The food on the ship was all Spanish; indeed, I might say, terribly Spanish; still, I was rather used to it and didn’t mind much as long as I could get into a windswept corner of the deck to eat it. But there were some American women on board who had just come out from the United States and they complained violently.

We were put ashore early Saturday morning; much earlier, in fact than we had been expected to arrive. We had to drive three miles before we reached the Bells’ house, and when we did get there we were delighted to find that they were just having breakfast. They were eating real, human food and, however heroically we had adapted ourselves to the peculiarities of Spanish cookery, there was nothing we stood so much in need of. They were a most homelike and comfortable-looking party. Besides the General and Mrs. Bell there were two young officers, Mr. Wilcox and Mr. Nolan, and a young lady whose name was Miss Bubb, a daughter of General Bubb, and whose general characteristics had won for her the nickname of “Bubbles.”