390 



April 17. 



Pickle had accused his brother-in-law, Edward 

 the Eboe, of having given him a pleurisy by the 

 practice of Obeah. During my last visit I had 

 convinced him that the charge was unjust (or at 

 least he had declared himself to be convinced), and 

 about six weeks ago they came together to assure 

 me, that ever since they had lived upon the best 

 terms possible. Unluckily, Pickle's wife miscarried 

 lately, and for the third time ; previously to which 

 Edward had said, that his wife would remain sole 

 heiress of the father's property. This was enough 

 to set the suspicious brains of these foolish people 

 at work ; and to-day Pickle and his father-in-law, 

 old Damon, came to assure me, that in order to 

 prevent a child coming to claim its share of the 

 grandfather's property, Edward had practised 

 Obeah to make his sister-in-law miscarry ; the 

 only proof of which adduced was the above ex- 

 pression, and the woman's having miscarried " just 

 according to Edward's very words ! " To reason 

 with such very absurd persons was out of the case. 

 I found too, that the two sisters were quarrelling 

 perpetually, and always on the point of tearing 

 each other's eyes out. Therefore, as domestic 

 peace " in a house so disunited" was out of the 

 question, I ordered the two families to separate 

 instantly, and to live at the two extremities of the 

 negro village ; at the same time forbidding all 



