and in train-oil; a congregation of ftinking commodities, which is enough to poison the air of their habitations. Their shops may be fcented at a great distance; and, in what is called the Jew-market in this town, a whole street of their houses reeks inceffantly with these abominable odours. But these people are abftemious, and fo temperate, that a drunken Jew is rarely feen. They are particularly nice in drinking the pureft water, which most of them use unmixed; and others make only a very small addition of rum. They are exceedingly fond of garlic, which generally has a place in all their fauces, and is known to be a great antiseptic; and they indulge in chocolate. The more luxurious among them gormondize chiefly on fish; and no doubt but their religious fasts, of which: they are very rigid obfervers, now and then interpofing, affift in freeing them from noxious redundancies. I think they may be fuppofed to owe their good health and longevity, as well as their. fertility, to a very sparing use of strong liquors, their early rifing, their indulgence in garlic and fish, their adherence to the Mofaic Ritual in the choice of found and wholesome animal food, their free use of sugar, chocolate, and nourishing fruits, their religious purifications, and fasts. The free Negroes and Mulattoes fare rather harder in refpect of eating, and are not fo averse to spirituous. liquors; for both men and women are frequently intoxicated: but their way of life is more laborious; they are more abroad in the open air, which renders them hardier; and their occupations. or amusements give them fuch conftant exercise, as to keep them. from suffering by repletion: befides, their diet confifts chiefly of nourishing broths, in which pulfe and vegetables are principal in-, gredients. They too are very fond of good water and chocolate; they indulge in fmoaking tobacco, devour large quantities of pepper fuch as this country produces, and feldom let a day pafs without. bathing, and fcouring their fkins. Their bodies and conftitutions. feem peculiarly adapted to a hot climate; yet, perhaps, they owe their health not more to this adaptation, than to their mode of living; fince it is certain, that the native Whites in this ifland, I mean fuch of them as are not addicted to drunkennefs, nor have any hereditary diftemper, are equally healthy and long-lived.

The

The greater mortality, obfervable here among the foldiers and tranfient Europeans, must be afcribed to their importing with them the English customs of eating and drinking in excefs, but chiefly the latter; and their liberal indulgence in a vile fophifticated compound of new rum, pepper, and other ingredients, brewed here by the Jew-retailers; who, as they pay a tax on their licences, and a duty on the rum they retail, have recourfe to this villainous practice, in order to enhance their profit upon the miferable confumers, who are chiefly the foldiers, and meaner clafs of Whites." That this has been, and is ftill, the main caufe of bad health among the troops is evident; for, when they are in quarters not locally unwholesome, and where they cannot get at it, they are known to be very healthy. If the fpirit was even fold to them without this adulteration, it could not fail of producing fatal effects; for the Jews could not afford to keep it fo long on hand, as to become what is called old rum, and then retail it at their ufual low price. They would therefore fell it fresh from the ftill;" in which state it is fo fiery, as to be no less unfit for human potation, than burning brimstone; yet fome of the foldiers have been known to drink off a bottle of it at one fitting. The officers have often attempted to check this evil, by punishing the delinquents; but a more certain method would be by prevention. The common foldiers, employed in the Weft-India fervice, or at least the recruits fent over, have frequently been the very refufe of the British army: these men cannot be broke of their fottish habits; but, fince they must and will have spirituous liquor, care might be taken to provide them with fuch as, while it gratifies their inclination, may be the least detrimental to their health. The commanding officer (for example) in town might appropriate a certain part of their country pay, and lay in every year a stock of the beft rum, free from all bad taste and fmell, and permit it to be retailed by a futler to the men; taking care, that none fhould be iffued of lefs than a twelvemonth's age, and limiting the price to what they now pay the Jew-retailers, which could very well be afforded, as the foldier's rum is exempted from all duty. The futler chofen for this purpose would no doubt be a man on whofe fobriety and honesty they could fafely depend; at least, should he be guilty of breach

breach of his truft, he would be liable to a regimental punishment. The terror of this would form a fecurity for his good behaviour; the men would be much better pleased, and beyond any doubt more healthy.

The town is partly under a civil and partly military police; a kind of divifum imperium, which the civil power exercifes by day, and the military by night. The civil government confifts of a cuftos, or chief magiftrate, and the inferior juftices of peace and conftables. The centinels here, after the day is clofed, according to an antient ufage, which has fubfifted ever fince the days of Cromwell, challenge all paffengers, as in a regular garrison, and patrol the streets at certain hours, to apprehend all offenders against the peace, and prevent robberies. It is a certain proof of the more regular lives of the families here, as well as in Kingston, than heretofore, that at eleven o'clock at night it is very rare to fee a light in any houfe, except the taverns; and even these are now very feldom infefted with riots and drunken quarrels, which formerly were fo common. The town was antiently a regular garrifon, the ditch still remaining which was thrown up by the Spaniards towards the favannah, and terminated at a baftion flanked with a fortified building, called the Fort-house, the name of which is still preferved. The plain, of which the favannah is a part, extends, in its whole length, not less than twenty-two miles; but its breadth is unequal, being in fome parts ten miles, in others five, and, towards St. Dorothy's, grows more and more contracted, till it does not exceed three. After leaving this end of it, and paffing to the N. W. among the Clarendon Hills, we meet with fmaller levels here and there, as the Palmeto and Lime favannahs, till we come to St. Jago favannah, where the champaign again enlarges to the extent of about ten by fifteen miles. These tracts were formerly exceeding beautiful, having only fome clumps of graceful trees irregularly fcattered over their face, which gave but little interruption to the profpect. I have been informed by an elderly gentleman, a native of the ifland, that he could remember the time when they were nearly in this ftate; but at prefent they are overspread and disfigured in most parts with the achaia, or American opopinax, a dwarf prickly tree, which it is found almost impoffible to eradicate.

3

eradicate. It infefts the pafture-lands, and incroaches continually: on the roads, to the very great annoyance of travelers, especially by night, when they cannot fo well guard their faces from being fcratched; fo that a man, who rides among them in the dufk, is obliged to keep his whip and hands in conftant employment, in order to parry the over-hanging branches. That part which bounds on the Weft fide of the town, and called the Town favannah, confifted formerly of one thousand two hundred acres,, allotted for exercife, and has a common of pasture for the use of the inhabitants; but, feveral perfons having fettled upon and occupied the skirts of it, the parishioners obtained an act for enabling them to leafe out feven hundred acres, at 5s. per acre, and footland at 6d. per foot; and referved the remaining five hundred to be kept open and clear, at the expence of the parish, and for ever to be held facred to the purposes only of exercise and health. The fpace uninclosed is about two miles in circumference. Here the races are generally held every year in the month of March. For encouraging a breed of large horses, one hundred pistoles are annually granted by the affembly, by way of king's plate, to be run for by any ftone-horses or mares, carrying ten stone each, of fourteen pounds to the stone. There are generally two days fport, befides either byematches, or a fubfcription purfe. On thefe occafions the concourse of people is very great; fome thousands are feen affembled on the favannah; and the multitude of carriages and horses, all in motion, form a very pleafing part of the amusement. On this plain the regular troops, and fometimes the militia, are trained and reviewed. But its principal use is as a paleftra, for the daily exercife of the inhabitants of the town in the morning and afternoon. In manner of living, the English here differ not much from their brethren at home, except in a greater profusion of dishes, a larger retinue of domestics, and in wearing more expensive cloaths. The climate obliging them to use the finer fort of fabrics, these are of course the moft coftly; and hence appears the great advantage to the mothercountry of furnishing her West-India colonies with their cloathing. The fuperior fineness of manufacture is all clear gain to her artists; : and the conftant wear, by the effects of perspiration and washing, occafions an immenfe confumption. The thick, cheap, and du

rable

.

rable cloths, which are well-adapted to the frozen zone, will not answer ́here; and the atmosphere corrodes every kind of iron or fteel ware very quickly. The demand therefore for numberless products of the home induftry is (from a train of invariable causes) likely to continue as long as these colonies continue to exift. Here are none of the fubftantial inhabitants who do not keep their coach or chariot with four or fix horfes. The fhop-keepers have their two-wheel chaifes, or kitereens []; and they who cannot afford a carriage, even to the pooreft free Negroe, will not be without a faddle-horfe or two. As this is an inland-town, it derives its chief fupport from the refidence of the governor and publick officers; the gentlemen of the law; the affembly and council; and the conflux of people who refort hither from the country parts on business, particularly during the fittings of the fupreme or grand court of law near four months in the year; and the feffion of the affembly, which generally lafts from the beginning of October till the Christmas holidays. At these times univerfal gaiety prevails; balls, concerts, and routs, alternately hold their reign. The governor, according to antient cuftom, gives a ball and entertainment once a year at the king's house, in honour of his majesty's birth-day. The appearance of company on this occafion is generally brilliant, the ladies vying with one another in the richness of their dreffes; every one makes a point of exhibiting a new fuit of finery; and this regulation is fo lavishly indulged, that fuch a ball is feldom attended with lefs than three or four thousand pounds expence to the guests, which however is fo far excufable, as it is laid out in British manufactures [m]. When the town is full of company, here is a very good market; at other times of the year, it is but indifferently fupplied. In general, the mutton is much better, and the beef much worse, than in Kington; the latter town being furnished with beeves from the rich paftures of Pedro's Cockpits, where the fattened cattle are inferior to none in America. The mutton confumed in Spanish Town is chiefly brought from the adjacent falt-pan pastures, and So called from the first-imported, which came from Kettering, in Northamptonshire. [] During one half of the year, the inhabitants enjoy all the ftillnefs and tranquillity country-village; and, in the other, the feene is totally changed, and they revel in the pleasures of

of

a town.

VOL. II.

F

the