And now we prepared, before the sun went down, to leave our watery prison;
and the captain's boat being manned, and having taken leave of the
officers, we, that is, C---n, the commander, and I, and my French maid and
her French poodle, got into it. Then came a salute of twenty guns from the
Jason in our honour, and we rode off amidst clouds of smoke. Then the fort
gave us welcome with the same number of guns, and, amidst all this
cannonading, we were landed at the wharf.

A singular spectacle the wharf presented. A crowd, as far as the eye could
reach, of all ages and sexes of Vera Cruzians (and a very curious set they
seemed to be), were assembled to witness his Excellency's arrival. Some had
no pantaloons; and others, to make up for their neighbours' deficiencies,
had two pair--the upper slit up the side of the leg, Mexican fashion. All
had large hats, with silver or bead rolls, and every tinge of dark
complexion, from the pure Indian, upwards. Some dresses were entirely
composed of rags, clinging together by the attraction of cohesion; others
had only a few holes to let in the air. All were crowding, jostling, and
nearly throwing each other into the water, and gazing with faces of intense
curiosity.

But a plume of coloured feathers was seen towering above the
copper-coloured crowd, and immediate passage was made for an aide-de-camp
from the Governor, General Guadalupe Victoria. He was an immensely tall
man, in a showy uniform all covered with gold, with colossal epaulets and a
towering plume of rainbow-coloured feathers. He brought to C---n the
welcome and congratulations of the General, and those Spanish offers of
service and devotion which sound agreeably, whatever be their true value.

We now began to move through the crowd, which formed a line on either side