emaciated to appearance; their contrarious characteristic is, that they are open-hearted, generous, kind and hofpitable to excess; proud, vain, high-fpirited and flighty to an extreme; lazy, dull, and indolent, in all industrious matters; and volatile as air where drinking, whoring, gaming, or any kind of diffipation invites; so that their hearts and fortunes feldom agree; for they are extremely extravagant, and know not the value of money or effects till they want them. They are amazing fond of costly, tinfel frippery; abroad they appear ridiculously gay, and at home slovenly and dirty; and when deprived of the advantage of an European education, are assum. ing and prefuming, negroefied, aukward, ignorant guegaws; their darling amusements are confined to negroe huts and mulatto balls; though a Creole was languishing on his death bed, I believe the found of the gumbay or violin would induce him to get up and dance till he killed himself,

They are very fond of all kinds of sweetmeats and sweet liquors: cool drink or * mauby is a delicious nectar to them in the morning:-I often laughed heartily at hearing a Creole master or miss fay, "Do, momma, get me some mauby, mine head no 'tand good." It is quite usual for a Creole gentleman after dinner to send to the field for one of his favourite wenches, who is instantly hurried home and conveyed to his cham

* A fermented liquor, made of fugar, water, and ginger, and lignumvitæ.

ber, (or if he has a wife, to some other apartment) piping hot and drowned with perspiration, in which condition he enjoys the favoury object; after which he takes a nap for an hour or so, and she returns to labour till night: thus he takes one almost daily in rotation, and roves with as much ease and dignity as a plenipotentiary through raptures of delight, and enjoys happiness as he likes it.

When pepper-pot and wine his blood alarms,
He takes a quashiba unto his arms:
The melting object pleas'd, then takes her hoe,
And works and fings 'till night-"Tajo, tajo."

Creole men commonly keep black or mungrel women till a day or two before they enter into the serious bond of marriage; and though there may be a family of different coloured children of their intended spouses ready made before them, yet it does not hurt their delicacy; in one family I have seen white, mestee, quadroon and mulatto children, all brothers and sisters, playing toge. ther.

I must not be too severe, for I have known a few prudent sensible Creole men, who lived within bounds, and paid their debts honestly; and further I will fay, that they are as capable of improvements in all the polite arts and sciences as other men; if talents of this kind could make volatile flighty men sedate and solid, no doubt but they would all act and behave like other men; hence,

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} hence I must conclude that their uncommon levity is certainly owing to the climate, which has a wonderful influence on the brains and hearts of even Europeans. Creoles are witty at times, and numbers can speak and write sensibly though they act inconsistant and foolishly, which confirms what Dryden says:

"Great wits to madness sure are near ally'd,
" And thin partitions do their bounds divide."

Creole ladies who have been properly educated and polished in England from their infancy in polite schools, under the direction of parental guardians, are, no doubt, as prudent, chaste, and fine women as any in the world, save only what difference of climate produces; for when they return to their native regions, they cannot keep long, (if I may use the expression): the climate, I am confident, would affect European ladies in the same manner; so that if they have opportunities with men, it is difficult, very difficult indeed, for them not to tranfgrefs; even married ladies, the transgressions of whom are in a great measure owing to the neglect of their dissipated husbands, who waste their vigour and substance upon black or mungrel wenches, which certainly is very provoking, and deprives poor wives of their dues;-yet I have known some ladies who had no cause at all to complain of their husband's infidelity, which, I must say, is a great rarity, who behaved intolerable: one, in particular, was married

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married to a worthy gentleman who was doatingly fond of her, by whom he had four or five pratling pledges of connubial bliss; he had a plentiful fortune, and was distinguished for hofpitality and generosity; nor did he ever suspect her virtue, till he accidentally found her in a situation which I shall not mention, with a captain of a man of war, who frequently visited him as a particular friend; upon examining her trunks, all the letters which she had received from her different gallants were found; for it appeared the had not only criminal connections with the marine hero, but with merchants, planters, and clerks: the letters were produced in court, with her own private journal of all her intrigues and amours, and criticisms on the different gentlemen : the captain was profecuted, and considerable damages were obtained, which were appropriated to charitable uses.

The good natured dupe, her husband, was diftracted for fome time, but recovered; he took the harmless little ones into his own protection, and disbanded their vile mother.

Young ladies who have been confined to the narrow limits of Jamaica from their infancy, are foft, innocent, ambitious, flirting play-things; and in a more particular manner, those who are retired in the country; when they dress, they decorate themselves elegantly: abroad they appear as neat as if they came out of band-boxes, lovely and engaging, at home, diametrically the reverse, verse. If you furprize them, as I have often done, you will be convinced of the truth of this assertion, that Ovid, with all his metamorphofes, could not match fuch transformations: instead of the well-shaped, mild, angelic looking creature you beheld abroad, you will find, perhaps, a clumsy, greasy tomboy, or a paper-faced skeleton, romping, or stretching and lolling, from fofa to sofa, in a dirty confused hall, or piazza, with a parcel of black wenches, learning and finging obscene and filthy fongs, and dancing to the

tunes.

Creole miffes, when scarcely ten,
Cock their eyes and long for men.

But still as they arrive to riper age, they delight more and more in the tender passions: when they take a liking to men, though entire strangers to them, they seldom fail to shake off all manner of modesty and shame to gratify their extravagant defires:-though guarded and cooped up in their chambers by their parents, or friends, they will find ways and means to get to men, -their eyes, their looks, and fondling actions, all betray wantonness and love: their little hearts are a fort of tinder, that catch fire from every spark who flatters their vanity, and whispers them foft nonsense:-they are pliable as wax, and melt like butter; and though naturally delicate in their texture,

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