The dancing is kept up, at
intervals, throughout the day, but the crowd, the spirit, and the
elite, come in at night. The next night, which was the last, we went
ashore in the same manner, until we got almost tired of the monotonous
twang of the instruments, the drawling sounds which the women kept up,
as an accompaniment, and the slapping of the hands in time with the
music, in place of castanets. We found ourselves as great objects of
attention as any persons or anything at the place. Our sailor
dresses- and we took great pains to have them neat and shipshape- were
much admired, and we were invited, from every quarter, to give them an
American sailor's dance; but after the ridiculous figure some of our
countrymen cut, in dancing after the Spaniards, we thought it best
to leave it to their imaginations. Our agent, with a tight, black,
swallow-tailed coat, just imported from Boston, a high stiff cravat,
looking as if he had been pinned and skewered, with only his feet
and hands left free, took the floor just after Bandini; and we thought
they had had enough of Yankee grace.
The last night they kept it up in great style, and were getting into
a high-go, when the captain called us off to go aboard, for, it
being south-easter season, he was afraid to remain on shore long;
and it was well he did not, for that very night, we slipped our
cables, as a crowner to our fun ashore, and stood off before a
south-easter, which lasted twelve hours, and returned to our anchorage
the next day.
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