I never saw such a merry, kind-hearted set of fellows. They got some water, and one of them washed my sore feet; another brought me a bowl of milk, and a third spread my bed. After I had rested for half an hour, I was called to supper, and took my meal with the planter and his family. They were all very kind and polite. There was one black-eyed girl,――the planter’s daughter, as I supposed,――whom I thought very handsome, but very different from our New England girls. Her complexion was extremely dark; her hair black as jet, her skin being quite of an olive color. When her features were at rest, her countenance was pensive, almost sad; but the moment she spoke, there was a flash of cheerfulness over her whole countenance. I stole several glances at her, but being only a poor sailor, I deemed this a kind of theft, and tried hard not to be detected. I noticed, however, that the maiden caught me looking at her several times. I expected she would be angry, but this was far from being the case. The habitation of the planter was very different from a snug New England dwelling. In this delicious climate there is a perpetual summer; no frost, no snow, no blustering Boreas ever comes to chill the inhabitants, to destroy the vegetation, or interrupt the genial course of nature. Little is needed for the comfort of the inhabitants, in respect to a dwelling, but a mere shelter. The planter’s residence consisted of three or four distinct buildings, of irregular shape and arrangement. One was of brick, and covered with tiles; the rest were of wood, and had more the appearance of cattle sheds than human dwellings. There were no chimneys, and the windows consisted of openings without glass. When it came night, I was put into one of these buildings. We ascended to a second loft by a ladder, and I laid down upon a bed which consisted of straw. Feeling very weary, I soon fell asleep. I continued in a sound repose for several hours, when, at last, I awoke suddenly. It seemed as if I had heard some one whispering to me, and in a sort of dream, I fancied that it was the black-eyed daughter of the planter. But when I was fully awake, and rose up in my bed, my amazement at what I beheld was indescribable. The moon was shining very brightly, and lighted the large barn-like apartment in such a manner, that I could see almost every object with distinctness. Above me, amid the dusky shadows of the room, I beheld a creature of the most extraordinary aspect. It seemed to have the head of a rhinoceros, with most enormous ears, the body of a bird, and the legs of an alligator. It had immense wings, shaped like those of a bat. To my excited imagination, the creature seemed as big as an ox; and as I gazed upon it, it seemed to wave its prodigious wings, and grin at me with a sneering and malicious expression. [Illustration (bats)]