The delay in meeting with a conveyance to St. Domingo has afforded me the means of seeing more of Jamaica than I had ventured to hope.

On the sixth inst. Mr. Jordan and myself went to visit Spanish Town, or St. Jago de la Vega, the metropolis of Jamaica. We hired an open chaise, and availed ourselves of the early part of the morning. The distance from Kingston is thirteen miles, and the ride uncommonly pleasant, the road being as good as those in England, and the bordering scenery more like Europe than any I had before met with in these western settlements. A toll-gate is established; regular mile-stones mark the approach to the capital; bridges are built over the brooks and rivulets; carts, waggons, chaises, and horsemen, are seen passing and repassing; and on each hand are enclosed fields, with herds of oxen and sheep grazing in fine pastures.

At the road-side we saw many neat houses; and, dispersed about the fields, numbers of country villas, some of which were built upon wide plains, decorated with trees and thorn-bushes like the finely studded parks of England, the umbrageous branches of the wide-spreading silk-cotton rivalling the picturesque and sturdy oak: the soft herbage and refreshing verdure of the English lawns were indeed wanting, but the arid aspect of the fields was, in a great measure, to be attributed to the peculiar dryness of the season; which has been so remarkable at Jamaica, that, while mild rains have produced the greatest fertility, and richness of appearance in the colonies to windward, this island is scorched so bare, that, at many of the pens or mountain farms, they have been compelled either to kill their cattle, or drive them into the interior, to prevent them from perishing by famine.

We were two hours on the road, and were exceedingly gratified with the journey. Besides the fields, the plains, the valleys, and the cooling streams, many stern rocks, and cloud-capped mountains vary the face of the country, and increase the general interest of the scene.

From the excellent condition of the road, its conveniences and accommodations, the number of passengers, and the busy traffic, it might have seemed the approach to a crowded and opulent city; and, compared with the still coast of Guiana, we might have fancied that we were advancing to another London: but, such an expectation would have proved illusory. Instead of handsome streets and magnificent buildings, the appearance of both was so humble, that when we had arrived in the centre of Spanish Town we imagined ourselves to be only in the suburbs; St. Jago de la Vega neither exhibiting the splendour of St. Pierre, nor the spaciousness of Kingston; nor did the crowd, or business of the place, at all correspond with the general movement and traffic which we had observed upon the road.

We took a very indifferent and badly served breakfast at the only tavern in the place. After resting a short time I waited upon the Governor, Lord Belcarras, and, at the king’s house, had the good fortune to meet with Dr. Lind, who had been with us at Barbadoes, and was now appointed, from the hospital staff of St. Domingo, to the direction of the medical department in Jamaica.

This gentleman kindly insisted upon taking us under his guidance for the day; and obligingly devoting his time to our accommodation, he conducted us to the different parts of the town and its environs, pointing out to us all that was particularly worthy the attention of strangers.

The general view of the place was strongly calculated to confirm the opinion we had formed upon entering it: clouded with the dull marks of its Spanish origin, it might be mistaken for only the fauxbourgs of a more splendid city. The narrow confined streets look dark and gloomy, and the older houses are small, low, irregular, and of mean appearance, consisting only of a single story. Still, although the general face of the metropolis be not prepossessing, handsome improvements are met with in various parts of it. The king’s house, the house of assembly, and public offices, are capacious and ornamental, as is likewise the main-guard. The portico and statue erected to the memory of Rodney are also magnificent, and an honor to the island. The horse-barracks form a handsome pile of building, and are highly commodious for their purpose. Some of the houses, likewise, at the extremity of the town are spacious, and of modern structure.

The land in the outskirts of St. Jago de la Vega is barren and uncultivated, and wears not the rich livery generally bestowed by a populous city. It appears a wide and dreary waste, overspread with thorns and bushes, a striking contrast to the luxuriant environs of St. Pierre, where fields of coffee and sugar, and gardens of rich fruits overhang the houses and very chimneys of the town, and extend themselves from the vales and even the summits of the hills quite to the brink of the ocean.

Near Spanish Town is an extensive flat, which is formed into a course for the purpose of horse-racing. At a short distance are lofty hills and pleasant, elevated fields, where many of the inhabitants have small estates laid out in what are termed pens, for the purpose of breeding and raising sheep, poultry, and the various kinds of stock. At these pens it is common for the proprietors to have villas or cottages to serve as country residences, whither they retire to pass the night in a cool atmosphere, returning to the business of the town in the morning.

As at Kingston, so at St. Jago de la Vega, we met with very few women who were fairer than mulattoes; and among these the same slovenly figure and vulgar carriage prevailed, as among the like classes in Kingston. We expected to have found more of neatness and taste among this order of people at the seat of government and of fashion; but the dull Spanish costume was still predominant, with a seeming disregard of cleanliness and personal adornment.

We returned by moonlight, when the air was delightfully cool, and the ride pleasanter, if possible, than in the morning; so clear, so bright and exquisitely soft was the evening, that, upon our arrival near Kingston, we took the opportunity of lengthening our ride by extending it about the environs, and were highly gratified in seeing, by this mild light, the many agreeable villas and improvements near the town.

Since our visit to St. Jago de la Vega we have repeated our walks about the city and suburbs of Kingston. On the leeward side we found a number of mean and confined streets, consisting of small houses, occupied by Jews; and this quarter, like the dwelling-places of that race of people in the large towns of Europe, is so crowded, filthy, and offensive as to reflect much disgrace upon the arrangements of the police.

On the same side, at a very short distance out of the town, is also an extensive burying-ground, which we were told, by a mulatto man whom we chanced to meet upon the spot, was “for the heathens and the Christians.” We observed that it was separated by a wide ditch into two divisions, one of which we understood to be appropriated to the interment of the soldiers, sailors, and lower classes of whites; the other to that of the people of colour.

Eastward of the town is an extensive common, in the vicinity of which, and upon its borders, are built numbers of gentlemen’s country-houses—most of them very neat, some spacious and handsome. Here the general appearance of all around was very like what is seen in Europe. The excellent roads crossing the common at different parts, the style of the buildings, the manner of fitting them up, the glazed and sashed windows, the neatly paled gardens, and the negro houses scattered over the heath like the happy cottages of our peasantry, all so resembled England that we stood fixed, for a considerable time, contemplating the scene, when the European picture was still further heightened by a party of ladies driving past us in an elegant English carriage. The agreeable coolness of the evening, in consequence of a heavy shower of rain having fallen about an hour before, contributed also to the same effect; and, forgetful of the West Indies, we almost imagined ourselves to be actually viewing a fine landscape in England.

We made a visit to the church and churchyard, and inspected the dates upon the tombstones, as an index of the number of days commonly allotted to the inhabitants of Kingston. In a few instances we observed records of longevity; but the great majority of persons had been snatched away in what is usually considered life’s happiest prime.

We observe in our walks about the streets, that in point of richness and neatness of arrangement, the shops and stores of Kingston are as much superior to those of St. Pierre, as those of London are to those of Paris. Perhaps there are few things in which the English more strikingly out-rival the French than in the art of dressing their windows, and exhibiting their goods to public view. In Paris the shops are devoid of that taste and brilliant display which so commonly attracts the eyes of foreigners in the busy streets of London. A similar distinction prevails also in the colonies of the two nations: the stores and repositories of the handsome town of St. Pierre are small and gloomy, while at Kingston many of them are light and spacious, and dressed out with all the neatness and splendour of Bond Street or Cheapside.

I have mentioned to you already, that, on my first landing at Port-Royal, I perceived the heat to be uncommonly powerful; and I may now add that we find the climate of Kingston hotter than that of Martinique, Barbadoes, or Demarara, although these colonies are many degrees nearer the equator. In the shade, at the distance of a hundred yards only from the water, the thermometer is commonly, at noon, at 86 or 87 of Fahrenheit: between six and seven o’clock, both morning and evening, it is usually from 80 to 83 degrees.

The mornings are exceedingly oppressive. The sea-breeze, which becomes very strong in the course of the day, is scarcely perceptible before ten o’clock, being two hours later than we had been accustomed to have it upon the coast of Guiana.

The fruits are very superior at Jamaica to those we commonly had in the windward colonies, and in far greater plenty: the pines and mangoes, in particular, are of exquisite flavour, and better, beyond all comparison, than any we met with, either in the Charibbee islands, or at Berbische and Demarara.

Various kinds of fruits, likewise, are in use here, which we had not seen in the windward settlements. Among these is the jack-fruit, lately imported from the East Indies. It is very large, and in form and substance somewhat resembles a common sort called the soursop, but is of a different and much superior flavour. If it were possible to convey a correct idea of it in words, I might perhaps describe it best, by saying, that it has the taste of a delicious melon, slightly quickened with the eschalot. Of this production many persons partake with peculiar gratification, after being accustomed to eat of it; but an acquired taste is commonly said to be necessary to its full enjoyment.

A regular meat-market is established at Kingston, and so amply supplied, that beef may be had as plentifully as from the shambles of Leadenhall or Whitechapel. Turtle is also very abundant, and is among the common dishes at every gentleman’s table. Some of these animals are of enormous size. Their shells are used by the negroes for all the common purposes of baskets and barrows. They carry them upon their heads, filled with various kinds of wares; and employ them instead of wheelbarrows for removing dirt and rubbish from the streets.

Although the market provisions are more reasonable, and in greater plenty than in the windward colonies; and notwithstanding the common supplies and conveniences are more extensive, and more like those of Europe, still the superiority seems to be commanded principally, if not exclusively, by the inhabitants; for, if it were fair to speak from the limited experience which I have hitherto had, I should be compelled to admit that the public accommodations of Martinique and Barbadoes are more satisfactory to a stranger, than those of Jamaica.

A breakfast or dinner may be had for less money at Jamaica, than at Martinique; but you are better served and attended, and have more of that indefinable arrangement, which a man feels necessary to his ease and comfort, in the taverns of Bridge-town and St. Pierre, than in those of Kingston or Spanish Town.

Private lodgings are far more extravagant at Jamaica than in any other colony we have visited. For only a very small room it is common to demand seven or eight dollars per week. Amidst the plenty of provisions, two bits (10d. English) are charged for a pint of milk. The hire of a saddle-horse per day is three dollars, and of a mean-looking horse and chaise seven dollars.

I have been sorry to learn, upon conversing with the medical practitioners of Kingston, that the same uncertainty and indecision prevail, at Jamaica, regarding the nature of the destructive fever of the climate, as in the other colonies; and that the difference of opinion, among the medical men, respecting the treatment of this formidable disease, displays itself in a manner which adds to the public fears; and cruelly augments the distress of individuals, who are attacked with this malignant malady.

Two of the most eminent professional characters of the island having adopted opinions directly the reverse of each other, many of the practitioners have enlisted under the opposing banners, and the public, distracted by the discords of the medical body, is deprived of that happy confidence which forms so important a consolation in sickness. One party, considering the fever to be inflammatory, employ venæsection, relying upon it as a sovereign remedy; the other party, viewing it as a putrid disorder, have a terror of the lancet, and put their trust in the Peruvian bark, and other tonic remedies. These discordant opinions afford the strongest testimony, that, in every attack of disease, nothing less than a correct discrimination, and an unwearied attention to all the symptoms and circumstances of each individual case, can be available towards a successful treatment.