252 



CENTRAL AMERICA. 



National Guards to celebrate the anniversary 

 of some saint or revolution ; I forget which : 

 such talking and squabbling in the black ranks 

 I never heard, and I certainly never saw so 

 much gold embroidery or gold lace on any offi- 

 cers of any army as upon the coats, trowsers, 

 and caps of these negroes. They marched on to 

 the ground by different regiments commanded 

 by their respective colonels, but the covering 

 Serjeants of all had been sent on before to 

 take up company^ distances, and, when on 

 the ground, each company filed on to its own 

 covering Serjeant, so that about forty or fifty 

 companies coming from different directions 

 were jostling and almost fighting, and it was 

 a long time before they got into open column, 

 right in front. Then came a general with his 

 staff, who was afterwards to receive a greater 

 general than himself. The command equiva- 

 lent to our " Left wheel into line," was then 

 given, but the companies'* distances had been 

 taken up in such an absurd way that some 

 companies had at least half their files in the 

 rear of its right company ; and others left 

 vacancies of ten or fifteen files ; so after 

 closing right and left for a good half hour, 

 they were obliged to give it up, and form 

 close column in rear of the right company, and 



