dings generally concealed from view by
thick woods; while beyond are the cane-fields and the dark, low huts of
the negroes, standing together in the form of a village, far more
picturesque at a distance than when closely approached. But the woods
are the pride and beauty of the country; there the palm, the cocoa-nut,
the mountain cabbage, and the plantain are often associated with the
tamarind and orange, the oleander and African rose growing in rich
luxuriance, the scarlet cordium of a glowing red, the jasmine and
grenadilla vine forming verdant bowers, the lilac with tufted plumes,
the portlandia with white and silky leaves, together with an infinite
variety of flower and fruit bearing shrubs.

Such was the scenery surrounding Bellevue House, at which Ellen Ferris
and her father had now spent some weeks with the worthy attorney, Mr
Twigg, and his wife and family. Although there were rumours that the
blacks in distant districts were disaffected, it was difficult to trace
whence the reports originated, and it was generally believed that they
were without foundation. The Jumby dance which Archie Sandys had
witnessed some time before was considered a suspicious circumstance by
Mr Ferris; but the overseer assured him that the blacks on the estate
were all peaceably disposed, and that the assembly at the hut under the
cotton-tree was merely for the performance of some rite of their
barbarous religion, and should not cause the slightest uneasiness.

"I will keep an eye on what goes forward, and if I hear of any more
meetings of the sort, I will take good care to learn their object," said
the overseer. "You must let the blacks amuse themselves in their own
way, provided it does not interfere with work."

To Ellen, the blacks appeared happy and contented. She had no
opportunity, indeed, of looking very deeply into the state of the
matter. If the lash was used, she did not hear the cries of the
victims, nor see the marks on their backs. She heard that if they were
sick they were taken care of in an hospital, or rather in some huts
appropriated to that object, and that they were attended by the medical
man who had charge of that and two or three neighbouring estates. He
occasionally visited at the house, and appeared to be a good-natured,
merry individual, who told amusing stories about the negroes and their
wonderful ignorance. The negroes of whom she saw most were the domestic
slaves, who seemed attached to their ma