of speaking upon
the subject, that he by no means favourable regarded the action of his
countrymen in the matter. This conversation, and indeed all that we
subsequently held with him, was, I ought to say, conducted in English.
He asked us questions innumerable--indeed more than we were able to
fully answer--respecting the habits and customs of our nation, our mode
of government, and what not; and it was not long before we were able to
perceive that his liking for the English was as strong as it was
possible for a thorough-bred Spanish noble to entertain.

A walk, or rather a saunter, of about a mile and a half through the park
brought us to the scene of our future operations--a lake of, I should
say, some four or five acres in extent--and here the subject of our
conversation was diverted to the theme of the commandant's requirements
of us.

The lake, it appeared, was a natural feature of the landscape, with a
stream some twenty feet in width flowing through it. A walk had been
constructed right round it, crossing the stream by a couple of rustic
bridges; and for about one-half its length the banks had been most
beautifully laid out as a flower-garden. For the remaining half of its
length, however, nature had been allowed to have pretty much her own
way, except at the point where the stream entered the lake. There the
ground had been carefully cleared of trees, and trimmed so as to present
the aspect of a low flat shore, with hills in the rear. And on this
shore, covering an area of some fifty feet square on each side of the
stream, the commandant had caused to be constructed an exceedingly
pretty and carefully finished model of a town, with streets, houses,
public buildings, squares, and even monuments, with a harbour, including
moles, piers, lighthouses, batteries, etcetera, complete down to the
minutest detail. It had evidently been a labour of love with him, as
could be seen at a glance from the care and finish lavished upon the
work; and we afterwards learned that it had occupied him and a staff of
a dozen workmen for more than a year. It was to blockade this miniature
town and port that the fleet of ships which we were to construct was
required, the trenches and investing earthworks and batteries on the
land side being already finished. It was surprising to see how this
most dignified Spaniard unbent, and how enthusiastic he became as he
described his plans to us and gave us instructions respecting the
di