I saw the last days of the last race of indigenous inhabitants of the American Archipelago, a race which dared above all others to stand up against the Spanish conquerors without fear of their men-of-war and the invincible superiority of their arms, the same that struggled through three centuries to defend its country and independence, and which, when it fell, had seen the destruction of the great native empires of the New World and the disappearance of all the primitive inhabitants of the West lndies.

The two campaigns I went through with these brave savages are among those of which I have the happiest memory. The accident which launched me into this career full of perilous adventures was, 1 am bound to say, most trivial; but so it happens in real life. Swiss and Dutch liberty had their origin, the one from the resistance of a brave peasant who refused to touch his cap; the other from a cabbage-seller who refused to pay a tax of some halfpence.

La Perle frigate lay in Brest Roads ready to start on a distant mission. The captain found that his chief gunner not only was a bad accountant, but worked in that line for his own profit. Determined quickly to remedy both these failings, he applied to the Staff who ordered me to check the accounts and to keep them henceforth as assistant chief . I went on board at once with an old corporal named Parmentier, who had been my master-at-arms and was much attached to me. Intimidation being useless with . people like us, it was necessary to have recourse to stratagem, and we were completely taken in. One fine morning the chief gunner said there were some goods which would set his accounts in order held on charge in the general store of the port, and begged me to go and ask for a certificate of their existence. I took Parmentier, and we made every effort to obtain it, but at that time (and it was the fourth year of the Republic) administrative offices opened late, and worked slowly or even not at all. We were made to wait an endless time and sent from pillar to post, and it was not till near midday that we received a certificate to the effect that the goods had no existence. We were annoyed at being thus baffled, and little imagined we were about to be a thousand times more so. On return to the mast-house slip in order to go aboard by the boat which left always at a fixed hour, we were surprised not to find it at the usual rendezvous. While waiting I sat on a pile of cannons on the quay and began to read, but was interrupted by the cries of Parmentier, who had been to make enquiries, and had just learnt that our frigate had fired her blank departure rounds and had sailed two hours ago. By now, as the wind was favorable, she would be through the narrows.

The trick that had been played on us was complete; we had been sent ashore only to make us miss the sailing. It was a serious state of things, which might lead to our appearance before the council of war as deserters, not to speak of the loss of all our worldly possessions, which had started on voyage across the ocean without us. Parmentier was inconsolable, and gave endless details to the seamen round us of the riches in his chests. A nice-looking young fellow, attracted by his complaints, asked to be told our troubles, and promptly offered his good services to mend them. He was the captain of Le Vengeur, a privateer fitted out in the Landernau River, due to start that evening on a cruise among the West Indies. He proposed to take us on board, with a promise to put us aboard our frigate, which he thought he could overtake, and agreed, if this were impossible, to give us on his craft all the conveniences that he could provide. Parmentier, who had a deadly fear of military justice, pressed me so eagerly that I consented to this arrangement. That evening we quitted Brest Roads fully installed on a fine brig, well armed, a good sailer, and handled by a crew of seamen such as the vessels of the Republic rarely' possessed. You can believe that the business of privateer, leaving as it does small hope of a long life, conduces to a good time afloat. We were much astonished at the cheerful life on board Le Vengeur, which , in no way resembled the scanty diet and hard routine of our men-of-war. The voyage was fortunate in every respect. The sea was calm for thirty days , we fell in with the trade winds at the Canaries, and were carried by them across the Atlantic as if to order. We passed, without being seen by them, three English cruisers, whose proximity was divulged to us by their top-gallant masts, which showed up above to far horizon. Finally, we took three prizes, each of which covered the cost of fitting out the privateer.

The conduct and attention of the captain was all that I could desire. He was an educated and well brought up young man, much beloved by his crew. He had a small library, of which I made good use; he did me a good service in encouraging me to follow the working of the vessel's course and the fixing of her position by dead reckoning and observation. Every day I made out my own estimate, either with him or with the chief helmsman, as if it was my duty to lay down our course between the two hemispheres. One evening at sunset we sighted the West lndies. 1 don't believe there is anywhere else in the world so lovely a prospect. There, as far as eye can reach, are displayed verdant islands, forming a chain broken only by channels which allow the ocean billows to pour into the Gulf of Mexico. These isles emerge from the sea and tower to the clouds, in which their mountain-tops are lost.

On their sides lie the cultivated fields, rising in terraces and stopping short at the forest zone. Near the coast could be seen plantations of sugar-cane, with their reed-like foliage of tender and brilliant green. Higher the chequerwise coffee plantations, the growers of which fill the air with perfume. At last come the forests, whose verdure seems blue at a distance. From the vast mass of ancient trees which clothe this region peaks of basalt and porphyry stand out, covered with herbage up to their pointed tops and crowned with stormy clouds.

As we approached the isles we saw about midday,in the half-defined distance, the rugged Mornes of Grenada; near us showed clearer, like high crenelated walls, the half- extinct volcanoes of St. Lucia ; on our right we made out the toothed crags of Dominica, and before us were unrolled on many different plains the fields of Martinique, dominated by ranges of peaks as picturesque as any in the world.

We shortened sail to enable us, under shadow of night, to slip through the channel between Martinique and St. Lucia without being seen. We went right through this passage, and about midnight entered a bay of the former of these islands at its southern extremity, resembling a recess hollowed out of the high mass of the promontory, and called the "Gros Morne du Diamant". It is a kind if circular vat with very high sides, and of a depth so great that the brig was moored alongside the rocks, and communicated with the shore by means of a gangway. We immediately sent ashore into the woods which cover this desert end of the colony a negro, who, I believe, had been specially embarked with a view to acting as spy. The rogue, who knew the locality, ran off at full speed, with the satisfaction of being soon about to play a sorry trick on his former masters and friends. At daybreak, having discovered from the other side of the mountains that two laden ships were about to set sail from Fort Royal, he signaled to us accordingly by setting light to two wood piles on the slope of the Gros Morne, while at the same time a lookout whom we had placed on this mountain informed us that a schooner was coming towards us with no suspicion of our neighborhood, since we were hidden by the enormous mass of the Diamond, a volcanic rock steeply scarped, 200 feet high, and separated from the body of the island by a channel deep enough to allow of the passage of the largest vessels.

It was of vital importance that this little vessel should not escape us, for she could warn the frigates on the station, which would soon be in pursuit of us. On a signal from our lookout we sallied from our ambush, and in three tacks were alongside the schooner. Its skipper, who was an elegantly dressed young man, thought we were an English brig that had made a mistake in seizing him, and hastened to hoist the British ensign. Our cheerful sailors burst into laughter on seeing the mistake he had made, and at once showed we were French, who, as everyone knows, are the only people in the world to find something to laugh at under any circumstances.

Seeing his mistake, the skipper drew from a hiding-place some papers, which he hurriedly threw into the sea, but one of our sailors jumped overboard from the brig and recovered them by swimming. It was all done so quickly . they were scarcely damp. Our captain questioned the skipper, whom he had called on board. He, after some hesitation, declared himself to be Captain D-- of the Royal Engineers, coming from St. Vincent and going to Martinique. He begged earnestly to be released on parole, promising in exchange for himself twenty French prisoners from amongst those in the casemates of Fort Royal. He promised to send them off in the course of a day if we would come under flag of truce to the entrance of the bay in which this fortress lies. This proposition seemed too insidious to our captain, and made him suspicious. It was still worse . when I informed him of the contents of the papers recovered from the water, which, as might have been expected, were written in English. The chief document was a memorandum addressed to the commander-in-chief of the British forces at Martinique. Captain D-- described how he had the unique opportunity of penetrating the part of the Isle of St. Vincent inhabited by the Caribs, the last asylum of that people. He had made use of his stay there to reconnoitre from a military point of view that country of difficult access, to study its defensive positions, its paths, its ravines, its hiding-places, fortified caves, and its hiding-places of food stores, which were State secrets with these savages. He wound up with a calculation of the number of fighting men that could be placed in the field by the two principal tribes in the island, the Red Caribs and the Black Caribs; he also described the operations by means of which their territory and villages could be invaded, their stores of provisions carried off, their crops burnt, and finally their destruction effected by famine or by fire and sword. This cruel plan was signed by the author who when sick, had sought rest and health in the mountains of the island. It was under cover of hospitality given him by many Carib families that be had formed this plot and considered means of executing it. Several times during the reading of the document in which he set forth his scheme the indignation of our crew burst forth in threats, the least of which was to throw the English captain into the sea.

Under the weight of general hatred the prisoner, if he remained on board, ran a great risk of misadventure, so he made no objection when again taken back to his schooner and confined to his cabin with all access to it closed. Our captain decided that I should take charge of the little craft. and after calling at St. Vincent to warn the island chiefs of the plot formed against them, I should go to Guadeloupe to hand over the felon officer to Victor Hugues, the energetic Commissary of the Convention and governor of that colony. During my absence, which should not be more than two or three days, Parmentier was to carry out my duties on the brig. I was given a sailor and a cabin-boy, and started.

The island towards which I steered was thirty leagues ahead ; but the clear atmosphere of the West Indies showed it distinctly on the horizon like a rounded mountain emerging from the sea, which, at first low and inconspicuous, swelled by degrees, then assumed the color of emerald green and split into many peaks the single top it showed afar. Like all the other isles of the archipelago, St. Vincent owes its origin to a submarine volcano, which still gives signs of its former activity through boiling-hot springs, columns of smoke, violent earthquakes, and eruptions of cinders and pumice-stone, carried by the wind to the huge distance of more than one hundred leagues. The Caribs, successively driven out of a11 the West Indies from Porto Rico to Trinidad, took refuge in St. Vincent, which they occupied entirely; but the English colonists of the neighboring islands managed to establish themselves there, and to build a town defended by a citadel and forts.

They cultivated the surrounding land, and gradually seized upon the territory up to the wooded mountains which divided the island into two unequal portions. La Basse Terre, which they occupied, had the advantage of a port and of easy communication with the rest of the archipelago, but La Cabestre, which they coveted, was larger, more fertile, and more healthy. According to the colonists, there would be no harm in taking it from pagans, who were, moreover, devoted allies of the French, and in every war for 150 years had made common cause with them. Circumstances were favorable. Martinique, de- fended by General Rochambeau, had been obliged to surrender to superior forces; it is true that Guadeloupe had just been retaken by Victor Hugues and a handful of volunteers, but the English were masters of the sea, and could transport troops sufficient to capture in succession all the islands chosen for attack.

The destruction of the Caribs had been planned a century before, and had nearly been effected ten years previously. After the war which had freed the North American States from England's heavy yoke, the Cabinet of St. James had prepared an expedition of four regiments against St. Vincent, but the French Ministry had intervened in time to stop its sailing by insisting on the observance of the treaties safe- guarding the rights of the Caribs to retain possession of their own country. Disasters to our fleets, leaving England mistress of the West lndies, once more exposed the natives to her ill-feeling, and it was in this service and, further, with a view to his own advancement to colonel, that Captain D.-- had formed his plan of attack by the unworthy means of espionage and treachery. We shall see how he was rewarded.

Never was sea voyage more lovely, more agreeable, than was mine to St. Vincent. A soft and fresh breeze drove the schooner through the smooth, silvery channel of St. Lucia. Martinique, which I left behind. me, shot up into the sky, its pitons surrounded with a crown of heavy clouds. Above a winding and densely wooded coast the island of St. Lucia displayed a soufriere whose smoke caught from the sun's rays all the tints of the rainbow. In every direction could be seen some place linked with the memory of those intrepid Frenchmen who came to bestow on these shores the name of their own country, and by the work of their hands founded flourishing colonies of which little but fragments remain.

On approaching St. Vincent I felt some anxiety at the discovery that the eastern shore, on which I had to land, was girdled with coral reefs. No doubt some passage through this natural rampart existed, but the rough map in my possession did not even show the reefs. I hoisted the tricolor which Parmentier had the good sense to give me, and immediately, as if by the operation of magic, the shore, which had seemed deserted, was crowded with people, and the tranquil lake, lying within the reefs on which the waves broke, was ploughed by canoes manned by skillful and strong rowers.

This was my first view of men indigenous to the New World. I was as much struck by their looks as was Christopher Columbus. The first thing l noticed was their grave demeanor, dignified and proud. There was in this respect some likeness to the Spaniards. It was easy to recognize a people never disgraced by slavery, who regarded themselves as anyone's equal. Their looks were assured, and in them could be read the indomitable courage which had stood the proof of three centuries. Their arms were beside them in the canoes. These were a bow of iron wood, a quiver full of stout arrows, and a kind of tomahawk, a club without a handle composed of a piece of wood, heavy as lead, brightened with colored designs, and operated by means of a line, which served to launch it near or far with irresistible force. Their boats were carved, ornamented, inlaid, made of a wood so light that though they held five men it only took two to carry them over the reefs without unloading any of their kit. As to their persons, the Caribs were men of middle size, sturdy, well made, active, and of great bodily strength. Their skin was copper color, very like the hue that the leaves of certain trees take in autumn. No crossing with a black race gives a similar color, and it is impossible to confuse a Carib with any half-breed, as has been suggested, quite wrongly, in a contemporary romance.

The arms and shoulders of the rowers of all the canoes were perfectly beautiful; any one could have been taken as an academy model. Another perfection, equal in both sexes and typical of breeding, was the smallness of hands and feet. In Europe they would be supposed to belong to a superior class, whereas this was the common type. Not a man was fair, ruddy, chestnut, yellow, or bearded, as may be found with us. All had raven-black locks, piled in a tuft on the top of the head, and carefully combed and bound. There were no beards, and this mark of manhood is foreign to the human race in the New World, without any prejudicial effect to its reproduction, as might be believed.

The first act if these savages bore a trace of distrust, which showed that their neighbors had taught them at their expense that a flag often disguises an enemy. They would not come on board the schooner until they had examined and recognized the crew. I told them I had important news to give their chiefs, and wished them to take me into one of the harbors of the neighboring coast. Two canoes took the schooner in tow along the chain of reefs as far as a narrow opening which allowed of passage. The heavy seas being cut off by this wall of coral, the water beyond was perfectly calm, with a smooth surface, reflecting the blue of the sky and the wooded slopes of the shore as in a mirror. Directly the canoes had seen from my cockade and uniform that I was a French soldier, they had informed the large hamlets or villages of the coast by trumpeting with enormous single shells, called in the West lndies "lambis". The entire population assembled in a twinkling. The old men took their seats on blocks of basalt carried down from the mountains by torrents or hurled from old craters on to the beach. The children were perched on the trees, which hid the opening to a deep valley; the men grouped their canoes in squadrons to meet us; the young girls, confident in their swimming powers, pushed planks of floating wood, on which, with wonderful skill, they seated themselves as if in a room, instead of being suspended over forty fathoms of water.

Except the men, who, no doubt, believed that they owed it to their dignity to maintain a grave demeanor, the whole crowd was cheerful, talked without ceasing, laughed in their sleeves or uproariously, and amused themselves in watching the tricks the young girls played on each other. As we drew near the bank we saw emerging from an entrance closed in with rocks and shaded by trees a large war canoe, manned by sixty rowers. It was the chief of the Red Caribs who came officially to receive me, and do honor to the flag of the French Republic. He addressed me, and himself directed the schooner to the port where we were to stay and rest under his protection. This haven was a basin surrounded by a shelf of basalt 15 to 20 feet high; the depth of its water was enough to float a frigate. Two hillocks covered with a rich vegetation stood on each side of its opening to the sea, and their tufted trees, bending over the surface, formed a canopy to it. Beside a rushing stream which flowed from the mountains of the interior into the harbor rose the many huts of a large hamlet, like beehives in the shape of their roofs, made of palm-leaves, but their wattled sides allowed a free passage to the breezes and rays of light. In the middle of the village was a communal house containing an assembly-hall at least 80 feet long; there I found gathered together the chiefs and warriors of the two tribes, the Red and the Black Caribs.

I had not previously seen the latter, and from misleading accounts I had formed quite a false idea of them. I believed, from the missionaries' tales, that they owed their origin to negro slaves escaped from neighboring colonies. l was much surprised to find them of quite another race. In place of woolly hair, of flat nose, of a gaping mouth set with thick out-turned lips, they possessed the traits of the Abyssinians: smooth hair, long and black, more like a mane their nose was straight, standing out from the face but slightly curved at the end, and such as you would never see from Cape Bon to the Gulf of Guinea; finally, their mouth was furnished with thin lips in no way like that of a negro, except for the beauty of the teeth. They had, moreover, an air of sovereign pride which changed at the least opposition to a savage expression, full of threats, arrogance, and fierceness. However, the chief of this tribe came to meet me, and asked me to visit his village, which lay in another part of the island. He and his people only associated with all other Caribs in important matters.

The national council having taken its seat in the center of the large assembly-hall, I set forth in a few words how an accident had revealed to my captain a secret of importance to the Caribs, and he had sent me to impart it to them. I reminded them that an officer of the Kingstown garrison had last year asked from them remedies for a disease from which he suffered. Immediately the name of D-- ran through the ranks of the warriors crouched in a circle round me. I told them that as a price for their generous hospitality and in payment for the life they had restored to him he had drawn up a plan for the invasion of their hearths, the devastation and pillage of their fields, and I read slowly the details of his scheme, which was perfectly understood, as the Caribs knew French and spoke it with facility. The audience, stupefied, no doubt, at such ingratitude, such perfidy, at first kept silence, but soon murmurs of suppressed rage produced a sound which, increasing by degrees, broke into the most terrible storm of human rage ever aroused. The "Away with Him!" of the Jews, the death-cries "A la lanterne! A l'Abbaye!" never had a more savage accent of fierceness. Happily, the object of this frenzy was safe on board the schooner, and his enemies could not tell how near he was to them.

I was giving myself credit for the trouble I had taken to hide him, when a noise broke out in the crowd round the village, followed by frightful shouts that informed me of the simultaneous discovery of the captivity and escape of the cursed prisoner. I had some trouble to find out how this annoying thing had happened. It appeared that Captain D-- , seeing me stop at St. Vincent, instead of going straight to Guadeloupe as he expected, thought that we had determined to hand him over to the Caribs. His terror increased directly we arrived among them, and to escape from an imaginary danger he rushed into a real and terrible one. When night fell he uncovered in his cabin an air-hole or scuttle which opened close to the rudder and had escaped our notice. It was a round hole through which it seemed impossible for a child to pass. However, the prisoner succeeded by taking off his clothes in getting through this narrow channel, in which he ran the chance of being stuck as in a trap. He let himself drop quietly into the water, and in three strokes he was able to gain the shore, hide himself in the brushwood, and soon fly to the mountain forests, making use of his perfect knowledge of the locality.

The sailor on watch on the schooner, going to take him some food, discovered the prisoner's escape almost immediately. In his anger he broke into curses against Captain D--, and thus revealed to the natives the fact that the traitor whom they had condemned to death was in their territory within reach of their vengeance.

Search was made for him, but he managed to get away to a cave in the cliffs inhabited by Black Caribs, where he was caught by some women of the tribe. Once more he escaped, and was supposed to have tried to get out of Carib territory by a cliff-path.

The chief of the Black Caribs, having learnt that an English officer had visited this track, made it much more dangerous several days before Captain D-- tried to escape by it, and there is little doubt that the wretched man had fallen into some trap and met his death as the reward of his treason.

All was lost in the West lndies. The ascendancy of England had prevailed over that of France. Our colonies of Martinique, St. Lucia, and Guadeloupe had been captured, and there remained to us not a single rock from which to display the tricolor. In the midst of this sad state of affairs Victor Hugues, Commissary of the Convention, ' arrived. He was a man of indifferent appearance, of a vulgar manner, and badly educated, but with a mind full of resource and character full of energy and audacity. He struggled against the enemy with a skill, courage, and good luck possessed by none before or after him.

Having set out from France to relieve Guadeloupe, he learnt on making landfall that the island capitulated a fortnight earlier. instead of turning back, as others had done in similar cases, he led his expedition to the port of Moule, situated to windward of Grande Terre, which had never been regarded as a landing-place, and therefore was weakly defended. He quickly led his troops across the island, and carried by assault the fort Fleur-d'epee, which covers the town of Pointe-a-pitre. Fort St. Louis was evacuated by the English commander, as it was overlooked by the other citadel and unable to offer resistance. This officer concentrated his troops on La Basse Terre, a mountainous volcanic island separated from La Grande Terre by a narrow channel. By this bold action Victor Hugues found himself master of the greater part of the colony and of its chief town and principal commercial harbor. The enemy, learning that he had effected this smart military operation with a handful of stalwarts, brought in two frigates and some transports, resolved to retake the place. On the dark night of the end if July Admiral Jervis steered to Pointe-a-pitre ships carrying troops, which he succeeded in quietly landing on a deserted part of the inner harbor. The English soldiers formed m mass of closed platoons and entered the town which was undefended on the land side. Two small posts en route were seized and silenced. The column penetrated to the heart of the city, and feeling . sure of victory, with arms at the support and at a walk, entered the main street in order to seize the fort at its . extremity opposite the church. This post consisted only of a circular battery of heavy guns placed on a small hill scarped round half its circumference, badly designed and poorly defended by a garrison sound asleep among the guns.

It was two o'clock in the morning when a young Carib girl with flying hair and a musket on her shoulder rushed into the battery shouting, "Stand to arms! The enemy is in the town!" At the same time she dashed at the gun which enfiladed the main street, threw back the plate covering the priming, and lit it by firing her piece into it. The 24-pound shot struck the head of the English column, and tore down its whole length with terrible effect.

The gunners, aroused by the report, dashed to their own pieces, and carried on a lively fire from the battery, jealous of the example set by the young heroine. The enemy. staggered at his losses, fell back in disorder, leaving behind him dead and wounded to the number of 1000 ; meanwhile the reserves and most of the inhabitants of the town had time to occupy the side streets and to pour a deadly fire into the flanks of the column. The English troops which escaped the artillery and musketry fire had great difficulty in regaining their ships, after loss of their best troops and of the military reputation acquired by their easy successes. Victor Hugues, becoming thus possessed of the Isle of Grande Terre, sought out the enemy in Guadeloupe proper, where he was concentrated. In the early days of October the camp of Barville, where General Graham was entrenched, was briskly attacked- by our troops and forced to capitulate. Its commander and thirty-two officers and six ensigns were taken and sent to France by the Andromache frigate. The whole island was soon restored to France through capture of the other English posts, and the Commissary of the Convention had the glory of reconquering an important colony with a force inferior by half to that over which it triumphed.

Directly his authority was established, he turned his thoughts towards the English West lndies, seeking to prevent them from attacking by a vigorous offensive. With this object, in the first place he made use of privateers, who increased in numbers under his encouragement, and became a scourge to the commerce and provisioning of enemy establishments. Further, he took advantage of the national hatred that the Caribs bore to the English, and the aggressive schemes that they cherished against the colonists of St. Vincent, their neighbors and despoilers. In the midst of these occurrences I arrived at Pointe-a-pitre. A rich shipowner, M. Mei, the consignee of the privateer Le Vengeur, awaited the arrival of the schooner and received me as a friend. The same evening he presented me to the proconsul, who asked me a thousand questions about St. Vincent. No doubt my answers satisfied him, for the next day, under powers held by him from the Convention, he appointed me lieutenant of marine artillery.

Twenty-four hours later I had received my instructions. My schooner was laden with munitions of war; two 4-pounder guns were embarked on the Carib dug-outs, and I set sail with ten marine gunners, to be followed by a whole company. I was given as pilot a savage, who brought with him another for passage to Martinique. I did not want to take the latter, as it seemed a risk to let him go on an island which was headquarters of both land and sea forces of the English ; but the pilot assured me, as seriously as if he had been a sailor from the Gironde, that with a craft such as mine ; and such a guide as himself we could pass with impunity within gunshot of an English three-decker. I was not entirely convinced as to the truth of this assertion. A11 the same, I agreed to receive the passenger. He was an old man, still active and strong. He spoke French with intelligence, and throughout the voyage he never stopped telling me about men and things he had seen.

He loved above everything his own Island of St. Vincent, the pearl of the Antilles. as he said, and told me of its five wonders: The Black Forest at the foot of the highest volcano, which one cannot traverse without being terrified by weird apparitions; the Lake, in which dwell the Spirits of the waters; the Dragon with a huge emerald in his head; the siren or mermaid Balane, as beautiful to look on as she is dangerous to know; finally, the Cavern of Death.

These same fables circulate round the world, or more probably have an independent origin everywhere in the spontaneous imaginations of diverse races of man.

When I tried to find out what the old man was going to do in an enemy island he displayed a nebulous vagueness. I was led to believe that he was charged with a difficult political mission when he explained to me how custom forbade servants to talk about their masters, and particularly about the ladies of their family; but as affection and devotion delight in praise of the objects of their worship, as he knew of the friendship which the chief of the Red tribe felt for me, he could not desist from singing the praises of the chief's daughter. Her fame was already known to me as the heroine of Victory Hill, the savior of the town of Pointe-a-pitre. She had rendered many such services to the inhabitants of Guadeloupe and Martinique. She often visited the latter isle, where she had been brought up in the nunnery at St. Pierre. Her only brother had died in a fight with the English, and, her mother being dead, she was the only object of love and consolation left to her father. Compelled to recognize the superiority of white men the Red chief wished his daughter to grasp their ideas in order to use them for the good and safety of his race. This plan had succeeded completely. Education had grafted its powerful advantages on to the strong qualities of a savage nature, and the Caribs recognized that she had as much wisdom in the councils of the Grand Lodge as she had bravery and skill in war.

Her name was Eliama, which signifies rainbow. Strange that the natural phenomenon denoted by this word signifies, alike to Carib and ancient Jew, the hope of a better time. The old man had been her servant, and I landed him at the Foot of the Maconba steps. They are cut out of the solid volcanic rock which lines the coast, and form a convenient and ingeniously constructed landing-stage. The schooner put to sea again, and instead of holding her course, passing to windward of the islands, at daybreak she entered under full sail into the channel leading between Dominica and Martinique to the Equatorial Ocean. At first she kept along the steep coasts of the latter, but passed well outside the harbors of St. Pierre and Fort Royal, where I could distinguish the tall masts of English men-of-war. We were not disturbed, the lookouts having signaled us, thanks to our flag, as a St. Vincent sloop. I steered without any mishap for the Cabesterre, and soon found myself in the haven, surrounded by my friendly Caribs, who were delighted to see me.

All was lost in the West lndies.

The ascendancy of England had prevailed over that of France. Our colonies of Martinique, St. Lucia, and Guadeloupe had been captured, and there remained to us not a single rock from which to display the tricolor. In the midst of this sad state of affairs Victor Hugues, Commissary of the Convention, arrived. He was a man of indifferent appearance, of a vulgar manner, and badly educated, but with a mind full of resource and character full of energy and audacity. He struggled against the enemy with a skill, courage, and good luck possessed by none before or after him.

Having set out from France to relieve Guadeloupe, he learnt on making landfall that the island capitulated a fortnight earlier. instead of turning back, as others had done in similar cases, he led his expedition to the port of Moule, situated to windward of Grande Terre, which had never been regarded as a landing-place, and therefore was weakly defended. He quickly led his troops across the island, and carried by assault the fort Fleur-d'Epee, which covers the town of Pointe-a-pitre. Fort St. Louis was evacuated by the English commander, as it was overlooked by the other citadel and unable to offer resistance. This officer concentrated his troops on La Basse Terre, a mountainous volcanic island separated from La Grande Terre by a narrow channel. By this bold action Victor Hugues found himself master of the greater part of the colony and of its chief town and principal commercial harbor. The enemy, learning that he had effected this smart military operation with a handful of stalwarts, brought in two frigates and some transports, resolved to retake the place. On the dark night of the end if July Admiral Jervis steered to Pointe-a-pitre ships carrying troops, which he succeeded in quietly landing on a deserted part of the inner harbor.

The English soldiers formed in a mass of closed platoons and entered the town which was undefended on the land side. Two small posts en route were seized and silenced. The column penetrated to the heart of the city, and feeling sure of victory, with arms at the support and at a walk, entered the main street in order to seize the fort at its extremity opposite the church. This post consisted only of a circular battery of heavy guns placed on a small hill scarped round half its circumference, badly designed and poorly defended by a garrison sound asleep among the guns.

It was two o'clock in the morning when a young Carib girl with flying hair and a musket on her shoulder rushed into the battery shouting, "Stand to arms! The enemy is in the town!" At the same time she dashed at the gun which enfiladed the main street, threw back the plate covering the priming, and lit it by firing her piece into it. The 24-pound shot struck the head of the English column, and tore down its whole length with terrible effect.

The gunners, aroused be the report, Dashed to their own pieces, and carried on a lively fire from the battery, jealous of the example set by the young heroine. The enemy. staggered at his losses, fell back in disorder, leaving behind him dead and wounded to the number of 1000 ; meanwhile the reserves and most of the inhabitants of the town had time to occupy the side streets and to pour a deadly fire into the flanks of the column. The English troops which escaped the artillery and musketry fire had great difficulty in regaining their ships, after loss of their best troops and of the military reputation acquired by their easy successes.

Victor Hugues, becoming thus possessed of the Isle of Grande Terre, sought out the enemy in Guadeloupe proper, where he was concentrated. In the early days of October the camp of Barville, where General Graham was entrenched, was briskly attacked- by our troops and forced to capitulate. Its commander and thirty-two officers and six ensigns were taken and sent to France by the frigate Andromache. The whole island was soon restored to France through capture of the other English posts, and the Commissary of the Convention had the glory of reconquering an important colony with a force inferior by half to that over which it triumphed.

Directly his authority was established, he turned his thoughts towards the English West lndies, seeking to prevent them from attacking by a vigorous offensive. With this object, in the first place he made use of privateers, who increased in numbers under his encouragement, and became a scourge to the commerce and provisioning of enemy establishments. Further, he took advantage of the national hatred that the Caribs bore to the English, and the aggressive schemes that they cherished against the colonists of St. Vincent, their neighbors and despoilers. In the midst of these occurrences I arrived at Pointe-a-pitre.

A rich shipowner, M. Mei, the consignee of the privateer Le Vengeur, awaited the arrival of the schooner and received me as a friend. The same evening he presented me to the proconsul, who asked me a thousand questions about St. Vincent. No doubt my answers satisfied him, for the next day, under powers held by him from the Convention, he appointed me lieutenant of marine artillery. Twenty-four hours later I had received my instructions. My schooner was laden with munitions of war; two 4-pounder guns were embarked on the Carib dug-outs, and I set sail with ten marine gunners, to be followed by a whole company. I was given as pilot a savage, who brought with him another for passage to Martinique. 1 did not want to take the latter, as it seemed a risk to let him go on an island which was headquarters of both land and sea forces of the English ; but the pilot assured me, as seriously as if he had been a sailor from the Gironde, that with a craft such as mine ; and such a guide as himself we could pass with impunity within gunshot of an English three-decker. 1 was not entirely convinced as to the truth of this assertion.

All the same, I agreed to receive the passenger. He was an old man, still active and strong. He spoke French with intelligence, and throughout the voyage he never stopped telling me about men and things he had seen. He loved . above everything his own Island of St. Vincent, the pearl of the Antilles. as he said, and told me of its five wonders:
The Black Forest at the foot of the highest volcano, which one cannot traverse without being terrified by weird apparitions;
the Lake, in which dwell the Spirits of the waters;
the Dragon with a huge emerald in his head;
the siren or mermaid Balane, as beautiful to look on as she is dangerous to know; finally, the Cavern of Death.
These same fables circulate round the world, or more probably have an independent origin everywhere in the spontaneous imaginations of diverse races of man.

When I tried to find out what the old man was going to do in an enemy island he displayed a nebulous vagueness. I was led to believe that he was charged with a difficult political mission when he explained to me how custom forbade servants to talk about their masters, and particularly about the ladies of their family; but as affection and devotion delight in praise of the objects of their worship, as he knew of the friendship which the chief of the Red tribe felt for me, he could not desist from singing the praises of the chief's daughter.

Her fame was already known to me as the heroine of Victory Hill, the savior of the town of Pointe-a-pitre. She had rendered many such services to the inhabitants of Guadeloupe and Martinique. She often visited the latter isle, where she had been brought up in the nunnery at St. Pierre. Her only brother had died in a fight with the English, and, her mother being dead, she was the only object of love and consolation left to her father. Compelled to recognize the superiority of white men the Red chief wished his daughter to grasp their ideas in order to use them for the good and safety of his race. This plan had succeeded completely. Education had grafted its powerful advantages on to the strong qualities of a savage nature, and the Caribs recognized that she had as much wisdom in the councils of the Grand Lodge as she had bravery and skill in war. Her name was Eliama, which signifies rainbow. Strange that the natural phenomenon denoted by this word signifies, alike to Carib and ancient Jew, the hope of a better time.

The old man had been her servant, and I landed him at the Foot of the Maconba steps. They are cut out of the solid volcanic rock which lines the coast, and form a convenient and ingeniously constructed landing-stage. The schooner put to sea again, and instead of holding her course, passing to windward of the islands, at daybreak she entered under full sail into the channel leading between Dominica and Martinique to the Equatorial Ocean. At first she kept along the steep coasts of the latter, but passed well outside the harbors of St. Pierre and Fort Royal, where I could distinguish the tall masts of English men-of-war. We were not disturbed, the lookouts having signaled us, thanks to our flag, as a St. Vincent sloop. l steered without any mishap for the Cabesterre, and soon found myself in the haven, surrounded by my friendly Caribs, who were delighted to See me.

At night I landed the munitions and had them carried to a cave easy of access. In the morning the two field-guns arrived, and 1 was ready for the signal to march against the enemy. My departure was delayed by causes which postponed the opening of the campaign for many months. It was then mid-winter, the season of storms. The harbor where the schooner lay was infested by mosquitoes, and the air was very stagnant. The grand chief Pakiri, attentive to our comfort, gave me for my gunners a fresh and breezy cave, and for myself a hut near his dwelling in the low hills. It was a lovely spot, surrounded by bright flowers, watered by a stream, and had been the residence of his daughter.

I was not alone; at the end of my conference with the Red and Black Caribs I found I had for company a little girl of ten and a spaniel. When I wished to know who she was she answered in good French that she was lady's-maid to Mademoiselle. Her name was Zami, and she had spent a year at the convent of St. Pierre with Eliama.

Early in the morning of the 4th of September I saw the faithful dog run in. It was very much frightened, and tried to hide in my clothes. Zami, who followed him, said that as usual he had been waiting for his mistress on the beach; but after sniffing as if to find out if she were coming, he had suddenly taken fright and run away. 1 asked if he could have seen anything in the sea to produce this effect. The child had seen nothing, except that the water of the port seemed higher and rougher than usual, although the weather was perfectly calm. Without attaching much importance to this event, I followed my habit of neglecting nothing, and went off to the chief . I found him on an isolated hillock some way from his abode. He was trying a weather experiment which for a savage seemed very ingenious. He wanted to learn the way the wind blew, but as it was dead calm his search seemed rather guesswork. He lit a bundle of green wood, which gave a thick smoke; this rose vertically, until it reached the higher atmosphere, when it bent towards the north and was flattened down by a current from the south. Pakiri was much alarmed at this, and took steps to mitigate the effects of a hurricane which was about to burst over us.

If this wind sign had not sufficed to foretell a hurricane, a crowd of other phenomena would soon have stilled any doubt. Besides the spaniel, many other animals showed that they felt its influence, which terrified them. High- flying birds came down and lit on the Caribs huts ; enormous bats, screech-owls as big as geese, iguanas as long as crocodiles, came forth from the rocks and tried to seek shelter in the hamlet. A monster dog-headed snake took refuge in my house and refused to budge. Yellow-fleeced goats, like antelopes or hinds, galloped down from the mountain pastures, and came bleating under cover of the council-hall. For a moment I thought that a pack of wolves had run for lodging in our midst. They were huge greyhounds, of a grey-black color, with long muzzle and blood-shot eye, of the same strain as the Spaniards formerly employed in St. Domingo to follow the natives in the woods. The Caribs had imported them and put them to watch the mountain passes which led to the English territory. These hardy sentries had been seized with fear, and had deserted their posts.

Still, as yet there was not a breath of wind, but gradually a fear-inspiring gloom spread abroad. The sea rose and bubbled like water boiling in a caldron. It had changed its temperature and its level; in place of being cooler than the air, it was much warmer, like the water of a hot spring. its surface rose under an unknown pressure, and its waters, bursting their bounds, flooded the harbor and flowed up the bed of the rivers, driving back the streams. Porpoises, dories, bonitos, and shoals of other fish, could be seen rushing from the open sea and gaining shelter between the rocks of the coast, to escape from a danger which they could foresee, but which man, with his dim powers of perception, could not recognize.

A surf, rising from the bottom of the sea, tore up huge ocean seaweeds, wrenched shell-fish and molluscs from their rocks, drove from their submarine lairs huge crustaceans, and , forced along in a tangled mass all these creatures that had never before been on the shore. Above all, the atmosphere displayed phenomena prophetic of the coming storm. In rising, the sun had shone brightly in a clear sky, but at midday it was veiled by mists which entirely changed its look. It was devoid of rays like the moon; its disc had the dull red look of a dying furnace. The light of day gradually dwindled, becoming pale, shadowy, and flickering as in a total eclipse; then a curtain of dark clouds covered the sky, at the same time as a mist, from the Gulf of Mexico, rose in mid-air and blotted out the horizon. Up to then an extraordinary dead calm, almost unknown in these islands, had prevailed. Leaves of trees hung down the branches without movement. You would have thought that life was ebbing away from the plants, and that they, like men, were seized with a mortal asphyxia due to the stifling heat.

We were roused from torpor by a long rumble from under the sea ; it announced the approach of danger, and raised an outcry of fear from the crowd. It was a raging tidal wave coming from the west, moving on a broad front through the narrow channels between the islands; launched by an unknown force, it overwhelmed their waters, filled them with a boiling sea, and formed on their surface a current opposite to their normal currents. Behind this great oceanic eddy roared the wind of the tempest. As soon as it reached the cloud which hid the sea from our ' eyes, it tore it from top to bottom, and, through a peep-hole suddenly opened in the mass of vapor, we were astonished to see a man-of-war, a frigate, which was hugging the coast of the island, trying under cover of its rocks to reach the promontory of the Soufri¸re, double it, and enter the port of Kingstown. It was a dangerous under- taking, but might succeed, and the people, anxiously following every maneuver of the vessel, began to think that it would escape the double dangers of the storm and the basalt rocks, when unexpectedly the frigate, which was sailing almost on her beam ends, for some reason of which we had no idea, ran up into the wind, broached to, and was taken aback. She was then only two cable lengths from the shore, but in the short time which elapsed between the backward drag of her sails and the fall of her masts We received such a powerful impulse that she covered this space and dashed on to the pointed rocks of the shore. Directly after this the towering waters of the tidal wave hurled themselves on her; sometimes they broke on the deck and tore off the sailors, dragging them with their ebb into the abyss; sometimes they passed under the keel, raising the vessel, only to let her drop on to the rocky points ; they demolished the planking and allowed so much water to enter the hold through great breaches that she would have foundered without the support of the rock on which she rested.

The Carib population gathered along the coast and followed with keen eye all the acts of this terrible wreck. Immediately after realizing at daybreak the portents of the coming hurricane, the chief had given the signal of alarm, which, repeated from village to village, from mountain to mountain, had informed every family of the approaching danger. The great advantage possessed by the savages over the colonists is that, warned in advance by their observations of a coming storm, they can mitigate its effects, whilst in the islands occupied by Europeans the population is constantly caught unprepared. When all proper precautions had been taken the crowd returned to the sea-coast to judge the extent of the danger. The Black Caribs stayed in their huts, but sent to know if their services were required.

Pakiri and I established ourselves on a promontory formed by an ancient stream of lava, on the north of the island, projecting into the Straits of St. Lucia. We were obliged to crawl in order to reach the shelter of the blocks of lava, and without them it would have been impossible for us to stay there.

The violence of the storm continued to increase ; it had . ' already blown down huts, scattered the maize harvest, torn up the manioc, beaten the bananas to the earth, and laid flat numbers of trees on the hills. It was then that the cloud had opened, and we could see the ship driving towards us. The chief at once recognized her as an English frigate trying to enter the port of Kingstown, doubtless with the mission of landing troops and munitions for the invasion of the Carib territory.

A moment previous to the catastrophe of her foundering on the rocks l discovered in her after-rigging first one and then another person who seemed to me to be Caribs. Neither Pakiri nor I could be sure about them, or if they had not been washed into the sea. An artilleryman who had followed us and had a better point of view a little below us called to me, and pointed out two black heads which showed sometimes above the waves, but more often were overwhelmed. One glance was enough for Pakiri. "it is my daughter", he cried, and in a transport of despair added, "Be true and devoted to us; if l perish, do not abandon my brethren in their misfortune." He waited not for my answer, but flung himself into the foam of a retreating wave and reached open water, either to. save his beloved daughter or perish with her. Ten times when they paused to gain breath I thought they were exhausted, and the first ray of hope was due to the success with which they rounded the rocky point of the promontory and kept beyond its terrible breakers.

At this moment the scene was suddenly closed. The storm clouds which had lowered to the middle region of the hills burst over our heads, and let loose a veritable flood, blotting out everything. Each drop was at least 2 inches in diameter, and made in falling as much noise as the heaviest hail. Lightning blazed from ten points of the compass, and lighted up the angular furrows of the clouds, which now reached down to earth. Electric sparks moved all around us, and the volcano of the Soufriere, answering the peals of thunder, muttered its subterranean grumblings.

Thrice the earth shook. l thought the whole island was about to be engulfed in the ocean. This crisis was the end of Nature's convulsions; the rain had the happy effect of calming the waves, of weakening and dissipating the clouds, , and clearing the air of the vapors with which it had been charged. Daylight reappeared. The violent swell which rendered landing impossible diminished quickly and enabled the number of Caribs who had plunged into the sea to save their chief and his daughter to approach the shore with them. They sheltered them with their bodies, gave them means of support, and succeeded in bringing them safely on to the sand of the shore.

Eliama was carefully attended to by Carib women, wrapped in cotton bands covered in with rugs of woven palm-thread, and was soon able to tell her adventure. She had left Martinique with her old attendant in a canoe, which had been stopped by the English frigate ; she had been summoned on board and detained there on deck, the storm had. sprung up, and, taking advantage of it, she had seized a boarding-axe and cut the tiller lines. This resulted in throwing the vessel up into the wind, and in the confusion she and her attendant had sprung into the rigging and jumped overboard.

When at length the chief of the Reds was free to visit the scene of the shipwreck, we hurried to it. The sea, breaking furiously over the frigate hedged on the rocks, had demolished and flooded half of it; part of the crew, including the captain, had been washed overboard and drowned; the others clung to the after-part, washed by each mountainous wave. As if the cup of these wretches was not full enough, the Black Caribs had scaled the rocky peak at the foot of which the vessel lay, and with their bows were shooting the sailors. I at once pointed out to their chief that they would have to pay dearly for their pleasure in killing these men, and guaranteed that if they were made prisoners Victor Hugues would pay for each . head in gunpowder and the best brandy. My efforts were successful. The Caribs, having now changed their ideas and come to regard the existence of each enemy as of value to them, made every effort to save them from the wreck. Their humanity was carried so far that in the case of sick or wounded, unable to trust themselves alone to the traveller between the ship and the shore, the black warriors went at their own peril on board the wreck and brought them off unhurt.

So large a number of prisoners was a matter of embarrassment. Pakiri solved it by distributing these new guests in caves where nothing was wanting except power to escape. Three days later privateers from Guadeloupe came and took them to Fort St. Charles in Basse Terre. Even now one can hear from old negresses in the colony the account of the sufferings of the sailors of the Laurel frigate due to the act of a young Carib girl who had been detained on board, and took the best revenge in her power.

At the close of this terrible day not a sign of the hurricane showed in the sky; its effects, too, were confined to the lower strata of the atmosphere, those in direct contact with the sea, and I was delighted when the little Zami assured me that my mountain residence was untouched.

The next morning, on my descent from the mountain, I found all trace of cultivation swept away, hamlets beaten down, and whole families of Caribs, who the day before had been surrounded by prosperity and abundance, now seated on the flooded earth without food or hope of obtaining any. The chiefs were assembled in council, and Pakiri called me to him and asked how the white man's superior intelligence could be used to avert famine.

I at once wrote a note to General Hugues, begging him to send help to the starving Caribs; without it, notwithstanding their hate of the English, there was no course open other than to throw themselves on their mercy. l felt so sure of the effect that this suggestion would have on the proconsul that I did not hesitate to promise the council very prompt help, provided my letter were sent immediately to Guadeloupe.

It was of no use to appeal to St. Lucia for help, as it was as badly devastated as St. Vincent, and required all that could be provided for its own inhabitants. In the midst of this disaster a little was gained from the peculiarities of two food plants. A1l the harvest exposed to the violence of the storm had perished, and no trace remained of fields of maize or banana plantations. But the edible roots manioc and yam, being underground, had escaped, though their stems had all been cut off level with the soil. They were found buried under the debris washed down from the mountains, and would assure a meagre subsistence to the population until help came.

It was decided to take silver recovered from a wrecked Spanish galleon, and long kept hidden in a mountain cave, to pay for provisions from Trinidad, a Spanish island near the American continent abundantly furnished with the foods . of all sorts, and at a low price, now required by St. Vincent. A war canoe manned by sixty rowers was quickly fitted out, and Pakiri himself took charge of this important mission. He and the other chiefs begged me also to go, both to help in overcoming any difficulties that might arise and, if necessary, to employ the powerful name of the general by whom I was commissioned as representative to an ally of France.

The uncertain life of a soldier or sailor makes him a ready believer in presentiments. I have known many clever and hearty people who were obsessed by this belief : Admiral Villaret, General Hoche, and Marshal Gouvion St. Cyr. My early education set me against them. Still, l was surprised when all was settled eventually to find how coldly I looked forward to this expedition. There must have been some warning of ill which was not clear to me. I yielded to the arguments raised, and sacrificed my instinctive repugnance to motives whose power over me would be just as strong to-day.

My love of travel awoke as our voyage displayed the chain of islands extended to the south as far as the continent of the New World. But when in order to sail the canoe heeled over to the wind, and l could only see land in the distance, l wrapped myself in my cloak and went to sleep on a mat.I was awoke by the cries of the Caribs, who hailed with joy their ancient fatherland, the continent of America. Our canoe had covered more than forty leagues in ten hours.

Land stretched in front of us from east to west, the coast of the lovely province of Venezuela. The northern shores of the Island of Trinidad prolonged to the east to line of continental territory. It was separated from the mainland by the narrow channel of the Dragon's Mouth, through which pours a swift and troubled current strewn with ' rocks. My fellow-travelers had need of all their skill. strength, and experience to enable them to clear this dangerous passage. At length we entered the Gulf of Paria, which lies between Trinidad and the continental coasts of Cumana. The waters of the sea mingle with those of the Orinoco. It is this river current which pours through the Dragon's Mouth, and in meeting the sea raises a constant eddy or raging tide-race.

As soon as we had doubled the promontory of Trinidad, which closes the Gulf of Paria to the north, we found the island stretched before us. It is most lovely; a girdle of low ground fringes the shore, above rises an amphitheater of hard-wood forest trees, acacia, mahogany, and a thousand other valuable kinds. The tops of the mountains are crowned with peaks formed by ancient volcanoes, to which the island owes its origin. The highest and doubtless the most recently active is named Tamana. It was then free from clouds, and I could clearly see rising from its summit a high column of smoke, a sure sign that the extinction of its fires was not as complete as the inhabitants averred. This phenomenon aroused my interest greatly, and I wished that Pakiri could have satisfied my questions; but I only obtained from him tales as senseless as those of the ancient Greeks concerning Mount Etna and the island of Lemnos. It is strange that men separated through all ages have been lulled with the same tales. While yet my eyes were fixed on the columns of smoke from Tamana, I remarked with astonishment that its height, at first prodigious, was lessen- ing by degrees. A few minutes later this magnificent spectacle had vanished. "That is a bad sign" said Pakiri gravely to me. This did not influence me as it should have done, since, owing to his solicitude for his people, Pakiri had regarded as an omen everything we had seen on the voyage.

At this time the Island of Trinidad was still in the same wild state as on the day of its discovery, though Spanish colonization dated back four centuries. The alluvial soil on the western shores had no inhabitants but herds of wild cattle. The herdsmen who rode among them with couched lances lived in barn-like huts which afforded but little shelter, and civilization was As far from them as it was 4,000 years ago from Abraham's shepherds. It was only when we had passed the Coloras Isles that we found cultivation and houses. We were near the end of our voyage.

Before us lay Port of Spain, whose buildings looked all like churches, to judge by the number of bells hung on them. A large tower and some badly armed batteries formed its defenses. On the left, behind a group of islands which served as a breakwater, could be seen the famous harbor of the Careening Bay, where formerly lay the galleys of the Conquistadors of America. As our canoe was able to go anywhere, we went on to the upper end of the harbor near the mouth of the river and found ourselves at the landing-stage, in daily use by the canoes of the natives of Guiana and Venezuela. Pakiri, who knew the place, was soon in touch with agents; he easily arranged to freight several schooners, and bought cargoes of foodstuffs with . which to load them at once. But he was worried with one great anxiety. The fear of incurring the displeasure of the English and of getting into trouble with their cruisers might stop the Spanish authorities from granting permission to export from the colony foodstuffs destined for allies of France.

In his anxiety Pakiri determined to call as intermediary, an old French doctor, long established in Trinidad, where by his practice he had acquired wealth and consideration. Some services rendered to him by the Caribs gave cause to hope that he would assist them now. I offered to go and help in this important negotiation.

To find his house we had to traverse most of the town, Its aspect was very different from those in French and English colonies. Beyond the port, where the mercantile and marine bustle recalled the more important St. Pierre of Martinique, all was deserted and silent. The houses, turned their backs on to the street, as in cities of the East, and their rare openings consisted of long barred windows, which lit the rooms so badly that nothing could be distinguished inside them. Badly built walls stood on each side of many streets, only broken by the porch of a church, the grille of a monastery, or the entry to a cemetery. There was no one from whom to ask the way. At last we reached the doctor's house, one of the brightest in the town. A crowd of servants ran to watch us with impertinent curiosity. I was put out by this reception and exasperated by the answer of a fat mulatto woman, bursting with arrogance, who said her master could receive no one, as he was taking his siesta. "Go and tell him," said I, "that the doctor of General Hugues has come from Guadeloupe to see him, and remember that 1 am not one who likes to be kept waiting." The mulatto, hearing the name of the proconsul, thought she saw the advanced guard of those terrible privateers whose deeds recalled those of the pirates; she ran to find her master, who in his turn appeared in such a hurry that he had no time to put on his wig or his dressing-gown. He was a small, ruddy old man, stout, active, and full of vigor. He greeted me affectionately, and congratulated me on being charged with the precious care of a personage so famous in the West Indies by the boldness and success of his undertakings.

l was beginning to say that I was not his doctor, but one of his Staff officers, when my companion, in fear for the grave interests involved in our mission that the doctor would be put off by my declaration, interrupted me, explaining the object of our visit. I joined in his prayer to the doctor to use his influence on behalf of the Caribs. Directly we had explained their sad state, the doctor dressed himself in his official uniform and went to find the governor. On his return he gave Pakiri three permits allowing the schooners to sail ; following the custom of the country, he had helped on their issue by pressing some doubloons into the hand of his excellency's secretary, and he had got the governor himself to sign them while giving him advice on an attack of gout from which he was suffering. If by bad luck we had been dealt with by the second commandant, all would have been lost, as, said he, that official was more English than the Governor of Barbados.

Pakiri filled with joy, ran off to dispatch his convoy, refusing to wait for the splendid dinner just being served, leaving me as a pledge of the recognition that he and his country owed to the good doctor. He arranged a meeting- place for our departure next morning, and entrusted me to the care of a young Carib whose intelligence and bravery were well known to him. The meal, improvised as it was, was worthy of a doctor receiving 100,000 francs from his clients and as much more from his property. "The Seigneur des Isles," as he called Victor Hugues, "is far" said I, "from living so magnificently even in the best of times." A greenhouse, next door to the doctor's study, protected a collection of the most beautiful plants of the tropics, not against cold, but against excessive heat. I recognized and named each by their Linnaean titles, specifying for most of them their medical properties. "Ah!" cried the old doctor, "how happy are you young people to have lived in an age when science has so extended her limits!" Then he told me that some months previously an Irish adventurer had appeared at Port of Spain professing to be a doctor of the new school, and curing without fail all diseases by chemistry, electricity, magnetism, cupping, and many other means, the equipment for which had plunged the old doctor in stupefaction. This was not all; the new-comer had accused my old host of want of skill, and tackled his patients with such boldness that he gained successes. In this sad state of things my poor friend thought of a plan the success of which seemed sure to him. "Renounce," said he, "your service, which is honorable enough, but will never bring you a fortune. Come here and share my practice and house with me ; we shall have the monopoly of treating the whole colony, and they will come from Caracas and Cumana to consult us, like the oracle of Cos of old. With the advantages of your modern science and activity, joined to my old experience and established reputation, we need fear no rival, and will drive away this Irish intruder."

Reflecting that this Eldorado promised me at Trinidad was near to that discovered by Sir Walter Raleigh of romantic memory, I was unable to check a smile of in- credulity. "I can see," said the doctor, "that you credit this country with European habits of meanness. Believe me, that here no gentleman would disturb a doctor such as you or me without tendering quadruple or at least double fees for the shortest visit. Every evening in the good season I put a thousand francs in my desk, whilst at home l had difficulty in making half a crown. Money without estimation would be little ; but in this respect I will let you see with your own eyes how high a position we can reach by means of our kindly offices among the most noble and powerful people. The welcome you will receive under my auspices will make you wish to return and help me." Then, with the avowed intention of seducing me, the old doctor proposed that 1 should accompany him in his visits to some of the best society in Port of Spain. 1 agreed, and was furnished with a rich costume, with my black hair curled and powdered in true doctor's fashion.

With a small hat under my arm and a gold-headed cane in my hand, 1 set forth with the old doctor, now delighted at the prospect of our future partnership, and rubbing his hands over the discomfiture of the charlatan who had dared to set up in rivalry of him. We visited many people of title, who received the doctor with marked distinction, and invited us to parties, family gatherings, or religious ceremonies. We excused ourselves in general terms, and at last reached the convent of the Benedictine Ladies of the Annunciation, where we were to finish our busy evening.

Outside, the day had become most oppressively hot, but on entering the convent vaults we found it deliciously fresh. The doctor having announced his arrival in Oriental fashion, we were introduced with grand ceremony. A1l the convent was assembled in a large hall. The abbess was seated under a canopy, and the ladies of honor occupied lower places on the stages of the platform on which she was enthroned. To right and left were the nuns, dressed in white with black veils reaching to the ground; then the novices all in white, and the pupils in ordinary dress. We were brought up to offer our respects to the abbess, and, whilst the doctor talked to her, a lady who spoke French fluently asked me about Guadeloupe, where she had friends. Our conversation was interrupted by a message from the abbess asking us to tea that and the following evenings. The message was brought by a pretty novice. l replied that 1 was sorry so charming an invitation could not be accepted, owing to my departure the next morning. A minute later we passed into a saloon worthy of a palace, at one end of which played a fountain of cool water, fed from a spring in the mountains some way from the town. A meal of a thousand dainties, the secret of which was known only in the convent, was served by young novices. After it I was allowed to witness the novices and pupils at their evening work, and was shown specimens of their skill in lace, embroidery, or needle- work pictures. Finally, I was asked to advise on their illnesses, and agreed very unwillingly. In this way many real and imaginary sick came to consult me; l found the latter the more difficult.

Presently, however, a strange noise set all the party in a flutter. There was a large aviary in the cloister ; the birds in it had suddenly woke up, and were making deafening calls. At almost the same moment arose a concert of sharp, piercing cries, and a long column of parrots, parakeets, cockatoos, and other birds unknown to me, entered the saloon. A11 of them had quitted their perches and come to seek their mistresses, calling out their deafening cries, flapping their wings, and threatening with their beaks the servants who tried to stop them. This invasion could only be repelled by their mistresses tempting them with cakes and taking them back to their perches. I doubted very much the explanation that they had been scared by vultures that had come down from the mountains, especially when I heard it had not previously happened. My doubts were increased by another outbreak of tumult in the cloisters, and a crowd of mulatto women and half-castes, who acted as lady's- maids, rushed into the saloon shrieking with fear. Behind them entered slowly a hideous monster, an alligator more than 10 feet long. He lashed his long tail, knocking over the marble ornaments, but neither attacked nor followed anyone, and seemed dazzled by the light. There was hardly time to take much notice of him, as the gardener, a sturdy negro, ran up and lassoed him round the body. He was given a chicken and leg of mutton, and allowed himself to be led away. I then learnt that, through the old doctor's kindness, the beast had been placed in the garden when quite young and small to kill the bull frogs, which had filled the air with their raucous cries, rendering sleep impossible. He had successfully accomplished this, and ever after had received in his pond a daily pittance from the kitchen. Only once before, when his meal had been forgotten, had he come out of his pond.

The party was nearly at an end, and I was about to take leave of these kindly Spanish ladies, when suddenly the spouting waters of the fountain ceased to flow. The mouths from which they issued began to snort like the tubes of an organ. Very soon a pestiferous sulphur vapor spread through the saloon and dimmed the lights. In the midst of cries, tears, and prayers I gained the door with the rest, and found in the parlor the young Carib whom the chief had ordered to accompany me. We reached my lodgings at the doctor's house without further adventure. l quickly threw off my borrowed plumes and washed the powder out of my hair. I resumed my sea-going kit, prepared my arms, and flung myself on my bed, whilst my companion stretched himself on a mat. We had only four hours to sleep, but slept five, and day was breaking as we left the house ; at the moment we should have been with Pakiri in order to start. As I passed the convent square I heard religious chants rising under the roofs of its church, and wishing to see these poor recluses for the last time, I turned into the nave. As they passed beyond the grating in procession in order to leave, I recognized several sisters and novice acquaintances of overnight, and saw by an occasional sign that, though l had changed my dress, recognition was mutual. Suddenly the bells of the main tower of the convent began to clash, and rang as if for a funeral or an alarm. A bronze lamp hung by a chain from the roof of the church began to swing of its own accord, like a pendulum. A distant noise, rapidly approaching, sounded like the roar of a rising tide; but when these strange sound: arose from beneath our feet the noise was more like that of the artillery of an army rolling over the cobbles of a city. "All is lost!" cried Baribarou, my young Carib, and his sinister prophecy, though half unintelligible, was fulfilled almost as soon as made.

The earth shook so violently that we were nearly thrown down; we lost our foothold as in the pitching of a ship, ' and everything round us quivered, even the massive grating of the choir, to which we clung to save ourselves from falling. From behind this funeral screen we saw the hideous destruction of every one of the young sisters and pupils. They were crushed by the fall of the roof . The arch of the transept over our heads lasted only a few seconds longer, and we were knocked over by a hail of carved stones. Baribarou picked himself up, and dragged me beneath the arches of a side chapel which withstood the frequent earth-shocks. l do not know how we reached the door. I only know that on getting out on to the square we sat there bewildered, shaken, bruised, and nearly deprived of ' our senses. Here, owing to the distance of the falling houses, there was some safety, and hither crowded all the unhappy people who had escaped from the ruins. Their troubles were increased by the escape of prisoners and slaves from gaol, who robbed them of the money and jewels they had tried to save. Not only men, but beasts, added to the disaster ; a successful toreador had recently arrived from Caracas with a herd of bulls ; these, escaping owing to the fall of the walls of their pens, rushed through the town, trampling on many who thought they had escaped from danger; we heard the roar of the bulls as they rushed across the end of the square.

We reached the port with difficulty. Pakiri received us with open arms, took us on board the canoe, and we started at once. I did not feel myself safe from the fatal influences of the island until the canoe rocked on the waves of the Gulf of Paria. As soon as 1 was sufficiently recovered, Pakiri told me that, thanks to the doctor's permits, the three schooners had passed the customs and set sail at night. On the first shock being felt on the quay, he had made every man take his place on board; this measure had saved the canoe from the ill-effects of the earthquake on the waters of the port. Twice had the sea ebbed out of sight, leaving vessels high and dry, but it had returned with a rush, and had filled and turned over every vessel which was not properly prepared. The canoe, manned by its oarsmen, had suffered no harm.

When on landing at St. Vincent I found the island re- victualed by our successful expedition and its population happy and conscious of delivery from famine, 1 experienced a feeling of satisfaction at having taken part in effecting this happy change. The schooners had arrived safely ; the islanders could quietly wait for the harvest, which the quickly ripening maize promised them in forty days, and they need dread no other scourge than war, nor other enemy than the English.

I stayed for three months in my mountain residence, my friendship with Pakiri becoming mutually stronger every day. I associated myself in his cares and projects for victory over the enemy and the safety of his daughter. As far as my youthful military experience and our in- different means allowed, l drew up plans for the campaign which we were impatient to open against our neighbors, the English colonists of St. Vincent.

Already for a long time had the Caribs adopted the use of firearms, though from necessity and custom they continued to use bows, tomahawks, and a cutlass which they handled very cleverly. I had obtained from Guadeloupe powder, balls, and some muskets, and I extracted from the wrecked frigate ten times as much by means of the Carib swimmers. At the same time, my artillerymen became instructors, teaching the Caribs to handle their muskets and to maneuver like our light troops. Success was prompt and effective. These were no dull peasants, but active hunters, with a straight eye and sure foot, who had only to learn how to work together.

They became so good in shooting at the target that I felt obliged to attribute the cause to the mother of the chief of the Black Caribs, whose powers of sorcery must have speeded their rapid progress. Her two granddaughters, Morning Star and Flower of the Forest, never missed the target once. Looking on this general training of girls, armed to defend their homes instead of groaning and calling on Providence as they do in Europe, I could not believe that the fortune of war would fail so fair and holy a cause. I had already learnt how, in the West Indian Islands, the great variations in localities render the study of the theater of war very difficult, and complicate the operations which might take place over a very small area. I determined to gain an extensive knowledge of the country, as much for the purpose of learning the means by which it might most effectively be defended as for finding bases for the most advantageous lines of attack on the enemy's territories.

Every day I traversed some portion of the island right up to the frontier of the English colony, taking care to be accompanied by the most intelligent of the guides. Pakiri himself came with me to inspect the crest of the mountains which divided the Carib portion of the island from that invaded by the English.

A succession of slopes only left openings through a few passes, which had nearly all been closed by enormous barricades. The defiles left open were guarded by look- outs, ready to give the alarm, and by the huge dogs mentioned in a previous chapter. They had a bad reputation; when a negro from the huts near their kennels happened to die of apoplexy it was always said that he had been strangled by the Carib hounds, and all believed it, because the dogs were quite capable of doing lt. For my own part, I kept a sharp lookout on them. When l visited the frontier forests in Eliama's company they ran to couch at her feet, but in bounding towards her they kept their pale eyes fixed on me and growled and showed their teeth. They mistook me for an Englishman, but l do not wish to forget a service they rendered me.

Eliama took me one morning to the Soufriere mountain. It was the first volcano I had visited, and I was much interested in its phenomena. This day it was free from clouds, and St. Lucia, Grenada, and Martinique were clearly visible from its heights. The large trees which encircled its base gave place as we ascended to shrubs covered with lovely flowers, belonging for the most part to the Melastomaceae. The circular top of the volcano was deeply pitted; it was a huge basin contained in a border 60 or 70 feet high, covered with green and flourishing plants. The bottom of the basin was a rough soil, devoid of vegetation, resounding underfoot, and cracked by the underground heat like the earth of a sunburnt marsh.

From a dozen or fifteen fissures rose thick whitish columns of smoke, tinted like the rainbow. Near the middle of this great hearth stood up a hill about 100 feet high, the sides of which were nearly vertical, and unclimbable but for bushes which had grown on it close up to the top. We had begun to climb when Eliama stopped and listened. She had a wonderfully keen sense of hearing, of which her countrymen said that she could hear a mouse nibbling in the moon. She leant out from the bushes and showed me a hunter on the lip of the volcano opposite to us, with servants and dogs. He was an English officer intent on sport or a visit to the Soufriere. He did not see us, as we were behind the hill, and we could forestall his attack by the carefully aimed lire of our carbines. I aimed at the officer, and was going to fire, when my companion stopped me, drew from her belt a long ivory whistle, and blew two long and piercing calls. The hunters stopped, suspecting that they had to do with a troop of savages. They were not far wrong. As they were deliberating, two hounds from a neighboring post appeared suddenly on the crest of the crater in answer to the whistle. Directly they saw the officer's party they recognized them as enemies, and made for them. In the course of their attack they killed two or three of the hounds, and rushed on towards their masters, avoiding the effects of their gunshots by the rapidity of their dash. The hunters, having no time to reload, were obliged to fly, and throw themselves pell-mell down the steep sides of the mountain. On our return home Eliama sent our useful allies a testimony of the help they had so promptly and fearlessly rendered to us.

Our preparations for invasion were complete, and we only awaited the assistance of troops from Guadeloupe, which had long been promised us, in order to attack the English colony; but Victor Hugues had several enterprises in course of action, and ours, in his eyes, was not the most pressing.

His delays gave the enemy time to rally and organize his means of defense, and prepare a strong opposition to us. The town of Kingstown, the English capital, was covered by an entrenched camp and defended' by fortified lines based on the citadel, which was an old castle over- looked by the surrounding hills, but safe from surprise through its height and the thickness of its walls. At last a battalion of infantry reached us, and a dozen privateers disembarked a portion of their crews to help in the attack. I wish I could say that the men of this force resembled my good comrades of Quiberon, who were guided in all their deeds by love of their country, and whose heroism was impervious to evil passions. Historical accuracy compels me to paint in very different colors this gathering of refractories from the colonial regimental depots, of naval deserters enlisted by the privateers, of embodied runaway slaves, and of a general rising of natives, whose ranks were swollen, like those of ancient Gaul, by wives and daughters acting as warriors.

It cannot be denied that these natives were the most civilized part of the army, with the smallest taste for loot, incendiarism, and destruction. They were better disciplined than the soldiers, not so fierce as the negroes, and, besides, not so fond of drink as the sailors. I was too much of an artillery officer not to be disgusted with the disorder and ' license surrounding me, and I was glad to receive orders to proceed on a detached mission.

While the infantry column with the seamen followed the . coast road, I took the tracks over the mountains, accompanied by the Red Caribs, in order to take the enemy in flank and find a good position for my two field-guns. Everything went as well as 1 could wish. I passed over the cracks opened in the hills by various earthquakes; I crossed the Black Forest and the ridges which divided the native territory from that of the English, and I debouched on the colonial ground covered by a cloud of skirmishers, ' who swept over my front. Only some dwellings, having offered resistance, were taken by storm and burnt, either by accident or in reprisal.

In all the volcanic islands of the great American archipelago the hills are high lava streams which flowed from a common center; they branch out and diminish in thickness as they approach the sea. So, then, in becoming master of the highest point, one possesses the key to all the positions on and near the coast, dominating them from an advantageous height, with power to attack from diverging routes. This explains how l was able to post my artillery on the fortified flank of the enemy, and open a point-blank fire which dismounted his guns or made his gunners quit them. At the same time the column which had moved by the coast attacked the trenches and scaled them easily, as the natives had filled in the ditches with fascines. All the works were carried and the defenders, for the most part, cut to pieces, in consequence of the want of a line of retreat and their having closed the redoubt at the neck of the retrenchment. If our troops, following up this great success, had dashed in pursuit, they would have entered the town and the citadel itself simultaneously with the pursued; but the camp offered a good prey to pillagers, and a neighboring rum distillery attracted the drunkards--that is, the larger portion of the force. A thousand butts of grog were tapped be the conquerors, who lay by hundreds on the ground. Pakiri, seeing not only the impossibility of continuing the attack, but that we should be wiped out if the enemy took advantage of our disorder, set a light to the factory, which blazed up like a bowl of punch. Next morning our troops turned out very late, marching half asleep against the enemy. The suburb was easily taken, and the town would have followed but for an unforeseen accident.

Overnight, on the approach of the privateers, a corvette in harbor had slipped her moorings, set sail, and disappeared. During the night she got to windward, and in the course of the fight returned towards Kingstown, steering for the twelve Guadeloupe privateers, which were lying at anchor undefended, as their crews were in the ranks of the force. Their captains, alarmed by the threatened danger, recalled them without consideration for the success of the attack on the town, and, assembling them on the beach, hurried them into boats and got them quickly on board. This movement, which was not promptly noticed, threw the operations into partial disorder and discouraged the troops. It was mistaken for a retreat, and gradually produced one which became general. If the enemy had seen it at once, he might have made a sortie, which could not have failed to succeed. To hide the evacuation of the suburb Pakiri set light to the foremost houses. The fire spread rapidly, and the curtain of flames and smoke flung between the combatants allowed our troops to withdraw before the town recognized what we were doing.

Throughout this day, so different from yesterday, l held in check the artillery of the citadel, which could have seriously affected our attack on the town. I had brought forward my guns along the last spur of a long hill, the narrow crest of which ran back to the central mountains of the island. Thence l took in reverse part of the defenses of the castle, and I had only to fear a battlemented cavalier with an elevation superior to that of my battery. 1 succeeded in stopping its fire, and l prevented the other works, which I dominated, from firing on our troops when they occupied the suburb and were attacking the town. I had with me a detachment, in order to support me and oppose any attempt of the enemy to cut me off in my advanced position. But when the suburb was taken every man of it, wishing to have his share of the spoil, rushed down the hill to be first at the quarry, and I was left there alone. From the height on which I was posted I saw develop below me, one after another, all the misfortunes which destroyed my hopes and led my friends to ruin. When retreat became a rout, and the enemy poured out of all the posterns in columns formed to pursue our troops, I thought it was time to be off. I could hardly hope to save my guns, my worn-out gunners alone being left to drag them to the mountains, which were steeply scarped in many places. Nevertheless, we started, and climbed, perhaps, half a league along the crest of a ridge which descended in cliffs on which grew rope-like creepers, hiding the cliffs. While halted, several Caribs passed close by us; I wanted to stop them, but they declined, and told me things which showed me the extent of our disaster and made me decide to throw one of my guns into the ravine.

Just as I had made this sacrifice a young Black Carib came towards me, evidently, from the long red feather on his head, a chief of the tribe. This warrior, who carried a tomahawk in a bandolier and a carbine, was none other than Flower of the Forest, daughter of the chief of the Black tribe. Directly she was near enough to make herself heard she warned us that we were cut off, and must get away at once; my gunners did not wait to be told twice. Not believing the danger to be so pressing, I waited for her to join me. "I thought," said she, "that in the turmoil no one would warn you of the retreat, and set out at once to do so. It was well I did so, as on the way I have seen a strong body of negroes move by a crest behind you to surprise you. Look out ! there they are!" There suddenly appeared above the thickets daubed faces and muskets being lowered in aim at me. But at the same instant the girl seized me firmly by the arm and flung herself from the top of the cliff, dragging me with her into the ravine, which lay below us to a depth of 600 feet. The balls from the muskets of the enemy whistled over our heads, and when they were able to fire another round our precipitous descent had carried us at one drop to such a distance that, with the shelter of the hanging creepers, we were out of danger. However, in order to put the negroes of a11 idea of pursuit, my companion, after a short breathing-space, threw herself once more downwards, and we repeated this terrible effort ten times. We should without doubt have been dashed to pieces on the rocks had they not been covered with a carpet of bushes, and we should have fallen in one drop, as from a high tower, but for a network of hanging plants and branches which broke our fall. By marvelous good luck we arrived at the foot of the cliff on a pretty lawn of flowery plants, with no more hurt than a few scratches; but this method of quick travel had so tired my lungs that for some time I hardly felt sure that I was still in this world. As for Flower of the Forest, she found the game so amusing that she roared with laughter, and said I was her prisoner.

More seriously, she made herself neat again, and set about finding a way out of the ravine in which we were enclosed by two mountainous walls. If we descended we should approach the enemy's post and fall into their power. If, on the other hand, we ascended, it became harder each step to get out, as the sides grew steeper and closer together the farther it penetrated into the volcanic mass of the center of the island. The bed of the ravine at that time was nearly dry and we could move along it in spite of the huge basaltic blocks lying in it. But the torrent which had rolled them down might at any moment overwhelm us like an avalanche; were a storm cloud to burst in the mountains, its flood-waters would drown us. '

The immediate danger came from another cause. The negro soldiers from whom we had escaped, being unable to follow us, hailed a troop of comrades marching along the opposite top of the ravine, and denounced us to them as chiefs whom it was important to capture. Having found a path, they climbed down, and we were obliged to seek shelter in the part farthest from the bed of the torrent. The enclosure in which we took refuge was shut in on a11 sides by cliffs on which the skies seemed to rest, and as vertical as immense walls. We had only escaped from the bullets to fall into a trap where, before being killed, we were to undergo ignominious and barbaric treatment. I was roused from thoughts of these horrors by Flower of the Forest, who had gone on a little in front, and returned to say that there was a cave near which might serve as a refuge in a last extremity. It was the bottom of an immense fissure which pierced the mountain. Overnight, in marching with my guns, I had seen this fissure, which was as broad as the ditches of our fields, and had been told that a 200 fathom line could not sound its depth, and that it divided the whole mass of the mountain; we had crossed it by a flying bridge.

There were mysterious traditions concerning it, and Flower of the Forest was afraid to enter the cave. I persuaded her to follow me, and we took up a position ready to fire with certainty should occasion require. We had not long to wait. The negroes ran up to the cave's mouth, were afraid to enter, and tried to reach us with promiscuous fire; our shots, on the contrary, picked off their leaders, who fell dead or wounded. On this the troop withdrew under cover and awaited nightfall, which was approaching. This would be more advantageous to them, and so it proved ; for as the girl in a low voice was telling me the story of the evil spirits said to haunt the cave, she stopped, and struck a vigorous blow with her tomahawk; luckily she had seen in the darkness below us the glitter of an eye. A piercing cry and a heavy fall told us that a negro had been bold enough to crawl after us and had met his fate.

This episode showed me the imprudence of remaining any longer in the outer cave; we withdrew into the narrow entry, the soil of which was 2 or 3 feet higher and less accessible. From this asylum we could hear the movements of the enemy, who now seemed more numerous and strangely busy. We waited a long time, anxious to discover the plan of which we were to be the victims. At length it showed itself ; a reddish light, which increased rapidly, lit up the opening of the cave. It came from a large tub, whence flaming firebrands rolled to our feet. Unless there was an explosion l could not see how we were to be hurt by this. My uncertainty was soon dispelled. A large bundle of faggots of the green Sterculia fetida were thrown on the fire and half extinguished it; from it rose a blue smoke, thick and irritating beyond expression. We were suffocated and seized with violent coughing. To escape from this scourge we hurried down the passage of the cave, compelled to go farther as the smoke followed us. I besought Flower of the Forest to conquer her superstitions and show the same boldness as in the battles of the morning and evening; I assured her that no evil spirits lived here, and that none could have any power over me nor over her, as she was under my care. I do not know whether she believed me, but, trembling with fright, she said she would follow me, as our lives were bound together. We started; the difficulties of the road were many; for the greater part the passage was so narrow that we could only go singly and at times squeeze through sideways. When the sides opened out and formed chambers there was the danger of losing the direction of the fissure. The ground underfoot was strewn with blocks of lava, which had to be felt out with the bayonets of our muskets. After going for some time without seeing any supernatural apparition my comrade was reassured, and offered to go in front. I must confess she was much the better guide, and much quicker in feeling with her bayonet the obstacles in the path ; but she often stopped, frightened by some imagined noise or sight.

At length, hungry and tired out, we sat down on a mound of sand and fell fast asleep. When we awoke our spirits were calmer and bodies less wearied. We resumed our walk with more hope, and were encouraged by the difficulties becoming less. Presently Flower of the Forest said she heard waves breaking, and a moment later declared she saw the light of day ahead. l had to take her word for it, as I neither heard nor saw anything. She was right, however, as on rounding a corner we saw through an arched opening a distant view of green country the noise was that of a stream about 4o feet wide falling into a basin which filled the mouth of the fissure. The water in it was boiling and gave of a cloud of steam, which seemed unable to rise. It was too broad to leap across, and we were in despair at thus being cut of from safety after escaping so many dangers. In my misery I stooped and put my hand in the huge caldron. To my surprise, the water was only pleasantly warm; its trouble was in the vapor. I breathed it in stooping, and was seized with violent sneezing and a racking cough. l saw there was nothing for it but to warn my companion to hold her breath, and dragged her into the basin. We were not obliged to swim. No doubt the girl must have forgotten my advice and taken a breath. 1 felt her weaken and, seizing her in my arms, 1 managed to carry her across, crawl over the. edge of the basin, and lay her senseless on the grass outside the mouth of the cave. Feeling myself in danger of fainting, I had just time to load and fire of my musket before I fainted beside her.

When l came to l was being rolled on a mat from side to side by half a dozen Carib women, under the direction of a sailor who douched me alternately with warm and cold water. This treatment had proved successful with my companion, who had been carried to her father's lodge as soon as she was sufficiently revived. It took me longer, and I was still only partially recovered when Pakiri and his daughter came to take me back to my mountain home, where I slowly regained strength. I only saw Flower of the Forest once again, for on the evening of the day that I did so I was recalled by order of Victor Hugues to Guadeloupe. He was furious at the check before Kingstown, and counted on my help in punishing all those he found responsible for it.

When I returned to Guadeloupe after our expedition against the town of Kingstown in St. Vincent, I ought to have reported myself to Victor Hugues, but was told that he was in such a savage mood that no one could go near him. I quickly made up my mind, and set to work with all the keenness of a youth who knows the value of time and freedom. M. Mei befriended me and smoothed the path of my labors by allowing me the use of a pleasant, quiet room in his house, whence I got a fine view of the port of La Pointe-a-pitre and the high volcanic mountains of Guadeloupe.

During my stay in St. Vincent I had made a sketch-map of the mountains of that island, showing the forests and heights rising from its coasts. All communications by tracks through the woods were carefully drawn on it, and you could see the best military positions to be occupied. l made a fair copy of this map, and, though badly enough drawn, it was a masterpiece compared to the rough sketch engraved in London, which was all that existed of the island. At least, that was the opinion of M. Mei, who in his admiration went so far as to show it to the proconsul. The latter kept it, and sent for me next day. I found him looking at my sketch most carefully. He made me sit down, and questioned me for an hour. Though quite ignorant of the art of map-reading, he picked up very quickly the signs by which the features of a territory are expressed, and deduced accurately from them the military operations proper to these features. I have seen later many a general who read a map much worse. Two hours after this interview, an aide-de-camp brought me a brevet as lieutenant of marine artillery attached to the Staff, and informed me that the Commissary of the Republic intended to send me on a special secret mission. I vainly tried to discover how l was to be employed; but my old friend the captain of the privateer Le Vengeur was uneasy for me, owing to the favor for which I had just been picked out, and, fully persuaded from the character of him who accorded it that I should pay dearly for it, he offered me an escape from the obligation by returning to France on board of his vessel without first obtaining leave. This expedient appeared to me dishonorable, and I could not make up my mind to be guilty of it. Events, however, proved that the counsel was good.

When summoned to headquarters, Victor Hugues' secretary, who, they said, was merely his tool, explained in his name what was required of me. Notwithstanding the superiority of the English, who were assuming the offensive everywhere, the proconsul hoped to wrest Martinique from them by surprise, as he had already done in the case of Guadeloupe. To carry out this bold scheme he depended on a reinforcement which had been promised him, and should by now be leaving French ports; and, above all, on the feelings of the negroes and of the inhabitants of the town of St. Pierre, who were as zealous on behalf of the Republic as were the rural colonists on behalf of the Monarchy. Of course, the material for a siege of the two fortresses on the island was wanting; but by seizing the open country and the port it would be possible to blockade the citadels, invest them closely, and cause them to capitulate. Moreover, he had hopes of buying over the commanders charged with their defense. He fully realized that, in order to take St. Pierre by means of a surprise attack from the heights dominating the town, there must be complicated military operations, necessitating a good map of the locality. No such map being available, he looked to me to make one immediately on the same lines as that of St. Vincent, with which he was satisfied. The difficulty of the task was that I must execute it in the midst of enemies, braving the dangers of their soldiers and partisans and the traps of their police. If I was discovered the venture failed, and I should be handed over to a military court, tried summarily, and executed forthwith.

The worst of the adventure was that Martinique had preserved religiously the uses and customs of O1d France, and continued, as in the fifteenth century, to hang and burn alive. Every town possessed a high gallows in its most frequented spot, as well as space enough to build a wood-stack as big as the square of Notre Dame. The English rule established by the conquest of 1794 increased the predilection for the favorite punishment of the Middle Ages. At this time the Book of Statutes, which served as a criminal code in England, enumerated a list of no less than 300 acts of which a man was capable, each of which entailed his being hanged.

It is easy to imagine that in this list the case in which I should find myself had not been overlooked, so that I could not doubt what would be my fate. I was too deeply pledged to withdraw, and, moreover, I was led by the hope of personally contributing towards the expulsion of the enemy from the most beautiful of our West Indian colonies, and avenging the affront our arms had received in the attack on Kingstown. I was allowed a free hand in the preparations for my dangerous mission; in fact, I was treated in all respects like one of those to whom nothing is refused when nearing their end. I cut off my budding mustaches, wore a pair of spectacles, and provided myself with the passport of a traveling doctor with a taste for botany, already stamped visa by I do not know how many authorities, whose signatures and forged seals the secretary, Viel, did not hesitate to attach. I was introduced to an honest seaman, Captain Allegre, who commanded a brig, but who used for his dangerous trips a schooner of the country, called a balaon. This was a kind of coasting vessel whose appearance excited no distrust, and it carried me to Martinique and put me ashore at daybreak at La Grande Riviere, the northern end of the island; we agreed on a rendezvous and signals, and he went off, leaving me on this enemy territory.

l completely forgot my critical situation from the moment that I took a look round me. I had already, at Guadeloupe. seen lovely scenery, but nothing either there or elsewhere equalled the grandeur and luxuriance of the sight that met my eyes. Between two parallel declivities some 200 or 300 feet high poured from fall to fall a torrent whose waters were either covered with foam or rolled clear and limpid, reflecting the blue of the sky. Enormous blocks of lava studding its bed showed what its strength was when swollen by winter deluges, or even by the burst of a storm-cloud in the vast basin whence it took its rise in the highest regions of the mountain. Brilliant tropical vegetation covered every spur of this vast volcano. Flowering creepers wreathed the rocks with garlands, sheets, or waving festoons. The tufa was bright with the scarlet flowers of cactus, and of aloes like gigantic narcissus. On the ridge of these slopes stood some sturdy trees, whose roots were bedded in the rocks; their tops afforded a hold for ropes of climbing plants which hung down to the valley and served as shrouds to fugitive negroes in scaling the bed of the stream. Above the cavernous bed of the torrent the higher regions of the volcano rose high, covered with blue forests. When the clouds permitted, the top of the cone, battlemented by the ridges of its craters, showed at the extremity of this vast perspective, combining the majesty of the Alps with the graceful beauty of the Pyrenees. I found on the face which rose on the left of the torrent a path with twenty zigzags. and yet so steep it could only be descended on a sledge without the possibility of standing upright. The broad terrace on to which it led was only the first of three stages which I had to climb. I reached the last by a winding track, which seemed designed for goats rather than men. My journey was now to begin in real earnest.

In the midst of a garden full of various plants rose a hut leaning against the mountain and framed in a wood of macaw-trees. Prickly hedges of logwood made access to it difficult, and watchful dogs guarded it. Their barking brought out the owner, who advanced to meet me. He was an old negro, wrinkled and scarred, but still hearty and active. In looking at his face, which, like that of all his kind, seemed inert, resolution and roguish trickery might be found beneath a pretense of stupidity. In greeting him, I asked if he were not Citizen Lubin, formerly corporal in the French army at Guadeloupe. His pleased look rather than his long-winded answer having shown me that I was not mistaken, I made an agreed upon sign, and said the password, "ca bon". He replied, "ca ben bon" and made a sign of recognition; then, convinced that at last he had found one of the same political tenets as himself, he cried, "Long live the Republic! Long live the general! To hell with the English!" The noise of this brought forth from every corner of the building a crowd of naked little negroes, who joined in the chorus with joyful bounds and grimaces so strange that I burst into a roar of laughter, which they took as a mark of approbation. A plentiful breakfast followed this joyous reception.

There was no bread or wine, but I was given ortolans, guinea-fowls' eggs, and frogs' legs as big as those of capons. For dinner I was promised dishes even more delicate - palm-worms and white ants called poux blancs - but I asked instead to be given an Indian chicken cooked in the ashes with slices of yam. 1 must own that the dessert was superb, com- posed as it was of twenty kinds of fruit, of which the orange and pineapple were the only kinds known in Paris.

At table I learnt the story of my host. He was free by birth, a position of which he was as proud as if he had been a Montmorency. He had taken up arms in the first troubles in Martinique, and his military recollections went back to M. de Behagne. General Rochambeau had chosen him as guide; and at the time of Victor Hugues' arrival at Guadeloupe he had taken service in the French troops, and had been wounded in the assault of Fort Fleur d'Epee. On his return to Martinique, residence in St. Pierre had become dangerous for him, as the king's proctor did not look favorably on his devotion to France. He withdrew to the heights of the Grande Riviere, far from the inhabited parts, and had made there for himself a very charming home, where he lived out of reach of persecution with a large family, brought up in love for the Republic and hatred for the English. He had kept in touch with Guadeloupe, whither he went every three months to draw a small pension, and Victor Hugues, who had the good sense not to despise anyone, always added something to this little sum, with some friendly words to the poor negro soldier. Here was the safe guide, able and devoted, chosen for me by the proconsul.

The next day l began work on my difficult and dangerous exploration, and worked at it night and day for three weeks. In this long time I took the bearings of heights of water- courses and communications of every sort existing in the area of the extinct volcano of Mont Pelee, which goes to form the southern part of Martinique, and contains the most beautiful districts of the colony. I had not much trouble in drawing a plan of those districts lying to windward or the east, and the high parts of the mountain were still easier; but nearer the town of St. Pierre I met with many obstacles in the multitude of roads, the fencing of fields, the thickness of the population, and especially in the neighborhood of troops and officials, whose observation might prove fatal to me. Nevertheless, I accomplished my task, and I was able to point out clearly spots suitable for a landing either by force or by surprise; roads leading to ground on which columns of attack could debouch, and paths to take the coast batteries in reverse; the parts of the town where ' resistance would be encountered, and those which must be occupied and fortified after capture; finally, the means of cutting of reinforcing bodies of the enemy. The military map containing these details on a large scale was made up of forty-five sheets enclosed in a leather case like a book. These sheets served as a herbal during the survey in order to disguise their object. It would be endless to relate the trials l underwent during this task. First, l had to overcome my repugnance to sleeping in a Negro's hut. Lubin would not allow me on any account to sleep in the open air, as I should without fail have caught fever. l lived all the time on dry bread and coffee without milk. Morning and evening were the favorable times ; throughout the day we were surrounded by troublesome people, watching or entering into conversation. One took me for a surveyor, and believed that I was charged with an examination of his property with a view to an increase of his taxes. Another, believing, and rightly too, that I was an artillery officer, attributed to me a plan to erect near him a battery with which that cursed Victor Hugues would destroy his house. All departed saying they were going to lodge complaints which would bring the authorities down on me.

Many followed me out of sheer curiosity, or to show me healing Plants which I seemed to seek. We often met English soldiers, but they were so strange to the country that they regarded me without suspicion. I escaped with equal good-fortune from other very formidable foes - the fer-de-lance snakes which swarmed in the fields, whose bite kills, with atrocious suffering, in a few hours. I saw perhaps a dozen, chiefly at the edge of sugar-cane patches, near the town. Their looks were frightful, whether owing to their size and activity or to the strange phenomenon that, though without limbs, they have the power to move rapidly, to climb the tallest trees, and to project themselves a long way in order to seize their victim. Shortly after completing my task I thought I had tempted fortune sufficiently, and made my way over the heights of "Le Precheur" to the anchorage of Ceron, where I was to find Captain Allegre's balaon. We found anchored near the coast this welcome vessel, which should be our place of safety, and hastened down the hills in order to embark. Going down the hollow lane which led to the beach, Lubin, who carried my precious packet of maps, ran on ahead to call the dinghy of the balaon.

At the moment when, by this opportune act, he placed my precious work out of danger, a man, throwing himself headlong on me from the bank of the narrow cut before I was clear of it, felled me to the ground. Half a score of his comrades, ambushed in the same place, jumped to help him, and in a twinkling I was disarmed, stripped, bound, and led off prisoner. Neither Captain Allegre nor Lubin could help me, but they determined not to leave me in my distress, and to return and deliver me by all means in their power. Some hours later I entered St. Pierre, escorted by the wretched militiamen who had surprised me when defenseless, and soon the door of the gaol opened for me. A crowd, as l thought, hostile to me, blocked the approach to the prison; I learnt, however, by their threats that it consisted of my friends, and I had no doubt when I saw Lubin active in its midst. Nevertheless, the barriers closed behind me, and I found myself in a place horrible beyond expression. Night had fallen, and it was hard to distinguish objects in the dim light; but l was suffocated by the abominable smell. The turnkey freed my arms and led me to a long bar to put me in irons beside the negroes, who were already shackled by both feet. The indignity of such treatment, the possibility of which had never entered my mind, roused all the strength of my soul.

Raising myself to full height, I ordered this fellow, with the voice of one accustomed to be obeyed, to go and fetch the head-warder. He made no reply, but fetched him. "Prepare your best room at once" said I in the same tone; "take care that nothing is wanting, and you shall be paid on its merits ; the bandits on the mountain have stolen my purse, but 1 will give you an order on my banker." "Might I ask his name, sir?" "He is well enough known to you. It is General Victor Hugues." At this well-known name the gaoler took off his hat, made a bow, and said in a wheedling tone: "Sir, your most humble servant." In a minute he set his servants to work, and prepared for me a room, none too good, but alter the horrible court in which I had nearly been lodged it was a veritable palace. They brought me as well, always charging them to the account, linen and clothing to replace my dirty and torn garments.

I indemnified myself for my long fast with a good dinner, and slept as profoundly as if no threat of capital punishment hung over me. I had to be imprisoned in order to sleep in a bed. I was awoke very late by someone whispering in my ear; I opened my eyes and saw a young mulatto woman of attractive appearance. I had noticed her over- night in the crowd around me. "Sir," said she, "Lubin, my uncle Lubin, tells me to let you know that last night, by accident, the house of the man who arrested you on Le Precheur was burnt down, and he is dead." This accident seemed very suspicious to me, and when, seven years later, I reproached Lubin for it, he acknowledged that he had something to do with it, but excused himself in assuring me that this had been the custom since the days of M. de Behagne. The old negro soldier, who had learned nothing from the sad lessons of history, believed firmly that the good cause could not fail. So he had told his niece, who was a slave of the gaolers, that I would cause her to be freed when we became masters. The girl had ' taken this hope as likely to be soon realized, and in anticipation of the gratitude she would owe me one day would not have hesitated a moment to imitate her uncle by setting light to the prison. Thus, by a chain of strange events, in this town which l had entered as a criminal, I was able after a few hours to make use both of the gaoler's purse and goodwill to correspond with the outer world through the intermediary of a brave and faithful girl; to threaten the enemy with reprisals in response to the legal assassination by dagger and fire ; and finally, to seize the opportunity of a street brawl, and possibly regain my liberty with the help of slaves.

All be same, my situation had a dark side. There was the fear that in these times of violence, in this oppressed country, the king's proctor, who was as all-powerful as a Pacha, might have me hanged in prison by negro warders. It was the little mulatto Zelie who warned me of this possibility, having doubtless in her mind the memory of a similar case. To obviate such a proceeding she brought me a large kitchen knife, which she put under my pillow, and prepared, from a receipt of her uncle's, a bottle of wine so strongly poisoned that one mouthful would be death. I don't know how it was, but whenever my honorable allies wished to defend me there was always in be means employed by them to resist oppression some method of a slave's or savage's vengeance, and the first thing to enter their mind was recourse to fire, dagger or poison. I expect it was the effect of tradition or some mental twist of their race.

This proctor, famous as a most cruel tyrant, came to the prison with his deputy to interrogate me. He was a little man, whose face resembled a nocturnal bird of prey of the worst kind. I maintained that he had not received either from the King of France, the Republic, or the King of England, any authority to represent the state or society as public prosecutor. I submitted that he was in no way qualified to discharge these important functions, and that he knew this in that he had not in my case carried out the ordinance of Louis XIV. on criminal procedure, the new ' laws of procedure devised by the National Assembly, or even the rigorous forms prescribed by the English Legislature in the Book of Statutes. I declared it was my intention to resist his attempt to interrogate me, and I demanded that my protest should be recorded, reserving to myself the right of appeal against illegal acts, unauthorized arrest, abuse of power, and wrongful imprisonment, for every day of which I might obtain damages and redress, besides the punishment of the instigators and Accomplices.

The scoundrel whom I attacked with coolness and energy had hanged more than twenty victims, none of whom had a word to say to him. You can judge his rage when he found himself stood up to, and met with accusation. He lost his bearings, and allowed me to find out that he did not know who I was, evidently thinking me to be an emissary sent by the revolutionary party in France to rouse the colony to revolt. So far was he from guessing that l was a soldier that when his deputy came to take him home he was reported by Zelie to have said, "He is a lawyer or the devil." A very unexpected event delivered me from his evil designs. A young officer who had served in the French army under General Rochambeau had stayed on in Martinique after the capture of the island, kept there by his love for a lady in a high position in St. Pierre. He had to return to Guadeloupe to resume service, but died soon after he arrived there. A parcel addressed to him having reached M. Viel, the secretary of Government, he, acting as political agent, opened it, but found himself mistaken, as it contained only a love-letter. However, when he heard that I had been arrested on Le Precheur, he determined to use it as an indication of the reason for my trip to Martinique. This letter was sent by him to me, and in my innocence I gathered nothing except that a pretty lady, whose name Zelie told me, being unable to live any longer without her lover, besought him to return as soon as possible, assuring him that he ran no risk, seeing that the king's proctor had fallen in love with her, and that this tyrant was bound to her feet by chains of roses. I was so dull I could not see how this confidence affected me, and the sharp slave-girl had to explain how I must take the place of the dead man, and pose as having been drawn to Martinique by a love affair, a pardonable offense, instead of having come to draw a map of the country, which was a hanging matter. In preparing this substitution, M. Viel had no great opinion of my wits in a case of intrigue, for, in addition, he sent word to the lady that despite wise advice her friend, yielding to her invitation, had returned to Martinique, and that, out of jealousy, the king's proctor had caused him to be ignominiously arrested and thrown into the most pestilential gaol in order to get rid of him. On hearing this, the lady rushed off in the middle of the night, accompanied by a crowd of followers, to the house of the magistrate, who was burning with fever, and made such a scene that he nearly died.

The prison was quickly filled with her messengers, who, but for Zelie's good offices, would soon have reached me, and by their report have put an end to their mistress's illusion ; for it was improbable that I at all resembled the man they expected to find. However, the English officer in command at St. Pierre, feeling uneasy at the crowds gathering round the gaol each evening, reported to the governor, who lived at Fort Royal, that he attributed the agitation to my presence. He received an order to send me out immediately, and two hours before daybreak a picket of grenadiers came to my prison. I was given ten minutes to prepare, and was put on board of a large canoe, which, keeping well in shore out of the wind, entered the superb bay of Fort Royal some hours later. Accompanied by my escort, I passed into the citadel, over drawbridges, past posterns and works of the fort, until I entered a sort of covered way of great length, closed on one side by the exterior rampart, washed by the waters of the Careenage Harbor, while the other was bounded by a wall of rock, 100 feet high, crowned by the batteries of the fortress, and hollowed out deeply at the base to afford the garrison a place of shelter from bombs. A door of thick planks closed the entry to these casemates, and shut behind me. The place was a palace in extent. I was alone in . half a dozen halls 50 feet long and 30 broad, opening through arches from one to another, and dimly lit by a few barred windows. It took some time for my eyes to become accustomed to this twilight and make out my surroundings These great underground chambers are hewn out of the solidified mass of muddy volcanic discharge from the Carbet. The broad platform above them is formed by successive layers from the volcano.

I examined every corner of this cave without finding any sign of its ever being inhabited. Only in one of the inmost retrenchments I deciphered on its wall the date 1722, with an illegible name. I stamped on the ground and it sounded hollow, leading me to think it must be some hidden grave. I did not think, however, that I was for summary execution, as a bed had been prepared for me. I found in a convenient position an Indian hammock, stretched and quite comfortable, with table, chair, and the complete furniture of an officer's quarter; to these comforts were added two others. The temperature was not too hot or tainted, as in my former gaol, and in these large chambers there was plenty of room for exercise.

At midday an English lunch of roast beef and potatoes was served with care and cleanliness that made me think there was no feeling against me. I had another surprise when the door was opened and I saw several persons come in, who tried to recall themselves to me in the half-light. . The first was Lubin, dressed as a colonial jockey with a blue vest and red lace collar. To show that he was a free negro he wore shoes ornamented with silver buckles and to make himself more conspicuous he had succeeded in finding in his short and woolly hair enough for a pigtail some half inch long, of which he was immensely proud. Behind him came Zelie, rigged out like the beauties of St. Pierre in an white bodice with a bluish-green, flower-patterned petticoat. A fine expensive Indian handkerchief covered her head, and another of different color served as a fichu. Rolls of hair, plastered down as best they could be, beneath her head-dress, acted as a frame to her saucy face, and went to show her pride in being connected with white folk. Following uncle and niece came porters carrying trunks and boxes, as if from the landing of a party of travelers. Lubin informed me that he had come with Zelie to wait on me in my prison, with permission from the commandant. As to the luggage, though I had arrived in Martinique with two shirts and a change pair of trousers, he assured me that it was my wardrobe and that of my followers. The origin of several cases of Bordeaux, liqueurs, and other delicacies, was explained by the generosity of the great lady, who, persuaded that I was suffering harsh and unjust persecution for her sake, had commissioned Lubin to bring me fresh testimony of her affection. This same pretense led to other wonders.

An adjutant came on behalf of Major Campbell to ask me to go up to the fort and there receive from him a satisfactory communication. I was taken up a vaulted staircase of more than a hundred steps, and past I don't know how many tiers of batteries, to the parade on the top of the citadel, on which stood the commandant's house. This officer, whose duty it would have been to carry out my execution, was a handsome young man of very pleasant and distinguished looks. He told me in very good French that the governor had just received a letter from St. Pierre, which he hastened to communicate to me. The king's proctor had sent him word to say that, ever zealous in his duty to the King of England, he had taken rigorous action against a foreigner who seemed to be an agent of trouble and revolution sent from France, but a thorough consideration of the facts had not justified his suspicions, and he was assured by people worthy of credence that the foreigner was only a young officer from Guadeloupe, attracted to St. Pierre by a love affair. Further, he believed that this officer might be freely admitted to enjoy such liberty as his excellency the governor might in his wisdom think fit. The major said the governor had not yet given orders concerning me, but would, he felt sure, do what he could to meet my wishes. indeed, General Drummond having been announced, and the major having presented me to his excellency with all the forms of English society, he received me most cordially and talked to me most pleasantly. I recall one small thing that struck me. The governor, whether influenced by a justifiable pride of birth or by courtesy towards an officer of the Republican army, told me that on his mother's side he was descended from General Fairfax, who commanded the troops of the Long Parliament.

At this name, which from my childhood I had venerated as one of the first of those to attack the ancient despotism under which the people of Europe groaned, I rose and saluted respectfully, saying gravely: "My lord, l hope our age and our country may produce heroes as illustrious as your glorious ancestor." The general was much touched by my act of homage, and, advancing, shook me warmly by the hand. The major also greeted me, . and I found in my enemies most well-affected friends. A very unexpected incident interrupted the conversation. A report was made to the governor that a French brig of war carrying a flag of truce was lying off the entrance to the anchorage, and was already beating up between Wood Pigeon island and Negro Point. She could be seen from the windows of the house in which we were, and I told the governor that she was Captain Allegre's vessel, that officer, in the absence of the naval division, being in command of the Guadeloupe station.

This officer landed from his gig at the Savana stage, where the captain of the port received him. He bound his handkerchief over his eyes, and was led by the windings of the covered way to the plateau of the fortress. After saluting the governor, he sprang to welcome me, saying he would show me I had not been forgotten by my friends. He announced to the governor that he was commissioned by the Commissary of the Republic to propose the immediate exchange between me and an English officer, a prisoner of war, whom he had on board, and from whom he brought h a letter. This officer, a nephew of the governor, growing tired of Dominica, where he was stationed, had gone in a small boat to take soundings in the anchorage of the Saintes. Surprised in this work by one of our cutters, he had been taken to Guadeloupe, very uncertain as to the fate awaiting him; but to his astonishment he had been well treated, and his exchange proposed by Victor Hughes to General Drummond. The latter, as can be imagined, agreed at once. I made him my adieux with every mark of gratitude, and Major Campbell conducted Allegre and me to the landing-stage, where the young English officer had just arrived. A quarter of an hour later I was once more, under the tricolor on board a French man-of-war. Everyone wished to hear my story. We sat down to a feast in honor of my deliverance ; a bowl nearly as big as that of Heidelberg was filled with punch and emptied in drinking to the glory of the Republic, the confusion of her enemies, and to the beauty of the French Creole ladies. We celebrated as heartily the generosity of the great ladies of St. Pierre by toasting them in their own excellent wine ; for Lubin, who had followed me on board, had not left it behind in the casements, and greatly enjoyed uncorking it.

It was soon time to return to the sterner side of life. Captain Allegre took me to his cabin to talk to me. He began by telling me that my military map of the neighborhood of St. Pierre had fully satisfied General Hugues, who had counted on putting it to good use; but unfortunately, while political factions were fighting in France, the English had sent troops to the West Indies, and now their troops were three times the strength of ours. This superiority enabled them to put down the rising of the blacks in St. Lucia and Grenada, and to exterminate the Caribs in St. Vincent. On the last they had landed at least 6,000 men, and Guadeloupe could not send more than a thousand to help the natives, who, in spite of their determination, must infallibly be wiped out. I had several times been called for as necessary to save them, and the general told Allegre that if I wished to join them I was to be given the choice of doing so. The captain tried to ' turn me from it, saying it was probably too late for me to be of any use. Nevertheless, believing as l did that my honor was involved, I insisted on being landed on the coast of St. Vincent, and the balaon which was following the brig received orders to take me there with all speed, that I might land at night. I said good-bye to Allegre, who was sorry to see me go, and I steered to the south. '

The sea-breeze, which had risen with the moon, carried me so quickly that two hours before dawn 1 had landed on the solitary rock on the east coast of St. Vincent. I was fully armed, and knew thoroughly the road l had to follow, and had made up my mind quite spontaneously ; still, when the balaon sailed away I felt sad and uneasy and oppressed by dark forebodings. True, the total silence round me contrasted strangely with my joyous and lively reception some months before at the same place. Now, thought 1, the whole population is gathered in the mountains to keep out of reach of the enemy. Thus musing, l followed along the rocks of the shore a narrow path which led me to the mouth of the pool where at the time of my first voyage I had put in with my schooner. I pushed under the branches, and stepped slowly and quietly along a track which led over a flowery meadow up to the huts of the hamlet close by. I expected every moment that the Carib hounds would awaken their masters by their barks announcing the approach of a stranger, but all was quiet, and I thought they had recognized me as a friend. ' On going forward I discovered a red glow close to the ground from which sparks rose when fanned by the night breeze. Alarmed at such a sight, I hurried towards it, and stumbled over something on the path. l bent down to look, and found with horror the corpse of a slaughtered Indian. Pushing on, I found thirty more. sometimes a warrior, then a woman and child and more often an old man. The village had been surprised by a body of pitiless enemies, who had cut down the inhabitants and burnt their homes. I carefully inspected all the corpses, but could not recognize any one of them. There being no one left to enlighten or guide me, I went on towards my mountain residence under the light of the moon. I took every precaution to avoid surprise on my way up the winding path. Not a voice came from the desolated fields, and the English tired with slaughter, and the natives terrified by defeat, slept by their arms, waiting for sunrise to resume the fight. The only sound was the morning song of the birds welcoming the new day.

As I drew near my former happy home my anxiety nearly overcame me, and I was obliged to sit down. As far as l could judge, the enemy had not got so far as this. Every- thing was as I had left it in my hut; even the hammock was stretched, and seemed prepared for me. I sat down on it to recover my wind, when Eliama's spaniel dashed up and fawned at my feet in rapturous welcome. He had escaped from Z‰mi's hands, who, hearing his barks of joy, ' followed him. The moment she saw who I was she flung herself at my knees, embracing them, and sobbing as if her heart would break. I took her in my arms and tried to calm her. l hardly dared to question her, fearful of the horrors she might have to tell. "With whom are you here?" "No one." "What! You are alone?" "Alone." "And your master ?" "Killed." "And your mistress?" "Dead." She had seen the chief fall at the head of his warriors, struck in the side by a bullet which had killed him instantaneously. His daughter, wounded several times in the retreat through the forest, feeling her strength failing, had sought refuge on the top of the Soufriere

; she had been pursued by the negro enemy trackers, and, finding herself about to fall into their hands, had flung herself into the great fissure of the volcano. The barbarians, eager not to lose her, had rushed into the fumes to seize her. and the child, who was on the rim of the mountain, had never seen them return.

The causes of the defeat of the Caribs were the knowledge of their defenses as reported to the general by Captain D-- , the superiority in numbers of the enemy, the tardy arrival of help from Guadeloupe, and, above all, the employment by General Abercromby of a battalion of negroes raised in Martinique and commanded by two Creoles accustomed to hunting slaves in woods. These negroes crept at full length through passages believed to be inaccessible, and, getting in rear of the last military position, they reached the redoubt, which served as a refuge for the women and children and a storehouse for munitions and food. They sacked everything, pitilessly killing the harmless occupants, pillaging and burning the foodstuffs. The combatants, hearing of this disaster, lost courage. The death of their chief left them without a leader. Several bodies entered into negotiations, and were persuaded to lay down their arms and were taken to Kingstown.

Others resolved to fight to the last gasp. Major-General Stuart, who later served with distinction in Egypt, made them repeated offers ; in exchange for their territory in St. Vincent he promised them land in a more fertile island. The natives replied that if the land were so good the English had better develop it, and leave the Caribs their ancestral acres. They told the general they would rather die than exhume the bones of their fathers and carry them in exile to a foreign land. Having thus resolved, they concentrated all the surviving warriors and joined the French, who occupied tactical positions before the Morne La Vigie. At night, skillfully led by little Zami, I reached this fortified post, having skirted the enemy's outposts all day. A glance sufficed to show that we should have to surrender very soon. Food and discipline were equally deficient. I should have been on short commons if the child had not unearthed some potatoes and yams from a silo and cooked them for me.

The next day I asked permission of the commandant, Marinier, to dislodge a line of English skirmishers who were within range of our post. After a vigorous attack the enemy was obliged to evacuate the positions which he had taken. The same happened next day, and we thus obtained several partial successes. But during this time the English general had driven the Carib population from the mountains, and taken them to a port, where they were embarked on the transports that had carried the invading force. These vessels, employed in movements to and from the Barbados, were infected with yellow fever, and this terrible disease carried off a large portion of the Caribs shut in the holds of vessels before they reached the Island of Roattan, a desert, uncultivated and half barren, on which the survivors were abandoned. As to the natives who had rejoined us, they fought intrepidly beside us up to the last moment. When they learned that capitulation could be no longer postponed and that our efforts were unsuccessful, they resolved to avoid captivity by escaping at night in their war canoes, which they had hidden in the Siren's Grotto. l found it hard not to accompany them, as they begged me, but I was then engaged in the defense of a post which was regarded as the key of the position, and my furtive departure would have amounted to desertion. Notwithstanding the lookout of the English men-of-war, the canoes, with paddles wrapped in cotton to deaden their sound, set out from St. Vincent and landed on the coast of the mainland near Trinidad those unhappy people who had just lost for ever their dear fatherland.

After striving bravely to prolong a useless resistance, we were obliged to consider the enemy's terms. They were honorable, but very hard. Abercromby allowed us to march out of our badly fortified position with arms, baggage flags flying, and even with our field-pieces, which we could not drag as they no longer had any carriages; but he insisted that we should be prisoners of war, except in the case of the wounded, who were to be sent direct to France and counted in the exchange of prisoners between the two countries. He supported our acceptance of these proposals by the deployment of six columns of attack, ready there under our eyes to advance to the assault. Although it was a foregone conclusion, we continued to discuss the question, as if we still could choose between submission or continuing the defense, and the enemy was most complaisant in answering argument by argument, when an unforeseen event, and one very unfortunate for me, suddenly hastened the end. A chief of the Black Caribs, furious at the prospect of surrender, and unwilling to fall alive into the hands of the English, penetrated into the powder magazine and, to ensure his death in a goodly company, blew it up. I was 50 paces from it, standing on the rampart, which was raised some 30 feet above the glacis. The explosion flung me to some distance. The hail of stones killed most of those who, like me, had been hurled through the air; I was lucky enough to be spared by them, but I fell so hard on the rugged rocks that I coughed up clots of blood and fainted. Dr. Gilchrist, the chief surgeon of the English force, who had rushed up to attend to an English officer wounded by the explosion, found near me little Zami in tears, who begged him to help me, saying she was sure I was not dead. The doctor, having found she was right, bled me at once, had me picked up and sent by sea to Kingstown, describing me as artillery officer of the French forces. Touched by the devotion to me shown by little Zami, he gave permission for her to accompany me. Some hours earlier, in case of my death, I had written a few words in French and English describing the sad lot of the child, and begged any humane people who could protect her not to refuse their generous help. This paper, which Zami showed to the doctor, enabled him to identify me and benefit her.

When l regained consciousness I found myself in a large room with several English officers, lately wounded. Zami was beside me. The doctor, who feared ill effects to my brain, had ordered constant bathing of head and face with cold water and vinegar. Zami had carried this into effect with such devotion as to refuse to stop for food or drink, and the English officers were touched at her devotion. One of them told me when I was convalescent that he had never imagined such devotion could be found in human beings, but had fancied that it was confined to animals, especially the dogs of his country, who sometimes allowed themselves to die on the grave in which their master was buried.

As l gradually recovered, the unhappy child grew worse and worse. She was a prey to consumption, and grew weaker every day. A ship having been chartered to convey wounded prisoners to France, Dr. Gilchrist secured a passage for me in it, and I took leave of this kind man, who promised that if the young Carib escaped the death which her disease threatened he would look after her with fatherly care. The same day, 11th of June, 1796, that we were obliged to capitulate and hand over to the English the island of St. Vincent, that last home of the indigenous race of the West lndies, General Nicholson took Grenada. The detachment of French troops which held the Maboura Forts and Goyave Mountain were compelled to surrender, and the negro Phedon, at the head of his insurgents, abandoned the Morne Guano, a post in the Black Forest believed to be impregnable. The entire colony soon submitted, and that of St. Lucia having already surrendered to General Ralph Abercromby, only the islands of Guadeloupe remained to France as possessions in America.

After a long and monotonous voyage l was landed at the mouth of the Morlaix River, whence I joined my demibrigade at Brest. I was welcomed there, but my commission as lieutenant of artillery was declared to be invalid, because it had been given me by a commissary of the Convention, an authority whose acts were violently attacked by the victorious reactionaries. I was promised the first vacancy, and was offered the grade of sergeant-major in command of a company without officers. I obstinately refused any terms, and asked to resume the humble grade I was in when last ashore, this grade being at that time the refuge of young men distinguished by their education and conduct. I should not omit to say that on the day I embarked for France the house of Mel had credited me, by Victor Hugues' orders, with a year's pay, and in addition a sum as my share of the captures of the privateer LeVengeur. I made good use of this fortune. I hired in the Rue de Siam a small room, and having procured some good books from the library of the port of Brest, 1 set to work at my studies with as much ardor as if I had not recently learnt by experience that in this world to have deserved a place counts for nothing towards obtaining it.