HAVANA, 



463 



we had met with so much kindness, was torn and 

 distracted by internal dissensions, the blast of civil 

 war was sounding through its borders, and an exas- 

 perated, hostile army had landed upon its shores. 



In the evening we rode to the house of Dona 

 Joaquina Peon, said farewell to our first, last, and 

 best friends in Merida, and at ten o'clock started for 

 the port. 



On Tuesday, the eighteenth, we embarked for Ha- 

 vana. The old Alexandre had been altered and im- 

 proved in her saihng, but not in her accommoda- 

 tions. In fact, having on board eleven passengers, 

 among whom were three women and two children, 

 these could not well have been worse, and at one 

 time our voyage threatened to be as long as the oth- 

 er of unfortunate memory, but the captain, a survi- 

 ver of the battle of Trafalgar, was the same excel- 

 lent fellow as before. On the second of June we 

 anchored under the walls of the Moro Castle. Be- 

 fore obtaining passports to land, a barque entered, 

 which we immediately recognised as an American, 

 and on landing, learned that she was the Ann Loui- 

 sa, Captain Clifford, one of a line of packets from 

 Vera Cruz, had put in short of water, and was to 

 sail the next day for New- York. The yellow fever 

 had already broken out ; there was no other vessel 

 in port, and we determined, if possible, to get on 

 board, but we were met with a difficulty, which at 

 first threatened to be insuperable. By the regula- 

 tions of the port, it was necessary for all luggage to 



