VPOLJJ. 65 



bark was laden, and which was contained in iron tanks, the 

 owner, Mr. McFarland, requested the Commodore to lend 

 him some help in attempting to IdIow up the wreck. We 

 could not, however, accomplish the task, though we made 

 two efforts to do so, by trying to explode barrels of powder 

 by means of a fuze inserted in a gutta-percha tube,; the 

 fuze burnt in the tube, but the water extinguished it before 

 it could conmiunicate with the powder. 



Consul Williams gave a dinner to the Commodore and 

 wardroom officers of the ' Cura^oa,' to which the principal 

 residents were invited ; among others Mr. Cole, the Ame- 

 rican consul, who is married to a native woman; Mr. 

 Webber, the Hamburg consul; and a rich Irish merchant, 

 Mr. McFarland, married to Mr. Williams's sister. I had 

 also the pleasure of being included in the invitation. On 

 approaching Mr. Williams's house it was evident that his 

 intended hospitality had caused great sensation. The gate 

 was beset by a large crowd, and facing it was a sentinel 

 with a veiy important look, and armed with a whip to keep 

 order. He was, we were told, one of the chief's guard in 

 the uniform of his corps, namely, a scarlet coat made of 

 woollen serge, of the tightest possible adjustment, and 

 terminating behind in strange appendages, which we boldly 

 conjectured were intended to represent swallow-tails — those 

 once indispensable parts of military costume. A pleasant 

 feature of the entertainment was our being waited on by 

 native girls, who at intervals fanned, when not otherwise 

 serving, us. 



