Read Ebook: Abandonment; or Absolute Surrender to Divine Providence by Caussade Jean Pierre De Rami Re Henri Editor McMahon Ella Translator

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Ebook has 272 lines and 12757 words, and 6 pages

A JAMAICA SUGAR ESTATE.

A sugar estate, and one of the finest in the "land of springs," is that of "Mount Welcome."

Both the ridges are wooded almost down to their bases; the woods, which consist of shining pimento trees, ending on each side in groves and island copses, pleasantly interspersed over a park-like greensward.

The "great house" or "buff" of the estate stands under the foot of the mountain, just at the point of union between the two ridges--where a natural table or platform, elevated several feet above the level of the valley, had offered a tempting site to the builder.

In architectural style it is not very different from other houses of its kind, the well-known planter's dwelling of the West Indies. One storey--the lower one, of course--is of strong stone mason-work; the second and only other being simply a wooden "frame" roofed with "shingles."

The side and end walls of this second story cannot with propriety be termed walls: since most part of them are occupied by a continuous line of Venetian shutters--the "jalousies" of Jamaica.

These impart a singular cage-like appearance to the house, at the same time contributing to its coolness--a quality of primary importance in a tropical climate.

Outside in the front centre a flight of broad stone steps, resting upon arched mason-work, and bordered by strong iron balustrades, conducts to the level of the second storey--the real dwelling-house: since the ground-floor is entirely occupied by store-rooms and other "offices."

This great hall is the principal apartment of the dwelling. It is dining and drawing-room in one--where side-boards and cheffoniers may be seen in juxta-position with lounge chairs, fauteuils, and ottomans--a grand chandelier in the centre extending its branches over all.

The bed-chambers occupy the square spaces to one side of the cross; and these also have their jalousied windows to admit the air, and exclude, as much as possible, the sultry rays of the sun.

In Mount Welcome House, as in all other country mansions of Jamaica, a stranger would remark a want of correspondence between the dwelling itself and the furniture which it contains. The former might be regarded as slight, and even flimsy. But it is this very character which renders it appropriate to the climate, and hence the absence of substantiality or costliness in the style and materials of the building.

Outside, the great house of Mount Welcome looks grand enough. Its broad facade, in which the deep green of the jalousies contrasts pleasantly with the white of the surrounding walls--the massive stone stairway in front--the wooded mountain sweeping up and forming a background of variegated green--the noble avenue of nearly a mile in length, with its double rows of tamarinds and cocoa-palms, leading up in front from the lower end of the valley--all contribute to produce a picture of almost palatial grandeur.

Nor does a nearer view detract from the splendour of this picture. The platform on which the house is built affords space for a large garden and shrubbery, extending rearward to the mountain-foot, from which they are separated by a high wall of stone.

Nor is it conspicuous from being isolated. On the contrary, it is only a spur of that vast elevated chain of hills, that, separated by deep gorge-like valleys, and soaring thousands of feet above the level of the Caribbean Sea, are known as the "Blue Mountains of Jamaica."

Covering almost the entire area of the island--which is thus broken into an endless succession of gigantic corrugations--Jamaica presents a surface rough and irregular as the crumplings upon a cabbage-leaf; and "land of mountains" would be a title as appropriate as its ancient Indian appellation, "the land of fountains."

The hill which overlooks the estate of Mount Welcome is less than two thousand feet above sea-level; but what renders it remarkable is the geometrical regularity of its outlines, and, still more, its singularly-shaped summit.

Viewed from the valley below, it presents the appearance of an exact and somewhat acute cone, up to within about fifty yards of its top. There the sloping outline ends--the line on each side thence trending vertically, and abruptly terminating in a square table-top, forty or fifty feet in diameter. In general appearance, this truncated summit is not unlike that of the famed "Cofre di Perote" of Mexico.

Alone at its top is it treeless--bare and bald as the crown of a Franciscan friar. There stands the square coffer-like summit, a mass of solid rock, which repels the approach of the vegetable giants that crowd closely around its base, some of them stretching out their huge arms as if to strangle or embrace it.

This summit rock presents a singular appearance. Its seamed and scarred surface is mottled with a dark glaze, which during the sunlight, and even under the mellower beams of the moon, gives forth a coruscation, as if the light were reflected from scale armour.

I am speaking of a period more than half a century ago. At that time the terror, that was attached to the Jumbe Rock, did not altogether owe its origin to a mere superstition. It had been partly inspired by the remembrance of a horrid history. The rock had been the scene of an execution, which for cruel and cold-blooded barbarity rather deserves to be called a crime.

That table-summit, like the blood-stained temples of the Moctezumas, had been used as an altar, upon which a human sacrifice had been offered up. Not in times long past, neither by the sanguinary priesthood of Azteca, but by men of white skin and European race--their victim a black and an African.

This incident, illustrating Jamaica justice during the dark days of slavery, deserves to be given in detail.

THE MYAL-MAN.

These mysterious doctors were almost always men--very rarely women--and usually natives of Africa. Universally were they persons of advanced age and hideous aspect: the uglier the more successful in the pursuit of their criminal calling.

To the statement above made--that on every large plantation there was an obeah-man--the estate of Mount Welcome was no exception. It, too, was blessed, or rather cursed, by a follower of the art, an old Coromantee negro--Chakra by name--a man whose fell and ferocious aspect could not have failed to make him one of the most popular of its practitioners.

Such, to his misfortune, had he become.

He had long been suspected of having poisoned his master, the former owner of the estate, who had made an abrupt and mysterious exit from the world. The fate of this man, however, was not much lamented, as he bore the reputation of being a cruel slave-master. The present proprietor of Mount Welcome had least reason to regret it: since it gave him possession of an estate he had long coveted.

It was greater chagrin to him, that since entering upon the enjoyment of the property, several of his most valuable slaves had terminated their existence suddenly, and in a manner which could only be accounted for by the supposition that Obi had accomplished their destruction.

Chakra, the myal-man, was suspected of causing their deaths. He was arraigned and brought to trial.

The substance of the crime charged against Chakra was "practising the arts of Obi." The charge had no reference to the death of his former master.

The proofs were not very clear; but were deemed sufficiently so by the court to warrant a conviction.

There was a rumour at the time, that Loftus Vaughan, in this trial, was actuated by meaner motives than either a stern love of justice, or the desire to put down the practice of Obi. There was a whisper abroad of some secrets--family secrets--with which the Coromantee had become acquainted; some strange transaction, of which he was the sole living witness; and of such a character, that even the testimony of a negro would have been an inconvenience; and it was suspected that this, and not obeah-ism, was the crime for which Chakra had to answer with his life.

Whether this was true or not, the Coromantee was condemned to die.

The trial was not more irregular than the mode of execution, which these irresponsible justices thought fit to decree. It was almost as whimsical as it was cruel towards the wretched criminal.

He was to be taken to the top of the Jumbe rock, chained to the palm-tree, and there left to perish!

It may be asked why this singular mode of execution was selected. Why was he not hanged upon the scaffold, or burnt at the stake--a custom not unusual with condemned criminals of his kind?

The answer is easy. As already stated, at this particular period, much unpleasant feeling prevailed on the subject of obeah-ism. In almost every district mysterious deaths had occurred, and were occurring--not only of black slaves, but of white masters, and even mistresses--all attributed to the baneful influence of Obi.

The African demon was ubiquitous, but invisible. Everywhere could be witnessed his skeleton hand upon the wall, but nowhere himself. It had become necessary to make a conspicuous example of his worshippers. The voice of all planterdom called for it; and the myal-man, Chakra, was selected for that example--in the belief that his fearful fate would terrify the votaries of the vile superstition to their very hearts' core.

The Jumbe rock suggested itself as the most appropriate place for the execution of the Coromantee. The terrors with which the place was already invested--added to those now to be inspired by the fearful form of punishment of which it was to be the scene--would exert a beneficial effect on the superstitious understandings of the slaves, and for ever destroy their belief in Obeah and Obboney.

Under this belief was the myal-man escorted up to the summit of the Jumbe rock; and, like a modern Prometheus, chained there.

No guards were placed near him--none were required to stay by the spot. His chains, and the terror inspired by the act, were deemed sufficient to prevent any interference with his fate.

In a few days, thirst and hunger, aided by the vultures, would perform the final and fatal ceremony--as surely as the rope of the hangman, or the axe of the executioner.

A rusty chain, warped around the bones, kept the skeleton in place.

Loftus Vaughan had no inclination to dwell long upon the spot. To him the sight was fearful. One glance, and he hurried away; but far more fearful--far more terrifying--was that which he saw, or fancied he saw, in passing homeward down the forest path--either the ghost of the myal-man, or the man himself!

A JAMAICA DEJEUNER.

On a tranquil morning in the fair month of May--fair in Jamaica, as elsewhere on the earth--a large bell ringing in the great hall of Mount Welcome announced the hour of breakfast.

As yet there were no guests around the table, nor in the hall--only the black and coloured domestics, who, to the number of half-a-dozen, had just come up from the kitchen with trays and dishes containing the viands that were to compose the meal.

Though but two chairs were placed by the table--and the disposition of the plates, knives, and forks indicated that it had been set for only that number of guests--the profusion of dishes, thickly covering the snow-white damask cloth, might have led to the belief that a large party was expected.

Of "bread kind" there were mealy yams--some mashed with milk and butter, and dished up in shapes--roast plantains, hot rolls, toast, cassada cakes, and sweet potatoes.

But that a splendid silver tea-service, and a large glittering urn were conspicuous, the spread might have been mistaken for a dinner, rather than the matutinal meal. The hour--nine o'clock a.m.--also precluded the idea of its being dinner.

Whoever were to be the guests at this table, it was intended they should fair sumptuously. So did they every day of their lives; for there was nothing occasional in that morning's meal. Both the style and the profuseness were of diurnal occurrence--the mode of Jamaica.

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