Page:Dawn and the Dons.pdf/79

57 arrived at San Blas on August 1, 1770, and Captain Perez and Constanso hastened to Mexico City, carrying Portola’s reports and dispatches. They arrived on August 10, and great was the rejoicing in Mexico when the rediscovery and occupancy of the port of Monterey was announced. “It was heralded first by the bells of the great Cathedral, and then responsively by those of the churches. Asolemn Mass in thanksgiving was attended by the government dignitaries, and on the sixteenth the news was spread throughout New Spain by an official proclamation.”

It was the end of the long and anxious waiting of Galvez and Croix, and now was their day of rejoicing. Galvez was recovering from a protracted fever, but the glad tidings from Portola gave him new strength, and in company with Croix, he was given a great reception in the viceregal palace.

Neither Galvez nor Croix remained in Mexico to see the fruition of the combined plans of themselves and Serra. In the following year, 1771, both were recalled to Spain, where each received the reward of a grateful sovereign. Croix was made Viceroy and Captain-General of the Kingdom of Valencia, and Galvez was made Ministro Universal—General Minister—of the Indies. Of the great trio, Serra alone remained.