Cambridge (4 page)

The interior of the house is grand, as I said. The rooms, however, are not ceiled, and the beams protrude to afford a better circulation of air. The central hall is furnished with sofas for the purpose of relaxation, and the walls sport many prints and maps, some of which relate to navigation, a great number being of local interest and depicting the divisions of land and the breadth and extent of the estates. The most interesting of these maps is the one which shows the trafficking islands in relation to each other. I was able to discern that our own island, amply blessed with beauty, is nevertheless modest in size. Littering the central hall and the bed-chambers are any number of rockers and chests of drawers. These are all of a solid wood construction, which leads one to imagine that many fine craftsmen have clearly abandoned England to work in these tropical dimes where, I can only imagine, there is a greater abundance and variety of wood, and perhaps superior quality also.

The veranda, or piazza as it is more commonly known, looks out over the estate. It is furnished with loungers and rockers, chess and backgammon boards, and a spy-glass so that one might observe in one direction the labourers at work in the fields, and in the other direction the passing of ships on the horizon. All the windows in the Great House are equipped with Venetian blinds which permit the free movement of air, and these blinds also close off some light which enables those inside to rest in cool and comfortable gloom. Beneath the house,
porkers and poultry find shade and shelter and are allowed to run wild. Their retreat is well respected, but I wonder at the noise they occasion, and fear the smell in such heat. Cookery is performed in a separate building designed for this purpose but this
kitchen
is located close enough to the dining room so that during transportation the food should not be allowed to cool excessively, or be infested with insects or other pests. Some negroes appear to dwell in the hall at all times of the day so as to be near their master's call, but the majority are engaged in field-work. Their village, the sugar plant, and the attendant workshops, are all visible from the piazza. I presume that in the evening the house-servants slink away to their abodes, for there is properly no provision made for them beneath this elegant roof.

Now, in conclusion, to the dining room. Fitted out with dining table and chairs of the finest mahogany, and a sideboard charged with crystal, china plates, and silver cutlery, it is one of the most distinguished I have ever seen. The curtains are of a heavy material and fall full-length to the floor. I entered without escort and found Mr Brown, a ruddy-complexioned man whom I imagine to be in his late thirties. He was sitting at the head of the broad table, his feet upon a chair, engaged in digging out mud from the soles of his boots with, of all implements, a dining fork. Squatting obsequiously beside him, a black boy was catching this mud and hurrying to toss it out of the window so that it might not lay where it fell. Observing my entrance Mr Brown drew his person to attention, nearly crushing the poor
blackie
beneath his soiled footwear. He announced himself and came forward to shake my hand. This action marked the onset and the conclusion of this man's civility. Once more he took his seat, but his full attention was now held by the food. Stella carried out the operation of serving at table, but the normal intercourse one might expect between host and stranger was sadly lacking in this instance. For example, I remarked to Mr Brown that it was a very fine day today, to which he replied that
I would be tired of saying this before the week was over. I then observed the multitude of black servants, and commented that they all seemed good-humoured, and that I found it pleasant to observe them. His only response was to cackle rudely and attack his meat with renewed vigour, as though it might quit his plate were he not to impale it.

There is little more I can recount of our dinner with reference to conversation, for this man's ignorance knew no boundaries. I asked after Mr Wilson, which elicited mocking laughter. He announced that once I had rested he would speak with me of the affairs of the estate. I chose not to press him, having already made up my mind that immediately I could obtain ink and paper I would insist to Father that this arrogant man must go. My peace of mind was further disturbed by the sudden intrusion of a negro woman whom it would appear had station above Stella. She momentarily took a seat at the table and whispered into the ear of this Mr Brown. Then' she smirked and took off again without so much as a 'Good evening, ma'am' to myself, or a 'By your leave' to anybody present. Stella appeared to tolerate the insubordination of this black wench, but I had already determined upon a meal of inner contemplation dignified by an outward display of stern resolution.

Of the meal itself mere was little with which I could find fault, except perhaps its extravagance. The table is clearly one of wasteful plenty, in violation of all rules of domestic propriety. I have never seen such rich and heavily seasoned food: land- and sea-turtles, quails, snipes and pigeons, doves and plover. Excellent port, pepperpot, and men heavy vegetables which bore some resemblance to potatoes and cabbage, but were only near-cousin to these familiar staples of my diet. Dishes of tea, coffee, bumpers of claret, Madeira,
sangaree,
were all to be followed with citrus fruits and tarts of pineapple. I did enquire of Mr Brown if such a banquet were usual, to which he nodded as he pushed another stewed fish into his mouth. I could only imagine that he eats but once
a day. For my part I must confess I found such excesses vulgar.

The service provided by the blacks was decidedly tardy and bore little relation to the luxury of the food. Stella's charges seemed to find it convenient to set the dishes on the table in a careless and crooked fashion. Silver flagons kept company with cheap earthenware, and many of these servants and assistants (there appeared to be one for every dish upon the table) wore nothing upon their feet and salivated as they observed us eating. The busiest among them were those who drove away swarms of hungry flies with the slow, rhythmical swaying of the great palm leaves. For the rest this was an opportunity to cast greedy eyes on what they would no doubt later wolf. I regarded their teeming presence with great distaste and vowed that in the morning I would bring up this surplus with Mr Brown.

It is indeed sad that my first day should have ended so unpleasantly. Perhaps it is too much to expect an immediate adjustment to the ways of the tropics, but surely good manners rise above dime and conditions. Outside, in the darkness, I can hear unfamiliar noises. The sawing of the mosquitoes I am already accustomed to, as I am too with the grunting and squawking of poultry and pigs beneath my chamber. But the distant braying of what I imagine to be negroes, and the ghostly silence of the house about me, leads me to wonder where exactly Mr Brown's quarters are, should there be aught to trouble me. O how I miss my Isabella. Should I encounter difficulty in sleeping mere is nobody to whom I might turn.

These past three to four weeks have been the most difficult I can recall. To be more accurate, the most difficult I cannot recall, for my memory of them has been clouded by fever. Although still far from being hearty, I am so much improved, I imagine that if anyone who saw me a week ago were to look upon me now they would not believe me to be the same person. As to the origins of my illness, at first I thought it some slabbery thing
that had caused my stomach to stand up. After all, the table on my first night was brimming with fowl, fish and vegetables with which I was unfamiliar. But my stomach stood up and lay back down again, and still the fever had me in her grip. It was at this juncture that I succumbed to a real fear that I might have contracted the same distemper which carried off Isabella. Stella summoned the doctor, who worried that I might fall a rapid sacrifice to this climate. Accordingly, he redoubled his attentiveness to me. It was shortly after the arrival of the doctor that I lost all recollection of what was taking place about my person. Now I am improved and instructed to take great care of what I put to my mouth. I must, in addition, observe a strict diet of short walks to help rebuild my strength.

Since recovering my senses I have had the opportunity to speak with the physician, Mr McDonald, a Scotchman, who has the good fortune to practise one of the two professions, the other being the law, which offer great opportunities for those who would seek to amass a fortune in this remaining part of our American empire. An intelligent and humane man, he held my interest with his account of the qualities of tropical life, and the characteristics of both the slaves and the whites, as he had observed and experienced them. He informed me that an important branch of his duties involves caring for the blacks of various estates. There is upon every estate a hospital (or sick-house as the negroes sometimes term it) for the treatment of ailing blacks. The most common diseases of the negro are slight in comparison with those that daily threaten the unseasoned white population. Disorders of the stomach are often caused by the consumption of unripe cane which, though full of sweet juice and palatable enough, is not to be relished by those who must of necessity retain their power to stand. The negro child is easy prey for the disorders of the small-pox, measles, and whooping cough. The earlier a child takes these disorders after it is weaned, then the sooner it can grow tall and straight having passed the principal diseases attendant to its
youth. Perhaps the most disturbing of all the diseases related to me by Mr McDonald was that occasioned by the discomforting attentions of a small insect known as a
chegoe,
or
jigger
as the negroes express it. This creature buries itself in their feet, and if not extracted in time nests and breeds in the flesh. Some indolent beings allow these insects to attain such a size that it is impossible for them to be taken out. They feed upon the flesh, sometimes with mortal consequences. The more fortunate are obliged to suffer amputation, often as far as the knee.

Mr McDonald is required to visit each estate once a week, for which he receives an annual stipend depending upon the number of blacks in his charge. Should he have to perform additional services, such as amputation, then he is free to make extra charges. Naturally, he serves several proprietors, so that many hundreds of blacks are under his stewardship. And, of course, he will make heavier charges for the servicing of whites, which demands closer attention. Unfortunately, the greater part of a tropical doctor's life is squandered on the bizarre imaginary diseases with which the negro claims to be suffering. Monday morning is a great time for the lazy or ill-disposed negroes to gather together at the sick-house, with heads tied up, groaning as though in terminal agony, eyes barely open, one leg dragging after the other. 'Massa, me bones do hurt me bad – me eyes turning in me head so.' Such sentiments are terminated by a long and mournful howl, as the black strives to effect his lazy deceitful purpose, which is to lie at ease in the sick-house. Most will happily irritate and keep alive old sores, inflict fresh ones, take nostrums of their own making, anything to excuse idleness. The most foolish cure to prescribe is the offer of castor oil, for most blacks so enjoy its texture and taste that they will happily fry fish and plantains in it. Mr McDonald sighed with exasperation as he recalled the woes of his profession, for it appears that far from being a sickly race, the negroes are in general muscular and robust, never fearful of the heat (although a chilly day renders them miserable and
much desirous of a glass of
massa's
rum). Erect and well-formed, their quality is attributed by Mr McDonald directly to their lack of tight clothing, which in infancy and childhood can lead to deformities among white and civilized people.

The prospect of such easy wealth has attracted many
quacks
and under-qualified physicians to these islands, but as yet there is no thorough means of checking a man's credentials should he step from a ship and claim the title of
Doctor.
Mr McDonald, however, seems ably fitted for the office, and to be acquainted not only with the frontiers of his profession, but with the personal business of this populous island, both black and white. His medical conclusion was that a book of medical treatment, especially of such diseases as are incidental to tropical climes, should be kept on every West Indian property. His recipe for white survival was as follows: to avoid exposure to the sun, eat sparingly, avoid mixing wines and fruits, take no coconut water, malt liquor or cider, eat a fair proportion of animal food or fish, and take at least two to three glasses of Madeira every day. Fear is the greatest dispatcher, but after the first rainy season the Englishman is seasoned, although some beneficial exercise beyond the sun's rays is to be recommended. According to Mr McDonald the climate of the West Indies is still spoken of with dread by those who have never crossed the Atlantic, and by others who have lost relatives through imprudence. There is in this grave talk much exaggeration and a good deal of ignorance. Mr McDonald's conversations were warmly welcome as I lay prostrate and panting on my bed, unable to find sleep, yet not so enervated that I was unable to pay attention to his finely chosen words. Clearly this was a man of impartial mind who would neither herd with the unprincipled whites, nor rally the blacks for their self-evident inferiority.

Stella is yet another who seems extraordinarily well qualified for the role of dutiful and patient attendant to the infirm. Of her pedigree there appears to be nothing that one might term unusual. Her mother was born a slave in these parts, but of
her father she claims to know little, believing him to have been sold off to another estate. Perhaps this is her
black
way of disguising some greater embarrassment? A fine breeder, her three surviving children have long since been scattered to distant plantations. When she speaks of her lost children, Stella adopts the familiar doting tones of a mother, wishing to see them grown into strong and responsible men, but sadly having little notion of their present whereabouts or their moral or physical well-being. The father of these children remains a mystery, but I suspect strongly that the three siblings do not share the same paternal blood. According to Mr McDonald negro relations would appear to have much in common with those practised by animals of the field, for they seem to find nothing unnatural in breeding with whomsoever they should stumble upon.