The city of Port Louis is the chief port, and capital of the island, and lies in latitude 20° 9′ 56″ south, and in longitude 57° 28′ 41″ east. It is situated at the head of a triangular bay, and is partly built on the slopes of the mountains, which enclose it on three sides. The highest of these is the Pouce, which rises directly in the rear of the town, to the height of 2800 feet, and from which another range of mountains extends to the sea in a southwesterly direction. The mountain range, which encloses the town and its beautiful suburbs, extends to the northeast; and back of them, towering high above his compeers, is the summit of the celebrated Peterboth. The town, as seen from the harbor, has rather an imposing aspect. The Creoles, Coolies, and the descendants of the former slave population, occupy different localities, and an occasional minaret of a mosque is seen in the Coolie quarter of the city. Port Louis was first settled by the better class of French families, many of whom were of the old _noblesse_; and their descendants, still keeping up the old ancestral dignity, have given to the society in which they live, a tone of superior cultivation and polish, rarely met with even in countries nearer the centre of civilization. The population is said to be between fifty and sixty thousand, and comprises representatives from nearly every nation on the face of the earth. It is considered one of the most cosmopolitan places in the world, all the foreign trade of the island being transacted there; and at early morning, during the business hours, the bustling crowd of English and French merchants, military, and policemen, sailors, and Chinese, Arabs, Bengalese, and Parsees, together with natives “to the manor born,” all seen in their different national costumes, present to the eye of an untravelled American a scene at once novel and interesting. There are large warehouses on the wharves; and a few steps from the landing an entrance, through a spacious gateway, leads into a large, open space, called the Place d’Armes, which is planted on each side with trees. The Governor’s house is situated farther beyond, towards the mountains. Previous to 1845, sugars and other articles sent from the Mauritius to Great Britain were charged with the same duties as the like articles from India; but during that year the custom rules and regulations were changed, and the duties being fixed the same “as on like goods of the same growth, produce, or manufacture of the British Colonies in the West Indies,” the trade was thus placed on the same footing. The fort, which commands the town and harbor, stands on a spur of the mountain we rounded on entering, and the passage being difficult, every vessel on approaching is required to hoist her flag and fire two guns; and at night a light must be shown, when a pilot goes on board and steers the ship safely into port.