goes a wenching with as much ease and tranquility as if he was going to a fermon. The following fong is applicable for a cowskin hero.

AIR. Irish Hautboy.

Tho' he may growl and grumble,

The haughly imperious man;

I'll be content and humble,
And I'll please him if I can.

Bleft with the charge of an estate,
And of a gang of negroes great;
I am a planter, quite compleat,
A famous cowskin hero!

From fultry toil and labour,
I'm retir'd every day;
Or I vifit my next neighbour,
And with his girl toy and play.
Sometimes I just take a ride,
Over the plantation wide;
Or at home I ftrut and ftride,
A famous cowfkin hero!

My book-keepers I humble,
Humble as the canine race;
When they attempt to grumble,
I furely kick them out of place.

Thus live in eafe, with health and gain,
Whilft they trudge thro' mud and rain;
Expos'd to toil, disease and pain,

Whilft I'm a cowskin hero!

Alluding to the attorney.

My

My driver I've made crazy,

The flaves under due command;
He ftill, when they are lazy,
Pays them with an iron hand.
Whether they are fick or well,
Or had a long hungry spell;
Every crack shall fairly tell,
Whilft I'm a cowfkin hero!

I plant fields of Indian corn,
Ay, and plains of Guinea grafs;
Pamper horfes night and morn,
And indulge my favourite lass.
When fol is blazing in the sphere,
I fit coolly with my fair;

Or kifs and play, fo banish care,
A famous cowskin hero.

Young men, before they leave their native and peaceful habitations, form ftrange ideas of the West Indies; their minds are fed and inflamed by fickly Hope's delufive dreams, fo that every adventurer is buoyed up with the chimerical notion of acquiring abundance of wealth without much difficulty, but not one in forty fucceeds; and even those who do, only fhine away for a little time, " great in their crimes," and go off in a ftink, like the snuff of a candle.

Some years ago the West Indies suited poor adventurers vaftly better than at prefent; formerly tranfports acquired large properties; it was not thought ftrange for convicts after fix or feven years bondage was over to enter into marriage G 2

with

with their master's daughters, and thereby get
poffeffion of flaves and cultivated plantations ;
and the offspring of thofe (fcum of prifons) now
flourish. Of late, the British colonies in the Weft
Indies are fo over-run with the fons of peasantry,
from different parts of Great-Britain and Ireland,
particularly from Scotland, the latter well edu-
cated men in general, that it is very difficult for
poor men of any other nation to fucced as they
do; for the Scotch are partial and friendly to each
other, are keen and cunning, and infinuate them-
felves with wonderful dexterity into places and
penfions; yet there is no rule without an ex-
ception; I have known many candid, open-
hearted, impartial, and friendly Scotchmen; fo
that you must not defpair of fuccefs, for
you will
have a chance as well as another. I fhall now en-
deavour to point out to you the different grada-
tions, in both the planting and mercantile lines,
which young men commonly go through to
arrive at any degree of greatnefs.

When a green-horn, as he is properly called, arrives, he enquires and delivers his letters of recommendation, and is got into business, as I obferved to you before; indeed, if he has no letter nor friend, his own modeft behaviour and appearance will recommend him in the country, for overfeers are glad to get green-horns, because they can impofe hardships on them, and make them fubferviant to their interefts. Here I must obferve, that letters of recommendation, if they

arc

are to good men, may be of effential fervice to a ftranger, by introducing him to refpectable connections; and yet I would not have you depend much on the promises of great men. I was warmly recommended to his Excellency general Darling, the honourable Richard Welch, and others; and though each took me by the hand, and gave me dinners at times, and though I conducted myself as prudent as I poffibly could, becaufe I did not fawn, cringe, and put up with a little-minded cowfkin hero's abufes, they did nothing for me at last,

The ufual falary for a book-keeper in the country, is £40 per annum, with board, washing and lodging, the fame as the overfeer; in the windward iflands, book-keepers are not permitted to mess at overfeer's tables, for which reason they are not so much respected as in Jamaica.

In the windward iflands the falary is greater, as they must board themselves; in those islands any man may get an overfeer's birth (called a management) through intereft; in Jamaica it is not fo; for I never knew an overfeer there who did not ferve at least two or three years, (fave only Little Confequence before mentioned).

When a young man gets into a good employ, I mean where the attorney, without favour or affection, makes it an established rule to prefer the oldest book-keepers in rotation, he should strive to please the overfeer, and remain in it as long as poffible; if he continues three or four years

on one plantation it will be a recommendation to him; and if the attorney is a good man he will take notice of him accordingly. Nothing can be more hurtful than many movements; "a roll"ing ftone gathers no mofs." Should he and the overfeer disagree, though his friends support him and fend him elsewhere, they will naturally conclude that he is in fome measure culpable; befides, overseers, being low-lived fellows, will, to justify themselves, tell false stories, which may gain some credit; fo that every movement will leffen him in his friend's opinion, and retard his steps to preferment. If a man has friends he should not boast of them, nor tell every person who they are; it is bad to tell an enemy your strength or weakness, for he will divife methods to attack and encounter you accordingly.

Overseers are commonly jealous when they perceive that their book-keepers have friends, or merit; fo you will pleafe to obferve this, to be fecret, and not to let any man know the bottom of your heart. It is good to have friends, and bad to be too troublesome to them, but worfe to need their affiftance.

The first charge a book-keeper gets is that of the sheep, goats, fwine, and poultry (called the fmall stock) with the keys of the corn, and other ftores; he must be very particular in getting up early every morning to haften to the field to call the lift and return to feed the small stock, and to count them exactly; he must keep an exact

account