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     256 
     
     COMMUNICATIONS. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Mr. Editor, 
     
    

    
     Perusing your paper the other evening, 
     
     I was pleased with some verses written by 
     
     the Rustic Hard of Richmond Bay. When 
     
     I say I was pleased, I mean with the sim- 
     
     ple and easy style. For the subject ‘Prince- 
     
     Town’s Lament’l cannot say much. Pore- 
     
     ring over the probable consequences likely to 
     
     result to St. Eleanor’s in the monopoly ot'the 
     
     County Jail; I fell into a train of thoughts 
     
     which for their infinity had well nigh bewil- 
     
     dered my brain; fortunately, however, as is 
     
     uualwith me ouuch occasions, terminated 
     
     inalong nap w ich allthe interestl felt could 
     
     not prevent. ad the theme ended here 
     
     it had been well, but the subject gave rise 
     
     to endless incidental efl‘ects. Methought 
     
     I was strolling beside the margin of Indian 
     
     river, near Oyster Cove, admiring the 
     
     beautiful expanse of water, marking the 
     
     gentle undulations ofthe stream, and enjoy- 
     
     ing the zephyr of a calm summers evening, 
     
     in distant perspective was seen the village 
     
     spire. The sun was sinking with radiant 
     
     splendour below the horizon, and leaving 
     
     his crimson tinge on the far off western 
     
     hills; a dead silence seemed to preside o’er 
     
     nature’s works. AsI watched the bark of 
     
     an Indian canoe as it receded from my 
     
     sight—in the same direction, gazing in- 
     
     tensely On this object, methought I could 
     
     discern aluminous body on the surface of 
     
     the river that exoited my curiosity, and 
     
     keeping my eye fixed, it seemed gradually 
     
     to increase in size, and the stillness of the 
     
     evening enabling me almost to hear a leaf 
     
     fall. I shortly distinguished stralns of the 
     
     most melodious music, softly stealing on 
     
     the wind not unlike the (Eolean Harp— 
     
     and on its more near approach became so 
     
    
   
   
    
     ‘ captivating to the auricular sense, from 
     
    
   
   
    
     its delicate and tender notes, as to intimate 
     
     that it proceeded from some celes- 
     
     tial choir, than any thing appertaining to 
     
     this system- 
     
    

    
     As it approached more near the notes 
     
     becwmore distinct, and seemed to pro- 
     
     eee mm a number of instruments, and 
     
    

    
     the soft notes of the flute bore a promi- 
     
     nent part. The full moon had risen some 
     
     time, though obscured by an opaque cloud 
     
     soon broke forth, and presented the most 
     
     “sublime object my eyes ever beheld, words 
     
     would be inadequate to describe the im- 
     
     pression it seemed to make on my senses. 
     
     With the aid of the bright luminary I ob- 
     
     served a superb yacht, or pleasure-boat, 
     
     skiming along the surface of the- stream, 
     
     impetled by. some twenty silver oars, keep- 
     
     ing time with the music. It seemed to 
     
     near the spot of the shore where I stood, 
     
     near enough to see mere particularly this, 
     
     splendid vessel, her sails from the circum- 
     
     stance ofits being calm hung with graceful 
     
     negligence on her masts, and had rather- 
     
     the appearance of rich and gorgeous ban» 
     
    
   
   
    
      THE BRITISH AMERICAN. 
     
    
   
   
    
     ners emblazoned with gold. She came 
     
     methought within a few yards of the shore, 
     
     when a small skifl'seemed to put off, and 
     
     paddled by a handsome youth who received 
     
     me, and by signs requested me to repair on 
     
     board. I felt methought no hOSIIQII‘OH, 
     
     being powerfully influenced by curiosity. 
     
     In a few minutes Iwas on board, and it I 
     
     was surprised at the beauty of this ves- 
     
     sel as] beheld her from the shore, words 
     
     would be vague to express the astounding 
     
     splendour and magnificence of this exqui- 
     
     site vessel. 
     
    

    
     I was met methought on the gaugway by 
     
     the Genii ofPrince-Town, who welcomed 
     
     ine by signs but spake not, but with his 
     
     usual dignified department coaducted me 
     
     aft the yacht, and presented me to a female, 
     
     who appeared to preside over this fairy 
     
     scene, she sat half reclined on a couch 
     
     raised high on the poop of the vessel, sur- 
     
     rounded by a company of ladies, whose 
     
     charms exceeded all terrestrial females. and 
     
     surpassed in loveliness, beauty herself. \Vhen 
     
     on board this handsome craft, she appear- 
     
     ed far superior in point of magnitude, and 
     
     in grandeur equal to an audience chamber 
     
     ofan eastern monarch- Beneath the feet 
     
     was an exquisite wrought Persian carpet, 
     
     with couches of down arranged with taste, 
     
     and covered with crimson velvet, embroid- 
     
     ered and studded with diamonds or precious 
     
     stones. Over the head was drawn .a sump- 
     
     tuous aWning of purple silk, and round the 
     
     sides hung in elegant folds of the same ma- 
     
     terials. The whole of the attendants of 
     
     this beanteous queen, (those admitted into 
     
     her presence,) were all females, they ap- 
     
     peared to pay her great deference, but ra- 
     
     ther savored of affection, than that fawning 
     
     system so much in practice at other courts: 
     
     most of them were reclining on the various 
     
     couches that furnished the aquatic drawing 
     
     room. The sofa whereon the princess 
     
     sat was more elevated than the rest; a few 
     
     feet to the right was a red cushion‘abour 
     
     four feet high, wnereon lay a crown and 
     
     sceptre or regalia,intimatiug I supposed, the 
     
     presence of Royalty. On a kind of otto- 
     
     man in front of her Majesty a little below 
     
     her, sat a living figure,that aGrecian Sculp- 
     
     ture might have chosen for the purest model 
     
     of symetry. She appeared to represent 
     
     Commerce ; in her right hand she held 
     
     an entablature description of trade, bales 
     
     ofgoods, shipping et cetera, and beside her 
     
     lay globes and instruments of science, and 
     
     a cap of Liberty on flag staff. On one 
     
     side the genious of commerce carved 
     
     round an ivory pillar, a cornucopia over the 
     
     top of which poured, forth a profusion of 
     
     pure- virgin gold, in divers coins, into a 
     
     square resceptacle written thereon in phos- 
     
     phoric italics, “Treasury Nationalis. ” 
     
    

    
     I observed one thing that appeared very 
     
     singular, a little forward or about midship 
     
     of the yacht, was fixeda pelestal about 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     three feet andahalf high, and on the. top 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     floss 
     
    
   
   
    
     was a kind of vase com 
     
     precious metal containing incense that “m 
     
     forth an odoriferous perfume that seemed 
     
     the whole vessel and the surroundino‘at. 
     
     mosphere, and from time to time ‘30,“ 
     
     blaze likea meteor. There stood on lone 
     
     side of the pedestal a lovelydamsel, who held 
     
     in her hand a small torch, the hilt of which 
     
     shone with a brilliancy indescribable and 
     
     whenever and anOn she waved it over,‘ the 
     
     incense, it emitted a pure lambent flame 
     
     thatrivaled the queen of night. The res. 
     
     sel was all the time moving gently down 
     
     the stream, a perfect silence prevailed, no, 
     
     had one word been spoken, all was either 
     
     dumb show, enigmatical or emblematical 
     
     the devination 'was left me to construe, 
     
     according to my own ideas. I was me. 
     
     thought too much embarrassed at the time 
     
     to make much comment, I was too much 
     
     overawed to interrupt the profound silence, 
     
     but must have appeared perfectly amazed 
     
     or confused by such singular circumstan. 
     
     ces, when fortunately the Genii entered, 
     
     and to relieve me made a sign to walk forth 
     
     on the deck. We were cutting through 
     
     the water at a brisk rate, and several youths 
     
     were busy in trimming the sails, she must 
     
     now have had a most gallant appearance, 
     
     the wind blew a gentle breeze a little abaft 
     
     her beam. I have read of Cleopatra sail- 
     
     ing down the Nile, and if she surpass 
     
     this superb. set-out words would not des- 
     
     cribe her splendour. 
     
    

    
     We were now methought rounding apoint, 
     
     having hauled our wind and laying close 
     
     upon it. In a moment the sheets were 
     
     let go and away we went before it, riding 
     
     a-breast a magnificent city on our larboard 
     
     bow. This fairy-like display or preterna- 
     
     tural appearance must have had a most 
     
     imposing effect, melodious strains of music, 
     
     the phosphoric meteor, the hour of night, 
     
     all was calculated to impress the inhabi- 
     
     tants with wonder, awe, and admiration. 
     
     That we were seen from the city admitted 
     
     of no doubt, which was evinced by a dis- 
     
     charge of m'isketry from the battlements. 
     
     In a moment from the dead silence of the 
     
     midnight watch interrupted only at inter- 
     
     vals by the melancholy hail or response of 
     
     ‘All’s well,’ all was bustle and life, had 
     
     an enemy’s line of battle ship appeared oil 
     
     the town, it could hardly have produceda 
     
     more sudden movement, in ashorttirne 
     
     from entire darkness it appeared bril- 
     
     liantly illuminated, the ordnance poured 
     
     forth loud peals of thunder, the bells "1 
     
     the various steeples rang their merry 
     
     changes, the brazen trumpet’s shrill bl!lst 
     
     was answered by the distant echo of the 
     
     bugle horn, with various fires on the atl- 
     
     jacent hills gave additional effect to this 
     
     midnight scene. As we receded fromlbe 
     
     city its appearance was grand, and to the 
     
     eye like Venice, emerging from the water! 
     
     element. Turning myself from the sublime 
     
     picture, and resting my arm on the gun- 
     
     whale of the bark, my eye fell full on tbt‘