6 : THE SHIP'S CREW. differ from the morose, irritable beings I have describeda few who are lively, good-natured, active, and intelligent, and still possess all the freshness and simplicity of youth these are the marine pupils--poor, unfortunate boys, who commence a life of privation, misery, and danger, at an age when their more happy companions are still enjoying the blessings of parental care, and are sheltered by the protection of their families. It is painful to reflect that these intelligent young fellows must soon degenerate in the unfavourable atmosphere which surrounds them; that these buoyant spirits, so early forced into real life, and compelled to follow its stream, must after a few years of service become as unamiable and gloomy as their predecessors. These youths and the sailors certainly constitute the most agreeable and interesting part of the ship's crew; and even had I not been so fortunate as to be on the most friendly terms with the family of the commander of the expedition, as well as with two or three intimate friends, who were also members of it, I should still have been much interested in the society of these agreeable young men, whose open manners, interesting conversation, and unfailing good-nature, would have been a great amusement to me, and would not only have consoled ine for my physical sufferings, but roused me from that apathetic, listless state, into which one is so apt to fall whilst enduring the ennui of a long sea voyage. And now, according to an old and orthodox custom, I am going to give the names of those members who constituted the Mission from France to China, which was divided into two classes-the members of the lega tion, and those who were attached to the expedition in various capacities. M. De Lagrené, Plenipotentiary Minister, and sole head of the embassy, was accompanied by his wife and two little girls, Gabrielle and Olga De Lagrené; and the legation under his command, included M. De Ferrière - Levayer, First Secretary; M. Callery, the Interpreter; M. Bernard d'Harcourt, Second Secretary; M. Xavier Reymond, Historiographer; Dr. Yvan, Physician to the Embassy; M. De Montigny, the Chancellor; and five attachés to the expedition, M. Macdonald De Tarente, M. Marey-Monge, M. Fernand Delahante, M. De La Guiche, and M. De Charlus. Minister of Commerce had also added four delegates to the company, appointed by the Commercial Chambers of Rheims, Mulhouse, St. Etienne, Lyons, and Paris, whose names were M. Natatis Rondot, M. Hausmann, M. Hedde, and M. Renard. The Minister of Finance had also two representatives in the expedition, M. Itier, Inspector of the Custom-house Duties, and M. Lavollée, who held a similar office; the former, on account of bad health, withdrew altogether from the Mission, on receiving orders to embark for the Northern part of China. The CHAPTER II. TENERIFFE. Our voyage from Brest to Teneriffe occupied us fourteen days, during which time we enjoyed all the blessings of a calm sea and favourable wind; and on the morn ing of the 26th December we anchored at Santa Cruz, in a delicious atmosphere of seventy-seven degrees, with a radiant sun shining above our heads, under which agreeable influence we could not help congratulating ourselves on the reflection, that the very short time which had elapsed since our departure, had transported us to a region in which we should enjoy all the delights of summer for many months to come. The first view of Santa Cruz is far from being prepossessing or favourable, the town being built on an arid coast, which extends from the North-east to the South-west, the bay being fortified at two different points, called the Paso Alto and the St. Juan. When we stepped into the boat, which was to convey us to the shore, the sea was exceedingly rough, the immense waves dashing upon our little boat, and carrying it sometimes above the cannons of the battery, and sometimes several feet below them. Taking advantage of a favourable moment to descend into the boat, I seated myself upon one of the benches, rather elated by my success, when I was somewhat suddenly deprived of my position by M. De Lagrené, who flung me rather unceremoniously aside, and as this feat was not preceded by a word of warning, the consequences of it were, that my head was severely bruised between the cannon and the edge of the boat, which clashed violently together' just at the point where I was seated. We had scarcely disembarked, when a troop of mendicants, in picturesque, but ragged costumes, surrounded us, begging us to bestow a trifle upon them, and incessantly calling us by the appellation of "Dis-donc !" a name by which the inhabitants of the Canaries designate the French; this crowd of dirty ragged rascals escorted us in a numerous and very importunate body to the Constitution Hotel. On approaching the Spanish ground, nothing struck us so much as the tawdry and shabby dress of the lower classes; the women wearing a thin white apron, with a calico mantilla, which covers the head, and descends below the hips; on the top of this is placed a hat made either of felt, or palm leaves, similar in shape to our men's hats the costume of the men is still more singular, being composed of a white woollen garment of indescribable shape, which they fold round the body in a most imposing and majestic manner, leaving the arms and legs bare. : We took up our quarters at the Constitution Hotel, with an old French soldier, named Guerin, who appeared to entertain a great deal of noisy company, and who had a coffee-room and restaurant, as well as the hotel. We soon found out that the society kept by our countryman, was not always very select, and as an adventure occurred during our stay at his house, which affords an excellent illustration of the manner in which justice is administered in this country, I shall venture upon a short episode, in order to make the reader acquainted with it. All the luggage belonging to the members of the embassy had been collected together, and placed in an apartment, of which there was unfortunately no key; in the evening, on returning to the hotel, we observed that a trunk belonging to M. De La Guiche had disappeared, but though we immediately made the loss known to all who had been in that part of the hotel, we could hear nothing of the missing article, nor obtain any clue as to its fate; at last, the son of the hotel-keeper, being questioned on the subject, remembered that, on the staircase of the hotel, he had seen a Spanish hidalgo, from Laguna, with a similar article concealed under his mantle. On applying to the alcade, he instantly ordered the unfortunate witness to be apprehended, and three days afterwards, on the restoration of the trunk, we found it impossible to obtain the least account of the judgment against the prisoner, or any information with respect to the unfortunate accuser. The town of Santa Cruz has the usual appearance of all modern commercial cities, the streets being wide and straight, and the houses well built; its noisy bustle and activity render it rather like a Mediterranean sea-port, but this is only for a certain part of the day, for no sooner do the parching rays of the mid-day sun fall perpendicularly on the dusty pavement, and scorch the atmosphere, than the whole population return home as though it were night-blinds and doors are carefully closed, and every one resigns himself to the welcome and delicious repose of the siesta; so that the stranger who braves the oppressive heat and glare sufficiently to wander through the streets of Santa Cruz, at noon-day, pursues his walk in perfect loneliness, and perceives nothing, unless perhaps, he catches a glimpse, here and there, of some inquisitive lady, who looks at him with astonished eyes through the bars of her venetian blind, and then returns to the cool, shadowy repose of her apartment. Whilst the senores and senoras indulge in their siesta, the counting-houses and warehouses are filled with clerks by whom the commercial business is transacted; but on |