280 



WANDERINGS IN 



Fourth Veiius duriiig mv stav ill Barbadoes. The difference 



Journey. 



betwixt the French and British islands was very striking. 



The first appeared happy and content ; the second were 

 filled with mnrmurs and complaints. The late proceed- 

 ings in England, concerning slavery, and the insurrection 

 in Demerara had evidently caused the gloom. The abo- 



siavery. lition of slavcry is a question full of benevolence and fine 

 feelings, difficulties and danger : — 



Tantum ne noceas, dum vis prodesse videto." 



It requires consummate prudence, and a vast fund of 

 true information, in order to draw just conclusions on 

 this important subject. Phaeton, by awkward driving, 

 set the world on fire: " Sylvee cum montibus ardent." 

 Daedalus gave his son a pair of wings without considering 

 the consequence ; the boy flew out of all bounds, lost 

 his wings, and tumbled into the sea: — 



" Icarus, Icariis noniina fecit aquis." 



When the old man saw what had happened, he damned 

 his own handicraft in wing-making; " devovitque suas 

 artes." Prudence is a cardinal virtue : — 



" Omnia consult^ mente gerenda tegens." 



Foresight is half the battle. " Hombre apercebido, 

 medio combatido," says Don Quixote, or Sancho, I do 

 not remember which. Had queen Bess weighed well in 



