he course of the morning, we ran into
the island, and, unhappy as I was, I never can forget the sensation of
admiration which I felt on closing with Needham Point to enter Carlisle
Bay. The beach of such a pure dazzling white, backed by the tall, green
cocoa-nut trees, waving their spreading heads to the fresh breeze, the
dark blue of the sky, and the deeper blue of the transparent sea,
occasionally varied into green as we passed by the coral rocks which
threw their branches out from the bottom--the town opening to our view
by degrees, houses after houses, so neat, with their green jalousies,
dotting the landscape, the fort with the colours flying, troops of
officers riding down, a busy population of all colours, relieved by the
whiteness of their dress. Altogether the scene realised my first ideas
of fairy land, for I thought I had never witnessed anything so
beautiful. "And can this be such a dreadful place as it is described?"
thought I. The sails were clewed up, the anchor was dropped to the
bottom, and a salute from the ship was answered by the forts, adding to
the effect of the scene. The sails were furled, the boats lowered down,
the boatswain squared the yards from the jolly-boat ahead. Mr Falcon
dressed, and his boat being manned, went on shore with the despatches.
Then, as soon as the work was over, a new scene of delight presented
itself to the sight of midshipmen who had been so long upon his
Majesty's allowance. These were the boats, which crowded round the
ship, loaded with baskets of bananas, oranges, shaddocks, soursops, and
every other kind of tropical fruit, fried flying fish, eggs, fowls,
milk, and everything which could tempt a poor boy after a long sea
voyage. The watch being called, down we all hastened into the boats,
and returned loaded with treasures, which we soon contrived to make
disappear. After stowing away as much fruit as would have sufficed for
a dessert to a dinner given to twenty people in England, I returned on
deck.

There was no other man-of-war in the bay; but my attention was directed
to a beautiful little vessel, a schooner, whose fairy form contrasted
strongly with a West India trader which lay close to her. All of a
sudden, as I was looking at her beautiful outline, a yell rose from her
which quite startled me, and immediately afterwards her deck was covered
with nearly two hundred naked figures with woolly heads, chattering and
grinning at each other. She was a Span