in her hand, to read and enjoy them unobserved by a stranger; and the board being now spread for Drake, I took a chair aside to the further part of the hall, and commenced on my own budget: Perry and Co.'s first. The treasure and bills had arrived safe, which was announced by a more than business-like letter. They had paid Captain James 4007. for freight ; and after defraying other charges, and paying a trifling commission, they had funded 56,000. money in the three per cents South Sea stock at 83, being in stock 67,4247., leaving in their hand 10927. at my disposal; having made nearly 2000%. more by the doubloons, than I should have done by converting them into bills at Jamaica : which shows that the bills should have been given at a very trifling premium, not above 2 per cent. This information was a source of great satisfaction, although the possible result had never disquieted me a moment; but, in its consummation, I obtained the certain means of doing every thing our best wishes could desire. After I had read this letter, I hastened to my dear wife, and communicated its contents, which in their way were altogether gratifying. But she was not long in directing my attention to a letter from her much loved, and deservedly revered father; which commenced by giving praise to Almighty God for our deliverance from shipwreck, and for his wonderful Providence towards us since that event. He received the present his beloved child had sent him, with the same feelings that she had in giving it; but he hoped before his eyes closed on this world to embrace her once more! Her sisters also wrote

most affectionately, and concluded by saying, she must not be surprised if one of them were to take us at our word, and pay us a visit. My letters from my family, which I now opened and read, were equally gratifying. In one of these, my brother expressed himself as determined to join me as soon as possible. But there was yet another letter, and that was from my uncle, which I just glanced at, and then put by for a while; having instantly perceived something in its tenour I could not at once make out. However, we read it attentively in the evening; but for his sake I will not repeat it. I will suppose he was so puzzled by what I had written, and what he had heard of money being remitted to Awbury, that he did not know what to think, and therefore could not know what to write. Had he been made acquainted with the freight I sent to England in the frigate, his brain would have been completely addled.

Captain Drake, in the mean time, left the mansion; but returned by five o'clock, with the four fine young new negro lads, whom he had had the manly propriety to clothe decently in sailors' jackets and trowsers. The poor youths stood before the door, perhaps pondering on their fate, perhaps careless or reckless of the future: but, lest they might possess any of those feelings common to civilized man, I desired Anna to give each of them a small wheaten cake, and to tell them to behave well, and they should be kindly treated. They all understood her, being from her own country; and they leaped for joy when she spoke to them, and at the mark of future kindness they received from her hand.

When they went away, Captain Drake handed me Mr. Green's letter, which was short, but inclosing the invoice and receipt for the cost. All the things desired had been procured, and our captain had been quite successful in all his commissions, excepting obtaining the mason. He had made his passage to Kingston, in the short period of six days, and did not lose a turtle. On his arrival he found a ready market for them, at something more than we had anticipated; having received for the hundred and five turtle, 850 dollars. He paid 600 dollars for the four negro lads, and 70 dollars for the seven sheep; and the two canoes cost 50 dollars each. So that our turtle cargo covered all these charges, and something over. The amount of the invoice was 304 dollars: so, after paying all this, and some other incidental expenses, he brought me back 25 doubloons out of the 50 with which I had entrusted him.

We had a great deal of interesting conversation over our coffee and cigar; amongst which he told us, that Mr. Green had been very civil to him; but very inquisitive; that he observed we were "the strangest people he ever had met with!" and he threw out many hints, in half joke, that he suspected we were carrying on a contraband trade with the Spanish main, if not some other game he would not name: for he could not in any other way, he said, account for Mr. Seaward having so much money. Drake had humoured this idea by a mysterious manner and equivocal answers; saying, however, with a laugh," that if at any time he chose to pay the pirates' nest a visit, we should be happy to see him,

and would give him hospitality." This account made my dear wife and myself quite merry. We could not refrain from laughing outright at some parts of our friend's detail; particularly when he repeated a remark that he said was always in Mr. Green's mouth, when talking to him on the subject" But what was that large gun for, then?"

The moment the schooner came to an anchor, Diego had got the plantain suckers on shore, and lost no time in planting them near the little spring above the silk cotton-tree; just where some time ago he and Xavier had cleared away the brushwood from before that delightful little urn of refreshing water. The suckers were sufficient in number to make a double row, leaving an avenue to the approach, which in time would prove a beautiful as well as useful plantation, usually called in Jamaica a plantain walk, on account of its cool and large extended foliage: and when he reported to me in the evening what he had done, I commended him warmly.

On the following morning the seven sheep were conveyed by boat to the Long Bay pasture on Edward's Island, to join the other flock; and as soon as breakfast was over, I requested Captain Drake to deliver all the little commissions to the people, which they had sent for by him, before we would begin to unload the general cargo. He lost no time in complying with my request; and a curious scene it was, especially among the women: but they were all more than satisfied; they were well pleased also with what "the good massa Captain had done." As to their commissions, many were useless, and others

foolish; but as the people really had every thing here they should desire, and they were requested not to send for live stock of any kind, nothing better than trumpery could be expected, among which looking-glasses and earrings had not been forgotten; and as all these were to be admired, it may readily be imagined there was no work done to-day, after the sheep had been transported to the opposite side.

The new house lately finished on our plantation, was allotted to Diego and his wife, with his son-inlaw Martin, and his wife, for the present; that his former dwelling might be occupied by the four new negro lads, to whom my dear wife had given certain patriarchal names-Abel, Noah, Jacob, David. Captain Drake made the Porghee's cabin his headquarters; and the two New Englanders, with John and Harry, the black sailor boys, were led to understand that they must consider the steerage of that vessel as their proper abode.

On Friday we began to unload; and as a firstfruits from the voyage, the clock I had sent for was fixed up in the great hall. The marble slab for bruising cacao was placed on a stand at the back of the great tree; to the trunk of which, in the same direction, the corn-mill had been previously fixed: a pleasant and commodious situation for the operations they were to perform; an ample shade over head; a fine spring of water close at hand. Rota was glad to see the coffee-roaster; for hitherto it had been a tedious operation. The two canoes, either of which two men could manage well, and one man tolerably, were drawn on the beach; and the