effected, employing as means of transit a somewhat rickety boat, manned by two semi-naked negroes, who were certainly the greatest muffs that ever handled an oar; and, on terra firma, a cab in the shafts of which was the most wretched specimen of horse-flesh I ever beheld, was compelled to move at the slowest of trots by the unceasing blows of a black brute, whom I should uncommonly have liked to have harnessed to the vehicle, and double-thonged for a mile or two. However, at last we arrived at "the officers quarters," a long two-storeyed building, with an arched passage running round the lower storey, and in rear a verandah, which ran the whole length of the upper one, and into which the doors of the different rooms opened. A strange appearance was given to the building by all the windows appearing to be grated or barred, and no glass visible, which to my unsophisticated eye conveyed the impression of its being a lunatic asylum. I found afterwards, that the bars were those of jalousies, made somewhat on the principle of venetian blinds, except that they were fixed, and did not draw up and down, neither did they open, so that the sole alternative to keeping them "open," i. e., with the flat bars horizontal, was to turn them into a vertical position, when they overlapped each other and effectually excluded both air and light, but not the rain, when rain fell-a most ingenious, though somewhat primitive arrangement, worthy of the Barrack Department and the known proficiency of the Royal Engineers in domestic architecture. The building itself formed one of a series of Government buildings surrounding the Savannah, as the piece of land on which they are built, and which is surrounded by a wall, and belongs to Government, is called. This Savannah being flat and a capital drill ground, was, I presume, the reason of its being selected as the site of the barrack, although I confess that to an ignorant civilian like myself, some high ground that rises a few hundred yards in rear, and to windward of them, and where, on the plateau at the summit the thermometer ranges some 8 degs. below the temperature of the Savannah, would appear a more advantageous position to have placed the residence of European troops in a tropical climate. But who am I that I should presume to question the sagacity of the Royal Engineers ? It is rather a pretty spot, the Savannah, too; the road that surrounds the grass that covers the middle of it being shaded with trees, and the grass itself looking fresh and green the greater part of the year. Here, once a week, does the beauty and fashion of Barbadoes assemble to hear the band of the regiment that may be quartered in the island play, and see, and be seen. It is rather a solemn and depressing style of thing to assist at, as they sit in their carriage round the stand, and are inspected by the field-glasses of the officers of the garrison, who, virtually excluded by an order that prevents their appearing on the ground except in uniform, lounge over the verandah-rails, and out of the mess-room windows that command the stand, and criticise the fair occupants of the numerous vehicles below. As my first day in Barbadoes happened to be "Band-day," I had an opportunity of making this note of the ways and customs of the inhabitants. By-the-bye, the two prettiest faces in the crowd, and in the neatest carriage, too, belonged to two young ladies, who, on my inquiring who they were and expressing my admiration of, I was informed in a most contemptuous tone of voice by a civilian, who happened to be in the mess-room, were "coloured." This, I afterwards learnt, meant that there was a remote strain of African blood in their pedigree, undiscernible to my untutored eye, but quite sufficient to cause them to be looked down upon with supreme contempt by the dapper young storekeeper, who could boast that the fluid in his veins had run for ages through those of white men and women, albeit what particular white men and women he would, I fancy, have been puzzled to trace beyond his immediate progenitors. "A howling cad," Cousin Tom called him, but then, he added, "You see, old fellow, we ain't quite as exclusive out in the Colonies as we are at home; and the beggar's being white is quite enough to establish a social status for any man with a decent coat on his back out here." Apropos of coats, great swells in the way of costume were the young "Bims," as the Barbadian whites are called. Black frock coats and chimney-pot hats being de rigeur amongst these young gents, and forming a striking contrast to the get up of the officers of the garrison, which, to say the least of it, was very different from that which I had seen them in England in the Park, or "walking in the Zoo." "Coolness and decency, old fellow, are all we go in for here, and its unfortunate that one is obliged to sacrifice the former to the latter, in a measure," said Cousin Tom. "Look there," he added, pointing out a boy who had literally nothing on but a piece of tape tied round his neck, "that's what I call a suitable garment for this climate." After the band had played for an hour, it struck up "God save the Queen," and the crowd of carriages dispersed, or rather they all started off in the same direction, going as I was told to "The Rocks," which is the lounge par excellence of the Bimshire beau monde. These same "Rocks" are merely a small natural terrace by the sea-side, where some seats have been erected, and where people resort in the evening to get a little fresh air. Some of the officers who were going down there, asking me to join them, I did so, and on arriving there I found most of the people whom I had seen at the Band, sitting or standing about, and all gazing intently at the sea. Visions of whales, or the sea serpent, or something interesting or instructive that engrossed universal attention, presented themselves to my imagination, and I also peered anxiously out on the deep. Seeing nothing unusual, I asked one of my companions what the people were looking at, or for? "Ah!" was the answer, "that to me is a profound mystery. Evening after evening do I come here, and invariably find the same people doing the same thing. I can only surmise that there is some tradition extant amongst the natives that leads them to believe that at some time their perseverance will be rewarded, and that they will behold something, but I do not know any of them sufficiently to question them on the subject. It may have something to do with Obeah." "Who is Obeah?" I asked. "Hang me if I know," was the unsatisfactory answer. From my knowledge of the ways of the British subaltern elsewhere, I was rather astonished to see that my military friends got together in a little group and held aloof from this, not the " gay and festive," but solemn and observant throng, a proceeding that struck me as not being in accordance with the gregarious instincts of those gentlemen in other parts of the world, and being of an inquiring turn of mind, I sought for information on the subject by asking them if they did not know any of the people. The answer upset all my Marryat ideas on the score of West Indian sociability at once. "When we first came here a few people called on the mess, and we returned their calls, and there ended all intercourse between us, the Bims professing not to like the military, so that you may imagine that life here, although in some cases tolerably short, is not particularly merry; the only gaiety that we participate in being confined entirely to the garrison people, and, as we are not a large community, there is naturally a trifling want of variety about our military festivities. The reason for this inimical feeling on the part of the aborigines is unknown to us. The fact was told us by the regiment we relieved, but they were equally in ignorance as to the cause. Perhaps Obeah has something to do with it, and some evening the something will appear in the horizon, and next day we shall be inundated with invitations. But, come; the sun is down; it will be dark in ten minutes, and we shall only just get back to barracks in time to dress for mess." The mess of the gallant Oth was much like other messes, with the exception that the conversation was confined to the news brought by the mail from home, and speculations as to what might come by the next. Life was evidently so uneventful in Barbadoes that nothing ever occurred to talk about. (To be continued.) WHAT'S HIS WEIGHT? INGRAVED BY E. HACKER, FROM A PAINTING BY H, WEEXES. I see before me, almost in palpable form, the Sutherlandshire salmon streams-I see the rocky cliffs, so monotonous in appearance when not diversified by the colours and shapes of creeping plants, through which stony obstructions water has, after centuries of toil, cut a way of irregular and diverse width, and tortuous direction-I see impending mountains, in parts bristling with more than one species of fir, or shining from the brightness of the agitated birch leaves; and in the spots of the mountain flanks, where I do not see these, I behold the pale violet colour of the bluebell, or the pink blossom of the farfamed heather-I see the spring of the silver-sided salmon, whether made in wantonness, or to clear some impediment to its journey towards the spawning shallows, higher up the river; or, more exciting still, I see the fierce fish, with semi-opened mouth, either rush like the bull-dog, or steal like the cat, after the angler's fly, as he draws it inwards towards him-I see the fly seized, and the fish turn downwards in the water, to skulk with it, so I fancy, to its subaqueous lair, and there devour it in solitary greediness-I see frightful disappointment caused to its gluttinous instinct: no sooner does the angler feel his fly arrested in its progress by a smart snap and pull, than he lifts the point of his rod with a gentle jerk, and lo! the unsuspecting fish is hooked. |