Tues. 11 [11 January 1898] Up early and had my bath before the tea
party had assembled. As I came out Mr N. [Northcote] was sitting by
himself disconsolately. Came on deck where I found the party. We
sat and talked and walked up and down till breakfast time. When we
came up land was visible, a faint line on the horizon. Sir W. [Smith]
said he was sure it was the e of Martinique and the little blob at the
end the dot on the i. We amused ourselves by composing a coat for
him; first quarter a pipe fumante proper on ground azure, second 2
golf clubs crossed between 4 balls field verte, third a pair of scales
proper, 4th an anvil and hammer proper; crest a cocktail, motto
Justitia per fumam. The coast drew nearer and we cd distinguish the
clear bright green of the sugar cane fields. Mr L. and I sat and
watched and he pointed out the things of interest as we came near.
We skirted along the eastern shore, rounded a point and came to
anchor in a wide bay in which many ships were already lying, first in
the picture the three Royal Mail boats which were to take our friends
on. A collection of squalid or hideous buildings interspersed with
palms and mangoes lay in front of us, the town of Bridgetown, and
behind it a slightly rolling country rising to a low hill. Dotted over with
trees wherever there was a house, and planted with cane.
Immediately we were surrounded by boatloads of niggers, shouting
at us and diving[?] for pence. As soon as formalities had been
complied with, M [Maurice] and I took one of these boats and rowed
on shore - the Dawn was her name. We arrived on a squalid quay
covered with shouting negroes one of whom constituted himself our
guide. He led us to Broad St where we found some stores at which
we shopped ducks and white shoes and M a wide felt hat. The Ice
House where we were to meet the family was just opposite. The town
in indescribably squalid; the houses are mostly of wood from which
the paint has long since peeled, two storied, the upper story [sic]
overhanging, projecting a bow of latticed broken wood supported by
posts which form a sort of colonnade along the very narrow
pavement. The pavement is separated by a deep ditch from the
road. The names of the shops are written up anyhow - on a bit of
paper, half across a doorway, in unequal straggling letters.
Everywhere the negroes swarm, women in white, generally very clean
carrying baskets of green oranges, bananas, cane, pineapple or
terracotta jugs on their heads; men driving shanderrydans or carts
with a team of 6 or 8 mules harnessed to them, people in top hats and
suits of dittos, shopkeepers, beggars, loiterers, divers[?] sweetmeat
sellers, all in a hurry, all obviously doing nothing and all as black as
night. The whole town smelt of nigger. Our shopping over we found
Mr N. and Mr Lewis at the Ice House; they dashed our hopes by
telling us Sir W. wd not be able to come and had sent us farewells.
Much discouraged we wandered down the streets, but when we
returned there was Sir W. with the Lamonts. We all went together to
Belgrave's, the curiosity shop of the place. It was full of stuffed flying
fish, inflated prickly monsters of the sea, white coral, and objects
made of fishes scales. I bought some photographs. We then went to
a book shop where Mr L. bought his evidence in the Sugar
Commission Blue Book and gave it to me. Then we returned to lunch.
The Ice House is half shop and half Restaurant. It was papered and
decorated by Columbus who also supplied the prints of sporting
subjects upon the walls and the newspapers on the table. Mr Lewis
and Mr Berrington joined our lunch. It consisted of fried flying fish, veal
with sweet potatoes and things like tiny tomatoes, ices green
oranges, excellent bananas and most excellent iced lime squashes.
After lunch we took carriages and went for a drive, Mrs L. Sir W. Mr N.
and I in one Mr L. M. Miss L. Mr Lewis in the other. We drove through
the town and all out along the shore. The houses, like little wooden
boxes half made of lattice were planted thickly all along, in the white
dust wonderful flowers were blooming, the wide red corollas of the
scarlet flowering trees, yellow, white, great convolvuluses, blue and
white creepers, bouganvillia, things with many coloured foliage, here
a banana, there a great beautiful leaf and overhead cocoanut palms,
the funny pear shaped fruit of the mahogany, mangoes and countless
unknown things. The sea lapped against a narrow beach of the
whitest sand. Many of the tumble down shanties were For Rent. We
drove out to Hastings, up to the Marine Hotel (a large ill painted
wooden creature) past the barracks. There we said goodbye to Sir
W. Mr N. and Mr Lewis and M and I and the Lamonts drove on making
a return[?] giro inwards, always through these absurd little house,
fields of cane in all stages, flowering trees and niggers niggers
niggers. We bought some cane and sucked it; when we threw away
the pieces we didn't want, all the niggers rushed for it as though they
had never seen a cane before; they sat on the dusty steps of the
absurd shops, they munched cane by the roadside, they lolled
everywhere in their white dresses. I saw only two picturesque
glimpses; one inside a shop, an old nigger woman dressed in white
with her head covered by a falling white cloth and a basket of fruit set
on it; it was the headdress I think which gave her some curious air of
nobility; the second was another woman standing in very white
clothes in a dusty squalid doorway, and by her side a sheaf of cane
of the most exquisite delicate green conceivable. The women walk
well, generally carrying loads, with a fine free step and balanced
head. We passed one village of which we got a good view across a
field; it was like a toy, the houses little boxes none of them more than
10 feet square and all set as thickly together as possible. We saw the
cane standing 10 ft hight, in some places they were beginning to cut it;
just planted, with slips like a big blade of grass; in old plants with just
enough green on them to make cuttings; and we saw the empty
ground being dug up and manured for the autumn planting. Bananas
are also grown. Barbados is the densest populated place in the
British dominions. There is no coolie labour. We got back to the
quay at 4, were again besieged by shouting niggers, took boats and
went off to our respective ships. As we rowed across Sir William's
ship, the Eden steamed away; the Esk, the L's boat lay quite near us
we saw them on board sitting in the stern till dusk fell and we made
signals; Mr N.'s boat the Solent, was lying between our bows and the
shore. We were first to go, we got off about 6.30 after waiting some
time for the governor's letters. As soon as we had taken on our
Jamaica pilot we became a quarantined boat. M and I are moved up
next the Captain at dinner; the Marescaux are opposite us, except the
Pattinsons they are almost the only people left. Read Mr L.'s
evidence, talked to Mr Murdoch who presented me with some green
beetles, watched the moon rise and so to bed. It is very horrible to
have broken up our pleasant company.