Charlestown. Of its rarities of art, I am told that steam engines work on the estates; and of its natural curiosities, that there are monkeys in its woods; moreover that the said monkeys have a predilection for robbing their brethren the men; and that the fruit is seldom left to ripen peaceably on the trees by these depredators.

And now, fair island, farewell!-for the future, may thy crops be as prolific, and thy fields as fertile, as they are at present; and may the deadly blast of the hurricane never more invade thy kindly shores.

MONTSERRAT.

MONTSERRAT is another pretty little island under the Government of Berbuda; though, as a colony, it is not considered rich; as an island, it is acknowledged to be one of the most beautiful and healthy of the Antilles. It has acquired the title of the Montpelier of the West Indies; and I never knew any one who had resided in it any length of time, without wishing to remain; nay, I have heard many say that they would like to spend their latest days in it.

It is everywhere covered with hills; one loftier than the rest, rears its head above them; and from its resemblance to Montserrat in Catalonia, Christopher Columbus is said to have given that name to the island. It has also a volcanic mountain, which, like that in St. Vincent, is called Souffrière; and,

indeed, all the volcanoes in the West Indies have the same nomenclature.

The chief town of Montserrat is called Plymouth, and contains a few good houses; also a church, which is not the only one in the island.

Montserrat is famous for its good turtle, good rum, and good fruit; its commercial productions are rum, sugar, and cotton; and its trade is by no means inconsiderable for so small a colony.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

ST. CHRISTOPHER'S.

Upon the whole, it appears from those accounts which have "the greatest claim to credit, because they partake, apparently, "of the greatest impartiality, that St. Christopher's was the original nursery of all the English and French Settlements in "this part of the world."

66

Letter of Lieutenant S

DEAR BAYLEY,

Coke.

St. Kitts, 1827.

You call on me to keep my promise; really I had forgotten it altogether, or I should have kept it before; but I am very apt to forget my promises, so you will excuse me I know.

The Duke of York brought me safe into port some three months ago; and ever since my arrival here, I have been fancying myself in heaven. I had no idea St. Kitts was such a delightful isle for a bachelor. Such a charming receptacle of charming women— such a delectable dwelling place for the givers of good dinners and the lovers of good soup. You are an admirer of fine scenery, and a worshipper of fine girls; now I will describe the first before I make love to the last of these plentiful rarities.

The captain of the Duke of York, independent of being a very good fellow, has a particular propensity for bringing his vessel to an anchor in the very best of

all possible positions, for getting a good view of the place you are coming to. So on the day of my arrival, I saw to perfection all that was worth seeing from the harbour. A very fine valley, and a town therein erected; a long chain of mountains sloping one above another, from the aforementioned green valley in the south, to the black clouds, in which the most lofty concealed its ugly summit, in the west; a few minor hills, which seemed very verdant; and a number of mills which, like tipsy Jack, were four sheets in the wind, and went round and round like the world in a hurricane, or like the head of Field Marshal when he was first made prime minister. This latter simile has taught me an admirable reflection on ambition-you shall see it, although it is written by one who is, like yourself, a devilish bad poet :

"Ambition prompting man to seek a name,

"The hero's god, the warrior's spur to fame,
"(And this reminds me of the spurs that goad
"The lazy horse that drags upon the road,)

66

Patriots, poets, peers, and premiers, all

"Pursue ambition, till she works their fall.
"The first seek popularity and myrtle;

"The latter grasp at power and eat their turtle,
"Talk of distress, the poor man's rags and tatters--
"Then smack their noble lips, and say-What matters ?"

But what has ambition to do with St. Kitts!

"What is the name of that tremendous moun"tain?" said I to the captain.

"Mount Misery," "Basse

was the reply. "And the town and valley?"

"Terre." "And the yellow hill with the garrison?"

1

"Brimstone Hill." "And the village at the point?' Sandy Point." "And yonder eminence, with that "pretty slope and cultivated aspect?" "Monkey "Hill." So I heard all this in silence, and then pointed to a very luxuriant cane-field, and said emphatically" What a field for poetry is there."

A man on the top of Mount Misery would be in a most miserable predicament; the fact is, it overhangs a steep precipice; and people say it is three thousand seven hundred and twelve feet above the sea. For the first week I never looked at it without thinking it was going to fall; but I am now as used to it as the old woman's eels were to being skinned alive. Nevertheless, I can tell you, if ever it should tumble, it will make considerably more noise than the fall of man from his duty, or of the ripe codlin, which discovered to old Newton the principles of gravitation, from the apple tree in the philosopher's garden. The contrast between the barren state of this huge mountain, and the cultivation of the plains below, reminded me greatly of a very handsome and learned little friend of mind, who married a lady with a fortune, and corporation three times as large as his own, who is very stupid and very positive, and always says, "I will," and "I wont;" of course she keeps her word, for you know the old adage, which says of

woman

"For if she will, she will, you may depend on't;

"And if she wont, she wont-so there's an end on't."

Basse Terre is a delightful little town, full of nice