Page:Narrative of a Voyage around the World - 1843.djvu/152

98 still witnessed comparative cleanliness and comfort, and much to admire, particularly in the school and hospital. In the latter, the name of the man, date of admission, and nature of disease, is placed over the bed of each patient, which in any contagious disease gives timely warning to any one fearing infection.

Not long since, the small-pox committed dreadful ravages amongst the Indians, and threatened to prove a still greater pestilence, by their neglect of their dead, and not unfrequently of the living, whom they quitted the moment they found them infected. The colony having arrived from the westward, brought their own Sunday; consequently we were generally working on our opposite holidays, a measure I could only obviate by respecting their day of worship, and giving our men a holiday. To our artificers, who could not work at the dockyard on their Sabbath, this was a serious drawback, when we considered the short period of our stay.

I visited their church, and witnessed the ceremony. The interior of the edifice is splendid, quite beyond conception in such a place as this. The padre, who officiated in his splendid robes, was a very powerful athletic man, about forty-five years of age, and standing in his boots (which appear to be part of his costume) about six feet three inches; quite Herculean, and very clever. I took a very great liking to him, and was permitted to examine his workshop, in which I noticed a good barrel-organ, a