em very
much by marrying Captain Van Deck, whom they looked upon as my inferior
in rank, and I am full of doubts as to my reception. Had he been alive,
I should not have ventured to return; but now that he is in his grave, I
trust that their anger may be softened. I have no one else to depend
on. I cannot obtain my own livelihood; but they would not, I trust,
allow a relation to beg in the streets. If they will once receive me, I
hope, by my conduct, to gain their affection, which before I married I
did not, through my own fault, possess; and I therefore do not in any
way complain of their treatment of me. I have had, I assure you, a
great struggle with the rebellious spirit within me; but I have
conquered, and am happier even than I ever expected to be." In reply, I
assured her that I thought her relations would, after she had spent a
little time with them, rejoice at her return; for in the frame of mind
to which she had brought herself, I felt sure she would very soon gain
their regard; and I thought that little Maria could not fail of
attaching to herself every one who knew her.

I have not space to afford a full account of our journey. Indeed, I
cannot do more than give the general result of my observations. We had
passports, without which we could not have proceeded; and we were
obliged to obtain leave from each Resident to pass through his district.
We had four good little horses; and for many miles proceeded along the
plain, on a fine broad hard road, raised two or three feet above the
level of the country. The post houses are about six miles apart, and at
each of them there is a large wooden shed, stretching completely across
the road, to shelter the horses and travellers from the sun while the
horses are changed. The country, as we proceeded, became very rich and
highly cultivated; and between the groves of cocoa-nuts and areca palms,
and other trees, which bordered the road, we got glimpses of a fine
range of mountains, which increased its interest. The crops were
sugar-cane, and maize and rice. The rice-fields are divided into many
small plats or pans, about ten yards square, with ridges of earth
eighteen inches high, for the purpose of retaining the water, which is
kept two or three inches deep over the roots of the grain, till it is
just ready to ripen. A number of little sheds stood in the fields, with
a boy or girl stationed in each, who kept moving a collection of
strings, radiating in every