DEMERARA. CHAP. PAGE 1. Sunrise brings Sorrow in Demerara 1 2. Law endangers Property in Demerara 14 3. Prosperity impoverishes in Demerara 28 4. Childhood is Wintry in Demerara 45 5. No haste to the Wedding in Demerara 58 6. Man worth less than Beast in Demerara 64 7. Christianity difficult in Demerara 81 8. The Proud covet Pauperism in Demerara 93 9. Calamity welcome in Demerara 103 10. Protection is Oppression in Demerara 113 11. Beasts hunt Men in Demerara 123 12. No Master knows his Man in Demerara 129 DEMERARA. ---------------------------- CHAPTER I. SUNRISE BRINGS SORROW IN DEMERARA. The winter of the tropics is the most delicious of all seasons of any climate to inhabitants of the temperate zone. The autumnal deluge is over: there is no further apprehension of hurricanes for many months: the storms of hail are driven far southwards by the steady north winds, which spread coolness and refreshment among the groves and over the plains. The sea, whose rough and heavy swell seemed but lately to threaten to swallow up the island and desolate the coasts, now spreads as blue as the heavens themselves, and kisses the silent shore. Inland, the woods are as leafy as in an English June; for there, buds, blossoms, and fruits abound throughout the year. The groves of cedar and mahogany, of the wild cotton-tree and the fig, form an assemblage of majestic columns, roofed by a canopy of foliage which the sun never penetrates, while the winds pass through, and come and go as they list. In the richest regions of this department of the globe, the cane-fields look flourishing at this season, and coffee-plantations clothe the sides of the hills. All inanimate things look bright; and birds of gay plumage, and animals of strange forms and habits add to the interest and beauty of the scene in the eye of a stranger.