The Sun.
London, England, 1828-04-10 00:00:00

PRICE 7D.

SIX WEEKS IN BERMUDA.

()hied the tran-
spoOrtl, No. Sunday —, which— day
hado previouPly f
received on
board the part of the regiment to which I belonged,
and which, with the remainder on board another
the -
ship, were ordered to Halifax Ltd Bermuda, to re-
inforce the garrisons of those places. In the former
my lot was to be cast for the term of three tedious
Years, but I heard with satisfaction that our com-
mander had received orders to call at Bermuda to
land some men and military stores, which would
afford me the long desired opportunity of satisfying
myself of the beauty of these isles of which I had so
often heard. We sailed from the Downs with a fair
wind, which soon left little of our native land in
view, and that little scarcely distinguishable from
the adjoining ocean. The scenes of a soldier's life
are so constantly and quickly changed, that his affec-
tions, unlike those of persons following more peace-
able professions, are not suffered to concentrate on
Any particular spot. Therefore, I shall not be ac-
ctisecf of want of feeling, when I say that neither
myself or fellow-passengers exhibited much sorrow
when. our straining
:eyes could no longer catch a
glimpse -ortlie cliffs &Britain..

Sea voyages vary so little in their general charac-
ter, that it would only be the repetition of an old
story, to say much about ours—we suffered the usual
penalty of sea-sickness for a few dayshad our full
proportion of calms—saw dolphins and porpoises ie
abundance=-met with no seriously bad weather, and
were all kept in good health. Five weeks had thus
passed, when the Captain announced that we were
in the latitude of the islands, and might expect, if
fortunate, the next day to see land. On account of
the prevalence in these latitudes of westerly winds,
for at least two-thirds of the year, it is customary
and advisable for navigators to get to the westward
of these islands, and when in the latitude make up
their longitude; we were accordingly steering east,
and the next day at twelve o'clock, heard the joyful
news, " Land a-head," which was echoed from
mouth to mouth, before and aft,. above and below.
This joy may be thought extravagant, but none but
those who have been so long cooped up as we were,
with the same prospect, morning, noon, and night,
and the same faces to be seen at all times, can form
any just idea of the pleasure arising from the pros-
pect of once more having room to stretch yourself to
your natural dimensions, and viewing the human
face divine in greater variety, I mounted the fore-
top to see it, but confess I could not discover a ves-
tige of land ; however, the practised eye of the sea-
man, left it undoubted, it is astonishing how soon
they discover objects at sea, while the landsmen can
see nothing—just as the American Indians trace the
footsteps of others, over the dry leaves of the inter-
minable forests which that quarter of the world pre-
sents in its interior. Happily for us, the wind was
fair anti sufficient in force, to waft us along with all
sail set, or to use a seafaring phrase, we had a whole-
sail breeze. This soon brought us so near as to dis-
- ti aguish from deck the white houses and green trees,
all very delightful to those eyes which had scarcely
had any other view than the wide.expanse of ocean,
with occasionally a sail like a speck en the horizon,
for a long period of time. The proud British union
jack was hoisted at the mast-head for a pilot, and
soon had the desired effect ; three small boats were
seen approaching, and, as we had not slackened sail,
we were soon at issue. Now came the tug of war, •
between these rival pilots, which was, however, soon
terminated by one of them running alongside, from
which sprang upon our deck a tall good-looking negro,
who came aft on the quarter-deck bowing and
scraping all the way, when the captain gave him
charge, and then went below to arrange his papers.
These Bermudian boats are bailt of cedar, which is
a very buoyantwood, and excellent for shipbuilding;
they draw from two to five feet water, with long
raking masts and shoulder-of-mutton sails; sail un-
commonly fast, are easily managed, perfectly side in
bad weather, and are in every respect adapted to
the purposes to which they are applied. The pilot,
as I have before remarked, was a tall negro, with a
very black and glossy skin, who seemed to know
_ _

every rock and shoal between which the vessel was

obliged to pass, and through many such we did paSs,
the helm being one minute up and the next down. The
entrance to the harbour of St. George is narrow, and
is protected by a fort called Cunningham. After
passing this entrance, we were soon in the well shel-

tered haven, surrounded on every side with hills co-
vered with cedar, and interspersed with clean look-
ing white houses. A few minutes sail brought us in
sight of the town, which presents one of the most
beautiful landscapes the eye ever rested on. .The
square tower to the little church—the white and
yellow houses—the clear and cloudless sky above,
with the dark foliage of the cedar clad hills in the
rear,—combine to make the scene most enchanting.
To the westward of the town is a hill called Fort
George, whore is situated the telegraph ; from the
hill several flags were displayed, communicating, no
doubt, to the other parts of the island the arrival of

a vessel from England, an event at all times of great
interest to the inhabitants of so isolated a place as
this. A number of boats, small and great, sur-
rounded us on all sides, as soon as we had anchored
—but no one came on board until the health officer

had made his visit. While we were below preparing
to land, we were informed that the Doctor was ap-
proaching; we hastened on deck expecting to see a
splendid barge with colours flying, and all the cir-
cumstance and pomp of power; but judge of our
astonishment to see a portly gentleman seated in the
stern of a paltry little boat, with a blind negro man
and a negro woman for rowers, and a pile of cedar
wood in the bow of the boat. We landed upon the
King's-square, which is behind the island, called
Ordnance Island, on which are deposited ordnance
storm s. lam sorry to say that the town looked bet-
ter in the distance than on close inspection. The
streets are extremely narrow, which, however, is
undoubtedly an advantage in all warm climates, as
it creates much- pleasant shade, and without which
walking in the middle of the day would not be bear-
able. The houses are low, scarcely ever exceeding
two stories, and built substantially of a kind of sand-
stone with which this island abounds. This stone
is easily quarried, arid can be squared with a com-
mon hand-saw, but becomes harder by exposure to
the atmosphere. The barracks are situated on a
hill to the eastward of the town, and are very com-
modious, and would probably comfortably accom-
modate two thousand troops. There are few springs
in the island, and consequently the people depend
on ram—for the purpose of catching which they
have large tanks, built of stone, and covered with
Roman cement. The air being free from smoke,
and the roofs of the houses newly whitewashed, the
water. thus caught is very pure, and is really as deli-
most
mons as any I ever tasted. The Government have
large reservoirs of water on the north side of
.the
town for the supply of the navy. The fortifications
for the protection of this end of Bermuda, are the
already mentioned Fort Cunningham, at the mouth.
of the harbour, and a fort called Catharine, not
.quite
completed, situated at the north-east extremity of
St. George's Island.
The hospitality of the inhabitants of these roman-
tic isles, is proverbial, and, I am sure, I
.have great
cause to echo their praises, for, from. the time of my
parties of pleasure Nvere
oalrillii'graiiiigunattitlenintiyond;e
formed to visit other parts of the. island,. and such of
pfarertquureen,t experienced the
these as are worth the description I will narrate.
Our first jaunt was to. a place called Walsingban;
distant aboot three imie% from the town ; 'as the