ment, appeared to confess the fact that they were the engines for supplying the caldron with its means of emitting the savoury fumes which had first arrested our attention.

"Now, zhentlemen, will yer have soom wild dook or soom widgeon? or wa'd yer prafer soom mutton? We are just going to sooper, and if yer will tak' a bit with us ye're welcome."

We thanked him, and each of us partook of some boiled mutton, turnips, and carrots; all of which were taken from the caldron by means of an iron ladle, and furnished on large deep plates. The whole was well flavoured with onions, and our plates were filled to the brim with the soup or liquor in which the mixture had been stewed.

There are times when a man's appetite is so keen as to relish the most coarse and homely fare, which at other times he would eschew with abhorrence; and I am sure that had any one told me previously, that a mixture of mutton, wild-fowl, and vegetables, stewed up together in a caldron, was at all palatable, I could not have believed it. Indeed, I question if I could have been induced to partake of it. But hunger makes us relish the very scent of food; and, although I have never since tasted such a conglomerated stew, I well remember it was substantially excellent. Nor were our appetites entirely appeased until a third plate-full had been supplied us from the simmering caldron. We were also served with some tolerable home-brewed beer; and, "on the removal of the cloth," with a glass of genuine Hollands, over which we smoked our pipes, and put a few questions to our generous but mys terious host and hostess; neither of whom were disposed to be very communicative as regards themselves or their manner of life. Sometimes I concluded the man was a notorious poacher-perhaps a highwayman; but then how could he be allowed to place his hut in a wood in which it appeared the game was strictly preserved? There was, besides, something too candid and open-hearted about the man and his wife, to allow of an imputation of dishonesty to his mode of life; and I frequently thought the hut, the woman, and the caldron, bore strong resemblance to those of the famed Meg Merrilies in Sir Walter Scott's "Guy Mannering." We refrained from being inquisitive, because we found our new acquaintances so very reserved; and having remained upwards of two hours beneath the hospitable roof of the self-secluded Yorkshireman, we rose to take our departure, and I laid two halfcrowns upon the table to pay for what we had taken,

"One is enoof," said the man; "and, if yer plaze, yer nae want to pay naething at all."

I insisted on leaving both the coins on the table; and, much refreshed by our unexpected, palatable regalement, and highly amused with our adventure, we bade our new acquaintances "a good night," and trudged off towards the high-road, chatting and speculating all the way as to the singularly secluded life of the lion-like Yorkshireman and his handsome wife.

"I think the fellow is a smuggler," said my companion, "or where could he get such splendid Hollands? Depend on it, he's an outlaw. We have been messing in a den of thieves, and I hope we shall not get stopped and robbed on our way home to-night."

I told my friend I could not agree with him in that conjecture, as we

saw nothing of any other creature but the man, his wife, and dog. The latter was truly the sort of dog used by poachers; but if a poacher, would he be allowed to reside in the midst of a game-preserve?

On arriving safely at our friend's house, after upwards of two hours' walk, we found they had been rather surprised at our long absence; but, on relating our adventures, laughed heartily at the kind entertainment we had met with, at the Meg Merrilies hut, as I called it.

"I could not have supposed you would have found Mike Sooney's hut," said our friend. "It is indeed a retired spot; but I verily believe he is the happiest fellow in all Yorkshire. He is a bold-spirited, daring man, and, in defiance of the Earl of -'s request, has built his hut in the midst of the game-preserves: where he lives, as one would imagine, a very hermit-like life; and although it is so in some respects, he nevertheless appears to enjoy himself. He sports all over the Earl's estate; keeps a small vessel, in which he now and then makes a voyage across the sea to Holland, and 'tis said he brings back a keg or two of spirits; but he has never yet been detected, although I have heard he is never without a glass of Hollands, go when you will. He lives chiefly on game, and helps himself to anything he requires on the estate. He takes plovers' eggs and wild-fowl, in their season, to the Earl's mansion, and brings back something in return. The servants are forbidden to take in any of his presents, or to reward him for them by giving anything in return. And if they complain to the Earl of his robberies,' as they term it, the Earl affects to be highly displeased; but never punishes the man, nor takes legal proceedings against him."

I replied that was even more mysterious than anything I had yet heard and inquired the reason.

"The reason is simply this," said my friend: "he is a bastard of the noble Earl's."

"Oh, ho!" said I. "That's the secret, is it? surprised at anything!"

Well, now I am not

"And his wife," continued by friend, "was one of the housemaids at the Hall, and it is surprising how on earth she can reconcile herself to such an outlandish, freebooting sort of life. She goes to sea with him in his vessel; and, I am told, is as much at ease and as useful aboard ship as she was in her capacity as housemaid at the Hall."

We were so thoroughly amused with the narrative of Mike Sooney's romantic manner of life, that it formed the chief topic of conversation during the remainder of our stay in Yorkshire. And should we again visit our friends there (and we hope to do so on some future occasion), we shall endeavour to find Mike Sooney and his Meg Merrilics wife. And should the savoury fumes from the caldron have the same effect on our greedy stomachs as before, no pressing invitation will be needed to induce us to partake of another "sooper" on the Earl's estate.

SKETCHES OF LIFE AND CHARACTER IN THE WEST INDIES.

COMMUNICATED TO, AND EDITED BY, LORD WILLIAM LENNOX.

CHAPTER X.

At the period of emancipation, the attorneys were in doubt as to what course they should pursue with respect to the houses and grounds occupied by the labourers; and the latter were suddenly called upon to fix a value on their work, and to make arrangements for the support of their families and aged parents, whose wants were all attended to in slavery and apprenticeship by the owners of land. The proper way of acting in such a difficult case would have been to allow the labourers to make their own terms with their masters, who naturally felt anxious to retain on their estates the people who had been born and bred there. No doubt difficulties would have arisen; but they were not such as were insurmountable, because both parties were interested in a pacific and satisfactory solution of them.

It unfortunately happened, however, that the Baptist ministers stepped in between the two; and in pleading the claims of the negro, they far "We exceeded the bounds of moderation. They said to the planters, know the value of your land; we know what it produces, and what it sells for in the English market, after all the expenses of cultivation and freight. We have made up our minds on the subject; and representing, as we do, the interests of a people totally unqualified by previous habits to act for themselves in so difficult a circumstance we are of opinion, that you should pay them 1s. 6d. sterling a day, and give them their honses and grounds for nothing."

In vain did the masters reason with the Baptist missionaries; their fiat had gone forth, and must be obeyed. If such a case had occurred in England, would it have been tolerated for an instant? I should think decidedly not; but in Jamaica the Government not only took no steps to set the matter right, but rather sanctioned the conduct and interference of the Baptists by their silence. The consequences were lamentable-estates became overrun with weeds, labour was difficult to be had, and even when the planters did succeed in obtaining a few hands, it was at the most extravagant and ruinous prices.

A Baptist minister at Lucea made use of the following extraordinary language to his congregation: his words, as reported to me, were: "If you do not get your houses and grounds for nothing, and 1s. 6d. sterling per day for work, let the canes rot in the ground, and the ships go home in ballast." After this notable advice, he left the place for Kingston; and during the three weeks he was absent, the blacks remained without work, preferring idleness to acting in opposition to their minister. In another part of Hanover, the text chosen by the preacher was almost an

66

excitement to acts of violence. He took the following verses from the 5th chapter of the General Epistle of James, Go to, ye rich men; weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Behold the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth; and the cries of them which have reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton ; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just, and he doth not resist you."

Some of the remarks I have made above may appear severe; but I see no reason on reflection to alter them, and they were in accordance with the views of many well-informed persons with whom I talked the matter over in the island, during the eventful period in question. Far be it from me to decry the useful labours of any set of missionaries. There can be no question that in numerous instances they have done great practical good amongst a population buried in profound ignorance, with only a faint idea of the principles of Christianity: their converts in enlisting under the banners of religion have assumed a character which they must bear out to a certain extent, if only to keep up appearances. But they have doubtless done much more: the regular attendance at church, for instance, of the negro population must ultimately lead to their acquiring regular habits and sound principles. What I object to is, the interference of the Baptists in temporal matters, which were not in their legitimate sphere of action.

When the emancipation really took place, it showed the practical, beneficial effects of education, and was as creditable to the apprentices as to their spiritual advisers. On that eventful day we could see long trains of negroes from the country, all in their best attire, descending the mountain-paths, on their way to their respective churches or chapels, which were crowded to excess. Their smiling countenances and cheerful demeanour showed how delighted they felt at the great change which had just taken place. No disorder occurred; there was no unseemly rejoicing, riot, or drunkenness; but their whole conduct proved them worthy of so great a boon. As might naturally be expected, they kept up their rejoicings for many days after that on which they became free; but I never heard one instance of improper behaviour on the part of the newly enfranchised population. I do not think that the most civilized people of the old world would have acted in so noble a manner. It must give everyone a favourable opinion of the moral character of the negroes, and holds out a fair promise of better times eventually, inasmuch as it shows them capable of reasoning correctly upon matters connected with their own interests.

It is well-known that after the emancipation the want of labourers was severely felt, and was attributed by many to the inherent indisposition of the blacks to work of any description. I have already shown *that it might be partly attributed to other causes; but I have not alluded to one that had a great influence in the matter: I mean the saving habits of the peasantry, who had accumulated in many instances sufficiently to allow them to await events. As long as slavery existed they buried whatever they earned; but as soon as the apprenticeship commenced, they began to acquire new wants and more expensive ideas, which showed itself in their greater fondness for dress, in little luxuries

both of eating and drinking, and in a humble imitation of the superior household arrangements of the whites. I was one day waited upon by a negro, who inquired if I would dispose of a horse which I had recently purchased. I sold him for £25, and allowed the man to take him away on his promise to bring me the money when he came to church on the following Sunday. At the appointed time he brought in his hand several parcels, containing the whole amount, in shillings and sixpences, and which must have been saved during the time he was a slave. Possessed of means, as many of them undoubtedly were at the period of the emancipation, it is not to be wondered at that some of them should have laid it out in the purchase of land; and that from the love of independence such proprietors should be constantly on the increase. They are enabled, with the assistance of their families, to cultivate a few acres, of coffee particularly, at a very moderate expense, and they have always a day or two to spare for work on the estates.

FOX-HUNTING

PHOTOGRAPHS.

BY CECIL.

N

As the month of March commenced, so did it terminate: with the exception of two rainy days on the 18th and 19th, it was dry to the end, with keen piercing winds, boisterous at times, and the only antidotes to monotony. It is said that "a peck of March dust is worth a king's ransom.' At what rate the liberty of a sovereign is to be computed by that principle it is difficult to determine. But if the quantity with which we have been favoured is calculated to produce wealth, in proportion with the estimation in which her most gracious Majesty is held by her loyal and devoted subjects, England will be immeasurably the richest nation in the world. Whatever imaginary value may be awarded to the dust which was hurled about by the wind, pirouetting in fanciful eddies during most days in the past month, we could have cheerfully dispensed with a great portion thereof. Computing it by pecks conveys but an infinitesimal idea of its quantity. Tons would not represent an adequate amount; and I will leave it to those who are curious in such calculations to determine how many pecks are equivalent

to a ton.

Showers in April are seasonable: of rain we have had abundance, but divested of the usual complement of sunshine. My prediction last month has been fulfilled. It was to this effect: Fox-hunting is growing towards a climax; if this dry and sunny weather continues many days, its doom is sealed for the nonce ;" and so it happened. The rain which descended in the early part of April did not come to the rescue till the hunting appointments were confined to the woodlandsan arena that is not congenial with the tastes of the majority of sportsThe joys of fox-hunting are again suspended till another season,

men.