94 TlMEHRI. 
" occupy ; that if matters could not be mended for him 
" where he stood, he might find a situation where his 
" courage and his understanding might be turned to 
" useful purpose." It is a thousand pities that our 
author has not described the various schemes matured 
by his host for the improvement of Dominica, and the 
various large measures of public utility initiated by him, 
but which have fallen flat, presumably through the pur- 
blind obstruction of that local Council, which Mr. 
FROUDE describes as " contrived to create the largest 
" amount of friction, and to insure the highest amount of 
" unpopularity to the administrator." 
With his magical pen, Mr. FROUDE paints in charming 
style the wonderful beauties of scenery to be found in 
Dominica. As elsewhere, he saw something of the out- 
side of things. He rambled about Roseau and its 
neighbourhood, and marooned in the mountains of the 
Island, but he saw little of the inner life of the Colony, 
sufficient for his purposes being the one-sided statements 
of those with whom he consorted. He gets the length 
of enquiring as to the rate of servants' wages, which he 
finds surprisingly low. In the market-place of Roseau 
he even exchanges badinage with some of the women he 
found there. Our philosopher thus pleasantly records his 
rencontre with some of the black belles : — 
" Two or three of the best looking, seeing that I 
" admired them a little, used their eyes and made some 
" laughing remarks. They spoke in their French patois, 
" clipping off the first and last syllables of the words. 
" I but half understood them, and could not return their 
,( shots. I can only say that if their habits were as 
" loose as white people say they are, I did not see a 
