SCENES IN AMERICA.

FROM A TYRO'S NOTE-BOOK.

No. II.

MOST fully do I admit the verity of the adage, whether applied to man or woman, ce n'est que le premier pas qui coûte, for I cannot refrain from again giving publicity to various incidents which arose during my sojourn in a distant country; when the scenes I witnessed made so indelible an impression on my mind, that the characters are as vivid as when they were performed, and in thus depicting them I may truly be said to live my life over again :

Hoc est vivere bis, vita posse priore frui.

Alas! how many of those warm hearts, which added to the zest of enjoyment that fell to my lot, when I was a spectator or actor in the Scenes in America, have quitted this world! Little did I then imagine I should be left to tell the tale; but many a tender plant is spared by the storm, which overthrows the hardy and apparently firmly-rooted trees of the forest; and here am I, an example of the merciful care of a kind Providence, which has not only lengthened the days of my pilgrimage, but beneficently allowed only a few drops of pain and sorrow to embitter my cup of life; without which, indeed, the draught might, perhaps, have been too intoxicating, and have induced me to forget the Giver of all good.

In the former Scenes I endeavoured to depict a few passing events, which occurred during the period of my being thrown into juxtaposition with the untutored Indian, the demi-civilized Gaël, and the light-hearted and almost instinctively polite Frenchman; I shall now return to the society of civilized man, where, though the exterior surface may be more polished by art and education, still "the trail of the serpent" is as perceptible as it is in the wild Indian, who heedlessly gives vent to the passionate burst of the feelings of his heart, whether tending to good or evil.

Too strong an instance of the depravity of man clothed in the garb of civilization, but whose innate passions were as diabolical as ever tainted the breast of a savage, was evinced in the murder of my amiable associate, Captain W. This officer, in going his visiting rounds at night, perceived two soldiers carrying a sack, and, on questioning them relative to the contents of it, and the cause of their being absent from their barracks after roll-call, received but evasive answers. He, therefore, ordered them to accompany him to a neighbouring guard-room. The men, dreading the punishment that would befal them for the theft they had committed, pulled Captain W from his horse, which, in consequence of his being closely enveloped in a large cloak, was too easily accomplished; but, as he made some resistance, and attempted to give the alarm, one of them struck him a blow on his head, which stunned him. He, poor fellow, was found a short time afterwards, bleeding and senseless. On being carried to his lodgings, all that medical skill and care could effect was employed to save his life, but, alas! in vain; and as, though his senses returned, speech was denied to

give utterance to them, no sufficient clue could be obtained from him by which the assassins could immediately be discovered. After his death, which took place in about two days, two soldiers, who had belonged originally to a condemned regiment, and were stationed a short distance from the town, were apprehended on suspicion of having committed the murder. They were subsequently tried for the offence, but the evidence being only circumstantial, considerable doubts were entertained as to the possibility of their being convicted. The strongest presumptive proof against them was their relative height-one man being very tall and the other very short; and poor W- on his death-bed, having by signs answered questions put to him by a magistrate, from which it was elicited that such was the personal appearance of the soldiers who attacked him. The jury, from this and other circumstances, were satisfied of the guilt of the men, notwithstanding their asseveration of their perfect innocence, and the culprits were sentenced to be hanged.

Never having witnessed this legal tragedy, and imbued, perhaps, with the same inquisitive feelings as Capt. Hall, who, in one of his works, states that, as an amateur, he attended an execution in England, to witness the mode and effect of hanging, and also a similar scene in France, where the guillotine as effectually, and more rapidly, deprived a human being of that life which he had forfeited by his crimes, I was determined to see the sentence of the law carried into effect on the two men who had so disgraced the cloth they wore, and stamped eternal infamy on themselves, both as Christians and soldiers.

The tall man, who was a Protestant, had, previous to the day of execution, admitted the justice of his sentence, and penitently hoped for mercy from the Almighty; but the shorter man, a Catholic, stoutly maintained his innocence, and vehemently protested against his unjust sentence. When placed on the scaffold so much time elapsed before the fatal signal was given that my courage began to fail me; and I gradually withdrew from my proximity to the immediate scene of action. In doing which, my thoughts and eyes being intent on the fate awaiting the murderers, I inadvertently made a false step at the edge of a small ditch, and fell. On springing up I was saluted by the following exclamation from one of the fair sex of the sister isle; who, even at such a moment, could not restrain the volubility and ready wit of her tongue, "Ah! well, your honour, it would be well for those poor fellows if they could jump up as quick as you do." Strange to relate, ondirecting my eyes to the gallows there was but one sufferer hanging; the rope of the other malefactor having broken, he actually had jumped up as nimbly as I had done. The execution taking place at some distance from the town, and other ropes very improvidently not having been provided, in case of such an untoward event occurring, the unfortunate short man was doomed to wait patiently till his comrade in crime had been suspended the stipulated time, in order that the rope, the strength of which had been so well tested, should be removed from the dead man's neck to his own. During this, to him especially, awful period, when the hearts of the chief part of the bystanders were harrowed, and compassion for his fate beginning almost to predominate over other feelings, what was the conduct of the surviving murderer? Alas! the very reverse of what a Christian would wish, there was he, coolly surveying his brother culprit's body writhing with pain; and it

required all the efforts of the priest to induce him to withdraw his eyes from that revolting spectacle and the surrounding crowd, and to direct his thoughts to "that bourn from whence no traveller returns." After the body of the tall murderer was taken down, the rope was adjusted round the neck of the survivor, and he was launched into eternity.

I must dwell no longer on this melancholy subject, but recal my reminiscences of brighter days; and, having portrayed portions of the life of the inhabitants of the wigwam, and scarcely superior cottage, can I do better than enter the precincts of the palace; or, in the absence of this memorial of European regality and splendour, I will content myself with a scene or two at Government House. To those who have never visited this portion of the American continent it may be necessary to premise, that on certain occasions the representative of Majesty is called upon to entertain the members of the House of Assembly. Now, many of these important personages, although, doubtless, patterns for agriculturists, retail shopkeepers, (I ought to beg their pardon, and designate them keepers of stores,) are not exactly the same class of men as the members of our House of Commons; and, consequently, many ludicrous scenes take place, enough to excite the risible muscles of the dignitaries and well-trained attendant officials; but who, as in duty bound, repress their laughter until they can give vent to it without hurting the feelings of their associates at the festive board, to whom the customs of aristocratic life are unknown, and Chesterfield an unopened book.

The knowing ones, previous to their first introduction, contrive to pick up a few hints, as to the manner in which they are to act, how to eat, when to drink, &c., &c., but, notwithstanding all this, queer mistakes will arise. For instance, a worthy member, having been cautioned to drink all that was in his glass when pledged, conceived that the same rule applied to the water in the wine-glass cooler; and, after drinking a glass or two of wine, feeling very thirsty, he emptied the cooler. A servant who observed this pitied his want of taste, took away the cooler, and replaced it with more water in it. After a short time the astonished member contrived to pour this also down his throat; which being observed by the servant, he without loss of time replaced the glass with another full of water, thinking the unfortunate guest must have a raging fever on him. This was too much even for the complaisant member; much as he wished to prove himself a worthy scion of the fashionable world, he could not stomach this deluge of the simple element, and seizing the too attentive menial by the arm, he gaspingly exclaimed, "Oh,

no-I can't, I really can't drink any more. For God's sake, do, pray

take it away!"

On another occasion, a member, who was gifted with a long tongue, after tasting a few mouthfuls of a favourite dish, laid down his knife and fork, to enjoy fully his talk with his neighbour; when, to his surprise, a servant took away his plate. As soon as another was placed before him, he sent it for a further supply from the same dish. Scarcely had he eaten a mouthful of this ere his loquacious propensity absorbed all his thoughts, and, laying down his knife and fork, he again gave his tongue full play. But, lo and behold! away flew the plate. This was more than he could patiently endure; and, imagining the servant was aware this was his first appearance in polite life, and was therefore disposed to ridicule him, he determined to have the laugh on U. S. MAG., No. 164, JULY, 1842.

his side. Sending the third plate for a portion of the much coveted dish, he retained his fork in his hand while conversing with his adjoining friend. The servant, observing he was not eating, thought he liked not his fare, and therefore placed his hand on the plate to remove it. No sooner did the wary member observe this, than he struck the fork into the hand of the too officious menial, crying out, "Ha, ha! my friend, I caught you at last: so you wanted to carry off my plate again, did ye?" It may easily be imagined that even courtly decorum could not prevent the guests from giving vent to a good honest laugh at this ebullition of feeling of the hungry representative of County; and it was some time ere the usual placidity and urbanity displayed at these parties was restored.

I must not relate too many historiettes of the nation of Bluenoses, lest I should excite the ire of men who have many good qualities, but who, I regret to add, are so blind to their own imperfections, or so wilfully conceited of their own capabilities of mind, that they imagine, by a fortunate speculation in corn, wine, fish, or even ribbons and other requisites for female attire, they become possessed of wit, talent, and learning, in the same ratio as they obtain wealth.

The peculiar fancy exhibited in Negroes to name their children after the gods and goddesses of the Pantheon, as well as the renowned heroes of Greece and Rome, has often struck travellers; and I, like many others, have been astounded at hearing Hector called from the Shades to carry a bucket of water; Jupiter to launch a boat, &c.; but the laughable incongruity of these appellations was never more forcibly displayed than it was to a brother-officer on his return to his barracks from a dinner at Government House. To such of my readers as have never witnessed a real substantial sea-fog it may be necessary for me to mention, that a London fog, dense as it is, equals it not*. Sound itself seems to have some difficulty in penetrating it; and a nice ear is required to distinguish whether the foot is on a beaten track or wandering from the main road. In such an atmosphere as this did the worthy son of Esculapius wend his way cautiously homewards; and, after walking some time, his ear caught a low, murmuring, plaintive, female voice. He stopped and listened hearing it again, and his heart being warmed by the genial fare of the Governor's board, he threw prudence to the winds, and, like a true Don Quixote, buckled on his armour,-. e., felt for his sword,and manfully advanced in the direction from whence the sound proceeded, with the full determination of rescuing the damsel in distress.

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* This allusion to the fogs of London has brought to my remembrance a brotherofficer, who would crack his joke or make his pun, however much he might hurt the feelings of friend, acquaintance, or stranger. This satirical Joe Miller was walking from town in one of these dense fogs, and, from long experience, would almost have known his road with his eyes shut: but such was not the case with an unfortunate, bewildered, old gentleman, whose mind and visual optics were dulled by age, and who, poor fellow! could not make darkness visible. Hearing a footstep, he waited quietly until the officer approached close to him, when he seized his arm, exclaiming, "My dear Sir, I'm lost-I'm bewildered-I know not where to go in this fog-can you direct me?—I'm quite beside myself." To which the quizzing combatant replied, "I congratulate you, Sir; you're just at home." "You don't say so, my dear friend !-where is it?-show me the door." "There it is," said the officer, twirling on his heel, and leaving his victim to his fate: "There it is, just in front of you,-that's new Bedlam."

After groping along for some time, and feeling his way with the point of his sword, he at last reached the spot from whence the call for assistance issued; but an awful gulf was between him and the fair object of his search, he being at the edge and she at the bottom of it. Returning his sword to its scabbard, and rejoicing at the entreating melody which implored his aid, he descended into the ditch, tenderly raised the unknown maiden from her earthy bed, supported her trembling form in his proud arms, and loudly called a prudent passer-by, who was furnished with a lantern, to come to their aid. Just as the light approached, he whispered in the ear of his fair burthen, "Who are you?" to which she faintly replied, "I'm Venus." Here was good fortune for the son of Galen, a second edition of Venus rising from the sea. But the glare of the lantern on the countenance of the goddess soon dispelled all his halcyon dreams of future bliss, and exhibited the visage of—an ugly black girl. His gallantry had received a shock it could not recover, and, unceremoniously dropping the sable nymph, he quitted the spot with a vow never again to trust to the deceptive tone of a female voice.

Amongst other reminiscences of our sable brethren, I must not pass over an extraordinary instance of perseverance, presence of mind, retentive memory, and even fluency of correct language, exhibited in a Negro, who became my fellow-traveller under peculiar circumstances. In returning to England I fortunately obtained a passage in a man-of-war, about to sail to Bermuda; at which place I was informed I should find a vessel on the point of proceeding home. During the voyage I observed a Negro, respectably attired in a suit of black cloth, who evidently formed no part of the crew, intruded himself on no person's notice, and, strange to relate, seemed to escape the bantering jokes and ridicule of the sailors for being a black parson.

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On arriving at Bermuda I quitted the vessel in the pilot-boat, and found my sable companion had followed my example; and, on the passage to the landing-place, he made me acquainted with his past life and future prospects. He stated that he was a slave in the United States, and totally ignorant of the Christian religion, until he attained age of eighteen years, when, as he expressed himself, he had a call, and miraculously found that he could both pray and preach, becoming suddenly conversant with every portion of the Bible. By some good fortune he was emancipated, and forthwith determined to travel to Africa, in order to instruct his black brethren in the tenets of the Christian religion.

This improbable story was not, of course, credited at the towns which he visited on his journey; but neither the Methodists nor members of our own church could satisfactorily prove that the man was an impostor. He unhesitatingly persisted in affirming that he could neither read nor write, had never heard any man preach or read the Scriptures,-and yet there was no verse which he could not quote, or, if quoted, state the reference. All his sea stock consisted of a few biscuits, which, with a change of linen, he considered ample for all his wants, adding that the Lord ever provided him with food and raiment. In this instance he

certainly was correct, for the officers of the vessel had charitably supplied him with food until he reached Bermuda, where he landed, and soon formed an intimacy with those of his own colour, who no doubt carefully administered to his necessities.