VOYAGE THE FIRST.

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the last half hour, reviving alike my historical recollections of Spanish by-gone days and my youthful skill at shooting marbles 66 from taw." And now I hurry back to St. Mary's to dine, feeling, decidedly, the impeachment of hunger stealing over me after a long abstinence. In sooth, that taste of the Lethé, rather saline in the fullness of the tide, has not produced its wonted forgetfulness; but in its stead has performed the office of a bitter and provoking tincture.

THE POSADA AT ST. MARY'S.

The houses of entertainment in Spain are divers. There is your grand, aristocratic hotel of the cities, (like those in our Broadway of the city of Manhattan,) which is called a Fonda. The Posada is your real, veritable Inn, where you may get all sorts of accommodation. Then there are los Cafés, Villarés, Figonés, Pastilerias, Tabernas, Casas y puestos de bebidas, and the like, of every degree, including that non-descript, the unfurnished inn by the way-side, which Lope-Tocho, (I think that is his name,) in the Mountaineers, recommends for the voracity of its lobster-looking fleas, puffed up with the blood of innocent travellers.

The Posadas at St. Mary's are magnificently served-all the better, perhaps, that this was a gala-day, and celebrated in honor of St. John the Baptist. I saw nothing, however, symbolical of abstinence or “weeping in the wilderness ;" but the "cries" along the streets were as numerous as ever, and as deafening as in a fish-market. Flags stretched across the wide streets, as in our days of election, when some candidate for public honors invites his friends to "meet here,"

selves frequently employ them for this purpose with great effect. The seaman just mentioned, speaking of the flight of time, said "It holds a straight course, and makes no lee way."

It is calculated to excite feelings of interest in the mind of a man accustomed to religious privileges and religious society, to be placed among those who are anxious to hear religious truth. It was affecting to me on looking around on such a collection of sailors, to see individuals listening with seriousness to every word that was uttered. In the course of the week I received a joint letter from three or four seamen on board the United States ship Falmouth, respectfully requesting me to instruct them in the Scriptures. At a subsequent meeting, two or three of them informed me, that for some time past they had privately held regular meetings for prayers, under the "booms." Those meetings were afterwards enlarged by the addition of several of their messmates; and permission being obtained to occupy the gunner's room for such purposes, they were regularly continued in that place.

I have mentioned these facts for the same reason that before induced me to speak of the Bible class on board the Potomac, that is, that others may be encouraged to watch every opportunity for giving religious instruction to seamen, since they are sometimes willing and even anxious to receive it.

Chaplains in the naval service should not only be pious, but bold, fearless and efficient men. Their discourses should be characterized by plainness and common

sense, coming from a warm heart, without the affectation of frivolous ornament.* The truth being brought home to the heart and conscience, the happiest effects might be expected to follow. It is true there are some difficulties in connection with the naval service, which are calculated to discourage and dishearten the faithful chaplain, but in many instances these have been overcome. The chaplain will often find himself warmly supported by the commander, and were this universally the case, it is easy to see how much more favorably his instructions would be viewed. When the pure truths of the gospel are exhibited to the mind of a sailor, either in their awful or alluring forms, they seldom fail of making some salutary impressions. If the faithful chaplain has reason to look for obstacles, the sailor has also his own special difficulties to encounter. Prejudice and ridicule often present to his mind barriers which are deemed insurmountable. Yet these in many instances have been broken down. Seamen have been known to take determined and open ground, as the friends of religion, and of its advocates and ministers. Such are doubtless known to some of my readers, and we might reasonably expect that such examples would be multiplied, if the proper means were employed to promote religion among that class of men.

The appearance of American armed vessels at the various ports of South America, as well as at other places during our cruise, was evidently attended with important

*A sailor once remarked in reference to a certain chaplain, "that he had too many main-top-bowling words."

results; at least so far as the interests of commerce were
concerned. The Malays were not the only people who
were likely to remain ignorant of the dignity and power
of our happy republic; and nothing short of visible repre-
sentations would have sufficed to secure that measure of
national respect, which is always indispensable to the pre-
servation of commercial privileges. The United States ship
Peacock has doubtless in her late cruise, rendered material
service to American interests in the Red sea, and in other
places where our flag had been previously but little known.
This branch of our national policy, therefore, it seems
likely will be continued. I cannot but feel, however, that
our naval system embraces some evils that ought to be
done away.
The existence of certain neglected laws is
one; the infliction of corporeal punishments is another;
the admission of ardent spirits is a third; and the em-
ployment of the Sabbath, in some cases, as a day of spe-
cial discipline among the seamen, is a fourth.
The mere
mention of such things will suffice to show that a remedy
is greatly needed. I make no invidious comparisons be-
tween the different vessels, but fix my eye upon the whole
navy; and having been three years in service, under cir-
cumstances favorable for observation, I feel constrained
as a friend to my country to say, that her dearest interests
require that there should be some further improvements
brought into the naval establishment.

On the eighth of February, 1833, was the commencement of carnival. During this season, the people give themselves up to all kinds of boisterous amusement. The most singu

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lar of these, to a stranger, is a sort of skirmish, in which egg shells filled with water are used for ammunition. At the commencement of the carnival, a multitude of peddling boys traverse the streets with these water loaded shells, for the supply of such as intend to engage in this sort of warfare. Shells are seen flying in every direction through the streets; between opposite buildings; from pavement to balcony, and from balcony to pavement. The aggressors are generally ladies. The most furious volleys of all, are seen issuing from their chamber windows. No well dressed man who presumes to walk out, can expect to escape a pelting from them. Their curtains, however, are not always a protection against retributive shells. Considerable sums of money are expended by some families in the purchase of these missiles. Vast quantities of them are broken, and the fragments scattered in the streets have the appearance of snow. The custom is of ancient origin.

On the twenty-second, Washington's birthday was noticed by a salute of seventeen guns from the Potomac, and as many from the sloop of war Falmouth, and at about four o'clock in the afternoon we had the pleasure of a visit from President Gamarra and his lady. When they came on board, they were received with a salute of twenty-one guns, and after inspecting the several parts of the ship and expressing their gratification, left us under renewed firing. More than two hundred guns were fired by different vessels in the harbor on that day, and as