370 Isles of summek.. 



itself impotent to conceive the extent of the dissipation, the prof- 

 ligate waste, the mad revel and riot, and the wild frenzy and 

 delirium which everywhere prevailed. What a contrast they 

 afforded to the mild, soft and lambent air, — the clear, placid and 

 beautiful waters, — the calm and quiet majesty of heaven's blue 

 dome, — and the fairy bowers with their flowers and unfading 

 verdure, which characterize this favored part of the New World ! 

 But like the occasional great tidal waves of the ocean, which after 

 they subside leave little but wreck and ruin upon the shores which 

 they visit — when, soon after, the Confederacy collapsed, and only 

 the Stars and Stripes fluttered in a free air over all the recently 

 dissevered States, silence resumed its reign in the streets of Nas- 

 sau, and much that existed, in the shape of fixed capital, was 

 turned into a ruin by the great hurricane of 186G. A lasting 

 monument was erected to commemorate and keep alive the mem- 

 ory of those days, which every inhabitant of these islands sees and 

 feels, in the form of a colonial debt of over a quarter of a million 

 of dollars. 



If the American eagle and the British lion hereafter quarrel, 

 we recommend the former, (in settlement of accounts), to make 

 a breakfast of the Bahamas some pleasant morning, — saving their 

 insignia of royalty for our Pcabody Museums. 



Two rules were adopted by the English government during 

 the war, which operated (as it was well known at the time that 

 they would, and as it was designed that they should,) A^ery much 

 to the benefit of the Confederates, and to the prejudice of the 

 United States government. One provided that if there was a 

 Confederate vessel and also a Union vessel in a British port, and 

 one sailed out first, the other should not leave until twenty -four 

 hours had elapsed. Now, as our vessels of Avar were always the 

 pursuing party, the rule greatly and exclusively aided the South. 

 To put it mildly, this was unfriendly conduct, and had for its 

 object the permanent dissolution of the American Union. 



