by people of colour and Indians, who principally subsist by fishing, the manufacture of hammocks, for which they are celebrated, and the profits arising from their traffic in pearls, which are procured on their coasts, though not in such quantities as formerly. The native inhabitants are celebrated for their intrepidity and courage; qualities which, since the commencement of the revolutionary war, have so frequently deluged their island with blood, and reduced the number of its inhabitants at present not exceeding fifteen thousand. The obstinate resistance, with which, under ARISMENDI and other Patriot Chieftains, they have uniformly opposed to the inroads of their oppressors, with its commanding situation, as it regards the Caracas, has made Marguaritta the dread of the Spaniards, and given it a character in the late contest, far beyond its actual extent, or the number of its inhabitants.

6th-Upon entering the cabin as usual, the Captain, (an antiquated Scotchman, whose shrivelled and indurated features, small inanimate grey eyes, and diminutive body, were indicative of his inhumanity and narrowness of soul) although we had previously paid for a cabin passage, told us with the utmost coolness, and in the broadest scotch dialect, that "his weenie huse was his ain, an' out we should gang, an' forige for oursels;" this treatment, we were not in a condition to resent, but afterwards discovered its origin in the paucity of our provisions, and the deficien

cy of Whiskey or Rum, for which the old gentleman had a most profound veneration. This de privation was the more severe, as one of the passengers whose berth was contiguous to ours, and without any separation, was pronounced by the Surgeon (for we had one on board) to have caught the yellow fever; the rainy season had also set in, with extreme violence, which prevented us enjoying upon deck the sports of the natives of the deep; so that our situation either ways was unwholesome and distressing.

7th-A sail hove in sight, which we feared might be a Spanish Privateer, and prepared to give battle; whilst our attention was thus directed, a man at the mast-head descried land, but to what island or mainland it belonged, the Captain was uncertain. As we neared it, what was our astonishment to discover in the vessel, a Patriot Privateer, and the land to be-Marguaritta,from which we conceived ourselves to be a couple of days good sailing. The fact was-that the strong current occasioned by the Orinoco emptying itself, during the rainy season, with such violence into the gulph of Paria, had not only retarded our progress, but driven us in a retrograde direction. We again stood to sea, but the clouds of night closed around us, still lingering near this fated coast.

8th-This morning again found us hovering, as heretofore, on the shores of Marguaritta, as if encircled by the spell of a magician. The pas

senger, whose illness I have already mentioned, died; and his remains were consigned to the great deep. It was a sad sight; thus to see one of our party entombed in the ocean; three others in imminent danger; our vessel lingering on a coast where her crew dared not land, having quitted their privateers without the necessary passports; & ourprovisions and water rapidly decreasing, without any immediate appearance of reaching our destination. Towards mid-day the shores of Marguaritta became more obscure, and the Spanish Maine gradually became visible; the sight of which conjured up a variety of contending emotions. I saw before me the land which, in imagination, I had so often traversed ; the country where all the brilliant prospects, I had been led to expect, were to be realized; the theatre upon which the honours already reaped, in idea, were to be rewarded. How changed the picture! turning my back upon "the land of promise;" my sanguine expectations almost blasted; my ideal pleasures smothered by the cravings of nature, without a sufficiency of food to alleviate them; flying from anticipated evils still more dreadful, in a vessel, whose only berth allowed was occupied by a companion in fever; and destitute of clothing sufficient to resist the torrents of rain which poured upon deck. But why reflect upon the scenes that are past; the cherub hope still clung to my breast, and perseverance was alone necessary. Mr. O'BRIEN, one

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of our officers, was during the whole of this day dangerously ill, and the medicine exhausted.

9th-The morn was ushered in by a succession of peals of thunder, almost mcessant flashes of lightning, and frequent severe squalls. Towards evening the severity of the weather somewhat abated. About midnight we were summoned from our wretched resting places, to witness the last sad disposal of poor O'BRIEN's remains; he had expired about ten minutes before in the arms of Captain SKERRETT. The uncommon interest taken by this gentleman, in the sufferings and untimely fate of young O'BRIEN, was perhaps increased by those paternal feelings, which, as the father of a family, he so often indulged; a tear was all that any of us could af ford, as tangible consolation was not in our power, and sorrow and regret were the only species of alleviation we could bestow upon the death-bed sufferings of our companion.

The body was wrapped in a sack, and towards one o'clock, on the morning of the 10th, committed to its watery abode. The awful solemnity of the midnight obsequies, were much increased by the continued peals of thunder which interrupted the gentle murmurings of the breeze, and the vivid flashes of lightning gave us, amid the darkness, a transient and final view of the body as it sunk to repose in the vast abyss. Shortly after the mournful rites were concluded, I perceived a man in an attitude of devotion; I slowly ap-,

proached, and, as he rose from his knees, recog nized my revered friend SKERRETT. As he brushed the rolling tear from his manly cheek, he spoke of O'BRIEN, and, for the moment, such was the agonizing state of his mind, yielded to despair; giving up as lost for ever, his family, his home, his country. The fever raged below, and during the remaining part of the night we paced the deck, amid incessant torrents of rain, reflecting on the peculiarity of our situation.

As the morning advanced, three more of our officers were taken ill, and a man, whose sufferings were but of few hours duration, died, and was thrown over board. A few only now were sufficiently well to keep the deck, and such was the situation below, that we turned from it with disgust. The several stores of provisions laid in for this short voyage, were expended; here my box of oatmeal stood my friend, which, baked into bread by my servant, was truly delicious. The land we were passing seemed an entire range of mountains, bold and majestic, and thickly wooded, but we could perceive neither house nor appearance of habitation. A proposition was made by Colonel MEADE that the boat should be lowered and manned, and sent in search of provisions and water; an end was speedily put to this hope by the Captain's refusing to let us have it. Highly incensed by the refusal, and unable, by the severity of the weather,to retain our situations upon deck, it was resolved that we should no

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