air was destroyed by the close sedentary
confinement, and my superintendent asked for
me the indulgence of a little milk daily, in
lieu of the salt meat which I could not eat, it
was refused.

Among the many remarkable prisoners in
the island, by no means the least so was my
predecessor in this writership. He was a
native of Bengal, where he had received an
excellent education; was a fine classic, and
spoke several modern languages fluently. He
had acquired considerable distinction in the
British legion in Spain. Upon his return to
England he fell into dissipated and extravagant
habits, to support which he forged bills
of exchange on a British nobleman, whose
acquaintance he had made. He was a
good-looking but delicate man, and fond of
comparing himself with Abd-el-Kader, to
whose portraits he bore a strong resemblance.

We had prisoners from every part of the
British dominions, and, indeed, from almost
every part of the world. Besides English, Irish,
Scotch, Frenchmen, Italians, and Germans,
there were Chinamen from Hong Kong,
Aborigines from New Holland, West Indian
Blacks, Greeks, Caffres, and Malays. Among
these were soldiers, for desertion, idiots,
madmen, boys of seventeen, and old men of
eighty. All these were indiscriminately
herded together, without reference to age,
crime, nation, or any other distinction.

Upon the whole, the conduct of the prisoners
to me was extremely kind. Thus, when it
was my turn to carry a bundle of heavy hoes
to the field, they would frequently insist upon
relieving me of the load. Upon one occasion,
whilst drawing water from a deep well, my
straw hat (which had been ordered by the
doctor) fell to the bottom; upon which, one
of the men, whom I scarcely knew,
immediately caught hold of the chain, and insisted
upon descending to fetch it. It was in vain I
entreated him not to incur such a risk merely
for a hat, and pointed out the insecurity of
the chain. He went down, and I stood
watching with trembling anxiety at the top.
At length, to my unspeakable relief, he was
wound up again; when he handed me the
hat, saying, "One good turn deserves another."
What the good turn may have been that
I had done him, I never had the slightest
idea.

Nothing, however, could induce them to
resist the temptation of thieving. They soon
stole my shoes while I was asleep. When a
humane officer observed me working at the
water-cart barefoot, in a heavy rain, he sent
me a pair of his own boots. The untiring
kindness of the young man convicted of
forgery, whose despair and sufferings on board
ship I have already described, I shall ever
remember with the deepest gratitude.
Frequently, when he found me sinking under my
heavy trials, he would insist upon sharing
my task. It was the happiest moment of
my life upon the Island, when an opportunity
presented itself of making him some return.
He had from the first been employed as chief
writer in an office, and discharged his duties
in a most exemplary manner for eighteen
months, when a few sticks of tobacco were
found concealed in the clothes of a fellow
clerk; and my friend was suspected of being
a party to its introduction into the office.
Dishonesty was not imputed to either of
them; but the use of tobacco, or the traffic
in it, was a grave offence. They were, accordingly,
for the first time, both sent into the
field to work in a broiling sun in the gullies.
After a few days I successfully employed
some influence which I had now acquired,
and got my friend again placed in an office,
where he remained.

Wretched as my condition was here, it was
not without its agreeable, and even happy
moments. As soon as my case had become
better known by the investigations which took
place, a sympathy was expressed towards me,
not only by the worthy chaplain, but by the
civil and military officers generally. They
entered into conversation with me in the
course of their walks and rides, whether they
found me in the ward, at the stone-heap, in
the plough-field, or at the desk. Anxious to
be as useful as possible, I every evening in
the week, as well as morning and afternoon
on Sundays, taught in the schools and
distributed books among the men. These duties
brought me into frequent communication
with the chaplain, who would sometimes
detain me a whole evening. In the charm of
his refined society and instructive conversation,
I have, for the time, forgotten my
sad condition. Often, when the last bell
announced the moment for locking up for the
night, I seemed to be rudely awakened from
some pleasant dream. What a change of
scene and of company, from the chaplain and
his library, to the convicts and their loathsome
hut!

My duties now frequently took me to
various parts of the Island, affording me
opportunities of remarking its beauties. Its
entire length is about ten miles; its breadth
about seven. It is evidently of recent volcanic
origin. It is beautifully diversified by hills
and valleys, and the sea is in sight from
almost every part. For the free inhabitants
who do not have to labour in the heat of the
day, the climate is luxurious—a delicious
sea-breeze playing constantly over the Island.
Peaches, guavas, grapes, bananas, and other
fruits grow everywhere. In the gardens of
the officers, pomegranates, loquots, and other
delicious fruits were in great perfection.
In winter, peas, cabbages, and other European
vegetables are produced in abundance.

The coast is everywhere indented with bays
and inlets. In one of these retired nooks I
have sometimes enjoyed a bath which a prince
might have envied. The woods were filled
with parrots and other birds of magnificent