242 CENTRAL AMERICA. 



simple souls, who loved each other dearly. 

 They then resolved to break all the ties of 

 nature or of friendship that bound them even 

 to their old fatherland^ and they both deter- 

 mined to go and live in some wild part of the 

 world where, at least, they could live for each 

 other. They had heard of this archipelago of 

 uninhabited fairy islands ; and, having turned 

 all their effects into ready money, embarked 

 for the Boca St. Juan : he there engaged a 

 piragua to take himself, wife, and a large 

 quantity of baggage up to the islands. As 

 the German had engaged the piragua for a 

 couple of months, the men assisted him in 

 building temporary huts on the island he had 

 picked out and taken possession of: he then 

 authorised the patron to send him a major- 

 domo and workmen, and they were left to 

 enjoy each other's society. 



The servants did arrive, and the head one, 

 or major-domo, was a strong, powerful, half- 

 caste, who brought with him a very good 

 written character, though the event proved 

 it was not deserved. 



The German cleared his island, planted 

 sugar-cane, had a small crushing-mill and 

 sugar-pans, &c., and managed to send enough 

 coarse brown caked sugar and poultry, either 



