description, but had plausible manners and handsome features; yet it was said that there was a certain fearful expression in his eyes which seemed to tell of evil passions and wicked deeds.

It was the misfortune of the young Madame B to attract the attention of this bad man; he soon took an opportunity of declaring his sentiments to her; shocked and alarmed, she shrunk with horror from the passion she had inspired in this desperate and daring man, of whom she always had an unconquerable dread. After his declaration, she shunned. his presence, but refrained from mentioning the circumstances to her husband, fearing that the impetuosity of his feelings would hurry him to a meeting with the colonel, which would doubtless prove fatal to him, and thereby throw her completely in the power of their mutual enemy.

• The colonel continued to visit at the estate, and was always attended by a junior officer, who being the professed admirer of this lady's sister, became a frequent guest, and it was not considered extraordinary that the colonel should accompany his friend. The unhappy lady, in the mean time, endured great uneasiness of mind, and confided to an elderly female friend, who sometimes came to visit her, the cause of her disquiet; adding, that she had a presentiment of some approaching evil which she could not banish from her mind.

'Some urgent business obliging her husband to go to town for a day or two, the lady, alarmed at the thought of being at the estate without him, expressed a wish that she and her sister should accompany him; he strongly opposed her desire, alleging that the fatigue of the journey would be highly injurious to her, as she was then expecting to be a mother. In vain. she urged her entreaties;-he at first laughed at her extraordinary wish to visit the town, and then felt surprised at the more than common grief she evinced at parting for so short a time: bidding her keep up her spirits, he gaily bade her adieu, and, as he told his friend afterwards, saw her, on turning his head to look back, weeping bitterly when he had taken leave of her. When his swift-footed bonniquet had borne him through the avenue of trees, and turned into the narrow road he was to travel along, he looked back at her for the last time;-it was, indeed, the last time !— he never saw her again.

On the evening of his departure, she was particularly anxious and uneasy, and started at every sound, (as her favourite maid afterwards related) and expressed a desire that the house should be shut up at a much earlier hour than usual, and that every one should retire to bed; requesting her sister to sleep with her that night. As she was not naturally fearful, her restlessness and evident terror that evening excited the surprise of her sister and her maid. On being rallied on her timidity, she burst into tears, saying that a great calamity, she was sure, was hanging over her, and she should never see her husband again. All these terrors and forebodings were attributed to weakness of nerves, and the delicacy of her situation at the time, and it was agreed that they should go to bed; before she retired to her room, however, she carefully examined every door and window, to be sure of all being well secured.

Towards the morning of the following day, the blacks on the estate, aroused by the outcry of the watchman, beheld their master's house a blaze of flames; and by sun rise, a heap of ruins alone was seen where that happy dwelling had stood;-all efforts to extinguish the fire had been

in vain; it had been burning too long, and had too surely penetrated into every part of the mansion before it was discovered, for any endeavour to prevail against it. A slave was dispatched to town with the dreadful tidings for his master, whose anguish at learning the misfortune that had befallen him may be more easily imagined than described. It was at first supposed that the fire had accidentally happened, and that the two ladies had been burnt to death in the house; but a small silk shoe, which was at once recognized as belonging to Madame — -, having been found in a narrow path leading down to the river, it was then conjectured that some horrible act of violence had been perpetrated, and that the two females had been murdered in some part of the ground: search was made for the bodies, but they were never found.

'After a careful investigation of the matter, it was discovered that the waiting maid, who slept in the room adjoining her mistress' apartment, had admitted a soldier into the house, who was immediately followed by two other men, wrapped up in cloaks. The woman, not expecting the two latter, and seeing them approach her lady's room, was about to scream out, when the soldier seized her, and throwing a thick great coat over her head, prevented her from moving or speaking, and hurried her out of the house. When at length he released her from his grasp, she saw the building in flames. Such was her account; she protested that she had no knowledge of the intentions of the men who accompanied the soldier, and expressed the greatest grief at the unhappy catastrophe. Her assertions, however, were not credited, and she was taken into custody: the soldier, also, was taken up, and confessed having entered the house at the command of Colonel , who, with another officer, had accompanied him. The Colonel

denied the charge, but the man most solemnly declared the truth of what he affirmed, at the same time acknowledging his guilt, and expressing great contrition for what he had done in obedience to his officer's commands. No doubt of the Colonel's guilt remained on the minds of any; so much evil was known, and so much more suspected of him, that all were ready to believe the evidence against him; yet, such was the general fear entertained of the military, and so little was justice understood or attended to, that this wicked man was acquitted, and the far less guilty. accomplice of his crime, was executed, calling on heaven to testify to the truth of his allegation, and accusing the colonel of having drawn him into sin, and then leaving him to his fate: the woman, also, suffered death. Finding that the law did not punish the author of his misfortunes as he deserved, the unhappy husband challenged his enemy to combat, and, as was to be expected in so unequal a contest, he fell beneath the blows of the practised swordsman.

The mystery of this transaction has never been cleared up, and it remains unknown how the unfortunate females met their death.'-pp. 95 -103.

The English government has greatly contributed to facilitate travelling in the Mauritius, by the improvement of its roads. A corresponding change in the animals of burden has taken place since the conquest; and instead of almost impassable ways and wild donkeys, the inhabitants have now the luxuries of horses, carriages, and level paths. But these improvements do not appear

to have raised, in the population of the island, a distaste for ancient habits.

The usual mode of conveyance is by palanquins, as in India, and very comfortable, luxurious conveyances they are: the bearers are never less than four in number, and are sometimes six, eight, or twelve, according to the distance they are to travel; these men have a quick running pace, very much resembling the trot of a horse; the motion is not unpleasant, and rather disposes one to sleep, which is not surprising, considering that you recline on a soft mattress, with a cushion for the head, whilst the sun is quite excluded by silken curtains and blinds: the bearers carry a long stick in one hand, whilst the pole of the palanquin rests on the opposite shoulder, and move about this stick, so as to keep time with the movement of their feet; and they beguile their journey by a discordant kind of song, a sort of recitative, which they keep up all the way, and which, although not very agreeable to the traveller, serves to cheer and animate those who are bearing him along the bearers are quite unclothed to the waist, and wear short full petticoats, confined by a broad sash over the hips, and bordered with coloured cloth or worsted: a cotton handkerchief round the head, or a Scottish looking cap, completes the costume. Palanquins are used for paying visits in the town, no less than for long journies, and sedan chairs are also employed in the same way. The most extraordinary looking vehicle I saw there, was a large coach drawn by oxen, in which a French gentleman travelled about.' -pp. 125-127.

Upon that much talked-of subject, the treatment of slaves, the fair writer has the following observations:

'The conduct of the free coloured persons towards their slaves is invariably very harsh and severe, and they far surpass the whites in strict discipline and cruel usage; every kind of torture short of murder-and it too often ends in murder-is practised by these persons towards those who are in bondage to them; and, strange as it may appear, they who once were slaves, are always the most cruel masters. Sterne, in describing the black girl who had so much compassion as to avoid killing flies when she brushed them away, remarks, "having suffered persecution she had learned mercy." Now this, I think, is by no means the case with mankind in general;-the child who has been treated with severity and stern unkindness" which mocks the tear it caused to flow"-who has never been accustomed to the voice of affection or encouragement, commonly grows up a selfish, callous being. I have heard it remarked, that at public schools, the boys who have suffered most as fags, are generally the most despotic when it becomes their turn to rule. And, undoubtedly, they who have worn the chains of slavery are always found the most ready to rivet the fetters on their fellow men, and to increase, by every means in their power, the heaviness of the yoke which has been imposed on those whom circumstances have made their property. Some instances of great cruelty in the conduct of those persons, occurred during our abode at the Mauritius; and it is universally allowed that they are, in their general treatment, unrelenting and severe in no common degree;-this is also the case with the free coloured people of the West Indies, and it is well known that the slaves there prefer the hardest labour in the service of the whites to being the property of those of their own colour;-I have mysel

heard this assertion repeatedly made by negroes, by whom nothing is dreaded more than to be sold to a black, or mulatto master or mistress: this description of persons at the Mauritius are usually very insolent and overbearing in their deportment, even to their superiors; many of them are affluent, and it is said that they are fast rising to importance as a wealthy portion of the community, whilst the whites are decreasing in riches proportionably; they have, of late years, evinced a great desire for the progress of education amongst their own class, who, it will be remembered, do not associate at all with the white Creoles; and I heard that they had petitioned government for permission to found a college, or rather public school, for the instruction of their youth in the various branches of learning at their own expence, their children not being admitted into the school for white boys. I have not since been informed whether the plan is likely to be carried into execution; but it is to be hoped so praiseworthy a design has not been frustrated. With the increase of affluence, the progress of education should keep pace; when their minds become properly enlightened, and adorned with useful knowledge, they will be better qualified to maintain their due station in society, and correct notions of self-estimation will be substituted in the place of those vulgar feelings of imagined consequence, arising from ignorance, and founded on the possession of riches only.

"The dreadful practice of poisoning is but too frequent amongst the slaves: -the island abounds in poisonous plants, and their fatal properties are well known to the negroes, who make use of that knowledge as vengeance prompts. The draught of death is often administered by the waiting maid to her mistress, or by the valet to his master, and sometimes the most indulged and trusted servants are the ministers of the revenge of others, and at their instigation mix poison in the food of their owners, who take, unsuspectingly, from their hands, what, perhaps, they would fear to take from others.'-pp. 154–158.

To counteract the effect of these representations, the author, with a very just sense of equitable dealing, gives the following anecdote of gratitude in a slave.

A lady residing at the Mauritius, many years ago, emancipated a slave whose good conduct and fidelity she wished to reward: being in affluent circumstances, she gave him, with his freedom, a sum of money which enabled him to establish himself in business; and being very industrious and thrifty, he soon became rich enough to purchase a small estate in the country, whither he retired with his family:-years passed away, and whilst he was rapidly accumulating money, his former mistress was sinking into poverty; misfortune had overtaken her, and she found herself in old age, poor, solitary, neglected, and in want of the common comforts of life: this man heard of her unhappy condition, and immediately came to the town and sought her out in her humble abode: with the utmost respect he expressed his concern at finding his honoured lady in so reduced a state, and implored her to come to his estate, and allow him the gratification of providing for her future comforts. The lady was much affected at the feeling evinced by her old servant, but declined his offer; he could not however, be prevailed on to relinquish his design: "My good mistress," said he, "oblige me by accepting my services; when you were rich you were kind to me; you gave me freedom and money, with which, through

God's blessing, I have been enabled to make myself comfortable in life, and now I only do my duty in asking you to share my prosperity when you are in need." His urgent entreaties at length prevailed, and the lady was conveyed, in his palanquin, to the comfortable and well-furnished apartments assigned to her by his grateful care; his wife and daughters received her with the utmost respect, and always shewed, by their conduct, that they considered themselves her servants: deserted by those who had been her equals in station, and who had professed themselves her friends whilst she was in affluence, this good lady passed the remainder of her days in comfort and ease, amid those who had once been her dependants. pp. 161-163.

There are few, we believe, to whom the modern languages are familiar, who do not know that the Mauritius embraces the scene of the melancholy story of Paul and Virginia. To the French and English, who remain any time in the island, the spot where the tombs of those lovers are said to lie, is a shrine of frequent and devout pilgrimage. But as it too often happens, the romance is destroyed in the unfolding of it. The writer says,

'In December, 1825, we quitted Port Louis, to spend the warm season in that district of the island which is named Pamplemonsses, a part of the country to which a romantic interest has been given by the tale of Paul and Virginia strangers are generally eager to hasten to the spot where they are told they will behold the tombs of those unfortunate Creoles, whose mutual affection and unhappy fate are descrihed so pathetically by St. Pierre.

Junior lieutenants and midshipmen, and others of the age of romance, always make it a point to visit these tombs as soon as possible after their arrival: if they can only get on shore for a few hours, they hire or borrow horses, and 'proceed with all haste to the interesting scene. On reaching the spot to which they are directed, they enter a pretty garden, laid out with great care, and are conducted along a walk, bordered with bushes, bearing a profusion of roses, and having a stream of the clearest water flowing on each side: at the end of this walk the visitor sees a red, glaring monument, which he is told is the tomb of Virginia; at the termination of a similar avenue, on the opposite side of the garden, appears another monument, exactly resembling the first, which is designated the tomb of Paul: a grove of bamboos surrounds each. The traveller feels disappointed on beholding these tasteless red masses, instead of elegant monuments of Parian marble, which would seem alone worthy of such a purpose and such a situation; but that is not the only disappointment destined to be experienced by him: after having allowed his imagination to depict the shades of Paul and Virginia hovering about the spot where their remains repose-after having pleased himself with the idea that he had seen those celebrated tombs, and given a sigh to the memory of those faithful lovers, separated in life, but in death united-after all this waste of sympathy, he learns at last, that he has been under a delusion the whole time-that no Virginia was there interred-and that it is a matter of doubt whether there ever existed such a person as Paul! What a pleasing illusion is then dispelled! how many romantic dreams, inspired by the perusal of St. Pierre's tale, are doomed to vanish when the truth is ascertained!→