--A DESCRIPTION OF THE
SLAVES ON THE ESTATE--AN EXPEDITION PROPOSED--ARRIVAL OF MAJOR MALCOLM
AND LIEUTENANT BELT--A MORNING RIDE--A PICNIC--VISIT TO A REMARKABLE
CAVERN--CURIOUS OBJECTS WITHIN--THE GUIDE'S TERROR AT SEEING SHADOWS IN
THE DISTANCE--ARCHIE'S NARROW ESCAPE--WARNINGS--RETURN HOMEWARDS--MEET
MARTIN BRINGING ALARMING INTELLIGENCE.

Among the numberless lovely islands which dot the ocean, few surpass
Jamaica in beauty and magnificence of scenery, or are adorned with a
richer vegetation. Grand as are the views the island presents to the
voyager who approaches it on the southern shore, they are fully equalled
by those of its northern coast. At a short distance from the beach the
island rises into hills of gentle ascent, generally separated from each
other by wide valleys, amid which numerous streams find their way to the
ocean. The hills, mostly rounded, are covered with groves of beautiful
trees, many of them loaded with rich fruits and flowers scented with the
most delicious odours. Here is seen the pimento, remarkable for its
beauty and fragrance, the dark green of its foliage finely contrasting
with the bright tints of the grass beneath; while in every direction are
fruit trees of various hues, the orange, pineapple, or tamarind, many
bearing at the same time blossoms, unripe fruit, and others fit for
plucking. In the lower grounds are fertile and level savannahs, plains
waving with cane-fields, displaying a luxuriance of vegetation, the
verdure of spring blended with the mellow exuberance of autumn. In the
distance, running down the centre of the island, rise the Blue
Mountains, their tops dimly seen through the fleecy clouds, the greater
portion of the range being covered with impenetrable forests, their
sides often broken into inaccessible cliffs and abrupt precipices.
These forests and cliffs have afforded for several centuries an asylum
and fortress to fugitive blacks, who have there set pursuit at defiance,
the game and wild fruits the woods supply enabling them to find
subsistence without the necessity of descending into the lower regions
to obtain food. Rocks and mountains, woodlands and plains, everywhere
beautifully blending, form conspicuous features in the landscape of
Jamaica. Dotted over the country are the pens, or farms, of the
planters--their residences extensive, though not often more than one
story in height, with gardens surrounding them, the works,
boiling-houses, and other buil