Page:Narrative of an Official Visit to Guatemala.djvu/79

CH. V.] assembled there from the capital, to celebrate the festival of the Holy Cross. I forgot to mention that the frigate, on coming to anchor, fired a salute which was answered by the fort of two guns, to the number fired by the frigate. This had drawn the attention of the whole population, whether natives or visitors. The morning was very fine, and we could perceive, by our glasses, that the beach was thronged with holiday-dressed company, who, with their shawls, bonnets, and parasols, had a very European-like appearance: indeed, a painter might have transferred the group, with propriety, to his representation of the coasts of Ramsgate or Brighton. Captain Brown, whose pleasant and affable manners had rendered the voyage in every way agreeable, sent a boat ashore, with the expectation that the company would avail themselves of the opportunity of coming aboard the frigate, probably the only ship of the kind they had ever seen anchor at their port.

The periodical blustering gales which