rive, the racecourse,
and, in fact, the principal resort for the inhabitants. It is skirted by
houses and gardens and is a valuable acquisition to the town. The
Chaussee and other streets are well furnished with useful shops of which
those of the Tinman, the Druggist, and the Conservateur et Patissier, are
the most numerous.

The houses, generally of wood, are irregularly built, and far from being
elegant in their appearance; those however that have been lately
constructed by our countrymen have already given the place an appearance
of solidity that it could not boast of before, and several substantial
stone dwellings and stones have lately been erected. The roads for seven
or eight miles out of the town, leading to Pamplemousses, to Plains
Wilhelms and to Moca districts, are very good and are kept in repair
partly by Malabar convicts from India; but travelling beyond that
distance is performed in palanquins which four bearers will carry, at a
steady pace, at the rate of six miles per hour.

At the time of our visit there were few fruits ripe; but when we were
about to sail the mango of delicious flavour began to be common; besides
which there were coconuts, guavas, papaws, grapes, the letchy (or
let-chis, a Chinese fruit) and some indifferent pineapples. The ship's
company were supplied daily with fresh beef and vegetables. The latter
were procured in abundance at the bazaar and were exceedingly fine,
particularly carrots and cabbages of an unusually large size and fine
flavour. Bullocks are imported into the island from Madagascar, in which
trade there are two vessels constantly engaged during the fine season.

Horses are very scarce; they are imported from the Cape of Good Hope and
fetch a high price: a cargo of a hundred and seventy-seven mules arrived
from Buenos Ayres while we were at Port Louis, which, on being sold by
auction, averaged each one hundred and eighty dollars. To encourage the
importation of these useful animals a premium of five dollars is offered
by the government for every mule that is brought alive to the island.

The circulating medium was principally of paper but bore a very great
depreciation; the premium upon bills of exchange upon Europe, at the time
of our departure, was as much as 66 to 76 per cent, and upon silver coin
there was a depreciation of 45 per cent.

On the voyage to this place three charts of the north-west coast were
reduced and copied by Mr. Roe and were forwarded to the