The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1875-08-14

Hall anu turkey!
l gave her a full plate, which she soon
dispatched, and called for more. Every
body ate ham and turkey. The gentlemen
acted as walters, and afterward sat down
together. Spaniards are terrible eaters.
And no wonder, on this occasion,-for they
came to the ball at s o'clock and danced
until A. NJ. We held ourselves in dane
ing trim by refreshments, and the ladies'
kept even with US, and deserved great
praise.
Next evening, on the Calzada and Paseo,
we had a new pleasure in meeting and talk
ing to our black eyed friends of the ball,
and practicing our last Spanish lesson with
them. When on board ship we studied
Spanish furiously; but as the ship was
undergoing repairs, we had a great deal of
time on shore.
The following day we gave ball on
board; the spar-deck was curtained in, and
A gentleman on shore issued the invita-
tons to the Hidalgos and Americans; no
Mestizas were invited; we were sorry, but,
it couldn't be helped. At o'clock small
steamer laden with precious freight came
alongside, and all of our officers stood at
the gangway to receive the ladies. First
came an board the wife of an American
gentleman to receive with our skipper, and
then the other ladies came over the side
one by one; we filed them off, presented
them, and ranged them in chairs along the
waterways.
Suddenly there appeared in the gangway
face of such morvelous beauty, and a
form of such exquisite proportions, that
ten souls had but single thought, which
was to be the first to grasp at her hand,
and nine hearts beat, as one, quicker than
the rest, helped the fair being down the
ladder. By the blessing of good luck
happened to be nearest when this vision
appeared, and was the fortunate one who
thus proudly conveyed her aft. l did not
return to the reception committee that
evening, but employed experimental Span
ish until succeed in engaging her for four
dances, and in assuring her of my sudden
and violent capture. l attributed my sue
cess to the manner in which l wrote her
name on the engagement card; we had
asked the ladies for dances as they came on
board, and had put them down as "Pink
tulle pulled, with white mantilla," Every
low neck and green slippers" Plump, with
diagonal yellow.and- green overskirt," etc;
but wrote the beauty down as La mas
bonita de todas" (The prettiest of alD,
which SO pleased her, that she at once gave
me three more dances. Flattery will tell.
After all the ladies were safely landed on
deck, the gentlemen came aboard; native
band struck up the music, and the scene
became one of animation and brilliancy.
The graceful Spanish girls, the navy uni
forms, and the chandeliers of bayonets
lightning up the many colored flags, made
it seem like fairy land. During the even
ing l bestowed the united effort of forty
lessons in Olendorf on La Bonita" which
was as far as had gone. Oh! but she had
clark, flashing eyes," and lashes that
swept her peachy check when she would
where roses bloom forever. Dancing with
her was like floating away on clouds of
mist, waited by the breath of music over
undulating prairies of spring flowers.
The ball was an immense success up to
about o'clock. had danced many times
with La Bonita. The ladies had just fin
ished supper, and the gentlemen had sat
down, when, to our CONSERVATION, it began
to rain. 1t never rains here in the Winter;
it had not rained for two months, and did
not for a month afterward; but down it
came now, pouring through the flat avn
ing, and all along the edges, and slowly
and surely moving inboard. The music
flckered, and went out with mournful
dscord; the merry laughter gasped and
expired, and the ladies clustered within
tho wet boundary which narrowed and mar
rowed, and drew them together in a little
bunch; finally, so small became the dry
the silence was broken by shouts of laugh
ter and little screams; the water spattered
up, the ladies pressed their petticoats in,
and stood on the little toes of their little
Spanish slippers. 1t was a moment of
peril. The crisis having now arrived when
it was sink or swim, we took the ladies by
their hands, and made rush for the cabin
and poop, which were soon slowed chock
"a block with Spanish beauty; even the
bath-tub and vegetable box were full of
Castilian loneliness. We had no other
shelter, as the ward-room was in use as
buffers pantry pro tenn.
"These are hard lines" whispered to
La Bonita in Spanish down the cabin hatch.
"Will there be no let up?" she sorrow
fully asked, in the liquid language of Cas-
tile.
"Smal chance" (chico shou), mourn
fully responded.
Suffocation began to set in among them,
so we signaled for the small steamer, which
soon came alongside; and then up came
the dark eyed beauties from the submarine
cabin; out they crawled from the bath tub
and bin. The deck was atloat, so we rugged
sedans with arm chairs and squilgee han
dies, and thus carried them in state to the
gangway to save their satin slippers and
| silk open work.
"Until tomorrow" whispered La Bon
tia, as pressed her hand.
Next day the Manila paper spoke of the
ball in glowing terms, and skipped the
rainy part.
The next event was the arrival of the
English Admiral, to whom the Governor
General gave review of the troops. There
are eleven thousand troops quartered here,
and they all turned out. Most Of them are
Indians, who have an eye for every thing
military. They were uniformed in white,
and marched with quick, short step, and
in excellent line; there were lancers, also,
and calvary, and flying artillery. The Off
cars are Spanish; as they passed the Ad-
miral and Governor General they saluted
by thrusting the sword quickly to the front,
and then sweeping the air as if cutting off
a daisp-top.