If the husband embark to cross the sea, the disconsolate wife accompanies him to the shore, and sometimes follows him by swimming after the ship as far as her strength will allow; when obliged to return, she gathers up the sand on which the impression of his last footsteps remain, and wrapping it in a piece of cotton, places it at the foot of her bed. Music and dancing have the most powerful attractions for the Negroes, insomuch, that they walk and work in cadence; they sing as they go to battle; and though the sound of their instruments is monotonous and melancholy, yet this music is the greatest pleasure which they experience, and they follow it with a sort of frenzy. Both sexes are clothed with cotton, which they manufacture themselves. The men wear trowsers, which come half way down their legs, and a loose tunic resembling a surplice. The head and feet are naked. The dress of the women consists of two pieces of cotton, six feet long by three wide; one of which goes round their loins, and falls to the ancle, as a sort of petticoat; the other negligently covers the breast and shoulders. The dresses of the slaves, both male and female, are the same as have been already described: indeed, there is little difference in the clothing of any of the inhabitants in this part of Africa. There is no variety of fashion, except in the head-dresses of the women; and the only alterations which I have observed in these, are in their height. All the inhabitants of both sexes, whether Mulattos, Whites, or free Negroes, speak French tolerably well. Their common and natural language is that of the Yolofs. The first things which strangers learn, are their numbers. Rice and millet are the principal food of the inhabitants; but foreigners who come to the island, import Bourdeaux flour, coffee, sugar, and liquors: they find there oxen, sheep, poultry, game, and fish; so that they live the same as they do in their own country; except that they want fruits, which are not cultivated. The governor of the island is the supreme head of the civil, military, and judicial administration: the last, though dependant on the governor, is not entirely military; the laws are not positive, but have been established from custom. It is seldom that either free Mulattos or Negro slaves are condemned to death. Before the revolution, Negroes who were found guilty, were sold and sent to the American colonies. If they happened to be slaves, the produce of the sale served to indemnify the injured party, and the surplus was given to the master, after the expences were discharged; but if the condemned Negroes were free, a part of the produce of the sale likewise went to the prosecutor, and the rest was vested in the king’s treasury. In both cases the governor gave an account of the prosecution to the minister of the marine. At present, I am assured that no other sentences are passed than that of imprisonment in irons, either for a limited time, or for life.