lightful; so the gentlemen thought it right to interpose, then the ladies became more faint, and the ruffians more furious; at length four, Oh, marvellous achievement! contrived to conquer two, and the banditti were expelled "vi et armis," the ladies were restored to their senses, and the scream was converted into a laugh.

This was the commencement of the carnival, and though the two first masks had made their entrée rather roughly and their exit with as little ceremony, there were many more who followed with more politeness, and amused us not a little during the evening.

Four ladies, richly, dressed and masked, though without supporting any particular characters, danced a quadrille with the gentlemen, with much spirit, and played some very pretty airs on the piano. After giving their partners each

"One kiss at parting"

they left the room, and were succeeded by a masked group of negro boys and girls, who danced for a while, after the fashion of the chimney-sweepers on the first of May, and then very cooly helping themselves to some wine and cake, departed with many a profound bow to the company.

It is in this innocent manner that the carnival is carried on in Grenada, though the gaiety, and even the character of the thing is decreasing year after year, as very few of the white, or even colored inhabitants mingle in it with any spirit, and the negroes,

although they manifest wonderful ability in playing the devil or the fool, are not altogether so capable as their fairer brethren of maintaining those characters which alone render a masquerade at all interesting.

Even the slaves, however, have, like the monkeys, that talent for mimicry, which, from the drollery they display, would enable them to convert a very gloomy tragedy into an equally amusing farce; and Mr. Barclay tells us, that in the island of Jamaica, during the Christmas holidays, the slaves on one or two of the estates in the country actually attempted to perform one of the tragedies of Shakespeare.

"The last party of this kind," says that clever writer, when speaking of their crop-over assemblies, in his very able work on slavery, "which I had the pleasure of seeing and dancing with at Christmas, 1823, belonged to Reach and Muirton estates, the property of Mr. William Bryan, and afforded a novelty I had never before witnessed, in a rude representation of some passages of Richard III. which they made sufficiently farcical. The Joncanoe men, disrobed of part of their paraphernalia, were the two heroes, and fought, not for a kingdom but a queen, whom the victor carried off in triumph. Richard calling out a horse! a horse!' &c. was laughable enough. This farce I saw at Dalney Estate, the property of Sir A. Grant, and it afforded Mr. Bell, the manager, and his guests no small amusement. How the negroes had acquired even the very imperfect knowledge they seemed to have of the play, we

could form no idea, and the occasion did not admit of asking questions."

It is the same aptness for imitation that now enables the negroes of one or two of the West India towns to amuse the inhabitants with their droll buffoonery, in endeavouring to support characters under the disguise of a mask: even the slaves however are dropping this old custom by degrees, and Trinidad is the only one of our catholic colonies where the gaieties of the carnival may be said to be kept up with any spirit.

CHAPTER LV.

ROADS AND FLOODS-GOUYAVE AND THE GRAND

ETANG.

"All dwelling else

Flood overwhelmed, and them with all their pomp,
Deep under waters roll'd." Milton's Paradise Lost.

"I had not time to reach the Grand Etang, which, I am told, is a great curiosity." Coleridge.

THE beauties of the little Island of Grenada are not confined to the vicinity of Georgetown:--a visit to Gouyave and the Grand Etang convinced me that the wild magnificence of her inland scenery, though it could not delight the eye more than the picturesque views that fringe her coast, nevertheless afforded a fine field for the poet and the artist to display their powers and their talent.

Gouyave is a little town on the coast, some distance to windward of St. George. The mode of conveyance thither is generally by the canoes which pass daily up and down between the two towns. To see these canoes, a stranger would imagine it impossible that they could proceed half the distance without going down; yet, though they appear to be so slightly built, they are perfectly safe in the hands of those who know how to manage them, and will even

stand a little rough weather, as well as a larger and broader boat. Many persons go to this town by water from choice; for myself, I confess I prefer the ride the varied and picturesque scenery of the road is to me more delightful than the monotonous appearance of the water.

The roads in Grenada, generally speaking, are not good wild and craggy paths, broken fragments of rock, and every now and then a passing stream, render them totally impassable in a carriage; and the one or two vehicles which are kept in the town, are used oftener, and that with great caution, for the purpose of conveying the fair creoles to dance or festival, than for taking them an airy drive through the Vale of Tempe, the beautiful pasture lands of Belmont, or any other road in the vicinity of town.

Another great impediment to the use of carriages would be the rivers which usually flow directly across the roads in various places; and which, as there are no bridges, the foot passengers as well as the horsemen are obliged to ford: this is sometimes a dangerous achievement, as in the rainy season the water rises to twice its usual depth, and the strength and rapidity of the current is sufficient to carry a man, and even a horse, down the stream.

From this cause floods sometimes happen, and the torrents, that rush down from the mountains with terrific impetuosity, carry every thing before them. They are not, however, so frequent any where as in the fertile Island of St. Christopher, which from time to time has suffered seriously from inundations.