During a trip to the Lesser Antilles in the summer of 1887, the writer
of the following pages, landing at Martinique, fell under the influence
of that singular spell which the island has always exercised upon
strangers, and by which it has earned its poetic name,--_Le Pays des
Revenants._ Even as many another before him, he left its charmed shores
only to know himself haunted by that irresistible regret,--unlike any
other,--which is the enchantment of the land upon all who wander away
from it. So he returned, intending to remain some months; but the
bewitchment prevailed, and he remained two years.
Some of the literary results of that sojourn form the bulk of the
present volume. Several, or portions of several, papers have been
published in HARPER'S MAGAZINE; but the majority of the sketches now
appear in print for the first time.
The introductory paper, entitled "A Midsummer Trip to the Tropics,"
consists for the most part of notes taken upon a voyage of nearly three
thousand miles, accomplished in less than two months. During such hasty
journeying it is scarcely possible for a writer to attempt anything more
serious than a mere reflection of the personal experiences undergone;
and, in spite of sundry justifiable departures from simple note-making,
this paper is offered only as an effort to record the visual and
emotional impressions of the moment.
My thanks are due to Mr. William Lawless, British Consul at St. Pierre,
for several beautiful photographs, taken by himself, which have been
used in the preparation of the illustrations.