The musicos played with an energy befitting the occasion,
and the men with the bombas managed to keep up an inces-
sant discharge. The musicos, the municipality, and the
priests, with a very select few of the prominent citizens,
alone entered the sala. The populace had to content them-
selves with gazing in turns through the open windows and
doors. Amongst the ecclesiastics was the Dean Eemijo
Salazar, one of the most imposing men in appearance, and
most accomplished in manner and in education, of any in
the country, and withal an orator and a philanthropist, and
the venerable Padre Jose Maria Guerrero, distinguished
throughout the State for his exemplary piety, and noted as a
musician and a composer of music. I experienced a real
satisfaction in taking these men by the hand, and my subse-
quent acquaintance with them only served to deepen my
respect and esteem. After the exchange of salutations, and
a very neat welcome fi-om the first alcalde, we were told that
the musicos were prepared with a " Cancion," composed ex-
pressly for this occasion, which they begged permission to
sing. The permission, accompanied with a glass of ardiente
by way of clearing their respective whistles, was graciously
accorded. It was but seven stanzas in length, but each
stanza was seven times repeated, with a constantly increasing
nasal intonation, until the sweat rolled down the faces of
singers and players, — for each musico both sang and played.
The infliction was severe, and would have been unendurable,
had it not been for the amusing contortions of features, and
strong muscular exercises of the performers, which far sur-



864 NICARAGUA— NARRATIVE.
