Although the islands of the West Indies, being all situated between the Tropics, are, as regards climate, very similar, yet Antigua is generally reckoned more salubrious than any of the others. Possibly, the reason of this may be attributed to the dryness of the soil, for we have no rivers, and very few marshes, as in many of the other islands, to exhale any degree of humidity. The towns are now also kept very clean and wholesome, particularly the capital, so that island seldom suffers from any pestilential diseases. The “Yellow Fever,” that dreaded scourge of the West Indies, has, however, frequently raged here to great extent, particularly in former years. In 1793 it was very violent in its effects—nearly the whole of the inhabitants of St. John’s fell ill with it, and many deaths occurred. It broke out in the shipping in the harbour, and was supposed to have been brought ashore in a blanket, which had been wrapt round a person who had fallen a victim to it. In 1816 it again appeared, but not to such extent; but after the hurricane, in 1835, it raged with much virulence,—snatched many a young and beloved one from the family circle—separated parent and child—severed the holy bands of matrimony, and laid its victims in the cold and silent grave. It was supposed to be occasioned by the different effluvia which tainted the air after the gale; particularly that from the filth, which had for so many years been accumulating at the bottom of the harbour, and which, from the violence of the wind, had been completely stirred up. The warmest months of the year are June, July, and August. The sun, when not obscured by the density of the clouds, shines with a burning lustre; and did he not “——— kind before him send The genial breeze, to mitigate his fire, And breathe refreshment on a fainting world,” the heat would be insupportable. The meridian height of the thermometer, during this season, is, in the shade, about 80°, and the other parts of the year 70°; but I have observed the mercury to be, from the end of June to the end of August, from 86° to 90°, and often even higher. The sun is vertical at Antigua on the 7th of May and the 5th of August; and consequently on those days the inhabitants are ascii at noon. September, and the two succeeding months, are generally reckoned the most unhealthy periods of the year. At one moment, the sun darts its rays with an intensity almost insupportable, while the sea-breeze (that friend to sufferers from “all-conquering heat”) dies away, and a slothful calm prevails; at other times, the sun is hidden by black portentous clouds; the air is chilly and unwholesome, and rank and noxious vapours are abroad. The longest day consists of about 13 hours; the shortest about ten. In these latitudes, there is scarcely any aurora, or twilight, so that it is scarcely light until the sun is up, and soon after he sets, it becomes dark.