Des Moines courier. ([Ottumwa] Iowa) 1848-1854, 1852-02-19
MISCELLANY.
THE POINT OF HONOR.

year lS4Z, seven persons, lncludlng my
self, were sitting and chatting in a state
of HILARIOUS gayety in from, Of Senor Ar
guella's country house, a mile or SO out
of Santiago de Cuba, in the Eastern In
tendencia of the Queen of the, Antilles,
and once its chief capital when an acci.
dent occurred, thatas e1fectually put an
exiinguisher upon the noisy, mirth as if
bomb-shell had suddenly exploded al
our feet. Bot first "a brief account of
those seven persons, and the cause OF
their being SO assembled will be necessa-
ry. roaif1eg ingf4ss.q atn -g-s, *, g.,.
Three were American merchants
Souiherners and smart traders, extensive.
ly connected with the commerce of the
Columbian Archipelago, and designing
to sail on the morrow, wind and weather
permitting, in the bark .Neptune--Siar-
key, master aud part owner--for Morani
Bay, Jamaica; one was lieutenant in
the Spanish, artillery. and nephew, Of
our hosi; another was M. Dupont, a
young and rich creole, of mingled French
and Spanish parentsge, and the 3reputed
suitor for the hand of Donna An'onia---.
the daughter and sole, heiress of Senor
Arguellas, and twilhal a charming maiden
of eiph,een-a ripe age in that precocious
cline; the sixth CUES, was Cap. Siarkey
of the Neptune, a gentlemanly, fine look
ing English seamea of about thirty years
of age; the seventh and last was myself,
a, that time mere youngst,r,, and but
ius, recovered from a severe fiji Of sick
ness which a twei, e. month previously
had nccessia,ed my removal from Jamai
ca to the much more temperate and equa-
BILE climate of Cuba, albeit ,he two is
lands are only distant about five degrees
of each other. | was also one OF Capt.
S,arkey's passengers, and so was Senor
Arguellas. who had business TO wind up
in Kingston. He was TO be accompani-
ed by, Senor, Arsuellas, Antonio, the
young lieutenant. and NJ. Dupont. The
Neptune had brough, cargo of sundries,
consisting OF hardware. cotton, .etcetefa.
10 Cuba, and was returning about half
laden with goods. Amongst these, be-.
longing to the American merchants. as
a number of barrels of gun powder thai
had proved upsaleable in Cuba, and
which i, was thought, might find salts.
factory market in jamaica. There was
excelIen, cabin accommodation on board
Can't. Sankey's vessel, and as The
weather was fine, and the passage prom.
ised TO be brief as wen as a pleasant
one-the wind having shifted to the
northwest, with the intention ii seemed
OF remaining there for some tiIne--we
were all, as / have stated, in exceedingl,
good humor, and discussing The intended
trim, Cuban, American, European politics,
and comparative merits of French and
Spanish wines, and Havana and Alabamt
a cigars with infinite glee and gusto. II
The e,euing, too, was deliciously
bright and clear. The breeze pronoun-
cediby Cant. S,arkeys ,ofbe rising to- a
five or six knot one to sea, ONLY sufli
cienrly stirred the rich and odorous veg.
etaticn Of the valleys, stretching far
away beneath us, gently 10 fan the heat
ed faces Of The parry with lis grateful
perf,,me. and slightly r,pt,ley lie winding
rivers: riyule,s rather.which every where.
intersect and iirripa,e the island, 5 and
which were nowaelit,erinp with the nv.
riad splendors of the intensely yllustroas
stars tha, diadem Cuban night. 3 Near
ly all the guests had drank very freely OF
wine, too much so. indeed; but the isik.
in Frerch, which all could speak toler,
ably. did not profane the calm glory of
the scene, till some time after Senola Ar
guellas and her daughter had left u.s.
The Senor, should state, was still de-
tanned in town by business which it was
necessary he should dispose Of previous
to embarking Tor Jamaica. lis iird
.Do not 90 away, . said Sonora AR
guellas, addressing Capt., S,arkey, as
she rose from her seat, ",ill l see you
again. When, you. are al leisure,. ring
the sonnslle on the table, and a seryan.
will inform me. L wish to speak fur
,her with you relative 10 the cabin ar
rangements." r,gs,iss,ia,bk k q ~
Capt. S.arkey bowed. u / had never
Thought, seen Anionia smile so sweeily;
and the two ladies left US. II do not pre-.
cisely remember how it came about, Cr
xpb,t 6ret lad IN n h,,f II waa mi very