perhaps among them may have names to live while they are in reality dead; and among others the form of godliness may exceed its power. But of this fact the author feels himself assured, that the total quantum of piety to be found among them, is not exceeded by that of any similar missions on the face of the habitable globe. Nor does he speak this from mere random conjecture. He has been on the American continent no less than nine times, and, in making personal visits to the various societies there, has travelled probably more than 20,000 miles: this circumstance has enabled him to speak from personal knowledge and observation. The plain but pointed language which the preachers have used, addressed warmly to the hearts and consciences of sinners, is that mode of preaching which God has thus been pleased so conspicuously to acknowledge. And it is to this, as an instrument in the hand of God, that the superior successes of these missions are to be ascribed, above most, if not all that have preceded them, at least in modern ages.

It is the same mode of preaching in a certain degree which has rendered the missions of the Baptists so instrumental in the conversion of souls, particularly of the Blacks on the continent of America. In this department their exertions have been great, and their success abundant; but the limits of our work forbid us to detail the history of their pious and benevolent proceedings. The exertions which have been made to carry the gospel to the inhabitants of the Pacific Ocean, have been attended with more expenses than advantages. In these regions the most sanguine hopes have been almost wholly blasted; the hereditary vices and prejudices of savage life have triumphed over those efforts which have been made to reclaim them, and, with but few exceptions, the missionaries who have hazarded their lives and abandoned civil society from the most laudable motives, may say, "Who hath believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" The efforts, however, which this honourable and worthy society have made in Africa, bear a more promising appearance; but their whole work in that quarter of the globe is at present in such an infant state, that we cannot enlarge upon it, but must only accompany it with our sincere wishes and prayers for its success.

The labours of the late Rev. George Whitefield, and of those who have either directly or indirectly succeeded him in his pious intentions, have a greater claim upon this short memorial than can possibly be indulged. The continent of America will however record their services, and revere his name, when future generations shall succeed the present race of inhabitants; and multitudes of the swarthy sons of Africa will bless God through eternity that ever he was born.

To form any accurate estimate of the various individuals who compose the several congregations of the Moravians, Methodists, Baptists, and followers of Mr. Whitefield and others, who still continue to preach the gospel, is morally impossible : Their various societies swell to numbers of amazing magnitude. If we exclude the whites from the calculation, and only confine it to coloured people and blacks, 200,000 will not reach the number who regularly attend to hear the words of eternal life —we probably shall be within bounds, if we fix the number at 300,000. And if to these we add, the multitudes who have been benefited by the various endeavours of the Christian nations of Europe;-by the different institutions to which they have given their sanction; the happy effects which have resulted from the undeviating exertions of the Quakers to humanize the world, and meliorate the condition of the most unfortunate of the human race; the myriads who have departed this life in the full triumph of faith;-and the means which are established through the Divine blessing for the conversion of those who are yet in a state of darkness, the number swells as much beyond the reach of calculation, as the benefits resulting from the various institutions bid defiance to estimation. But it is now high time to return from this partial digression, to pursue the more immediate object of the work. We therefore conclude this chapter with a sentiment which these scenes are calculated to inspire-"It is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes."

CHAP. V.

HISTORY OF JAMAICA.

Situation and appearance of the island-its discovery by Columbus ; his sufferings when shipwrecked on it-baseness of the king of Spain, decision of the council of Seville in favour of Diego Columbus-Esquivel takes possession of the island for Diego-conduct and character of Esquivel-barbarities of the Spaniards towards the natives-state of Jamaica and its inhabitants when invaded by Sir Anthony Shirley, and by Colonel Jackson-occasions which led to these invasions-final conquest of the island by Penn and Venables under Cromwell-the conduct of Spain previous to that event, a flagrant violation of the treaty of 1630 -a remarkable epitaph in Jamaica, with reflections drawn from it.

THE island of Jamaica, which lies to the windward of the other English islands, and which geographers have classed as one of the greater Leeward Islands, is situated in the Atlantic Ocean, at the distance of about 4000 miles, S. W. from England. To the east it has the island of Hispaniola or St. Domingo, at the distance of about 30 leagues; the island of Cuba at about the same distance to the north; the gulph of Honduras to the west; and Carthagena, on the continent of America, to the south, distant 145 leagues. The centre of this island is nearly in 18° 12′ of north latitude, and in 77° 45' longitude west from London. Its shape appears to be that of an irregular oval, intersected by several ridges of high craggy mountains, and stupendous rocks, heaped apparently one upon another. The greatest diameter of the island is about 170 miles, and the least not more than 70. Notwithstanding the barrenness of most of the rocky mountains, they present a beautiful appearance on approaching the island, highly gratifying to the eye of the voyager. They are clothed with a prodigious quantity of trees, chiefly the pimento, which form umbrageous groves; and by striking their roots through the clefts of the rocks, they attract the moisture that is deposited in them by frequent storms of rain and thick fogs. Thus a perpetual verdure is kept up on the surface of the hills and in the valleys beneath by a great number of natural cascades, which creates a resemblance of a warm summer throughout the whole

year, and affords one of the most enchanting prospects imagination can well conceive.

In the general description of the West India Islands, with which we commenced this work, the picture of Jamaica may be seen with some degree of accuracy; and to that chapter the reader is requested to turn his thoughts. But in the different views which an accurate survey of this island affords us, the prospect varies as we proceed. The awful features which the landscape presents to the spectator, arrayed in all the grandeur and magnificence of nature, are finely contrasted with those varieties which the unrivalled beauties of nature display in all their charms.

In contemplating this diversified picture, the mind is impressed with the appearances of the scenes which encircle it; it is alternately affected by solemnity and joy; and feels, as the occasion suggests, an involuntary transition from terror to delight. The elevated mountain, the projecting cliff, and the cultivated savanna, succeed each other in pleasing irregularities. A thousand beauties associate their charms, till the whole becomes extensively magnificent, and awfully sublime.

We have already noticed, that Columbus discovered this large island in the course of his second voyage from Spain in the year 1494; but made no settlement on it at that time. It was only during his fourth and last voyage, that he was driven by a violent storm on the 24th of June 1503 towards its shores when, after losing two of the ships of his little squadron, he was obliged to bear away with his own and another to this island, to shelter himself from shipwreck. With the greatest difficulty they reached a small harbour on the north side, where he was forced to run his two remaining vessels aground, to prevent their foundering; and was reduced to the necessity of imploring the compassion of the natives for himself and his companions; who without hesitation afforded them every assistance that they could have expected to receive from the most civilized and hospitable people. The cove, in remembrance of this remarkable event, retains to this day the appellation of Don Christopher's Cove.

The friendly dispositions which the natives manifested towards Columbus on this distressing occasion, confer upon them the highest honours. The condition in which Columbus and his ship's company at that time were, placed them completely in the power of the natives. They might have exterminated them at their leisure, as neither resistance nor escape was in their power. But instead of taking an advantage of their distress, they imitated the conduct of Guacanahari, a cacique of Hispaniola; they condoled with them in their misfortunes, and

offered them with the greatest readiness, all the assistance that lay in their power. They supplied them with necessaries from principles of compassion, and administered to their wants without regret or any expectation of reward. The impulses of humanity or of divine grace, or of both united, led them to sympathize with strangers in distress, and urged them to such deeds as might tend to mitigate their woes.

But this assistance was limited in its duration. The natives, who cultivated no more land than was absolutely necessary for their own subsistence, in the space of a few months became restless, and weary of supporting strangers at the apparent hazard of starving themselves; and by slow and at first almost imperceptible degrees, withdrew from them, and refused to supply them with the necessaries of life. This conduct exasperated the Spaniards, who were grown desperate from the hardships they had suffered; and had revolted from Columbus, when they found that the Spanish governor of Hispaniola had not only refused to send him any succour, but, in addition to this inhumanity, had insulted him by contemptuous replies to his repeated applications for relief. They even committed several acts of violence against the Indians without his knowledge, and proceeded so far as to take up arms against one of their chiefs. The Indians, in return, threatened destruction to the unfortunate Columbus, who no longer had it in his power to controul the ferocity of the enraged Spaniards.

The horrible carnage which has been noticed in the second chapter, had already begun to manifest itself in Hispaniola. The conduct of these infamous invaders could not fail to create suspicions in the bosoms of those who now had Columbus in their own power. The natives of the Leeward Islands we may justly consider as branches of one common family; and it is natural to conceive on such an occasion, that they considered the conduct of their invaders towards any part as one common attack. The enormities of the Spaniards in Hispaniola, without all doubt had reached their ears; they must therefore have viewed Columbus with a mixture of jealousy and compassion. As a Spaniard and an invader, they must have looked upon him with an indignant eye. But his distress, as an unfortunate man, suspended that resentment, which it could not totally destroy; and conspired, in conjunction with his address, operating upon their compassionate feelings, to delay those calamities which had hitherto been averted, but which still frowned upon him with impending hazard.

To extricate himself from this critical situation, he had recourse to a stratagem, suggested to him by his knowledge of astronomy; and on a certain day when he knew that there