cent, rising like a blue and jagged cloud out of the sea; and
between that island and the shores of Grenada, a birdseye view could
be obtained of the little islands and rocks, some cultivated and some
barren, known as the Grenadines. Among the plantations which appeared
afar off, nearest the sea coast, my guide pointed out the Pearl estates,
which, he said, with a degree of pride that caused me some astonishment,
produced more sugar than any two estates in that part of the island.

In the course of the route, I asked a thousand questions of my guide,
who was an intelligent slave belonging to the Upper Pearl estate, and
seemed delighted with an opportunity to display his knowledge. He
gave me much information, which I subsequently found to be correct,
in relation to the mode of managing estates in the West Indies, and
conducting the economy of those establishments, each of which, although
of course subjected to the general laws of the colony, was in those days
a community of itself, under the government of an absolute despotism,
the best government in the world provided "the head man" possesses the
attributes of goodness, wisdom, and firmness, and is exempt from the
imperfections which seem inseparably attached to human nature. But when
a despot can boast of none of those attributes, woe to the people who
are obliged to submit to his oppressions and obey his behests!

The island of Grenada, as is indeed the case with most of the Windward
Islands, is well watered by rivers running from the mountains. Some of
the streams are of considerable size, and are never dry in seasons of
the greatest drought. The water, conducted by canals from these rivers,
constituted the chief motive power for the machinery on the sugar
estates, although in a few cases windmills were used for that purpose.
The estates comprised each an area of some two to five hundred acres, a
considerable portion of which was planted with the cane. The remainder
was improved as sites for the various buildings, gardens for the slaves,
fields of corn and "guinea grass," and other purposes. The "sugar works"
were placed as near the centre of the estate as convenience would
admit. The manager's house, which was a large, inconvenient, one-story
building, with numerous out-houses, was generally situated on an
elevated spot of land in the vicinity. Another house of smaller size was
occupied by the overseers.

At no great distance from the "sugar works," and sometimes