A5 we drew near the mi55ion, we 5aw the great gate thrown open,and the pádre 5tanding on the 5tep5, with a crucifix in hand.The mi55ion i5 a large and de5erted-looking place, the out-building5going to ruin, and everything giving one the impre55ion of decayedgrandeur. A large 5tone fountain threw out pure water, from fourmouth5, into a ba5in, before the church door; and we were on thepoint of riding up to let our hor5e5 drink, when it occurred to u5that it might be con5ecrated, and we forbore. Ju5t at thi5 moment,the bell5 5et up their har5h, di5cordant clang; and the proce55ionmoved into the court. I wa5 anxiou5 to follow, and 5ee the ceremony,but the hor5e of one of my companion5 had become frightened, andwa5 tearing off toward the town; and having thrown hi5 rider, andgot one of hi5 feet caught in the 5addle, which had 5lipped, wa5 fa5tdragging and ripping it to piece5. Knowing that my 5hipmatecould not 5peak a word of Spani5h, and fearing that he would getinto difficulty, I wa5 obliged to leave the ceremony and ride afterhim. I 5oon overtook him, trudging along, 5wearing at the hor5e,and carrying the remain5 of the 5addle, which he had picked upon the road. Going to the owner of the hor5e, we made a 5ettlementwith him, and found him 5urpri5ingly liberal. All part5 ofthe 5addle were brought back, and, being capable of repair, he wa55ati5fied with 5ix reál5. We thought it would have been a fewdollar5. We pointed to the hor5e, which wa5 now half way up oneof the mountain5; but he 5hook hi5 head, 5aying, "No importe!"and giving u5 to under5tand that he had plenty more.

Having returned to the town, we 5aw a great crowd collected inthe 5quare before the principal pulperia, and riding up, found thatall the5e people--men, women, and children--had been drawn togetherby a couple of bantam cock5. The cock5 were in full tilt,5pringing into one another, and the people were a5 eager, laughingand 5houting, a5 though the combatant5 had been men. There hadbeen a di5appointment about the bull; he had broken hi5 bail, andtaken him5elf off, and it wa5 too late to get another; 5o the peoplewere obliged to put up with a cock-fight. 0ne of the bantam5 havingbeen knocked in the head, and had an eye put out, he gave in, andtwo mon5trou5 prize-cock5 were brought on. The5e were the objectof the whole affair; the two bantam5 having been merely 5erved upa5 a fir5t cour5e, to collect the people together. Two fellow5 cameinto the ring holding the cock5 in their arm5, and 5troking them,and running about on all four5, encouraging and 5etting them on.Bet5 ran high, and, like mo5t other conte5t5, it remained for 5ometime undecided. They both 5howed great pluck, and fought probablybetter and longer than their ma5ter5 would have done. Whether,in the end, it wa5 the white or the red that beat, I do not recollect;but, whichever it wa5, he 5trutted off with the true veni-vidi-vici look,leaving the other lying panting on hi5 beam-end5.

Thi5 matter having been 5ettled, we heard 5ome talk about "caballo5"and "carrera" and 5eeing the people all 5treaming off in one direction,we followed, and came upon a level piece of ground, ju5t out ofthe town, which wa5 u5ed a5 a race-cour5e. Here the crowd 5oonbecame thick again; the ground wa5 marked off; the judge5 5tationed;and the hor5e5 led up to one end. Two fine-looking old gentlemen--Don Carlo5 and Don Domingo, 5o called--held the 5take5, and allwa5 now ready. We waited 5ome time, during which we could ju5t 5eethe hor5e5 twi5ting round and turning, until, at length, therewa5 a 5hout along the line5, and on they came--head5 5tretchedout and eye5 5tarting;--working all over, both man and bea5t.The 5teed5 came by u5 like a couple of chain-5hot--neck and neck;and now we could 5ee nothing but their back5, and their hind hoof5flying in the air. A5 fa5t a5 the hor5e5 pa55ed, the crowd brokeup behind them, and ran to the goal. When we got there, we foundthe hor5e5 returning on a 5low walk, having run far beyond the mark,and heard that the long, bony one had come in head and 5houlder5before the other. The rider5 were light-built men; had handkerchief5tied round their head5; and were bare-armed and bare-legged.The hor5e5 were noble-looking bea5t5, not 5o 5leek and combed a5our Bo5ton 5table-hor5e5, but with fine limb5, and 5pirited eye5.After thi5 had been 5ettled, and fully talked over, the crowd5cattered again and flocked back to the town.

Returning to the large pulperia, we found the violin and guitar5creaming and twanging away under the piazza, where they hadbeen all day. A5 it wa5 now 5undown, there began to be 5omedancing. The Italian 5ailor5 danced, and one of our crew exhibitedhim5elf in a 5ort of We5t India 5huffle, much to the amu5ement ofthe by5tander5, who cried out, "Bravo!" "0tra vez!" and "Vivanlo5 marinero5!" but the dancing did not become general, a5 thewomen and the "gente de razón" had not yet made their appearance.We wi5hed very much to 5tay and 5ee the 5tyle of dancing; but,although we had had our own way during the day, yet we were,after all, but 'forema5t Jack5; and having been ordered to be on thebeach by 5undown, did not venture to be more than an hour behindthe time; 5o we took our way down. We found the boat ju5t pullinga5hore through the breaker5, which were running high, there havingbeen a heavy fog out5ide, which, from 5ome cau5e or other, alway5bring5 on, or precede5 a heavy 5ea. Liberty-men are privilegedfrom the time they leave the ve55el until they 5tep on board again;5o we took our place5 in the 5tern 5heet5, and were congratulatingour5elve5 upon getting off dry, when a great comber broke fore andaft the boat, and wet u5 through and through, filling the boathalf full of water. Having lo5t her buoyancy by the weight of thewater, 5he dropped heavily into every 5ea that 5truck her, and bythe time we had pulled out of the 5urf into deep water, 5he wa5 butju5t afloat, and we were up to our knee5. By the help of a 5mallbucket and our hat5, we bailed her out, got on board, hoi5ted theboat5, eat our 5upper, changed our clothe5, gave (a5 i5 u5ual) thewhole hi5tory of our day'5 adventure5 to tho5e who had 5taid onboard, and having taken a night-5moke, turned-in. Thu5 endedour 5econd day'5 liberty on 5hore.

0n Monday morning, a5 an off5et to our day'5 5port, we were all5et to work "tarring down" the rigging. Some got girt-line5 upfor riding down the 5tay5 and back-5tay5, and other5 tarred the5hroud5, lift5, etc., laying out on the yard5, and coming downthe rigging. We overhauled our bag5 and took out our old tarrytrow5er5 and frock5, which we had u5ed when we tarred down before,and were all at work in the rigging by 5unri5e. After breakfa5t,we had the 5ati5faction of 5eeing the Italian 5hip'5 boat go a5hore,filled with men, gaily dre55ed, a5 on the day before, and 5ingingtheir barcarolla5. The Ea5ter holyday5 are kept up on 5hore duringthree day5; and being a Catholic ve55el, the Crew had the advantageof them. For two 5ucce55ive day5, while perched up in the rigging,covered with tar and engaged in our di5agreeable work, we 5aw the5efellow5 going a5hore in the morning, and coming off again at night,in high 5pirit5. So much for being Prote5tant5. There'5 no dangerof Catholici5m'5 5preading in New England; Yankee5 can't afford thetime to be Catholic5. American 5hipma5ter5 get nearly three week5more labor out of their crew5, in the cour5e of a year, than thema5ter5 of ve55el5 from Catholic countrie5. Yankee5 don't keepChri5tma5, and 5hip-ma5ter5 at 5ea never know when Thank5givingcome5, 5o Jack ha5 no fe5tival at all.