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farewell with a short jabbing salute, which led me to wonder if he had military experience. I smiled upon him but could see that he still stung with embarrassment at having stumbled upon the reason for my unaccompanied arrival.
    The entrance hall led into a central hall of handsome dimensions, both lofty and sumptuously decorated in mahogany finishing. On either side of this hall were bedrooms, and at the end of this tropical Guildhall was a wide and spacious veranda where one might sit outside and take the breeze. So overwhelmed was I by the opulence and beauty of this construction that I almost forgot my desire to rest and recover some of my senses. The firm entreaties of the negress Stella ('Misses needs must rest, must rest up some') reminded me that after the rigours of a sea journey, some moments invested in simply reclining would probably prove a great boon in better surviving the climate in the days to come, and adjusting to the social demands of the evening ahead. Stella guided me towards the bed-chamber, which was entirely fitted up and furnished in the English taste, and from whose windows I could view the sea, shipping and a great part of the island. Owing to the immodest height of the magnificent trees to the east of my
chamber, I found I was also granted a most cool and merciful shade.
    The bed was hidden behind the thin lawn curtains, which they describe in these parts as mosquito-nets. I am led to believe they are very necessary, for once these gentry smell the blood of an English arrivant they are quick to strike. Upon the bed itself lay a fine-quality Holland under-sheet, and one for covering. To the side of the bed, and neatly arranged upon a table, were quilts in case I should choose to use them. Stella advised me that often, in the middle of the night, a chill can take a sudden grip, and many an unknown visitor to those climes had been stricken (and worse) by the deception that in the tropical zone the temperature never descends. Having advanced counsel, and indicated to me these West Indian novelties, Stella informed me, with what I took to be a kindly smile writ large upon her black face, that I would not be summoned for dinner until I had rested.
    It was only after this black woman's departure that I realized the true nature of my fatigue. Anticipation, the exercise and strain of such, had led me to suspend my physical exhaustion. I was forworn with travel, weary, and wanting rest. As soon as I bathed my face with water, and lay down upon the Holland sheet, I dropped into a repose so deep that it was only a stormy shaking from Stella, her hands fixed firmly about my shoulders, that raised me. 'Missy! Missy! You must hurry, hurry quick! Mr Brown, he hungry and he no wait too long for you.' And so again the name of this Mr Brown made its appearance. I determined that having travelled across half the world I would not, in my father's own house, be hurried into preparing myself to a dinner with a man who had yet to explain himself to me. How dare he demand my presence as though I were some chattel? I made myself clear to Stella, whose response was to throw her hands into the air and bellow, 'O Lordy, Lordy,' at which I instructed her to kindly lower her voice. A lady, I told her, likes to ease her way out of a slumber, and not
be bullied by the mooing of a cow into this new pasture of wakefulness. I further informed her that I had no desire to hear my mother-tongue mocked by the curious thick utterance of the negro language, so she might abandon her comical jargon and adopt English. Upon this the negress apologized and said that she would wait outside. I, meantime, took pleasure in dressing and attending my toilet at my own pace. Before I describe the dinner, I will give a brief account of the environs of the Great House and elaborate on what has gone before.
    The interior of the house is grand, as I said. The rooms, however, are not ceiled, and the beams protrude to afford a better circulation of air. The