suddenly as it had commenced, and leaving the air clear,
cool, and pure.

We had a most excellent dinner, washed down by a glass or two of good
wine; some capital stories illustrative of life on the island were told;
and about midnight we all turned in, I, for one, being almost knocked up
by my tramp about Kingston, after the confinement of the ship.

The next morning we took a walk over the estate before breakfast,
visiting the negroes' quarters, the sugar-mill, and other buildings, and
gaining thereby an appetite which proved most destructive to our host's
pickled mackerel, cold boiled tongue, eggs, etcetera. We made a clean
sweep of the comestibles, washed all down with a cup or two of tea, and
then started for Kingston, finally arriving on board the "Astarte" about
noon.

We remained at Port Royal two days longer, during which we gave the
craft a brush of paint inside and out, and otherwise titivated her up
after her run out from England, when we received orders to sail upon a
three-months' cruise among the Windward Islands. We accordingly
weighed, and stood out to sea with the first of the land breeze; and,
having cleared the shoals, hauled up on the port tack, keeping close
under the land to take all possible advantage of the land breeze in
making our easting. By midnight we were off Morant Point, from which we
took our departure; and in another hour were tearing along under
topgallant-sails, upon a taut bowline, and looking well up for the
Island of Grenada, under the influence of a strong trade-wind.

The skipper was most anxious to thoroughly test the sailing powers of
the "Astarte," this being the first time that an opportunity had
occurred for so doing; and we accordingly carried on all next day,
taxing the toughness of our spars to their utmost limit, and so
satisfactory was the result that all hands, fore and aft, felt sanguine
that we should meet with very few craft able to beat us either in the
matter of speed or weatherliness. The "Astarte" also proved to be a
very pretty sea-boat, though a trifle wet when being driven hard--but
then, what craft is not?

As we drew to the southward the trade-wind hauled round a trifle farther
from the eastward, its prevailing direction being about E.N.E. This
broke us off a couple of points, and set us so much the more to leeward,
but beyond that we had nothing to complain of, for the weather continued
fine, and the breeze strong and steady.

On the evening o