CHAPTER VIII.

The Parishes of St. George and St. John-Various places visited-Drax Hall Wood: one of its inmates, a scion of the Palæologi-The Obiah-man, a Tale in five parts.

THE parishes of St. George and St. John comprise one of the most delightful districts of the island. The air here is remarkably pure, and the breezes that blow through the valley and over the cliff, are cool and refreshing; while the face of the country teeming with vegetable life of the greenest hue, and of the most luxuriant description, is rendered quite alive with the elegant and tasty houses of the gentry, and their well-regulated and highly cultivated properties. The valley of Sweetbottom, in St. George's, particularly enchants the eye, and despite of the sugar mills, with their bluewashed walls, forcibly recalls the smiling vales of merry old England.

It was upon the cliff, or the high land which commences its rise in St. George's parish, and

stretches away to the eastward to constitute that of St. John's, that we remained for many days: the hospitable mansion of one of Seagrave's friends, situated here, becoming our head-quarters; while each succeeding day found us diverging from it, as from a centre, in search of fresh sights and new scenery. In this way we visited the adjacent parishes of St. Phillip and Christ Church, Hackleton's Cliff, and other objects worthy of note, not forgetting to mention Drax Hall and Monkey Jump. The latter is a ridge of the cliff on Drax Hall plantation; one of the largest landed properties in the island, and commands an extensive and beautiful view of the rich and fertile plains of St. Philip, and its adjoining parish, Christ Church. Drax Hall Wood clothes the precipitous side of the height, as the latter abruptly sinks down to terminate itself in the plain beneath. In the dark recesses of the wood is said to reside, as an humble tenant, a descendant of the last of the Greek Emperors-Constantine Palæologus! Quantum mutatus ab illo !

Interested by having learned so much, I in vain endeavoured to obtain further traces of this individual-his history, and how he came

hither, to live so poor and obscure; but my efforts were fruitless, and all the information I could collect was, that he was an ignorant and illiterate man, and a 66 poor buckra."

THE OBIAH-MAN, OR A TALE OF ST. PHILLIP'S.

The slaves had not long taken their morning meal, and were either sitting in different groups under the sheds built against the high walls of the slave market, or were walking up and down, for exercise, the central space or yard within its enclosures, both sexes mixing promiscuously with each other. It was curious to observe and compare the demeanour of some, as contrasted with the behaviour of others, of this recently landed cargo of Africans. The noble poet, in delineating a similar scene, facetiously says,

"All, save the blacks, seemed jaded with vexation, From friends, from home, and freedom far estranged; The negroes more philosophy display'd

Used to it, no doubt, as eels are to be flay'd."

We know not whether he has assigned the true cause of their apathy or not; certain it was, that an indifference to their situation seemed to

pervade the major part of the cargo. Here and there, however, a state of abstraction, care, and melancholy with the tear-drop entangled and struggling through the long dark eyelash, plainly told the mental anxiety and anguish of a few, whose feelings were thus made evident by their manner, or acutely portrayed in the sad and forlorn expression of their sable countenances. All, indeed, appeared more or less excited by the opening of the gate that led from the street into the market, and seemed disappointed if it only admitted the consignee and his assistants, instead of a purchaser; for a willingness to get beyond the confined place they were in, and to risk their present inactive state, for whatever their future lot might be, sufficiently displayed itself among the whole.

Once more the gate opened, and two persons entered the yard, one of whom was a tall man of gentlemanly exterior, and of prepossessing appearance: benevolence beamed in his eye, and mildness and kindness characterized his manner and expression. His companion, who paid him much deference and respect, was a little, irritable, fidgetty personage, with a rubicund complexion, caused evidently, on a near

inspection, by the minute blood-vessels of his face, which, seen distinctly through the transparent skin, meandered and twisted themselves in net-work complexity over his ruddy cheeks and nose. An immense broad-rim white hat sat firmly on his head; and a whole suit of nankeen completed his attire. He held in his hand a large heavy horsewhip, with which he was constantly whipping his legs; these indeed one would suppose to have suffered severely from the frequent flagellation inflicted on them, had not habit and constant application of the whip doubtless hardened and inured his extremities to the penance they passively endured.

The new comers walked up to a shed, under which, screened from the morning sun, sat the consignee, a stout, portly-looking man. He was listening to the reports of the keepers of the slaves as to their health and condition, and patted the woolly pate of a young African, who had ventured to approach the white man, and had clasped his little arms round the fat merchant's leg.

"How dy'e do, Mr. Mildmay?" said the consignee, politely. "Any thing in our way, this