guard was put on
board, and we were told that neither officers nor crew must leave the
ship.

We were still ignorant of the cause of this treatment, when the master
of an English whaler came alongside with his men armed to the teeth. He
told us that he had a letter of marque, and that on the strength of it,
having fallen in with a Spanish merchantman some way to the south-west,
he had chased and captured her, and found a large number of dollars on
board. Having come into Saint Salvador he found there no less than
seven other Spanish vessels, the masters and crews of which were
favoured by the Portuguese, and he heard that they threatened to follow
him out and capture him and his prize. Our arrival had turned the
scales in his favour, and he offered to remain if we would accompany him
out when we were ready. This Captain Hassall readily promised to do.
As the whaler was strongly manned, a good-sized crew had been put on
board the prize, and thus our three vessels were somewhat of a match for
the Spaniards, we hoped. At length the Governor of the place ordered
the officers of the ship to appear before him. Accordingly Captain
Hassall, the first mate, and I, accompanied by Dennis O'Carroll, who
seemed to be able to speak every language under the sun except pure
English, as interpreter, went on shore under an escort. The Governor, a
fat, swarthy personage in the full dress uniform of a general, received
us in a haughty manner, and cross-questioned us in the most minute and
tedious manner. Dennis somewhat puzzled him by the style of his
answers, which were anything but literal translations of what Captain
Hassall said. The result, however, was favourable, and we were allowed
to go wherever we chose about the city, and to get the necessary repairs
of our ships executed, and to obtain all the stores and provisions we
required.

Much relieved, we made our bows, and then took a turn through the place
before going on board. I was much struck with the number of churches,
of priests and monks, and black slaves, the latter habited in the most
scanty garments, and the former perambulating the streets in parties,
dressed up in the richest attire of coloured silks and gold, with
banners and crosses, and statues of saints, or representations of events
mentioned in the Scriptures, the figures as large as life. A large
number of friars in black, or brown, or grey gowns of coarse cloth, with
ropes round their waists, were goin