60 ISLEf^ OF StMMER. 



is quite probable that, at least rlnring the wet rainy season, they 

 were unhealthy. 



Little Fort Montague has been keej^ing watch and guard at 

 the eastern entrance of Nassaii harbor for a little less than a 

 century and a-half. It was finished in 1742. Lieut. Bruce, 

 who planned it, and superintended its construction, had suffi- 

 cient skill as an engineer, and talent as an author, to ensure its 

 transmission to our own times doubly preserved. Its walls re- 

 main intact, and the pen of its engineer secured for it an abiding 

 l^lace in letters. 



It is only as a relict and reminder of the liy-gones that it has a 

 present value. It is not garrisoned, but its old and rusty guns, 

 in appearance at least, continue to guard Nassau's back door. 

 Although we never entered its walls, it always calls up pleasant 

 memories, as we often passed near it during the forenoon sails 

 and afternoon rides that did so much to fill our cup of pleasure 

 at Nassau. 



The Governor of these islands, while we were in Nassau, sent 

 a written message to the Bahama legislative assembly, signed by 

 himself, in which he asked for an appropriation of £50 (about 

 two hundred dollars) to " His Excellency in Council, to cause to 

 l)e collected and printed the judicial decisions of the Superior 

 Court of this colony during the last quarter of a century. " Does 

 this not indicate a great amount of legal business ? What an 

 opening exists in this extensive group of islands, keys, rocks, 

 and banks for young and aspiring members of the legal pro- 

 fession! Only £50 wanted to collect and print all the deci- 

 sions of all the Bahama Superior Courts for twenty-five years! 

 And two dollars will purcluise sugar cane enough to support a 

 man and keep him fat and healthy for three months. Observe 

 also how the Governor regards the maxim that "A man cannot 

 expect others to think any better of him than he thinks of him- 



