The Greater Part Of The Crews Of The Vessels Came Ashore Every
Evening, And We Passed The Time In Going About From One House To
Another, And Listening To All Manner Of Languages.
The Spanish was
the common ground upon which we all met; for every one knew more or
less of that.
We had now, out of forty or fifty, representatives
from almost every nation under the sun: two Englishmen, three Yankees,
two Scotchmen, two Welshmen, one Irishman, three Frenchmen (two of
whom were Normans, and the third from Gascony,) one Dutchman,
one Austrian, two or three Spaniards, (from old Spain,) half a
dozen Spanish-Americans and half-breeds, two native Indians from
Chili and the Island of Chiloe, one Negro, one Mulatto, about twenty
Italians, from all parts of Italy, as many more Sandwich Islanders,
one Otaheitan, and one Kanaka from the Marquesas Islands.
The night before the vessels were ready to sail, all the
Europeans united and had an entertainment at the Rosa's hide-house,
and we had songs of every nation and tongue. A German gave us
"Och! mein lieber Augustin!" the three Frenchmen roared through the
Marseilles Hymn; the English and Scotchmen gave us "Rule Britannia,"
and "Wha'll be King but Charlie?" the Italians and Spaniards screamed
through some national affairs, for which I was none the wiser;
and we three Yankees made an attempt at the "Star-spangled Banner."
After these national tributes had been paid, the Austrian gave us
a very pretty little love-song, and the Frenchmen sang a spirited
thing called "Sentinelle!
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