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Show 62 DOMINICA. before, we devoted the ,ro 11 ow·m g d ay to .a n excursion to . the souffriere, on the northern coast. A rtde of many rmles, throu ('fh ano the r luxuriant valley ' brought us to Geneva,. the exten"s·t vc sugar estate of William B. Loc. kha.r t. The vtew.s there u.re de \1. g1 1 t"1u1 l embracin" the beautiful 1sland of MartJ- , o nique in the distance. I visited the sugar works, and am not aware that I have ever seen a more healthy lookmg, or apparently industrious, company of laborers, than were there assembled. 'fheir employer assured me that his people were worlnng well, and that he was deriving decided pecuruary advantage, from the substitLltion of free-labor for the dead weight of slavery. In ascending the lofty hill which separates Geneva from the soufti:iere we passed by several estates.- 'fhe report of" Coole- n.e ," 'v(".~: th."_.. t "the ne"o" roes were working delightfully :" at " Bcrraquoir," the manager informed us that " they were working cheerfully, and cheaply to their employer as compared WJth slavery." A third property had been dismantled under slavery, and was now again in process of sugar cultivation. Thus from step to step, our evidence, in favor of the present system, accumulated. When we arrived at the top of the lull, the scenery presented to our view was of uncommon sublimity and beauty. On one side lay Grand Bay, a noble inlet of the sea, w1th the rocky and hilly coast nearly surrounding it; on the other, the valley of the souffriere, well covered with sugar-cane, wmdmg its way to the sea, between lofty mountains. One of these mountains is supposed to consist almost entirely of sulphur, and the brow of it forms the souffriere ; from which springs a small stream of boiling water, and flows down, through the valley, to the sea. As we descended the hill by a zig-zag route, we came into the immediate neighborhood of this mass of sulphur, which ftlls the surrounding atmosphere with a strong odor. It is of a pure quality, rather white than yellow, a.nu is now exportcu itl considerable quantities. The traces of volcanic operation, throughout this island, are very conspicuous ; not only in Lhc fantastic shapes of the hills, caused (it may be presumed) by some vast irregular force from below; but in the coloring of many of the rocks, which plainly betrays the action of fire. DOMINICA. 63 One of the lofty conical hills which rises from this valley, to the east, appeared to be cultivated to its summit with coffee ; at any rate, the hedges by which the coffee plants used to be protected, were seen intersecting the hill in every direction, and formed a pleasing feature in the scenery before us. It is a remarkable circumstance that since the date of a hurricane, which ravnged this island, a few years ago, the coffee plants have generally withered, from the resistless attack of a small wllitc 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 smal l French planters, whose slaves formed part of their families before emancipation, and arc now working the properties for 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 wil l be gradually surmounted. At the little villnge of Sonffricre, by the sea side, a Mica school, nnder the care of a pious and able teacher, is in useful operation. Boats were in readiness for us on the shore, :md we were rapidly conveyed, by star-light, along a rocky and picturesque coast, back again to Roseau. There we continued for three days longer, visiteu 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 favorab le reports which we obtained, from them, of the orderly and industrious behavior of the pcasant1y, was intermptcd by a single exception. Among the most interesting of those visits, was that of our friend Dugald Stuart I .aid law, an elderly planter of great inflnencc 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 propnctor, 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 his own accord- was to the following effect-" that although his present crops were somewhat diminished in consequence of the slight degree of |