drop off as the fruit ripens, and the whole tree assumes a scarlet hue.

This tree is not seen farther north than the Great Ogeeche, where they receive the name of Ogeeche limes. We soon left the cultivated country, and relying upon Sancho to direct our course, passed through an uninhabited wilderness, which presented us, in succession, with dark, grassy savannahs, and high pine forests; often varied with red and white oaks, cypress, hickory, cedars, and the cucumber tree, all of a great size.

The transition from rich flourishing settlements, to these majestic wilds, was not unpleasant to me; and my companion was charmed with the novelty of the contrivances we were obliged to adopt for our accommodation. We chose the pleasantest spots for our resting places, where we opened our bags, and refreshed ourselves with provisions; wild fruits served us for a desert, and at night, Sancho, with our affiftance, erected a few poles, and formed a shelter from the night dews with pieces of bark, that he found scattered on the ground. In order to furnish our chamber completely, he spread the skin of a buffalo, which we had brought with us, over a heap of dried leaves that he had collected from under the trees, and, I assure you, formed a couch by no means uncomfortable.

At the end of our second day's journey we were so fortunate as to meet with a cow-pen, near which

was

was a rude habitation, were we were civilly entertained with milk, butter, cheese, and venison.

In these uninhabited districts many curious natural objects called forth our attention. High open forests of stately pines, flowery plains, and extensive green savannahs, having each their appropriate inhabitants and productions, afforded an almost endless variety. Annanas, with clusters of large, white, fragrant flowers, were seen in dry sandy situations; and in moist swamps, a diminutive species of kalmia, with spikes of flowers of a deep rose colour: groups of blue, yellow, and white lupins adorn the open parts of the forests, and generally grow on sandy heights, where we frequently saw the dens or caverns, dug by the great land-tortoise, called here gopher: the animal retreats within them in the day, and sallies forth at night in quest of prey.

The same scene continued till we reached St. Mary's river, where, though the soil is sandy, peach-trees, Indian corn, rice, cotton, and indigo, thrive exceedingly.

The savannahs in the neighbourhood of this river are enamelled with flowers of all colours: violets, lupins, amaryllis, and a beautiful species of the sensative plant, with flowers of a bright rose colour, are scattered in wild profusion, amidst groves of the most luxuriant forest trees. Still farther south is another river, or rather chain of lakes,

lakes, running parallel with the sea, called St. John's, which is navigable from one end to the other.

St. Augustine, though dignified with the title of capital of East Florida, is a very small town, standing on the sea coast, which enables it to receive the products of the Havannah, and convey them to Savannah and Charlestown.

I did not intend to have gone farther towards the south than St. Augustine; but an agent is to set off to-morrow, for one of the trading houses on the borders of George's Lake, in the interior part of the country, and Arthur's desire to take the advantage of his company is so great, that I have complied with his wishes; an excursion that I expect will supply us with matter, for your future amusement.-Adieu.

HENRY FRANKLIN.

LETTER XIV.

Arthur Middleton to his Brother Edwin.

MY DEAR EDWIN,

St. Augustine.

YOU must partake in the pleasures and difficulties of our journey, through the almost uncultivated parts of the country on the shores of

St.

If

St. John's river. We have penetrated as far as St. Juans, and wandered into the interior parts, whenever curiosity or inclination pointed the way. we have seen neither stately palaces, nor populous cities, nor other works of men; we have beheld with admiration the words of God, displayed in the wild majestic scenery of the sublime forests, that have stood uninterrupted for ages, and have afforded shelter to innumerable tribes of animals of all kinds; quadrupeds, birds, insects and reptiles, whose different forms, habits, and peculiarities in seeking their prey, avoiding their enemies, and rearing their young, afford a continual fund of amusement, that raises new wonder by their va riety, and the ingenuity of their contrivances to obtain their ends, which has been implanted in them by their wise Creator.

Never have my thoughts been more devoutly raised to heaven, than in some of our rambles through these magnificent forests; especially of an evening, when we have prepared our bed of dried leaves, under the canopy of a branching oak, or a lofty pine; the moon's silver rays casting a modest light through the trees, and the whip-poor-will lulling us, with his melancholy note, to sleep; assisted by the lowing of distant herds of cattle, or the shrill whooping of the crane. Of a morning we have been awakened by the beams of the newrisen sun, and the cheerful crowing of the wild turkey-cocks, calling to each other from the tops

of

of the highest trees. In spring they begin at break of day, and crow till sun-rise, saluting their fellows on the return of light. I cannot give you an idea of what I felt at the first view of these forests, composed of such a variety of trees, superior in beauty and grandeur to any I had ever beheld before; but I will try to give a faint description of a few of the most striking.

The laurel magnolia reaches to the height of an hundred feet: the trunk is perfectly upright, rising in the form of a stately column; the milkwhite flowers, resembling full-blown roses, are surrounded by a circle of dark green shining leaves, that set them off to great advantage; in the centre stands the young cone, which is of a flesh colour, and towards autumn grows very large, and changes to a crimson, and as it opens, shows multitudes of coral-red berries, which hang from the cones by a white silky thread. The wood of this tree, when seasoned, is of a straw colour, and harder than that of the poplar.

The palmetto royal, or Adam's needle, is a singular tree: they grow so thick together, that a bird can scarcely penetrate between them. The stiff leaves of this sword plant, standing straight out from the trunk, form a barrier that neither man nor beast can pass: it rises with an erect stem, about ten or twelve feet high, crowned with a chaplet of dagger-like green leaves, with a stiff sharp spur at the end: this thorny crown is tip

ped