100 



porter's journal* 



them to visit at their houses ; but time was too precious to 

 lis to be spent in amusements. All were busily engaged 

 until the 20th in getting on board our supplies, and on the 

 meridian of that day we had completed our water, and, 

 with the exception of a few small articles, had as much pro- 

 visions on, board as the day we left the United States. 

 Those we calculated on taking on board while our accounts 

 were in a train for settlement; and as the next day was 

 Sunday, and we all required some relaxation from our fa- 

 tigues, I determined to devote it to pleasure, and invited 

 the ladies and gentlemen of Valparaiso to spend the after- 

 noon on board the ship, all, as well as ourselves, being pre- 

 viously engaged for the evening at a ball, at the house of 

 Mr. Blanquo, the vice-consul. The Spaniards, and parti- 

 cularly catholics, do not, like the people of protestant coun- 

 tries, spend their Sabbath in penance and prayers, but in 

 feasting and dancing ; and although a good catholic would 

 consider himself lost if he neglected confession, or tasted 

 meat during Lent, yet he is above the vulgar protestant pre- 

 judice of devoting one whole day in each week to the wor- 

 ship of the Almighty, when he has it in his power to spend 

 it so much more agreeably in amusement. The consul- 

 general had arrived from St. Jago, accompanied by don 

 Lewis Carrera, the brother of the president, by the consul, a 

 Mr. Heywell, and another American gentleman. They all 

 dined on board my ship on Saturday, and were saluted with 

 eleven guns. On Sunday, about 3 o'clock, myself and of- 

 ficers were on shore with our boats to take the ladies on 

 board the ship, she having been previously prepared for 

 their entertainment ; and we had all laid aside our nation- 

 al and religious prejudices, and devoted ourselves entirely 

 to the pleasures of the day, when, at the moment we were 

 on the point of embarking with them, an officer came from 

 the ship to inform me that a large frigate had appeared in 

 the offing, and on perceiving us had hauled in for the har- 

 bour. We all immediately left our fair Chilians, and 

 without any ceremony jumped in our boats and repaired on 

 board, where I found every thing prepared for getting un- 

 der way. I soon perceived that the strange ship was a 

 thirty-two gun frigate, gave orders to cut the cables, and in 

 an instant the Essex was under a cloud of canvas ; but as 

 the breeze, which had until this moment blown, now fail" 



