as they rise and pass before us, to which no regular methods can apply, and which no established rules can reach. Just such must have been the mode of preaching the gospel among the Maroons, if an amelioration of their condition, and, infinitely above all, the welfare of their souls, were the great objects which the missionary had in view.

For though in some places it might be said that they associated together, and lived in a state of society, in towns which they had erected, yet multitudes were scattered upon the moun tains, and lived in a manner as solitary as the wild boars which they pursued. These must have been sought out in their lonely habitations, or the instructions which were intended for them could not be conveyed. No other method could therefore have been adopted than that of an established itinerancy, which might have given the missionaries a discretionary power to travel among them, and seize those favourable moments of which none but themselves could judge.

It was by the adoption of similar methods that the Jesuits acquired such an amazing influence over the Indians of South America, and bound them to their interests by almost indissoluble ties. But how politic soever these Jesuits were in the adoption of the means, their views were sordid, and terminated in that worldly interest with which the gospel disowns all connexion. Hence no beneficial consequences resulted from their labours, at least none that could lead the savage nations to happiness and to God. God has declared that his ministers must be crucified to the world and every sordid interest, and his blessing has invariably accompanied the exertions of those who have answered this glorious character. His promise is still the same; and he has assured us, that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord.

CHAP. VIII.

HISTORY OF JAMAICA.

County of Middlesex-description of St. Jago de la Vega, or Spa nish Town, both ancient and modern-public bath-magistracy -police-number of inhabitants-mode of living-Passage Fort Port Henderson-Sixteen Mile Walk-Seville Nueva-its ruins visited by Sir Hans Sloane.

THE COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX.

Description of St. Fago de la Vega, or Spanish Town, and the other Towns and Parishes, &c.

HAVING taken a general survey of Jamaica, and considered

it in a collective point of view, we now proceed to a nearer inspection, in which we must dissect and analyze its parts. Enjoying the same common government with ourselves, and being peopled with inhabitants from various parts of the British dominions, a likeness to our native land is preserved, not only in constitution and laws, but also in those subordinate departments which appear in topographical descriptions.

The island is divided into counties, and these counties again into parishes; all which divisions bear a near resemblance to those of the mother country. The names of the counties are Middlesex, Surry, and Cornwall: to each of these we shall direct the attention of the reader as they pass in succession before us, noting at the same time those peculiarities in them which may be deemed worthy of regard. We shall begin with Middlesex, and the town of St. Jago de la Vega, or Spanish Town.

This capital of the county of Middlesex, now most commonly called Spanish Town, may be considered as the metropolis of the island. As it is the residence of the governor, and both the legislative assembly and the supreme courts of judicature hold their sessions in it, the principal inhabitants of the two other counties frequently resort to it on business. It is situated in a pleasant valley on the banks of the river called Rio Cobre, and in the time of the Spaniards was very populous. At that period it contained upwards of 2000 private houses, besides several superb public edifices, particularly an abbey and

two churches, named the Red and the White Cross churches:→ on the site of the former, the present Protestant church was erected. It is related, that these were the only religious edifices which were not destroyed in the time of Cromwell.

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The native indolence of the Spaniards had suffered the island to languish under the exuberance of wild fertility; and the fury of our soldiers in Cromwell's time almost completed the desolation. The cattle, which swarmed in multitudes, were destroyed with wantonness; and the provisions which were growing in the earth were rooted up. Public edifices became public victims, and the effects of conquest were ruin and destruction. In the midst of these contemptible triumphs, they likewise demolished a great number of private houses; and many others were suffered, in the course of time, to fall into ruins so that at present, being an inland town, and not concerned in the general commerce of the island, Spanish Town is reduced within a narrow compass. The number of houses inhabited by white persons do not amount to more than five hundred, belonging chiefly to wealthy people, and the principal officers of govern ment, with their dependents, who live in a very gay and very luxurious style.

The principal public edifice is, the government or king's house, erected by a general contribution of the wealthy planters and other inhabitants of the island. It is sumptuously furnished, the total expenditure amounting to £30,000, Jamaica currency; and is esteemed, by the best judges who have visited the West India Islands, to be the noblest government house in the British Colonies: it is even twice as magnificent as that of the United States. Its situation is on the great square or parade.

On the opposite side, directly fronting this magnificent resi dence of the governor's for the time being, the inhabitants of the island began about the year 1756 to erect, at their own expense, an immense pile of spacious apartments, rather than a regular house. These are calculated to contain, under one roof, the assembly-room or house of commons, the speaker's chamber, the court-house, and jury-room, on the upper story; and on the ground floor, suitable offices for the secretary of the island, the provost marshal, the register of the court of chancery, and the clerks of the crown and of the courts of law, Such a vast undertaking necessarily made but a slow progress, the sums requisite to complete the whole being paid in by instalments; so that it was upwards of thirty years before it was entirely occupied.

This new building supplies the place of the old court-house on the north side of the parade. Here every commander in

chief, on his first arrival, takes the usual oaths, before he enters upon the functions of his government. At other times it is used for the elections of parish officers; and upon any occasion of internal alarm, or the apprehension of an invasion from foreign enemies, when the island is subjected to martial law, it serves as a guard-room for the militia. Another remarkable building on the south side of the square is the arsenal, still called the chapel, because it was formerly consecrated to public worship: it generally has a considerable stand of small arms, amounting to about 3000 musquets with bayonets, and 500 brace of pistols, kept in good order by an armourer, who has a salary voted annually by the assembly. Close to this arsenal is the guard-room for the body guard, consisting of files of regular troops doing duty daily by rotation, in attendance upon the governor.

The private houses of the English, Irish, and Scotch residents in this town, are generally divided into three compartments: the front is sheltered by piazzas, under which the family pass a great part of their time, to enjoy the shade and the cooling breeze: the central entrance is by a hall, communicating with bed-chambers at each end, and having an opening to the back part of the house, formed by an arch, which in some houses is cased with mahogany, and in others is only covered with plaster. Though the back rooms are little better than sheds, yet they are used occasionally as bed-chambers, dressing-closets, or other purposes of convenience only. The kitchens and other offices are judiciously arranged, in this warm climate, at a considerable distance from the dwelling-houses, which by these means are kept clean and wholesome; and this practice prevails throughout the island. Of late years the planters have not only enlarged their houses, but have decorated them with costly furniture and ornaments, contrary to the custom of their ancestors. These latter were used to content themselves with simple habitations, which they called make-shifts, poorly furnished; the walls being only coated with plaster, and here and there covered with common prints and old maps, neither of which were framed. At present, sashes with Venetian blinds grace their windows; and elegant pier glasses, lustres, girandoles, sophas, and the most fashionable mahogany chairs, commodes, &c. with the most beautiful painted floor-cloths, exhibit the opulence of the owners in their saloons and bed-chambers.

The church, situated in the south-east quarter of the town, is an elegant brick building, in shape representing a cross, consisting of four aisles, traversing each other at right angles. The pulpit, the pews, and the lining of the walls, are of cedar and mahogany: the pavement is chiefly marble. At the west end

of the main aisle is a gallery, supported on stately columns, and decorated with a very excellent organ, which cost £440 ster ling. The organist has a salary of £120 a year, paid by the parishioners, besides other emoluments.

The Jews, who are very numerous, have a synagogue in the eastern quarter of the town, near the river. They are also allowed by the clerk of the market, whose duty it is to take care that the meat exposed to sale is sound and fresh, a butcher of their own, who, besides slaughtering his beasts according to the Mosaic law, generally selects the fattest and the finest.

The barracks for the regular forces are situated in the southern quarter, on an airy, healthy spot, on the declivity of the rock on which the town is built. They consist in front of a lofty brick building, containing two stories; the back part opens into a spacious square court, surrounded with shed-rooms capable of holding three hundred men: but the accommodations for the officers being found insufficient for the purpose, they are lodged in private houses at the public expence; so that the soldiers are left too much to themselves. With respect to the militia, they have no stationary residence; and are strangely composed of a mixture of Christians, Jews, Pagans, whites, mulattoes, and negroes, forming about six regiments of cavalry and infantry.

The other public buildings of less note are, the hospital, the county gaol, the free-school, and the poor-house. The streets are rendered inconveniently narrow by the piazzas before the houses; and, for want of a proper breadth, the wind not having sufficient space to circulate freely through them, the sultry heat of the summer months is considerably increased. The river Cobre, which washes the foot of the town, is of essential service to its environs; not only by its constant supply of water for the common use of the inhabitants, but in promoting health and cleanliness. Every day in the year, hundreds of mulattoes and negroes of both sexes repair to it, to wash themselves and their linen; but for the former purpose the white inhabitants resort to the bath, which is kept in order at the public expense, and lies near the valley, or great savanna. In this neighbourhood there are a great number of stones, of perhaps superior dimensions to any that can be found in any other spot upon the face of the earth. It is absolutely astonishing to see so many, and some of them of such extraordinary magnitude as to be equal to houses or large ships. From the valley you bend your course, in a south-west direction, creeping over, under, and around these vast pebble hills, till you come to the extremity of the land. Your guide will then conduct you through a low and narrow arch, formed by two rocks, into a