CHAPTER XL.

Negroes: Further sentences upon "dress"--Sunday transformations --The black cook and his metamorphosis--Christmas waits--Negro houses--The mode of building upon estates--Town negro houses-- Architecture--The mode of moving houses.

I have in so many places made reference to the style of dress adopted by the negroes, that to bring it under a particular head may be deemed superfluous. And yet I cannot let it pass without saying something more upon this subject.

I must own I was very much surprised, on first arriving in Antigua, at the style of dress adopted by these people. That the negroes were very fond of adorning themselves I was well aware, but I thought it consisted in a display of what we should term _trumpery_, such as the worn-out garments of their superiors which had once been smart; but I was soon undeceived. It was during the jovial season of Christmas I first made my appearance in this island, a time of all others devoted by the negroes to the purpose of exhibiting the contents of their wardrobes. Christmas-day, and the two succeeding days, are, in this country, exclusively termed "Christmas;" and poor indeed must be the negro who does not sport a new dress upon that occasion, even if they have to wear nothing but rags for the rest of the year. Those of the _fair sex_ who can afford it, generally purchase three dresses; one to wear each day, and formed of various materials, such as silks, (figured and plain,) satins, mousseline de laines, challis, crapes of different names and textures, or handsome white muslin robes variously embroidered. The fashion now in vogue among these _ladies_ is, to have the skirt of their dresses dropping on the ground for about a quarter of a yard in length, the bottom terminated by two rows of flounces, _demi-bishop_ sleeves, and pointed corsages. But the great novelty is in the arrangement of the different tints, most of them thinking they are not sufficiently well-dressed if they leave out any of the prismatic colours. The bonnets are worn just at the back of their heads, and often present a singular appearance. A negress lately presented herself to my notice, whose dress deserves particular attention. Her daily business is to work in the cane-field, and for some time past I had been used to see her bringing grass for the use of our horses in a state approximating to nudity. Upon the Sunday she honoured me with a call the case was, however, very different. Her dress of figured white muslin was profusely ornamented with pink ribbon and fringe of the same gay tint, her silk stockings were "ditto to match," and her shoes yellow, with white sandals. But her bonnet struck me as most particular; it was formed of that material called "Tuscan," lined with green, trimmed with pink, and further decorated with a prodigy among flowers, a blue rose with silver leaves!

Another very favourite article of dress amongst these black belles, is what they term "a Victoria cloak," which is nothing more or less than a square of coarse net, tamboured, in the commonest manner, in large flowers; but which, like everything else of the present day, is named after the queen. I am sure, did her majesty but know how her name is applied to all kinds of articles, from a steam-coach in England, to a lap-dog here, she must think herself greatly honoured! I have already spoken of their splendid jewellery, and therefore it only remains for me to mention, that elaborately worked collars, with three rows of cotton lace round them, fancy reticules, coloured boots and shoes, and parasols, are to be found composing a part of their attire. The latter mentioned articles are unfurled, and twirled about by the young ladies with peculiar grace; but those who are less modish in their manners generally close them, and carry them over the right shoulder, with the end sticking up like the point of a bayonet. A few years ago, the negroes were accustomed to tie their heads with Madras handkerchiefs of the brightest dyes, or else wear large leghorn or silk hats, covered with flowers and ribands; but since emancipation, bonnets are most generally worn, particularly among the young, although some still prefer the use of the hat.

The gentlemen negroes present also a most _dandified_ appearance. Surtouts or coats of different colour, with velvet collars, splendid waistcoats, white or coloured trousers, with very high-heeled boots, are most in vogue. It is customary with these beaux, when they order a pair of boots, to give particular injunctions to the cordwainer, to make them in such a manner that they may "stamp and creak well," when they wear them. To these specified articles of dress, must be added broad-brimmed hats, silk umbrellas, (if they can get them, if not, cotton suffices; but a negro never thinks himself well arrayed without this article,) and pocket handkerchiefs, one end making its appearance from the coat pocket. The persons who dress in this manner are generally coblers, tinkers, carpenters, bricklayers, and servants. It is almost impossible to know your own domestics, so great are their metamorphoses.

In the ship which conveyed us hither, was a black man, who officiated as cook. Our first place of destination, after leaving England, was British America, where we arrived in the beginning of a very severe winter. Sincerely did I pity this poor man, for his scant and tattered clothing was no protection from the pitiless blast, and excessive cold of that hyperborean clime. Being a native of so warm a country as the West Indies, and having never before experienced the rigours of winter, it was with some difficulty he could bear up against this (to him) accumulation of ills. His custom was to remain in the steerage of the ship, and when any of his messmates tried to arouse him, and invite him to visit the deck, his only answer was, "I brought all my fingers and toes from Antigua, and please God, I must try and carry them back again." After remaining in America for some time, (suffering _hot aches_, and I know not what beside,) until the ship had discharged her cargo of _interesting_ emigrants, and re-loaded with that necessary article "lumber," (_alias_ timber,) we took our departure, with many a favour of "King Frost's" hanging about our vessel, in the shape of huge blocks of ice. A pretty fair wind soon carried us into warmer latitudes, and I used frequently to remark, how delighted that _poor half-clothed_ man must be. "Oh! oh!" was the answer, "that poor half-clothed man, as you call him, is a very respectable and dashing fellow, I do assure you, in his own country." I thought this assertion bordering upon the burlesque, but I made no reply, wisely remembering the old saying, "Time will shew all things."

At length, after encountering, as every other mortal must, calms as well as storms, one bright morning brought us to the shores of fair Antigua. This, as I have before remarked, was during the season of Christmas, the time for fun and dress among the negroes. The morning after we landed, I early shook off "tired nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep," and hurried over the duties of the toilet in order that I might look about me, and see what kind of _bipeds_ I had fallen in with. I had not long left my apartment when I saw a very dashing-looking gentleman enter the back gate, and approach the door near which I was standing, admiring the bright sun and blue sky of this December morning. It certainly struck me as rather surprising, that a gentleman of his appearance should enter by that part of the house usually appropriated to the servants, but I supposed it was one of "the customs" of the country. Not wishing to be in that disagreeable situation of having to introduce myself, I retired into an inner apartment; but ere long I learnt, to my great surprise, that the "_exquisite_," whose appearance caused my sudden departure, was no less a personage than the black cook from on board the ship.

Christmas is also the season here, as in England, for roast-beef, plum-pudding, and plum-cake; most of the negroes endeavour to get _one_ of these articles, should they not be able to procure them all; but if their pockets are too low to do this, they purchase a few raisins to treat their friends with. "Christmas day" is ushered in with the sound of fiddles and drums; parties of negroes going round the town about four o'clock in the morning, playing upon these instruments for the purpose of breaking people's rest, (for I am sure it cannot amuse;) and then they have the assurance to call at the different houses during the day for payment. At the conclusion of this serenade, or _waits_, or whatever else they choose to term it, the musicians generally raise their voices to the highest pitch, and call out, "Good morning to you, massa; good morning to you, missis; good morning to you, ladies and gentlemen _all!_" a flourish is then given with fiddle and drum, and they march off to disturb another quiet household.

The next point to be considered is the dwellings of the negroes. The generality of negro houses upon estates contain two apartments, and are built of stone, cemented by a rough mortar. The roofs are composed of _trash_ (the dry leaves of the sugar-cane), loosely piled on, which gives them an untidy appearance. Some of the industrious people, however, greatly add to the look of the interior, by neatly ceiling them with the split boughs of the cocoa-nut, formed into a kind of basket-work. The best huts have the hall, or sitting-room, paved with bricks, or a kind of smooth cement, and the sleeping-apartment boarded. Among the articles of furniture may be found sofas, sideboards of manchineel, (or some other species of native wood,) mahogany and deal tables, and a large cedar chest. Besides these articles, some of them possess decanters, tumblers, wine-glasses, and a large bowl to make their punch in, with plates and dishes, tea-cups, and various other kinds of gaudy crockeryware. These are the residences of the head negroes; the next kind have their stone-houses unceiled, and only the bare earth for their floor; they contain but little furniture, two or three chairs of the country make, a deal table, and a wooden box or two being their principal stock. Some estates have fallen into a plan of building their negro-houses entirely of wood, as it has been found that the negroes prefer hiring themselves where such dwellings have been provided for them.

Since emancipation, many proprietors have disposed of part of their uncultivated lands to the negroes, which are divided into lots, measuring 30 feet one way, and 40 the other, at 30 dollars, or 6l. sterling per lot. Upon these spots of ground, the purchasers have erected houses, some of them very neatly finished, and containing two rooms, a hall, and chamber; and here they reside, supporting themselves by working upon different estates, (where they obtain higher wages than the resident labourers, on account of not being provided with houses or negro grounds;) huckstering, or else working their own land. In some parts of the island, whole villages are formed in this manner; and from the similarity of the dwellings, and their several little patches of ground, laid out in rows of different luxuriant edibles, present, altogether, a very pleasing appearance. Some of the poorer negroes build their houses in the following manner. A sufficient number of stakes are firmly driven into the ground at regular distances; these are interwoven with the branches of the "black cherry," (a native wood,) stript of their leaves, and the interstices filled up with clay. The roofs are composed of a species of coarse grass (called by the negroes, "hurricane grass," on account of its wild growth,) fastened on with the bark of the "soursop tree." I cannot speak much for the apparent comfort of these last-mentioned dwellings; there is one thing, however, to be considered, warmth is not necessary in this climate, yet, I should think, the heavy rains which fall at times must penetrate them, and render their clayey floors still more unpleasant. The fire with which the negroes cook their victuals is always made in the open air, unless they fence in a small portion of ground, and loosely throw a bundle of dry cane-leaves on the top, in which case it frequently answers for stable and kitchen.

Those negroes who reside in the capital invariably have their houses built of wood; they seldom consist of more than one room, in which a whole family, of perhaps six or eight persons, eat, sleep, and live; and from whence issue, upon a Sunday, those _ladies_ and _gentlemen_ who equal in splendour of dress the habitants of princely halls. The form of architecture is very simple; four sides, of equal length, breadth, and height, are first erected, and the whole surmounted by what is called a _pitched_ roof, which also consists of four uniform sides, meeting at the top in a pyramidical form. For further protection from the weather, this roof is covered thickly over with "shingles," (flat pieces of board, manufactured in America, for that purpose, from the wood of the cypress, or cedar,) which are put on in the same manner as slates. Some of these dwellings have doors facing to each of the cardinal points, besides a window or two; so that, when agreeable, they can have a free circulation of air. When I speak of windows, it must not be understood I mean such as contain any portion of glass; but simply what Dr. Johnson calls them, "an opening in a house for light and air." These houses are generally left destitute of any outward colouring, except what they acquire from exposure to the weather, but when paint is made use of, the favourite tints are yellow for the sides, and red for the roof and doors. As I have before hinted, many of these small houses are built by pilfering a board or a plank at a time, or now and then a few shingles. It often happens, that dwellings which are erected upon this plan, take some time before they are completed. To assure myself of this assertion, I need only raise my eyes from my paper, and one of these _contributory_ edifices greets my view. It was commenced before I came to the island; and after remaining here for about two years, and returning to England for near the same period, upon my second visit to Antigua, I found the house not quite finished. I could not help observing this house during its tardy erection; a stroke or two of the hammer now and then broke upon the silent ear of night, and in the morning it might be perceived that another board had been added to the side, or a few more shingles nailed upon the roof. It most frequently happens, that the possessors of these small tenements have no land of their own, but pay a small ground-rent for the space occupied by their habitations. When they are wishful of removing to another part of the town, like the snail, they carry their houses with them, which, from the manner of construction, is no difficult matter. These buildings are always raised a little way from the ground, and have a step or two at the principal entrance. Sometimes the space between the ground and the house is entirely filled up with loose bricks or stones; others have only an empty barrel, or a few stones piled up at each corner, just sufficient to support the fabric.

When a removal is agreed upon, their first care is to hire a few porters, and an accompaniment of trucks. These "four-wheeled" carriages are firmly fastened together, and placed under the house, the slight foundation pulled away, and strong ropes being attached to the first truck, the porters (with the assistance of other men, women, and children) commence pulling with all their might, and the house moves off to the song and chorus adapted to the occasion. To preserve its equilibrium, two men march on each side of the house with long poles, which they place against the side; one of these commences the song, (which is of their own composition,) and the whole tribe join in the chorus of "Pull away, my hearties," or similar phrases. In former times, when the negroes had only the Sunday allowed them to perform any of their own work, that day was used to execute these removals; but the noise it occasioned during the period of Divine service was such, that the legislature found it necessary to prohibit this practice at the same time they abolished the Sunday markets.

It is particularly disagreeable to be in the vicinity of these houses when their owners take it into their heads to remove them. The negroes are always noisy; but when such deeds are in contemplation, they are more so than ever; the songs they sing, the quarrels they have, and the language they use, would tire the patience of the most stoical. Sometimes a sudden crash is heard, and the whole edifice comes tumbling to the ground; this leads to another "wordy war,"--the goddess Discord again waves aloft her arm,--the whole neighbourhood is in commotion,--and poor I (who, alas! am a most _unwilling_, but compulsory listener) cannot help exclaiming--"Oh! that I were in dear old England, where at least the houses are not moved."