Antigua and the Antiguans Volume I Part 27

The scene of this Antiguan tragedy may still be viewed; the creek bears the name of "Indian Creek," while the cavern in which they held their barbaric meeting is called "Bat's cave." The governor retained his office until 1660, when Charles II. was restored to the vacant crown; but refusing to acknowledge his sovereign, he was superseded, and the vacant post was filled by Major-General Poyntz, a royalist, who continued to act as governor until 1663, when Lord Francis Willoughby obtained a grant of the island.

The name of Raphe de Merefield (the uncle of the young cavalier) appears with that of Sir Thomas Warner in the original grant signed by Charles I. It is still to be seen at "Stoney Hill,"-an estate belonging to the late Samuel Warner, president of Antigua, and a descendent of the old family. This property was willed by him to his G.o.d-son, --- Shand, Esq., of the house of Messrs.

Shand, Liverpool.

CHAPTER XXVI.

Towns: Falmouth-Church and churchyard-Mangroves and acacias- Black's Point-Bridgetown-Willoughby Bay-Its site and decoration -The superintendent of the Wesleyan schools-School-room- Methodist chapel-The Memoras-St Philip's church-Beautiful views -Parham-Its derivation and site-St Peter's church-Churchyard- The new church-Methodist chapel and school-room.

In the year 1675, six towns were appointed in Antigua as places of trade-viz., St. John's, Falmouth, Old Road, (or Carlisle Road,) Bridgetown, Willoughby Bay, Bermudian Valley, and Parham.

St. John's, as the _capital_ of the island, has already been noticed in a chapter by itself, and it now devolves upon me to endeavour to describe, what is almost indescribable, the arrangement of the other towns, which, with the exception of Bermudian Valley, are still in a state of existence.

To commence with Falmouth. As it lies just before the traveller gains English Harbour, the road to it is the same already mentioned in our journey to that place; and consequently another description would be tiresome and superfluous. I must, however, remark that near the entrance of the town a pretty turn in the road leaves the blank-looking country, which so generally predominates between Falmouth and the capital, and leads you into a kind of defile; on one side, bordered by rugged banks thickly covered with the yellow acacia, and its sweet-scented blossoms; and on the other, by the picturesque ascent of Monk's Hill, surmounted by all its frowning battlements.[97]

The town of Falmouth is noted for being the first part of the island settled upon by the English, who, under the command of Mr.

Warner, son of Sir Thomas Warner, emigrated from St.

Christopher's in 1632, and laid out the surrounding country in fields of tobacco, cotton, and ginger, which were for some years after the staple commodities of Antigua.

Humble as might have been the architectural ornaments of this town in those early days, it seems almost an impossibility to suppose them less then than they are at present; for if strangers (from some of our bustling maritime cities in Europe, for instance) were suddenly and unconsciously landed in the streets of Falmouth, they would to all certainty believe them to be so many pathways to the "castle of indolence;" and the irregular and dismal-looking buildings to be the habitations of some lawless, vagrant tribe. A few four-cornered houses, in shape like a pigeon-coop, and of dimensions to suit a dweller of _Lilliput_, are elevated a short distance from the ground by being placed upon empty boxes or barrels, or four pillars of rudely-piled stones, which arrangement forms a snug retreat for the pigs or poultry of the inmate, or serves as a reservoir for sundry discarded pots and pans, or other "household G.o.ds." These habitations are as variously placed as the taste of their owners may chance to dictate. Some present an acute angle, others a _broadside_ to the eye of pa.s.sengers. Some stand in what I suppose is intended to represent a garden, whose rank weeds and straggling vegetables are guarded from the steps of the unwelcome marauder only by a _gate_, made from empty candle-boxes or barrel-heads, flanked by a thinly sprinkled row of some dwarf shrub, over which the gallant "Xit" (whom Mr. Ainsworth has so cleverly called into existence in his admirable "Tower of London") could have stepped with the greatest ease; letting alone the frequent lapses in the enclosure, through which a bulky man might readily pa.s.s. To make all secure, however, these rustic gates are generally garnished with a huge padlock, which is of course _carefully_ locked whenever the owner is absent; while the key, with admirable precaution, is tucked into some little peep-hole near, that it may be ready for the use of any stray visitants.

A few of these dwellings are, however, of superior form and fabric; and one stands forth in all the glories of palisading, and if I mistake not, bright green verandahs. It looks, by the side of its pigmy neighbours, like the Colossus of Rhodes, to the mandarin figures in our English grocers' shops.

The present church, dedicated to St. Paul, is a plain, uninteresting-looking building, standing at the outskirts of the town, and capable of affording about 400 sittings.

The churchyard might be made as picturesque, and looks as quiet, as some of those pretty rural burial-places we oftentimes alight upon in dear old England's sequestered nooks. Some fine trees, and a few handsome monuments, are to be met with; and if the rank gra.s.s was cleared away a little, and some of the various beautiful flowers, which are to be found in all parts of the island, planted there, it would present a spot equalling in appearance many of our modern cemeteries.

It may by some be thought folly thus to beautify the place of death-to garnish that spot where the worm revels upon the once animated clay!-to plant the gladsome, gaily-tinted flowers where all is mouldering beneath! Be it so-yet would I see the flowers blooming over the grave of those I have loved, and while seated near, feel that the bitterness of death is past, and that their happy disembodied spirits range, free from all sorrows, amid the amaranthine bowers of heaven! Like the late talented and oft-lamented "L. E. L.," I love to frequent the scene of our last resting-place-like her, to-

"Stand beneath the haunted yew, And watch each quiet tomb; And in the ancient churchyard feel Solemnity, not gloom.

The place is purified with hope- The hope that is of prayer; And human love, and heavenward thought, And pious faith are there.

The golden cord which binds us all Is loosed, not rent in twain; And love, and hope, and fear unite, To bring the past again."

The parochial school is held in a small house near the church. It is conducted upon the same plan as the other schools of the kind in Antigua; the instruction consisting of lessons in reading, writing, arithmetic, repet.i.tion of catechism and hymns, and plain-work for the girls.

St. Paul's has a chapel-of-ease in English Harbour; which was, in truth, a private dwelling-house, but now, disenc.u.mbered of its part.i.tions, serves as a chapel, and is capable, it is said, of affording accommodation for 350 persons; during the week, it is appropriated to the use of an infant school.

The whole of Falmouth is thickly studded with clumps of acacia, privet, and p.r.i.c.kly pear; all of which are of the _th.o.r.n.y family_, and if report be true, serve the inhabitants instead of pins. Between Falmouth and English Harbour lies a marshy thickly covered with sand, and dotted about with groups of mangrove-trees, in all their glittering, green foliage, forming so many _oases_ in the midst of a burning desert. The sea overflows this spot at times, and leaves its tribute in the shape of small sh.e.l.ls and bunches of sea-weed.

Opposite to Falmouth, looking across the waters of the harbour, a bold promontory stretches out into the ocean, to which has been given the name of "Black's Point." As it belongs to a gentleman of that name, it is generally supposed in Antigua, to derive its cognomen from that cause. Such supposition is, however, incorrect, for it is laid down in an old chart of the island as "Black's Point" long before its present possessor came into existence. The real origin of its bearing that appellation is from the fact of its having been the place where it was customary to land the cargoes of newly-imported negroes, prior to the abolition of the slave trade; and from this circ.u.mstance the name it now bears was given to it.

Falmouth Harbour is considered one of the best in Antigua, and is capable of affording safe anchorage for ships in those times of danger to which the West Indies are exposed. The sh.o.r.es of the bay boast their silver fringe of sand, which is often selected by the parent turtle, as a place of safety, in which to deposit her two or three hundred eggs; and when the sun has performed the duties of incubation, which the lethargic mother refuses to perform, numbers of these little creatures may be seen, crawling towards their favourite element, where they feast and fatten, until, perhaps, in after-years, they are doomed to increase the table store of some Antiguan _gourmand_, or, perchance, find their way to England, and tickle the palate of "the lord mayor, and the other city authorities" within the sound of Bow bells.

Old Road (or Carlisle Road, as it was once called) and St. Mary's church having been already described, in our "pilgrimage to Tom Moore's Spring," it remains for me, in the next place, to mention Bridgetown, or Willoughby Bay, as it is more frequently termed.

Here, again, I have the task of describing, what is almost _a nondescript_, for no stranger would ever discover that it was a town unless the fact were pointed out to him. If the man who painted a lion was obliged to write under it, "This is a lion," I am sure the person who huddled the three or four houses together, which const.i.tutes Bridgetown, had need to have put upon a giant-like placard, "This is a town!" unless, indeed, a rather good-looking Methodist chapel, a small mission-house, a stone dwelling-house, with school-room attached, and a few of my _four-cornered_ friends, stuck in here and there, like the dots in a landscape of some country painter, to represent _crows_, be sufficient to merit for it that lofty t.i.tle, which Dr. Johnson, or some other lexicographer of equal renown, leads us to suppose signifies "a large collection of houses."

As regards the population of this _town_, (I like to give places their proper names,) I can give but little information. With the exception of the very kind-hearted superintendant of the Wesleyan schools, Mr. Charles Thwaites, and his equally amiable wife, their very pretty little boy, one or two domestics, and their scholars of every shade, the only inhabitants I saw were flocks of black-headed gulls, busily employed in following their piscatory avocations; a few half-starved looking sheep, vainly endeavouring to screen themselves from the fiery beams of the sun beneath the leafless branches of some blighted shrubs; and three or four long-necked, screaming birds, known in this part of the world as gorlings, and which derive their subsistence from the same source as their neighbours, the gulls.

After resting for a short time at the superintendant's dwelling, we proceeded to the school-room, a most commodious apartment, measuring 50ft. by 48ft., and capable of containing 500 persons.

The whole of this establishment, including the superintendant's house, which is detached, was erected by the Church Missionary Society; but after being used by them for a short time, it was turned over to the "Ladies' Society," to whom it still belongs, although the Wesleyan Mission holds its school there.

The school-room was but thinly attended upon the day of our visit, there not being more than 40 children-the usual number is about 100. Upon our entrance, they all rose up with "We'll make our obeisance together, as children ought to do," and then, quitting their raised seats, formed into double lines, their teacher at their head, and marched round the apartment to the tune of one of their infant rhymes. After performing many martial-like evolutions, they finally arranged themselves into a deep phalanx, and thus sang another of their little songs. Many of them are proficients in reading the scriptures, and are well versed in the historical parts of them. I hope and trust the education so liberally bestowed upon them, and above all, the religious instruction which they receive, may benefit their after-conduct, and lead them to do their duty in that sphere of life in which it has pleased their Creator to place them. I was much pleased to learn from Mr. Thwaites that, in almost every instance, the pupils who have left the schools under his charge have followed agricultural employments. To a country whose grand resource, and, indeed, entire dependence, is placed upon the cultivation of the sugar-cane, this conduct upon the part of its rising generation must be very important; and if the lower cla.s.ses continue to do so, and not, because they are free, despise the hoe, Antigua may stand forth as pre-eminently flourishing among the other West Indian colonies.

Mr. Thwaites is the paid superintendant of all the Wesleyan country schools. His salary is 150l. sterling per annum, a small recompence (although quite as liberal as the mission can afford) for the constant care his responsible situation calls for, and which he performs with untiring zeal. For about twenty-nine years has this good man been employed in providing for the mental wants of the black population, and in endeavouring to lead their young minds to the only fount of real knowledge. Unmindful of pa.s.sing events he has kept on his irksome task, (for irksome it must be to drive knowledge into the brains of some of these little negroes,) buoyed up by his feelings of deep philanthropy.

The first few years of his employment were pa.s.sed without receiving any reward, but the approval of his own conscience. As, however, his laudable exertions became known, he was engaged by the "Church Missionary Society," whose interests he faithfully served for near ten years. Since that period he has been in the employ of the Wesleyan mission. Although from being such a valuable auxiliary in rearing "the infant mind," and teaching "the young idea how to shoot," the bishop would gladly have retained his services, provided he gave up all connexion with the Methodists.

Mr. Thwaites has under his charge eleven day-schools, with about 800 scholars; and three Sunday-schools, with about 900 scholars.

Besides attending these several schools, Mr. Thwaites visits the neighbouring estates in the evenings, for the purpose of giving the labourers religious instruction, and guarding his elder pupils, or those who have left his schools, for the purpose of engaging in the avocations customary to their province in life, against those temptations to which their age and s.e.x are most subject.

It has been remarked in a late publication, (in commenting upon events in Antigua) that "after ransacking the whole freed population for a dozen suitable teachers of children, Mr.

Thwaites could not find even that number who could read well."

Now, this is a great error, _and altogether contradicted by Mr.

Thwaites himself_. The blacks certainly had not the means of improving themselves in former years, as the more fortunate generation have had since emanc.i.p.ation; but that the _whole_ cla.s.s were so totally ignorant as not to be able to _read_, is entirely incorrect. In proof of this, the superintendant pointed out to our notice several teachers who were well adapted for their employment; one in particular, who, Mr. T. remarked, conducted a school consisting of 120 scholars, which he instructed in reading, writing, and arithmetic, in which last branch of education many of his pupils had attained to "Practice"

and "Vulgar Fractions."

The salaries of these paid teachers (of which there are seventeen, the remainder giving their services without any recompence) are very small-not more than from three to four dollars (12s. and 16s. sterling) per month. They are paid by the "Ladies' Negro Education Society," and other benevolent societies in England, who also defray the other expenses of the schools, with the exception of the superintendent's salary, which is provided by the Wesleyan mission. The children, who receive instruction in writing, cyphering, and needlework, pay a small pittance, which is placed in the school fund.

There is a very neat and excellent little library attached to the Willoughby-Bay school, where the works of "Abbott," "Sherwood,"

"Pike," and various other pious authors, are open to the use of all, besides treatises upon geography, history, and experimental philosophy. The lighter works, such as Mrs. Sherwood's pretty, and often affecting, little narratives, are read, Mrs. Thwaites informed me, with avidity by the negroes, to which intelligence their well-thumbed covers gave a tacit a.s.sent. Around the schoolroom were hung various cards, with texts of scripture printed upon them in large characters, that "such who run may read"-a practice I greatly admire, for turn whichever way you will, some goodly sentence meets your eye.

In the neat little yard attached to Mr. Thwaites' dwelling, we met with some old friends of mine-a small wooden hive of "busy bees." A pane of gla.s.s inserted into the box gave us a view of the industrious little creatures building their waxen cells, in which to store their fragrant food; but the weather was against them-the long drought had withered the flowers, and thus curtailed their stock of honey. There are very few bee-hives to be met with in Antigua. This is rather strange, as all Creoles are noted for having a "sweet tooth," and consequently honey is reckoned a luxury. It cannot be from want of proper food, that the labours of these little insects are discountenanced, for Nature has been most prodigal of her stores to Antigua, and clothed her every hill and dale with melliferous blossoms.

I have heard of one gentleman, however, who was very anxious to establish an apiary upon his property in Antigua, and accordingly he obtained some choice hives, which in due time were safely deposited in his well-stocked garden. Soon after their arrival, however, business called him from the island, and he committed his valued bees to the care of his overseer, a true son of Hibernia, with an expressed hope, "that they would not wander from home." The day after his departure, the overseer, wishful of obliging his employer, stole from his mult.i.tudinous duties a sufficient time to watch the movements of his buzzing charge. The bright sun drew them from their hives, and jocund in their little hearts, away they bounded on the balmy zephyr. Innumerable flowers dazzled their eyes, and courted their attention. Here the gorgeous _hybiscus_ spread out its glowing bosom-there the blushing _frangipanne_ loaded the air with its rich fragrance. At one moment they inserted their trunks into the sweet-scented cup of the jasmine; at the next, and they brushed the pearly dew from the brilliant radii of the pa.s.sion-flower. Onward they flew, allured by flowerets of every colour, each one as

"Fair as the fabulous Asphodels;"

until at length, to the dismay of the overseer, they were lost to sight! He was no naturalist: he had never studied "Reaumur" upon the "habits of bees," and as the last straggler disappeared, he thought "Well! Mr. --- hoped they would not wander from home, but by St. Patrick they're all gone, and if they ever come back is a query." However, as nothing could be done, he was obliged to leave them to their fate; and in a rather disconsolate mood, "he turned and left the spot."

Hours wore away,

"The evening came, the sun descended,"

and the truant insects returned to their hive, to the great joy of the observant overseer. "Ah! ah!" said he, as they alighted, heavily laden with their luscious store, "a pretty trick you have played me to-day; but by my patron saint, I will take care of you to-morrow." He watched until they were all safe housed; and then with hurried steps, and self-congratulatory hitches of the shoulders, he sought the spot where masons had been lately working. Providing himself with some of the soft mortar, he again visited the apiary; and with ready will, and determined purpose, applied to the opening of each hive a sufficient quantum of the cement, so as to effectually forbid the egress of any bee. It is almost needless to mention, that upon the return of the gentleman, whose absence had been protracted, he found his favourite insects defunct; nor need I animadvert upon the vexation his overseer's management of an apiary caused him.

To resume my subject-which the bees, and their untimely fate, drove from my head: after inspecting the school, and expressing our gratification, we proceeded to visit the Methodist chapel, a stone's throw from the school-room. It is a plain wooden building, measuring 45 feet by 60 feet, and capable of containing 900 sittings. The burying-ground is attached, and serves as the place of interment for the whole town, and some part of the adjoining country. Adjacent to the chapel is the mission-house, a neat little domicile for such an extraordinary-looking place as Bridgetown.

There is nothing interesting about Willoughby Bay. No glittering white sand, or clear blue water with its dazzling surf to be seen. A line of blighted, sickly-looking bushes shuts out the sight of the beach; and the part of the bay which greets our eyes looks gloomy and discoloured, as if from lurking reefs and shoals. Upon the opposite side of the bay, looking across the water, lies the Memoras, a long ridge of rocks, over which the sea rushes with tremendous force, and with a deafening noise, which may be heard at a considerable distance. Upon a still day, the angry moan of the waves can be clearly distinguished at Bridgetown. Willoughby Bay derives its name from Francis Lord Willoughby, who in 1663 was made Lord Proprietor of the whole island, by a grant from Charles II.[98]

St. Philip's, the parish church, is situated upon an ascent, at some distance from Bridgetown, and commands one of the finest views to be met with in any part of the country. The eye ranges with delight over sloping hills and open glades; wood-crowned mountains, and silent valleys. Sugar plantations, in all the beauty of high cultivation, spread out their fields of rich and wavy green beneath our feet, interspersed with groups of simple negro huts, almost hid in their leafy enclosures; while on all sides, the ocean stretched out its interminable blue waters. It was a lovely day when we visited the spot,-

"The whispering winds were half asleep, The clouds were gone to play, And on the woods, and on the deep, The smiles of heaven lay.