to obtain
employment. This is a subject, however, I would rather not dwell upon.
Whether my father acted wrongly or rightly, it is not for me to decide;
but I hold to the opinion that a man under such circumstances should
remain, and boldly face all difficulties.

We had a prosperous voyage, and my father and mother appeared to recover
their spirits. Marian and I enjoyed it excessively, as it was the first
time we had been on the sea. We took delight in watching the strange
fish which came swimming round the ship, or which gambolled on the
waves, or the birds which circled overhead; or in gazing by night at the
countless stars in the clear heavens, or at the phosphorescence which at
times covered the ocean, making it appear as if it had been changed into
a sea of fire.

At length we sighted the northern shore of the island which for a time
was to be our home. As we drew near we gazed at it with deep interest,
but were sadly disappointed on seeing only a lofty ridge of barren rocks
rising out of the water, and extending from east to west.

"Shure it would be a hard matter to grow sugar or coffee on that sort of
ground!" exclaimed Tim, pointing towards the unattractive-looking coast.

"Stay till we pass through the `Dragons' Mouths' and enter the Gulf of
Paria," observed the captain. "You will have reason to alter your
opinion then, my lad."

We stood on with a fair and fresh breeze through the "Boca Grande," one
of the entrances into the gulf, when a scene more beautiful than I had
ever before beheld burst on our view. On our right hand appeared the
mountains of Cumana, on the mainland of South America, their summits
towering to the clouds; on our left rose up the lofty precipices of
Trinidad, covered to their topmost height with numerous trees, their
green foliage contrasting with the intense blue of the sky. The shore,
as far as the eye could reach, was fringed with mangrove-trees, their
branches dipping into the sea. Astern were the four entrances to the
bay, called by Columbus the `Dragons' Mouths,' with verdant craggy isles
between them; while on our larboard bow, the western shore of the island
extended as far as the eye could reach, with ranges of green hills
intersected by valleys with glittering streams like chains of silver
running down their sides, towards the azure waters of the gulf.

We brought up in Chagaramus Bay, the then chief port of Trinidad, and
the next morning we went on shore at Port