XXX . AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



wind at night-fall, and I could never learn any- 

 thing afterwards of the brig, or of the fate of her 

 commander. 



On our arrival at Cadiz, we found the town illu- 

 minated ; 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 Bri- 

 tish consul's house. At last, in utter despair, I re- 

 solved 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 An- 

 dalusia ; a province famous for its wine, its pome- 

 granates, its oranges, and its melons. 



