Chap. X. BELGIAN COLONY OF ST. THOMAS. 163 
be fit for cultivation; though in time of inundations, 
during the rainy season, the whole country is occasionally 
overflowed. Now and then we pass a little hut, half 
hidden between some giant plantain-leaves, and over- 
shadowed by a few cocoa-nut trees. After three or four 
hours' rowing we reached the plantation of Mr. R., a 
German, who owns a considerable tract of land here. 
Most agreeably we were surprised by the neatness of the 
small dwelling in which we were received with all the 
hospitality we could have expected from good countrymen. 
Mr. and Mrs. K., both from the borders of the Rhine, 
had been amongst the first settlers of the ill-fated Belgian 
colony of St. Thomas, on the coast of Guatemala, where 
they spent many years before retiring to their present 
residence. The situation of their house is delightful. 
The river, here a noble stream, passes before the door, 
the opposite bank offering an admirable view of Dr. 
Y.'s country seat, one of the oldest cultivations and 
residences on the Belize river. A long avenue of cocoa- 
nut trees, planted at regular distances, extends along the 
bank, from which an ever green meadow, bordered by 
forest-trees, spreads towards the interior. 
Mr. and Mrs. R. have a very favourable opinion of the 
climate of the country in which they are now residing, 
and whoever sees them will not doubt their assurances of 
its salubrity, though they confess they have not escaped 
some attacks of intermittent fever. They bear, however, 
an almost equally favourable impression of the climate of 
St. Thomas, in defiance of the terrible reputation which 
that place has acquired by the mortality of the colonists. 
There are several other persons at Belize who have be- 
longed to that colony, and I took considerable interest in 
collecting and comparing their statements with reference 
m 2 
