The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1855-05-26
THE MAN IN ARMOR.
A SKETCH OF wEsT-iSDiAS LIFE.


Few sights are so beautiful TO Northern
eye as night in the tropics. The suddenness
of night-fall; the instantaneous bcaming
forth OF those wOndrous stars, SO apparently
near the feeling that earth, and moon, and
stars are floating together in lambent eth
er, all is new, wonderful, and beautiful.
Such were my delicious emotions as arri-
we'd, after wearisome sca.voyage, in the
harbor Of st. Thomas, in the West Indies.
As we approached the town, the gun fired
from the fort at the hour Of sunset, and
evening descended instantaneously. Venus,
the star Of the night, beamcd forth not the
cold beauty Of our Northern sky, but the
sweet, burning queen Of the South. Every
planet seemed neighbor; and it was some
time before could move my eyes from the
heavens, and gaze upon the scarcely less
beautiful earth.
The town, with its many lights-always 4
welcome sight to the traveller; the hilltop,
crowned with the Buccaneers Tower the
light, graceful boats Of the negroes crowdng
round the ship; their songs IN tho inelan-
choly minor key; the warm and tranq uil at.
mosphere, altogether carried me away into
the land of rcveric and dreams, and a pleas
ant languor and indstinctness took posses
sion Of me.
An enchanting picture said voice be-
hind me II was my friend, the silent Eng
lshman, as we called him Oh board
1T is indeed was all ! felt inclined TO
say.
The town, rising like the goddess from
the waves; the palms, tossing their branch.
es in the air; above, this transccndcnt sky;
at our feet, ocean, blue and beautiful
was astonshed to hear my silent friend
talk on at this rate, and turned TO look at
him lie was pale, sorrowful man and
Judged him to be one Of those inyalids who
try to piece out broken life by retreat to
these islands
you are familiar with this part OF the
worlds" ] suggested.
'Yes these are romantic places. ! have
an estate on one of them. come down to
see it now and then. They give tho estates
very queer names. Diamond and Ruby is
one of them; Prosperity 'Mary's Hope,
etc, etc Mine is called the Man in Ar
NOR
'Ah! then yours has the queercst name
yet
yes, and the queerest story; story OF
crime, Of misfortune, Of retributon q me-
lo.dfamatc story, for West-lndian life is ali
melo-drama Crime grows here like the
plants which grow in the jungles as wild
and distorted as they
In the hustle of landing, lost my friend,
and forgot him, his estate, and his story
until the next evening, met him pacing tho
piazza of the hotel, and smoking his segar
We joined company, and smoked together
lazily watching the ncgrcsscs posing their
burdens on the head, and walking under
them with the majesty Of dark Cleopatras,
chanting, as they walked, their wild, mel
ancholy songs
by the way remarked, you spoke o
your estate last night, and its history, as il
Il were no secret. Might stranger ask tc
hear il, or is it Of a private nature: ?
oh! by all means. Everybody knows it
On its own island, it is the favorite after
dinner topic and il you will take passage
with me on the little schooner, which to
morrow night will take me over to th'
neighboring island, will tell it to you by
the witching light Of these stars
accepted with alacrity. The next night
(for they do everything in the night in th'
West. .Indies,) we embarked on very crazy
little schooner; and | almost rcpented
when saw our crew, that foolish desire t
hear story had caused me to intrust my
precious self to captain who whstled fo
the wind, and who seemed descended frou
some African Hccuba, and whose assistant
were as black and wierd as himself How
ever, my friend seemed satisfied, and triet
to be.
You know my friend began, that thcs
planters generally send their sons to Englant
or the United States to be educated, and yO'
have probably some West.Indian boy il
your memory who was brigand, the des
perado Of your class at school. Two boys
Of the true type Of ungoverned tropicals
left this island We are now approaching man.
years ago for England. They were placed a
school, and were endured for the sake o
their money, which was supposed to be in
exhaustible. Philip, the eldest, was some
what amenable to law and order, after
time; but William, the younger, put oil al
thority at defiance, and at length, in fit @
passion, stabbed one of the boys.
Before the young murderer could b
caught, he and his brother had ciftctuall
escaped, and the only trace Of them was /
nclSnooTlIls Sca-poft, where tncy WcT
supposed to have embarked for home.
Meanwhile the father, whom shall ca
Vickars, received from England intelligenc
Of this transaction, but no news Of hi
boys. His distress can be better imagined
than described. His wife, Spanish wo
man, died under the agony aud suspense
All that was lett to him was one daughter
Annunciata, q child Of twelve years. II
sent east and west for his lost children, bu
no tidings came of them.
'One Other friend he had, who shared hi
watchings and his sorrows. This was tn
good Father Pedro, the Catholic priest, VIII
spent his life in the humble but unwcaryin
care Of his church and his people, and VIII
dearly loved the wife Of Xickars, one Of hi
most devout children. lie YSAQnc day sit
ting at q window which commanded the ses
talking to the afflicted father, and Offering
70 himself in search Of the lost boys, whe
in the extreme distance he deserted . sol
"A ship!' "a shipH How anxiously was sh
watched !--how intontly they had scanne
every sail for months !-how they sat wit
suspended breath till she came nearer!
AT length, after many weary hours, III
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