■THE HOTEL COURT. '7S 



islands and keys were portrayed with a fervid eloquence which 

 never ceased to interest. Near by were numerous carriages for 

 hire, which were much patronized. This court is also a great 

 bazaar, to which the colored people of all ages and of both sexes 

 who have anything to sell, resort in large numbers to dispose of 

 their wares. Here, therefore, is offered an excellent opportunity 

 to study the products of these rocky islands and of the adjacent 

 waters, which is much improved and enjoyed. Many kinds of 

 fruits, flowers and other vegetable products, corals in great 

 variety, sugar cane and candies, sponges of all sizes and qualities, 

 shells exquisitely shaped and beautifully colored, shell-work of 

 unsurpassed excellence, canes of the orange, lignum vitee, ebony, 

 satin and other woods, and many other articles make up their 

 stock in trade. Here also the colored boys came to scramble, 

 in the most laughable manner, for pennies, thrown to them for 

 that purpose upon the hard pavements of lime-stone and brick. 

 When down, and struggling for the prize, in a wild tangle of 

 arms and legs, they seemed a hideous, writhing mass of black and 

 ragged reptiles of the most lively kind. When up, with faces 

 beaming with fun and frolic, their eager calls for " massa " to 

 " trow a penny dis way " soon dispelled the delusion. In these 

 contests, as well as on other occasions, their good nature and 

 amiability are pre-eminently exemplified. 



For some days after we first arrived at the Koyal Victoria, 

 young Africa gave frequent vocal entertainments in the court of 

 the hotel. The voices of some were soft and musical, and they 

 sang the religious songs which they had learned in '' the shouting 

 meetings," with perfect abandon, and with a fervor and zeal that 

 glorified their dusky faces, swayed their bodies, and extended 

 down their arms to the tips of their fingers. A sacred waltz waa 

 sometimes performed by " Sankey " and his cousin, two little dota 

 of children, in the most cunning and comical manner imaginable, 



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