Captain Loch was, I believe, promoted for his gallantry, in what the Admiralty termed “the brilliant action of Serapiqui.” The whole affair was a wanton act of aggression, and worthy only of pirates. No wonder the sailors hissed “death to the English” through their closed teeth, as we swept past the scene of their humiliation. The Serapiqui is a large stream, taking its rise at the base of the great volcano of Cartago, in Costa Rica. It is navigable by bongos for the distance of thirty miles, and is one of the avenues through which the inhabited part of Costa Rica is reached from the coast. Flowing wholly to the eastward of the mountains, where the rains fall during the entire year, the volume of water in this river is very constant. It is probably the largest tributary of the San Juan. There is a small spot of ground partially cleared at its mouth, where some families had established themselves previous to the English troubles. Upon the seizure of San Juan, they abandoned their plantations and moved into the interior; and so rapid is the progress of vegetation and the course of decay, that their rude dwellings have entirely disappeared, and no trace of former occupation is left, except a few plantain trees struggling above the rank grass and undergrowth which have since sprung up. We passed the mouth of the Rio San Francisco during the afternoon, and spent our third night above “Remolino Grande,” where rock first appears in the bank of the river. This name is given to a whirlpool caused by the abrupt turning of the stream, which is here somewhat confined by its unyielding banks. Up to this time we had accomplished only about thirty miles of our voyage, and the easiest portion, for the current above is stronger, and we were now approaching the rapids, where progress against the stream is slow and difficult. [Illustration: VIEW OF THE SAN JUAN; THE HILLS OF SAN CARLOS.]