Page:Narrative of an Official Visit to Guatemala.djvu/72

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52
OFFICIAL VISIT
[CH. IV.

gerous materials with which to ensure the safety of a town, by entrusting the garrison and all the strong places in their hands.

Tuesday, 3d May. At ten o'clock, whilst we were at breakfast, a message was brought informing us that the flag was hoisted on the fort, and that the Tartar was in sight. I immediately mounted my horse, accompanied by Mr. Barcaistegie, and rode up the side of the hill called the Quebrada, to witness the interesting object. Before twelve o'clock, Lieut. Morgan came on shore to see if I had arrived, and, a few hours after, Captain Brown himself also landed. I was glad to find I had not detained him, and, as he was in a hurry to depart, it was settled that I should go on board the next day.

The street in which my host, the acting consul, lived, was not large, but it was one of the best, and contained the most respectable houses in the town. Towards the evening, an assembly of the inhabitants had collected before the house, and a dance was struck up in the open air. The music consisted of