ISLAND OF TABOGA^ 



163 



ingly moved as close to the shore as possible. 

 The sea in this corner of the cove being quite 

 smooth, the boats rowed to and from the shore all 

 night with perfect ease ; and the moon being only 

 one day short of the full, afforded ample light to 

 work by. The casks were rolled along a path, to 

 the side of a natural basin, which received the 

 stream as it leaped over the edge of a rock, close- 

 ly shrouded by creepers and flowers interlaced 

 into one another, and forming a canopy over the 

 pool, from which our people lifted out the water 

 with buckets. This spot was lighted only by a few 

 chance rays of the moon, which found their way 

 through the broken skreen of cocoa-nut leaves, and 

 speckled the ground here and there. Through a 

 long avenue in the woods, we could just discover 

 the village, with many groups of the inhabitants 

 sleeping before their doors on mats spread in the 

 moonlight. The scene was tranquil and beauti- 

 ful, and in the highest degree characteristic of the 

 climate and country. 



I discovered next morning, from the Alcalde 

 or governor, that a very unfavourable impression 

 of the English had been left on the minds of the 



