Page:Narrative of an Official Visit to Guatemala.djvu/422

402 with her affable and courteous demeanour towards strangers: the soldiers who were also Africans, grinned and chattered out their approbation, and we embarked with the blessings and good wishes of all parties, particularly of the sable miss, whose parting words were—"don't forget the shoes."

The narrow passage between the large gulf which we had left and the little gulf we were about to enter takes the name of the fort, and is called the river Felipe: it is ornamented with woody mountains rising on each side from its banks, which vary in width from one to three or even five miles, up the channel: the large gulf was as smooth as glass, but on entering the river the stream became pretty rapid.

By seven o'clock this evening the 25th, we arrived with a good breeze to within seven miles of the bar, and came to anchor in the narrowest part of the river: here, the banks were on each side closed in with lofty umbrageous mountains: the mast of our little vessel got entangled amongst the branches of the