that which preceded the commencement of the year 1828. I could not fail to admire, though I was not in the humor to enjoy the imposing scene around me.

The glorious orb of day had been just setting in the west, and that part of the horizon where he had seemed to sink into the blue waves, was still red and radiant; the full moon shone brightly out, and threw her chaste light over the land we were leaving, and on the silent waters that sparkled around our little bark as she dashed up the white spray in her progress; the bright stars studded the heavens, and the only clouds visible on the clear surface of the azure sky, were the various clusters that concealed the lofty summit of Mount St. Andrew, of which the long and giant shadow passed darkly over the lands below, and placed them in gloomy contrast with the fields of waving canes, over which the lucid moonlight fell bright and brilliantly; then if the forest-covered hills emitted now and then a thousand glimmering sparks, we knew the fire-flies were sporting among the trees; the beetles that

"When evening comes,

"Small though they be, and scarce distinguishable, "Like evening clad in soberest livery,

"Unsheath their wings, and through the woods and glades "Scatter a marvellous splendour."

Rogers.

In the valley, between the rocky land that sloped off gradually from Sion Hill to the farthest point, and the moon-lit batteries of Fort Charlotte, lay Kingstown, in its silence, backed by the chain of mighty mountains that rose proudly in its rear.

The spray dashed upon the beach with a low and solemn murmur; the bay was calm and undisturbed, save by the rowers of a passing canoe, as they dashed their oars into its quiet waters; or by the song of the boatmen in their flats, the falling anchor of a coming sloop, or the clanking cable of a departing schooner. It was in the midst of such a scene, that I left St. Vincent, and watched it as it receded from our view, till it became no longer visible, and then I bid an eternal farewell to its hospitable shores, and wished it might long remain the seat of happiness, prosperity, and joy, the chosen isle where the spirit of gladness might take up its abode, and rest with its inhabitants till time itself should cease.

After this I left the deck of the sloop, and proceeded to the cabin, where I endeavored to lay down, but finding no berth long enough to contain me, I was obliged to get upon deck again directly. . I dare say there are few of my English readers who have ever travelled in a vessel so very small, in its dimensions, as the Jane, for this was the name of our little sloop; if they have, I pity them, for really of all the punishments I know, it is the one that comes nearest to purgatory.

My fellow passengers were a lady and gentleman with two children, who, not being able to endure the stifling heat of the cabin, were, like myself, obliged to remain on deck. Fortunately it was a fine moonlight night, but had there been rain, or even a very heavy dew, the danger of such an alternative would have been very great; as it was, however, the pure

air of the sea, and the lightness of the breeze, rendered our situation on the deck a very luxury, when compared to the suffocating atmosphere of the little place below.

Fancy a rude sort of a box, eight feet by ten, sufficiently high for a child of twelve years to stand upright, and sufficiently low to seem a perfect pillory to a man of middle stature, filled with a most disgusting odour of bilge water, and as dark as the darkest hole in the kingdom of Pluto, and you will have a tolerable picture of the most intolerable cabin I ever saw, and of the very agreeable accommodations allotted to the passengers of the sloop Jane, on the last night of the year 1827.

About midnight the breeze increased, and the sloop began to lay over, when every now and then the salt spray would dash upon the deck, and souse, not only the passengers themselves, but also sundry beds, mattresses, and cushions, which had been brought up for their accommodation. Add to this, the tossing and pitching of the little bark, the motion of which was, of course, considerably greater than that of a larger vessel, had made every one on board extremely sick; and even I, who am usually a tolerable sailor, experienced most unpleasant qualms, so that our situation was by no means enviable, and we were all excessively delighted when, at the dawn of day, we found ourselves gliding gently along the leeward coast of the Island of Grenada.

CHAPTER XLI.

GRENADA GEORGETOWN.

"Grenada is perhaps the most beautiful of the Antilles * "her features are soft and noble without being great and awful." Coleridge.

I was never so much delighted with any scenery as with that of the approach to Grenada. All along the coast it was beautiful; the little bays, the evergreen hills, the cultivated valleys, and the pretty town or village of Gouyave, with the merchant ships lying before the estates where they were loading, presented, as we passed them, an appearance far more lovely than I expected; but when the balmy gale of the morning freshened into a lively breeze, and our little sloop scudded into the bay; then the scenery that burst upon our view was such as to defy the powerful skill of the artist, or the vivid imagination of the poet.

George Town, as seen from the bay, appeared more beautiful and well built than any other of the West India towns I had witnessed; it was surrounded on all sides by a hill, and the streets ran regularly up from the bay to its summit. On the right this hill extended towards the sea, where it rose into a round and rocky eminence that fell abruptly off, and formed

a base for the citadel of Fort George, which, with its cannon pointed to the ocean and the signals waving on its staff, formed a strong defence to the entrance of the Carenage. On the left it rose gradually to a more lofty height, on which were erected the fortifications of Hospital Hill, and a long ridge, which falls towards the middle, connects this fort with the Richmond Heights, which form the back ground of the scene, sloping off into a long and irregular line of land that projects far into the sea, and is called Point Saline.

It was about two o'clock in the afternoon when we rounded Fort George, and running into the Carenage, came to anchor close to the wharf, and stepped upon the land, without the trouble of getting into a boat, exactly opposite to the very comfortable residence of the officer in charge of the Commissariat department, with whom I dined and spent the remainder of the day.

Under the hospitable roof of this gentleman I remained until I had suited myself with a dwelling more to my taste than any residence I had before occupied in the West Indies.

The house was built of solid stone, and to the height of three stories above the ground: on the two first dwelt the maker of this little book, while on the ground floor the officers of his Majesty's customs, consisting of Collector, Comptroller, Searchers, Waiters, and Clerks were wont to deposit their seizures and their cash, and to receive the duties on all commodities imported to the flourishing colony of Grenada.

A A