644 Notes on America. [JUNE, 



fellow. This did not prevent their offering a reward to any one who 

 would act as their substitute, but no one could be found. After waiting 

 till twelve o'clock, Copenhagen was taken from the gallows, where he had 

 been grinning and talking all the time, and, followed to the wharf by 

 thousands of his delighted fellow bondsmen, was put on board a sloop 

 and sent to New Orleans. 



' There are two synagogues in Charleston, and some very wealthy and 

 respectable Jews. The feast of the passover is celebrated by them with 

 great splendour and heartiness, and the appearance of the young females of 

 the persuasion, as they move about with their long white veils, is ele- 

 gant and romantic. The young Jewesses of South Carolina are cer- 

 tainly the handsomest women I ever saw. The older ones, I am sorry to 

 say, are peculiarly the reverse. The fondness for jewellery and orna- 

 ments, which distinguishes the Hebrew nation all the world over, is very 

 conspicuous in Charleston. While the exterior of their dwellings is fre- 

 quently dirty and neglected, t scarcely ever saw the inside of one, which 

 was not furnished with a strikingly inconsistent degree of show arid 

 expence. A Jewish gentleman commonly carries rings and seals enough 

 about him to furnish half a dozen London "swells" for the season. The 

 Americans, in general, shew the greatest fondness for external ornament, 

 of any civilized nation, and the English, perhaps, the least ; but even in the 

 United States, the Jews are remarkable for this penchant. 



The fugitives from St. Domingo may be mentioned as forming one 

 class among the many which make up the motley and varied population 

 of this singular place. There cannot now be many of these unfortunate 

 Frenchmen remaining, though at one time they abounded in Charleston. 

 They were in general very poor, and had been very rich. A little knot 

 of them were in the habit of meeting in a room behind a barber's shop, 

 very early every morning, to drink French coffee, and talk over old times. 

 They afterwards adjourned to the market, and were generally there as 

 soon as the gates opened, to select their frugal fare for the day. Among 

 these old gentlemen, there was one who particularly attracted my atten- 

 tion. He was formerly possessed of great wealth in the West Indies, 

 and in anticipation of the negro insurrection, had remitted large sums to 

 his countrymen in the United States, and fortunately also made one 

 small deposit with an American merchant. Notwithstanding his fore- 

 sight, he was surprised at last, and escaped with difficulty. On his arrival 

 in the United States, he found that the funds which he had remitted to his 

 own countrymen, owing to their insolvency and rascality, were not forth- 

 coming 5 and his property was reduced to about 4000/, the amount in the 

 hands of the honest yankee. Upon the interest of this sum, however, he 

 might at least have lived in comfort. But he never could be induced to 

 invest it in stock of any kind, and persisted in spending his capital till it 

 was nearly exhausted, when he fortunately died. He kept no bank 

 account, but had made up his mind to destroy himself upon the first 

 refusal of his cheque. I ought to add, that in consideration of the value 

 of his deposit, for upwards of twenty years, the bank directors had given 

 orders always to pay the very moderate drafts, which the old man might 

 have occasion to make, so that no necessity should occur for his putting 

 his suicide purpose into execution. This, however, was no idle boast on 

 his parr, as the accidental dishonour of his cheque one day proved. The 

 pistols were taken out of the case, and loaded for destruction, when a 



