MR. WILTON.  “That is the bright side of the scene, my dear mother; and lest we should form wrong impressions, we will let the young folks hear how all this beauty is sometimes marred by hurricanes and earthquakes.  One specimen will be sufficient; and I will describe a hurricane, in order that you may have some slight notion of the many delights attendant on a residence in the West Indies.—­A hurricane is generally preceded by an awful stillness of the elements, the air becomes close and heavy, the sun is red, and the stars at night seem unusually large.  Frequent changes take place in the thermometer, which rises sometimes from 80 deg. to 90 deg..  Darkness extends over the earth; the higher regions gleam with lightning.  The impending storm is first observed on the sea; foaming mountains rise suddenly from its clear and motionless surface.  The wind rages with unrestrained fury; its noise may be compared to distant thunder.  The rain descends in torrents; shrubs and lofty trees are borne down by the mountain stream; the rivers overflow their banks, and submerge the plains.  Terror and consternation seem to pervade the whole of animated nature:  land birds are driven into the ocean; and those whose element is the sea, seek for refuge in the woods.  The frighted beasts of the field herd together, or roam in vain for a place of shelter.  All the elements are thrown into confusion, and nature appears to be hastening to her ancient chaos.  Scenes of desolation are disclosed by the next morning’s sun; uprooted trees, branches shivered from their trunks; and even the ruins of houses scattered over the land.  The planter has sometimes been scarcely able to distinguish the place of his former possessions.  By these dreadful hurricanes, fertile valleys may in a few hours be changed into dreary wastes, covered with the remains of domestic animals and the fowls of heaven.”

CHARLES.  “I do not envy you the prospect of an abode in the Antilles, friend George; but I shall be heartily glad to see you safe back again.”

GRANDY.  “Every country has an evil; ’tis right it should be so, or we should like this fair world and its enjoyments so well, that we should not care to ‘go up higher.’  There are many evils ’tis true, but there is also so much good to counter-balance the evil, that we should raise our hearts with thankfulness, and open our lips with praises to sing the goodness of our God.

“Emma, my child, where roam we next?”

EMMA.  “We cannot quit the Gulf of Mexico yet, dear Grandy, until we have examined its environs.  We entered it through the Gulf of Florida, which is situated between Florida and Cuba.  The Gulf of Mexico almost intersects the two continents; and is, in fact, an extensive sea.  It washes the shores of Mexico and Yucatan, and contains many comparatively small bays.”

MR. BARRAUD.  “This gulf may be considered as a Mediterranean Sea, which opens a maritime commerce with all the fertile countries by which it is encircled.  The islands scattered in it are inferior only to those in the Indian Archipelago in number, in magnitude, and in value.”