The author visits much of the Caribbean including Barbadoes, St. Lucia, Martinique, Dominica, Antigua, St. Christopher's, Nevis, St. Thomas, Porto Rico, Jamaica, and Cuba. In the second volume he visits the U.S.A. and Canada, travelling up the Mississippi by steamship and crossing into Canada at Niagara. Like most English visitors of his time, he enjoys Niagara Falls, and dislikes slavery and spends many pages on both topics. He also comments on American democracy, Canada's views on American annexation, omnibuses in New York, the Pilgrim Fathers, and whether there are sea-serpents. Note previous owner was Frederick Barne of Dunwich, probably the English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1830 to 1832. He was MP for the rotten borough of Dunwich, the previous MP being his father. He held the seat until 1832 when it was abolished under the 1832 Reform Act.