Berbische.
We rose with the sun in order to go round the plantation and the
negro-yard previous to our departure, and before ten o’clock we took our
seats in the boat, availing ourselves of the early tide, with the
intention of hanging our hammocks at Mynheer Roboloski’s in the evening;
and of proceeding on the morrow to New Amsterdam. M. Roboloski had made
a visit to the British officers at the fort, and had very pressingly
invited us to his plantation; which we understood to be situated on the
opposite bank of the river, between Mynheer Abbensets’ and the town, and
very conveniently for becoming the last place of rest upon our
excursion. A little past noon we arrived at Essendam, intending to make
only an _en passant_ call upon Mynheer Abbensets; who received us with
all the kindness and cordiality of a friend; nor would he hear of our
going further, but insisted that we should pass the remainder of the day
with him; and, the more effectually to reconcile the delay, he assured
us that the tide would not carry us so far as M. Roboloski’s by night.
Finding this to be the case, we yielded to his kind solicitations: and
the more readily from our knowing that the town and the fort were still
within the morrow’s journey; besides having proved by experience, that
neither shore of the river could supply us with more desirable quarters.
Having agreed to pass the night at Essendam, we rested for a short time,
and then made an excursion across the river to offer thanks to M.
Schneider, for the information he had given us respecting our journey;
and to see the sugar-works at Mr. Blair’s estate. As soon as we
returned, a well-served dinner, with plenty of good wines, was set
before us: and the generous Abbensets warmly bade us welcome. It is not
the custom in these colonies, as in England, to consume the whole of the
afternoon over the bottle. Wine is taken liberally at dinner-time, and
the party withdraw from the table very soon after. At M. Abbensets’,
cards were introduced almost as soon as the cloth was removed. When the
sun was declining we engaged in a pleasant promenade about the
plantation, and proceeded as far as _Sans Souci_, the adjoining estate,
to call on Mynheer Abbensets’ nephew.
Soon after we returned from our walk, the supper-board was spread, and
to crown the evening, some very fine old Hollands, and the social pipe
were introduced. You will perhaps be surprised to learn, that I was the
only one who could not enjoy this part of the repast: most of the
officers have acquired the habit of smoking, and some of them have
become such adepts in this very dirty and inelegant, however social
custom, that they can already drink gin, and whiff a pipe or sagar
almost as well as any Dutchman of the colony! You will probably envy
them the accomplishment as little as I do! We went to our hammocks very
soon after supper, hoping, by a long sleep, to relieve the heavy fatigue
of two disturbed and restless nights; but we were sadly
disappointed!—the tormenting musquitoes again besieged us, and the third
night proved no less sleepless than the two preceding. The heat and
itching from former bitings, the pain of new and acute punctures, and
the still more wearisome buzzing of the insects, in our ears, combined
in such utter annoyance, as not only to deprive us of sleep, but of all
ease and quiet. Even the power of lying still was unattainable. The
irritation, caused by the pain and excessive itching, rendered us quite
feverish, and with the weariness and languor arising from want of sleep,
made us really ill. At length, grown impatient of suffering, and finding
it impossible to rest in our hammocks, we got up, walked about the room,
washed with cold water, rubbed ourselves with orange-juice, and with
limes, then opened the windows, shook our hammocks, beat about the
apartment with cloths and handkerchiefs, and tried various means of
driving away the insects, and obtaining relief: but in vain; all our
efforts failed of success; and we were compelled to drag out a most
wearisome and comfortless night.
We left our room early in the morning oppressed with feverish feelings,
and a sense of general stupor. Our eyelids were swoln and heavy; our
faces inflamed and tumefied, and we were almost blind.
We breakfasted with M. Abbensets, and at nine o’clock embarked for New
Amsterdam. The negroes took no rest between Essendam and the town. They
cheerfully pulled the oars for five hours without intermission, in order
to reach the landing-place before the turn of the tide; all the relief
they sought, throughout the whole of this time, being that of
occasionally taking up a handful of water from the river, and pouring it
upon the oars, to prevent them from becoming hot and dry, and thereby
blistering their hands. At two o’clock on the 23d of June we finished
our journey, and were again safely on shore at the government
landing-place, at New Amsterdam.
You will feel that the excursion was, altogether, one of high interest
and gratification: but I have proceeded in such minute, and (I fear you
will say) tedious detail, that very little remains to be offered by way
of general remark.
The novelty which presented itself to our observation was not more
striking than the unbounded hospitality, which welcomed us at each place
of call. Although unexpected intruders, we were every where received
with a cordial urbanity, which is very inadequately expressed by the
common term _civility_. It seemed to be the study of all, who should
most serve, and oblige us. Not satisfied with administering the best
accommodations of the house, whilst we remained with them, a generous
regard for our comfort extended their liberality yet further, and they
either openly, or privately contributed to our convenience, by adding to
our travelling supply. Porter, wine, and spirits, food and fruit, and
plantains for the negroes, all found their way into the boat.
Our mode of travelling was in itself highly commodious, and afforded
many facilities. The party sat together as comfortably as if in a small
room on shore; we advanced at ease, and were scarcely sensible of any
motion: by the awning we were protected from the sun; and by means of
the open windows at the sides, we had always a stream of cool air.
Enough of space was afforded for provisions, wine, clothes, and all
other stores of the journey; also convenient stowage for whatever
specimens we might collect. Together with these accommodations a secure
harbour was found for the boat at every plantation, and our slaves
either fed themselves from the provisions of the vessel, or foraged
among the negroes of the estates; so that we had no care concerning
either servants or cattle, carriage or roads.
The variety in point of scenery, you will have perceived, was not very
great, but the inanimate sameness of wood and water was pleasantly
relieved by the occasional openings of the different plantations. In
some parts of the river, the water was singularly still and clear, and,
with its forest borders, exhibited a novelty of peculiar feature. Its
smooth and lucid surface formed a perfect mirror, so completely
reflecting every thing around, that it seemed difficult to discover how
we were supported—by what means suspended, as it were, in the centre of
space. At the sides of the river no line of termination could be
distinguished. It was not seen where the water ceased, or where the land
commenced; but the trees, on each border, being within the edge of the
water, were so distinctly reflected as to convey the semblance of a
forest, growing upwards and downwards from the same roots. The boat was
reflected in a similar manner; as was likewise the unclouded canopy of
the skies. The watery medium made no impression upon the eye; but the
open azure expanse was seen the same, whether we looked upwards or
downwards. We seemed suspended in the centre of a hollow globe, having
the same concave arch above and below, with an inverted and an upright
forest on either hand. At one spot we met a huge mass of earth
resembling a small island, floating down the silent river, with a
variety of plants and shrubs growing upon it; and from the water being
invisible, the perfect reflection of this little plantation gave it the
appearance of a clump of young trees calmly moving in a wide vacuum,
with each plant growing perpendicularly upward and downward, in precise
resemblance. If we held out a hand, or an oar over the side of the boat,
the same was seen below, without discovering the limpid medium between
them. In short, we seemed only to move, like our globe itself, in
ethereal space.
The difficulties which many of the gentlemen of the colony had urged, as
necessarily attendant upon the expedition, proved to be ideal. Until the
last three nights, scarcely any thing occurred to interrupt the full
enjoyment of the excursion. Indeed the torment of these nights served
only as a variety, which placed in a stronger light the many facilities
we had met with; for, amidst the woods, and at the estates far up the
river, we had almost wholly escaped the annoyance of insects. Musquitoes
did not seem to inhabit the depths of the forest. In these parts we had
also found the air cooler, and the land less heated than where it was
cleared of wood, and more open.
I must not neglect to inform you of a custom, which we observed to be
very prevalent, it being an act of politeness quite novel to Europeans.
As a mark of attention the gentlemen of the different plantations
usually accompanied us to our sleeping-room, at the time of our going to
bed, when, on taking their leave for the night, they concluded the
compliments of the day in the following terms, “S’il y a d’autre chose,
Messieurs, dont vous avez besoin, il n’en faut que demander au
garçon—cela n’est pas mon affaire.” This was genuine West Indian
complaisance; and it offered a lamentable proof of the absence of moral
principle in a country degraded by the usages of slavery.
Adieu.