CHARACTERS. 



793 



he complains of, and then punishes 

 the crime he has provoked ; and 

 •while he thus becomes the arbiter 

 of his own fate, he accuses nature of 

 causing all his suft'eriugs. Unmarried 

 females, being allowed much grea- 

 ter liberties than wives, are by no 

 means anxious to be married, and 

 consequently neglect all those mi- 

 nute delicacies, in their common in- 

 tercourse with the other sex, which 

 form the basis of mutual love, con- 

 sidered as a refined passion. But 

 the climate operating upon the fair 

 sex more forcibly, in proportion to 

 their superior delicacy of organiza- 

 tion, enervates the system and in- 

 duces a kind of restless indolence, 

 to which is attached a boundless de- 

 sire for variety, when it can be 

 procured without much exertion ; 

 hence, while the mind is lulled into 

 inactivity, and the eye of prudence 

 sleeps, the bosom is, " tremblingly 

 alive," to the soft sensations of love, 

 and the bulwarks of female inno- 

 cence lie exposed and defenceless 

 to the attacks of the watchful se- 

 ducer. The public opinion is not, 

 howcT'-r, so depraved as to sanction 

 this laxity ot morals, and hence 

 pregnancy is too often concealed 

 by procuring abortion, which re- 

 peated, perhaps,several times, assists 

 in bringing on a premature old age, 

 and sinks the victim to the grave, 

 loaded with guilt and disease. 



Quod neque in Armenies tigres secere 

 latcbris 

 Perdt-ie iiec foetus ausa Lea?na suos. 

 At teiiera; faciuut, sed uon iiiipciiib 

 puclUu 

 Sa;<!pc, suos utero qua; nccat, ipsa 

 pciit. 



Ovid. Amor. 1. 2. 



The punishment of adultery is 

 transportation of both the oiienders, 

 to dilfereut places on the coast of 

 Africa; but the injured husband 

 may revenge himself by the instant 

 death of both parties, if he linds 

 them, " nudus cum niida, solus 

 cum sola." 



The city of St. Sebastian, from 

 being surrounded by hills, which 

 prevent the free circulation of air, 

 is more unhealthy than the other 

 settlements on the coast ; and the 

 dirfy customs of the inhabitants 

 tend to increase the defects of situa- 

 tion. The diseases most prevalent 

 are fevers, dysentery, and hydro- 

 cele. Fevers, if not entirely gene- 

 rated, are undoubtedly multiplied, 

 by the noxious eflluvia arising from 

 the unremoved filth in the streets ; 

 for here the windows give a nightly 

 exit, to all the vile accumulation of 

 the day.* Dysenteries may pro- 

 bably proceed from their method of 

 living, or their common kinds of 

 food, of which fish, fruit, and sweet- 

 jnciits form (he principal articles. 

 The chief animal food of the lower 

 class is salted pork, not half cured, 

 or jerked beef, both brought from 

 Rio Grande; and thei/- beverage is 

 a deleterious and ardent spirit, 

 which, from its cheapness, comes 

 within the reach of their scantj 

 finances. The causes of the hydro- 

 cole, which often renders those 

 afilictcd with it the most pitiable 

 objects, may, perhaps, with equal 

 reason, be traced to themselves ; for 

 by the continual use of tepid baths, 

 they increase the naturally great 

 relaxation, which pervades the sys- 

 tem in a warm climate. In our 

 English .settlements, where cold 



bathing 



• ForanrxRCt description of St. Sebastian's in this respect, we beg leave to i-efer 



our readers to Mrs. Winifred .Jenkins, and shall only reniiuk, that whoovor walks 



under the windows at tch o'clock ul night, will probahiy have occ.nsion to cry, 



* Lord have mercy upon me !'* 



