delightful, and not near so hot as might be expected, considering its proximity to the equator. It boasts of numerous springs of fine water, with bays and creeks so disposed as to be very commodious for all kinds of shipping, and lies out of the reach of those hurricanes so destructive to other islands in the western hemisphere. The Dutch originally claimed this island, and obstinately defended their pretensions, against Britain and France; but by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, it was declared neutral. In 1763 it was yielded up to Britain, and remained in her possession till June 1781, when it was taken by the French, and confirmed to them by the treaty of 1783. It was retaken by the British troops in 1793, and ceded to France by the late treaty. When this treaty was signed there was not a Frenchman on the Island; the inhabitants are all British, warmly attached to the interests of their king and country, and who own all the property upon it. The inconsiderate rashness of a British minister, in a moment destined a portion of the loyal subjects of his majesty to be the slaves of a Corsican-to be plundered at the discretion of his satellites. You had great rejoicings in London on that event, but here they wore sack-cloth and ashes!

About noon we were about ten miles distant from Cape Galera, the N. E. point of Trinidad, which is laid down in long. W. 60°. 36'. and in lat. N. 10°. 45'. It bore south of us on a west course; the land gradually rises from it, and has a pleasing effect on the eye, till the sight is lost among the clouds which envelop the mountains towards the middle of the Island. Sailing along the north coast, I did not (with my glass) perceive a cultivated spot, though I am told there are some parts of it at the bottom of some of the ravines, which now

and then intersect the mornes, apparently covered with wood.

The sea between this and Tobago is very much coloured; from which appearance one would suppose soundings were to be had; on the contrary, it is owing to the muddy torrent of the Oronoque, disembogued in the gulf of Paria, and from thence coming with an impetuous issue into the sea, through the Bocases. It was dark before we reached the Bocases, and the captain deeming it dangerous to attempt the passage, we delayed to windward all night; in the morning we entered the second Bocas, with a fine breeze, and got safely through.

There are four Bocases :-Bocas del Drago, or dragon's mouthes, which divide the island of Trinidad from Point Salina, situated in Comana, in the northern division of Terra Firma, or Castile del Oro; the distance I apprehended to be from 15 to 20 miles. Without a strong breeze of wind it is impossible to stem the torrent that gushes through: vessels are frequently becalmed in the passage, and the consequence is, if they are not dashed to pieces against the rocks, they drift with the current a considerable distance, sometimes as far as the island of Margaritta. The " The "cloud-cap'd" mountains of Paria and Comana, rise from Point Salina much higher than those of Trinidad, so that before you enter the Bocases the confusion of nature around appears exalted in awful grandeur; which

"Lift up the thoughtful mind from earth to heaven,"

and distend it with holy astonishment! The wind became now so feeble, that although we had only about 30 miles to run, yet it was 10 o'clock at night before we hove our anchor. The passage from the Bocases was tedious to

my companions, but it afforded me an opportunity of examining, at a small distance, the northern part of the bay of Paria, particularly Chaguaramus harbour, probably about ten miles further up the bay. It is capable of receiving the largest ships of war, bounded with a fine bold shore, and every where excellent anchorage, in from six to forty fathoms water. The situation has invited government to build a dock and make a navy-yard, both of which are now constructing. When the British forces attacked the island in 1797, the Spaniards burnt, on the 17th February, in this harbour, El San Vincente 84, El Gallardo 74, El Arrogante 74, El San Cecilia 36, to prevent their being taken by Admiral Harvey's squadron; but El San Damasi 74, was captured without resistance from the pusillanimous slaves.

A little farther up we passed a small island called Gaspar-Grande, on which the Spaniards had a battery constructed of masonry, to protect the harbour. It has neither solidity, nor does it answer the purpose for which it was intended.

On the 6th, (which was Sunday with you, but here I observed no trace of it) we came ashore, and were ushered by Colonel Brown into the audience chamber of Don Thomas Picton, ci-devant Governardor de la Ysla Britanica de Trinidada, where we waited like malefactors for more than 'an hour and a half. In the mean time I was diverted with the figure of a fine gentleman, sui generis, who couched and recouched himself, at other times viewing his delicate features in a looking glass; frequently grinning eastward and grinning westward, admiring his grinders; when he struted about he gabbled like a goose. This creature, thought I, must be the great man's barber, probably the very brother of Curtis's barber, or it might be the identical barber himself.

As I have not heard of him for a long time, I might have gone away under this impression, had I not heard Colonel Brown telling our Captain that his name was M'Spriggin, the Governor's aid-and-favourite. Is he in the army, then, said the Captain?-No; answered the Colonel. However, I could not divest my mind of the idea that the personage before me was still the famous barber of city memory. Not having time to describe him more accurately, I shall be under the necessity of referring you to-Hotspur's Description of a Fop:

Neat, trimly dress'd;

Fresh as a bridegroom, and his chin new reap'd,

Shew'd like a stubble land at harvest home.

He was perfumed like a milliner;

And 'twixt his finger and his thumb he held
A pouncet-box, which ever and anon
He gave his nose and took't away again;
Who therewith angry, when it next came there,
Took it in snuff.-And still he smil'd and talk'd,
And as the soldiers bare dead bodies by,
He call'd them untaught knaves, unmannerly,
To bring a slovenly, unhandsome corse
Betwixt the wind and his nobility.
With many holiday and lady terms

He question'd me:

Being gall'd

To be so pester'd with a popinjay,

Out of my grief, and my impatience,
Answer'd neglectingly, I know not what:

For he made me mad,

To see him shine so brisk, and smell so sweet,

And talk so like a waiting gentlewoman,

Of guns, and drums, and wounds (God save the mark)

And telling me the sovereign'st thing on earth

Was parmacity, for an inward bruise;

And that it was great pity, so it was,

C.

That villainous salt-petre should be digg'd
Out of the bowels of the harmless earth,
Which many a good tall fellow had destroy'd
So cowardly and, but for these vile guns,
He would himself have been a soldier.

SHAKESPEAR.

My mind was thus occupied in contemplating the biped before me, and considering what would become of the creature hereafter, as Quevedo did not see any of the species in Hell, nor does Linnæus say to what class or genus he belongs-When

The upstart Don, the empty being of an hour, came out of his chamber-his mind

"Enrapt in thought, replete with stygian gloom,"

As his lips moved, I imagined he was repeating the following part of S***n's soliloquy :

Ah me! they little know

How dearly I abide that boast so vain,
Under what torments inwardly I groan.
While they adore me on the throne of hell,
With diadem and sceptre high advanc'd

The lower still I fall, only supreme

In misery: such joy ambition finds.

But say I could repent, and could obtain
By act of grace, &c.

MILTON.

He spoke to every one present except myself; nevertheless I anticipated either a smile or a frown from him before I left his presence, or that he would wait on me to the mirador, to point out that delectable view leading to the rectangle *, which, I was informed before I left America, was customary with him to do to most strangers. He was so much engaged within himself

* Gallows.