odours which the zephyrs, gently violent, rifle from the perfumed blossoms of the coffee, the shaddock, the orange, and the lime, from the double tuberose, the Spanish and Arabian jessamine, and numberless other shrubs of inexpressible fragrance; while, to add to the beauty and variety of the scene, the contented Negroe, enjoying himself after the fatigues of the day, and sitting in the door of his hut, thrums his two-stringed instrument, from which, eliciting rude harmony, he draws delight, and oft with notes untutored, swelling the simple chorus, sheds o'er his wearied soul, a calm delight.-A scene more capable than this, of shedding a calm joy over the mind, and of inspiring a sweetly soothing melancholy, can scarcely be imagined. And if there is a man who cannot be affected with a scene; if his rough soul remain untuned by harmony; if, instead of casting into a generous oblivion, the cares of a transitory world, he continue calculating the miserable profits of a cask, a hogshead, or a bale, God preserve me from that man's feelings, his enjoyments, his company.

This very imperfect sketch of the scenes of Jamaica, with the beauty of which the writer of it was very warmly impressed, cannot be more properly concluded, than in the words of a Caledonian bard, who had carefully observed, and deeply felt, the beauteous scenes of the new world.

What though no bird of song here charms the sense
With her wild minstrelsy; far, far beyond

Th' unnatural quaverings of Hesperian throats!
Though the chaste Poets of the vernal woods,
That shun rude folly's din, delight not here
The listening eye; and though no herald lark
Here leave his couch, high-towering, to descry
Th' approach of dawn, and hail her with his song.

Yet not unmusical the tinkling lapse

Of yon, cool, argent rill, which Phoebus gilds

With his first orient rays; yet musical

Those buxom airs, that through the plantains play,

And tear, with wantonness, their leafy scrolls;
Yet not unmusical the wave's hoarse sound,

That dashes sullen on the distant shore;
Yet musical those little insects' hum,
That hover round us, and to reason's ear,
Deep, moral truths convey; while every beam
Flings on them transient tints, which vary when
They wave their purple plumes; yet musical
The love-lorn cooing of the mountain-dove,
That wooes to pleasing thoughtfulness, the soul;
But chief the breeze, that murmurs through yon canes,
Enchants the ear with tuneable delight.

GRAINGER.

CHAPTER II.

Topographical Description.-Towns, Villages, and Parishes.Churches, Church-Livings, and Vestries.-Courts of Judicature. -Public Offices.—Government and Laws.

THE island of Jamaica is divided into three counties, Middlesex, Surry, and Cornwall. The county of Middlesex is divided into eight parishes, which contain one town, and thirteen villages. The town is called St. Jago de la Vega, or Spanish-town, which, being the residence of the governor, is accounted the capital of the island. It contains an elegant palace, occupied by the governor; and here also, the meetings of the legislature, the court of chancery, and the supreme court of judicature, are uniformly held. Spanish-town is delightfully situated in a plain, on the banks of the river Cobre; but as the river is not navigable, the town has but little trade. It is situated about six miles from the sea, and contains between five and six hundred houses, and nearly five thousand inhabitants, including Negroes and free people of colour. The names of the parishes which the county contains, are, St. Catharine, St. Dorothy, St. John, St. Thomas in the Vale, Clarendon, Vere, St. Mary. and St. Ann.

The parish of St. Catharine, besides Spanish-town, contains two villages, called Passage-fort, and Port Henderson. The former lies at the distance of six miles from Spanish-town, and contains. only a few houses. On account of its situation, however, it is a considerable shipping-place for the parishes of St. Catharine,

St. John, and St. Thomas in the Vale. Port Henderson is situated about three miles from Passage-fort.-St. Dorothy contains the village of Old Harbour, consisting of about thirty houses. This is the harbour where the Spaniards formerly moored their galleons; and as it is safe and commodious, several ships take in their cargoes here for Great Britain.The parish of Clarendon contains the villages of Cross and Chapel. At the former, the parish-church is situated; and at the latter, there is a chapel of ease, which gives name to it.— The parish of Vere contains the village of Carlisle Bay, which received its name from the Earl of Carlisle, formerly governor of the island. The memorable invasion of the year 1694, took place here, and M. Du Casse, after landing his troops, was defeated by an inferior force of the militia, and obliged to re-imbark with considerable loss.-The parish of St. Mary contains the villages of Port Maria, Rio Nuevo, and Salt Gut, which, the harbours being very commodious places for shipping, are chiefly inhabited by wharfingers, and shopkeepers. —The parish of St. Ann contains a village of the same name, consisting of about forty houses, straggling along the bay*; which is an excellent harbour for shipping, being defended by a reef of rocks, which stretches almost across its entrance. The villages of Laughlands and Run-away-bay are so small, as scarcely to deserve the name.-This county contains one million three hundred and five thousand two hundred and thirty-five acres of land, of which there are three hundred and twenty-three sugar-plantations, which produce annually about thirty thousand hogsheads. There are besides nine hundred and twenty-two other settlements of various kinds, and eighty thousand cattle.

See Note (g.)

The county of Surry contains seven parishes, in which, there are two towns, and ten villages. The chief of these, is the town and parish of Kingston, which was founded in the year 1693, after Port Royal had been destroyed by the dreadful earthquake of the preceding year. It is situated on the north side of a large, commodious, and beautiful bay, and slopes upwards to the hills, with a very gentle ascent. It extends a mile from north to south, and nearly two miles from east to west. It is very regularly built, and contains a number of spacious streets. The wharves, stores, and houses, are large and commodious; and many of the merchants' dwellings in the upper end of the town, are spacious and elegant, and may vie in point of magnificence, with those of any capital in Europe. Kingston is a place of great trade; and as there are always numbers of vessels here from the united states of America, from St. Domingo, Cuba, and the Spanish main, besides those from Great Britain and Ireland, it may justly be deemed the capital of the West India islands. It contains above three thousand houses, besides Negro-huts, and warehouses. The number of white inhabitants is about eight thousand five hundred; of free people of colour, three thousand five hundred; and of slaves, about eighteen thousand; amounting, in all, to thirty thousand souls. This being the countytown, assizes are regularly held here; and though it is situated almost wholly on a plain, and is undoubtedly one of the hottest spots in the island, yet it has been ascertained, that, since the lands in the neighbourhood have been cleared, the place is not more unhealthy, nor the mortality greater, than in towns which possess an equal population in Europe. It is admirably situated for commerce; and its large and numerous store-houses contain great quantities of all the articles of trade and manufacture, produced in the united kingdoms of Great