water, awakening the thousand echoes that
slumbered in the hills and woods about the city.

The ship, having now reached her intended berth, slowly emerged from her
"sulphurous canopy," that the light breeze had kept wrapped around her,
like a veil; and, clewing up her topsails, gracefully swept round
towards the westward, as if intending to go out to sea again; and, in
the evolution, a large, bright-colored, new American ensign floated upon
the gentle breeze from her mizen gaff. She remained stationary for an
instant, when the anchor was dropped, and the sails furled; and the
machine, that but half an hour before,

"Walked the waters like a thing of life,"

now lay upon their bosom a dark, motionless, inanimate mass.

CHAPTER XIII.

As an owl that in a barn
Sees a mouse creeping in the corn,
Sits still, and shuts his round blue eyes,
As if he slept, until he spies
The little beast within his reach;
Then starts and seizes on the wretch.

HUDIBRAS.

The salute of the Albatross was duly returned from the battery, and the
entire _posse_ of idlers in the port, or little village at the
landing-place, which is rather more than two miles from the town of St.
Blas, were collected at the pier to see what manner of men her
whale-boat contained, as she pulled swiftly in towards the shore. About
half way between the ship and the shore the whale boat was met by that
of the harbor-master; the crew of the former tossed their oars out of
the water, and held them upright in token of respect, while, at the same
time, the officer in the stern-sheets arose and raised his hat. This
respectful behavior was by no means lost upon the military dignitary,
who listened with great affability to the stranger's account of
himself--namely, that he was first officer of the ship Albatross, of
Boston, commanded by Captain Israel Williams; that she had put in for
supplies of wood, water, and fresh provisions; that she was bound to
Canton, and sundry other particulars of minor consequence; Mr. Morton
not deeming himself bound in honor or honesty to inform said
harbor-master that it was the intention of the captain and officers to
smuggle certain cases of silks, cloths, and linen on shore without his,
the said harbor-master's, privity or consent.

As soon as the strange ship had anchored, Don Gaspar mounted his horse
and galloped through the plaza towards the landing-place, at