If the blood of those thrice gallant men which
has been shed like water on the Vigie and Morne
Fortune was not to be shed in vain, much must be
done to render St. Lucia a valuable acquisition to
England. At present it is a British colony in
little more than the name. The religion is
Romish, and the spirit of its ministers bigotted
and intractable. The people are French in
language, manners and feelings. No progress
has beep made in amalgamating the two nations ;
nay, every attempt at it has been openly thwarted

* In Port of Spain they tell a story of a lady appearing at a
ball in a black silk gown with a splendid trimming of fireflies.
I forget whether the poor things were strung through, like
cockchafers, to keep them in spirits.
ST. LUCIA. 131

by the Romish clergy. They have no schools
themselves, and they forbid any of their flocks
to attend one in company with Protestants.
Those who can afford it send their children to
Martinique, the United States, or France; these
return with French politics and French predilec-
tions ; they submit sullenly to the English domi-
nion, and look forward to a change.
