The houses are mostly built of brick or stone, or wood plastered. They are seldom more than two stories high, with flat roofs, and huge window shutters and doors--the structures of a hurricane country. The streets are narrow and crooked, and formed of white marle, which reflects the sun with a brilliancy half blinding to the eyes. Most of the buildings are occupied as stores below and dwelling houses above, with piazzas to the upper story, which jut over the narrow streets, and afford a shade for the side walks. The population of Bridgetown is about 30,000. The population of the island is about 140,000, of whom nearly 90,000 are apprentices, the remainder are free colored and white in the proportion of 30,000 free colored and 20,000 whites. The large population exists on an island not more than twenty miles long, by fifteen broad. The whole island is under the most vigorous and systematic culture. There is scarcely a foot of productive land that is not brought into requisition. There is no such thing as a forest of any extent in the island. It is thus that, notwithstanding the insignificance of its size, Barbadoes ranks among the British islands next to Jamaica in value and importance. It was on account of its conspicuous standing among the English colonies, that we were induced to visit it, and there investigate the operations of the apprenticeship system. Our principal object in the following tales is to give an account of the working of the apprenticeship system, and to present it in contrast with that of entire freedom, which has been described minutely in our account of Antigua. The apprenticeship was designed as a sort of preparation for freedom. A statement of its results will, therefore, afford no small data for deciding upon the general principle of _gradualism_! We shall pursue a plan less labored and prolix than that which it seemed necessary to adopt in treating of Antigua. As that part of the testimony which respects the abolition of slavery, and the sentiments of the planters is substantially the same with what is recorded in the foregoing pages, we shall be content with presenting it in the sketch of our travels throughout the island, and our interviews with various classes of men. The testimony respecting the nature and operations of the apprenticeship system, will be embodied in a more regular form. VISIT TO THE GOVERNOR.