JAMAICA -25 



miles to market and back to sell a bunch of plantains or a 

 few pounds of yams valued at Less than a shilling. When 

 they meet they never fail to exchange courteous greetings. 

 Occasionally one meets the planters and pen-keepers of the 

 better classes, or sonic country curate arrayed in the solemn 

 black of his English prototype, as unsuitable for the tropics 

 as can be imagined, ye1 conventionally adhered to. 



" Lodging-houses," as the small inns are called, are found 

 at convenient distances, and sometimes excellent English 

 hotels, the best of which are in the country, remote from 

 any village, where one is so well treated that he feels in- 

 clined to linger for many days. The best of these rural 

 places in Jamaica is the house at Montpelier. This is 

 erected upon a hill in the center of the Shettlewood estate, 

 of ten thousand acres. From its generous verandas, extend- 

 ing completely around the house, the most beautiful land- 

 scapes of forest-covered hill and vale, crossed here and 

 there by white highways, and broken by large and shady- 

 pastures upon which graze beautiful herds of blooded 

 Hindu cattle, can be seen in all directions. 



Another restful spot is the Moneague hotel, reached by 

 a few hours' drive from Spanish Town. Here the governor 

 and his family and the better class of tourists seek pleasant 

 quiet. 



Near the eastern end are the warm springs of Bath, near 

 which there is another good hotel. Mandeville, in the 

 west, has also a high reputation for the excellence of its 

 entertainment and beauty of its surroundings, and no 

 Englishman visits the island without stopping there. 

 Kingsley, Fronde, and Trollope have exploited its delights 

 and restfulness. The charm of these places is indescriba- 

 ble. Unlike our bustling American tourist hotels, they 

 make no at tempt at elegance of furnishings, and each guest 

 16 permitted to enjoy himself as he pleases. 



Jamaica is thickly settled, yet it could support many 

 more people. According to the census of 1891, the popu- 

 lation was 639, 491, lint by the law of natural increase it 



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