shimmer like bronze.

... The water of the harbor is transparent and pale green. One
can see many fish, and some small sharks. White butterflies are
fluttering about us in the blue air. Naked black boys are bathing
on the beach;--they swim well, but will not venture out far
because of the sharks. A boat puts off to bring colored girls on
board. They are tall, and not uncomely, although very dark;--
they coax us, with all sorts of endearing words, to purchase bay
rum, fruits, Florida water.... We go ashore in boats. The water
of the harbor has a slightly fetid odor.



VIII.


Viewed from the bay, under the green shadow of the hills
overlooking it, Frederiksted has the appearance of a beautiful
Spanish town, with its Romanesque piazzas, churches, many arched
buildings peeping through breaks in a line of mahogany, bread-
fruit, mango, tamarind, and palm trees,--an irregular mass of at
least fifty different tints, from a fiery emerald to a sombre
bluish-green. But on entering the streets the illusion of beauty
passes: you find yourself in a crumbling, decaying town, with
buildings only two stories high. The lower part, of arched
Spanish design, is usually of lava rock or of brick, painted a
light, warm yellow; the upper stories are most commonly left
unpainted, and are rudely constructed of light timber. There are
many heavy arcades and courts opening on the streets with large