Antigua and the Antiguans, Volume 2 (of 2): A full account of the colony and its inhabitants from the time of the Caribs to the present dayLanaghan, Mrs.
History
Antigua and the Antiguans, Volume 2 (of 2): A full account of the colony and its inhabitants from the time of the Caribs to the present day
Lanaghan, Mrs.
Antigua -- Description and travel; Antigua -- History
In pursuance of our plan, I think we may mention filial
affection, and the respect they pay it. It is but seldom that a
child will behave ill to its parent; on the contrary, they
generally do for them whatever lies in their power. Age, too, is
particularly venerated; and the noisy little negroes at their
sport will stop while one of their old people are passing, with
“How d’ye, marm?” and “How d’ye, me pic’nee?” is the courteous
reply. Generosity may also be mentioned among the “lights” of
their character. When they see one of their own class in
distress, they generally relieve them to the extent of their
ability, and to their sorrows turn a listening ear. When any of
their friends or relatives die, they commonly have some little
offering to make to assist in defraying the expenses of the
funeral. Sometimes they will carry a bottle of wine or porter—
sometimes bread and cheese, or a few biscuits, &c.; but however
small the article is, it is always gratefully received, for this
feasting at a funeral is as necessary to their idea of etiquette
as giving the corpse a shroud or a coffin.
Nor do negroes always confine their generosity to their own
colour, of which I can give a striking example. It is true, it
does not much concern either “Antigua” or “the Antiguans,” but I
have already apologized for wandering out of my path, and this
comes so _apropos_, that I cannot refrain from mentioning it. In
the course of my peregrinations through different parts of the
world, it has been my fate to meet with many deplorable objects—
the half-starved diseased negroes—the dirty emaciated North
American Indians, and their miserable squaws, (as they term their
wives,) suffering from the effects of the alcohol they purchase
from their white brethren at the expense of their domestic joys—
the ragged, quarrelsome “wild Irish,” “the finest _pisantry_ in
the world,” in their own estimation—the deformed and almost naked
beggars of England; but in all my travels I never saw so truly
wretched a class, taking them altogether, as the poor white
inhabitants of Barbados. I never shall forget the appearance they
presented to my eyes upon my first visit to “Little England,” as
the Barbadians in their pride call their pleasant little island.
From the intense heat of the sun, and their constant exposure to
its rays, their complexions are changed from a natural white to a
fiery red. The women allow their long hair to float all down
their backs, and be blown about by every zephyr. This may sound
very pretty in poetry, but it is anything but pretty in _real
life_, particularly when we take into consideration the colour
and state of these locks; the fervent kisses of the “great
luminary” has changed them into the appearance of dirty flax,
while their disordered and matted condition brings the idea
forcibly to your mind, that they have seldom, if ever, undergone
the ordeal of “brush and comb.” With respect to their persons,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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