238 WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 



feeding on them, put you in mind of Ovid's description 

 of famine. : 



" Dura cutis, per quam spectari viscera possent." 



It is somewhat singular, that there is not a single river 

 or brook in the whole island of Antigua. In this it 

 differs from Tartary in the other world ; which, ac- 

 cording to old writers, has five rivers ; viz. Acheron, 

 Phlegeton, Cocytus, Styx, and 'Lethe. 



In this island I found the Red-start, described in 

 "Wilson's " Ornithology of the United States." I wished 

 to learn whether any of these birds remain the whole 

 year in Antigua, and breed there ; or whether they all 

 leave it for the north when the sun comes out of the 

 southern hemisphere ; but, upon inquiry, I could get 

 no information whatever. 



After passing a dull week here, I sailed 

 Guadaiou e ^ or Guadaloupe, whose bold and cloud-capped 



mountains have a grand appearance as you 

 approach the island. Basseterre, the capital, is a neat 

 town, with a handsome public walk in the middle of it, 

 well shaded by a row of fine tamarind trees on each 

 side. Behind the town, La Souffriere raises its high 

 romantic summit ; and, on a clear day, you may see the 

 volcanic smoke which issues from it. 



Nearly midway, betwixt Guadaloupe and Dominica, 

 you descry the Saintes. Though high, and bold, and 

 rocky, they have still a diminutive appearance when 

 compared with their two gigantic neighbours. Yoxi 

 just see Marigalante to windward of them, some leagues 

 off, about a yard high in the horizon. 



Dominica is majestic in high and rugged 

 Domtotea. f mountains. As you sail along it, you cannot 



help admiring its beautiful coffee planta- 



