He writes to Mr. Hare (date not given): "The landscapes around me here are noble and lovely as any that can be conceived on Earth. How indeed could it be otherwise, in a small Island of volcanic mountains, far within the Tropics, and perpetually covered with the richest vegetation?" The moral aspect of things is by no means so good; but neither is that without its fair features. "So far as I see, the Slaves here are cunning, deceitful and idle; without any great aptitude12 for ferocious13 crimes, and with very little scruple14 at committing others. But I have seen them much only in very favorable circumstances. They are, as a body, decidedly unfit for freedom; and if left, as at present, completely in the hands of their masters, will never become so, unless through the agency of the Methodists." 9
In the Autumn came an immense hurricane; with new and indeed quite perilous15 experiences of West-Indian life. This hasty Letter, addressed to his Mother, is not intrinsically his remarkablest from St. Vincent: but the body of fact delineated in it being so much the greatest, we will quote it in preference. A West-Indian tornado17, as John Sterling witnesses it, and with vivid authenticity18 describes it, may be considered worth looking at.
"To Mrs. Sterling, South Place, Knightsbridge, London.
"BRIGHTON, ST. VINCENT, 28th August, 1831.
"MY DEAR MOTHER,—The packet came in yesterday; bringing me some Newspapers, a Letter from my Father, and one from Anthony, with a few lines from you. I wrote, some days ago, a hasty Note to my Father, on the chance of its reaching you through Grenada sooner than any communication by the packet; and in it I spoke19 of the great misfortune which had befallen this Island and Barbadoes, but from which all those you take an interest in have happily escaped unhurt.
"From the day of our arrival in the West Indies until Thursday the 11th instant, which will long be a memorable20 day with us, I had been doing my best to get ourselves established comfortably; and I had at last bought the materials for making some additions to the house. But on the morning I have mentioned, all that I had exerted myself to do, nearly all the property both of Susan and myself, and the very house we lived in, were suddenly destroyed by a visitation of Providence21 far more terrible than any I have ever witnessed.
"When Susan came from her room, to breakfast, at eight o'clock, I pointed22 out to her the extraordinary height and violence of the surf, and the singular appearance of the clouds of heavy rain sweeping23 down the valleys before us. At this time I had so little apprehension24 of what was coming, that I talked of riding down to the shore when the storm should abate25, as I had never seen so fierce a sea. In about a quarter of an hour the House-Negroes came in, to close the outside shutters26 of the windows. They knew that the plantain-trees about the Negro houses had been blown down in the night; and had told the maid-servant Tyrrell, but I had heard nothing of it. A very few minutes after the closing of the windows, I found that the shutters of Tyrrell's room, at the south and commonly the most sheltered end of the House, were giving way. I tried to tie them; but the silk handkerchief which I used soon gave way; and as I had neither hammer, boards nor nails in the house, I could do nothing more to keep out the tempest. I found, in pushing at the leaf of the shutter27, that the wind resisted, more as if it had been a stone wall or a mass of iron, than a mere28 current of air. There were one or two people outside trying to fasten the windows, and I went out to help; but we had no tools at hand: one man was blown down the hill in front of the house, before my face; and the other and myself had great difficulty in getting back again inside the door. The rain on my face and hands felt like so much small shot from a gun. There was great exertion29 necessary to shut the door of the house.
"The windows at the end of the large room were now giving way; and I suppose it was about nine o'clock, when the hurricane burst them in, as if it had been a discharge from a battery of heavy cannon30. The shutters were first forced open, and the wind fastened them back to the wall; and then the panes31 of glass were smashed by the mere force of the gale32, without anything having touched them. Even now I was not at all sure the house would go. My books, I saw, were lost; for the rain poured past the bookcases, as if it had been the Colonarie River. But we carried a good deal of furniture into the passage at the entrance; we set Susan there on a sofa, and the Black Housekeeper33 was even attempting to get her some breakfast. The house, however, began to shake so violently, and the rain was so searching, that she could not stay there long. She went into her own room and I stayed to see what could be done.
"Under the forepart of the house, there are cellars built of stone, but not arched. To these, however, there was no access except on the outside; and I knew from my own experience that Susan could not have gone a step beyond the door, without being carried away by the storm, and probably killed on the spot. The only chance seemed to be that of breaking through the floor. But when the old Cook and myself resolved on this, we found that we had no instrument with which it would be possible to do it. It was now clear that we had only God to trust in. The front windows were giving way with successive crashes, and the floor shook as you may have seen a carpet on a gusty34 day in London. I went into our bedroom; where I found Susan, Tyrrell, and a little Colored girl of seven or eight years old; and told them that we should probably not be alive in half an hour. I could have escaped, if I had chosen to go alone, by crawling on the ground either into the kitchen, a separate stone building at no great distance, or into the open fields away from trees or houses; but Susan could not have gone a yard. She became quite calm when she knew the worst; and she sat on my knee in what seemed the safest corner of the room, while every blast was bringing nearer and nearer the moment of our seemingly certain destruction.—
"The house was under two parallel roofs; and the one next the sea, which sheltered the other, and us who were under the other, went off, I suppose about ten o'clock. After my old plan, I will give you a sketch35, from which you may perceive how we were situated:—
[In print, a figure representing a floor-plan appears here]
The a, a are the windows that were first destroyed: b went next; my books were between the windows b, and on the wall opposite to them. The lines c and d mark the directions of the two roofs; e is the room in which we were, and 2 is a plan of it on a larger scale. Look now at 2: a is the bed; c, c the two wardrobes; b the corner in which we were. I was sitting in an arm-chair, holding my Wife; and Tyrrell and the little Black child were close to us. We had given up all notion of surviving; and only waited for the fall of the roof to perish together.
"Before long the roof went. Most of the materials, however, were carried clear away: one of the large couples was caught on the bedpost marked d, and held fast by the iron spike36; while the end of it hung over our heads: had the beam fallen an inch on either side of the bedpost, it must necessarily have crushed us. The walls did not go with the roof; and we remained for half an hour, alternately praying to God, and watching them as they bent37, creaked, and shivered before the storm.
"Tyrrell and the child, when the roof was off, made their way through the remains38 of the partition, to the outer door; and with the help of the people who were looking for us, got into the kitchen. A good while after they were gone, and before we knew anything of their fate, a Negro suddenly came upon us; and the sight of him gave us a hope of safety. When the people learned that we were in danger, and while their own huts were flying about their ears, they crowded to help us; and the old Cook urged them on to our rescue. He made five attempts, after saving Tyrrell, to get to us; and four times he was blown down. The fifth time he, and the Negro we first saw, reached the house. The space they had to traverse was not above twenty yards of level ground, if so much. In another minute or two, the Overseers and a crowd of Negroes, most of whom had come on their hands and knees, were surrounding us; and with their help Susan was carried round to the end of the house; where they broke open the cellar window, and placed her in comparative safety. The force of the hurricane was, by this time, a good deal diminished, or it would have been impossible to stand before it.
"But the wind was still terrific; and the rain poured into the cellars through the floor above. Susan, Tyrrell, and a crowd of Negroes remained under it, for more than two hours: and I was long afraid that the wet and cold would kill her, if she did not perish more violently. Happily we had wine and spirits at hand, and she was much nerved by a tumbler of claret. As soon as I saw her in comparative security, I went off with one of the Overseers down to the Works, where the greater number of the Negroes were collected, that we might see what could be done for them. They were wretched enough, but no one was hurt; and I ordered them a dram apiece, which seemed to give them a good deal of consolation39.
"Before I could make my way back, the hurricane became as bad as at first; and I was obliged to take shelter for half an hour in a ruined Negro house. This, however, was the last of its extreme violence. By one o'clock, even the rain had in a great degree ceased; and as only one room of the house, the one marked f; was standing40, and that rickety,—I had Susan carried in a chair down the hill, to the Hospital; where, in a small paved unlighted room, she spent the next twenty-four hours. She was far less injured than might have been expected from such a catastrophe41.
"Next day, I had the passage at the entrance of the house repaired and roofed; and we returned to the ruins of our habitation, still encumbered42 as they were with the wreck43 of almost all we were possessed44 of. The walls of the part of the house next the sea were carried away, in less I think than half an hour after we reached the cellar: when I had leisure to examine the remains of the house, I found the floor strewn with fragments of the building, and with broken furniture; and our books all soaked as completely as if they had been for several hours in the sea.
"In the course of a few days I had the other room, g, which is under the same roof as the one saved, rebuilt; and Susan stayed in this temporary abode45 for a week,—when we left Colonarie, and came to Brighton. Mr. Munro's kindness exceeds all precedent46. We shall certainly remain here till my Wife is recovered from her confinement47. In the mean while we shall have a new house built, in which we hope to be well settled before Christmas.
"The roof was half blown off the kitchen, but I have had it mended already; the other offices were all swept away. The gig is much injured; and my horse received a wound in the fall of the stable, from which he will not be recovered for some weeks: in the mean time I have no choice but to buy another, as I must go at least once or twice a week to Colonarie, besides business in Town. As to our own comforts, we can scarcely expect ever to recover from the blow that has now stricken us. No money would repay me for the loss of my books, of which a large proportion had been in my hands for so many years that they were like old and faithful friends, and of which many had been given me at different times by the persons in the world whom I most value.
"But against all this I have to set the preservation48 of our lives, in a way the most awfully49 providential; and the safety of every one on the Estate. And I have also the great satisfaction of reflecting that all the Negroes from whom any assistance could reasonably be expected, behaved like so many Heroes of Antiquity50; risking their lives and limbs for us and our property, while their own poor houses were flying like chaff51 before the hurricane. There are few White people here who can say as much for their Black dependents; and the force and value of the relation between Master and Slave has been tried by the late calamity52 on a large scale.
"Great part of both sides of this Island has been laid completely waste. The beautiful wide and fertile Plain called the Charib Country, extending for many miles to the north of Colonarie, and formerly53 containing the finest sets of works and best dwelling-houses in the Island, is, I am told, completely desolate54: on several estates not a roof even of a Negro hut standing. In the embarrassed circumstances of many of the proprietors55, the ruin is, I fear, irreparable.—At Colonarie the damage is serious, but by no means desperate. The crop is perhaps injured ten or fifteen per cent. The roofs of several large buildings are destroyed, but these we are already supplying; and the injuries done to the cottages of the Negroes are, by this time, nearly if not quite remedied.
"Indeed, all that has been suffered in St. Vincent appears nothing when compared with the appalling56 loss of property and of human lives at Barbadoes. There the Town is little but a heap of ruins, and the corpses57 are reckoned by thousands; while throughout the Island there are not, I believe, ten estates on which the buildings are standing. The Elliotts, from whom we have heard, are living with all their family in a tent; and may think themselves wonderfully saved, when whole families round them were crushed at once beneath their houses. Hugh Barton, the only officer of the Garrison58 hurt, has broken his arm, and we know nothing of his prospects59 of recovery. The more horrible misfortune of Barbadoes is partly to be accounted for by the fact of the hurricane having begun there during the night. The flatness of the surface in that Island presented no obstacle to the wind, which must, however, I think have been in itself more furious than with us. No other island has suffered considerably60.
"I have told both my Uncle and Anthony that I have given you the details of our recent history;—which are not so pleasant that I should wish to write them again. Perhaps you will be good enough to let them see this, as soon as you and my Father can spare it.... I am ever, dearest Mother,
"Your grateful and affectionate
"JOHN STERLING."
This Letter, I observe, is dated 28th August, 1831; which is otherwise a day of mark to the world and me,—the Poet Goethe's last birthday. While Sterling sat in the Tropical solitudes61, penning this history, little European Weimar had its carriages and state-carriages busy on the streets, and was astir with compliments and visiting-cards, doing its best, as heretofore, on behalf of a remarkable16 day; and was not, for centuries or tens of centuries, to see the like of it again!—
At Brighton, the hospitable62 home of those Munros, our friends continued for above two months. Their first child, Edward, as above noticed, was born here, "14th October, 1831;"—and now the poor lady, safe from all her various perils63, could return to Colonarie under good auspices64.
It was in this year that I first heard definitely of Sterling as a contemporary existence; and laid up some note and outline of him in my memory, as of one whom I might yet hope to know. John Mill, Mrs. Austin and perhaps other friends, spoke of him with great affection and much pitying admiration65; and hoped to see him home again, under better omens66, from over the seas. As a gifted amiable67 being, of a certain radiant tenuity and velocity68, too thin and rapid and diffusive69, in danger of dissipating himself into the vague, or alas70 into death itself: it was so that, like a spot of bright colors, rather than a portrait with features, he hung occasionally visible in my imagination.
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1
sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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volcanic
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| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
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isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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chasms
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| 裂缝( chasm的名词复数 )； 裂口； 分歧； 差别 | |
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placidly
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| adv.平稳地，平静地 | |
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pensive
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| a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的 | |
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8
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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agitations
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| （液体等的）摇动( agitation的名词复数 )； 鼓动； 激烈争论； （情绪等的）纷乱 | |
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appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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abeyance
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| n.搁置，缓办，中止，产权未定 | |
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aptitude
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| n.(学习方面的)才能，资质，天资 | |
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ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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scruple
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| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
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perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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tornado
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| n.飓风，龙卷风 | |
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authenticity
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| n.真实性 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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abate
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| vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退 | |
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shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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shutter
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| n.百叶窗；(照相机)快门；关闭装置 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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panes
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| 窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 ) | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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housekeeper
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| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
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gusty
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| adj.起大风的 | |
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sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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spike
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| n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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encumbered
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| v.妨碍，阻碍，拖累( encumber的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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precedent
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| n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的 | |
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confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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48
preservation
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| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
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49
awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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50
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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51
chaff
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| v.取笑，嘲笑；n.谷壳 | |
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52
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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53
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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54
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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55
proprietors
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| n.所有人，业主( proprietor的名词复数 ) | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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corpses
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| n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
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garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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solitudes
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| n.独居( solitude的名词复数 )；孤独；荒僻的地方；人迹罕至的地方 | |
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hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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auspices
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| n.资助，赞助 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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66
omens
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| n.前兆，预兆( omen的名词复数 ) | |
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amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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velocity
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| n.速度，速率 | |
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diffusive
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| adj.散布性的，扩及的，普及的 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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