94 
SCENES IN THE PACIFIC. 
taken, and the perpetrators of such outrages be disposed of at 
rope’s end ; but the proposition was discountenanced by the 
residents. The church was opened, and a Te Deum sung 
for the deliverance of the country! After this, each class 
true to their leading emotions, gathered in knots about town, 
and talked of these strange things till supper separated 
them for the night. During the evening some of the offi¬ 
cers of government called at Mr. Larkin’s, and informed 
the American that the governor had sent the prisoners to 
the American and British Consuls at Tepic, via San Bias, 
and that the vessel would put into Santa Barbara for pro¬ 
visions and other prisoners. 
The twenty-fourth morning of April was clear ; the sun 
came up the eastern hills on a landscape of sweet things. No 
one born and dwelling in the rugged, changing seasons of the 
Northcan know, without experiencing, the delights of a cli¬ 
mate like that of California. From spring to spring again 
all is friendly ; from morning till morning comes again all is 
pleasant to breathe and to see ; from hour to hour the 
body feels in the air a balmy blessing; from moment to 
moment the blood leaps vigorously through the frame. 
Near eleven o’clock the troops were in motion, and Mr. 
Larkin and myself went down to the public green, to see 
what might transpire. 
We found the green covered with the people kneelingand 
crossing themselves, and the priest in full robes performing 
high-mass near the door of the governor’s dwelling. His 
Excellentissimo was kneeling with his officers before the 
altar as devoutly as if he had been obedient to the com¬ 
mandments from his youth till that time. It was shocking 
to hear him respond to the prayers for repentance, while 
any observer might see the malignity with which he had 
sought the lives of his friends, struggling amongthe muscles 
of his face and burning in his eyes ! 
The services being ended, the governor retired into his 
house. Thanks had been given to God forsavingthe country 
