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of the FIRST VOLUME.

Introduction.--Revolt among the Negroes in Dutch Guiana--An Expedition sets out from the Texel--Short Account of the Voyage--The Fleet arrives in the River Surinam--Reception of the Troops in that Colony--Sketch of the Inhabitants, &c.

General Description of Guiana--of the Colony of Surinam in particular--Accounts of its earliest Discovery--is possessed by the English--by the Dutch--Murder of the Governor, Lord Somelsdyk--The Settlement taken by the French, and ransomed.

First Revolt of the Negroes; Causes thereof--Distracted State of the Colony--Forced Peace concluded with the Rebels--Mutiny of Sailors, Soldiers, &c.

Short Interval of Peace and Plenty--The Colony plunged in new Distress by a fresh Insurrection, and nearly ruined--Review of the Troops for its Defence--An Action with the Rebels--Gallant Behaviour of a Black Corps--The Arrival of Colonel Fourgeoud's Marines.

The Scene changes--Some Account of a beautiful Female Slave--The Manner of travelling in Surinam--The Colonel explores the Situation of the Rivers--Barbarity of a Planter--Wretched Treatment of some Sailors.

Account of a dreadful Execution--Fluctuating State of political Affairs--Short Glimpse of Peace--An Officer shot dead; his whole Party cut to Pieces, and the general Alarm revived throughout the Colony.

Armed Barges are sent up to defend the Rivers--Description of the Fortress New Amsterdam--A Cruise in the upper Parts of Rio Cottica and Patamaca--Great Mortality among the Troops--View of the Military Post at Devil's Harwar.

Three Estates burnt, and the Inhabitants murdered by the Rebels--Real Picture of Misery and Distress--Specimen of a March through the Woods of Surinam--Colonel Fourgeoud and the remaining Troops leave Paramaribo.

Some Diseases peculiar to the Climate--Groupe of Negroes newly imported going to be sold--Reflections on the Slave Trade--The Voyage from Africa--Manner of selling them in the Colony--Description of a Cotton Plantation.

Colonel Fourgeoud marches to the Wana Creek--Harasses the Enemy--Account of the Manicole Tree, with its various Uses--March to the Mouth of Cormoetibo River--Some Rebels taken--Shocking Treatment of a wounded captive Negro.

The Troops march back to the Wana Creek--The Rebels pass near the Camp--Pursued without Success--Great Distress for Want of Water--Mineral Mountains--The Troops arrive at La Rochelle, in Patamaca.

Description of the Town of Paramaribo and Fort Zealandia--Colonel Fourgeoud's March to the River Marawina--A Captain wounded--Some Privates shot--Strange Execution in the Capital--Account of Fort Somelsdyk--Of the Hope in Rio Comewina.

A Sugar Plantation described--Domestic Happiness in a Cottage--Further Account of Fourgeoud's Operations--Dreadful Cruelties inflicted by some Overseers--Instance of Resentment in a Rebel Negro Captain.

Colonel Fourgeoud at Paramaribo--Example of Ignorance in a Surgeon--of Virtue in a Slave--of Ferocity in a Commander--The Troops re-enter the Woods--Account of Loango Dancing--Uncommon Proof of Fidelity in a Negro.

Description of the Indians, Aborigines of Guiana--Their Food--Arms--Ornaments--Employments--Diversions--Passions--Religion--Marriages--Funerals, &c.--Of the Caribbee Indians in particular--Their Trade with the Europeans.

NARRATIVE OF AN EXPEDITION TO SURINAM.

The exploring of foreign countries having of late years, and particularly since the recent discoveries of the immortal Captain Cook, so generally been the object of persons both in private and public situations; and the histories of their labours and pursuits being so interesting to the curiosity of the public, I have ventured to offer such observations as I have had an opportunity of making in a very singular part of the globe, on which few Englishmen have been thrown, either by accident or curiosity. The colony of Surinam, in Dutch Guiana, so far as it is inhabited and cultivated by Europeans near the sea-coast, has indeed been known for many years past. But the deep inundations, with the impenetrable thickness of the woods, have been such constant discouragements and obstructions to discovery, that but very little true information concerning that country has as yet been obtained, except what relates to such objects of commerce as are common to most of the tropical settlements. This publication, therefore, is chiefly intended to particularize such circumstances and events as the necessity of penetrating into the interior parts of the country have enabled me to make, and forced on my observation.

The feeling part of my readers, I must hope, will receive with some indulgence a work proceeding from an officer, who, from his early youth, was debarred in acquiring perfection, either as a writer or a painter, by his military and maritime profession. I nevertheless humbly flatter myself that whatever may be found wanting in style and elegance, is in some degree compensated by that fidelity and correctness, which can alone be the work of a pen and pencil employed on the spot. With respect to a few quaint expressions, and even oaths, as spoken by common soldiers, sailors, &c. that sometimes unavoidably occur in the narrative of this wonderful expedition, I must humbly request the world not to be startled at them, not only because the shades of black and white enliven the picture, but because I am determined to write truth only, and expose vice and folly in their native colours.--Come then, my friends--

"Together let us beat this ample field, Try what the open, what the covert yield; The latent tracts, the giddy heights, explore Of all who blindly creep, or sightless soar: Eye Nature's walks, shoot Folly as it flies, And catch the manners living as they rise; Laugh where we must, be candid where we can; But vindicate the ways of God to man."

Pope.

I will now boldly launch out on the difficult task.--As the nature, however, of these transactions can only be understood by a reference to the occasion which called me thither, I feel myself under the necessity of still premising a few words upon that subject.

Every part of the world, where domestic slavery is established, may be occasionally liable to insurrection and disquiet, more especially where the slaves constitute the majority of the inhabitants; but the colony of Surinam, in Dutch Guiana, has been peculiarly unfortunate in this respect. Whether from the shelter which is afforded to the fugitives by the immense forests which overspread the most considerable part of this country, or whether the government of this settlement be radically defective, it is a certain fact, that its European settlers are constantly exposed to the most violent ravages, and the most desperate outrage. Of these circumstances this is not however the place for a minute detail. Let it suffice therefore for the present, only to observe, that these repeated revolts and insurrections demanded at length the most vigorous measures for the restoration of a general peace; and that the accounts transmitted to Holland, in the year 1772, that a considerable body of armed people of this description had assembled in the forests, and became extremely formidable to the colony, determined their High Mightinesses the States of the United Provinces to send out a sufficient maritime force to oppose the insurgents, and, if possible, to quell the insurrection.

The British navy had ever been my choice and ambition, in which I was well recommended; but the small hopes of preferment I had naturally to expect in time of peace, and my paternal estate being lost just after my birth by accidental misfortunes, induced me to relinquish the hopes of advancement in the sea service, and to accept an ensign's commission, presented me without purchase, in one of the Scots brigade regiments in the pay of Holland, where Sir Joseph York at that period was ambassador from the British court; before which nobleman I had the honour to take the usual oaths of abjuration and allegiance to my King and Country, as registered at the British war-office.--This point I have also thought it right to premise, as a duty owing to myself, to shew the world in general that it was necessity not choice that compelled me to enter into a foreign service; though perhaps a more ancient and distinguished corps does not exist than the above brigade has proved to be, both in this island and on the continent, for above two hundred years.

Having taken the oaths of fidelity on the 12th of November to the new corps, and prepared what was necessary for the voyage, I bade farewell to my old regiment, and immediately sailed to the island of Texel, where several of our gentlemen were already assembled; and where, on going ashore, I had nearly perished by the boat's shipping a sea, and sinking in the surf.

The island of Wieringen was however the spot of general rendezvous: here Colonel Fourgeoud arriving on the 7th of December, the volunteers were all assembled, to the number of five hundred fine young men; and on the morning of the 8th we were formed into seven companies, and embodied as a regiment of marines. Besides the Boreas and Westellingwerf men-of-war, commanded by Captains Van de Velde and Crass, three new frigate-built transports were put in commission, carrying ensign, jack, and pennant, and armed with from ten to sixteen guns, as sloops of war; on board these vessels we embarked the same afternoon under a general salute, then took the command, and did the duty as in the navy.

Our departure was not however immediately consequent on our embarkation. We lay wind-bound in the Texel roads for many days, during which time one of our young officers, a Mr. Hesseling, was unfortunately seized with the small-pox: this gentleman, in order to prevent his infecting the ship's company, was ordered on shore to a town on the land's end, called the Helder, where I conducted him in a pinnace, and where we left him behind us; but on my return, the surgeon declaring he saw the symptoms of the same disorder on myself, I was also immediately ordered to the island of Texel. Having passed a most anxious quarantine in this place, I had the good fortune however to escape the loathsome malady, and to the Doctor's surprize appeared once more on board perfectly well, just before the signal gun was fired for the fleet to weigh anchor. This circumstance cannot but induce me to wish that those in particular who are destined for a military or a naval life would avail themselves of the art of inoculation, in order to avoid a painful anxiety to themselves, and a most dangerous infection to their fellow-creatures.

On Christmas-day our small fleet put to sea, at eight o'clock, A. M. with a fresh breeze from E. N. E. in company with above one hundred vessels bound for different parts of the globe, and the most beautiful clear weather. Having safely got without the soundings, and saluted each other with nine guns, we kept our course down channel, and soon passed the North Foreland, the Isle of Wight, and Portland Point; but here the Westellingwerf, having sprung a leak, was obliged to part company, and run into Plymouth for repair.

The wind now freshened as we approached the Bay of Biscay, where the mate of the vessel directed my particular attention to a kind of sea-swallow, commonly distinguished by the name of the Storm-bird , from its supposed property of foretelling an impending tempest. The colour of this bird is a very deep blue approaching to black, and enlivened by some variegated tints; its size is about that of a large martin or swallow; it is web-footed; the bill is very long and sharp, and the wings of an extraordinary length, which enable it to fly very fast, and for a considerable time, skimming with incredible velocity around the horizon: it subsists entirely upon fish, which is probably the cause of its being sensible of the first indications of whatever may prevent its usual supply of food: it then flies along with extreme swiftness, in order to avoid the storm; but if overtaken by it, drops its wings, and floats upon the surface of the waves.

On the following day, January 2d, 1773, the predictions of the storm-bird were verified: a heavy gale sprung up from N. N. E. by which, off Cape Finisterre, the Boreas and Vigilance were separated from us. We kept our course during the night with double reefed topsails, and all the hatches laid, which made our men in general very sick. Here I ought not to forget that by way of experiment we had slung the hammocks athwart ships, and not as usual fore and aft; which method we found however to be both so roomy and convenient, that it has been since adopted by several other vessels.

On the morning of the 4th we spied a stout ship to windward in the offing, bearing streight down upon us. Conjecturing she might be an Algerine pirate from the African coast, and now but two ships out of five, we prepared to engage her; she however soon proved to be the Boreas man-of-war, which had parted company on the 2d. From this date the men were daily exercised at the great guns, and by firing at a target suspended from the yard-arm.

He unconsciously followed Heber in that he disliked large-paper copies. Heber would none of them because they took up too much room; their ample borders encroached upon the rights of other books. Heber objected to this as Prosper M?rim?e objected to the gigantic English hoopskirts of 1865,--there was space on Regent Street for but one woman at a time.

He professed to have been once in love, but no one believed it. He used to say that his most remarkable experience as a bachelor was in noting the uniformity with which eligible young women passed him by on the other side of the way. And when a married friend offered condolence, with that sleek complacency of manner noteworthy in men who are conscious of being mated for life better than they deserve, the Bibliotaph said, with an admiring glance at the wife, 'Your sympathy is supererogatory, sir, for I fully expect to become your residuary legatee.'

It is not to be supposed that the Bibliotaph pleased every one with whom he came in contact. There were people whom his intellectual potency affected in a disagreeable way. They accused him of applying great mental force to inconsidered trifles. They said it was a misfortune that so much talent was going to waste. But there is no task so easy as criticising an able man's employment of his gifts.

THE BIBLIOTAPH: HIS FRIENDS, SCRAP-BOOKS, AND 'BINS'

To arrive at a high degree of pleasure in collecting a library, one must travel. The Bibliotaph regularly traveled in search of his volumes. His theory was that the collector must go to the book, not wait for the book to come to him. No reputable sportsman, he said, would wish the game brought alive to his back-yard for him to kill. Half the pleasure was in tracking the quarry to its hiding-place. He himself ordered but seldom from catalogues, and went regularly to and fro among the dealers in books, seeking the volume which his heart desired. He enjoyed those shops where the book-seller kept open house, where the stock was large and surprises were common, where the proprietor was prodigiously well-informed on some points and correspondingly ill-informed on others. He bought freely, never disputed a price, and laid down his cash with the air of a man who believes that unspent money is the root of all evil.

These travels brought about three results: the making of friends, the compilation of scrap-books, and the establishment of 'bins.' Before speaking of any one of these points, a word on the satisfactions of bibliographical touring.

In every town of considerable size, and in many towns of inconsiderable size, are bookshops. It is a poor shop which does not contain at least one good book. This book bides its time, and usually outstays its welcome. But its fate is about its neck. Somewhere there is a collector to whom that book is precious. They are made for one another, the collector and the book; and it is astonishing how infrequently they miss of realizing their mutual happiness. The book-seller is a marriage-broker for unwedded books. His business is to find them homes, and take a fee for so doing. Sugarman the Shadchan was not more zealous than is your vendor of rare books.

Now, it is a curious fact that the most desirable of bookish treasures are often found where one would be least likely to seek them. Montana is a great State, nevertheless one does not think of going to Montana for early editions of Shakespeare. Let the book-hunter inwardly digest the following plain tale of a clergyman and a book of plays.

One effect of this adventure upon himself is that he cannot pass a volume which is tied with a string. He spends his days and Saturday nights in tying and untying books with broken covers. Even the evidence of a clearly-lettered title upon the back fails to satisfy him. He is restless until he has made a thorough search in the body of the volume.

The Bibliotaph's own best strokes of fortune were made in out-of-the-way places. But some god was on his side. For at his approach the bibliographical desert blossomed like the rose. He used to hunt books in Texas at one period in his life; and out of Texas would he come, bringing, so it is said, first editions of George Borrow and Jane Austen. It was maddening to be with him at such times, especially if one had a gift for envy.

Yet why should one envy him his money, or his unerring hand and eye? He paid for the book, but it was yours to read and to caress so long as you would. If he took it from you it was only that he might pass it on to some other friend. But if that volume once started in the direction of the great tomb of books in Westchester County, no power on earth could avail to restore it to the light of day.

It is pleasant to meditate upon past journeys with the Bibliotaph. He was an incomparable traveling companion, buoyant, philosophic, incapable of fatigue, and never ill. Yet it is a tradition current, that he, the mighty, who called himself a friend to physicians, because he never robbed them of their time either in or out of office-hours, once succumbed to that irritating little malady known as car-sickness. He succumbed, but he met his fate bravely and with the colors of his wit flying. The circumstances are these:--

There is a certain railway thoroughfare which justly prides itself upon the beauty of its scenery. This road passes through a hill-country, and what it gains in the picturesque it loses in that rectilinear directness most grateful to the traveler with a sensitive stomach. The Bibliotaph often patronized this thoroughfare, and one day it made him sick. As the train swept around a sharp curve, he announced his earliest symptom by saying: 'The conspicuous advantages of this road are that one gets views of the scenery and reviews of his meals.'

A few minutes later he suggested that the road would do well to change its name, and hereafter be known as 'The Emetic G. and O.'

They who were with him proffered sympathy, but he refused to be pitied. He thought he had a remedy. He discovered that by taking as nearly as possible a reclining posture, he got temporary relief. He kept settling more and more till at last he was nearly on his back. Then he said: 'If it be true that the lower down we get the more comfortable we are, the basements of Hell will have their compensations.'

He was too ill to say much after this, but his last word, before the final and complete extinction of his manhood, was, 'The influence of this road is such that employees have been known involuntarily to throw up their jobs.'

The Bibliotaph invariably excited comment and attention when he was upon his travels. I do not think he altogether liked it. Perhaps he neither liked it nor disliked it. He accepted the fact that he was not as other men quite as he would have accepted any indisputable fact. He used occasionally to express annoyance because of the discrepancy between his reputation and appearance; in other words, because he seemed a man of greater fame than he was. He suffered the petty discomforts of being a personage, and enjoyed none of the advantages. He declared that he was quite willing to be much more distinguished or much less conspicuous. What he objected to was the Laodicean character of his reputation as set over against the pronounced and even startling character of his looks and manner.

He used also to note with amusement how indelible a mark certain early ambitions and tentative studies had made upon him. People invariably took him for a clergyman. They decided this at once and conducted themselves accordingly. He made no protest, but observed that their convictions as to how they should behave in his presence had corollaries in the shape of very definite convictions as to how he should carry himself before them. He thought that such people might be described as moral trainers. They do not profess virtue themselves, but they take a real pleasure in keeping you up to your profession.

The Bibliotaph had no explanation to give why he was so immediately and invariably accounted as one in orders. He was quite sure that the clerical look was innate, and by no means dependent upon the wearing of a high vest or a Joseph Parker style of whisker; for once as he sat in the hot room of a Turkish bath and in the Adamitic simplicity of attire suitable to the temperature and the place, a gentleman who occupied the chair nearest introduced conversation by saying, 'I beg your pardon, sir, but are you not a clergyman?'

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