THE HOTEL COURT. %3 
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 vite, 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 Royal 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 afervor and zeal that 
glorified their dusky faces, swayed their bodies, and extended 
down their arms to the tips of their fingers. A sacred waltz was 
sometimes performed by ‘‘ Sankey ” and his cousin, two little dots 
of children, in the most cunning and comical manner imaginable, 
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