the Independence conferred by Washington and his
compatriots by the solemn declaration of the 4th July, 1776. Long
tables, under gay awnings, to shield the company from the burning rays
of the sun, which at the time were intense, groaned with every luxury
the climate afforded; but the banquet was not furnished by this alone,
for Cuba and some of the neighbouring islands, it was stated, had been
ransacked for delicacies. Crowds of elegantly-dressed ladies (in general
of very sallow look and languid air) and spirit-like children, with
swarthy-looking men, many of whose visages bore evident traces of
exposure to the ill effects of the climate and of dissipation, crowded
the festive board. The negro attendants in dozens moved about with
automatic order, as is characteristic of all the race on such occasions,
for the negro is a "model waiter" at a banquet. Their snowy costumes
contrasting strongly with their black visages and the jovial scene
around. The merry peals of laughter, as some unlucky wight upset a dish,
or scattered the sauce in everybody's face within reach, indicated
lightness of heart, and merriment and conviviality seemed the order of
the day.

The imposing scene before me, after a long absence from social meetings
in civilized life, was very cheering, and, had it not been for the
inertia I felt at the time, arising from a fatiguing journey and the
tertian ague, I should have felt disposed to participate in the day's
enjoyment. Other considerations might, however, have prevented this: I
was a stranger to all around, and knew that I should be either subjected
to impertinent interrogations, or become the object of invidious
remark--this, in my debilitated state of health, I felt anxious to
avoid, as calculated to impede my restoration. My joining the assembled
party might also have involved the chance of surveillance during my
stay, which, before my departure for Europe, I intended should be rather
protracted. I may have been mistaken in this view, but, from the
character I had heard of the place, I felt justified in giving way to
the suspicion.

I was beguiled into the erroneous idea that a sense of happiness and
security reigned in the assembled multitude, a notion quite fallacious,
from attendant circumstances, as I shall directly explain. Troops were
stationed at a guard-house in the vicinity, and the sentinels paced in
front of the building, as if in preparation for, or in expectation of, a
foe, affordin