No one had heard it, and Mr. Barraud proceeded. "The Portuguese, in their early intercourse with the Indians, had a summary punishment, and accompanied it with a terrible example to deter others from the commission of the crime. Whenever they took a pirate ship they instantly hanged every man, carried away the sails, rudder, and everything that was valuable in the ship, and left her to be buffeted about by the winds and waves, with the carcasses of the criminals dangling from the yards, a horrid object of terror to all who might chance to fall in with her." CHARLES. "Almost as dreadful a vessel to fall in with as the Phantom Ship in Coleridge's 'Ancient Mariner,' I always feel uncomfortable when I read that poem, and yet I admire it very much." MRS. WILTON. "It is replete with such truthful descriptions, that you are involuntarily borne on the wings of imagination until all seems reality, and you identify yourself with the Ancient Mariner." MR. WILTON. "I anticipate we shall all be ancient mariners before we conclude our voyage, but we must not be idle ones. Lead on, Emma, we will follow." EMMA. "I have no more bays yet, and it is mamma's province to describe the islands." MRS. WILTON. "Well and good: here are the Antilles. I shall not hasten over _them_, for they are _our_ isles, whither we hope shortly to sail in reality; therefore it is highly necessary that we should be well informed concerning their locality. They form an arch between the two continents of America, and extend from the Gulf of Florida to that of Venezuela. They are divided into the greater and the less; Cuba, Jamaica, St. Domingo, and Porto Rico are called the Great Antilles, all the others the less Antilles. "Cuba is the largest and most important: it commands the windward passage, as well as the entrance into the gulfs of Mexico and Florida, and is for that reason sometimes called the Key of the West Indies. It is more than 700 miles in length, and its medium breadth 70 miles. Havannah is the capital. "Jamaica is a delightful island, endeared to me by many fond recollections; it is mountainous, extremely fertile, and abounding with springs (as its name signifies) of delicious water, a great luxury in a warm climate. The top of the highest mountain, Blue Mountain Peak, is 7800 feet above the level of the sea. Kingston is the chief place for trade. The island is 150 miles from east to west, and its breadth is 60 miles in its widest part. "St. Domingo, capital same name, is a pleasant fertile country. The first town founded by Europeans in America was St. Domingo. The bones of Christopher Columbus and his brother Lewis are deposited in two leaden coffins in the cathedral of this city. "Porto Rico is 100 miles long and 40 broad. It is beautifully diversified with woods, valleys, and plains, and extremely fertile."