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Show !.12 JAMAICA. Beside us llayti's Alps arose, in a crescent of true glory, The forest on their summit waved, and their front with age was hoar , Their snowy cliffs, in forms abrupt, were to the sea descending, ), To the beauty of its azure, the charms of contrast lending. L'Jslc des Vaches spread its level greens on the bosom of the ocean And the clouds above, like the bark below, were all in rapid motio~. The Nautilus pink was floating there, of armed ships the parent, And scudded away the flying fi sh, on siJ ver wing transparent. The scene was of deepest solitude, but full of animation, And the pilgrims lost their grief and care, in joyous contemplation. Just as the sun was setting, we took leave of St. Domingo, at Point Gravois, and pursued a straight course, across the open sea, for Jamaica. In the course of the night, the Captain called us up to look at a lunar rainbow ; it was of a pale yellow, marked with great plainness, the arch perfect aud of consider· able extent. The next day we came within sight of Jamaica, and were delighted by the first glimpse of the blue mountains, some ridges of which are seen in the distance, towering over Morant Point, the easternmost extremity of the island. W c lay to before the Point during the night, and the next morning, having taken in a pilot, pursued our course towards Kingston. We sailed beside the plains of St. Thomas in the cast, which presented to the p,ye every appearance of fer· tility and cultivation ; and we were pleased to obserl'e some large merchantmen in the small harbor of Port Morant, waiting, as we presumed, for the usual Sll\r plies of sugar. The blue mountains in the back ground, were now clearly in view-the highest peak more than 8000 feet above the level of the sea. It was truly a feast of delightful scenery. Kingston harbor is fotmcd by an in let of the sea, between the main land and a long sand-bank called the Palisades. JAMAICA. 93 At the point of this sand bank stands the neat little town of Port Royal, the principal naval station in the West Indies, and the grave, during slavery, of a multitude of British soldiers and seamen. Now there was scarcely a man-of-war to be seen on the station-an agreeable contrast to the large number of merchantmen which we found in port at Kingston. A comparativ: view of the two places afforded us an impressrve evrdence that freedom is allied both to security a~d wealth. Do full justice to a population, and you wrll want no men-of-war to terrify them into obedience. Give fair scope to liberty, and sooner or later commerce will flourish. By a boat which had supplied us with pink and silver fishes for breakfast, we had sent notice of our appro.ach to some kincl friends at Kingston, and were cordmlly welcomed on our arrival, by John and Maria Candler, members of our own Society, from England, W. W. Anderson, a lawyer of eminence of the Episcopal church, much devoted to the cause of religion and humanity, and Charles Lake, a colored member of the Legislature. They conducted us to Grace Blundell's Hotel, in East-street, wherP. we found a clean and airy cI w e ll'm g, w1· t h even 1u xurw· us accom-modation. Kingston is a large city, pretty well built, of about 50 ,0 00 m· 1H t b'r tants, but unpaved; the streets hot and dusty. It would have been well had the sums of money lavished on the building of a lar~e new theatre, been applied to the improvement of the streets; but as the commerce of the city is brisk, and the real property in '· t rap1' dl y I'·! S.m g m. value, it may be ex-preted tha' t tl1 1· s o 11 ·J ect wd· l be eff·e cted in its turn. |