DRAM-DRINKING.
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nished by so many accentual marks. Perhaps sufficient examples of their mode of talking has been given, and that by adding more, the reader may be tired, and myself involved in a maze ; I will therefore conclude this subject by remarking, that it requires more than a moderate stock of patience to deal with them, for they talk so long, so loud, and so fast, that if not blest with that virtue to an eminent degree, you will be sure to lose your temper without avail. In my lengthened descriptions of the negro tribe, among the darker shades of their character inebriation has not been mentioned, as it is not a general vice among them. Still it cannot be altogether passed over, for alas ! too many have to deplore the consequences of excessive drinking. In a country where his actual wants are sooner supplied than in a colder clime, the labourer has a larger portion to spend upon that deleterious poison, new rum. A few sticks, collected by himself or his wife, serves to cook his daily meal, a mat forms his couch, while a coarse garment of cloth is the dress of his children, and their little feet seldom know the confinement of a shoe. Their smart dresses (if they have any) are reserved for a Sunday, or any particular occasion ; but the generality of negroes who are addicted to the vice of drunkenness, seldom pay any regard to their personal appearance. Their excuse for indulging in this habit of drinking is, that after working all day they require something to strengthen them and allay their thirst. But the question is, will ardent spirits do this ? or will they not rather, from their heating qualities, augment the craving? Now, most negroes have a sweet tooth, and a beverage composed of sugar and water would tend to alleviate their thirst, and at the same time nourish and enrich their blood. It is very much to be wished that managers and owners of estates would try and enforce on the minds of their labourers the pernicious effects of dram-drinking ; for a steady, wellordered peasantry is a blessing to a country. True it is, the negroes have a stubborn temper; and yet there are very many H 3