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second causes, which, in these torrid regions, he has made use of to impregnate the secret recesses of vegetation, to call torpid life into action, and to fertilize the surface of the earth.

In Egypt the waters rise from the swellings of the river, but in these islands they descend in torrents from the skies. In both cases the hand of Omnipotence is conspicuous; only he displays his power in different ways. In both cases he apparently deluges the earth with water, while he only fertilizes her surface, causing her to teem with plenty, which the tropical sun soon ripens for the use of man. It is thus, in the kingdom of nature, that Jehovah acts! It is thus also that he acts in the kingdom of divine grace! He awakens the soul to apprehensions of danger, and then conducts it to the throne of grace. He waters it from on high with the dews of his heavenly grace, that it may bring forth fruit to his glory, through the efficacy of the Sun of Righteousness, who shines upon it with sacred lustre.

The face of these islands would have held out sufficient inducements to the first adventurers, to establish settlements in these prolific regions, though no other temptations had conspired.

They were countries in which nature seemed to have poured out, in luxuriant profusion, every thing necessary for the conveniency and comfort of man, and in which she appeared to present an extensive garden, which had been planted and cultivated by the hand of God. The foliage of the trees exhibited little less than a perpetual summer, diffusing its spices through the aromatic gales; while the fruits with which multitudes of them were loaded, gave evident signs of the divine favour. The roots and herbs which were nourished by the intense action of the solar beams, in conjunction with those fruits which were mellowed into ripeness by the same cause, and hung pendent from the boughs, must have excited gratitude in every feeling heart, in proportion as they produced admiration. And the astonishment which nature, thus wearing a perpetual smile, must have infused into the contemplative mind, would, one might expect, have been transferred to the primary Fountain from whence it sprang. The seas which encircle and lave these islands, contribute their portion in displaying the bounties of God. They teem with fish of the most delicious flavour; and yield this grateful repast in a surprising abundance. Both earth and sea conspire to supply the wants of man, by communicating their productions with amazing variety; exciting gratitude while they heighten wonder, through evidences which strike upon every sense, and more than demonstrate the unbounded goodness and infinite power of God.

The diversity of hills and valleys, the elevated mountains,

the extended savannas, the number and variety of trees and shrubs, and the umbrageous shades and cool retreats, which diversify this picturesque scene, all contribute to heighten the grandeur of the prospect, and to add to that fertility which glows without a rival in any other climate of our terrestrial abode. The mind is lost in contemplating the numerous beauties which these islands afford; and sinks oppressed with difficulties in making selections among a numerous train which exceeds all the imagery of the mind, and bids defiance to her descriptive powers.

The lofty and enormous trees which rise in majestic grandeur, and exceed in magnitude any that Europe ever saw, are, in many cases, protected from those violent tempests which sometimes ravage these countries, and lay plantations waste, by the still loftier mountains, which rise to an astonishing height: while these trees afford to those plants and shrubs which flourish beneath their shade, that protection and shelter which they receive. By these means shrubs and plants are defended against those intense heats which would pierce their vital parts, and extract from them that moisture by which they live.Through the same causes they are preserved from the fatal effects of those rains which fall in autumn with such irresistible violence, as would strike them from the lists of vegetative creation, and mingle them with that earth from whence they now derive support. Thus circumstanced, the tender plants, which flourish in these islands, enjoy the genial and invigorating heats, without being exposed to all the rigour of that intolerable fierceness which blazes in the summer solstice from a vertical sun. Through the same peculiar happiness of situation, these tender plants partake of those enlivening benefits, which issue from those rains and dews which fertilize the country through every varied season, without sustaining the disadvantages which otherwise they must have suffered from those torrents of water which descend, occasionally, from the skies, in terrible inundations. The lofty trees which give graces to the magnificence of the scene, thus contribute to the fertility of those islands which are embellished by their stateliness and foliage; and they must have proved with demonstrative evidence to the first settlers, by their luxuriant growth, which depended on the native vigour of the earth and the power of the soil, the certainty of success which waited to crown the hand of industrious cultivation.*

There is a certain propensity in the human mind inclining it occasionally to draw a veil over the enormities of their fellow-creatures, which I feel myself rather at a loss to comprehend. It seems difficult to say whether this pre

The Papaw and Palmeto; the Mahogany and the Cedar; the Ceiba and the Fig, or what is called, in the East, the Banyan

pensity arises from respect for human nature, and which would induce us to doubt the authenticity of those facts which stain the page of history with human blood, or whether it arises from a national or an individual friendship for those persons whose actions sully the annals of mankind. Perhaps it may occasionally arise from both causes. But in either case, it is a censurable propensity, because it ultimately tends to defeat the designs of all faithful records, and to render questionable and suspicious even the best authenticated facts. In the former case it betrays the weakness, and, in the latter, the depravity of the human mind.

Facts are, in themselves, good or bad, independently of all opinions which we put upon them; and from what they are in their own natures, the authors of them must finally stand or fall. The false glosses which the varnish of language may give them, may deceive mankind, but cannot deceive Him before whom we must shortly make our appearance to give an account for those deeds done in the body, when we must abide the decision of his tribunal who shall judge both quick and dead.

In the corrupted currents of this world,
Offence's gilded hand may shove by justice;
And oft 'tis seen the wicked prize itself
Buys out the law. But 'tis not so above;
There is no shuflling; there the action
Lies in its own nature; and we compell'd,

Even in the teeth and forehead of our faults,
To give in evidence.

The greatest men that ever ornamented human nature, have had their foes, and the greatest villains that ever disgraced mankind, have had their friends. These remarks are of general application; and though we may find some difficulty in discovering the motive, there can be none in discovering the fact.

To lessen the fame of Columbus, and to palliate, if not to deny the enormities of the Spaniards, in the extirpation of the peaceful and unoffending natives by some of the most inhuman butcheries which have ever disgraced mankind, some writers have affected in an indirect manner to call in question the veracity of Columbus; by representing these delightful islands as so many melancholy deserts, abounding chiefly with mountains and swamps, at once impenetrable, and hostile to the health of man. And from these circumstances they have inferred the scantiness of their population, in order to extenuate those unheard-of murders which depopulated this Archipelago, and in the short space of somewhat less than half a century, exterminated not less than two millions of the human spesies. And to aggravate the horrid facts, if such facts can be aggravated by any circumstance, no other pretence seems to be assigned, than that they were Pagans, Infidels, or Heretics, and must be destroyed for the glory of God!

How inscrutable and mysterious are the ways of Heaven! Perhaps few, if any, abstract arguments can furnish us with more decisive proofs of a future state, than those inhumanities which are practised in the world, and yet go unpunished. The justice of God is inseparable from his nature and being; and his being admits of demonstrative proof.

When Jamaica in 1655, under the protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, was taken from the Spaniards, it seems to have exhibited little less than a dreary waste, in which the lazy Spaniard was obliged to reside in dismal solitudes, which his merciless forefathers had occasioned, by crimes which we

Tree, raising their heads above their brethren of the forest, are without doubt deserving of that attention which their elevated rank in the vegetable kingdom imperiously demands. Of the Palmeto Royal, or Mountain Cabbage, Mr. Hughes, who wrote the history of Barbadoes, observes, "that the highest which he recollects to have seen in his time was 134 feet in height.” Mr. Edwards, speaking from personal knowledge, says, "that in the island of Jamaica he has seen them upwards of 150 feet high, as well as calculation, unassisted by actual measurement, could ascertain; and Ligon, to whom Mr. Edwards appeals, mentions some at the first settlement of Barbadoes, which were not less than 200 feet in height. "Neither the tall Cedars of Lebanon, nor any trees of the forest, are equal to it (says Mr. Hughes) in height, beauty, or proportion," Like those mighty rivers, which grace the Southern Continent of America, and demand a place on maps of the most diminutive size, the Palmeto rises superior to the whole vegetable race, and stands, for its height and beauty, among the wonders of productive nature.

The Cedar and Mahogany swelling to an enormous size, not unfrequently measure nearly 90 feet, from the base to the first branches, which spread at that height from their trunks. These

cannot reflect on without horror. Having exterminated the natives, and being glutted with human blood, they sunk down into a national apathy, regardless of the native beauties of the soil which they inhabited; and lived chiefly on those spontaneous productions of nature with which the islands abounded. In the mean time the wild but native vigour of the soil and climate co-operating together, produced a variety of noxious weeds and deleterious plants. It was, in reality, such a place as the enemies of Columbus have represented all the islands to have been, on his first discoveries of, and primary visits to them, And such, in all probability, would it have remained until the present day, had it continued in their hands; which we may fairly infer by only adverting to the condition of the principal parts of Cuba and Porto Rico; which, though surrounded by the industry of neighbouring islands, which tends in general to stimulate exertion, and prompt to action, are, at this moment, chiefly calculated to confer disgrace on their possessors.

The Spaniards in Jamaica, when it was taken from them, under the direc tion of Cromwell in 1655, as well as the island on which they resided, exhibited a wretched picture of human nature in disgrace, Enervated by sloth, and sunk in indolence; enfeebled by luxury, and stupified through inactivity; their mental and bodily powers proved their relation to each other; and strong symptoms were discoverable in them, that they were fast verging towards a state similar to that which the country pourtrayed. They appeared at no great distance from a state of barbarism; and, on this account, became an easy prey. But these facts and circumstances will appear more conspicuous, when we come to the particular description of each island. The characters of the natives, and the sentiments of Columbus, on the fertility and state of the country, will appear from a letter which he wrote to the king of Spain from Cuba. It will be inserted a few pages hence, for the satisfaction of the reader, who may then judge for himself.

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trees seem admirably adapted to the climate in which they grow; and contribute, amid the scorching heats, which occasionally rage with almost intolerable violence, to relieve the inhabitants, by opening those cool and sequestered recesses which their shades afford. It is an awning which nature has provided, and adapted to these torrid climates, to relieve the inhabitants from those periodical inconveniences, to which they must be more or less exposed in every portion of this burning zone.

But these trees, lofty and enormous as they are, can stand in no competition, in point of bulk, with the Ceiba, or Wild Cotton Tree. It is a tree which seems admirably adapted to the purposes of Indian navigation; by which the natives are furnished with canoes, suited to those local expeditions which circumscribe their exploits; and in which the productions of na ture seem to have superseded the achievements of art. To such prodigious magnitudes have these trees grown, that, without any additional timbers, and without ang other art, than that which laborious exertion supplied in scooping and hollowing them into a concave form, they have been known to carry from 60 to 100 persons.

Nor were the bounties of Providence less conspicuous to the first voyagers through the medium of nature, in the number and fertility of those trees which were more immediately productive of fruit. In these the favours of infinite Goodness were scattered with an unsparing hand. The tender bud, the opening blossom, or the mellow fruit, never forsook these islands; nor ceased to clothe the hills and savannas with perpetual verdure, through all the changing seasons of the year. The various fruits, which are peculiar to these tropical regions, are too well known to need any description; they have found their way into Europe; and the natural productions of these islands, after undergoing a necessary process, constitute one of the most considerable branches of commerce that exists this day on the habitable globe.

The larger, or leeward islands, being thickly peopled, when first discovered by Columbus, with a mild and hospitable race, presented grounds which were not wholly in an uncultivated state. It is true the natives had no intercourse with foreign nations, and only raised what their necessities demanded. They wanted no influx of wealth, and they had no insatiable avarice, or ambition, to gratify; they raised nothing for exportation, nor carried their notions of aggrandizement beyond those islands which bounded their abodes. But their numbers were great, and though individual exertion was but small, the aggre gate was considerable; and finally resulted in beneficial effects. Their savannas being regularly sown twice a year with Maize,

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