Those negroes who reside in the capital invariably have their houses built of wood; they seldom consist of more than one room, in which a whole family, of perhaps six or eight persons, eat, sleep, and live; and from whence issue, upon a Sunday, those _ladies_ and _gentlemen_ who equal in splendour of dress the habitants of princely halls. The form of architecture is very simple; four sides, of equal length, breadth, and height, are first erected, and the whole surmounted by what is called a _pitched_ roof, which also consists of four uniform sides, meeting at the top in a pyramidical form. For further protection from the weather, this roof is covered thickly over with “shingles,” (flat pieces of board, manufactured in America, for that purpose, from the wood of the cypress, or cedar,) which are put on in the same manner as slates. Some of these dwellings have doors facing to each of the cardinal points, besides a window or two; so that, when agreeable, they can have a free circulation of air. When I speak of windows, it must not be understood I mean such as contain any portion of glass; but simply what Dr. Johnson calls them, “an opening in a house for light and air.” These houses are generally left destitute of any outward colouring, except what they acquire from exposure to the weather, but when paint is made use of, the favourite tints are yellow for the sides, and red for the roof and doors. As I have before hinted, many of these small houses are built by pilfering a board or a plank at a time, or now and then a few shingles. It often happens, that dwellings which are erected upon this plan, take some time before they are completed. To assure myself of this assertion, I need only raise my eyes from my paper, and one of these _contributory_ edifices greets my view. It was commenced before I came to the island; and after remaining here for about two years, and returning to England for near the same period, upon my second visit to Antigua, I found the house not quite finished. I could not help observing this house during its tardy erection; a stroke or two of the hammer now and then broke upon the silent ear of night, and in the morning it might be perceived that another board had been added to the side, or a few more shingles nailed upon the roof. It most frequently happens, that the possessors of these small tenements have no land of their own, but pay a small ground-rent for the space occupied by their habitations. When they are wishful of removing to another part of the town, like the snail, they carry their houses with them, which, from the manner of construction, is no difficult matter. These buildings are always raised a little way from the ground, and have a step or two at the principal entrance. Sometimes the space between the ground and the house is entirely filled up with loose bricks or stones; others have only an empty barrel, or a few stones piled up at each corner, just sufficient to support the fabric.