Their fashion of dressing their hair was to me very disgusting, as it exactly resembled the mode practised by the common dancinggirls in India; that is, by dividing the hair into ringlets, two of which hung on the cheeks in an affected careless manner. They were also painted to an excessive degree, were very forward, and great talkers. The waists of their gowns were so short and full-bodied, that the women appeared hump-backed; whilst the drapery in front was so scanty as barely to conceal half their bosoms. Although I am by nature amorous, and easily affected at the sight of beauty, and visited every public place in Paris, I never met with a French woman who interested me." This distinction between French and English women, and his preference of our fair country women, is not more honourable to Abu Taleb's taste and discrimination, than to his virtue and good sense. We greatly regret that our limits preclude us from giving any passages from his descriptions, during his interesting journey from Constantinople, through Diarbekir, Mousul, and Bagdad; whence he proceeded to Bussora and Bombay, and finally returned in safety to Calcutta, after an absence of five years. From Mr. Stewart's Appendix we learn, that Abu Taleb, after being appointed to a lucrative and honourable situation at Bundlecund, died there in 1806. Mr.Stewart has high claims to the thanks of the public, for introducing to their acquaintance such an interesting and well-written production: and if the original Persian M. S. could be circulated in our oriental territories, through the medium of the press, we conceive that it would produce, in the minds of the natives, impressions highly favourable to the British nation, and to its interests in India. Present State of the Spanish Colonies; including a particular Report of Hispanola, or the Spanish Part of St. Domingo; with a general Survey of the Settlements of the South Continen' of merica, as relates to History, Trade, Population, Customs, Manners, &c. with a concise Statement of the Sentiments of the People, on their relative Situation to the Mother Country, &c. By Wm. Walton, Jun. Svo. 2 vols. The extraordinary revolutions which have taken place in the new world, impart a peculiar interest to every work that professes to give correct details of the physical and political state of South America. Mr. Walton having in carly life visited the people and countries here described, had opportunities of collecting various information not generally known; but he unfortunately lost, partly by capture, and partly by shipwreck, his materials. All that part, therefore, of the present' work, which has not been supplied to the author by recent publications, must be regarded as written from memory, without the aid of particular documents. Hav. ing premised thus much as to Mr. W.'s sources of information, we proceed to give an outline of his work. The first volume relates chiefly to the former and present state of Hispanola; the topography, ani mal, mal, vegetable, and mineral productions, of which he describes at considerable length. St. Domingo, or Hispanola (so called, to distinguish it from Haiti, the name given to it by the natives) was discovered by the great Columbus; and is the largest, and most fertile of all the Antilles. It stands in 18. 19 degrees N. latitude, and from 68 to 74 W. longitude from London, opposite and near the Spanish main. It is situated between Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Cuba, in the Caribbean sea. Raynal and the Spanish authors say it is 200 leagues long, and from 60 to 80 wide, but even our most correct maps are very imperfect, nor is it easy to traverse and survey wilds, trodden only by the huntsman or the fugitive negro; to the scale of latitude and longitude, therefore we are indebted in great measure for its measurement. The French part of the island is not quite a third of the whole; the remainder, or the Spanish Division, is estimated at 3175 square leagues; and contains about 104,000 persons of all ages. The, natives are said to be strong, active, and healthy. "In the year 1790 the French division contained 497,000 souls, of which 38,000 were whites, 9,000 people of brown colour, and 450,000 blacks. The wars of Rigaud, Toussaint, and the French destruction, are estimated at nearly one half, and emigration, and the natural decrease of blacks when left to themselves, may be safely calculated to equal one third; by which it would result, that the present population consists of about 100,000 souls, a statement that even exceeds the estimate of the most sensible among them; for the late and exist ing intestine divisions have greatly thinned their numbers, and a state of continual warfare, with dubious issue, has driven many to seek quiet in other countries. Their onsets are still often sanguinary, and quarter is seldom given by the victor. Thus, in point of population, they are on nearly an equal footing with their Spanish neighbours. "General Petion holds possession of the S. side of the island, at the head of the brown colour, but their line of division varies, as each party advances or recedes, and the seat of government is at Port au Prince. He is of a sensible humane character; tutored in the schools of Europe, his mind has received an expansion that fits him for the helm of government, and bis exterior an address that would distinguish him in a court. Ill suited perhaps to witness scenes to which his station, as a military commander, exposes him in the field of battle, the tear of sensibility often bedews his cheek at the sight of slaughter; and though brave, enterprising, and bold, be values more the responsive glow of a humane act, than the crimsoned laurel he has plucked from the brow of his adversary; he sighs at the purchase of victory with the sacrifice of those subjects he loves: in short, nothing can be more descriptive of his peculiar virtues, than the motto of an English artist, at the foot of his portrait. "Il n'a jamais fait couleur les larmes de personne." "Though the disorganized state and continually threatened inva sion of his country, require all his time in the field, he casts a provident eye on the well-being of those he heads as elective president; and though his code of laws does him credit, yet the civil administration is extremely relaxed, and the tenure of property very insecure. The Mole of St. Nicholas has been the chief seat of contest, and very frequently the scene of personal bravery on both sides. His revenues come principally from the rents of confiscated French estates and houses, import and export duties, local taxes, &c. By means of a general requisition of all above fourteen years of age, he musters about 9000 men, of whom the regulars have a good appearance, and his population has been increased by collecting the people of colour who lately left St. Domingo, though most prefer the present quiet security of the Spaniards. Nearly all males are forced to join the army, and the women are left to gather the crops, two thirds of which go to the profit of the farmer, after reimbursing the hire of assistants; the remaining third to the government, whose officers strictly at tend to its collection. He has a small fleet of light vessels, but they seldom meet the foe. The French governors of St. Domingo made repeated overtures to him, which he had the good policy and prudance to disregard, but in case of ill success in that implacable enmity which exists between the contending chiefs of colcur, his territory may yet become the seat of intrigue, either by reviving the embers of civil discord, or improving the moments of defeat; nay are not these plans and measures already anticipated? or else is there no foundation for the following authenticated report ? "General Rigaud has been sent by Buonaparte to St. Domingo, with a view of establishing a footing or interest in the island, either by rendering one or other of the rival chiefs dependent on him, by proffers of assistance, or by creating a third party in opposition to both. Rigaud had arrived at Port au Prince in April, and had opened a negociation with Petion." "Christophe, who is in possession of the N. side, at the head of the black colour, is nearly the reverse in character to Petion, and perhaps better fitted to sway over that class of people he is called to command. More the self-raised despot, than the elected chief of his sable myrmidons, they tremble at his active coercion, and his army thus possesses the advantages of superior discipline, though his talents are much beneath those of his rival. Many of his acts would not bear the scrutiny of philoso phic justice, but where terror is equally to be the lever of action, his character is the best suited. His population is the largest, and his troops amount to about 10,000 men. His fleet is also the most numerous, and consists of two corvettes, nine brigs, and a few schooners, the force of which he is now attempting to augment from North America; but though it possesses the exterior of organi. zation, and is under the command of a white admiral, it seldom leaves the harbours, and requires no naval chronicle to record its feats. The empress, relict of Dessalines, re sides sides at the Cape, the seat of government, but declines any shew or parade of the rank she once held in the country; is exemplary in her conduct, and refuses the attendance of a proffered guard, as corresponding to her widowed dignity. The Spaniards seem to incline to Christophe, and think him the most secure neighbour; but since the new possession of their country, no treaty has been entered upon, owing to a want of intercourse and approbation from home; but one on the defensive scale is in agitation, the principal groundwork of which must be a union of interests, to repel foreign attacks, a general release of all Spanish individuals, free or slaves, and a guarantee that the latter, in desertion, will not be encouraged, but returned. "Independent, however, of the two chiefs already mentioned, who at present share, or rather contend for the empire of Haiti, has arisen another, Phillipe Dòs, the elève of the great and unfortunate Toussaint, late on the side of Christophe; but now a chief of considerable power, and at war with both rivais. Seated amidst the populous and fertile mountains of Mirbalais, in the centre of the island, and bordering on the Spanish limits, he has been followed by many partizans of the old cause, in which he was equally chief; his numbers have swelled to 6,000 persons, and increase by the coming in of the disaffected from the other competitors; whom he attracts by promises of a cessation of toil, and of the horrors of active war; grounding as the bais of his government, that they are to act only on the defensive, and pledging himself not to call them out but in case his lines are invaded." In chapters XII. and XIII. Mr. Walton gives, at some length, the history of the Indians, the decline and rise of Hispanola, and the policy of the French in the West Indies, and their final expulsion by the English and Spaniards: and in the following chapter he details the advantages that will probably result to England from dispossessing the French of Hispa nola. This chapter contains va rious interesting particulars, which our limits will not permit us to extract. The first volume concludes with an appendix of considerable length, containing various useful docaments illustrative of the author's narrative: the following account of Caracas will be not unacceptable to the reader. "Caracas is the seat of government, and is situated in a valley surrounded by mountains, in 10 degrees 31 minutes north latitude, and 69-3 west longitude from Paris. It was founded in 1567 by Diego Losada. The authority of the Captain-General extends over Venezuela, Maracaibo, Vari as, Spanish Guiana, Cumana, and the island of Marguerita. The civil power of the royal audience and intendancy, are on an equal footing. The temperature is in general mild, and the weather agreeable. "The valley in which the city of Caracas is built, is of an extent of four leagues, verging east and west, and formed by that great chain of mountains that rise above, and range along the coast from Coro to Cumana. On the north and south, it has also elevations, The The space on which the town stands is 2000 square paces, but art has done nothing to level the irregularities of the ground, so that it being placed on a declivity, on the bank of the first ridge, its streets have a continued and uniform descent and ascent,principally inclining to the north and south. "It is watered by four small rivulets. The first, called Guira, bounds it on the south; the second, called Anauco, laves it to the East: over the latter is thrown a handsome bridge called La Candelaria, which leads to the valley of Chacao. The third is the Caroata, taking a course from north to south, leaving the west division. It separates that part of the town called St. John's, with which communication is had by another stone bridge. The fourth is the Catuche, which principally supplies the town with water, that is conveyed for its convenience to several public fountains. There are five small bridges over it of a very inferior order. The streets, like those of modern towns, are regular, about 25 feet wide, and paved; their crossings form squares, at a distance of about 300 feet from each other. The town from the surrounding elevations has a handsome white appearance, and is well built and ornamented in the Spanish style. There are three public squares which deserve that name, viz. La Placa Mayor, La Candelaria, and St. Paul's; the other two, called the Trinity and Del Lion, are very mean. There are besides, six smaller square openings, before their respective churches and con vents. "Their mode of building is, as in the city of Santo Domingo, in VOL. LII. moulds of about five feet long, and of the width of the wall, in which sand, stones, lime, and a glutinous substance are beat up and mixed, and in time, take the consistency of stone; and when well plastered and coloured appear like it. The walls being thick protect the inside from the heat. The covering of the roofs is of bended tiles. "Their style of furniture, though aided by many importations from the English islands, is yet antique, and consists of large gilded chairs and sofas, hanging in damask red silk, gilded bed-posts, heavily carved and ornamented, tables with gilded legs, gilded lustres, &c. The alcova, or family bed room, as in Spain, opens into the principal apartment or sitting room. "There are no public buildings but those dedicated to religion. The houses of the Captain-General, of the Royal Audience and military hospitals are of indifferent appearance. The barracks are however good buildings, new, elevated, and have a full command of the town; they are capable of containing 2000 men, who are all regulars; the militia having separate apartments. "Caracas is an archbishop's see that only dates from the year 1803, being till then only a bishopric: the limits of this diocese extend further than the civil and military jurisdiction. Its original seat was at Coro, established there in 1532. "The cathedral, for so important and large a city, is an inferior building, and has nothing of elegance or merit in architecture, distribution, or finish. It is about 150 feet long, on a breadth of 75. 3 D The |