A NIGHT'S PEEIL. 113 



geographical nor material limitation. Its building is 

 of love, and faith, and peace ; and these foundations 

 may be laid anywhere, for they dwell within the 

 spirit of man, and are evoked by the voice of wis- 

 dom. Be wise, then, oh wanderer from the land of 

 thy sires ! Open thine arms to thy new brethren and 

 sisters, and live no longer as though possessing no 

 higher innate powers than an oyster or a cauliflower. 

 Here, where you are, you have what may serve your 

 present aptitude ; for aught more you must wait till 

 hereafter. 



I by no means intend to infer that it required any 

 high strain of philosophy to accommodate one's self 

 to the circumstances of a few years' sojourn at Mauri- 

 tius. One might, perhaps, assume it to be one of the 

 most beautiful islands in the world. The good mer- 

 chants and planters exhibit hospitality in its very pink, 

 and abundantly evoke for your benefit the resources 

 of the island. Objections, on the score of climate, I 

 look upon as unworthy of a prudent traveller ; for to 

 one who will be at the pains of a little concession to 

 circumstances, all climates soon become the same. 

 'Tis but an extra cloak at St Petersburg, and an hour 

 or two's siesta at Calcutta. The one really assailable 

 point in the constitution of Mauritius is, that it is a 

 little out of the twopenny-post line, but as I was not 

 in love, this mattered little to me. 



When I say that I was not in love, I must be un- 

 derstood as speaking irrespectively of Mauritius. Till 



VOL. III. H 



