which a twelvemonth previously had necessitated my
removal from Jamaica to the much more temperate and equable climate of
Cuba, albeit the two islands are only distant about five degrees from each
other. I was also one of Captain Starkey's passengers, and so was Senor
Arguellas, who had business to wind up in Kingston. He was to be
accompanied by Senora Arguellas, Antonia, the young lieutenant, and M.
Dupont. The _Neptune_ had brought a cargo of sundries, consisting of
hardware, cottons, _et cetera_, to Cuba, and was returning about
half-laden with goods. Among these, belonging to the American merchants,
were a number of barrels of gunpowder, that had proved unsalable in Cuba,
and which, it was thought, might find a satisfactory market in Jamaica.
There was excellent cabin-accommodation on board Captain Starkey's vessel,
and as the weather was fine, and the passage promised to be a brief as
well as pleasant one--the wind having shifted to the northwest, with the
intention, it seemed, of remaining there for some time--we were all, as I
have stated, in exceedingly good-humor, and discussing the intended trip,
Cuban, American, and European politics, the comparative merits of French
and Spanish wines, and Havanna and Alabama cigars, with infinite glee and
gusto.

The evening, too, was deliciously bright and clear. The breeze, pronounced
by Capt. Starkey to be rising to a five or six knot one at sea, only
sufficiently stirred the rich and odorous vegetation of the valleys,
stretching far away beneath us, gently to fan the heated faces of the
party with its grateful perfume, and slightly ripple the winding rivers,
rivulets rather, which every where intersect and irrigate the island, and
which were now glittering with the myriad splendors of the
intensely-lustrous stars that diadem a Cuban night. Nearly all the guests
had drunk very freely of wine, too much so, indeed; but the talk, in
French, which all could speak tolerably, did not profane the calm glory of
the scene, till some time after Senora Arguellas and her daughter had left
us. The senor, I should state, was still detained in town by business
which it was necessary he should dispose of previous to embarking for
Jamaica.

"Do not go away," said Senora Arguellas, addressing Captain Starkey, as
she rose from her seat, "till I see you again. When you are at leisure,
ring the _sonnette_ on the table and a servant will inform me. I wish to
speak further with you relative