SOUTH AMERICA. 



131 



cavalcade proceeded along tjie beach; on passing the 

 barge crew, composed of twenty-four of our best look- 

 ing men, and such as could hardly be picked out of 

 the whole city, these manifested their politeness by 

 touching their hats, and received in return a most gra- 

 cious inclination of the head from mighty queens and 

 peerless princesses. Royalty stopped some minutes 

 to contemplate the manly erect figures and open coun- 

 tenances of freemen, glowing with the youth and health 

 of our northern climate; and was no doubt struck with 

 the contrast between these modern Greeks, and its 

 own vile, degraded slaves, of the same calling or oc- 

 cupation. Our proud spirited fellows did not, how- 

 ever, choose to imitate the Portuguese, by falling on 

 their knees, until majesty should have passed by; a 

 species of idolatry which experienced a salutary check 

 in the person of Mr. Sumpter, some time ago. The 

 incident has been related in our newspapers: I shall 

 here give it as I had it from the minister himself. The 

 guards who precede her majesty, were in the habit, 

 without regard to persons, of compelling them to 

 dismount and stand with the hat off, until the whole 

 retinue had passed by; the insult had been borne 

 without resistance by all the foreign agents here, ex- 

 cept the American, whose republican pride could not 

 be brought to stoop to this degradation. He was, how- 

 ever, desirous to avoid, if possible, bringing the mat- 

 ter to issue. It was at last thrown upon him by ne- 

 cessity; being unable to avoid the cavalcade, he stop- 

 applaud the government as to speak against it. If they venture to 

 speak on these subjects at all, it must be with great caution, and 

 even secrecy. In a word, the government is a despotism. 



