The veranda, or piazza as it is more commonly known, looks out over the estate. It is furnished with loungers and rockers, chess and backgammon boards, and a spy-glass so that one might observe in one direction the labourers at work in the fields, and in the other direction the passing of ships on the horizon. All the windows in the Great House are equipped with Venetian blinds which permit the free movement of air, and these blinds also close off some light which enables those inside to rest in cool and comfortable gloom. Beneath the house, porkers and poultry find shade and shelter and are allowed to run wild. Their retreat is well respected, but I wonder at the noise they occasion, and fear the smell in such heat. Cookery is performed in a separate building designed for this purpose but this kitchen is located close enough to the dining room so that during transportation the food should not be allowed to cool excessively, or be infested with insects or other pests. Some negroes appear to dwell in the hall at all times of the day so as to be near their master's call, but the majority are engaged in field-work. Their village, the sugar plant, and the attendant workshops, are all visible from the piazza. I presume that in the evening the house-servants slink away to their abodes, for there is properly no provision made for them beneath this elegant roof.
Now, in conclusion, to the dining room. Fitted out with dining table and chairs of the finest mahogany, and a sideboard charged with crystal, china plates, and silver cutlery, it is one of the most distinguished I have ever seen. The curtains are of a heavy material and fall full-length to the floor. I entered without escort and found Mr Brown, a ruddy-complexioned man whom I imagine to be in his late thirties. He was sitting at the head of the broad table, his feet upon a chair, engaged in digging out mud from the soles of his boots with, of all implements, a dining fork. Squatting obsequiously beside him, a black boy was catching this mud and hurrying to toss it out of the window so that it might not lay where it fell. Observing my entrance Mr Brown drew his person to attention, nearly crushing the poor blackie beneath his soiled footwear. He announced himself and came forward to shake my hand. This action marked the onset and the conclusion of this man's civility. Once more he took his seat, but his full attention was now held by the food. Stella carried out the operation of serving at table, but the normal intercourse one might expect between host and stranger was sadly lacking in this instance. For example, I remarked to Mr Brown that it was a very fine day today, to which he replied that I would be tired of saying this before the week was over. I then observed the multitude of black servants, and commented that they all seemed good-humoured, and that I found it pleasant to observe them. His only response was to cackle rudely and attack his meat with renewed vigour, as though it might quit his plate were he not to impale it.
There is little more I can recount of our dinner with reference to conversation, for this man's ignorance knew no boundaries. I asked after Mr Wilson, which elicited mocking laughter. He announced that once I had rested he would speak with me of the affairs of the estate. I chose not to press him, having already made up my mind that immediately I could obtain ink and paper I would insist to Father that this arrogant man must go. My peace of mind was further disturbed by the sudden intrusion of a negro woman whom it would appear had station above Stella. She momentarily took a seat at the table and whispered into the ear of this Mr Brown. Then' she smirked and took off again without so much as a 'Good evening, ma'am' to myself, or a 'By your leave' to anybody present. Stella appeared to tolerate the insubordination of this black wench, but I had already determined upon a meal of inner contemplation dignified by an outward display of stern resolution.
Of the meal itself mere was little with which I could find fault, except perhaps its extravagance. The table is clearly one of wasteful plenty, in violation of all rules of domestic propriety. I have never seen such rich and heavily seasoned food: land- and sea-turtles, quails, snipes and pigeons, doves and plover. Excellent port, pepperpot, and men heavy vegetables which bore some resemblance to potatoes and cabbage, but were only near-cousin to these familiar staples of my diet. Dishes of tea, coffee, bumpers of claret, Madeira, sangaree, were all to be followed with citrus fruits and tarts of pineapple. I did enquire of Mr Brown if such a banquet were usual, to which he nodded as he pushed another stewed fish into his mouth. I could only imagine that he eats but once a day. For my part I must confess I found such excesses vulgar.
The service provided by the blacks was decidedly tardy and bore little relation to the luxury of the food. Stella's charges seemed to find it convenient to set the dishes on the table in a careless and crooked fashion. Silver flagons kept company with cheap earthenware, and many of these servants and assistants (there appeared to be one for every dish upon the table) wore nothing upon their feet and salivated as they observed us eating. The busiest among them were those who drove away swarms of hungry flies with the slow, rhythmical swaying of the great palm leaves. For the rest this was an opportunity to cast greedy eyes on what they would no doubt later wolf. I regarded their teeming presence with great distaste and vowed that in the morning I would bring up this surplus with Mr Brown.
It is indeed sad that my first day should have ended so unpleasantly. Perhaps it is too much to expect an immediate adjustment to the ways of the tropics, but surely good manners rise above dime and conditions. Outside, in the darkness, I can hear unfamiliar noises. The sawing of the mosquitoes I am already accustomed to, as I am too with the grunting and squawking of poultry and pigs beneath my chamber. But the distant braying of what I imagine to be negroes, and the ghostly silence of the house about me, leads me to wonder where exactly Mr Brown's quarters are, should there be aught to trouble me. O how I miss my Isabella. Should I encounter difficulty in sleeping mere is nobody to whom I might turn.
These past three to four weeks have been the most difficult I can recall. To be more accurate, the most difficult I cannot recall, for my memory of them has been clouded by fever. Although still far from being hearty, I am so much improved, I imagine that if anyone who saw me a week ago were to look upon me now they would not believe me to be the same person. As to the origins of my illness, at first I thought it some slabbery thing that had caused my stomach to stand up. After all, the table on my first night was brimming with fowl, fish and vegetables with which I was unfamiliar. But my stomach stood up and lay back down again, and still the fever had me in her grip. It was at this juncture that I succumbed to a real fear that I might have contracted the same distemper which carried off Isabella. Stella summoned the doctor, who worried that I might fall a rapid sacrifice to this climate. Accordingly, he redoubled his attentiveness to me. It was shortly after the arrival of the doctor that I lost all recollection of what was taking place about my person. Now I am improved and instructed to take great care of what I put to my mouth. I must, in addition, observe a strict diet of short walks to help rebuild my strength.
Since recovering my senses I have had the opportunity to speak with the physician, Mr McDonald, a Scotchman, who has the good fortune to practise one of the two professions, the other being the law, which offer great opportunities for those who would seek to amass a fortune in this remaining part of our American empire. An intelligent and humane man, he held my interest with his account of the qualities of tropical life, and the characteristics of both the slaves and the whites, as he had observed and experienced them. He informed me that an important branch of his duties involves caring for the blacks of various estates. There is upon every estate a hospital (or sick-house as the negroes sometimes term it) for the treatment of ailing blacks. The most common diseases of the negro are slight in comparison with those that daily threaten the unseasoned white population. Disorders of the stomach are often caused by the consumption of unripe cane which, though full of sweet juice and palatable enough, is not to be relished by those who must of necessity retain their power to stand. The negro child is easy prey for the disorders of the small-pox, measles, and whooping cough. The earlier a child takes these disorders after it is weaned, then the sooner it can grow tall and straight having passed the principal diseases attendant to its youth. Perhaps the most disturbing of all the diseases related to me by Mr McDonald was that occasioned by the discomforting attentions of a small insect known as a chegoe, or jigger as the negroes express it. This creature buries itself in their feet, and if not extracted in time nests and breeds in the flesh. Some indolent beings allow these insects to attain such a size that it is impossible for them to be taken out. They feed upon the flesh, sometimes with mortal consequences. The more fortunate are obliged to suffer amputation, often as far as the knee.