rid, a priori, of his illicit establishment, nor is the lady so unreasonable as to expect such a sacrifice; the brown lady remains in the house till within a few days of the marriage, and, if she is of an accommodating disposition, even assists in making preparations for the reception of the bride; in which case there may be a tolerable good understanding between them, and the wife may even condescend to take in good part the occasional calls, inquiries, and proffered circumstances of the exfavourite, and make suitable returns of kindness to her children."

In giving the character of the negro slaves, Mr. S. relates two pleasing anecdotes of negro gratitude and attachment, which we shall subjoin :

"Soon after the breaking out of the insurrection in St. Domingo, when the unfortunate whites were every where hunted and massacred, and their dwellings given up to fire and pillage, a negro, who loved his master, hastened to him with the first intelligence of the revolt, and the imminent danger in which he stood; "but," said this faithful slave, "I will save you, or perish myself in the attempt." He immediately conveyed his master to a place of safety, where he could be concealed for awhile. In the dead of night he put him into a sack, and, placing him across a mule, conveyed him to some distance before dawn of day, and again concealed him in the cavern of a rock: at night he again renewed his journey; and in this manner did this faithful creature safely conduct his master a distance of an hundred miles, till he brought him to a navigable river, where he procured a canoe, and at night paddled it down with the stream, till he came to a post occupied by the whites, to whom he delivered his master in safety and unhurt.

The other instance occurred in Jamaica during the Maroon war, and is well attested by several respectable gentlemen, who were eye-witnesses of the transaction. During the ambuscade attack of the Maroons on Lieutenant-colonel Sandford's party of dragoons and militia, at a narrow defile leading from the New to Old Trelawny Maroon Town, a gentleman's negro servant, being close to his master, and observing a Maroon's piece levelled at him, he instantly threw himself between him and the

danger, and received the shot in his hody. Happily it did not prove mortal, and the faithful slave lived to enjoy the well-earned fruits of his master's gratitude.

On new-year's-day, it is customary for the creole negro girls of the towns, who conceive themselves superior to those on the plantations, to exhibit themselves in all the pride of gaudy finery, under the denomination of blues and reds- parties in rivalship and opposition to each other. They are generally dressed with much taste, sometimes at the expense of their white and brown mistresses, who take a pride in showing them off to the greatest advantage. Their gowns are of the finest muslin, with blue or pink satin spencers, trimmed with gold or silver, according to their party; and gold necklaces, ear-rings, and other expensive trinkets, shine to advantage on their jet black skins. The most comely young negresses are selected, and such as have a fine and tutored voice; they parade through the streets, two and two, in the most exact order, with appropriate flags and instrumental music, accompanied by their voices, the songs being for the most part such as they have caught from the whites, and which they previously practice for the occasion. Each party has its queen, who eclipses all the rest in the splendour of her dress. Their appearance, upon the whole, is tasteful and elegant, and would somewhat astonish a stranger who had associated with the idea of slavery other images than those of gaiety and costly display.

RARE PHENOMENA OF NATURE.

RAINBOWS, METEORS, MOCK SUNS, &c.
(From Dr. Stearn's American Oracle.)

THE RAINBOW is a meteor of divers colours, occasioned by the refraction and reflection of the light of the Sun falling on the surface of the drops of rain.

There are two Bows, the internal, and external. The former is produced by two refractions and one reflection. The first refraction is of incident rays proceeding to one common point, from which they are reflected to another,

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and from thence refracted a second time to another, which produces the various colours of the bow; as, the red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

The external bow is produced by the reflection of the interior bow. The internal is the brightest, and the external the less brilliant.

The higher the sun is above the horizon, the lower will the bow be; but the lower the sun is, the more will the bow be elevated. Rain-bows often appear where great rivers fall down steep places with such rapidity as to raise a mist in the air.

A METEOR is an imperfect mixed body, consisting of vapours drawn up into the middle regions of the air: they appear in divers forms. Some meteors are very large, and make a tremendous noise like a clap of thunder, and even cause the earth to tremble. "We have had several in America," says Dr., S. "since my remembrance, that have made dreadful explosions: they were undoubtedly generated by such combustibles as produce the thunder and lightning; but, in general, they fly through the hemisphere without any remarkable report.

SUN-DOGS, called MOCK SUNS, because they resemble the sun, are two spots that frequently appear in a cloud when the sun shines through it, and when he is about 15 or 20 degrees above the horizon. We often see them in America, and they commonly precede a storm. Their colour is much like that of the rainbow, and their magnitude equal to that of the apparent solar disc. One is situated on the north, and the other on the south side of the sun. The refraction and reflection of the rays of light are the cause of these phenomena.

We have also circles round the sun and moon frequently in America, which appear something like the rainbow, but of a paler colour. These are occasioned by the refraction and reflection of the solar and lunar rays, and are signs of rain or snow.

A HURRICANE is a violent storm of wind; and a wind is a current or stream of air, as a river is a currert or stream of water. The blowing of the Wind arises principally from two causes, viz. from the rarefaction and elevation of the atmosphere by the heat of the sun, and the condensation and depression of the same by the cold.

Hence the air, where the sun is vertical, becomes the most heated and rarefied; and being thereby made lighter, rises upwards, and the cold air on either side rushes in to restore an equilibrium.

A WATER-SPOUT is a mass of water collected between a cloud and the surface of the sea, in the shape of a pillar of water. These spouts are frequent in the West-Indies; and ships that are near them are in great danger, unless the spouts are broken and dispersed by a shot from the cannon. Some have supposed that water-spouts are caused by sulphureous explosions bursting out under the sea; and perhaps that may be the cause sometimes. I do not remember that I ever saw above one water-spout, and that was extended to the clouds: I supposed it was occasioned by a whirlwind. It doth not appear to me, that such explosions are the cause of water-spouts in general; because they would send the water up in an instant, and then it would immediately subside, unless a stream of fiery matter should continue to issue from under the sea. Again, if a fiery explosion was the cause, I should think they would not travel from place to place, as the one did which I saw."

THUNDER AND LIGHTNING AT BARBADOES. (Adams's Flowers of Modern Voyages.)

THE storms of rain and thunder in these regions exceed the comprehension of any European who never witnessed them. The thunder does not come in regular claps, but in one incessant roar, whilst the lightning is so vivid and incessant, that people may see to read or write in a dark room. The hurricane season, however, exceeds every thing besides. That which destroyed Bridgetown, in the year 1780, is still so deeply impressed upon the minds of the old inhabitants, that they shudder with horror at the very mention of it. Hundreds, too, who never bow the knee to their Creator all the rest of the year, appear in solemn procession at their respective churches on its anniversary. So completely was Bridgetown destroyed at that period, that it was with difficulty the scite of the houses could be

ascertained, as it was several hours occupied by the sea; and the number of lives lost never accurately known. It is at this time of the year, also, that the yellow fever generally shews itself, and happy is the European who can escape the contagion. In the months of October and November, 1807, nothing was to be seen but mourning families and funerals; when, as usual, the army and the navy suffered most.

To the wind that begins to blow in December, the appropriate name of The Doctor has been given, as at its approach the pestilence retires; and the languid patients no longer vexed with raging thirst, and a desire to lie quiet, begin to inhale new life and vigour. Here the uniform length of the day is from six in the morning till six in the evening. A stranger would be much surprised at the sudden disappearance of the light on the setting of the sun; for, as there is little twilight, in less than a quarter of an hour it becomes dark.

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PHENOMENON OF THE CORDILLERAS.
(The same)

SINGULAR optical phenomenon is seen by persons who visit the tops of the Cordilleras. The figure of the observer appears reflected upon the clouds, its head surrounded by concentric circles of the prismatic colours, making generally three circle irides, and at some distance, a fourth arch entirely white. This reflected figure moves in whatever direction the person of the observer does; but what seems most singular is, that when several persons are together, each one sees the phenomenon with regard to himself, but cannot perceive it as relating to others.

EARTHQUAKES, STORMS, &c. IN AMERICA.

EARTHQUAKE AT LIMA, &c.
(Winterbotham's America.)

EARTHQUAKES happen at Lima so frequently, that the inhabitants are under continual apprehensions of being, from their suddenness and violence, buried in