LIFE OF THE A U7HUR. 23 



our tar very particularly the following day, as the brig was not far 

 off; and finding his account quite consistent, I went down into the 

 cabin, and committed it to paper. Having inclosed it in a bottle, 

 we ran alongside of the brig for Vigo, and hailed the captain. I 

 then threw the bottle on the quarter-deck. The captain immediately 

 took it up, and carried it below. He returned to the deck in a 

 short time, and made us a very low bow; which, no doubt, was the 

 safest way to express his gratitude for the favour which we had done 

 to him. We parted company in a gale of wind at nightfall, and 

 I could never learn anything afterwards of the brig, or of the fate of 

 her commander. 



" On our arrival at Cadiz, we found the town illuminated, and 

 there were bull-fights in honour of royal nuptials. We accompanied 

 Consul Duff to the amphitheatre. He was dressed in a brilliant 

 scarlet uniform ; and though he had cautioned us not to lose sight 

 of him as soon as the entertainment should be finished, still my eyes 

 wandered upon a thousand objects, and I most unfortunately missed 

 him, just as we were departing from the amphitheatre. As there 

 were hundreds of Spaniards in scarlet cloaks, it was probably on 

 this account that the Consul had been particular in requesting us to 

 keep him always in view. I walked up and down Cadiz till nearly 

 midnight, without being able to speak one word of Spanish, and 

 trying in vain to find the British Consul's house. At last, in uttei 

 despair, I resolved to stand still, and to endeavour to make out 

 some passing Frenchman, or some American, by the light of the 

 moon, which shone brilliantly upon the white houses on each side 

 of the street. The first person whom I accosted luckily turned out 

 to be a French gentleman. I told him that I was a stranger, and 

 that I was benighted, and had lost my way. He most kindly took 

 me to the Consul's house, which was a long way off. 



" After staying a fortnight in Cadiz, we sailed through the Straits 

 of Gibraltar, for Malaga in Andalusia, a province famous for its 

 wine, its pomegranates, its oranges, and its melons. 



" My uncles had a pleasant country-house at the foot of the 

 adjacent mountains, and many were the days of rural amusement; 

 which I passed at it. The red-legged partridges abounded in the 

 environs, and the vultures were remarkably large ; whilst goldfinches 



