A WEST INDIAN SKETCH. 57 



He would sleep as soundly on a few palm-leaves as on the best mat- 

 tress. In his wanderings he has collected a considerable quantity of 

 objects of natural history. I made the fifth of the party. 



The light morning-breeze springing up, we got under sail, and 

 gently glided towards " the Five Islands." These are situated some 

 two miles from the shore, and about eight from the Port of Spain. 

 The scenery along the coast is beautiful, consisting of an intermixture 

 of morass, covered with mangroves, pasture, and cane-fields, until the 

 view is bounded by a range of mountains. We were soon off the plan- 

 tation called Peru, the property of the Devenish family the father of 

 which, though an Irishman, resided here while the island belonged to 

 the Spaniards. It was on this plantation that Abercrombie landed 

 when he took the colony. When the Spanish governor Chacon, heard 

 of this landing, and was advised to prepare for resistance, it is said he 

 exclaimed, " Por il amor de la santissima madre de Dios dexen los In- 

 gleses quietos 6 nos hacien pedazos'^For the love of the holy mother 

 of God, let the English alone, or we shall be cut to pieces.) 



The following anecdote is likewise reported of this valiant gentleman: 

 one day he was sitting in a gallery, in company with Admiral Apo- 

 daca, when a man was assassinated in the street before his face ; 

 shocked at the event, this august personage immediately fell on his 

 knees, and, with tears in his eyes, began vigorously to pray for the 

 soul of the deceased ! Had it not been for the interference of the ad- 

 miral, the assassin would have escaped. 



When the British soldiers landed on the island, they broke open 

 the boiling-house and distillery, and made grog in a most original 

 manner, and on a very extensive scale. They rolled out three hogs- 

 heads of sugar, and seven puncheons of rum, which they emptied in- 

 to a well of water, drew up the mixture in buckets-full, and drank it. 

 This ingenious mode of making grog was introduced by the regi- 

 ment under the command of Colonel Picton the immortal Picton 

 of Waterloo. During his government, he endeavoured to make the 

 colonial department reimburse the proprietor of the plantation for 

 the damage sustained on the landing of his regiment: this he was 

 not able to accomplish. Sir Thomas Picton was one of the most able 

 governors this island ever had. His way of treating debtors that had 

 the means, but wanted the will to pay, was original ; instead of un- 

 dergoing the heavy delay of a Spanish law process, creditors were 

 in the habit of going to Governor Picton ; he would summon the 

 debtor before him, and ask him if the plaintiff's claim was just; if 

 the defendant answered in the affirmative, Picton rejoined, "Pay him 

 Sir, immediately ;" perhaps the defendant would remark that he had 

 not the money at the moment " When will you have it, Sir ?" 

 " This day week :" here the governor would say, addressing the 

 plaintiff, " Here is your money " at the same time paying him him- 

 self, and then turning to the defendant, he would add, " Take care, 

 Sir, that you produce the money within ten days;" this was enough; 

 for few men would venture to trifle with the governor. He had the 

 art of making himself loved and respected by the honest members of 

 the community, and feared by the worthless. 



The breeze which had been but light through the morning, now 



M.M. No. 1. I * 



