- HAIL, eldest birth of Time!1 in other climes,
- In the old world, with tempests usher’d in;
- While rifled nature thine appearance wails,
- And savage winter wields his iron mace: [15]
- But not the rockiest verge of these green isles,
- Tho’ mountains heapt on mountains brave the sky,
- Dares winter, by his residence, prophane.
- At times the ruffian, wrapt in murky state,
- Inroads will, sly, attempt; but soon the sun, [20]
- Benign protector of the Cane-land isles,
- Repells the invader, and his rude mace breaks.
- Here, every mountain, every winding dell,
- (Haunt of the Dryads; where, beneath the shade
- Of broad-leaf’d china,2 idly they repose, [25]
VER. 17. Tho’ mountains heapt on mountains] This more particularly alludes to St. Kitts; where one of the highest ridges of that chain of mountains, which run through its center, from one end of it to the other, bears upon it another mountain, which, somewhat resembling the legendary prints of the devil’s carrying on his shoulders St. Christopher; or, as others write, of a giant, of that appellation, carrying our Saviour, in the form of a child, in the same manner, through a deep sea; gave name, to this island.
VER. 25. Of broad-leaf’d china,] The leaves of this medicinal tree are so large, that the Negroes commonly use them to cover the water, which they bring in pails from the mountain, where it chiefly grows. The roots of this tree were introduced into European practice, soon after the venereal disease; but, unless they are fresh, it must be confessed they possess fewer virtues than either sarsaparilla3 or lignum
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January. ↩︎
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The china-root plant, Smilax china, which is valued for its medicinal properties. Its native range extends from China to Japan and the Philippines. Whether Smilax china grew in the eighteenth-century Caribbean is unclear. The genus Smilax contains approximately 350 species, which are sometimes difficult to distinguish from each other. Today, the species Smilax viscifolia is commonly known as “China root” in Jamaica. ↩︎
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Refers to various species of the genus Smilax native to Central and South America. Spanish conquistadors named it zarzaparilla and learned from indigenous peoples to use it as an antisyphilitic. Also used to flavor drinks, including root beer in the nineteenth century. Grainger may have been referring to the species Smilax regelii, known as “Jamaica sarsaparilla.” ↩︎