of the "Gentle art of angling."

The return of the steward and chaplain with a boat load of "marketing" was
a welcome surprise. The parson, whose unquestionable taste in the
aesthetics of eating had been wisely secured by the steward, dilated with
great gusto upon the juicy beefsteaks, the freshness of the fish, and the
richness of the fruit. When, at breakfast, we enjoyed as salt-sea voyagers
only could, the stores of fresh meat, fresh eggs, fresh butter, fresh
milk, juicy grapes, white and purple, with the morning's bloom still upon
them, the peaches, the apples, the pears, the tumas (prickly pear fruit),
the melons, musk and water, we acknowledged his reverence's judgment, and
gratefully thanked him for his services.

On landing to take a look at the town, I made my way through a throng of
boatmen, of picturesque native fruitsellers and loitering sailors, to the
chief business street, which ran along the shore. The stores, which were
mainly under the proprietorship of the foreign merchants, had a rich,
thriving look, being crammed full of miscellaneous goods, while the
sidewalks were heaped with bales and boxes. Odd-looking carts moved slowly
along with their drivers in picturesque costume lying in full length upon
their loads, smoking their cigarettes, and looking wondrously lazy and
happy. Stately Chilians from the interior, dressed in genuine Fra Diavolo
style, rode by on their prancing horses, all glistening and jingling with
silver. There were abundant loungers about, in the cool shade of every
corner and projecting roof. The listless men with the universal poncho--an
oblong mantle of variegated cotton or woollen, through a hole in the
centre of which the head is thrust, allowing the garment to hang in folds
about the person--looked as if they had been roused suddenly from their
beds, and not finding their coats at hand, had walked out with their
coverlets over their shoulders. The women, too, in their loose dresses and
with shawls thrown carelessly over their heads, had a very bed-chamber
look. They were mostly pretty brunettes, with large, slumbering black
eyes, which, however, were sufficiently awake to ogle effectively.

Having a letter of introduction to present, I entered the counting-house
of the merchant whose acquaintance I sought. I found him boxed off at the
further end of his long, heaped-up warehouse. He had closed his ledger,
lighted his cigar, and had just filled his glass from a bottle of wine