mand for the Commissioners. The general impression is, that
the Yankees will give them up, and that there will be no war. The packet
from New York is expected in England to-day. In the meantime, Great
Britain is calling home her ships of war; the Mediterranean fleet
arrived at Gibraltar on January 2nd, and threw the commercial community
into the greatest consternation. Received final permission this evening
from the Captain-General to enter dock.

_Saturday, January 11th_.--Visited the shore. Cadiz full of life and
bustle. Met Mr. Oliver; he is from the East. He says Russia is laying
deep schemes for uniting the whole Sclavonic race under her rule; and
that the _cotton_ pressure is felt at Constantinople, up the Danube,
and, in short, all over Eastern Europe. Received permission from the
Governor to land the marine who was sentenced by court-martial to be
discharged. News of the great fire in Charleston. Rumour that the
Yankees have given up the Commissioners. Can scarcely credit it as yet.
Yankee-dom can hardly have fallen so low.

_Sunday, January 12th_.--Landed the discharged marine. The news that
Messrs. Mason and Slidell have been given up appears to be confirmed.
The subtle diplomacy, notifying the Yankee Government _unofficially_,
that the ultimatum would be withheld a short time, to allow them time to
give up the prisoners _voluntarily_, was resorted to! The Yankee Consul
here gave a dinner on the occasion! The Cadiz papers comment very
unfavourably upon this back-down, and insist that notwithstanding, it is
the duty of the great Powers to interpose and put an end to the war. In
the afternoon we got under way, and passing through the fleet of
shipping, went up to the dock at Caracca, some eight miles east of the
city. The harbor is perfect, the water deep, and the buildings
extensive. The pilot who took me up, says he is the man to run me out by
the enemy, when I am ready--that he was in New Orleans sixty years ago,
and remained a year in Louisiana, where he learned to speak the
language, which he has not yet entirely forgotten.

_Monday, January 13th_.--At about 10 o'clock the dockyard people came on
board of us, and at 10.30 we were safely docked, and at noon the dock
pumped dry. We suffered very little damage from running ashore at
Maranham. We indented a small place under the forefoot, and knocked off
only a small portion of our false keel instead of the whole of it, as we
supposed. We are now knocking awa