INHOSPTTALITY. 



307 



Fernandez, in distress. She had lost, it appears, 

 one of her masts, sprung her rudder, and had run 

 short of water and fire-wood. The Viceroy states, 

 that the governor of the island sent off to the ves- 

 sel, and, on discovering her to be in great distress, 

 and that she had no cargo on board, after some 

 hesitation as to what was the proper line of con- 

 duct on such an occasion, decided to act hospi- 

 tably ; (se habia decidido por la hospitalidad ;) 

 and having allowed her to repair her damages, and 

 to take in wood and water, permitted her to sail. 

 " In my answer to the governor,^' adds the Vice- 

 roy, " I expressed my displeasure for the bad ser- 

 vice which he had rendered to the king, in allow- 

 ing the strange ship to leave the port, instead of 

 taking possession both of her and the crew, and 

 giving an account of his having done so to his im- 

 mediate superior, the President of Chili, whose 

 orders he ought to have waited for. I expressed 

 my surprise that the governor of an island should 

 not know that every strange vessel which anchor- 

 ed in these seas, without a licence from our court, 

 ought to be treated as an enemy, even though the 

 nation to which she belonged should be an ally of 



