why dere was turkeys, fowls, guinea-fowls, all picked and ready for de spit, and besides all dese, a side of mutton and a ham hangin up. Lord, yer honors, dem mak my mouth water, too sweet! He den set some cold turkey and ham before me wid plenty of yams and potatoes, and tells me to eat hearty. And I didn't, eh? S'blood! I made a hole in de vittels. I gotted too, some drink; and when I wer done, he says to me, says he, I hope you hab fare well. Oh yes, sir, says I, berry well, I tank you. Well den, says he, softly and kindly like, when you returns dis way, you can step in and get some dinner; and he pints wid his finger to de side of mutton, and winks his eye. Berry well, sir, says I, I'll be sure to come back and tak some of dat nice mutton wid you. Be sure you do, says he, for I shall rispect you. Well, I wish him good-bye for de present, leads my horse out of de gully, and goes on to de genl'man's house, who, as it happened, warn't at home; but as dey rispected him home soon, I sits down in de yard; and as I waits for him, I tinks 'pon de money, and de same man I meet up wid in de gully. Presently, up de genl❜man comes, and I hands him de scrip,

which as soon as he read, he goes in de house, and brings me out ten gold doubloons. I takes dem, and begs him to gee me back de scrip, which accordingly he did. Well, I sets off agen, and as I comes up to an old mill dat stands by de side of de path, I gets off de horse and goes in, pulls off my trowsers, taks my handkerchy, and folds up de doubloons nicely and flat in it, you see, and den ties em tight round my body. I'm bless, says I to myself, if I don't eat some of dat same mutton. Dat chap Primus, for I guess'd t'was he, thinks to receive (deceive) me, but tak care I don't receive him! I den mounts and rides on till I comes to de gully, and leads my horse down, whistling all de time to make him believe I 'speckt nothing; so when I comes in de bottom, sure enough, dere was Mister Primus waiting for me, and grinning like a monkey at de thought of habing took de exbantage of me. Well, says he, my lad, coming up close to me, hab you gotted de money? No, sir, says I, de genl'man warn't at home, and so I brings back my massa's scrip; and as I says dat, I pulls out de scrip, and shows him. He look at it, and seem berry disappointed; den

he look good at me, and begin to search me; he claps his hands to my two sides, and in my bosom, and feels my jacket pockets, but howsomdever, he didn't feel de money! So when he was done, he said it was dam purboking, and was going away, but I says to him, I'll go wid you, and eat some of dat mutton, sir, for I feels berry hungry. Umph! says he, laughing, your ride has gib you an appetite; but come along. Well, I went to de cave, and gotted plenty to eat of de cold vittels; but cus de tief! de mutton still hang up in de cave. Burn his vitals! I don't know which of de two wer most disappinted, he at not gettin de money, or me, at not eatin de mutton! I seed another man in de cave, his name was Loue; as soon as I had eat and drink hearty, I wish 'em good bye, and away I goes. But yer honours, I didn't take de straight path for home; no, no, I went to de Hole-town, and I gibs 'em in dere; and berry soon ater Mas Primus, Loue, and two more of de gang were took up and sent to de jail." Here Paul indulged in a hearty laugh.

"But Paul," said I, "you behaved rather

ungratefully to your friend Primus, who treated you so well in the cave."

"Ungritful!" exclaimed he, "what he gib me breakfast for, but to 'tice me back agen ? and if he had find de money 'pon me, you tink he were goin to let me go back to my massa? No, cus him! Poor Paul would hab catch'd a cold in de gully, and hab died of a sore trote, (passing his finger across his throat.) Drot him! he got what he desarved ater; for he and de rest of 'em were hang'd. I seed 'em myself swingin in chains."

'Hung!" said I; "for what?"

Why, you see, sir, Primus was an outlord (an outlaw) and used to rob ebery body he could catch hold of, and de Black Rock people were too 'fraid of him; and he and his gang had barbarously murdered a genl'man for his money; but dey neber could lay hands on him afore."

We soon after arrived at Speights, and I was escorted by Paul to the hotel, where, in addition to my passage-money, he received an extra gratuity for the story of his adventure in Tumble. Dick's gully.

CHAPTER III.

Speights, its populousness not accounted for on the principles of Mr. Malthus-Mr. X.-Dover-hill Station-house, and remarks pertinent thereon-St. Peter's Church--A Windfall to the Author,-to which the reader is indebted for the posthumous tale of the "Leeward Settlers."

SPEIGHTS, famed for sand and flying fish! is an irregular-built town, about the average size of the larger villages in England, and having in proportion to its dimensions so large a population, that one wonders how it can contain the number of people who inhabit it. Whether

this exuberant population, consisting of a considerable number of the white, but chiefly of the coloured and black classes, may be attributed, in opposition to the tenets of the Malthusian philosophy, to its being a fishing town, and thus contributing to the use of its inhabitants that comparatively maugre diet of fish, which among its lower classes is the chief article of consumption,—I do not presume to assert

certain it is, however, that like most of