This evening Mr Brown finally returned after six days' absence on our smaller sister-island's soil. He had little to say, for he seemed exhausted and could stomach barely more than a few mouthfuls of his dinner. Clearly his adjudication had proved long and tiresome, but I cared not to enquire after the details. I could not help but reproach him for his going abroad and leaving only the altogether inadequate book-keeper as the single white person in my immediate company. He must already have received some intelligence of the incidents to which I was making reference, for he chose quickly to apologize and confess it to have been an oversight on his part. He promised to make amends next day. With this our conversation faltered, never to recover, and Mr Brown took his weary leave, leaving me to contemplate my main course in isolation. I, in turn, felt guilty for having pressed him so soon upon his return. These past six days have been the most trying and lonely days I have had to endure. I trust Mr Brown will not again abandon me, unchaperoned, to the caprices of plantation life.
Since the fortuitous return of my vitality, I have almost daily grown increasingly curious to learn more about the nature of the island that I inhabit. Our plantation occupies only one small part of this realm, albeit an enchanting and delectable part, but I dearly wish to taste fully each hidden corner of the land. So it was with a light heart and eager anticipation that I accepted Mr Brown's unexpected and generous offer to spend a day touring with him. He further announced that within the fortnight we would dine in Baytown as the guests of some merchants of his acquaintance. I took the liberty of reminding Mr Brown that on my return to England I intended to occupy myself with a little lecturing, and perhaps even a preliminary attempt at some form of publication. He was kind enough to declare that he could foresee no reason why I should not successfully complete such a project, and that he felt sure that observations gleaned on these two days would augment greatly my proposed study.
The morning sky was brushed with high thin clouds which promised a fine day. A most handsomely attired Mr Brown and I journeyed in a carriage drawn by two stout shire-horses, and we gingerly picked our way downhill, scattering dramatically hued bird-life from ground to twig and branch. Our steep and rocky path, whose nature seemed to have grown more treacherous since my earlier ascent, cut a rough-hewn passage through trees whose overhanging boughs formed a most verdant and magnificent arch. This green architecture allowed entrance to a few cheerful patches of sunlight, and afforded myself and Mr Brown the occasional delightful view of the sea through the dense thicket of trunks and foliage. Below us the waves of the ocean rolled in measured cadence onto the beach, and as we encroached closer the musical harmony of rushing water broke upon our ears with ever-swelling amplitude. On reaching the coastal island road the vast expanse of the watery world burst upon our sight and lay spread out before us. Mr Brown kindly informed me that this main highway circumnavigated the whole of this small realm, delicately skirting the watery hem of the island.
We travelled slowly, making full use of the sea-breeze, that friend to sufferers from the conquering heat, essaying only the occasional forays up inland paths in order that Arnold might point out some particular tree, or place of historical interest. Once back upon the main highway, we allowed ourselves but one extended interlude, pausing by a low and loosely assembled stone wall which bordered the road with the high design of guarding against accidents. From over this wall, I peered down at the surface of the sea, smooth and mirror-clear, except where the breakers played over a series of long reefs, far out from shore, and threw up their beautiful but treacherous spray in seemingly playful showers. From ledges upon the face of the rocky precipice on whose summit we stood, sea-birds plumed their ragged feathers and watched alertly for their prey. That great king of birds, the pelican, was on the wing, plying the air, then swooping down to the surface to gather provisions into its ample bill. Sadly, Arnold and I could not tarry long in this sultry atmosphere, for the heat soon became unsupportable and I yearned for that soft cooling breeze brought on by movement of our carriage.
Just beyond the village known as Butler's, Arnold drew the carriage to a halt beside a broad stream which coursed through the cane-pieces. He did so in order that I might have the opportunity to observe some negroes engaged in washing clothes. The negro men wore hats, but it was too late to protect their complexions, for nature had already painted them a shade too dark. They did no more than stand and watch as their women performed the domestic ritual, pounding clothes against stones, and then rinsing these rags in the turbid water. The appearance of the females was truly disgusting to me, for without a single exception their arms were drawn out of their sleeves and from the waist upwards they were in a state of unashamed nakedness. One woman, her hair matted with filth, and, I imagine, her flesh host to countless forms of infestation, stood in a condition of total nudity in the centre of the stream. Long encrusted with dirt by her labours, she now scrubbed away at the small rolls of grease with her soapless hands. Eventually she stepped clear of her muddy brown bath, and as the water beaded on the shining surface of her newly bright skin she merely lifted her head to the heavens and imbibed the heat of the sun, which would soon dry her ebon hide. Arnold informed me that such habits of cleanliness were uncommon in these people, who prided themselves on their infrequent use of water. However, where it occurred it was to be encouraged.
Towards midday we reached the capital, Baytown, the point where I began my residence in the West Indies. The town was much as I remembered it. I looked on with barely concealed excitement as a wave of people broke into view, busy, yet no less elegant for that, all occupied with their small colonial businesses. I noticed immediately that in this city the spirit of ostentation enjoyed full play in dress. Love of fine fashions appeared to be in vogue, and a solitary shop made much of its knowledge of home styles. Every quarter a new delivery of such elegance, either direct from London, or from Paris by way of Martinique, found its way into the establishment so that the half-dozen ladies of style might feel comfortably accommodated. Such exquisitely fashioned clothing must, in these climes, give cause to considerable discomfort. Arnold and I observed a cluster of men half melting under heavy, richly embroidered coats and waistcoats, and a solitary English belle dad in the thickest taffetas and satins, some embossed with gold and silver brocades. Even the military men, consisting mainly of Infantrymen and Carbineers, were duty-bound to labour in scarlet wool, which seemed a most unnecessary burden on an already over-worked body of men. Having displayed their courage and won their laurels in the field of Mars, they now seemed embattled and near defeat under the assault of the tropical climate.
Baytown itself boasts perhaps 3,000 to 4,000 persons and no more than 1,000 houses. The greater number of the presentable white houses are painted in cool shades and boast covered galleries running along either the side or the front where their inhabitants might gather and enjoy sweet conversation, or simply observe the daily goings-on within their little colony. Many of these dwellings are shaded by abundant trees of all descriptions clustered together in small, but well-tended gardens. The shops are designed in three grades; firstly, a species of wooden room about six or eight feet square which allows the plying of various low trades, such as tanning and the like. Secondly, the stores of the retail provision dealers, which are on a larger scale and supplied amply with goods. Finally, the merchants' stores or warehouses, often annexed to workshops or lumberyards. The other buildings of note include: St George's Church and Churchyard, the Government House, the Arsenal, the Court-House, the Ebeneezer Chapel, which rightfully belongs to the members of the Methodist Society (where espionage is carried out to weaken the proper bond between master and slave), and the Gaol, where I am led to believe the men are separated from the women, and the debtors from the cruel felons. The only other meeting-places of note are the grog-shops which play host to crowds of jetty revellers, bawds of all shades, and the lower kind of white soldier or sailor. They gather together in these dark places, their eyes and teeth gleaming, and greedily quaff their noxious swill, which must, sooner or later, prey upon their constitutions. To those enervated by age or infirmity, drinking grog remains a last consolation, but by far the greater number of these wretches are in a state of tolerable health. Arnold stopped briefly by the lamp-lit entrance to one such satanic den, where my ears were assaulted by fearsome curses, idiotic laughter, discordant song, and all the stumbling incoherence that accompanies the advanced stages of intoxication.