reme eastern and northwestern American
dominions of His Imperial Majesty, Alexander the First, Emperor of all
the Russias, whose representatives in these waters he is."

The Spaniards were properly impressed as the priest translated with the
glibness of the original; but Arguello, who announced himself as
Commandante ad interim of the Presidio of San Francisco during the
absence of his father at Monterey, nodded sagely several times, and
then held a short conference in Spanish with the interpreter. The
priest turned to the Russians with a smile as diplomatic as that which
Rezanov had drilled upon the ugly ingenuous countenance of his medicine
man.

"Our illustrious Governor, Don Jose Arrillaga, received word from the
court of Spain, now quite two years ago, of the sailing in 1803 from
Kronstadt of the ships Nadeshda and Neva, in command of Captain
Krusenstern and Captain Lisiansky, the former having on board the
illustrious Ambassador to Japan, the Privy Counsellor and Chamberlain
de Rezanov. It was expected that these ships would touch at more than
one of His Most Holy Catholic Majesty's vast dominions, and all
viceroys and gobernador proprietarios were alike instructed to receive
the exalted representatives of the mighty Emperor of Russia with
hospitality and respect. But we cannot understand why his excellency
comes to us so late and in so small a ship, rather than in the state
with which he sailed from Europe."

"The explanation is simple, my father. The original ships, from a
variety of circumstances, were, upon our arrival at Kamchatka, at the
conclusion of the embassy to Japan, under the necessity of returning at
once to Europe. His Imperial Majesty, Alexander the First, ordered the
Chamberlain and plenipotentiary, the representative of imperial power
in the Russo-American possessions, to remove to the Juno for the
purpose of visiting the Kurile and Aleutian Islands, Kadiak and the
northwestern coast of America." The Tsar had never heard of the Juno,
but as Rezanov was practically his august self in these far-away
waters, there was enough of truth in this statement to appease the
conscience of a subordinate.

The Spaniards were satisfied. Lieutenant Arguello begged that the
emissaries would return to the ship and invite the Chamberlain and his
party to come at once to the Presidio and do it the honor to partake of
the poor hospitality it afforded. An officer galloped furiously for
horses.

A few mo