onage, had retired to select, one a fine
fish, another a beautiful pullet; this one the quarter of a fine fat
buck, that one some fruits or vegetables, and a number of little negroes
were ordered to carry to the parsonage these voluntary tithes.

The priest reached his house, situated on one side, at some distance
from the village, overlooking the sea. Nothing could be more simple than
this modest wooden house, covered with roses, and of one story. Curtains
of clear linen dressed the windows and took the place of blinds, which
were a great luxury in the colonies.

A large room, comprising at the same time parlor and dining room,
communicated with the kitchen built at the rear; at the left of this
principal room were the bedroom of Father Griffen, and two other small
rooms opening into the garden and set apart for strangers or the other
priests of Martinique who might, at times, ask the hospitality of their
brother priest.

A henhouse, a stable for the horse, lodgings for two negroes, and
several sheds, completed this establishment, furnished with a rustic
simplicity. The garden had been carefully laid out. Four broad paths
were divided by many beds bordered by thyme, lavender, wild thyme,
hyssop and other fragrant plants. The four principal beds were
subdivided into numerous little ones set apart for vegetables or fruits,
but surrounded by wide borders of fragrant flowers. Between two little
walls of verdure, covered with Arabian jasmine and odorous creepers,
could be seen, in the horizon, the sea and the hills of the other
islands.

No fresher or more charming spot than this garden, in which the most
beautiful flowers mingled with fruits and magnificent vegetables, could
be found. Here a bed of melons, of an amber color, was bordered by dwarf
pomegranates, shaped like a small box and covered at the same time with
purple blossoms and fruit so heavy and so abundant that it touched the
earth. A little further on, a branch of Angola wood with its long, green
husks, and its blue flowers, was surrounded by a line of white and pink
almonds, sweet with perfume; the carrot plant, sorrel, gimgambo and
leek, were hidden in a fourfold rank of tuberoses of the richest tints;
finally, came a square of pineapples which perfumed the air, having a
row of magnificent cacti for a border, with yellow calix and long silver
pistils. Behind the house extended an orchard composed of cocoanuts,
bananas, guava, tamarind, and orange trees, w