o contend for a time even with
England herself, and has since enabled them to take an important part in
the transactions of the world. The schooner had been employed to bring
out a new governor for the islands from Cadiz, and she was waiting to
convey the former one back to Spain. He, however, was not ready, and
the schooner was detained a long time. Still I had no reason to
complain. Teneriffe was a very pleasant place; the captain and first
mate of the schooner were very kind sort of men, and La Motte, for old
friendship's sake, did his best to make my life agreeable. Perhaps, had
we been less idle, it would have been better for us all. The great
difficulty the officers had, was to find work for the men. We painted
and polished, and scrubbed and used up every particle of rope-yarn, and
turned in all the rigging afresh before Senor Don Longwhiskerandos
announced that he was ready to take his departure.

The voyage was not to be without danger, for there were English cruisers
watching all the Spanish and French ports; and though they could not
have touched us on the high seas, they would have made prize of us, had
they caught us trying to enter an enemy's port. I never heard the real
name of the governor. We called him Don Longwhiskerandos just for
shortness' sake, for it was fully three times as long as that. He
looked a very important personage, and awfully fierce, and did little
else than smoke cigars, and let a black man attend on him as if he was a
mere baby. We had fine weather, and the Don sat on the deck in great
state, when a sail was made out on our weather quarter. As she drew
near there could be little doubt from her appearance that she was an
English frigate. I borrowed a glass from La Motte. I took a long,
steady look at her, and I felt certain that she was my old ship the
_Brilliant_. Meantime our helm was put up, and off we went before the
wind to endeavour to increase our distance. She made sail of course in
chase, and I began to consider whether it would not have been better to
have gone to a Spanish prison than be taken as a deserter, and cruelly
flogged, if not hung. I pictured all sorts of dreadful things to
myself, and earnestly prayed that the schooner might escape the frigate.
If I was in a fright, Don Longwhiskerandos was in a still greater. He
tore his hair and wrung his hands, and walked about the deck uttering
all sorts of extraordinary expressions, calling on I don't know ho