NOTES OF A NATURALIST. 



problem of converting a population of black slaves 

 into useful members of a free community has been 

 better solved in Barbadoes than in any other European 

 colony. So far as the elementary wants are concerned, 

 there was a complete absence of the painful suspicion 

 so commonly felt as regards the poor in Europe and 

 the East, that their food is either insufficient or un- 

 wholesome. With very few exceptions they all 

 seemed sleek and well fed, and their clothing showed 

 no symptoms of poverty. In the town their dress 

 was generally neat, and most of the women made a 

 display of bright colour in handkerchiefs and parasols. 

 What struck me most was a general air of good 

 humour and enjoyment. One may be misled in this 

 respect by the facial characteristics of the black race, 

 which, in the absence of disturbing causes, readily 

 turn to a smile or a grin. But, whether in the streets 

 of Bridgetown or botanizing among the fields in the 

 country, and using the few opportunities of speaking 

 to the people, the same impression was retained. 



Their manner in speaking to whites seemed to 

 imply neither servility nor yet the independence 

 which characterizes the Arab or the Moor. A latent 

 sense of inferiority seemed to be combined with a 

 complete absence of shyness or apprehension, as in 

 children used to kind treatment, and not too carefully 

 drilled. We happened to halt near a spot where there 

 was a cluster of labourers' cabins, and a school well 

 filled with small children. There had been a wedding 

 in Bridgetown that morning, and as we halted two 

 carriages passed, carrying the bridal party to some 

 house in the country. All the inhabitants rushed out 



