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Show 80 DOMINICA. and was now agam· m· process . of sug. ar cultivation. ,I , hus f rom step to stCJl ' our evtdence m favor . of the present system, a ccumulated. When we arnvcd. at the top o t. t1Je 111 'I I ' the sc• en•e ry presented to our v1ew was o f unc.o rrtrnon sublumty and .b eauty. O.n one s1. cI ca1 y G ranc1 Ba'yJ '.1 noble inlet of the. sea. , with the roc k y ancl l1 illy co'a st nearly . s. urroundmg tt; on t.h e otI 1 er, t h e va ]Icy of the soufrncrc, well covered with sugar-cane, windin.g.. its way to the sea, between lofty moun t am· s. One of these mountains is supposed to consist almost entirely of sulphur, and the brow of it forms the sonftriere ; from which springs a small stream of boiling water, and flows down, through the valley to the sea. As we dcscendc~ the h~ll by a zig· zag route, we carne into the immedmte nctg·hborhood of this mass of sulphur, which fills the surrounding atmosphere with a strong odor. It is of a pure ~uality, rather white than yellow, and is now exported m con· siderable quantities. The traces of volcanic operation throuo-hout this island are very conspicuous; not only in the0 fantastic shapes of the hills, caused (it may be presumed) by some vast irregular force fr~m bel~w, but in the coloring of many of the rocks, whtch plamly betrays the action of fire. . One of the lofty conical hills which rises from t~Js valley, to the east, appeared to be cultivated to .tts sum~it with coffee ; at any rate the hedges by wlH.ch the coffee plants used to be protected, were. seen m· tersecting the hill in every direction, and for:ned 3 pleasing feature in t h e scenery b e f.o re us. It ts a re· markable c.i rcumstance that, sm. ce t h e d at e of a bur· ricane which' ravaged th1.s .ts l all(I a f'e w ye.a rs ''l go, the DOMINICA. 81 coffee plants have generally withered, from the resistless attack of a email white fly. In consequence .of this blight, the exports of coffee have been greatly reduced, and several of the coffee-estates arc now coming under sugar-cultivation. They are generally in the hands of small French planters, whose slaves formed part of their families bfifore emancipation, and are now working the properties of their former owners, on shares. The present crop is said to be an improved one; and hopes are entertained that the miserable effects of the blight will be gradually surmounted. At the little village of Souffriere, by the sea-side, a Mico school, under the care of a pious and able teacher, is in useful operation. Boats were in readiness for us on the shore, and we were rapidly conveyed, by starlight, along a rocky and picturesque coast, back again to Roseau. There we continued for three days longer, visited the prison and the schools, held two more religious meetings, and received kind calls from several of the principal residents. I am not aware that the favorable reports which we obtained from them, of the orderly and industrious behaviour of the peasantry, were interrupted by a single exception. Among the most interesting of those visits, was that of our friend Dugald Stuart Laidlaw, an elderly planter of great influence in the island, much respected as a liberal patron of education, but one whose habits had long been associated with the old system. He is a large proprietor, and still larger attorney, and has no less than twenty-two estates under his care. The valuable information with which he favored us-entirely of G |