58 
LETTERS FROM 
half a dollar a day and his food. The only 
charge made by the establishment is about 
three shillings a day for the guardian. When 
we want any particular article from the inn, 
we write our commissions on a slate, which 
is not considered capable of conveying in¬ 
fection, and is suffered to pass without un¬ 
dergoing any purification. The fumigation 
of letters is thus performed. They are laid 
on shelves in a sort of cupboard ; a quantity 
of straw is then set on fire in a shallow iron 
pan, and the flame having subsided a little, a 
handful or two of composition, of which brim¬ 
stone is the chief ingredient, is thrown over it, 
the pan is placed in the cupboard, and the 
doors are closed. In a few minutes the con¬ 
tents are considered to be sufficiently purified. 
On the opposite side of the harbour is a 
little pebbly beach where we are allowed to 
land, for as it is enclosed between two pro- 
