Dinner being ended, and the Padre well neere wearie of his wayting, we rose, and made roome for better Companie; for now the Padre, and his blacke mistresse were to take their turnes; A Negro of the greatest beautie and majestie together: that ever I saw in one woman. Her stature large, and excellently shap’t, well favour’d, full eye’d, & admirably grac’t; she wore on her head a roll of green taffatie, strip’t with white and Philiamort, made up in manner of a Turban; and over that a sleight vayle, which she tooke off at pleasure. On her bodie next her linen, a Peticoate of Orange Tawny and Skye Colour; not done with Straite stripes, but wav’d; and upon that a mantle of purple silke, ingrayld with straw Colour. This Mantle was large, and tyed with a knot of verie broad black Ribbon, with a rich Jewell on her right shoulder, which came under her left arme, and so hung loose and carelesly, almost to the ground. On her Legs, she wore buskins of wetched Silke, deckt with Silver lace, and Fringe; Her shooes, of white Leather, lac’t with skie colour; and pinkt between those laces. In her eares, she wore Large Pendants, about her neck; and on her armes, fayre Pearles. But her eyes were her richest Iewells: for they were the largest, and most orientall, that I have ever seene.
Seing all these perfections in her onely at passage, but not yet heard her Speake; I was resolv’d after dinner, to make an Essay: what a present of rich silver silke and gold Ribbon would doe, to perswade her to open her lips: Partly out of a Curiositie, to see whether her teeth were exactly white, and cleane, as I hop’d they were; for ’tis a generall opinion, that all Negroes have white teeth; but that is a Common error, for the black and white, being so neere together, they set off on another with the greater advantage. But looke neerer to them, and you shall find those teeth, which at a distance appear’d rarely white, are yellow and foul. This knowledge wrought this Curiositie in me, but it was not the mayne end of my enquirie; for there was now, but one thing more, to set her off in my opinioni, the rarest black swanne that I had ever seen, and that was her language, & gracefull delivery of that, which was to unite and confirme a perfection in all the rest. And to that end I took a Gentleman that spoke good Spanish with me, and awaited her comming out, which was with far greater majesty, and gracefulness, then I have seen Queen Anne, descend from the Chaire of State, to dance the Measures with a Baron of England, at a Maske in the Banquetting house. And truly, had her followers and friends, with other perquisits (that ought to be the attendants on such a state and beautie) wayted on her, I had made a stop, and gone no farther. But finding her but slightly attended, and considering she was but the Padres Mistres, & therefore the more accessible, I made my addresses to her, by my interpreter; & told her, I had some Trifles made by the people of England, which for their value were not worthy her acceptance, yet for their Novelty, they might be of some esteem, such having bin worn by the great Queens of Europe, & intreated her to vouchsafe to receive them. She with much gravity, and reservedness, opened the paper; but when she lookt on them, the Colours pleased her so, as she put her gravity into the loveliest smile that I have ever seen. And then shewed her rowes of pearls, so clean, white, Orient, and well shaped, as Neptunes Court was never pav’d with such as these; & to shew whether was whiter, or more Orient, those or the whites of her eyes, she turn’d them up, & gave me such a look, as was a sufficient return for a far greater present, and withall wisht, I would think of somewhat wherein she might pleasure me, and I should finde her both ready and willing. And so with a gracefull bow of her neck, she took her way towards her own house; which was not above a stones cast from the Padres. Other addresses were not to be made, without the dislike of the Padre, for they are there as jealous of their Mistrisses, as the Italians of their wives.
In the afternoon we took leave, and went aboard; where we remained three or four days; about which time, some passengers of the ship, who had no great store of linnen for shift, desired leave to go ashoare and took divers women along with them, to wash their linnen. But (it seem’d) the Portugalls, and Negroes too, found them handsome and fit for their turnes, and were a little Rude, I cannot say Ravisht them; for the Major part of them, being taken from Bridewell, Turnboule street, and such like places of education, were better natur’d then to suffer such violence; yet complaints were made, when they came aboard, both of such abuses, and stealing their linnen.
But such a praise they gave of the place, as we all were desirous to see it: for, after the Raine, every day gave an increase to the beauty of the place, by the budding out of new fruits and flowers.
This was the valley on the left side of the Hill, more spacious and beautifull by much than that on the right hand, where the Padre dwelt. The next day, a dozen Gentlemen of our company, resolv’d to go and see this so much admired valley, and when our Saylers with their long boat went to fetch water, (as dayly they did,) we went along with them and landed there, in as high going Billows, as I have ever seen, so near the land. Much adoe we had, to be carried to land though on mens backs, and yet the grapple came as near the shoare as they durst bring it, for bulging against the bottome.
No sooner were we landed, but the Captaine of the Castle, with one souldier with him; came towards us, with a slow formall pace; who desired to speake with one of us alone. Colonel Modiford, being the chiefe man in the Company, went with an Interpreter to meet him; and being at the distance of speech, desired to know his pleasure; which he told him was this. That he understood divers of our women had bin ashoare, the day before; and received some injury, from the people of the Iland, and that it was conceiv’d, we were come Arm’d to take revenge on those that did the affront. He therefore advised us, either to make speedy returne to the boate that brought us: or to send back our swords and pistols, and commit our selves to his protection; and if one of those were not presently put in act, we should in a very short time have all our throats Cut.
We told him we had no intention of revenge for any wrong done, and that the only cause of our landing, was to see the beauty of the place we had heard so much Commended, by our people that were ashore, of which they had given a very large testimony, both of the pleasantness and fruitfulness of it, and that our visit was out of love, both to the place and people. But for sending our weapons back to the boate, we desired his pardon; for this reason, that the Billows going so very high at that time, we could not send them to the boat without being dipt in the Sea water, which would spoyle them; and the most of them, being rich swords, and pistols, we were loath to have their beauty covered with rust, which the salt water would be the occasion of. We desired rather, that he would Command a souldier of his, to stay with a man of ours, and keep them safe, till our returne; which he being content to doe, we committed our selves to his protection, who put a guard upon us of 10 Souldiers, part Portugalls part Negroes; the most part of either kind, as proper men as I have seen, and as handsomely cloathed.
Their garments made with much Art, and all seem’d to be done by the Tayler; the Coverings for their heads, were not unlike Helmits; of blew and white strip’t silke, some tawny, and yellow, others of other sorts of Colours; but all of one fashion, their doublets close to their bodies, with Cassocks, made of the fashion of the Kings guard: loose sleeves, which came to their elbowes; but large and gathered so as to fit loose from their armes; with foure large skirts, reaching down to the middle of their thighs; but these of a different colour from their suits, their breeches indifferently large, comming down below the knee; and the upper part, so wrought with Whalebones within, as to keep them hollow, from touching their backs; to avoid heat, which they were much troubled with; upon their leggs, buskins of the colour of their suits, yet some made a difference: their shooes Colour’d for the most part; some white, but very few blacke. Their weapons, as Swords, Pistols, Muskets, Pikes, and Partisans, kept very bright, and worne comelily and gracefully; which argued a decencie in the Commander, as their awfull respect did of his austeritie.
Being now under a Guard, we marcht into this valley, one of the delightfullest places that I have ever seen, for besides the high and loftie trees, as the Palmeto, Royall, Coco, Cedar, Locust, Masticke, Mangrave, Bully, Redwood, Pickled yellow wood, Cassia, Fistula, Calibash, Cherry, Figgtree, whose body is large inough for timber, Cittrons, Custard apple, Guavers, Macow, Cipres, Oranges, Limons, Lymes, Pomegranat, Anotto, Prickled apple, Prickled peare, Papa, these and more may be accounted wood: and yet a good part of them bearing excellent fruit; But then there are of a lesser sort, that beare the rarest fruit; whose bodyes cannot be accompted wood, as the Plantine, Pine, Bonano, Milon, water Millon, &c. and some few grapes, but those inconsiderable, by reason they can never make wine: because they have no winter, and so by that meanes, they can never ripe together, but one is green, another ripe, another rotten, which reason will ever hold, that no wine can be made on Ilands, where there is no winter; or within twenty degrees of the line on either side. I have heard that wine is made in the East Indies, within lesse then fifteen Degrees; but ’tis of the Palme tree; out of whose body, they draw both wine and oyle; which wine will not keep above a day, but no wine of grapes, for the reasons aforesaid. Other kinds of trees, we found good to smell to, as Mirtle, Jesaman, Tamarisk, with a tree somewhat of that bignesse, bearing a very beautifull flower. The first halfe next the stalke, of a deep yellow or gold colour; the other halfe, being the larger, of a rich Scarlet; shap’d like a Carnation, & when the flowers fall off, there grows a Cod, with 7 or 8 seeds in it, divers of which, we carried to the Barbados, and planted there: and they grew and multiplied abundantly, and they call them there, the St. Jago flower, which is a beautifull, but no sweet flower.
From these woods of pleasant trees, we saw flying divers birds, some one way, some another, of the fairest, and most beautifull colours that can be imagined in Nature: others whose Colours and shapes come short of these, did so excell in sweetnesse, and loudness of voyce, as our Nightingals in England, are short of them, in either of those two properties; but in variety of tunes, our birds are beyond them, for in that they are defective.