea’s wide-stretching plains, she once descried - - A gallant vessel plough the neighbouring tide. - - By cries to draw it near she long essay’d, - - And oft a palm-bough waved in sign for aid: - - But all her cries and all her signs were vain; - - On sail’d the bark, nor e’er return’d again! - - On that same rock she sat, and eyed the wave, - - And wish’d she there had found her wat’ry grave! - - Fain had she sought one then, plunged from the steep. - - And buried all her sufferings in the deep; - - But faith alike and reason bade her shun - - That wish, nor break a thread which God had spun. - - Hark!--was it fancy?--hark again!--the shores - - Echo the sound of fast approaching oars. - - Oh! how she gazed!--a barge (by friars ’twas mann’d) - - Cut the smooth waves, and sought the rocky strand. - - Soon (while his wither’d hands a crosier hold, - - All rich with gems, and rough with sculptured gold), - - Landing alone, a reverend monk appear’d:-- - - His jewell’d cross--his flowing silver beard-- - - “‘Tis he!--‘tis he!”--swift down the steep she flies, - - Falls at the stranger’s feet, and frantic cries, - - Down her pale cheek while tears imploring roll, - - “Help, father abbot! save me! save my soul!” - - ‘Twas he indeed! that bark which ne’er return’d, - - Well on the cliff* her fair wild form discern’d, - - But deem’d some island-fiend had spread a snare - - To lure them with a form so wild and fair. - - Yet oft in Lisbon would those seamen tell, - - How angled for their souls the prince of hell; - - And warmly paint, their leisure to beguile, - - The fallen angel of th’ enchanted isle. - - At length this wonder reach’d the abbot’s ear, - - And prompt affection made the wonder clear:-- - - “’Twas Irza! shipwreck’d Irza! none but she - - So heav’nly fair, so lonely lost could be!” - - Straight he prepares anew that sea to brave, - - Which once already seem’d to yawn his grave; - - Nor ask, how chanced it that he reach’d the shore: - - It was through a miracle and nothing more. - - Whether on monkish frock as safe rode he, - - As night-hags skim in sieves o’er Norway’s sea; - - Or like Arion plough’d the wat’ry plain, - - Horsed on some monster of the astonish’d main, - - Some shark, some whale, some kraken, some sea-cow-- - - St. Francis saved him, and it boots not how. - - And now again the saint his priest survey’d, - - From waves and winds imploring heavenly aid; - - Resolved for Irza’s sake to brave the worst - - Which fate could offer on that isle accurst. - - Far off his ship was anchor’d; on that strand - - Not India’s wealth could make a layman land! - - Therefore with none but monks he mann’d his barge, - - Which bore of beads and bells a sacred charge; - - Whole heaps of relics lent by Cintra’s nuns, - - And holy water (blest at Rome) by tons! - - His toils were all o’erpaid! he saw again - - His fav’rite child, and kindly soothed her pain; - - And while her tale he heard, oft dropp’d a tear, - - And sign’d his beard-swept breast in awe and fear: - - Then bade her speed the friendly bark to gain, - - And fly the infernal monarch’s green domain; - - Nor yield her tyrant time to cast a spell, - - And rouse to cross her flight the powers of hell. - - Then first from Irza’s cheek the glow of red, - - By hope of rescue raised, grew faint, and fled; - - Trembling she nam’d her cherub-boy, confess’d - - A mother’s fondness fill’d his mother’s breast; - - Described how fair he look’d, how sweet he smiled, - - And fear’d her flight might quite destroy her child. - - Then rose the abbot’s ire--ee Oh, guilty care!” - - Frowning, he cried, and shook his hoary hair: - - “Fair is the imp? and shall he therefore breathe - - To win new subjects for the realms beneath? - - The fiends most dangerous are those spirits bright, - - Who toil for hell, and show like sons of light; - - And still when Satan spreads his subtlest snares, - - The baits are azure eyes, the lines are golden hairs. - - Name thou the brat no more! To Cintra’s walls - - Fly, where thy footsteps mild repentance calls. - - I’ll hear no plaint! kneel not! I’m deaf to prayer! - - Swift, brethren, to the barge this maniac bear; - - Speed! speed!--no tears!--no struggling!--no delay - - Row, brethren, row, and waft us swift away!” - - The monks obeyed. Then, then in Irza’s soul - - What various passions raged, and mock’d control! - - Now how she mourn’d, now how she wept for joy, - - How loathed the sire, and how adored the boy! - - The barge is gain’d; they row. When, lo! from high - - Her ear again receives that well-known cry, - - That sad, strange moan! she starts, and lifts her eye. - - There, on a rock which fenced the strand, once more - - She saw her demon-husband stand: he bore - - Her beauteous babe; and, while he view’d the barge, - - Keen anguish seem’d each feature to enlarge, - - And shake each giant limb. With piteous air - - His arms he spread, his hands he clasp’d in prayer; - - Knelt, wept, and while his eye-balls seem’d to burn, - - Oft show’d the child, and woo’d her to return. - - His suit the monks disdain; the barge recedes; - - More humbly now he kneels, more earnest pleads. - - But when he found no tears their course delay, - - And still the boat pursued its watery way; - - Then, ‘gainst his grief and rage no longer proof, - - He gnash’d his teeth, he stamp’d his iron hoof, - - Whirl’d the boy wildly round and round his head, - - Hash’d it against the rocks, and howling fled. - - Loud shrieks the mother! changed to stone she stands, - - And silent lifts to heav’n her clay-cold hands: - - Then, sinking down, stretch’d on the deck she lies, - - Hid her pale face, and closed her aching eyes. - - But hark! why shout the monks?--C£ Again,” they said, - - “Again the demon comes!” with desperate dread - - Starts the poor wretch, and lifts her anguish’d head. - - Yes! there the infant-murderer stood once more, - - But now far different were the looks he wore. - - No bending knee, no suppliant glance was seen, - - Proud was his port, and stern and fierce his mien. - - His blood-stain’d eye-balls glared with vengeful ire; - - His spreading nostrils seem’d to snort out fire. - - Swiftly from crag to crag he following sprung, - - While round his neck his shaggy offspring clung; - - And now, like some dark tow’r, erect he stood, - - Where the last rock hung frowning o’er the flood:-- - - “Look! look!” he seem’d to say, with action wild, - - “Look, mother, look! this babe is still your child! - - With him as me all social bonds you break, - - Scorn’d and detested for his father’s sake: - - My love, my service only wrought disdain, - - And nature fed his heart from yours in vain! - - Then go, Ingrate, far o’er the ocean go, - - Consign your friend, your child to endless woe! - - Renounce us! hate us! pleased, your course pursue, - - And break their hearts who lived alone for you!” - - His eyes, which flash’d red fire--his arms spread wide, - - Her child raised high to heaven--too plain implied, - - Such were his thoughts, though nature speech denied. - - And now with eager glance the deep he view’d, - - And now the barge with savage howl pursued; - - Then to his lips his infant wildly press’d, - - And fondly, fiercely, clasp’d it to his breast: - - Three piteous moans, three hideous yells he gave, - - Plunged headlong from the rock, and made the sea his - - grave. - - Where, screen’d by orange groves and myrtle bowers, - - Saint-favour’d Cintra rears her gothic towers; - - A nun there dwells, most holy, sad, and fair, - - Her only business penance, fasts, and prayer; - - Her only joy with flowers the shrines to dress, - - Weep with the suff’ring, and relieve distress. - - A poor lay-sister she; yet golden rain - - Showers from her hand to glad each barren plain: - - In other eyes she lights up joy, but ne’er - - Those eyes of hers were seen a smile to wear: - - From other breasts she plucks the thorn of grief, - - But feels, her own admits of no relief. - - Where age and sickness count the hours by groans, - - Uncalled, she comes to hear and hush their moans. - - There, ever humble, watchful, patient, kind, - - No nauseous task, no servile care declined, - - O’er the sick couch, all day, all night she hangs, - - Till health or death relieves the sufferer’s pangs. - - No thanks she takes, no praise from man receives, - - Her duty done, the rest to God she leaves; - - But only when her care redeems a life, - - Parting she says--“Pray for a demon’s wife!” - - With blessings still, whene’er that nun they view, - - The young, the aged her sainted steps pursue, - - And cry, with bended knee and suppliant air, - - ee Sister of mercy, name us in thy prayer!” - - With beads the night, in gracious acts the day, - - So wore her youth, so wears her age away. - - Now cease, my lay! thy mournful task is o’er; - - Irza, farewell! I wake thy lute no more. - - “Was such her fate? and did her days thus creep - - So sad, so slow, till came the long last sleep? - - And did for this her hands with roses twine - - The Saviour’s altars and the Virgin’s shrine? - - Pure, beauteous, rich, did all these blessings tend, - - But from the world in prime of life to send - - This gifted maid, in prayer to waste her hours, - - And weep a fancied crime in cloister’d bowers?” - - Oh, blind to fate! perhaps that fancied crime - - Which bade her quit the world in youthful prime, - - Snatch’d her from paths, where beauty, wealth, and fame - - Had proved but snares to load her soul with shame, - - And spared her pangs from wilful guilt which flow, - - The only serious ills that man can know! - - Ah! what avails it, since they ne’er can last, - - If gay or sad our span of days be past? - - Pray, mortals, pray, in sickness or in pain, - - Not long nor blest to live, but pure from stain. - - A life of pleasure, and a life of woe, - - When both are past, the difference who can show? - - But all can tell, how wide apart in price - - A life of virtue, and a life of vice. - - Then still, sad Irza, tread your thorny way, - - Since life must end, and merits ne’er decay. - - Wounded past hope, still prize the pleasure pure, - - To heal those hearts which yet can hope a cure; - - Nor doubt, the soul which joys in noble deeds - - Shall reap a rich reward when most it needs. - - When comes that day to conscious guilt so dread, - - Angels unseen shall bathe your burning head: - - The prayers of orphans fan with balmy breath, - - And widow’s blessings drown the threats of death; - - Each sigh your pity hush’d shall swelling rise - - In loud hosannas when you mount the skies; - - And every tear on earth to sorrow given, - - Be precious pearls to wreathe your brows in heaven! - - -APRIL 17. - - - Piansi i riposi di quest’ umil vita, - - E sospirai la mia perduta pace!” - -I regret the loss of our dead calm and our crawling pace of a knot and -a half an hour; for during the last four days we have had nothing but -gales and squalls, mountainous waves, the vessel rolling and pitching -incessantly, and the sea perpetually pouring in at the windows and down -through the hatchway. Into the bargain, we are now sufficiently towards -the north to find the weather perishingly cold, and we have neither wood -nor coals enough on board to allow a fire for the cabin. - -But, among all our inconveniences, that which is the most intolerable -undoubtedly arises from the sick apothecary. It seems that his complaint -is the consequence of dram-drinking, which has affected his liver. Since -his coming on board, he has continued to indulge his taste; and growing -worse (as might be expected), he has now thought proper to put himself -in a state of salivation: the consequence is, that what with the mercury -and what with the man, aided by the concomitant effluvia of our cargo of -sugar, rum, and coffee, for a combination of villanous smells, Falstaff’s -buck-basket was nothing to the cabin of the Sir Godfrey Webster. I could -almost fancy myself Slawken-bergius’s Don Diego just returned from the -Promontory of Noses, and that I had exchanged my snub for a proboscis; -so much do all my other senses appear to be absorbed in that of -smelling, and so completely do I seem to myself to be nose all over. As -to the poor apothecary, his mercury annoys us without any signs as yet -of its benefiting himself. He grows worse daily, and I greatly doubt his -ever reaching England. - - -APRIL 19. (Sunday.) - -I have not been able to ascertain exactly the negro notions concerning -the _Duppy_; indeed, I believe that his character and qualities vary in -different parts of the country. At first, I thought that the term Duppy -meant neither more nor less than a ghost; but sometimes he is spoken of -as “the Duppy,” as if there were but one, and then he seems to answer -to the devil. Sometimes he is a kind of malicious spirit, who haunts -burying-grounds (like the Arabian gouls), and delights in playing tricks -to those who may pass that way. On other occasions, he seems to be a -supernatural attendant on the practitioners of Obeah, in the shape of -some animal, as familiar imps are supposed to belong to our English -witches; and this latter is the part assigned to him in the following -“Nancy-story:”-- - -“Sarah Winyan was scarcely ten years old, when her mother died, and -bequeathed to her considerable property. Her father was already dead; -and the guardianship of the child devolved upon his sister, who had -always resided in the same house, and who was her only surviving -relation. Her mother, indeed, had left two sons by a former husband, but -they lived at some distance in the wood, and seldom came to see their -mother; chiefly from a rooted aversion to this aunt; who, although -from interested motives she stooped to flatter her sister-in-law, -was haughty, ill-natured, and even suspected of Obeahism, from the -occasional visits of an enormous black dog, whom she called Tiger, and -whom she never failed to feed and caress with marked distinction. -In case of Sarah’s death, the aunt, in right of her brother, was the -heiress of his property. She was determined to remove this obstacle to -her wishes; and after treating her for some time with harshness and -even cruelty, she one night took occasion to quarrel with her for some -trifling fault, and fairly turned her out of doors. The poor girl seated -herself on a stone near the house, and endeavoured to beguile the time -by singing-- - - ‘Ho-day, poor me, O! - - Poor me, Sarah Winyan, O! - - They call me neger, neger! - - They call me Sarah Winyan, O!’ - -“But her song was soon interrupted by a loud rushing among the bushes; -and the growling which accompanied it announced the approach of the -dreaded Tiger. She endeavoured to secure herself against his attacks -by climbing a tree: but it seems that Tiger had not been suspected of -Obeahism without reason; for he immediately growled out an assurance -to the girl, that come down she must and should! Her aunt, he said, had -made her over to him by contract, and had turned her out of doors that -night for the express purpose of giving him an opportunity of carrying -her away. If she would descend from the tree, and follow him willingly -to his own den to wait upon him, he engaged to do her no harm; but if -she refused to do this, he threatened to gnaw down the tree without -loss of time, and tear her into a thousand pieces. His long sharp -teeth, which he gnashed occasionally during the above speech, appeared -perfectly adequate to the execution of his menaces, and Sarah judged it -most prudent to obey his commands. But as she followed Tiger into the -wood, she took care to resume her song of - - ‘Ho-day, poor me, O!’ - -in hopes that some one passing near them might hear her name, and come -to her rescue. Tiger, however, was aware of this, and positively forbad -her singing. However, she contrived every now and then to loiter behind; -and when she thought him out of hearing, her - - ‘Ho-day! poor me, O!’ - -began again; although she was compelled to sing in so low a voice, -through fear of her four-footed master, that she had but faint hopes of -its reaching any ear but her own. Such was, indeed, the event, and Tiger -conveyed her to his den without molestation. In the meanwhile, her two -half-brothers had heard of their mother’s death, and soon arrived at the -house to enquire what was become of Sarah. The aunt received them with -every appearance of welcome; told them that grief for the loss of her -only surviving parent had already carried her niece to the grave, which -she showed them in her garden; and acted her part so well, that the -youths departed perfectly satisfied of the decease of their sister. -But while passing through the wood on their return, they heard some one -singing, but in so low a tone that it was impossible to distinguish the -words. As this part of the wood was the most unfrequented, they were -surprised to find any one concealed there. Curiosity induced them to -draw nearer, and they soon could make out the - - ‘Ho-day! poor me, O! - - Poor me, Sarah Winyan, O!’ - -“There needed no more to induce them to hasten onwards; and upon -advancing deeper into the thicket, they found themselves at the mouth of -a large cavern in a rock. A fire was burning within it; and by its light -they perceived their sister seated on a heap of stones, and weeping, -while she chanted her melancholy ditty in a low voice, and supported on -her lap the head of the formidable Tiger. This was a precaution which he -always took when inclined to sleep, lest she should escape; and she had -taken advantage of his slumbers to resume her song in as low a tone as -her fears of waking him would allow. She saw her brothers at the mouth -of the cave: the youngest fortunately had a gun with him, and he made -signs that Sarah should disengage herself from Tiger if possible. It was -long before she could summon up courage enough to make the attempt; but -at length, with fear and trembling, and moving with the utmost caution, -she managed to slip a log of wood between her knees and the frightful -head, and at length drew herself away without waking him. She then crept -softly out of the cavern, while the youngest brother crept as softly -into it: the monster’s head still reposed upon the block of wood; in a -moment it was blown into a thousand pieces; and the brothers, afterwards -cutting the body into four parts, laid one in each quarter of the wood.” - -From that time only were dogs brought into subjection to men; and -the inhabitants of Jamaica would never have been able to subdue those -ferocious animals, if Tiger had not been killed and quartered by Sarah -Winyan’s brothers. As to the aunt, she received the punishment which -she merited, but I cannot remember what it was exactly. Probably, the -brothers killed and quartered _her_ as well as her four-footed ally; or, -perhaps, she was turned into a wild beast, and supplied the vacancy left -by Tiger, as was the case with the celebrated Zingha, queen of Angola; -who, although she embraced Christianity on her death-bed, and died -according to the most orthodox forms of the Romish religion, still had -conducted herself in such a manner while alive, that shortly after her -decease, the kingdom being ravaged by a hyena, her subjects could not -be persuaded but that the soul of this most Christian queen had -transmigrated into the body of the hyena. Yet this was surely doing the -hyena great injustice; for she, at least, had never been in the habit of -composing ointments by pounding little children in a mortar with her own -hands; an amusement which Zingha had introduced at the court of Angola. -It took surprisingly; shortly, no woman thought her toilette completed, -unless she had used some of this ointment. Pounding children became all -the rage; and ladies who aspired to be the leaders of fashion, pounded -their own. - - -APRIL 20. - - - EPIGRAM.--(From the French.) - - “Whose can that little monster be? - - Its parents really claim one’s pity!” - - “Madam, that child belongs to me.”-- - - “Well, I protest, she’s vastly pretty!” - - -APRIL 21. - -The weather gets no better, the apothecary gets no worse, and both are -as foul and as disagreeable as they can well be. As to the man, it is -wonderful that he is still alive, for he has swallowed nothing for the -last three weeks except drams and laudanum. He drinks, and he stinks, -and he does nothing else earthly or celestial. The quantity of spirits -which he pours down his throat incessantly should, of itself, be -sufficient to finish him; but he seems to have accustomed himself to -drams, as Mithridates used himself to poisons, till his stomach is -completely proof against them; or like the Scythian princess, who was -fed upon ratsbane pap from her infancy, for the express purpose of one -day or other poisoning Alexander in her embraces; and who arrived -at such perfection, that although the venom did no harm to her own -constitution, she killed a condemned criminal with a single kiss. The -consequence was, that hemp fell fifty per cent, and Jack Ketch’s -nose was put out of joint completely; for the devil a culprit of -any pretensions to taste could be found in all Scythia, who could be -prevailed upon to be executed except by her royal highness’s own lips. I -am afraid this story is not strictly historical, and that we should look -for it in vain in Quintus Curtius. - - -APRIL 23. - -A gale of wind began to show itself on Monday night; it has continued -to blow ever since with increasing violence, and is now become very -serious. The captain says that he never experienced weather so severe at -this season: this is only my usual luck. Certainly nothing can be more -disagreeable than a ship on these occasions. The sea breaks over the -vessel every minute, and it is really something awful to see the waves -raised into the air by the force of the gale, hovering for a while over -the ship, and then coming down upon us swop, to inundate every thing -below deck as well as upon it. The wind is piercingly cold; the floors -and walls are perpetually streaming. But a fire is quite out of the -question; and, indeed, at one time to-day, our eating appeared to be out -of the question too; for at four o’clock the cook sent us word, that the -sea put the kitchen-fire out as fast as he could light it; that he was -almost frozen, having been for the last eight hours up to his waist -in water; and that we must make up our minds to get no dinner to-day. -However, the steward coaxed him, and encouraged him, and poured spirits -down his throat, and at last a dinner of some kind was put upon the -table; but it had not been there ten minutes, before a tremendous sea -poured itself down the companion stairs and through the hatchway, set -every thing on the table afloat, deluged the cabin, ducked most of the -company, and drove us all into the other room. I was lucky enough to -escape with only a sprinkling; but Mrs. Walker was soaked through from -head to foot. We can only cross the cabin by creeping along by the sides -as if we were so many cats. Walking the deck, even for the sailors, is -absolutely out of the question; and the little cabin-boy has so fairly -given up the attempt, that he goes crawling about upon all fours. Even -our Spanish mastiff, Flora, finds it impossible to keep her four legs -upon deck. Every five minutes up they all go, away rolls the dog over -and over; and when she gets up again, shakes her ears, and howls in a -tone of the most piteous astonishment. - - -APRIL 24. - -Though the gale was itself sufficiently serious, its effects at first -were ludicrous enough; but yesterday it produced a consequence truly -shocking and alarming. Edward Sadler, the second mate, was at breakfast -in the steerage: the boatswain had been cutting some beef with a large -case-knife, which he had afterwards put down upon the chest on which -they were sitting: a sudden heel of the ship threw them all to the other -side of the cabin: the knife fell with its haft against the ladder; and -poor Edward falling against it, at least three inches of the blade were -forced into his right side. The wound was dressed without the loss of a -moment; but, from its depth, the jaggedness of the weapon with which it -was made, and from a pain which immediately afterwards seized the poor -fellow in his chest, the apothecary thinks that his recovery is very -improbable: he says that the liver is certainly perforated, and so -probably are the lungs. If the latter have escaped, it must have been -only by the breadth of a hair. Every one in the ship is distressed -beyond measure at this accident, for the young man is a universal -favourite. He is but just one and twenty, good-looking, with manners -much superior to his station; and so unusually steady, as well as -active, that if Providence grants him life, he cannot fail to raise -himself in his profession. - - -APRIL 25. - -Edward complains no longer of the pain in his chest; he sleeps well, -eats enough, has no fever, and every symptom is so favourable, that Dr. -Ashman encourages us to hope that he has received no material injury. -Our ship-carpenter has always appeared to be the sulkiest and surliest -of sea-bears: yet, on the day of Edward’s accident, he passed every -minute that he could command by the side of his sofa, kneeling, and -praying, and watching him as if he had been his son; and every now -and then wiping away his “own tears” with the dirtiest of all possible -pocket-handkerchiefs. So that what Goldsmith said of Dr. Johnson may be -applied to this old man: “He has nothing of a bear but his skin.” After -tearing every sail in the ship into shivers, and being as disagreeable -as ever it could be, the gale has at length abated. Yesterday it was -a storm, and we were going to Ireland, Lisbon, Brest--in short, every -where except to England; to-day, it is a dead calm, and we are going -nowhere at all. - - -APRIL 26. (Sunday.) - -The gale has returned with increased violence, and we are once more -at our old trade of dead lights; however, for this time, the wind, at -least, is in our favour. - - -APRIL 28. - -The wounded mate is so much recovered as to come upon deck for a few -hours to-day, and may now be considered as completely out of danger; -although Dr. Ashman is positive (from his difficulty of breathing -at first, and the subsequent pain in his chest) that his lungs must -actually have been wounded, however slightly. We are now nearly abreast -of Scilly; we fell in with several Scilly boats to-day, from whom we -obtained a very acceptable supply of fish, vegetables, and newspapers. - - -APRIL 29. - -_An African Nancy-Story_.--The headman (i. e. the king) of a large -district in Africa, in one of his tours, visited a young nobleman, to -whom he lost a considerable sum at play. On his departure he loaded -his host with caresses, and insisted on his coming in person to receive -payment at court; but his pretended kindness had not deceived the nurse -of the young man. She told him, that the headman was certainly incensed -against him for having conquered him at play, and meant to do him some -injury; that having been so positively ordered to come to court, he -could not avoid obeying; but she advised him to take the river-road, -where, at a particular hour, he would find the king’s youngest and -favourite daughter bathing; and she instructed him how to behave. The -youth reached the river, and concealed himself, till he saw the princess -enter the stream alone; but when she thought fit to regain the bank, -she found herself extremely embarrassed.--‘Ho-day! what is become of -my clothes? ho-day! who has stolen my clothes? ho-day! if any one will -bring me back my clothes, I promise that no harm shall happen to him -this day--O!’--This was the cue for which the youth had been instructed -to wait. ‘Here are your clothes, missy!’ said he, stepping from his -concealment: ‘a rogue had stolen them, while you were bathing; but I -took them from him, and have brought them back.’--‘Well, young man, I -will keep my promise to you. You are going to court, I know; and I know -also, that the headman will chop off your head, unless at first sight -you can tell him which of his three daughters is the youngest. Now I am -she; and in order that you may not mistake, I will take care to make a -sign; and then do not you fail to pitch upon me.’ The young man assured -her, that, having once seen her, he never could possibly mistake her -for any other, and then set forwards with a lightened heart. The headman -received him very graciously, feasted him with magnificence, and told -him that he would present him to his three daughters, only that there -was a slight rule respecting them to which he must conform. Whoever -could not point out which was the youngest, must immediately lose his -head. The young man kissed the ground in obedience, the door opened, -and in walked three little black dogs. Now, then, the necessity of the -precaution taken by the princess was evident; the youth looked at the -dogs earnestly; something induced the headman to turn away his eyes for -a moment, and in that moment one of the dogs lifted up its fore paw. - -‘This,’ cried the youth--‘this is your youngest daughter;’--and -instantly the dogs vanished, and three young women appeared in their -stead. The headman was equally surprised and incensed; but concealing -his rage, he professed the more pleasure at that discovery; because, in -consequence, the law of that country obliged him to give his youngest -daughter in marriage to the person who should recognise her; and he -charged his future son-in-law to return in a week, when he should -receive his bride. But his feigned caresses could no longer deceive the -young man: as it was evident that the headman practised Obeah, he did -not dare to disobey him; and knew that to escape by flight would be -unavailing. It was, therefore, with melancholy forebodings that he set -out for court on the appointed day; and (according to the advice of his -old nurse) he failed not to take the road which led by the river. The -princess came again to bathe; her clothes again vanished; she had again -recourse to her ‘Ho-day! what is become of my clothes?’ and on hearing -the same promise of protection, the youth again made his appearance. -‘Here are your clothes, missy,’ said he; ‘the wind had blown them away -to a great distance; I found them hanging upon the bushes, and have -brought them back to you.’ Probably the princess thought it rather -singular, that whenever her petticoats were missing, the same person -should always happen to be in the way to find them: however, as she was -remarkably handsome, she kept her thoughts to herself, swallowed the -story like so much butter, and assured him of her protection. ‘My -father,’ said she, ‘will again ask you which is the youngest daughter; -and as he suspects me of having assisted you before, he threatens to -chop off _my_ head instead of yours, should I disobey him a second time. -He will, therefore, watch me too closely to allow of my making any sign -to you; but still I will contrive something to distinguish me from my -sisters; and do you examine us narrowly till you find it.’ As she had -foretold, the headman no sooner saw his destined son-in-law enter, than -he told him that he should immediately receive his bride; but that if he -did not immediately point her out, the laws of the kingdom sentenced him -to lose his head. Upon which the door opened, and in walked three large -black cats, so exactly similar in every respect, that it was utterly -impossible to distinguish one from the other. The youth was at length on -the point of giving up the attempt in despair, when it struck him, that -each of the cats had a slight thread passed round its neck; and that -while the threads of two were scarlet, that of the third was blue. -‘_This_ is your youngest daughter;’ cried he, snatching up the cat with -the blue thread. The headman was utterly at a loss to conceive by what -means he had made the discovery; but could not deny the fact, for there -stood the princesses in their own shape. He therefore affected to be -greatly pleased, gave him his bride, and made a great feast, which was -followed by a ball; but in the midst of it the princess whispered her -lover to follow her silently into the garden. Here she told him, that an -old Obeah woman, who had been her father’s nurse, had warned him, that -if his youngest daughter should live to see the day after her wedding, -he would lose his power and his life together; that she, therefore, was -sure of his intending to destroy both herself and her bridegroom that -night in their sleep; but that, being aware of all these circumstances, -she had watched him so narrowly as to get possession of some of his -magical secrets, which might possibly enable her to counteract his cruel -designs. She then gathered a rose, picked up a pebble, filled a small -phial with water from a rivulet; and thus provided, she and her lover -betook themselves to flight upon a couple of the swiftest steeds in her -father’s stables. It was midnight before the headman missed them: his -rage was excessive; and immediately mounting his great horse, Dandy, he -set forwards in pursuit of the lovers. Now Dandy galloped at the rate of -ten miles a minute. The princess was soon aware of her pursuer: without -loss of time she pulled the rose to pieces, scattered the leaves behind -her, and had the satisfaction of seeing them instantly grow up into -a wood of briars, so strong and so thickly planted, that Dandy vainly -attempted to force his way through them. But, alas! this fence was but -of a very perishable nature. In the time that it would have taken to -wither its parent rose-leaves, the briars withered away; and Dandy was -soon able to trample them down, while he continued his pursuit. Now, -then, the pebble was thrown in his passage; it burst into forty pieces, -and every piece in a minute became a rock as lofty as the Andes. But -the Andes themselves would have offered no insurmountable obstacles to -Dandy, who bounded from precipice to precipice; and the lovers and the -headman could once more clearly distinguish each other by the first -beams of the rising sun. The headman roared, and threatened, and -brandished a monstrous sabre; Dandy tore up the ground as he ran, -neighed louder than thunder, and gained upon the fugitives every moment. -Despair left the princess no choice, and she violently dashed her phial -upon the ground. Instantly the water which it contained swelled itself -into a tremendous torrent, which carried away every thing before -it,--rocks, trees, and houses; and ‘the horse and his rider’ were -carried away among the rest.--‘Hic finis Priami fatorum!’ There was an -end of the headman and Dandy! The princess then returned to court, where -she raised a strong party for herself; seized her two sisters, who were -no better than their father, and had assisted him in his witchcraft; and -having put them and all their partisans to death by a summary mode of -proceeding, she established herself and her husband on the throne as -headman and head-woman. It was from this time that _all_ the kings of -Africa have been uniformly mild and benevolent sovereigns. Till then -they were all tyrants, and tyrants they would all still have continued, -if this virtuous princess had not changed the face of things by drowning -her father, strangling her two sisters, and chopping off the heads of -two or three dozen of her nearest and dearest relations. - -It seems to be an indispensable requisite for a Nancy-story, that -it should contain a witch, or a duppy, or, in short, some marvellous -personage or other. It is a kind of “pièce à machines” But the creole -slaves are very fond of another species of tale, which they call -“Neger-tricks,” and which bear the same relation to a Nancy-story -which a farce does to a tragedy. The following is a specimen:--_A -Neger-trick_.--“A man who had two wives divided his provision-grounds -into two parts, and proposed that each of the women should cultivate one -half. They were ready to do their proper share, but insisted that the -husband should at least take his third of the work. However, when they -were to set out, the man was taken so ill, that he found it impossible -to move; he quite roared with pain, and complained bitterly of a large -lump which had formed itself on his cheek during the night. The wives -did what they could to relieve him, but in vain they boiled a negro-pot -for him, but he was too ill to swallow a morsel: and at length they were -obliged to leave him, and go to take care of the provision-grounds. As -soon as they were gone, the husband became perfectly well, emptied the -contents of the pot with great appetite, and enjoyed himself in ease and -indolence till evening, when he saw his wives returning; and immediately -he became worse than ever. One of the women was quite shocked to see the -size to which the lump had increased during her absence: she begged -to examine it; but although she barely touched it with the tip of -her finger as gingerly as possible, it was so tender that the fellow -screamed with agony. Unluckily, the other woman’s manners were by no -means so delicate; and seizing him forcibly by the head to examine it, -she undesignedly happened to hit him a great knock on the jaw, and, lo -and behold! out flew a large lime, which he had crammed into it. Upon -which both his wives fell upon him like two furies; beat him out of -the house; and whenever afterwards he begged them to go to the -provision-grounds, they told him that he had got no lime in his mouth -_then_, and obliged him from that time forwards to do the whole work -himself.” - -A negro was brought to England; and the first point shown him being the -chalky cliffs of Dover, “O ki!” he said; “me know now what makes the -buckras all so white!” - - -MAY 29. - -We once more saw the “Lizard,” the first point of England; and, indeed, -it was full time that we should. Besides that our provisions were nearly -exhausted by the length of the voyage, our crew was in a great measure -composed of fellows of the most worthless description; and the captain -lately discovered that some of them had contrived to break a secret -passage into the hold, where they had broached the rum-casks, and had -already passed several nights in drinking, with lighted candles: a -single spark would have been sufficient to blow us all up to the moon! - - -June 1. (Saturday.) - -We took our river pilot on board; and on Wednesday, the 5th, we reached -Gravesend. I went on shore at nine in the morning; and here I conclude -my _Jamaica Journal_. - - - - - -1817. - - -November 5. (Wednesday.) - -I left London, and embarked for Jamaica on board the same vessel, -commanded by the same captain, which conveyed me thither in 1815. We -did not reach the Downs till Sunday, the 9th, after experiencing in our -passage a severe gale of wind, which broke the bowsprit of a vessel in -our sight, but did no mischief to ourselves. On arriving in the Downs, -we found all the flags lowered half way down the masts, which is a -signal of mourning; and we now learnt, that, in a few hours after giving -birth to a still-born son, the Princess Charlotte of Wales had expired -at half-past two on Thursday morning. - - -November 16. (Sunday.) - -“Peaceful slumbering on the ocean.” Here we are still in the Downs, and -no symptoms of a probable removal. Indeed, when we weighed our anchor at -Gravesend, it gave us a broad hint that there was no occasion as yet for -giving ourselves the trouble; for, before it could be got on board, the -cable was suffered to slip, and down again went the anchor, carrying -along with it one of the men who happened to be standing upon it at the -moment, and who in consequence went plump to the bottom. Luckily, the -fellow could swim; so in a few minutes he was on board again, and no -harm done. - - -November 19. - -We resumed our voyage with fine weather, but wind so perverse, that we -did not arrive in sight of Portsmouth till the evening of the 21st. A -pilot came on board, and conveyed us into Spithead. - - -November 22. - -This morning we quitted Portsmouth, and this evening we returned to it. -The Needle rocks were already in sight, when the wind failed completely. -There was no getting through the passage, and the dread of a gale -would not admit of our remaining in so dangerous a roadstead. So we -had nothing for it but to follow Mad Bess’s example, and “return to the -place whence we came.” We are now anchored upon the Motherbank, about -two miles from Ryde in the Isle of Wight. - - -November 30. (Sunday.) - -Edward, the young man who was so dangerously wounded on our return from -my former voyage to Jamaica, is now chief mate of the vessel, and feels -no other inconvenience from his accident, except a slight difficulty in -raising his left arm above his head. - - -DECEMBER 1. (Monday.) - -Here we are, still riding at anchor, with no better consolation than -that of Klopstock’s halfdevil Abadonna; the consciousness that others -are deeper damned than ourselves. Another ship belonging to the same -proprietor left the West India Docks three weeks before us, and here she -is still rocking cheek by jowl alongside of us, - - “One writ with us in sour misfortune’s book.” - - -DECEMBER 3. - -A tolerably fair breeze at length enabled us to set sail once more. - - -DECEMBER 24. (Wednesday.) - -I had often heard talk of “a hell upon earth,” and now I have a perfect -idea of “a hell upon water.” It must be precisely our vessel during the -last three weeks. At twelve at noon upon the 4th, we passed Plymouth, -and were actually in sight of the Lizard point, when the wind suddenly -became completely foul, and drove us back into the Channel. It continued -to strengthen gradually but rapidly; and by the time that night arrived, -we had a violent gale, which blew incessantly till the middle of Sunday, -the 7th, when we were glad to find ourselves once more in sight of -Plymouth, and took advantage of a temporary abatement of the wind to -seek refuge in the Sound. Here, however, we soon found that we had but -little reason to rejoice at the change of our situation. The Sound was -already crowded with vessels of all descriptions; and as we arrived so -late, the only mooring still unoccupied, placed us so near the rocks on -one side, and another vessel astern, that the captain confessed that -he should feel considerable anxiety if the gale should return with its -former violence. So, of course, about eleven at night, the gale _did_ -return; not, indeed, with its former violence, but with its violence -increased tenfold; and once we were in very imminent danger from our -ship’s swinging round by a sudden squall, and narrowly escaping coming -in contact with the ship astern, which had not, it seems, allowed itself -sufficient cable. Luckily, we just missed her; and our cables (for both -our anchors were down) being new and good, we rode out the storm -without driving, or meeting with any accident whatever. The next day was -squally; and in spite of the Breakwater, the rocking of the ship from -the violent agitation of the waves by the late stormy weather was almost -insupportable. However, on the 9th, the wind took a more favourable -turn, though in so slight a degree, that the pilot expressed great -doubts whether it would last long to do us any service. But the captain -felt his situation in Plymouth Sound so uneasy, that he resolved at -least to make the attempt; and so we crept once more into the Channel. -In a few hours the breeze strengthened; about midnight we passed the -lights upon the Lizard, and the next morning England was at length out -of sight. This cessation of ill luck soon proved to be only “_reculer -‘pour mieux sauter_” The gale, it seems, had only stopped to take -breath: about four in the afternoon of Wednesday, the wind began to rise -again; and from that time till the middle of the 23d it blew a complete -storm day and night, with only an occasional intermission of two or -three hours at a time. Every one in the ship declared that they had -never before experienced so obstinate a persecution of severe weather: -every rag of sail was obliged to be taken down; the sea was blown up -into mountains, and poured itself over the deck repeatedly. The noise -was dreadful; and as it lasted incessantly, to sleep was impossible; and -I passed ten nights, one after another, without closing my eyes; so that -the pain in the nerves of them at length became almost intolerable, and -I began to be seriously afraid of going blind. In truth, the captain -could not well have pitched upon a set of passengers worse calculated to -undergo the trial of a passage so rough. As for myself, my brain is so -weak, that the continuation of any violent noise makes me absolutely -light-headed; and a pop-gun going off suddenly is quite sufficient at -any time to set every nerve shaking, from the crown of my head to -the sole of my foot. Then we had a young lady who was ready to die of -seasickness, and an old one who was little better through fright; and -I had an Italian servant into the bargain, who was as sick as the young -lady, and as frightened as the old one. The poor fellow had never been -on board a ship before; and with every crack which the vessel gave, he -thought that to be sure, she was splitting right in half. The sailors, -too, appeared to be quite knocked up from the unremitting fatigue to -which they were subjected by the perseverance of this dreadful weather. -Several of them were ill; and one poor fellow actually died, and was -committed to the ocean. To make matters still worse, during the first -week the wind was as foul as it could blow; and we passed it in running -backwards and forwards, without advancing a step towards our object; -till at length every drop of my very small stock of patience was -exhausted, and I could no longer resist suggesting our returning to -port, rather than continue buffeting about in the chops of the Channel, -so much to the damage of the ship, and all contained in her. A change of -wind, however, gave a complete answer to this proposal. On Thursday -it became favourable as to the prosecution of our voyage, but its fury -continued unabated till the evening of the 23d. It then gradually died -away, and left us becalmed before the island of Madeira; where we are -now rolling backwards and forwards, in sight of its capital, Funchal, on -the 24th of December, being seven immortal weeks since my departure from -Gravesend. The evening sun is now very brilliant, and shines full upon -the island, the rocks of which are finely broken; the height of the -mountains cause their tops to be lost in the clouds; the sides are -covered with plantations of vines and forests of cedars; and the white -edifices of Funchal, built upon the very edge of the shore, have a truly -picturesque appearance. We are now riding between the island and an -isolated group of inaccessible rocks called “the Deserters;” * and the -effect of the scene altogether is beautiful in the extreme. - -* The Dezertas. - - -DECEMBER 25. (Christmas-day.) - -A light breeze sprang up in the night, and this morning Madeira was no -longer visible. - - -DECEMBER 31. (Wednesday.) - -We are now in the latitudes commonly known by the name of “the Horse -Latitudes.” During the union of America and Great Britain, great numbers -of horses used to be exported from the latter; and the winds in -these latitudes are so capricious, squally, and troublesome in every -respect,--now a gale, and then a dead calm--now a fair wind, and the -next moment a foul one,--that more horses used to die in this portion -of the passage than during all the remainder of it. These latitudes from -thence obtained their present appellation, and extend from 29° to 25° or -24 1/2°. - - - - -1818.--JANUARY 1. - - -(Thursday.) - -On this day, on my former voyage, I landed at Black River. Now we are -still at some distance from the line, and are told that we cannot expect -to reach Jamaica in less than three weeks, even with favourable breezes; -and our breezes at present are _not_ favourable. Nothing but light -winds, or else dead calms; two knots an hour, and obliged to be thankful -even for that! A-weel! this is weary work! - - -JANUARY 17. (Saturday.) - -On Saturday, the 3d, we managed to crawl over the line, and had no -sooner got to the other side of it, than we were completely becalmed; -and even when we resumed our progress, it was at such a pace that a -careless observer might have been pardoned for mistaking our manner of -moving for a downright standing still. Day after day produced nothing -better for us than baffling winds, so light that we scarcely made two -miles an hour, and so variable that the sails could be scarcely set in -one direction before it became necessary to shift them to another; -while the monotony of our voyage was only broken by an occasional -thunderstorm, the catching a stray dolphin now and then, watching a -shoal of flying fish, or guessing at the complexion of the corsairs on -board some vessel in the offing: for the Caribbean Sea is now dabbed all -over like a painter’s pallette with corsairs of all colours,--black -from St. Domingo, brown from Carthagena, white from North America, and -pea-green from the Cape de Verd Islands. On the afternoon of the 4th, -one of them was at no very great distance from us; she hoisted English -colours on seeing ours; but there was little doubt, from her peculiar -construction and general appearance, that she was a privateer from -Carthagena. She set her head towards us, and seemed to be doing her best -to come to a nearer acquaintance; but the same calm which hindered us -from bravely running away from her, hindered her also from reaching us, -although at nightfall she seemed to have gained upon us. In the night -we had a violent thunder-storm, and the next morning she was not to be -seen. Still we continued to creep and to crawl, grumbling and growling, -till on Sunday, the 11th, the long-looked-for wind came at last. The -trade wind began to blow with all its might and main right in the -vessel’s poop, and sent us forward at the rate of 200 miles a day. We -passed between Deseada and Antigua in the night of the 15th; and, on the -16th, the rising sun showed us the island mountain of Montserrat; the -sight of which was scarcely less agreeable to our eyes from its -romantic beauty, than welcome from its giving us the assurance that our -long-winded voyage is at length drawing towards its termination. - - -JANUARY 19. - -Yesterday morning a miniature shark chose to swallow the bait laid for -dolphins, and in consequence soon made his appearance upon deck. It was -a very young one, not above three feet long. I ordered a slice of him to -be broiled at dinner, but he was by no means so good as a dolphin; but -still there was nothing in the taste so unpalatable as to prevent the -flesh from being very acceptable in the absence of more delicate food. -In the evening, a bird, about the size of a large pigeon, flew on board, -and was knocked down by the mate with his hat. It was sulky, and would -not be persuaded to eat any thing that was offered, so he was suffered -to escape this morning. It was beautifully shaped, with a swallow-tail, -wings of an extraordinary spread in comparison with the smallness of -the body, a long sharp bill, black and polished like a piece of jet, and -eyes remarkably large and brilliant. The head, back, and outside of the -wings were of a brownish slate colour, and the rest of his feathers of -the most dazzling whiteness. It is called a crab-catcher. - - -JANUARY 24. (Saturday.) - -Our favourable breeze lasted till Tuesday, the 20th; when, having -brought us half way between St. Domingo and Jamaica, it died away, and -we dragged on at the rate of two or three miles an hour till Thursday -afternoon, which placed us at the mouth of Black River. If we had -arrived one hour earlier, we could have immediately entered the -harbour; but, with our usual good fortune, we were just too late for the -daylight. We therefore did not drop anchor till two o’clock on Friday, -before the town of Black River; and on Saturday morning, at four -o’clock, I embarked in the ship’s cutter for Savannah la Mar. Every one -assured us that we could not fail to have a favourable seabreeze the -whole way, and that we should be on land by eight: instead of which, -what little wind there was veered round from one point of the compass to -the other with the most indefatigable caprice; and we were not on shore -till eleven. Here I found Mr. T. Hill, who luckily had his phaëton -ready, in which he immediately conveyed me once more to my own estate. -The accounts of the general behaviour of my negroes is reasonably good, -and they all express themselves satisfied with their situation and their -superintendents. Yet, among upwards of three hundred and thirty -negroes, and with a greater number of females than men, in spite of all -indulgences and inducements, not more than twelve or thirteen children -have been added annually to the list of the births. On the other hand, -this last season has been generally unhealthy all over the island, and -more particularly so in my parish; so that I have lost several negroes, -some of them young, strong, and valuable labourers in every respect; and -in consequence, my sum total is rather diminished than increased since -my last visit. I had been so positively assured that the custom of -plunging negro infants, immediately upon their being born, into a tub of -cold water, infallibly preserved them from the danger of tetanus, that, -on leaving Jamaica, I had ordered this practice to be adopted uniformly. -The negro mothers, however, took a prejudice against it into their -heads, and have been so obstinate in their opposition, that it was -thought unadvisable to attempt the enforcing this regulation. From this -and other causes I have lost several infants; but I am told, that on -other estates in the neighbourhood they have been still more unfortunate -in regard to their children; and one was named to me, on which sixteen -were carried off in the course of three days. - - -JANUARY 26. (Monday.) - -The joy of the negroes on my return was quite sufficiently vociferous, -and they were allowed today for a holiday. They set themselves to -singing and dancing yesterday, in order to lose no time; and to show -their gratitude for the indulgence, not one of the five pen-keepers -chose to go to their watch last night; the consequence was that the -cattle made their escape, and got into one of my very best cane-pieces. -The alarm was given; my own servants and some of the head people had -grace enough to run down to the scene of action; but the greatest -part remained quietly in the negro-houses, beating the gumby-drum, and -singing their joy for my arrival with the whole strength of their lungs, -but without thinking it in the least necessary to move so much as a -finger-joint in my service. The cattle were at length replaced in their -pen, but not till the cane-piece had been ruined irretrievably. Such -is negro gratitude, and such my reward for all that I have suffered on -ship-board. To be sure, as yet there could not be a more ill-starred -expedition than my present one. - -I only learned, yesterday, that before making the island of Madeira an -Algerine corsair was actually in sight, and near enough to discern the -turbans of the crew; but we lost each other through the violence of the -gale. - - -JANUARY 29. - -There is a popular negro song, the burden of which is,-- - - Take him to the Gulley! Take him to the Gulley! - - But bringee back the frock and board.”-- - - “Oh! massa, massa! me no deadee yet!”-- - - “Take him to the Gulley! Take him to the Gulley!” - - “Carry him along!” - -This alludes to a transaction which took place some thirty years ago, -on an estate in this neighbourhood, called Spring-Garden; the owner -of which (I think the name was Bedward) is quoted as the cruellest -proprietor that ever disgraced Jamaica. It was his constant practice, -whenever a sick negro was pronounced incurable, to order the poor wretch -to be carried to a solitary vale upon his estate, called the Gulley, -where he was thrown down, and abandoned to his fate; which fate was -generally to be half devoured by the john-crows, before death had put an -end to his sufferings. By this proceeding the avaricious owner avoided -the expence of maintaining the slave during his last illness; and in -order that he might be as little a loser as possible, he always enjoined -the negro bearers of the dying man to strip him naked before leaving the -Gulley, and not to forget to bring back his frock and the board on which -he had been carried down. One poor creature, while in the act of being -removed, screamed out most piteously “that he was not dead yet;” and -implored not to be left to perish in the Gulley in a manner so horrible. -His cries had no effect upon his master, but operated so forcibly on the -less marble hearts of his fellow-slaves, that in the night some of them -removed him back to the negro village privately, and nursed him there -with so much care, that he recovered, and left the estate unquestioned -and undiscovered. Unluckily, one day the master was passing through -Kingston, when, on turning the corner of a street suddenly, he found -himself face to face with the negro, whom he had supposed long ago -to have been picked to the bones in the Gulley of Spring-Garden. He -immediately seized him, claimed him as his slave, and ordered his -attendants to convey him to his house; but the fellow’s cries attracted -a crowd round them, before he could be dragged away. He related his -melancholy story, and the singular manner in which he had recovered his -life and liberty; and the public indignation was so forcibly excited by -the shocking tale, that Mr. Bedward was glad to save himself from -being torn to pieces by a precipitate retreat from Kingston, and never -ventured to advance his claim to the negro a second time. - - -JANUARY 30. - -A man has been tried, at Kingston, for cruel treatment of a Sambo female -slave, called Amey. She had no friends to support her cause, nor any -other evidence to prove her assertions, than the apparent truth of -her statement, and the marks of having been branded in five different -places. The result was, that the master received a most severe reprimand -for his inhuman conduct, and was sentenced to close confinement for six -months, while the slave, in consequence of her sufferings, was restored -to the full enjoyment of her freedom. - -It appears to me that nothing could afford so much relief to the -negroes, under the existing system of Jamaica, as the substituting the -labour of animals for that of slaves in agriculture, whereever such a -measure is practicable. On leaving the island, I impressed this wish of -mine upon the minds of my agents with all my power; but the only result -has been the creating a very considerable additional expense in the -purchase of ploughs, oxen, and farming implements; the awkwardness, -and still more the obstinacy, of the few negroes, whose services were -indispensable, was not to be overcome: they broke plough after plough, -and ruined beast after beast, till the attempt was abandoned in despair. -However, it was made without the most essential ingredient for success, -the superintendence of an English ploughman; and such of the ploughs as -were of cast-iron could not be repaired when once broken, and therefore -ought not to have been adopted; but I am told, that in several other -parts of the island the plough has been introduced, and completely -successful. Another of my farming speculations answered no better: this -was to improve the breed of cattle in the county, for which purpose -Lord Holland and myself sent over four of the finest bulls that could be -procured in England. One of them got a trifling hurt in its passage -from the vessel to land; but the remaining three were deposited in their -respective pens without the least apparent damage. They were taken all -possible care of, houses appropriated to shelter them from the sun and -rain, and, in short, no means of preserving their health was neglected. -Yet, shortly after their arrival in Jamaica, they evidently began to -decline; their blood was converted into urine; they paid no sort of -attention to the cows, who were confined in the same paddock; and at the -end of a fortnight not one was in existence, two having died upon -the same day. The injured one, having been bled the most copiously in -consequence of its hurt, was that which survived the longest. - - -JANUARY 31. - -Some days ago, a negro woman, who has lost four children, and has always -been a most affectionate mother, brought the fifth, a remarkably fine -infant, into the hospital. She complained of its having caught cold, a -fever, and so on; but nothing administered was of use, and its manner of -breathing made the doctor enquire, whether the child had not had a fall? -The mother denied this most positively, and her fondness for the infant -admitted no doubt of her veracity. Still the child grew worse and -worse; still the question about the fall was repeated, and as constantly -denied; until luckily being made in the presence of a new-comer, the -latter immediately exclaimed, “that to her certain knowledge the infant -had really had a fall, for that the mother having fastened it behind her -back, the knot of the handkerchief had slipped, and the baby had fallen -upon the floor.”--“It is false,” answered the mother: “the child did not -fall; for when the knot slipped, I had time to catch it by the foot, and -so I saved it from falling, just as its head struck against the ground.” - Fear of being blamed as having occasioned the baby’s illness through -her own carelessness had induced her to adopt this equivocation, and its -life had nearly been the sacrifice of her duplicity. A proper mode of -treatment was now adopted without loss of time; their beneficial effect -was immediately visible, and the poor little negro is now recovering -rapidly. But certainly there is no folly and imprudence like unto negro -folly and imprudence. One of my best disposed and most sensible Eboes -has had a violent fever lately, but was so nearly well as to be put -upon a course of bark. On Wednesday morning a son of his died of -dirt-eating,--a practice which neither severity nor indulgence could -induce him to discontinue. The boy was buried that night according to -African customs, accompanied with dancing, singing, drinking, eating, -and riot of all kinds; and the father, although the kindest-hearted -negro on my estate, and remarkably fond of his children, danced and -drank to such an excess, that I found him on the following morning in a -raging fever, and worse than he was when he first entered the hospital. -I had warned him against the consequences of the funeral, reminded him -of the dangerous malady from which he was but just recovering, and he -had promised solemnly to be upon his guard; and such was the manner in -which he performed his promise. - - -FEBRUARY 1. (Sunday.) - -During my former visit to Jamaica I had interceded in behalf of a -negro belonging to Greenwich estate, named Aberdeen, who had run away -repeatedly, but who attributed his misconduct to the decay of his -health, which rendered him unable to work as well as formerly, and to -the fear of consequent punishment for not having performed the tasks -assigned to him. The fellow while he spoke to me had tears running -down his cheeks, looked feeble and ill, and indeed seemed to be quite -heart-broken. On my speaking to the attorney, he readily promised to -enquire into the truth of the man’s statement, and to take care that he -should be only allotted such labour as his strength might be fully equal -to. This morning he came over to see me, and so altered, that I could -scarcely believe him to be the same man. He was cleanly dressed, walked -with his head erect, and his eyes sparkled, and his mouth grinned from -ear to ear, while he told me, that during my absence every thing had -gone well with him, nobody had “put upon him;” he had been tasked no -more than suited his strength; as much as he was able to do, he had -done willingly, and had never run away. Even his asthma was better in -consequence of the depression being removed from his spirits. So, he -said, as soon as he heard of my return, he thought it his duty to -come over and show himself to me, and tell me that he was well, and -contented, and behaving properly; for that “to be sure, if massa no -speak that good word for me to trustee, me no livee now; me good, -massa!” Gratitude made him absolutely eloquent: his whole manner, and -the strong expression of his countenance, put his sincerity out of -all doubt, and I never saw a man seem to feel more truly thankful. -All negroes, therefore, are not absolutely without some remembrance of -kindness shown them; and indeed I ought not in justice to my own people -to allow myself to forget, that when I sent a reward to those who had -roused themselves to drive the cattle out of my canes the other night, -there was considerable difficulty in persuading them to accept the -money: they sent me word, “that as they were all well treated on the -estate, it was their business to take care that no mischief was done to -it, and that they did not deserve to be rewarded for having merely done -their duty by me.” Nor was it till after they had received repeated -orders from me, that their delicacy could be overcome, and themselves -persuaded to pocket the affront and the _maccaroni_. - - -FEBRUARY 2. - -One of the deadliest poisons used by the negroes (and a great variety is -perfectly well known to most of them) is prepared from the root of the -cassava. - -Its juice being expressed and allowed to ferment, a small worm is -generated, the substance of which being received into the stomach is of -a nature the most pernicious. A small portion of this worm is concealed -under one of the thumb-nails, which are suffered to grow long for this -purpose; then when the negro has contrived to persuade his intended -victim to eat or drink with him, he takes an opportunity, while handing -to him a dish or cup, to let the worm fall, which never fails to destroy -the person who swallows it. Another means of destruction is to be found -(as I am assured) in almost every negro garden throughout the island: -it is the arsenic bean, neither useful for food nor ornamental in its -appearance; nor can the negroes, when questioned, give any reason for -affording it a place in their gardens; yet there it is always to be -seen. The alligator’s liver also possesses deleterious properties; and -the gall is said to be still more dangerous. - - -FEBRUARY 3. - -On Friday I was made to observe, in the hospital, a remarkably fine -young negro, about twenty-two years of age, stout and strong, and whom -every one praised for his numerous good qualities, and particularly for -his affection for his mother, and the services which he rendered her. He -complained of a little fever, and a slight pain in his side. On Saturday -he left the hospital, and intended to go to his provision grounds, among -the mountains, on Sunday morning; but, as he complained of a pain in his -head, his mother prevented his going, and obliged him to return to the -hospital in the evening. On Monday he was seized with fainting fits, -lost his speech and power of motion, and this morning I was awaked by -the shrieks and lamentations of the poor mother, who, on coming to the -hospital to enquire for her son, found, that in spite of all possible -care and exertions on the part of his medical attendants, he had just -expired. Whether it be the climate not agreeing with their African -blood (genuine or inherited), or whether it be from some defect in their -general formation, certainly negroes seem to hold their lives upon a -very precarious tenure. Nicholas, John Fuller, and others of my best -and most favoured workmen, the very servants, too, in my own house, are -perpetually falling ill with little fevers, or colds, or pains in the -head or limbs. However, the season is universally allowed to have been -peculiarly unhealthy for negroes; and, indeed, even for white people, -the deaths on board the shipping having been unusually numerous this -year. As to the barracks, which are scarcely a couple of miles distant -from my estate, there the yellow fever has established itself, and, as -I hear, is committing terrible ravages, particularly among the wives -of the soldiers.--This morning several negro-mothers, belonging to -Friendship and Greenwich, came to complain to their attorney (who -happened to be at my house) that the overseer obliged them to wean their -children too soon. Some of these children were above twenty-two months -old, and none under eighteen; but, in order to retain the leisure and -other indulgences annexed to the condition of nursing-mothers, the -female negroes, by their own good-will, would never wean their offspring -at all. Of course their demands were rejected, and they went home in -high discontent; one of them, indeed, not scrupling to declare aloud, -and with a peculiar emphasis and manner, that if the child should be put -into the weaning-house against her will, the attorney would see it dead -in less than a week. - - -FEBRUARY 4. - -The violent gale of wind which persecuted us with so much pertinacity on -our leaving the English Channel is supposed to have been the tail of a -tremendous hurricane, which has utterly laid waste Barbados and several -other islands. No less than sixteen of the ships which sailed at the -same time with us are reported to have perished upon the passage; so -that I ought to consider it at least as a negative piece of good luck to -have reached Jamaica myself, no bones broke, though sore peppered but -I am still trembling in uncertainty for the fate of the vessel which is -bringing out all my Irish supplies, and the non-arrival of which would -be a misfortune to me of serious magnitude. - -The negroes are so obstinate and so wilful in their general character, -that if they do not receive the precise articles to which they have -been accustomed, and which they expect as their right, no compensation, -however ample, can satisfy them. Thus, at every Christmas it would go -near to create a rebellion if they did not receive a certain proportion -of salt fish; but if, in the intervening months, accident should prevent -their receiving their usual allowance of herrings, the giving them salt -fish to the amount of double the value would be considered by them as an -act of the grossest injustice. - - -FEBRUARY 5. - -On Saturday, about eight in the evening, a large centipede dropped from -the ceiling upon my dinner-table, and was immediately cut in two exact -halves by one of the guests. As it is reported in Jamaica that these -reptiles, when thus divided, will re-unite again, or if separated will -reproduce their missing members, and continue to live as stoutly as -ever, I put both parts into a plate, under a glass cover. On Sunday they -continued to move about their prison with considerable agility, although -the tail was evidently much more lively and full of motion than the -head: perhaps the centipede was a female. On Monday the head was dead, -but the tail continued to run about, and evidently endeavoured to to -make its escape, although it appeared not to know very well how to set -about it, nor to be perfectly determined as to which way it wanted to -go: it only seemed to have Cymon’s reason for wishing to take a walk, -and “would rather go any where, than stay with any body.” On Wednesday, -at twelve o’clock, its vivacity was a little abated, but only a little; -the wound was skinned over, and I was waiting anxiously to know whether -it would subsist without its numskull till a good old age, or would put -forth an entirely spick and span new head and shoulders; when, on going -to look at the plate on Thursday morning, lo and behold! the dead head -and the living tail had disappeared together. I suppose some of the -negro servants had thrown them away through ignorance, but they deny, -one and all, having so much as touched the plate, most stoutly; and as -a paper case, pierced in several places, had been substituted for the -glass cover, some persons are of opinion that the tail made its escape -through one of these air-holes, and carried its head away with it in its -forceps. Be this as it may, gone they both are, and I am disappointed -beyond measure at being deprived of this opportunity of reading the -last volume of “The Life and Adventures of a Centipede’s Tail.” I have -proclaimed a reward for the bringing me another, but I am told that -these reptiles are only found by accident; and that, very possibly, one -may not be procured previous to my leaving the island. - - -FEBRUARY 6. - -Mr. Lutford, the proprietor of a considerable estate in the parish -of Clarendon, had frequently accused a particular negro of purloining -coffee. About six months ago the slave was sent for, and charged with a -fresh offence of the same nature, when he confessed the having taken a -small quantity; upon which his master ordered him to fix his eyes on a -particular cotton tree, and then, without any further ceremony, shot him -through the head. His mistress was the coroner’s natural daughter, -and the coroner himself was similarly connected with the custos of -Clarendon. In consequence of this family compact, no inquest was held, -no enquiry was made; the whole business was allowed to be slurred -over, and the murder would have remained unpunished if accident had -not brought some rumours respecting it to the governor’s ear. An -investigation was ordered to take place without delay; but Mr. Lutford -received sufficient warning to get on shipboard, and escape to America; -and the displacing of the custos of Clarendon, for neglecting his -official duty, was the only means by which the governor could express -his abhorrence of the act. - - -FEBRUARY 8. (Sunday.) - -My estate is greatly plagued by a negress named Catalina; she is either -mad, or has long pretended to be so, never works, and always steals. -About a week before my arrival she was found in the trash-house, which -she had pitched upon as the very fittest place possible for her kitchen; -and there she was sitting, very quietly and comfortably, boiling her -pot over an immense fire, and surrounded on all sides by dry canes, -inflammable as tinder. This vagary was of too dangerous a nature to -allow of her being longer left at liberty, and she was put into the -hospital. But her husband was by no means pleased with her detention, -as he never failed to appropriate to himself a share of her plunder, and -when discovered, the blame of the robbery was laid upon his wife, in a -fit of insanity. So, while the general joy at my first arrival drew the -hospital attendants from their post, he took the opportunity to carry -off his wife, and conceal her. The consequence was, that this morning -complaints poured upon me of gardens robbed by Catalina, who had carried -off as much as she could, dug up and destroyed the rest, and had shown -as little conscience in providing herself with poultry as in -helping herself to vegetables. I immediately despatched one of the -negro-governors with a party in pursuit of her, who succeeded in lodging -her once more in the hospital; where she must remain till I can get her -sent to the asylum at Kingston, the only hospital for lunatics in the -whole island. - - -FEBRUARY 12. (Thursday.) - -On my former visit to Jamaica, I found on my estate a poor woman nearly -one hundred years old, and stone blind. She was too infirm to walk; but -two young negroes brought her on their backs to the steps of my house, -in order, as she said, that she might at least touch massa, although she -could not see him. When she had kissed my hand, “that was enough,” she -said; “now me hab once kiss a massa’s hand, me willing to die to-morrow, -me no care.” She had a woman appropriated to her service, and was shown -the greatest care and attention; however, she did not live many months -after my departure. There was also a mulatto, about thirty years of age, -named Bob, who had been almost deprived of the use of his limbs by -the horrible cocoa-bay, and had never done the least work since he -was fifteen. He was so gentle and humble, and so fearful, from the -consciousness of his total inability of soliciting my notice, that I -could not help pitying the poor fellow; and whenever he came in my way -I always sought to encourage him by little presents, and other trifling -marks of favour. His thus unexpectedly meeting with distinguishing -kindness, where he expected to be treated as a worthless incumbrance, -made a strong impression on his mind. Soon after my departure his malady -assumed a more active appearance but during the last stages of its -progress the only fear which he expressed was, that he should not live -till last Christmas, when my return was expected to a certainty. In the -mean while he endeavoured to find out a means of being of some little -use to me, although his weak constitution would not allow of his being -of much. Some of his relations being in opulent circumstances, they -furnished him with a horse, for he was too weak to walk for more than a -few minutes at a time; and, mounted upon this, he passed all his time -in traversing the estate, watching the corn that it might not be stolen, -warning the pen-keepers if any of the cattle had found their way into -the cane-pieces, and doing many other such little pieces of service to -the property; so that, as the negroes said, “if he had been a white man -he might have been taken for an overseer.” At length Christmas arrived; -it was known that I was on the sea; Bob, too, was still alive; but still -there was nothing to be heard of me. His perpetual question to all who -came to visit him was, How was the wind? and he was constantly praying -to the wind and the ocean to bring massa’s vessel soon to Savanna la -Mar, that he might but see him once more, and thank him, before he died. -At length I landed; and when, on the day of my arrival on my estate, I -expressed my surprise at the nonappearance of several of the negroes, -who had appeared to be most attached to me, and I had expected to find -most forward in greeting me, I was told that a messenger had been sent -to call them, and that their absence was occasioned by their attendance -at poor Bob’s funeral. Several of his relations, who nursed him on his -death-bed, have assured me, that the last audible words which he uttered -were--“Are there still no news of massa?” - - -FEBRUARY 13. - -Talk of Lucretia! commend me to a she-turkey! The hawk of Jamaica is -an absolute Don Giovanni; and he never loses an opportunity of being -extremely rude indeed to these feathered fair ones; not even scrupling -to use the last violence, and that without the least ceremony, not so -much as saying, “With your leave,” or “By your leave,” or using any of -the forms which common civility expects upon such occasions. The poor -timid things are too much frightened by the sudden attack of this -Tarquin with a beak and claws, to make any resistance; but they no -sooner recover from their flutter sufficiently to be aware of what has -happened, than they feel so extremely shocked, that they always make a -point of dying; nor was a female turkey ever known to survive the loss -of her honour above three days. - - -FEBRUARY 14. - -I think that I really may now venture to hope that my plans for the -management of my estate have succeeded beyond even my most sanguine -expectations. I have now passed three weeks with my negroes, the doors -of my house open all day long, and full liberty allowed to every person -to come and speak to me without witnesses or restraint; yet not one man -or woman has come to me with a single complaint. On the contrary, all my -enquiries have been answered by an assurance, that during the two years -of my absence my regulations were adhered to most implicitly, and that, -“except for the pleasure of seeing massa,” there was no more difference -in treatment than if I had remained upon the estate. Many of them have -come to tell me instances of kindness which they have received from one -or other of their superintendents; others, to describe some severe fit -of illness, in which they must have died but for the care taken of them -in the hospital; some, who were weakly and low-spirited on my former -visit, to show me how much they are improved in health, and tell me -“how they keep up heart now, because since massa come upon the property -nobody put upon them, and all go well;” and some, who had formerly -complained of one trifle or other, to take back their complaints, and -say, that they wanted no change, and were willing to be employed in any -way that might be thought most for the good of the estate; but although -I have now at least _seen_ every one of them, and have conversed with -numbers, I have not yet been able to find one person who had so much as -even an imaginary grievance to lay before me. Yet I find, that it has -been found necessary to punish with the lash, although only in a very -few instances; but then this only took place on the commission of -absolute _crimes_, and in cases where its necessity and justice were so -universally felt, not only by others, but by the sufferers themselves, -that instead of complaining, they seem only to be afraid of their -offence coming to my knowledge; to prevent which, they affect to be -more satisfied and happy than all the rest, and now when I see a mouth -grinning from ear to ear with a more than ordinary expansion of jaw, I -never fail to find, on enquiry, that its proprietor is one of those who -have been punished during my absence. I then take care to give them an -opportunity of making a complaint, if they should have any to make; but -no, not a word comes; “every thing has gone on perfectly well, and -just as it ought to have done.” Upon this, I drop a slight hint of the -offence in question; and instantly away goes the grin, and down falls -the negro to kiss my feet, confess his fault, and “beg massa forgib, -and them never do so bad thing more to fret massa, and them beg massa -pardon, hard, quite hard!” But not one of them has denied the justice -of his punishment, or complained of undue severity on the part of his -superintendents. On the other hand, although the lash has thus been in -a manner utterly abolished, except in cases where a much severer -punishment would have been inflicted by the police, and although they -are aware of this unwillingness to chastise, my trustee acknowledges -that during my absence the negroes have been quiet and tractable, and -have not only laboured as well as they used to do, but have done much -more work than the negroes on an adjoining property, where there are -forty more negroes, and where, moreover, a considerable sum is paid for -hired assistance. Having now waited three weeks to see how they would -conduct themselves, and found no cause of dissatisfaction since the -neglect of the watchman to guard the cattle (and which they one and -all attributed to their joy at seeing me again), I thought it time -to distribute the presents which I had brought with me for them from -England. During my absence I had ordered a new and additional hospital -to be built, intended entirely for the use of lying-in women, nursing -mothers, and cases of a serious nature, for which purpose it is to be -provided with every possible comfort; while the old hospital is to be -reserved for those who have little or nothing the matter with them, but -who obstinately insist upon their being too ill to work, in defiance -of the opinion of all their medical attendants. The new hospital is -not quite finished; but wishing to connect it as much as possible -with pleasurable associations, I took occasion of the distribution of -presents to open it for the first time. Accordingly, the negroes were -summoned to the new hospital this morning; the rooms were sprinkled with -Madeira for good luck; and the toast of “Health to the new hospital, and -shame to the old lazy house!” was drunk by the trustee, the doctoresses, -the governors, &c., and received by the whole congregation of negroes -with loud cheering; after which, every man received a blue jacket lined -with flannel, every woman a flaming red stuff petticoat, and every child -a frock of white cotton. They then fell to dancing and singing, and -drinking rum and sugar, which they kept up till a much later hour than -would be at all approved of by the bench of bishops; for it is now -Sunday morning, and they are still dancing and singing louder than ever. - - -FEBRUARY 15. (Sunday.) - -To-day divine service was performed at Savanna la Mar for the first -time these five weeks. The rector has been indisposed lately with the -lumbago: he has no curate; and thus during five whole weeks there was -a total cessation of public worship. I had told several of my female -acquaintance that it was long since they had been to church; that I was -afraid of their forgetting “all about and about it,” and that if there -should be no service for a week longer I should think it my duty to come -and hear them say their Catechism myself. Luckily the rector recovered, -and saved me the trouble of hearing them; but the long privation of -public prayer did not seem to have created any very great demand for the -article, as I have seldom witnessed a more meagre congregation. It was -literally “two or three gathered together,” and it seemed as if five or -six would be too many, and forfeit the promise. I cannot discover that -the negroes have any external forms of worship, nor any priests in -Jamaica, unless their Obeah men should be considered as such; but still -I cannot think that they ought to be considered as totally devoid of -all natural religion. There is no phrase so common on their lips as “God -bless you!” and “God preserve you!” and “God will bless you wherever you -go!” Phrases which they pronounce with every-appearance of sincerity, -and as if they came from the very bottom of their hearts. “God-A’mity! -God-A’mity!” is their constant exclamation in pain and in sorrow; -and with this perpetual recurrence to the Supreme Being, it must be -difficult to insist upon their being atheists. But they have even got a -step further than the belief in a God; they also allow the existence of -an evil principle. One of them complained to me the other day, that when -he went to the field his companions had told him “that he might go -to hell, for he was not worthy to work with them;” and one of his -adversaries in return accused him of being so lazy, “that instead of -being a slave upon Cornwall estate, he was only fit to be the slave of -the devil.” Then surely they could not be afraid of duppies (or ghosts) -without some idea of a future state; and indeed nothing is more firmly -impressed upon the mind of the Africans, than that after death they -shall go back to Africa, and pass an eternity in revelling and feasting -with their ancestors. The proprietor of a neighbouring estate lately -used all his influence to persuade his foster-sister to be christened; -but it was all in vain: she had imbibed strong African prejudices from -her mother, and frankly declared that she found nothing in the Christian -system so alluring to her taste as the post-obit balls and banquets -promised by the religion of Africa. I confess, that this prejudice -appears to me to be so strongly rooted, that in spite of the curates -expected from the hands of the bishop of London, I am sadly afraid, that -“the pulpit drum ecclesiastic” will find it a hard matter to overpower -the gumby; and that the joys of the Christian paradise will be seen to -kick the beam, when they are weighed against the pleasures of eating -fat hog, drinking raw rum, and dancing for centuries to the jam-jam and -kitty-katty. In the negro festivals in this life, the chief point -lies in making as much noise as possible, and the Africans and Creoles -dispute it with the greatest pertinacity. I am just informed that at the -dance last night the Eboes obtained a decided triumph, for they roared -and screamed and shouted and thumped their drums with so much effect, -that the Creoles were fairly rendered deaf with the noise of their -rivals, and dumb with their own, and obliged to leave off singing -altogether. - - -FEBRUARY 16. - -On my arrival I found that idle rogue Nato, as usual, an inmate of the -hospital, where he regularly passes at least nine months out of the -twelve. He was with infinite difficulty persuaded, at the end of a -fortnight, to employ himself about the carriage-horses for a couple of -days; but on the third he returned to the hospital, although the medical -attendants, one and all, declared nothing to be the matter with him, and -the doctors even refused to insert his name in the sick list. Still he -persisted in declaring himself to be too ill to do a single stroke of -work: so on Thursday I put him into one of the sick rooms by himself, -and desired him to get well with the doors locked, which he would find -to the full as easy as with the doors open; at the same time assuring -him, that he should never come out, till he should be sufficiently -recovered to cut canes in the field. He held good all Friday; but -Saturday being a holy-day, he declared himself to be in a perfect state -of health, and desired to be released. However, I was determined to make -him suffer a little for his lying and obstinacy, and would not suffer -the doors to be opened for him till this morning, when he quitted the -hospital, saluted on all sides by loud huzzas in congratulation of his -amended health, and which followed him during his whole progress to -the cane-piece. I was informed that a lad, named Epsom, who used to be -perpetually running away, had been stationary for the last two years. -So on Wednesday last, as he happened to come in my way, I gave him all -proper commendation for having got rid of his bad habits; and to -make the praise better worth his having, I added a maccarony: he was -gratified in the extreme, thanked me a thousand times, promised most -solemnly never to behave ill again, and ran away that very night. -However, he returned on Saturday morning, and was brought to me all -rags, tears, and penitence, wondering “how he could have had such _bad -manners_ as to make massa fret.” - - -FEBRUARY 17. - -Some of the free people of colour possess slaves, cattle, and other -property left them by their fathers, and are in good circumstances; but -few of them are industrious enough to increase their possessions by any -honest exertions of their own. As to the free blacks, they are almost -uniformly lazy and improvident, most of them half-starved, and only -anxious to live from hand to mouth. Some lounge about the highways -with pedlar-boxes, stocked with various worthless baubles; others keep -miserable stalls provided with rancid butter, damaged salt-pork, and -other such articles: and these they are always willing to exchange for -stolen rum and sugar, which they secretly tempt the negroes to pilfer -from their proprietors; but few of them ever make the exertion of -earning their livelihood creditably. Even those who profess to be -tailors, carpenters, or coopers, are for the most part careless, -drunken, and dissipated, and never take pains sufficient to attain any -dexterity in their trade. As to a free negro hiring himself out for -plantation labour, no instance of such a thing was ever known in -Jamaica, and probably no price, however great, would be considered by -them as a sufficient temptation. - - -FEBRUARY 18. - -The Africans and Creoles certainly do hate each other with a cordiality -which would have appeared highly gratifying to Dr. Johnson in his “Love -of Good Haters.” Yesterday, in the field, a girl who had taken some -slight offence at something said to her by a young boy, immediately -struck him with the bill, with which she was cutting canes. Luckily, -his loose wrapper saved him from the blow; and, on his running away, she -threw the bill after him in his flight with all the fury and malice of -a fiend. This same vixen, during my former visit, had been punished -for fixing her teeth in the hand of one of the other girls, and nearly -biting her thumb off; and on hearing of this fresh instance of devilism, -I asked her mother, “how she came to have so bad a daughter, when all -her sons were so mild and good?”--“Oh, massa,” answered she, “the girl’s -father was a Guineaman.” - - -FEBRUARY 19. - -Neptune came this morning to request that the name of his son, Oscar, -might be changed for that of Julius, which (it seems) had been that of -his own father. The child, he said, had always been weakly, and he was -persuaded, that its ill-health proceeded from his deceased grandfather’s -being displeased, because it had not been called after him. The other -day, too, a woman, who had a child sick in the hospital, begged me to -change its name for any other which might please me best: she cared not -what; but she was sure that it would never do well, so long as it should -be called Lucia. Perhaps this prejudice respecting the power of names -produces in some measure their unwillingness to be christened. They find -no change produced in them, except the alteration of their name, and -hence they conclude that this name contains in it some secret power; -while, on the other hand, they conceive that the ghosts of their -ancestors cannot fail to be offended at their abandoning an appellation, -either hereditary in the family, or given by themselves. It is another -negro-prejudice that the eructation of the breath of a sucking child has -something in it venomous; and frequently nursing mothers, on showing the -doctor a swelled breast, will very gravely and positively attribute it -to the infant’s having broken wind while hanging at the nipple. - - -FEBRUARY 20. - -I asked one of my negro servants this morning whether old Luke was -a relation of his. “Yes,” he said.--“Is he your uncle, or your -cousin?”--“No, massa.”--“What then?”--“He and my father were shipmates, -massa.” - - -FEBRUARY 23. - -The law-charges in Jamaica have lately been regulated by the House of -Assembly; and by all accounts (except that of the lawyers) it was full -time that something should be done on the subject. A case was mentioned -to me this morning of an estate litigated between several parties. At -length a decision was given: the estate was sold for £16,000; but the -lawyer’s claim must always be the first discharged, and as this amounted -to more than £16,000 the lawyer found himself in possession of the -estate. This was the fable of Æsop’s oyster put in action with a -vengeance. - - -FEBRUARY 25. - -A negro, named Adam, has long been the terror of my whole estate. He was -accused of being an Obeah-man, and persons notorious for the practice -of Obeah had been found concealed from justice in his house, who were -afterwards convicted and transported. He was strongly suspected of -having poisoned more than twelve negroes, men and women; and having been -displaced by my former trustee from being principal governor, in revenge -he put poison into his water jar. Luckily he was observed by one of the -house servants, who impeached him, and prevented the intended mischief. -For this offence he ought to have been given up to justice; but being -brother of the trustee’s mistress she found means to get him off, after -undergoing a long confinement in the stocks. I found him, on my arrival, -living in a state of utter excommunication; I tried what reasoning with -him could effect, reconciled him to his companions, treated him with -marked kindness, and he promised solemnly to behave well during my -absence. However, instead of attributing my lenity to a wish to reform -him, his pride and confidence in his own talents and powers of deception -made him attribute the indulgence shown him to his having obtained an -influence over my mind. This he determined to employ to his own purposes -upon my return; so he set about forming a conspiracy against Sully, -the present chief governor, and boasted on various estates in the -neighbourhood that on my arrival he would take care to get Sully broke, -and himself substituted in his place. In the meanwhile he quarrelled and -fought to the right and to the left; and on my arrival I found the whole -estate in an uproar about Adam. No less than three charges of assault, -with intent to kill, were preferred against him. In a fit of jealousy -he had endeavoured to strangle Marlborough with the thong of a whip, and -had nearly effected his purpose before he could be dragged away: he -had knocked Nato down in some trifling dispute, and while the man was -senseless had thrown him into the river to drown him; and having taken -offence at a poor weak creature called Old Rachael, on meeting her -by accident he struck her to the ground, beat her with a supplejack, -stamped upon her belly, and begged her to be assured of his intention -(as he eloquently worded it) “to kick her guts out.” The breeding -mothers also accused him of having been the cause of the poisoning a -particular spring, from which they were in the habit of fetching water -for their children, as Adam on that morning had been seen near the -spring without having any business there, and he had been heard to -caution his little daughter against drinking water from it that day, -although he stoutly denied both circumstances. Into the bargain, my head -blacksmith being perfectly well at five o’clock, was found by his son -dead in his bed at eight; and it was known that he had lately had a -dispute with Adam, who on that day had made it up with him, and had -invited him to drink, although it was not certain that his offer had -been accepted. He had, moreover, threatened the lives of many of the -best negroes. Two of the cooks declared, that he had severally directed -them to dress Sully’s food apart, and had given them powders to mix -with it. The first to whom he applied refused positively; the second -he treated with liquor, and when she had drunk, he gave her the poison, -with instructions how to use it. Being a timid creature, she did not -dare to object, so threw away the powder privately, and pretended that -it had been administered; but finding no effect produced by it, Adam -gave her a second powder, at the same time bidding her remember the -liquor which she had swallowed, and which he assured her would effect -her own destruction through the force of Obeah, unless she prevented -it by sacrificing his enemy in her stead. The poor creature still threw -away the powder, but the strength of imagination brought upon her -a serious malady, and it was not till after several weeks that she -recovered from the effects of her fears. The terror thus produced was -universal throughout the estate, and Sully and several other principal -negroes requested me to remove them to my property in St. Thomas’s, -as their lives were not safe while breathing the same air with Adam. -However, it appeared a more salutary measure to remove Adam himself; but -all the poisoning charges either went no further than strong suspicion, -or (any more than the assaults) were not liable by the laws of Jamaica -to be punished, except by flogging or temporary imprisonment, which -would only have returned him to the estate with increased resentment -against those to whom he should ascribe his sufferings, however -deserved. - -However, on searching his house, a musket with a plentiful accompaniment -of powder and ball was found concealed, as also a considerable quantity -of materials for the practice of Obeah: the possession of either of the -above articles (if the musket is without the consent of the proprietor) -authorises the magistrates to pronounce a sentence of transportation. In -consequence of this discovery, Adam was immediately committed to gaol; -a slave court was summoned, and to-day a sentence of transportation from -the island was pronounced, after a trial of three hours. As to the man’s -guilt, of that the jury entertained no doubt after the first half -hour’s evidence; and the only difficulty was to restrain the verdict -to transportation. We produced nothing which could possibly affect -the man’s life; for although perhaps no offender ever better de served -hanging; yet I confess my being weak-minded enough to entertain doubts -whether hanging or other capital punishment ought to be inflicted for -any offence whatever: I am at least certain, that if offenders waited -till they were hanged by me, they would remain unhanged till they were -all so many old Parrs. However, although I did my best to prevent Adam -from being hanged, it was no easy matter to prevent his hanging himself. -The Obeah ceremonies always commence with what is called, by the -negroes, “the Myal dance.” This is intended to remove any doubt of -the chief Obeah-man’s supernatural powers; and in the course of it, he -undertakes to show his art by killing one of the persons present, whom -he pitches upon for that purpose. He sprinkles various powders over the -devoted victim, blows upon him, and dances round him, obliges him to -drink a liquor prepared for the occasion, and finally the sorcerer and -his assistants seize him and whirl him rapidly round and round till the -man loses his senses, and falls on the ground to all appearance and -the belief of the spectators a perfect corpse. The chief Myal-man then -utters loud shrieks, rushes out of the house with wild and frantic -gestures, and conceals himself in some neighbouring wood. At the end of -two or three hours he returns with a large bundle of herbs, from some -of which he squeezes the juice into the mouth of the dead person; -with others he anoints his eyes and stains the tips of his fingers, -accompanying the ceremony with a great variety of grotesque actions, and -chanting all the while something between a song and a howl, while the -assistants hand in hand dance slowly round them in a circle, stamping -the ground loudly with their feet to keep time with his chant. A -considerable time elapses before the desired effect is produced, but at -length the corpse gradually recovers animation, rises from the ground -perfectly recovered, and the Myal dance concludes. After this proof of -his power, those who wish to be revenged upon their enemies apply to the -sorcerer for some of the same powder, which produced apparent death -upon their companion, and as they never employ the means used for his -recovery, of course the powder once administered never fails to be -lastingly fatal. It must be superfluous to mention that the Myal-man -on this second occasion substitutes a poison for a narcotic. Now, among -other suspicious articles found in Adam’s hut, there was a string of -beads of various sizes, shapes, and colours, arranged in a form peculiar -to the performance of the Obeah-man in the Myal dance. Their use was -so well known, that Adam on his trial did not even attempt to deny -that they could serve for no purpose but the practice of Obeah; but he -endeavoured to refute their being his own property, and with this view -he began to narrate the means by which he had become possessed of them. -He said that they belonged to Fox (a negro who was lately transported), -from whom he had taken them at a Myal dance held on the estate of -Dean’s Valley; but as the assistants at one of these dances are by law -condemned to death equally with the principal performer, the court had -the humanity to interrupt his confession of having been present on such -an occasion, and thus saved him from criminating himself so deeply as to -render a capital punishment inevitable. I understand that he was quite -unabashed and at his ease the whole time; upon hearing his sentence, he -only said very coolly, “Well! I ca’n’t help it!” turned himself round, -and walked out of court. That nothing might be wanting, this fellow had -even a decided talent for hypocrisy. When on my arrival he gave me a -letter filled with the grossest lies respecting the trustee, and every -creditable negro on the estate, he took care to sign it by the name -which he had lately received in baptism; and in his defence at the bar -to prove his probity of character and purity of manners, he informed the -court that for some time past he had been learning to read, for the sole -purpose of learning the Lord’s Prayer. The nick-name by which he was -generally known among the negroes in this part of the country, was -Buonaparte, and he always appeared to exult in the appellation. Once -condemned, the marshal is bound under a heavy penalty to see him shipped -from off the island before the expiration of six weeks, and probably he -will be sent to Cuba. He is a fine-looking man between thirty and forty, -square built, and of great bodily strength, and his countenance equally -expresses intelligence and malignity. The sum allowed me for him is one -hundred pounds currency, which is scarcely a third of his worth as a -labourer, but which is the highest value which a jury is permitted to -mention. - - -MARCH 1. (Sunday.) - -Last night the negroes of Friendship took it into their ingenious -heads to pay me a compliment of an extremely inconvenient nature. They -thought, that it would be highly proper to treat me with a nightly -serenade just by way of showing their _enjoyment_ on my return; and -accordingly a large body of them arrived at my doors about midnight, -dressed out in their best clothes, and accompanied with drums, rattles, -and their whole orchestra of abominable instruments, determined to pass -the whole night in singing and dancing under my windows. Luckily, my -negro-governors heard what was going forwards, and knowing my taste a -little better than my visiters, they hastened to assure them of my being -in bed and asleep, and with much difficulty persuaded them to remove -into my village. Here they contented themselves with making a noise for -the greatest part of the night; and the next morning, after coming up to -see me at breakfast, they went away quietly. One of them only remained -to enquire particularly after Lady H-------, as her mother had been her -nurse, and she was very particular in her enquiries as to her health, -her children, their ages and names. When she went away, I gave her a -plentiful provision of bread, butter, plantains, and cold ham from the -breakfast table; part of which she sat down to eat, intending, as she -said, to carry the rest to her piccaninny at home. But in half an hour -after she made her appearance again, saying she was come to take leave -of me, and hoped I would give her a _bit_ to buy tobacco. I gave her a -maccaroni, which occasioned a great squall of delight. Oh! since I had -given her so much, she would not buy tobacco but a fowl; and then, when -I returned, she would bring me a chicken from it for my dinner; that is, -if she could keep the other negroes from stealing it from her, a piece -of extraordinary good luck of which she seemed to entertain but slender -hopes. At length off she set; but she had scarcely gone above ten yards -from the house, when she turned back, and was soon at my writing-table -once more, with a “Well! here me come to massa again!” So then she said, -that she had meant to eat part of the provisions which I had given her, -and carry home the rest to her boy; but that really it was so good, she -could not help going on eating and eating, till she had eaten the whole, -and now she wanted another bit of cold ham to carry home to her child, -and then she should go away perfectly contented. I ordered Cubina -to give her a great hunch of it, and Mrs. Phillis at length took her -departure for good and all. - - -MARCH 4. (Wednesday.) - -I set out to visit my estate in St. Thomas’s in the East, called -Hordley. It is at the very furthest extremity of the island, and -never was there a journey like unto my journey. Something disagreeable -happened at every step; my accidents commenced before I had accomplished -ten miles from my own house; for in passing along a narrow shelf -of rock, which overhangs the sea near Bluefields, a pair of young -blood-horses in my carriage took fright at the roaring of the waves -which dashed violently against them, and twice nearly overturned me. On -the second occasion one of them actually fell down into the water, while -the off-wheel of the curricle flew up into the air, and thus it remained -suspended, balancing backwards and forwards, like Mahomet’s coffin. -Luckily, time was allowed the horse to recover his legs, down came the -wheel once more on terra firma, and on we went again. We slept at Cashew -(an estate near Lacovia), and the next morning at daylight proceeded to -climb the Bogr, a mountain so difficult, that every one had pronounced -the attempt to be hopeless with horses so young as mine; but those -horses were my only ones, and therefore I was obliged to make the trial. -The road is bordered by tremendous precipices for about twelve miles; -the path is so narrow, that a servant must always be sent on before to -make any carts which may be descending stop in recesses hollowed out for -this express purpose; and the cartmen are obliged to sound their shells -repeatedly, in order to give each other timely warning. The chief -danger, however, proceeds from the steepness of the road, which in -some places will not permit the waggons to stop, however well their -conductors may be inclined; then down they come drawn by twelve or -fourteen, or sometimes sixteen oxen, sweeping every thing before them, -and any carriage unlucky enough to find itself in their course must -infallibly be dashed over the precipice. To-day, it really appeared as -if all the estates in the island had agreed to send their produce by -this particular road; the shells formed a complete chorus, and sounded -incessantly during our whole passage of the mountain; and at one time -there was a very numerous accumulation of carts and oxen in consequence -of my carriage coming to a complete stop. As we were ascending,--“It -is very well,” said a gentleman who was travelling with me, (Mr. Hill) -“that we did not come by this road three months sooner. I remember about -that time travelling it on horseback, and an enormous tree had fallen -over the path, which made me say to myself as I passed under it, ‘Now, -how would a chaise with a canopy get along here? The tree hangs so low -that the carriage never could pass, and it would certainly have to go -all the way home again.’ Of course, the obstacle must now be removed; -but if I remember right, this must have been the very spot.... and as -I hope to live, yonder is the very tree still!”--And so it proved; -although three months had elapsed, the impediment had been suffered to -remain in unmolested possession of the road, and to pass my carriage -under it proved an absolute impossibility. After much discussion, -and many fruitless attempts, we at length succeeded in unscrewing the -wheels, lifting off the body, which we carried along, and then built -the curricle up again on the opposite side of the tree. However, by -one means or other (after leaving a knocked-up saddle-horse at a coffee -plantation, to the owner of which I was a perfect stranger, but who very -obligingly offered to take charge of the animal) we found ourselves at -the bottom of the mountain; but the fatal tree, and the delay occasioned -by taking unavoidable shelter from tremendous storms of rain, had lost -us so much time, that night surprised us when we were still eight miles -distant from our destined inn. The night was dark as night could be; -no moon, no stars, nor any light except the flashing of myriads of -fire-flies, which, flapping in the faces of the young horses, frightened -them, and made them rear. The road, too, was full of water-trenches, -precipices, and deep and dangerous holes. As to the ground, it was quite -invisible, and we had no means of proceeding with any chance of safety -except by making some of the servants lead the horses, while others -went before us to explore the way, while they cried out at every -moment,--“Take care; a little to the left, or you will slip into that -water-trench--a little to the right, or you will tumble over that -precipice.”--Into the bargain there was neither inn nor gentleman’s -house within reach; and thus we proceeded crawling along at a foot’s -pace for five eternal miles, when we at length stopped to beg a shelter -for the night at a small estate called Porous. By this time it was -midnight; all the family was gone to bed; the gates were all locked; and -before we could obtain admittance a full hour elapsed, during which I -sat in an open carriage, perspiration streaming down from my head to my -feet through vexation, impatience and fatigue, while the night-dew fell -heavy and the night-breeze blew keen; which (as I had frequently been -assured) was the very best recipe possible for getting a Jamaica fever. -On such I counted both for myself and my white servant, when I at -length laid myself down in a bed at Porous; but to my equal surprise and -satisfaction we both rose the next morning without feeling the slightest -inconvenience from our risks of the preceding day, and in the evening of -Friday, the 5th, I reached Miss Cole’s hotel at the Spanish Town. One of -my young horses, however, was so completely knocked up by the fatigue of -crossing the mountain, that I could get no further than Kingston (only -fourteen miles) this next day. In consequence of the delay, I -was enabled to visit the Kingston theatre; the exterior is rather -picturesque; within it has no particular recommendations; the scenery -and dresses were shabby, the actors wretched, and the stage ill lighted; -the performance was for the benefit of the chief actress, who had but -little reason to be satisfied with the number of her audience; and I -may reckon it among my other misfortunes on this ill-starred expedition, -that it was my destiny to sit out the tragedy of “Adelgitha,” whom the -author meant only to be killed in the last act, but whom the actors -murdered in all five. The heroine was the only one who spoke tolerably, -but she was old enough and fat enough for the Widow Cheshire; Guiscard -did not know ten words of his part; the tyrant was really comical -enough; and Lothair was played by a young Jamaica Jew about fifteen -years of age, and who is dignified here with the name of “the Creole -Roscius.” His voice was just breaking, which made him “pipe and whistle -in the sound,” his action was awkward, and altogether he was but a sorry -specimen of theatrical talent: however, his _forte_ is said to lie -in broad farce, which perhaps may account for his being no better in -tragedy. On Sunday, the 8th, I resumed my journey, but my horses were so -completely knocked up, that I was obliged to hire an additional pair to -convey me to Miss Hetley’s inn on the other side of the Yallacks River, -which is nineteen miles from Kingston. This river, as well as that of -Morant (which I passed about ten miles further) both in breadth and -strength sets all bridges at defiance, and in the rainy season it is -sometimes impassable for several weeks. On this occasion there was but -little water in either, and I arrived without difficulty at Port Morant, -where I found horses sent by my trustee to convey me to Hordley. The -road led up to the mountains, and was one of the steepest, roughest, -and most fatiguing that I ever travelled, in spite of its picturesque -beauties. At length I reached my estate, jaded and wearied to death; -here I expected to find a perfect paradise, and I found a perfect hell. -Report had assured me, that Hordley was the best managed estate in the -island, and as far as the soil was concerned, report appeared to have -said true; but my trustee had also assured me, that my negroes were -the most contented and best disposed, and here there was a lamentable -incorrectness in the account. I found them in a perfect uproar; -complaints of all kinds stunned me from all quarters: all the blacks -accused all the whites, and all the whites accused all the blacks, and -as far as I could make out, both parties were extremely in the right. -There was no attachment to the soil to be found _here_; the negroes -declared, one and all, that if I went away and left them to groan under -the same system of oppression without appeal or hope of redress, they -would follow my carriage and establish themselves at Cornwall. I had -soon discovered enough to be certain, that although they told me plenty -of falsehoods, many of their complaints were but too well founded; and -yet how to protect them for the future or satisfy them for the present -was no easy matter to decide. Trusting to these fallacious reports of -the Arcadian state of happiness upon Hordley, I supposed, that I should -have nothing to do there but grant a few indulgences, and establish -the regulations already adopted with success on Cornwall; distribute -a little money, and allow a couple of play-days for dancing; and under -this persuasion I had made it quite impossible for me to remain above a -week at Hordley, which I conceived to be fully sufficient for the above -purpose. As to grievances to be redressed, I was totally unprepared for -any such necessity; yet now they poured in upon me incessantly, each -more serious than the former; and before twenty-four hours were elapsed -I had been assured, that in order to produce any sort of tranquillity -upon the estate, I must begin by displacing the trustee, the physician, -the four white book-keepers, and the four black governors, all of whom -I was modestly required to remove and provide better substitutes in the -space of five days and a morning. What with the general clamour, -the assertions and denials, the tears and the passion, the odious -falsehoods, and the still more odious truths, and (worst of all to me) -my own vexation and disappointment at finding things so different from -my expectations, at first nearly turned my brain; and I felt strongly -tempted to set off as fast as I could, and leave all these black devils -and white ones to tear one another to pieces, an amusement in which they -appeared to be perfectly ready to indulge themselves. It was, however, -considerable relief to me to find, upon examination, that no act of -personal ill-treatment was alleged against the trustee himself, who -was allowed to be sufficiently humane in his own nature, and was -only complained of for allowing the negroes to be maltreated by the -book-keepers, and other inferior agents, with absolute impunity. -Being an excellent planter, he confined his attention entirely to the -cultivation of the soil, and when the negroes came to complain of some -act of cruelty or oppression committed by the book-keepers or the black -governors, he refused to listen to them, and left their complaints -unenquired into, and consequently unredressed. The result was, that the -negroes were worse off, than if he had been a cruel man himself; for -his cruelty would have given them only one tyrant, whereas his indolence -left them at the mercy of eight. Still they said, that they would be -well contented to have him continue their trustee, provided that I would -appoint some protector, to whom they might appeal in cases of injustice -and ill-usage. The trustee declaring himself well satisfied that some -such appointment should take place, a neighbouring gentleman (whose -humanity to his own negroes had established him in high favour -with mine) was selected for this purpose. I next ordered one of the -book-keepers (of the atrocious brutality of whose conduct the trustee -himself upon examination allowed that there could be no doubt) to quit -the estate in two hours under pain of prosecution; away went the man, -and when I arose the next morning, another book-keeper had taken himself -off of his own accord, and that in so much haste that he left all -his clothes behind him. My next step was to displace the chief black -governor, a man deservedly odious to the negroes, and whom a gross and -insolent lie told to myself enabled me to punish without seeming to -displace him in compliance with their complaints against him; and these -sources of discontent being removed, I read to them my regulations for -allowing them new holidays, additional allowances of salt-fish, rum, -and sugar, with a variety of other indulgences and measures taken -for protection, &c. All which, assisted by a couple of dances and -distribution of money on the day of my departure had so good an effect -upon their tempers, that I left them in as good humour apparently, as -I found them in bad. But to leave them was no such easy matter; the -weather had been bad from the moment of my commencing my journey, but -from the moment of my reaching Hordley, it became abominable. The rain -poured down in cataracts incessantly; the old crazy house stands on the -top of a hill, and the north wind howled round it night and day, shaking -it from top to bottom, and threatening to become a hurricane. The -storm was provided with a very suitable accompaniment of thunder -and lightning; and to complete the business, down came the mountain -torrents, and swelled Plantain Garden River to such a degree, that -it broke down the dam-head, stopped the mill, and all work was at a -stand-still for two days and nights. But the worst of all was that this -same river lay between me and Kingston; bridge there was none, and it -soon became utterly impassable. Thus it continued for four days; on the -fifth (the day which I had appointed for my departure, and on which I -gave the negroes a parting holiday) the water appeared to be somewhat -abated at a ford about four miles distant; for as to crossing at my -own, that was quite out of the question for a week at least. A negro was -despatched on horseback to ascertain the height of the water; his report -was very unfavourable. However, as at worst I could but return, and had -no better means of employing my time, I resolved to make the experiment. -About forty of the youngest and strongest negroes left their dancing and -drinking, and ran on foot to see me safe over the water. The few hours -which had elapsed since my messenger’s examination, had operated very -favourably towards the reduction of the water, although it was still -very high. But a servant going before to ascertain the least dangerous -passage, and the negroes rushing all into the river to break the force -of the stream, and support the carriage on both sides, we were enabled -to struggle to the opposite bank, and were landed in safety with loud -cheering from my sable attendants, who then left me, many with tears -running down their cheeks, and all with thanks for the protection which -I had shown them, and earnest entreaties that I would come to visit them -another time. Whether my visit will have been productive of essential -service to them must remain a doubt; the trustee at least promised -me most solemnly that my regulations for their happiness and security -should be obeyed, and that the slave-laws (of which I had detected -beyond a doubt some very flagrant violations) should be carried into -effect for the future with the most scrupulous exactness. If he breaks -his promise, and I discover it, I have pledged myself most solemnly -to remove him, however great may be his merits as a planter; if he -contrives to keep me in ignorance of his proceedings (which, however, -from the precautions which I have now taken, I trust, will be no easy -matter), and the state of the negroes should continue after my departure -to be what it was before my arrival, then I can only console myself with -thinking, that the guilt is his, not mine; and that it is on _his_ head -that the curse of the sufferers and the vengeance of heaven will fall, -not on my own. I have been told that this estate of mine is one of the -most beautiful in the island. It may be so for anything that I can tell -of the matter. The badness of the weather and the disquietude of my -mind during the whole of my short stay, made every thing look gloomy and -hideous; and when I once found myself again beyond my own limits, I -felt my spirits lighter by a hundred weight. Of all the points which had -displeased me at Hordley, none had made me more angry for the time, than -the lie told me by the chief governor, which occasioned my displacing -him. This fellow, who for the credit of our family (no doubt) had got -himself christened by the name of John Lewis, had the impudence to walk -into my parlour just as I was preparing to go to bed, and inform me, -that he could not get the business of the estate done. Why not? He could -get nobody to come to the night-work at the mill, which he supposed was -the consequence of my indulging the negroes so much. Indeed! and where -were the people who ought to come to their night-work? in the negro -village? No; they were in the hospital, and refused to come out to work. -Upon which I blazed up like a barrel of gunpowder, and volleying out -in a breath all the curses that I ever heard in my life, I asked him, -whether any person really had been insolent enough to select a whole -night party from the sick people in the hospital, not one of whom ought -to stir out of it till well? There stood the fellow, trembling and -stammering, and unable to get out an answer, while I stamped up and down -the piazza, storming and swearing, banging all the doors till the house -seemed ready to tumble about our ears, and doing my best to out-herod -Herod, till at last I ordered the man to begone that instant, and get -the work done properly. He did not wait to be told twice, and was off in -a twinkling. In a quarter of an hour I sent for him again, and enquired -whether he had succeeded in getting the proper people to work at the -mill? Upon which he had the assurance to answer, that all the people -were there, and that it was not of their not being at the mill that he -had meant to complain. Of what was it then? “Of their not being in the -field.” When? “Yesterday. He could not get the negroes to come to work, -and so there had been none done all day.” And who refused to come? “All -the people.” But who? “All.” But who, who, who?--their names, -their names, their names? “He could not remember them all.” Name -one--well?--speak then, speak! “There was Beck.” And who else? “There -was Sally, who used to be called Whan-ica.” And who else? “There was.... -there was Beck.” But who else? “Beck... and Sally”... But who else? who -else? “Little Edward had gone out of the hospital, and had not come to -work.” Well! Beck and Sally, and little Edward; who else? “Beck, and -little Edward, and Sally.” - -But who else: I say, who else? “He could not remember any body else.” - Then to be sure I was in such an imperial passion, as would have done -honour to “her majesty the queen Dolallolla.” - -Why, you most impudent of all impudent fellows that ever told a lie, -have you really presumed to disturb me at this time of night, prevent -my going to bed, tell me that you can’t get the business done, and that -none of the people would come to work, and make such a disturbance, and -all because two old women and a little boy missed coming into the field -yesterday! Down dropped the fellow in a moment upon his marrow bones: -“Oh, me good massa,” cried he (and out came the truth, which I knew well -enough before he told me), “me no come of my own head; me _ordered_ to -come; but me never tell massa lie more, so me pray him forgib me!” - But his obeying any person on my own estate in preference to me, and -suffering himself to be converted into an instrument of my annoyance, -was not to be easily overlooked; so I turned him out of the house with a -flea in his ear as big as a camel; and the next morning degraded him to -the rank of a common field negro. The trustee pleaded hard for his being -permitted to return to the waggons, from whence he had been taken, and -where he would be useful. But I was obdurate. Then came his wife to beg -for him, and then his mother, and then his cousin, and then his cousin’s -cousin: still I was firm; till on the day of my departure, the new chief -governor came to me in the name of the whole estate, and bested me to -allow John Lewis to return to the command of the waggons, “for that all -the negroes said, that it would be _too sad a thing_ for them to see a -man who had held the highest place among them, degraded quite to be a -common field negro.” There was something in this appeal which argued so -good a feeling, that I did not think it right to resist any longer; so I -hinted that if the trustee should ask it again as a favour to himself, -I might perhaps relent; and the proper application being thus made, -John Lewis was allowed to quit the field, but with a positive injunction -against his ever being employed again in any office of authority over -the negroes. I found baptism in high vogue upon Hordley, but I am sorry -to say, that I could not discover much effect produced upon their minds -by having been made Christians, except in one particular: whenever one -of them told me a monstrous lie (and they told me whole dozens), he -never failed to conclude his story by saying--“And now, massa, you know, -I’ve been christened; and if you do not believe what I say, I’m ready to -buss the booh to the truth of it.” The whole advantages to be derived -by negroes from becoming Christians, seemed to consist with them in two -points; being a superior species of magic itself, it preserved them from -black Obeah; and by enabling them to take an oath upon the ‘Bible to the -truth of any lie which it might suit them to tell, they believed that -it would give them the power of humbugging the white people with perfect -ease and convenience. They had observed the importance attached by -the whites to such an attestation, and the conviction which it always -appeared to carry with it; as to the crime or penalty of perjury, of -that they were totally ignorant, or at least indifferent; therefore -they were perfectly ready to “buss the book,” which they considered as -a piece of buckra superstition, mighty useful to the negroes, and valued -taking their oath upon the Bible to a lie, no more than Mrs. Mincing -did the oath which she took in the Blue Garret “upon an odd volume of -Messalina’s Poems.” Although I set out from Hordley at two o’clock, it -was past seven before I reached an estate called “The Retreat,” which -was only twelve miles off, so abominable was the road. Here I stopped -for the night, which I passed at supper with the musquitoes,--“not where -I ate, but where I was eaten.” Morant River had been swelled by the late -heavy rains to a tremendous height, and its numerous quicksands render -the passage in such a state extremely dangerous, However, a negro having -been sent early to explore it, and having returned with a favourable -report, we proceeded to encounter it. A Hordley negro, well acquainted -with these perilous rivers, had accompanied me for the express purpose -of pointing out the most practicable fords; but for some time his -efforts to find a safe one were unavailing, his horse at the end of a -minute or two plunging into a quicksand or some deep hole, among the -waters thrown up from which he totally disappeared for a moment, and -then was seen to struggle out again with such an effort and leap, as -were quite beyond the capability of any carriage’s attempting. However, -at the end of half an hour he was fortunate to find a place, where he -could cross (up to his horse’s belly in the water, to be sure), but at -least without tumbling into holes and quicksands; and here we set out, -conscious that our whole chance of reaching the opposite shore consisted -in keeping precisely the path which he had gone already, and determined -to stick as close as possible to his horse’s tail. But no sooner were -we fairly in the water, than my young horses found themselves unable to -resist the strength and rapidity of the torrent, which was rolling -down huge stones as big as rocks from the mountain; and to my utter -consternation, I perceived the curricle carried down the stream, and -the distance from my guide (who, by swimming his horse, had reached the -destined landing-place in safety) growing wider and wider with every -moment. We were now driving at all hazards; every moment I expected -to see a horse or a wheel sink down into some deep hole, the chaise -overturned, and ourselves either swallowed up in a quicksand, or dashed -to pieces against the stones, which were rolling around us. I never -remember to have felt myself so completely convinced of approaching -destruction, and I roared out with all my might and main:--“We are -carried away! all is over!” although, to be sure, I might as well -have held my tongue, seeing that all my roaring could not do the least -possible good. However, my horses, although too weak to resist the -current, were fortunately strong enough to keep their legs; while they -drifted down the stream, they struggled along in an oblique direction, -which gradually (though but slowly) brought us nearer to the opposite -shore; and after several minutes passed in most painful anxiety, a -desperate plunge out of the water enabled them to _jump_ the carriage -upon terra firma on the same side with my guide, although at a -considerable distance from the spot where he had landed. The Yallack’s -River was less dangerous; but even this too had been sufficiently -swelled to make the crossing it no easy matter; so that what with one -obstacle and another, when I reached Kingston at six o’clock with -my bones and my vehicle unbroken, I was almost as much surprised as -satisfied. I dined with the curate of Kingston (Rev. G. Hill), where I -met the admiral upon this station, Sir Home Popham, and a large party. -At Kingston I was obliged to send back a horse, which had been lent me -in aid of my own; another had been dropped at “the Retreat a third could -get no farther than the mountains; and my companion’s three horses had -found themselves unable even to reach Spanish Town, and I had thus been -obliged to leave them and theirs behind upon the road. On the morning of -our departure from Cornwall, when my Italian servant saw the quantity -of horses, mules, servants, and carriages collected for the journey, -he clapped his hands together in exultation, and exclaimed,--“They will -certainly take us for the king of England!” But now when after leaving -one horse in one place and another horse in another, on the morning -of Monday the 16th, he beheld my whole caravan reduced to one pair of -chaise horses and a couple of miserable mules, he cast a rueful look -upon my diminished cavalry and sighed to himself,--“I verily believe, we -shall return home on foot after all!” I reached Spanish Town in time to -dine with the chief justice (Mr. Jackson), and intended to remain two -or three days longer; but the fatality, which had persecuted me from the -very commencement of this abominable journey, was not exhausted yet. On -Tuesday morning, my landlady just hinted, that “she thought it right -to let me know, that to be sure there _was_ a gentleman unwell in the -house; but she supposed, that I should not care about it: however, if -I particularly disliked the neighbourhood of a sick person, she would -procure me lodgings.” I asked, “What was the complaint?” - -“Oh! he was a little sick, that was all.” To which I only could answer, -that, “in that case I hoped he would get better,” and thought no more -about it. However, when I went to visit the governor, I found, that this -“little sickness” of my landlady’s was neither more nor less than the -yellow fever; of which the gentleman in question was now dying, of which -a lady had died only two days before, and of which another European, -newly arrived, had fallen ill in this very same hotel only a fortnight -before, and had died, after throwing himself out of an upper window in a -fit of delirium. Under all these circumstances, I thought it to the full -as prudent not to prolong my residence in Spanish Town; and accordingly, -on Wednesday the 18th, I resumed my journey homewards. I travelled the -north side of the island, which was the road used by me on my return two -years ago. I have nothing to add to my former account of it, except that -there need not be better inns anywhere than the Wellington hotel at -Rio Bueno, and Judy James’s at Montego Bay, which latter is now, in my -opinion, by far the prettiest town in Jamaica. Indeed, all the inns upon -this road are excellent, with the solitary exception of the Black-heath -Tavern, which I stopped at by a mistake instead of that of Montague. At -this most miserable of all inns that ever entrapped an unwary traveller, -there was literally nothing to be procured for love or money: no corn -for the horses; no wine without sending six miles for a bottle; no food -but a miserable starved fowl, so tough that the very negroes could not -eat it; and a couple of eggs, one of which was addled: there was but one -pair of sheets in the whole house, and neither candles, nor oranges, -nor pepper, nor vinegar, nor bread, nor even so much as sugar, white or -brown. Yams there were, which prevented my servants from going to bed -quite empty, and I contented myself with the far-fetched bottle of wine -and the solitary egg, which I eat by the light of a lamp filled with -stinking oil. The one pair of sheets I seized upon to my own share, and -my servants made themselves as good beds as they could upon the floor -with great coats and travelling mantles. It was on Wednesday night, that -after the fatigue of crossing Mount Diablo, “myself I unfatigued” in -this delectable retreat, which seemed to have been established upon -principles diametrically opposite to those of Shenstone’s. On Thursday I -slept at Rio Bueno, on Friday at Montego Bay, passed Saturday at Anchovy -estate (Mr. Plummer’s), and was very glad, on Sunday the 22d, to find -myself once more quietly established at Cornwall, fully determined to -leave it no more, till I leave it on my return to England. The lady, who -had died so lately at Kingston, had arrived not long before in a vessel, -both the crew and passengers of which landed (to all appearance) in -perfect health after a favourable passage from England. Of course, they -soon dispersed in different directions; yet almost all of them were -attacked nearly at the same period by the fever, which seemed to have a -particular commission to search out such persons as had arrived by that -particular ship, at however remote a distance they might be from each -other. - - -MARCH 29. (Sunday.) - -This morning (without either fault or accident) a young, strong, healthy -woman miscarried of an eight months’ child; and this is the third -time that she has met with a similar misfortune. No other symptom of -child-bearing has been given in the course of this year, nor are there -above eight women upon the breeding list out of more than one hundred -and fifty females. Yet they are all well clothed and well fed, contented -in mind, even by their own account, over-worked at no time, and when -upon the breeding list are exempted from labour of every kind. In -spite of all this, and their being treated with all possible care -and indulgence, rewarded for bringing children, and therefore anxious -themselves to have them, how they manage it so ill I know not, but -somehow or other certainly the children do not come. - - -MARCH 31. - -During the whole three weeks of my absence, only two negroes have been -complained of for committing fault. The first was a domestic quarrel -between two Africans; Hazard stole Frank’s calabash of sugar, which -Frank had previously stolen out of my boiling-house. So Frank broke -Hazard’s head, which in my opinion settled the matter so properly, -that I declined spoiling it by any interference of my own. The other -complaint was more serious. Toby, being ordered to load the cart -with canes, answered “I wo’nt”--and Toby was as good as his word; -in consequence of which the mill stopped for want of canes, and the -boilinghouse stopped for want of liquor. I found on my return that for -this offence Toby had received six lashes, which Toby did not mind three -straws. But as his fault amounted to an act of downright rebellion, I -thought that it ought not by any means to be passed over so lightly, and -that Toby ought to be _made_ to mind. I took no notice for some days; -but the Easter holidays had been deferred till my return, and only began -here on Friday last. On that day, as soon as the head governor had blown -the shell, and dismissed the negroes till Monday morning, he requested -the pleasure of Mr. Toby’s company to the hospital, where he locked him -up in a room by himself. All Saturday and Sunday the estate rang with -laughing, dancing, singing, and huzzaing. Salt-fish was given away in -the morning; the children played at ninepins for jackets and petticoats -in the evening; rum and sugar was denied to no one. The gumbys -thundered; the kitty-katties clattered; all was noise and festivity; and -all this while, “_qualis morens Philomela_,” sat solitary Toby gazing -at his four white walls! Toby had not minded the lashes; but the loss of -his amusement, and the disgrace of his exclusion from the fête operated -on his mind so forcibly, that when on the Monday morning his door was -unlocked, and the chief governor called him to his work, not a word -would he deign to utter; let who would speak, there he sat motionless, -silent, and sulky. However, upon my going down to him myself, his -voice thought proper to return, and he began at once to complain of his -seclusion and justify his conduct. But he no sooner opened his lips than -the whole hospital opened theirs to censure his folly, asking him how -he could presume to justify himself when he knew that he had done wrong? -and advising him to humble himself and beg my pardon; and their clamours -were so loud and so general (Mrs. Sappho, his wife, being one of the -loudest, who not only “gave it him on both sides of his ears,” but -enforced her arguments by a knock on the pate now and then), that they -fairly drove the evil spirit out of him; he confessed his fault with -great penitence, engaged solemnly never to commit such another, and set -off to his work full of gratitude for my granting him forgiveness. I -am more and more convinced every day, that the best and easiest mode of -governing negroes (and governed by some mode or other they must be) is -not by the detestable lash, but by confinement, solitary or otherwise; -they cannot bear it, and the memory of it seems to make a lasting -impression upon their minds; while the lash makes none but upon their -skins, and lasts no longer than the mark. The order at my hospital -is, that no negro should be denied admittance; even if no symptoms of -illness appear, he is allowed one day to rest, and take physic, if he -choose it. On the second morning, if the physician declares the man to -be shamming, and the plea of illness is still alleged against going -to work, then the negro is locked up in a room with others similarly -circumstanced, where care is taken to supply him with food, water, -physic, &c., and no restraint is imposed except that of not going out. -Here he is suffered to remain unmolested as long as he pleases, and he -is only allowed to leave the hospital upon his own declaration that he -is well enough to go to work; when the door is opened, and he walks -away unreproached and unpunished, however evident his deception may have -been. Before I adopted this regulation, the number of patients used to -vary from thirty to forty-five, not more than a dozen of whom perhaps -had anything the matter with them: the number at this moment is but -fourteen, and all are sores, burns, or complaints the reality of which -speaks for itself. Some few persevering tricksters will still submit -to be locked up for a day or two; but their patience never fails to -be wearied out by the fourth morning, and I have not yet met with an -instance of a patient who had once been locked up with a fictitious -illness, returning to the hospital except with a real one. In general, -they offer to take a day’s rest and physic, promising to go out to work -the next day, and on these occasions they have uniformly kept their -word. Indeed, my hospital is now in such good order, that the physician -told the trustee the other day that “mine gave him less trouble than any -hospital in the parish.” - -My boilers, too, who used to make sugar the colour of mahogany, are -now making excellent; and certainly, if appearances may be trusted, and -things will but last, I may flatter myself with the complete success -of my system of management, as far as the time elapsed is sufficient -to warrant an opinion. I only wish from my soul that I were but half -as certain of the good treatment and good behaviour of the negroes at -Hordley. - - -APRIL 1. (Wednesday.) - -Jug-Betty having had two leathern purses full of silver coin stolen out -of her trunk, her cousin Punch told her to have patience till Sunday, -and he thought that by that time he should be able to find it for her. -Upon which she very naturally suspected her cousin Punch of having -stolen the money himself, and brought him to day to make her charge -against him. However, he stuck firmly to a denial, and as several days -had been suffered to elapse since the theft, there could be no doubt of -his having concealed the money, and therefore no utility in searching -his person or his house. I found great fault with the persons in -authority for not having taken such a measure without a moment’s delay; -but the trustee informed me that it frequently produced very serious -consequences, many instances having occurred of the disgrace of their -house being searched having offended negroes so much to the heart, as to -occasion their committing suicide: so that it was a proceeding which was -seldom ventured upon without urgent necessity. It was now too late to -take it, at all events; the man confessed, indeed, that he had quitted -his work, and gone down to the negro-village on the day of the robbery, -which rendered his guilt highly probable, but he could be brought to -confess no more; and as to his saying that he thought he could find -the money by Sunday, he explained _that_ into an intention of “going to -consult a brown woman at the bay, who was a fortune-teller, and who when -any thing was stolen, could always point out the thief by _cutting -the cards_.” This was all that we could extract from him, and we were -obliged to dismiss him. However, the fright of his examination was not -without good consequences: one of the stolen purses had belonged to a -sister of Jug-Betty’s, not long deceased; and on her return home, _this_ -purse (with its contents untouched) was found lying on the sister’s -grave in her garden. Perhaps, the thief had taken it without knowing -the owner; and on finding that it had belonged to a dead person, he had -surrendered it through apprehension of being haunted by her _duppy_. - - -APRIL 5. (Sunday.) - -Clearing their grounds by fire is a very expeditious proceeding, -consequently in much practice among the negroes; but in this tindery -country it is extremely dangerous, and forbidden by the law. As I -returned home to-day from church, I observed a large smoke at no great -distance, and Cubina told me, he supposed that the negroes of the -neighbouring estate of Amity were clearing their grounds. “Then they are -doing a very wrong thing,” said I; “I hope they will fire nothing else -but their grounds, for with so strong a breeze a great deal of mischief -might be done.” However, in half an hour it proved that the smoke in -question arose from my own negro-grounds, that the fire had spread -itself, and I could see from my window the flames and smoke pouring -themselves upwards in large volumes, while the crackling of the dry -bushes and brush-wood was something perfectly terrific. The alarm was -instantly given, and whites and blacks all hurried to the scene of -action. Luckily, the breeze set the contrary way from the plantations; -a morass interposed itself between the blazing ground and one of my -best cane-pieces: the flames were suffered to burn till they reached -the brink of the water, and then the negroes managed to extinguish them -without much difficulty. Thus we escaped without injury, but I own I was -heartily frightened. - - -APRIL 8. - -This morning I was awaked by a violent coughing in the hospital; and as -soon as I heard any of the servants moving, I despatched a negro to ask, -“whether any body was bad in the hospital?” He returned and told me, -“No, massa; nobody bad there; for Alick is better, and Nelson is dead.” - Nelson was one of my best labourers, and had come into the hospital for -a glandular swelling. Early this morning he was seized with a violent -fit of coughing, burst a large artery, and was immediately suffocated -in his blood! This is the sixth death in the course of the first three -months of the year, and we have not as yet a single birth for a set-off. -Say what one will to the negroes, and treat them as well as one can, -obstinate devils, they will die! - - -APRIL 9. - -I had mentioned to Mr. Shand my having found a woman at Hordley, who had -been crippled for life, in consequence of her having been kicked in the -womb by one of the book-keepers. He writes to me on this subject:--“I -trust that conduct so savage occurs rarely in _any_ country. I can only -say, that in my long experience nothing of the kind has ever fallen -under my observation.” Mr. S. then ought to consider _me_ as having -been in high luck. I have not passed six months in Jamaica, and I have -already found on one of my estates a woman who had been kicked in the -womb by a white book-keeper, by which she was crippled herself, and on -another of my estates another woman who had been kicked in the womb by -another white book-keeper, by which he had crippled the child. The name -of the first man and woman were Lory and Jeannette; those of the second -were Full-wood and Martia: and thus, as my two estates are at the two -extremities of the island, I am entitled to say, from my own knowledge -(i.e, speaking _lite-rally_, observe), that “white book-keepers kick -black women in the belly _from one end of Jamaica to the other_.” - - -APRIL 15. (Wednesday.) - -About noon to-day a well-disposed healthy lad of seventeen years of -age was employed in unhaltering the first pair of oxen of one of the -waggons, in doing which he entangled his right leg in the rope. At that -moment the oxen set off full gallop, and dragged the boy along with them -round the whole inclosure, before the other negroes could succeed in -stopping them. However, when the prisoner was extricated, although his -flesh appeared to have been terribly lacerated, no bones were broken, -and he was even able to walk to the hospital without support. He was -blooded instantly, and two physicians were sent for by express. At -two o’clock he was still in perfect possession of his senses, and only -complained of the soreness of his wounds: but in half an hour after -he became apoplectic; sank into a state of utter insensibility, during -which a dreadful rattling in his throat was the only sign of still -existing life, and before six in the evening all was over with him! - - -APRIL 17. - -Pickle had accused his brother-in-law, Edward the Eboe, of having given -him a pleurisy by the practice of Obeah. During my last visit I had -convinced him that the charge was unjust (or at least he had declared -himself to be convinced), and about six weeks ago they came together to -assure me, that ever since they had lived upon the best terms possible. -Unluckily, Pickle’s wife miscarried lately, and for the third time; -previously to which Edward had said, that his wife would remain sole -heiress of the father’s property. This was enough to set the suspicious -brains of these foolish people at work; and to-day Pickle and his -father-in-law, old Damon, came to assure me, that in order to prevent -a child coming to claim its share of the grandfather’s property, Edward -had practised Obeah to make his sister-in-law miscarry; the only proof -of which adduced was the above expression, and the woman’s having -miscarried “just according to Edward’s very words!” To reason with -such very absurd persons was out of the case. I found too, that the two -sisters were quarrelling perpetually, and always on the point of tearing -each other’s eyes out. Therefore, as domestic peace “in a house so -disunited” was out of the question, I ordered the two families to -separate instantly, and to live at the two extremities of the negro -village; at the same time forbidding all intercourse between them -whatsoever: a plan, which was received with approbation by all parties; -and Edward moved his property out of the old man’s house into another -without loss of time. Among other charges of Obeah, Pickle declared, -that his house having been robbed, Edward had told him that Nato was -the offender; and in order to prove it beyond the power of doubt, he -had made him look at something round, “just like massa’s watch,” out of -which he had taken a sentee (a something) which looked like an egg; this -he gave to Pickle, at the same time instructing him to throw it at night -against the door of Nato’s house; which he had no sooner done and broken -the egg, than the very next day Nato’s wife Philippa “began to bawl, and -halloo, and went mad.” Now that Philippa had bawled and hallooed enough -was certainly true; but it was also true that she had confessed her -madness to have been a trick for the purpose of exciting my compassion, -and inducing me to feed her from my own table. Yet was this simple -fellow persuaded that he had made her go mad by the help of his broken -egg, and his old fool of a father-in-law was goose enough to encourage -him in the persuasion. - - -APRIL 19. (Sunday.) - -“And massa,” said Bridget, the doctoress, this morning, “my old mother -a lilly so-so to-day; and him tank massa much for the good supper massa -send last night; and him like it so well.--Laud! massa, the old lady was -just thinking what him could yam (eat) and him no fancy nothing; and -him could no yam salt, and him just wishing for something fresh, when at -that very moment Cu-bina come to him from massa with a stewed pig’s -head so fresh: it seemed just as if massa had got it from the Almighty’s -hands himself.” - - -APRIL 22. - -Naturalists and physicians, philosophers and philanthropists, may argue -and decide as they please; but certainly, as far as mere observation -admits of my judging, there does seem to be a very great difference -between the brain of a black person and a white one. I should think that -Voltaire would call a negro’s reason “_une raison très particulière_.” - Somehow or other, they never can manage to do anything _quite_ as it -should be done. If they correct themselves in one respect to-day they -are sure of making a blunder in some other manner to-morrow. Cubina is -now twenty-five, and has all his life been employed about the stable; -he goes out with my carriage twice every day; yet he has never yet been -able to succeed in putting on the harness properly. Before we get to one -of the plantation gates we are certain of being obliged to stop, and put -something or other to rights: and I once remember having laboured -for more than half an hour to make him understand that the Christmas -holidays came at Christmas; when asked the question, he always -hesitated, and answered, at hap-hazard, “July” or “October.” Yet, Cubina -is far superior in intellect to most of the negroes who have fallen -under my observation. The girl too, whose business it is to open -the house each morning, has in vain been desired to unclose all the -jalousies: she never fails to leave three or four closed, and when she -is scolded for doing so, she takes care to open those three the next -morning, and leaves three shut on the opposite side. Indeed, the attempt -to make them correct a fault is quite fruitless: they never can do the -same thing a second time in the same manner; and if the cook having -succeeded in dressing a dish well is desired to dress just such another, -she is certain of doing something which makes it quite different. -One day I desired, that there might be always a piece of salt meat at -dinner, in order that I might be certain of always having enough to send -to the sick in the hospital. In consequence, there was nothing at dinner -but salt meat. I complained that there was not a single fresh dish, and -the next day, there was nothing but fresh. Sometimes there is scarcely -anything served up, and the cook seems to have forgotten the dinner -altogether: she is told of it; and the next day she slaughters without -mercy pigs, sheep, fowls, ducks, turkeys, and everything that she can -lay her murderous hands upon, till the table absolutely groans under -the load of her labours. For above a month Cubina and I had perpetual -quarrels about the cats being shut into the gallery at nights, where -they threw down plates, glasses, and crockery of all kinds, and -made such a clatter that to get a wink of sleep was quite out of the -question. Cubina, before he went to rest, hunted under all the beds and -sofas, and laid about him with a long whip for half an hour together; -but in half an hour after his departure the cats were at work again. He -was then told, that although he had turned them out, he must certainly -have left some window open: he promised to pay particular attention -to this point, but that night the uproar was worse than ever; yet he -protested that he had carefully turned out all the cats, locked all -the doors, and shut all the windows. He was told, that if he had really -turned out all the cats, the cats must have got in again, and therefore -that he must have left some one window open at least. “No,” he said, “he -had not left one; but a pane in one of the windows had been broken -two months before, and it was there that the cats got in whenever they -pleased.” Yet he had continued to turn the cats out of the door with -the greatest care, although he was perfectly conscious that they could -always walk in again at the window in five minutes after. But the most -curious of Cubina’s modes of proceeding is, when it is necessary for -him to attack the pigeon-house. He steals up the ladder as slily and as -softly as foot can fall; he opens the door, and steals in his head -with the utmost caution; on which, to his never-failing surprise and -disappointment, all the pigeons make their escape through the open -holes; he has now no resource but entering the dove-cot, and remaining -there with unwearied patience for the accidental return of the birds, -which nine times out of ten does not take place till too late for -dinner, and Cubina returns empty-handed. Having observed this -proceeding constantly repeated during a fortnight, I took pity upon his -embarrassment, and ordered two wooden sliders to be fitted to the holes. -Cubina was delighted with this exquisite invention, and failed not -the next morning to close all the holes on the right with one of the -sliders; he then stepped boldly into the dove-cot, when to his utter -confusion the pigeons flew away through the holes on the left. Here then -he discovered where the fault lay, so he lost no time in closing the -remaining aperture with the second slider, and the pigeons were thus -prevented from returning at all. Cubina waited long with exemplary -patience, but without success, so he abandoned the new invention in -despair, made no farther use of the sliders, and continues to steal -up the ladder as he did before. A few days ago, Nicholas, a mulatto -carpenter, was ordered to make a box for the conveyance of four jars of -sweetmeats, of which he took previous measure; yet first he made a box -so small that it would scarcely hold a single jar, and then another so -large that it would have held twenty; and when at length he produced one -of a proper size, he brought it nailed up for travelling (although it -was completely empty), and nailed up so effectually too, that on being -directed to open it that the jars might be packed, he split the cover -to pieces in the attempt to take it off. Yet, among all my negroes, -Nicholas and Cubina are not equalled for adroitness and intelligence by -more than twenty. Judge then what must be the remaining three hundred! - - -APRIL 23. - -In my medical capacity, like a true quack I sometimes perform cures so -unexpected, that I stand like Katterfelto, “with my hair standing on end -at my own wonders.” Last night, Alexander, the second governor, who has -been seriously ill for some days, sent me word, that he was suffering -cruelly from a pain in his head, and could get no sleep. I knew not how -to relieve him; but having frequently observed a violent passion for -perfumes in the house negroes, for want of something else I gave the -doctoress some oil of lavender, and told her to rub two or three drops -upon his nostrils. This morning, he told me that “to be sure what I had -sent him was a grand medicine indeed,” for it had no sooner touched his -nose than he felt some-thing cold run up to his forehead, over his head, -and all the way down his neck to the back-bone; instantly, the headach -left him, he fell fast asleep, nor had the pain returned in the morning. -But I am afraid, that even this wonderful oil would fail of curing a -complaint which was made to me a few days ago. A poor old creature, -named Quasheba, made her appearance at my breakfast table, and told me, -“that she was almost eighty, had been rather weakly for some time past, -and somehow she did not feel as she was by any means right.” - -“Had she seen the doctor? Did she want physic?” - -“No, she had taken too much physic already, and the doctor would do her -no good; she did not want to see the doctor.” - -“But what then was her complaint?” - -“Oh! she had no particular complaint; only she was old and weakly, and -did not find herself by any means so well as she used to be, and so -she came just to tell massa, and see what he could do to make her quite -right again, that was all.” In short, she _only_ wanted me to make her -young again! - - -APRIL 24. - -Mr. Forbes is dead. When I was last in Jamaica, he had just been -poisoned with corrosive sublimate by a female slave, who was executed -in consequence. He never was well afterwards; but as he lived -intemperately, the whole blame of his death must not be laid upon the -poison. - - -APRIL 30. - -A free mulatto of the name of Rolph had frequently been mentioned to -me by different magistrates, as remarkable for the numerous complaints -brought against him for cruel treatment of his negroes. He was described -to me as the son of a white ploughman, who at his death left his son -six or seven slaves, with whom he resides in the heart of the mountains, -where the remoteness of the situation secures him from observation or -control. His slaves, indeed, every now and then contrive to escape, -and come down to Savannah la Mar to lodge their complaints; but the -magistrates, hitherto, had never been able to get a legal hold upon him. -However, a few days ago, he entered the house of a Mrs. Edgins, when she -was from home, and behaving in an outrageous manner to her slaves, he -was desired by the head-man to go away. Highly incensed, he answered, -“that if the fellow dared to speak another word, it should be the last -that he should ever utter.” The negro dared to make a rejoinder; upon -which Rolph aimed a blow at him with a stick, which missed his intended -victim, but struck another slave who was interposing to prevent a -scuffle, and killed him upon the spot. The murder was committed in -the presence of several negroes; but negroes are not allowed to give -evidence, and as no free person was present, there are not only doubts -whether the murderer will be punished, but whether he can even be put -upon his trial. - - -MAY 1. (Friday.) - -This morning I signed the manumission of Nicholas Cameron, the best of -my mulatto carpenters. He had been so often on the very point of getting -his liberty, and still the cup was dashed from his lips, that I had -promised to set him free, whenever he could procure an able negro as -his substitute; although being a good workman, a single negro was by -no means an adequate price in exchange. On my arrival this year I found -that he had agreed to pay £150 for a female negro, and the woman was -approved of by my trustee. But on enquiry it appeared that she had a -child, from which she was unwilling to separate, and that her owner -refused to sell the child, except at a most unreasonable price. Here -then was an insurmountable objection to my accepting her, and Nicholas -was told to his great mortification, that he must look out for another -substitute. The woman, on her part, was determined to belong to Cornwall -estate and no other: so she told her owner, that if he attempted to sell -her elsewhere she would make away with herself, and on his ordering -her to prepare for a removal to a neighbouring proprietor’s, she -disappeared, and concealed herself so well, that for some time she was -believed to have put her threats of suicide into execution. The idea of -losing his £150 frightened her master so completely, that he declared -himself ready to let me have the child at a fair price, as well as the -mother, if she ever should be found; and her friends having conveyed -this assurance to her, she thought proper to emerge from her -hiding-place, and the bargain was arranged finally. The titles, however, -were not yet made out, and as the time of my departure for Hordley was -arrived, these were ordered to be got ready against my return, when -the negroes were to be delivered over to me, and Nicholas was to be -set free. In the meanwhile, the child was sent by her mistress (a free -mulatto) to hide some stolen ducks upon a distant property, and on her -return blabbed out the errand: in consequence the mistress was committed -to prison for theft; and no sooner was she released, than she revenged -herself upon the poor girl by giving her thirty lashes with the -cattle-whip, inflicted with all the severity of vindictive malice. This -treatment of a child of such tender years reduced her to such a state, -as made the magistrates think it right to send her for protection to the -workhouse, until the conduct of the mistress should have been enquired -into. In the meanwhile, as the result of the enquiry might be the -setting the girl at liberty, the joint title for her and her mother -could not be made out, and thus poor Nicholas’s manumission was at a -stand-still again. The magistrates at length decided, that although the -chastisement had been severe, yet (according to the medical report) it -was not such as to authorise the sending the mistress to be tried at the -assizes. She was accordingly dismissed from farther investigation, and -the girl was once more considered as belonging to me, as soon as the -title could be made out. But the fatality which had so often prevented -Nicholas from obtaining his freedom, was not weary yet. On the very -morning, when he was to sign the title, a person whose signature was -indispensable, was thrown out of his chaise, the wheel of which passed -over his head, and he was rendered incapable of transacting business -for several weeks. Yesterday, the titles were at length brought to me -complete, and this morning put Nicholas in possession of the object, in -the pursuit of which he has experienced such repeated disappointments. -The conduct of the poor child’s mulatto mistress in this case was -most unpardonable, and is only one of numerous instances of a similar -description, which have been mentioned to me. Indeed, I have every -reason to believe, that nothing can be uniformly more wretched, than the -life of the slaves of free people of colour in Jamaica; nor would any -thing contribute more to the relief of the black population, than the -prohibiting by law any mulatto to become the owner of a slave for the -future. Why should not rich people of colour be served by poor people of -colour, hiring them as domestics? It seldom happens that mulattoes are -in possession of plantations; but when a white man dies, who happens -to possess twenty negroes, he will divide them among his brown family, -leaving (we may say) five to each of his four children. These are too -few to be employed in plantation work; they are, therefore, ordered -to maintain their owner by some means or other, and which means are -frequently not the most honest, the most frequent being the travelling -about as higglers, and exchanging the trumpery contents of their packs -and boxes with plantation negroes for stolen rum and sugar. I confess I -cannot see why, on such bequest being made, the law should not order -the negroes to be sold, and the produce of the sale paid to the -mulatto heirs, but absolutely prohibiting the mulattoes from becoming -proprietors of the negroes themselves. Every man of humanity must wish -that slavery, even in its best and most mitigated form, had never found -a legal sanction, and must regret that its system is now so incorporated -with the welfare of Great Britain as well as of Jamaica, as to make -its extirpation an absolute impossibility, without the certainty -of producing worse mischiefs than the one which we annihilate. But -certainly there can be no sort of occasion for continuing in the -colonies the existence of _do-mestic slavery_, which neither contributes -to the security of the colonies themselves, nor to the opulence of the -mother-country, the revenue of which derived from colonial duties would -suffer no defalcation whatever, even if neither whites nor blacks in the -West Indies were suffered to employ slaves, except in plantation labour. - - -MAY 2. - -I gave my negroes a farewell holiday, on which occasion each grown -person received a present of half-a-dollar, and every child a maccaroni. -In return, they endeavoured to express their sorrow for my departure, -by eating and drinking, dancing and singing, with more vehemence and -perseverance than on any former occasion. As in all probability many -years will elapse without my making them another visit, if indeed I -should ever return at all, I have at least exerted myself while here to -do everything which appeared likely to contribute to their welfare and -security during my absence. In particular, my attorney has made out a -list of all such offences as are most usually committed on plantations, -to which proportionate punishments have been affixed by myself. From -this code of internal regulations the overseer is not to be allowed to -deviate, and the attorney has pledged himself in the most solemn manner -to adhere strictly to the system laid down for him. By this scheme, the -negroes will no longer be punished according to the momentary caprice of -their superintendent, but by known and fixed laws, the one no more than -the other, and without respect to partiality or prejudice. Hitherto, in -everything which had not been previously deter mined by the public law, -with a penalty attached to the breach of it, the negro has been left -entirely at the mercy of the overseer, who if he was a humane man -punished him slightly, and if a tyrant, heavily; nay, very often the -quantity of punishment depended upon the time of day when the offence -was made known. If accused in the morning, when the overseer was in cold -blood and in good humour, a night’s confinement in the stocks might be -deemed sufficient; whereas if the charge was brought when the superior -had taken his full proportion of grog or sangaree, the very same offence -would be visited with thirty-nine lashes. I have, moreover, taken care -to settle all disputes respecting property, having caused all negroes -having claims upon others to bring them before my tribunal previous to -my departure, and determined that from that time forth no such claims -should be enquired into, but considered as definitively settled by my -authority. It would have done the Lord Chancellor’s heart good to see -how many suits I determined in the course of a week, and with what -expedition I made a clear court of chancery. But perhaps the most -astonishing part of the whole business was, that after judgment was -pronounced, the losers as well as the gainers declared themselves -perfectly satisfied with the justice of the sentence. I must -acknowledge, however, that the negro principle that “massa can do no -wrong,” was of some little assistance to me on this occasion. “Oh! quite -just, me good, massa! what massa say, quite just! me no say nothing -more; me good, massa!” Then they thanked me “for massa’s goodness in -giving them so long talk!” and went away to tell all the others “how -just massa had been in taking away what they wanted to keep, or not -giving them what they asked for.” It must be owned that this is not the -usual mode of proceeding after the loss of a chancery suit in England. -But to do the negroes mere justice, I must say, that I could not have -wished to find a more tractable set of people on almost every occasion. -Some lazy and obstinate persons, of course, there must inevitably be in -so great a number; but in general I found them excellently disposed, and -being once thoroughly convinced of my real good-will towards them, they -were willing to take it for granted, that my regulations must be -right and beneficial, even in cases where they were in opposition to -individual interests and popular prejudices. My attorney had mentioned -to me several points, which he thought it advisable to have altered, but -which he had vainly endeavoured to accomplish. Thus the negroes were -in the practice of bequeathing their houses and grounds, by which means -some of them were become owners of several houses and numerous -gardens in the village, while others with large families were either -inadequately provided for, or not provided for at all. I made it public, -that from henceforth no negro should possess more than one house, with a -sufficient portion of ground for his family, and on the following Sunday -the overseer by my order looked over the village, took from those who -had too much to give to those who had too little, and made an entire new -distribution according to the most strict Agrarian law. Those who lost -by this measure, came the next day to complain to me; when I avowed -its having been done by my order, and explained the propriety of the -proceeding; after which they declared themselves contented, and I -never heard another murmur on the subject. Again, mothers being allowed -certain indulgences while suckling, persist in it for two years and -upwards, to the great detriment both of themselves and their children: -complaint of this being made to me, I sent for the mothers, and told -them that every child must be sent to the weaning-house on the first day -of the fifteenth month, but that their indulgences should be continued -to the mothers for two months longer, although the children would be no -longer with them. All who had children of that age immediately gave them -up; the rest promised to do so, when they should be old enough $ and -they all thanked me for the continuance of their indulgences, which they -considered as a boon newly granted them. On my return from Hordley, I -was told that the negroes suffered their pigs to infest the works and -grounds in the immediate vicinity of the house in such numbers, that -they were become a perfect nuisance; nor could any remonstrance prevail -on them to confine the animals within the village. An order was in -consequence issued on a Saturday, that the first four pigs found -rambling at large after two days should be put to death without mercy; -and accordingly on Monday morning, at the negro breakfast hour, the head -governor made his appearance before the house, armed cap-a-pee, with a -lance in his hand, and an enormous cutlass by his side. The news of this -tremendous apparition spread through the estate like wildfire. Instantly -all was in an uproar; the negroes came pouring down from all quarters; -in an instant the whole air was rent with noises of all kinds and -creatures; men, women, and children shouting and bellowing, geese -cackling, dogs barking, turkeys gobbling; and, look where you would, -there was a negro running along as fast as he could, and dragging a -pig along with him by one of the hind legs, while the pigs were all -astonishment at this sudden attack, and called upon heaven and earth for -commiseration and protection,-- - - “With many a doleful grunt and piteous squeak, - - Poor pigs! as if their pretty hearts would break!” - -From thenceforth not a pig except my own was to be seen about the place; -yet instead of complaining of this restraint, several of the negroes -came to assure me, that I might depend on the animals not being suffered -to stray beyond the village for the future, and to thank me for having -given them the warning two days before. What other negroes may be, I -will not pretend to guess; but I am certain that there cannot be more -tractable or better disposed persons (take them for all in all) than my -negroes of Cornwall. I only wish, that in my future dealings with white -persons, whether _in_ Jamaica or out of it, I could but meet with half -so much gratitude, affection, and good-will. - - -THE END. - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Journal of a West India Proprietor, by -Matthew Gregory Lewis - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOURNAL OF A WEST INDIA PROPRIETOR *** - -***** This file should be named 54500-0.txt or 54500-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/5/0/54500/ - -Produced by David Widger from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - |