The sight of my cousin's lovely face, and the heavenly music of her tongue, made me so forgiving, that I could be angry with no one.—At this moment a nice-looking elderly man slid into the room as noiselessly as a cat.

"How are you, Lieutenant? Why, you are positively gay this morning! Preserve me!-why have you taken off the dressing from your head?"

"Preserve me-you may say that, Doctor-why, you seem to have preserved me, and pickled me after a very remarkable fashion, certainly! Why, man, do you intend to make a mummy of me, with all your swathings? Now, what is that crackling on my chest? More plantain-leaves, as I live!

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Only another blister, Sir."

Only another blister-and my feet-Zounds! what have you been doing with my feet? The soles are as tender as if I had been bastinadoed.

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Only cataplasms, Sir; mustard and bird-pepper poultices—nothing more.

“Mustard and bird-pepper poultices!—and pray, what is that long fiddle-case supported on two chairs in the piazza!"

"What case?" said the good doctor, and his eye followed mine. "Oh, my gun-case. I am a great sportsman, you must know—but draw down that blind, Mr Bang, if you please, the breeze is too strong.

"Gun-case! I would rather have taken it for your game-box, Doctor. However, thanks be to Heaven, you have not bagged me this bout."

At this moment, I heard a violent scratching and jumping on the roof of the house, and presently a loud croak, and a strong rushing noise, as of a large bird taking flight-" What is that, Doctor?"

"The devil," said he, laughing, "at least your evil genius, Lieutenant-it is the carrion-crows, the large John-Crows, as they are called, flying away. They have been holding a council of war upon you since early dawn, expecting (I may tell you, now you are so well) that it might likely soon turn into a coroner's inquest.” 'John-Crow!-Coroner's inquest!-Cool shavers those West India chaps, after all!" muttered I; and again I lay back, and offered up my heart-warm thanks to the Almighty, for his great mercy to me a sinner.

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My aunt and cousin had been on a visit in the neighbourhood, and over-night Mr Fyall had kindly sent for them to receive my last sigh, for to all appearance I was fast going. Oh, the gratitude

of my heart, the tears of joy I wept in my weak blessedness, and the overflowing of heart that I experienced towards that almighty and ever-merciful Being who had spared me, and brought me out of my great sickness, to look round on dear friends, and on the idol of my heart, once more, after all my grievous sufferings! I took Mary's hand-I could not raise it for lack of strength, or I would have kissed it; but, as she leant over me, Fyall came behind her and gently pressed her sweet lips to mine, while the dear girl blushed as red as Aaron Bang's face. By this my aunt herself had come into the room, and added her warm congratulations, and last, although not least, Timothy Tailtackle made his appearance in the piazza at the window, with a clean, joyful, well-shaven countenance. He grinned, turned his quid, pulled up his trowsers, smoothed down his hair with his hand, and gave a sort of half-tipsy shamble, meant for a bow, as he entered the bed-room.

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You have forereached on Davy this time, Sir. Heaven be praised for it! He was close aboard of you, howsomdever, Sir, once or twice. Then he bowed round the room again, with a sort of swing or caper, whichever you choose to call it, as if he had been the party obliged.-" Kind folk, these, Sir, "he continued, in what was meant for sotto voce, and for my ear alone, but it was more like the growling of a mastiff puppy than any thing else. "Kind folk, Sir-bad as their mountebanking looked the first night, Sir-why, Lord bless your honour, may they make a marine of me, if they han't set a Bungo to wait on us, Bill and I, that isand we has grog more than does us good-and grub, my eye!— only think, Sir-Bill and Timothy Tailtackle waited on by a black Bungo!" and he doubled himself up, chuckling and hugging himself, with infinite glee.

"All now went merry as a marriage bell." I was carefully conveyed to Kingston, where I rallied under my aunt's hospitable roof, as rapidly almost as I had sickened, and within a fortnight, all by-past strangeness explained to my superiors, I at length occupied my berth in the Firebrand's gun-room, as third lieutenant of the ship.

CHAPTER XI.

MORE SCENES IN JAMAICA.

"There be land-rats and water-rats-water-thieves and land-thieves-I mean pirates."

Merchant of Venice.

THE malady, from whose fangs I had just escaped, was at this time making fearful ravages amongst the troops and white inhabitants of Jamaica generally; nor was the squadron exempted from the afflicting visitation, although it suffered in a smaller degree.

I had occasion at this time to visit Uppark camp, a military post about a mile and a half from Kingston, where two regiments of infantry, and a detachment of artillery, were stationed.

In the forenoon, I walked out in company with an officer, a relation of my own, whom I had gone to visit; enjoying the fresh sea-breeze that whistled past us in half a gale of wind, although the sun was vertical, and shining into the bottom of a pint-pot, as the sailors have it.

The barracks were built on what appeared to me a very dry situation, (although I have since heard it alleged that there was a swamp to windward of it, over which the sea-breeze blew, but this I did not see,) considerably elevated above the hot sandy plain on which Kingston stands, and sloping gently towards the sea. They were splendid, large, airy two story buildings, well raised off the ground on brick pillars, so that there was a perfectly free ventilation of air between the surface of the earth and the floor of the first story, as well as through the whole of the upper rooms. Α large balcony, or piazza, ran along the whole of the south front, both above and below, which shaded the brick shell of the house from the sun, and afforded a cool and convenient lounge for the men. The outhouses of all kinds were well thrown back into the rear, so that in front there was nothing to intercept the sea-breeze. The officers' quarters stood in advance of the men's barracks, and were, as might be expected, still more comfortable; and in front of

all were the field-officer's houses, the whole of substantial brick and mortar. This superb establishment stood in an extensive lawn, not surpassed in beauty by any nobleman's park that I had ever seen. It was immediately after the rains when I visited it; the grass was luxuriant and newly cut, and the trees, which grew in detached clumps, were most magnificent. We clambered up into one of them, a large umbrageous wild cotton-tree, which cast a shadow on the ground-the sun being, as already mentioned, right overhead— of thirty paces in diameter; but still it was but a dwarfish plant of its kind, for I have measured others whose gigantic shadows, at the same hour, were upwards of one hundred and fifty feet in diameter, and their trunks, one in particular that overhangs the Spanish Town road, twenty feet through of solid timber; that is, not including the enormous spurs that shoot out like buttresses, and end in strong twisted roots, that strike deep into the earth, and form stays, as it were, to the tree in all directions.

Our object, however-publish it not in Askalon-was, not so much to admire the charms of nature, as to enjoy the luxury of a real Havannah cigar, in solitary comfort; and a glorious perch we had selected. The shade was grateful beyond measure. The fresh breeze was rushing, almost roaring, through the leaves and groaning branches, and every thing around was green, and fragrant, and cool, and delicious; by comparison that is, for the thermometer would, I dare say, have still vouched for eighty degrees. The branches overhead were alive with a variety of beautiful lizards, and birds of the gayest plumage; amongst others, a score of small chattering green paroquets were hopping close to us, and playing at bopeep from the lower surfaces of the leaves of the wild pine, (a sort of Brobdignag parasite, that grows, like the mistletoe, in the clefts of the larger trees,) to which they clung, as green and shining as the leaves themselves, and ever and anon popping their little heads and shoulders over to peer at us; while the red-breasted woodpecker kept drumming on every hollow part of the bark, for all the world, like old Kelson, the carpenter of the Torch, tapping along the top sides for the dry rot. All around us the men were lounging about in the shade, and sprawling on the grass in their foraging caps and light jackets, with an officer here and there lying reading, or sauntering about, bearding Phoebus himself, to watch for a shot at a swallow, as it skimmed past; while goats and horses, sheep and cattle, were browsing the fresh grass, or sheltering themselves from the heat beneath the trees. All nature seemed alive and happy-a little drowsy from the heat or so, but that did

not much signify-when two carts, each drawn by a mule, and driven by a negro, approached the tree whereon we were perched. A solitary sergeant accompanied them, and they appeared, when a bowshot distant, to be loaded with white deal boxes.

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I paid little attention to them until they drove under the tree. "I say, Snowdrop," said the non-commissioned officer, "where be them black rascals, them pioneers-where is the fateague party, my Lily-white, who ought to have the trench dug by this time?"

"Dere now," grumbled the negro, "dere now-easy ting to deal wid white gentleman, but debil cannot satisfy dem worsted sash." Then aloud-" Me no know, Sir-me can't tell-no for me business to dig hole-I only carry what you fill him up wid;" and the vampire, looking over his shoulder, cast his eye towards his load, and grinned until his white teeth glanced from ear to ear.

"Now," said the Irish sergeant, "I could brain you, but it is not worth while!"-I question if he could, however, knowing as I did the thickness of their skulls.-"Ah, here they come!" -and a dozen half-drunken, more than half-naked, bloated, villainous-looking blackamoors, with shovels and pick-axes on their shoulders, came along the road, laughing and singing most lustily. They passed beneath where we sat, and, when about a stonecast beyond, they all jumped into a trench or pit, which I had not noticed before, about twenty feet long, by eight wide. It was already nearly six feet deep, but it seemed they had instructions to sink it further, for they first plied their pick-axes, and then began to shovel out the earth. When they had completed their labour, the sergeant, who had been superintending their operations, returned to where the carts were still standing beneath the tree. One of them had six coffins in it, with the name of the tenant of each, and number of his company, marked in red chalk on the smallest end!

"I say, Snowdrop," said the sergeant, "how do you come to have only five bodies, when Cucumbershin, there has six ?"

"To be sure I hab no more as five, and weight enough too. You no see corporal Bumblechops dere? You knows how big he vas.' Well, but where is sergeant Heavystern? why did you not fetch him away with the others?"

The negro answered doggedly," Massa Sergeant, you should remember dem no die of consumption-cough you call him—nor fever and ague, nor any ting dat waste dem-for tree day gone― no more--all were mount guard-tout and fat; so as for sergeant Heavystern, him left in de dead-house at de hospital.”