LETTER I.

Author's departure from America-Cursory observations on his unfortunate friend, GEN. TOUSSAINT-NewEnglandmen-Barbadoes-Character of LORD SEAFORTH-Description of the Island-Kindness of Mr. KNIGHT-Biographical sketch of his fellow-passengers -Tobago-Short description of it-Bocases-Gulf of Paria-Approaching view sublime-Author's arrival in Trinidad-His tedious introduction to delegated majesty-His attention excited, ad interim, by the strange sight of a lusus naturæ-First glance at GEN. PICTON, and the author's opinion of that personage.

DEAR SIR,

Head-Quarters, PUERTO DE ESPANA, Feb. 1803.

I LEFT AMERICA on the 4th ultimo, in the schooner Amphitrite, Captain Macdonald, in a convalescent state; but the genial warmth of a southern climate has given me new life, which will enable me to be more attentive in my correspondence than I have been for these four months past; however, I trust you will not complain so much of my pigritia in this Island, as you did when I had the honour of being at the Court of the ill-fated Toussaint L'Ouverture, whose conduct merited a palace instead of a dungeon. He is, alas, consigned to the latter, where he will remain until the revenge of the Usurper is satiated. It is inexplicable to me, that this unfortunate Chief, who

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well knew how little faith was to be placed on the promises of the Usurper, and how widely he had all along steered from the latitude of truth, should be allured by a false light, which iniquity hung out, like those on the sea-coast, to draw the unsuspecting mariner to be deceived and shipwrecked. He was decoyed into the snare by his paternal feelings; but the intrepid sons of Hayti will amply revenge his wrongs, and proclaim freedom in the Western Indies.

On the 15th, in 28°. 34. N. lat. 62°. 30. W. long. spoke the Recovery of Cartine, (owned by Jonathan Avarice) an ugly clump of a brig, whose sails resembled pocket handkerchiefs, made of tow-cloth, bound from Liverpool to Boston, N. E. with a cargo of salt, out 97 days, destitute of almost every kind of provision. Our captain very generously supplied them (gratis) with beef, bread, potatoes, &c. for which Jonathan "guessed he was monstrous kind," and "vowed" he would proclaim his generosity in all the papers in New England. Probably there is not an instance on record, where a New England-man has been impeached of supplying a vessel like this, in distress, gratis; so strongly are their minds impregnated with avarice, that they would not give away even a gill of molasses to save the life of a fellow-creature. Our captain, on his last voyage, fell in with one of them, at a time when his stock of candles was exhausted; the New Englander let him have three at the current price of the pound, which he "guessed" was a favour.

Early on the first, we hove in sight of BARBADOES, and landed at Bridgetown about noon. This fine little Island is about 21 miles long, 14 broad, and the most easterly of all the Caribbees-situated in 59 degrees west long. and 13 degrees north lat. It was settled

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soon after 1625, but what is most remarkable, in about 25 years the population increased to 50,000 whites, and in 1676, the number of Indian slaves and negroes amounted to 100,000-Pardon me, SIR; it is not customary to enumerate beasts of burden; the former were procured in a manner more disgraceful and dishonourable, if possible, than the latter usually are. The Barbadians, or rather the Barbarians, kidnapped them in the same way the press-gangs do sailors in either London or Liverpool. The Almighty has not been unmindful of them, and to reward their wickedness, now and then treats their posterity with hurricanes, fires, and plagues! That which happened in 1780 was a most dreadful hurricane; not one house in the island was left wholly free from damage; many lives were lost, some were buried in the ruins of the buildings; others, and by far the greater number, were driven into the sea, and there perished.

The capital, Bridgetown, has been burnt four or five times. It is the seat of the Governor. The present one is Lord SEAFORTH, who, I find, is very much esteemed; nor do I wonder at it, as his Lordship has always sustained an amiable character. Every Governor is, by appointment, Chancellor of the Island, and although his Lordship is deaf, yet his decrees are so equitable as to procure the highest approbation. The town has an antique appearance; but what strikes the stranger's attention, is the number of old women, cats, and parrots. The Barbadian will not allow the Island to be in the West Indies, much less that he is either a Crab (Carribbee) or Creole, but a true Barbadian, from the circumstance of the first discover not finding any savages on it-God knows there have been plenty on it since that period. The Barbadians are said to be both friendly

and hospitable to strangers; indeed I have fully experienced the truth of it from Mr. Christopher Knight, a gentleman whose urbanity of manners, and disinterested kindness, will not be easily obliterated from my

memory.

Here I parted from a fellow-passenger, whom I shall, for the present, call Dr. Sangrado, a native of NorthBritain, and one of those capricious mortals who rather excite pity than contempt. He is a martyr to disappointment, and frets at every trifle. The most disagreeable concomitant about him, is what people denominate Scotch pride. I pity any man like him who has more of it than he well knows how to manage; enough that we found it troublesome in the confined cabin of a schooner. I never mentioned Johnson's name but it threw Sangrado into a rage—many a de'el dom he muttered out against him; notwithstanding, he now and then discovered lucid intervals of good humour and merriment, especially after drinking two or three glasses of wine, and telling scraps of his history. He was bred to physic, and practised in Birmingham about 1790, but an intrigue with a married lady obliged him to decamp, by which he escaped the crim.-con. court. He went to France some time in 1794, where he became acquainted with Munroe, the American Envoy, and Tom Paine, the Envoy of anarchy. In consequence of a quarrel that ensued between them relative to a news-paper they were about to establish, Sangrado was obliged to take French leave of his friends in Paris, and passed over to America disguised as a sailor. He has been a wanderer ever since in the West Indies and the United States. In the latter place he had made up his mind to settle the rest of his life, and, with that view, took a house about six weeks ago in New York, which he furnished a-la-mode; but

his house-keeper being either too proud or too lazy to mend his stockings, they quarrelled, and consequently broke up house-keeping; it is, therefore, to that proud or lazy jilt that I am indebted for his being my fellowpassenger. I have, in the course of my peregrination in the United States, met many of Tom Paine's pupils, but no one so contrite as this, for he seemed to have a just sense of loyalty and religion, and was naturally of a benevolent turn of mind.

Mr. Hugh Pownal was another of my fellow-passen

gers, This man was formerly a sort of Chymist or vitriol manufacturer in Southwark, and in the year 1788 or 89 eloped with Mrs. Wrighton, the actress, to France, and from thence to America. He has now with him a billiard-table, and other gambling apparatus, in order to open a house of that sort in Trinidad.

The mate, or, as the Americans say, "the chief officer" of the schooner, is a Scotchman of the name of Wylie; the same who was master of the vessel which carried me the last voyage to St. Domingo. At that time I saw himself and his owner (Thomas M'Cready) perjure themselves as black as possible, My dear Sir, perjury is no crime in America. There are many in New York who deserve the gibbet as well as M'Cready on that score, I mean covering enemies' property. The laws of America are very lenient to a man who has wealth, so it would appear when such a villain as M'Cready is suffered at large.

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We left Barbadoes about noon on the following day, (2d inst.) and on the 4th, in the morning, descried TOBAGO to leeward, which is situated in 11 degrees odd min. north latitude, 120 miles south of Barbadoes, and about an equal distance from the Spanish main. It is about 32 miles long, and nine broad; the climate