doors of the Mission church opened, the bells rang out a loud, discordant peal, the private signal for us was run up by the captain ashore, the bride, dressed in complete white, came out of the church with the bridegroom, followed by a long procession.  Just as she stepped from the church door, a small white cloud issued from the bows of our ship, which was full in sight, the loud report echoed among the surrounding hills and over the bay, and instantly the ship was dressed in flags and pennants from stem to stern.  Twenty-three guns followed in regular succession, with an interval of fifteen seconds between each, when the cloud blew off, and our ship lay dressed in her colors all day.  At sundown another salute of the same number of guns was fired, and all the flags run down.  This we thought was pretty well—­ a gun every fifteen seconds—­ for a merchantman with only four guns and a dozen or twenty men.

After supper, the gig’s crew were called, and we rowed ashore, dressed in our uniform, beached the boat, and went up to the fandango.  The bride’s father’s house was the principal one in the place, with a large court in front, upon which a tent was built, capable of containing several hundred people.  As we drew near, we heard the accustomed sound of violins and guitars, and saw a great motion of the people within.  Going in, we found nearly all the people of the town—­ men, women, and children—­ collected and crowded together, leaving barely room for the dancers; for on these occasions no invitations are given, but every one is expected to come, though there is always a private entertainment within the house for particular friends.  The old women sat down in rows, clapping their hands to the music, and applauding the young ones.  The music was lively, and among the tunes we recognized several of our popular airs, which we, without doubt, have taken from the Spanish.  In the dancing I was much disappointed.  The women stood upright, with their hands down by their sides, their eyes fixed upon the ground before them, and slided about without any perceptible means of motion; for their feet were invisible, the hem of their dresses forming a circle about them, reaching to the ground.  They looked as grave as though they were going through some religious ceremony, their faces as little excited as their limbs; and on the whole, instead of the spirited, fascinating Spanish dances which I had expected, I found the Californian fandango, on the part of the women at least, a lifeless affair.  The men did better.  They danced with grace and spirit, moving in circles round their nearly stationary partners, and showing their figures to advantage.