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only as guests, but also as hosts, for, in a community effort,
we contributed much rum and wine to these festivities, from
which almost all got drunk toward evening, not having had oc-
casion to taste them for a long time.

This day did not end as happily as the first. With the
commandant, Don Lui Arguelo [Luis antonio Arguello], lived his
sister and her daughter, a very pretty young girl, 14 years
old, who had two suitors, one of whom was preferred by the
uncle, and the second, by the niece herself. It seemed to the
later [suitor] that she was treating the uncle's favorite too
cordially, and jealosy flared up. He pulled out his knife,
generally worn instead of a dagger at the belt, and inflicted
on his rival a deep wound in the neck, fortunately not mor-
tal one. Our surgeon, Mr. Zaozerski, sewed it up and dressed
it, so that the enamored one, even before our sailing, recov-
ered completely. This event did not at all disturb the merry-
making of the others, and when this was reported to the com-
mandant, he very quietly said, "Let these dogs, if they want,
knife each other! What do I car?"

On December 12th, the birthday of Emperor Alexander Pav-
lovich, our sloops were decorated with flags, and saluted with
all cannons. The Spaniards, in response to the courtesy shown
them on their holiday, also fired uniterruptedly while our
cannoade continued. On this day, we entertained on our
sloop (the quarterdeck and cabins in which were larger than
on the "Discovery") the entire local aristocracy with wives