Some of my friends in the island who had become acquainted with my pursuits, were gratified by the specimens of my labours, which were exhibited to them, and urged me to throw my scattered notes into form. I yielded to their solicitations, and the result has been the following pages, which, while they afford a condensed history of the colony from its earliest days, present also a record of the impressions produced on one, at first, fresh from English society, but now, by long continued residence, become almost an Antiguan; having, it is hoped, lost all relics of English prejudice, but not become so biassed by her new connexions, or blinded by the many charms of Antigua or Antiguan society, as to hold the scales of justice unevenly. Having been resident in Antigua both before and after the passing of the Emancipation Act, and having had ample opportunity of judging of the practical effects of that memorable event, the observations I have made with relation to it may not be considered altogether unimportant. In perusing the early history of the colony, the English reader may be surprised to find how many men of family became early settlers in the West Indies; but when the eager spirit of adventure which immediately followed the enterprises of the Spaniards, and was so eminently conspicuous in the days of Elizabeth, is called to mind—when the causes which drove the “pilgrim fathers” forth are recollected, together with the numerous emigrations which took place from England, when the Royalists, in their turn forced to become fugitives, mostly sought a refuge in the West Indies, at first a safe and sanctioned asylum, till the very amount of the fresh influx of Royalist opinions made the West Indies a thorn in Cromwell’s side, and compelled him to have recourse to strong measures to secure their obedience to his will,—when all these causes are considered, it becomes no longer a matter of wonder that much of the best blood of England runs in the veins of the people, not only of Antigua, but of the West India islands generally.