DESCRIPTION OF PORT LOUIS. 



Ill 



During the brief stay of the shiji at Mauritius the English officials and merchants exhibited 

 the most profuse hospitality toward the Commodore and his officers, while the French popula- 

 tion were no whit behind them in the unostentatious display of their kindness. These last 

 evinced the most friendly feelings and no small share of intelligence, and while both classes 

 were equally hospitable^ the only difference was that the Englishman was^ perhaps, a little the 

 more stately, and the Frenchman a little the less ceremonious. Nothing could be kinder than 

 the treatment of both. 



Port Louis, the capital of the island, is situated near its northwestern extremity, on a small bay, 

 which is but a narrow inlet of the sea, somewhat more than a mile long, and about five hundred 

 yards broad. At the extreme southwestern corner the town is built. The streets are straight, 

 but not paved. The principal street runs parallel to the shore of the bay. The houses are chiefly 

 of wood, and of but a single story. The popiilation is^ perhaps, from twenty-five to thirty 

 thousand, of whicli from four to five thousand are white. The residue are for the most part 

 blacks. Grand Port, on the southeastern side of the island, is sufficiently capacious, and is 

 more convenient for shipping the sugar, of which large quantities are grown in the neighbor- 

 hood ; but apart from the intricacies of its entrance, it is open to the southeast, from which 

 quarter the hurricanes blow most furiously. 



Public Square, Port Louis. 



It is not to be supposed that among those who read at all there are many who are unacquainted 

 ■with the beautiful story of Paul and Virginia, by Bernardin St. Pierre. The accomplished 

 author was an officer of the garrison of Mauritius in 1744, and at that time a melancholy catas- 



