JOURNEY TO GUATEMALA. 



25 



somewhat sun-burnt, and had a scar near a corner of his 

 mouth ; but, altogether, he was a fine, soldierly looking 

 man. His dress was a blue frock coat with military but- 

 tons, gold epaulettes a little tarnished, a sword, and a 

 cocked hat, with a plume of blue and white feathers^ 

 the national colours of Central America* 



We now all proceeded together to the house of the 

 Commandant. As the heat of the sun was oppressive, 

 he insisted on my taking his umbrella, and, on my ac- 

 cepting it, turned, and without any ceremony, took another 

 for himself from the hands of one of his suite. On com- 

 ing into the house, he said he expected I would make it 

 my home during my residence in Truxillo; but with 

 many thanks for his kind offer, I declined accepting it, 

 saying that while the vessel that had brought me was in 

 port, I proposed retaining my quarters there. He then 

 requested I would at least dine with him that day ; and 

 as the sincerity of this invitation was quite apparent, I 

 accepted it with pleasure. The hour appointed being 

 three o'clock — a very fashionable one in Truxillo, and, as I 

 afterwards learnt, some two hours later than the usual din- 

 ner hour of my host — I took my leave, and returned on 

 board to pass the time, as the heat, even at that early hour 

 of the morning, was too great to permit my walking about 

 on shore. 



The house of my new friend was a good sized building 

 of solid masonry. It consisted of one large room, formed 

 by the four walls, without any division into apartments j 

 and above, instead of ceiling, were the rafters of the roof. 

 On one side was the street door, with two windows grated 

 with iron bars ; on the other side, another, but smaller 

 door, opening into the esplanade of the fort, where a 

 swarthy sentinel was pacing to and fro with a straw hat, 

 no jacket^ and a rusty firelock on his shoulder. The floor 

 was paved with flat tiles, and covered here and there with 

 little straw mats of a kind peculiar to the country. This 

 room constituted the whole of the establishment, with the? 

 4 



