Page:Voyage of discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and round the world in the years 1791-95, volume 3.djvu/441

404 » 7<)5. Marcli.

tlons on our arrival from Sen""- Don Lewis Alava, a colonel in the army, governor of this port, and brother to our friend of that name at Monterrey.

This mcffage was accompanied by the ftrongefl afTurances on the part of the governor of affording us every affiftance that we might require, and which m'ght be in his power to beftow, and with hopes that he fhould foon have the pleafure of feeing myfelf and officers on fhore, where we might depend upon receiving every civility; adding, that the time we might remain at Valparaifo fhould pafs as agreeably as it was in the power of himfelfand the inhabitants of the town to render it.

It was not eafy to reconcile two reports fo very oppofite, though I did not hefitate to give more credit to the latter than to the former, efpecially as our firfl; impreffions were received from one not perfe6lly fober. Had I entertained any doubts, my fufpenfe would not have been of long duration, for on the return of Mr. Manby, every thing which the Spanilh officer had ftated was confirmed ; and we now underftood, that if thofe on board the Lightning laboured under any uncomfortable reftric- tions impofed by the governor, it was to be attributed Iblely to their own indifcretion and improper conduft, which had rendered fuch meafures on the part of the commanding officer indifpenfably neceflary for theprefer- vation of good order.

Mr Manby informed me that Sen""- Alava had ftated to him, that notwithftanding he did not entertain the leaft doubt that Don Ambrofio Higgins de Vallenar, the prefident and captain general of the kingdom of Chili, would confirm all the promifes which he then made; yet it was neceffary, before any material operations ffiould take place, to obtain His Excellency's fanftion and approbation for their being carried into effetl:. For this purpoie he fliould difpatch a courier that evening to the capital, St. Jago de Chili, the refidence of the Prefident, and where he now was, and he hoped it would be convenient to me to make fomc communication to His Excellency by the fame ccmveyance, on the fubjeft of our vifit, and the fuccours we required.

With this requeft of the governor's I inft'antly complied ; the meffenger was thm difpatched, and wc were given to underftand that a reply might be