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 THE 
 
 Bancroft Library 
 
 N E W MONTHLY 
 MAGAZINE 
 
 AND 
 
 LITERARY JOURNAL. 
 
 VOL. VII. 
 ORIGINAL PAPERS 
 
 LONDON : 
 PRINTED FOR HENRY COLBURN AND CO. 
 
 1823. 
 
LONDON: 
 PRINTED BY S. AND R. BENTLEY, DORSET-STREET. 
 
Bancroft Library ( 45 
 
 MEXICO IN 1827.* 
 
 THE book now before us is the production of Mr. Ward, his Majesty's 
 Charge* d' Affaires to the Government of Mexico, whose mission commenced 
 in the year 1825, and continued into that of 1828. 
 
 The information communicated by Mr. Ward is principally, though by no 
 means exclusively, either of a political or commercial character, and doubt- 
 less of the most authentic as well as most recent description. The work 
 is comprehended in six books; and, from a. concise statement of the re- 
 spective contents of these, the reader of the present pages will imme- 
 diately collect the range of materials of the entire production. Thus, the 
 First Book, subdivided into four sections, (they ought to have been denomi- 
 nated chapters,} informs us of the " Boundaries, Geological Structure, and 
 Climate" of Mexico : its " Population;" its " Productions;" and the "Spa- 
 nish Colonial System," under which it was anciently governed. In the 
 Second Book, we have the history of the Revolution, from 1808 to 1824, 
 the date of the final overthrow arid death of Iturbide ; in the Third, the 
 description of the " Present Form of Government ;" accounts of the state 
 of Religious Establishments and feelings, and of the Army, Navy, and 
 Trade ; and reflections on the former and probable future importance of 
 the last. The Fourth Book, comprising four sections, is devoted to the 
 " Mines of Mexico;" and the Fifth and Sixth to the " Personal Narrative" 
 of the author ; that is, to a narrative of his excursions in the country. The 
 Appendix supplies some political papers, and some local descriptions, from 
 the pens of recent writers. 
 
 Upon the difficulty of writing the truth concerning the commercial pro- 
 spects of Mexico, in such a manner as to meet the present state of public 
 feeling in England upon that subject, Mr. Ward, in his preface, has thus 
 expressed himself : 
 
 " It is difficult for a person who is desirous to lay before the Public an impartial 
 view of the present state and capabilities of Mexico, to determine exactly at what 
 point to commence his undertaking. 
 
 u Three years ago, nothing was questioned that could tend to enhance the opinion 
 entertained of its resources. Now, the most cautious assertions are received with a 
 smile, and facts, however well demonstrated, are hardly admitted to be such, if 
 they militate against a preconceived opinion. 
 
 " This state of things is, perhaps, the natural consequence of the advantage that 
 was taken of the first removal of those barriers, which so long separated the Old 
 World from the New, by men, some of whom were themselves enthusiasts, while 
 many had no better object than to turn the enthusiasm of others to account. Both, 
 unfortunately, concurred in exciting the imagination of the ignorant by pictures of 
 a state of things, that could have no foundation in nature or truth. 
 
 " Viewed through the medium of delusive hope, Spanish America presented no- 
 thing but prospects of unalloyed advantage. Great and instantaneous success was 
 to attend every enterprise there, without the employment of those means, upon 
 which the experience of the world has hitherto proved success to depend. Time, 
 industry, perseverance, a knowledge of the scene upon which operations were to 
 commence, of the men by whom they were to be conducted, of the language and 
 peculiarities of the country in which they were to be carried on ; all these were 
 stated to be considerations of minor importance ; capital alone was represented as 
 wanting ; and facts, important in themselves, were so warped and distorted, in 
 order to favour this theory, that when its fallacy was demonstrated, the facts fell to 
 the ground with the superstructure which had been raised upon them. 
 
 " Unexampled credulity amongst the disappointed, was succeeded by obstinate 
 unbelief. Transatlantic States and adventures were involved in one indiscriminate 
 condemnation ; and, even at the present day, enterprises of the greatest public uti- 
 lity are stigmatized as bubbles, because, during a period of unbridled speculation, 
 bubbles may have been recommended by a similarity of form to the notice of the 
 public. 
 
 * Mexico in 1827. By H. G. Ward, Esq. his Majesty's Charge d' Affaires in 
 that Country during the Years 1825, 1826, and part of 182?. TwoVols. 8vo. 
 
46 Mexico in 1827. 
 
 " It is possible, that on a closer examination of the subject, we may find that the 
 expectations of 1824, and the despondency of 1828, originate in the same cause, 
 namely, a want of proper data for the regulation of our opinions ; and it is the 
 hope of being able to supply these data, with regard to one very interesting portion 
 of the former dominions of Spain, that has induced me to undertake my present 
 task." 
 
 After these preliminary remarks, it will be the business of the ensuing 
 pages to take a cursory view of " Mexico in 1827," under the exact series 
 of heads presented by Mr. Ward. 
 
 I. The internal geography of Mexico is still but imperfectly known; but 
 its boundaries, or relative position, is already denned with sufficient ex- 
 actitude. 
 
 " The republic of Mexico, which comprises the whole of the vast territory for- 
 merly subject to the Vice-royalty of New Spain, is bounded to the East and South- 
 east by the Gulph of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea ; to the West by the Pacific ; 
 to the South by Guatemala, which occupies a part of the isthmus of Darien ; and 
 to the North by the United States." 
 
 It is added, 
 
 " It will be perceived, by this sketch of the Mexican territory, that, at the two 
 most distant points of S.S.E. and N.N.W. (the southern extremity of Yucatan, and 
 the boundary line, where it runs into the Pacific,) it extends over twenty-seven 
 degrees of latitude, or 187C English statute miles. Its greatest breadth is in the 
 parallel of 30 N. lat. where, from the Red River (Rio Colorado) of Texas, to the 
 coast of Sonora, Humboldt gives the distance at 364 leagues, of twenty-five to the 
 degree." 
 
 Placed between the north parallels of 15 and 42, (a space occupying 
 nearly two thousand miles in a north and south direction,) and infinitely 
 diversified as to the elevation of its surface, the agricultural capabilities 
 alone, of this vast country, are almost incalculable. It is, however, in tro- 
 pical, or, as it is commonly called among ourselves, in colonial produce, 
 alone, that its fecundity can appear. In the production of wheat, its powers 
 must be more limited ; so much so as scarcely to promise that it can ever 
 appear in even the adjacent West India market. Mr. Ward assigns his rea- 
 sons for not supposing " that the exportations of Mexico in corn will ever 
 be very considerable " 
 
 The prospects of Mexico as a " manufacturing country," and as a " ma- 
 ritime country," come next under consideration. 
 
 Of the Population, Mr. Ward, after estimating it at eight millions, ob- 
 serves, 
 
 " Before the revolution this population was divided into seven distinct castes. 
 
 1. The old Spaniards, designated as Gachupines, in the history of the civil wars. 
 
 2. The Creoles, or Whites of pure European race, born in America, and regarded 
 by the old Spaniards as natives. 3. The Indians, or indigenous copper -coloured 
 race. 4. The Mestizos, or mixed breed of Whites and Indians, gradually merging 
 into Creoles, as the cross with the Indian race became more remote. 5. The Mu- 
 lattoes, or descendants of Whites and Negroes. 6. The Zambos, or Chinos, de- 
 scendants of Negroes and Indians. And, 7- The African Negroes, either manu- 
 mitted or slaves. 
 
 " Of these Castes, the three first, and the last, were pure, and gave rise, in their 
 various combinations, to the others ; which again were subdivided, ad infinitum, 
 by names expressing the relation borne by each generation of its descendants to the 
 White, (Quarteroons, Quinteroons, &c.) to which, as the ruling colour, any ap- 
 proximation was desirable." 
 
 " The Mestizos (descendants of Natives and Indians) are found in every part of 
 the country ; indeed, from the very small number of Spanish women who at first 
 visited the New World, the great mass of the population has some mixture of In- 
 dian blood. Few of the middling classes (the lawyers, the Curas, or parochial 
 clergy, the artizans, the smaller landed proprietors, and the soldiers,) could prove 
 themselves exempt from it ; and now that a connexion with the Aborigines has 
 ceased to be disadvantageous, few attempt to deny it." 
 
Mexico in 1827. 47 
 
 " Next to the pure Indians, whose number, in 1803, was supposed to exceed two 
 millions and a half, the Mestizos are the most numerous caste : it is, however, im- 
 possible to ascertain the exact proportion which they bear to the whole population, 
 many of them being, as I have already stated, included amongst the pure Whites, 
 who were estimated, before the Revolution, at 1,200,000, including from 70 to 
 80,000 Europeans, established in different parts of the country. 
 
 " Of the Mulattoes, Zambos, and other mixed breeds, nothing certain is known. 
 
 " It will be seen by this sketch, that the population of New Spain is composed 
 of very heterogeneous elements : indeed, the numberless shades of difference which 
 exist amongst its inhabitants, are not yet by any means correctly ascertained. 
 
 " The Indians, for instance, who appear* at first sight to form one great mass, 
 comprising near two-fifths of the whole population, are divided, and subdivided, 
 amongst themselves, in the most extraordinary manner." 
 
 " I cannot conclude this sketch of the population of Mexico, without remarking 
 upon one great advantage which New Spain enjoys over her neighbours, both to 
 the North and South, in the almost total absence of a pure African population. The 
 importation of slaves into Mexico was always inconsiderable, and their numbers, in 
 1793, did not exceed six thousand. Of these many have died, many have been ma- 
 numitted, and the rest quitted their masters in 1810, and sought freedom in the 
 ranks of the Independent army ; so that 1 am, I believe, justified in stating, that 
 there is now hardly a single slave in the central portion of the republic. 
 
 " In Texas, (on the Northern frontier,) a few have been introduced by the North 
 American settlers; but all farther importations are prohibited by law ; and provi- 
 sion has been made for securing the freedom of the offspring of the slaves now in 
 existence. The number of these must be exceedingly small, (perhaps not exceeding 
 fifty altogether ;) for, in the annual solemnity, which takes place in the capital 
 on the 16th September, in commemoration of the proclamation of the Independence 
 by Hidalgo, at Dolores, a part of which was to consist in giving freedom to a certain 
 number of slaves, which is done by the President himself, the greatest difficulty 
 was found, in 1826, to discover persons, on whom to bestow the boon of liberty, 
 and I much doubt whether any can have been forthcoming in the present year. 
 
 " The advantages of such a position can only be appreciated by those who know 
 the inconveniences, and dangers, with which a contrary order of things is attended. 
 In the United States, where the Slaves, Mulattoes, and Free Blacks, constitute 
 more than one-sixth of the whole population,* they are a constant source of disquiet 
 and alarm." 
 
 II. The fourth section of the preceding book, in which we are furnished 
 with a view of the " Spanish Colonial System," forms a proper prelude to 
 the subject of the Second Book, or history of the Revolution through its 
 progress between the years 1808 and 1824; because, in the grievances sub- 
 sisting under that system, as, in a great degree, we are to discover the 
 causes of the Revolution, so, also, we are to discover the grounds of belief, 
 that a return of the country to the dominion of Spain is a very improbable 
 event. Mr. Ward has also justly thought, that in tracing the history and 
 causes of the Revolution, and in exhibiting the feelings of the parties en- 
 gaged, he has afforded to his readers the best means of judging of the pre- 
 sent stability of Mexican independence ; a topic of considerable moment, 
 as well under commercial as under political views. To this historical and 
 most interesting portion of the volumes we are prevented, by our limits, 
 from doing more than making reference. 
 
 III. We pass to Mr. Ward's description of the ff present political condition 
 of the United States of Mexico ;" and we preface this part of our analysis 
 by a quotation from among the first pages of the book, in which the new 
 subdivisions of the country are supplied : 
 
 " The former division of New Spain into what was denominated the c Kingdom 
 of Mexico,' and the Eastern and Western Internal provinces, was never very 
 distinct, and is now of liittle importance ; as the Republic is distributed, under the 
 
 * " By the census of 1810, the total population amounted to 7,239,903 inhabit- 
 ants, of whom 1,377,810 were black, either free or slaves ; by that of 1820, the total 
 population was 9,638,226, of whom 1,538,118 were slaves, and 233,557 free people 
 of colour." 
 
48 Mexico in 1827. 
 
 present system, into States, of which the Federal government is composed. These 
 states are nineteen in number, and commence to the South, with the Peninsula of 
 Yucatan or Merida to the East ; and Tabasco, Las Chiapas, and Oaxaca to the South 
 and West ; which are followed in regular succession towards the North by Vera- 
 cruz, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosi, New Leon, Cohahuila, and Texas, which com- 
 prise the whole territory to the frontiers of the United States, on the Gulph side : 
 La Puebla, Mexico, Valladolid, Guadalajara, Sonora, and Cinaloa, the Western 
 extremities of which border on the Pacific ; and Queretaro, Guanajuato, Zacate- 
 cas, Durango, Chihuahua, and New Mexico, which occupy the centre of the coun- 
 try, and extend, between the two oceans, towards the Northern frontier. Be- 
 yond these again, are old and New California, (which in some maps is called New 
 Albion,) and the Indian territory, the extent and inhabitants of which are almost 
 equally unknown. The two Californias and New Mexico are not yet admitted to 
 the rank of independent States, their population not entitling them to be repre- 
 sented in the Congress. Each of the others returns a quota of deputies, in pro- 
 portion to the number of its inhabitants." 
 
 In general terms, the constitution of government of the " United States 
 of Mexico/' as even the preceding extract will have led the reader to anti- 
 cipate, is formed upon the exact model of that of the " United States of 
 North America ;" but the strenuousness with which the exclusive toleration 
 of the Roman Catholic religion is asserted in the former makes an important 
 difference. The state of the Mexican church is therefore at this moment a 
 subject of internal difficulty. Upon the breaking out of the Revolution, the 
 Creole, or inferior clergy, were found to be its most active promoters, and 
 even, in several distinguished instances, its military leaders. 
 
 " Hidalgo, Morelos. Matamoros, and numberless others, who perished during the 
 war, were all Curas, or Parish priests ; and the facility with which they induced 
 the lower classes to follow their standards, at a time when, out of twenty of their 
 adherents, nineteen knew nothing of the rights of the cause in which they were en- 
 gaged, is no mean proof of the advantages which the Crown might have derived 
 from their support, had it been secured by a timely participation in the honours of 
 their profession." 
 
 The point at present to be accomplished is, that the Court of Rome should 
 consent to co-operate with the Mexican Government in the manner of its 
 ancient co-operation with the Court of Madrid; but here arises the dif- 
 ficulty. Shall the Court of Rome acknowledge, as an independent state, the 
 country which the Most Catholic King still denominates a dependence upon 
 his crown ? The present sentiments of the Court of Rome, in the mean time, 
 upon the general question of the relation between the Church and all Civil 
 governments, have been unequivocally declared to be hostile to temporal 
 sovereignty. See page 328, vol. i. 
 
 Mr. Ward, indeed, anticipates that the Mexican Government will not 
 wait much longer upon the pleasure of the papal chair ! But we can afford 
 no farther space for this part of the subject. 
 
 The subjects of Revenue and Trade are treated in detail by our author ; 
 and, with respect to both, he looks to the future with an entire confidence. 
 Connected with these interests, too, is the question of the permanent inde- 
 pendence of the crown of Spain ; and this is considered by Mr. Ward as 
 certain. 
 
 IV. The four sections on the " Mines of Mexico" will command the most 
 critical attention from that numerous class of English readers, the safety of 
 whose own fortunes and prospects, or the cheerfulness of whose bopes, have 
 become connected with the success of the extensive operations of which, 
 with the aid of English capital, they are now the scene ; and bere, too, Mr. 
 Ward's anticipations of the future are eminently favourable. 
 
 The mineralogy of Mexico is indeed an important part of its history. To 
 it belongs, in addition to that of its agriculture, the consideration of one of 
 its main sources of national wealth ; and to it also belongs a leading feature 
 of the geography of the country. To the south of Mexico belongs its agri- 
 culture, and to the north its mines ; and, in like manner, the agriculture is 
 
Mexico in 1827. -U* 
 
 to the lowlands, and to the parts adjacent either to the Atlantic or 
 Pacific Oceans ; and the mines are seated upon the lofty table-land which is 
 embraced by the Cordilleras of the Andes. A specimen of the favourable 
 views entertained by Mr. Ward of the prospect of the English Mining Com- 
 panies, occurs in the following. 
 
 " There is, perhaps, no British Company to which so little justice has been done 
 by the Mexicans as that of Real del Monte ; a circumstance which is to be attri- 
 buted entirely to a misconception of the system pursued there. Many people ima- 
 gined that Captain Vetch, the Director, having it in his power to make the Mines 
 pay at once, had not done so, in order to allow time for the completion of surface- 
 works, which, though highly advantageous at a more advanced stage of the nego- 
 tiation, were not essential in the first instance. Indeed, I had myself heard this 
 statement so often repeated, that I could not but conceive that there must be some 
 foundation for what so many agreed in affirming. Upon this point my visit to 
 Real del Monte completely undeceived me, by enabling me to convince myself that 
 the delay which bad occurred was owing entirely to the immense scale upon which 
 the undertaking was carried on, and to the impossibility of effecting tbe drainage 
 of any of the principal mines before the arrival of the steam-engines, the departure 
 of which from England had been unfortunately retarded." 
 
 It is nevertheless admitted, that 
 
 u There is hardly a single Company amongst those now formed, that has not ex- 
 pended considerable sums upon mines, which, had they been better acquainted with 
 the country, they would never have attempted to work. This is not be attributed 
 entirely to the Directors in Mexico. In 1825, the rage for taking up mining contracts 
 was such, that many adventurers, who presented themselves in London for that pur- 
 pose, disposed of mines (the value of which was, to say the least, very questionable) 
 to tbe Boards of Management in England, without the agents of the Company upon 
 the spot having been either consulted, or even apprised of the purchase, until it was 
 concluded. Others were contracted for in Mexico without proper inquiry or pre- 
 caution ; and large sums were often paid down for mere pits, which, upon investi- 
 gation, it was found impossible to work. In some cases, operations were actually 
 commenced, and all the preliminary parts of a mining establishment formed, with- 
 out sufficient data to aiford a probability of repayment. In many of the districts 
 immediately about the Capital (as Zimapan, El Doctor, Capula, Cbico, Temascalte- 
 pec, &c.) this has been the case ; and although these desultory experiments have 
 been subsequently abandoned, still they have been a drain upon tbe Companies, 
 which is tbe more to be regretted, because it never could have been productive of 
 any great result.* 
 
 " In general, the selection of mines amongst the first adventurers was deter- 
 mined by a reference to Humboldt. Any mine not mentioned in bis ' Essai Poli- 
 tique' was rejected as unworthy of attention, while those which were favourably 
 spoken of were eagerly sought for. 
 
 " In tbis respect, the work in question has exercised an influence highly preju- 
 dicial to British interests, not from any fault of the author's, but from the conclu- 
 sions imprudently drawn from the facts which he has recorded. 
 
 " Humboldt never asserted, or meant to assert, tbat a mine, because it was 
 highly productive in 1802, must be equally so in 1824. A general impression of 
 the mining capabilities of Mexico was all that he wished to convey : and bow could 
 he illustrate their importance better than by presenting statements of wbat bad been 
 done, as the best criterion of what might still be effected in a country, the mineral 
 treasures of which he regarded as almost unexplored ? 
 
 * " I do not wish to enumerate the individual instances of these failures that 
 have come to my knowledge, but there is one very generally known, that of Mr. 
 Bullock's mine at Temascaltepec, which was purchased of him by tbe Houses of 
 Baring and Lubbock, and upon which I should tbink that 20,000^. must have been 
 expended before their agent (Mr. Bullock) could convince himself of the injudicious- 
 ness of his choice. What induced him, in the first instance, to fix upon this particular 
 spot, I am unable to state, for I have never discovered any record, or even tradition, 
 respecting the former produce of the mine. Certain it is, however, tbat it does not 
 now contain the slightest vestige of a vein, nor has one ounce of ore (rich or poor) 1 
 been raised from it." 
 
 July. VOL. XX Til. NO. XCI. ' E 
 
50 Mexico in 1827. 
 
 u Unfortunately, the consequence of these statements was to direct the attention 
 of the world exclusively to spots which, from the enormous quantity of mineral 
 wealth that they have already yielded, may fairly be supposed to have seen their 
 best days. 
 
 " I do not mean to say that the great mines taken up by our Companies are ex- 
 hausted ; on the contrary, I believe that they will still amply repay the adventurers 
 for the stake invested in them ; but I have, certainly, little doubt that, in many 
 instances, the same capital might have been laid out elsewhere with a much more 
 immediate prospect of advantage." 
 
 The Mines are so important a part of the national resources of the coun- 
 try, that, according to Mr. Ward, all its riches, public and private, depend 
 upon them ; and these are the sole springs of its agriculture and trade. To 
 these, all the wealthy families are indebted for their fortunes ; and from 
 those fortunes have proceeded all public improvements. 
 
 " Melancholy, indeed, would be the fate of Mexico, if the source from which all 
 her riches have hitherto been derived, were, as some suppose, exhausted and dried 
 up ! She could not only find no substitute for her mines in her Foreign Trade, of 
 which they furnish the great staple, Silver, but her resources at home would de- 
 crease in exactly the same proportion as her means of supplying her wants from 
 abroad. Her Agriculture would be confined to such a supply of the necessaries of 
 life as each individual would have it in his power to raise ; districts, formerly 
 amongst the richest in the known world, would be thrown for ever out of cultiva- 
 tion ; the great mining towns would become what they were during the worst years 
 of the Revolution the picture of desolation ; and the country would be so far thrown 
 back in the career of civilization, that the great majority of its inhabitants would 
 be compelled to revert to a Nomade life, and to seek a precarious subsistence amidst 
 their flocks and herds, like the Gaucho of the Pampas, of whose Indian habits Cap- 
 tain Head has given us so spirited and so faithful a picture. I desire no better 
 proof of this than the contrast which exists, at the present day, in every part of 
 New Spain between the degraded situation of the husbandman, or small landed pro- 
 prietor, in any district without an outlet, and that of a proprietor (however small) 
 in the vicinity of the mines. The one is without wants, and almost without an idea 
 of civilized life ; clothed in a leather dress, or in the coarsest kind of woollen manu- 
 factures ; living in primitive simplicity perhaps, but in primitive ignorance, and 
 brutality too ; sunk in sloth, and incapable of exertion, unless stimulated by some 
 momentary excitement ; while the other acquires wants daily with the means of gra- 
 tifying them, and grows industrious in proportion as the advantages which he de- 
 rives from the fruits of his labour increase ; his mind opens to the advantages of 
 European arts ; he seeks for his offspring, at least, that education which had been 
 denied to himself, and becomes, gradually, with a taste for the delights of civilization, 
 a more important member himself of the civilized world ! Who can see this, as I 
 have seen it, without feeling, as I have felt, the importance, not only to Mexico, but to 
 Europe, of a branch of industry capable of producing such beneficial eifects ? And 
 alone capable of producing them ; for Mexico, without her mines, (I cannot too often 
 repeat it,) notwithstanding the fertility of her soil, and the vast amount of her former 
 agricultural produce, can never rise to importance in the scale of nations. The mar- 
 kets of the Table-land must be Aome-markets, and these the mines alone can supply. 
 On the Coasts, indeed, the productions of the Tropics, which we term Colonial Pro- 
 duce, might serve as an object of barter ; but these, supposing their cultivation to 
 be carried to the greatest possible extent, could never cover the demand upon Eu- 
 ropean industry, which the wants of a population of eight millions will, under more 
 favoiirable circumstances, occasion, as their value must decrease in proportion to the 
 superabundance of the supply, until they reach the point at which their price, when 
 raised, would cease to repay the cost of raising them. Thus the trade of Mexico 
 would be confined to her Vanilla and Cochineal (of which she has a natural mono- 
 poly) ; while the number of those who consume European manufactures in the Inte- 
 rior, (which does not yet include one-half of the population,) would be reduced 
 probably to one-tenth. Fortunately, there is no reason whatever to apprehend the 
 approach of that scarcity of mineral productions with which many seem to think 
 that New Spain is menaced. Hitherto, at least, every step that has been taken iu 
 exploring the country has led to fresh indications of wealth, which, in the North, 
 appears to be really inexhaustible. To the European manufacturer, it is a matter 
 of indifference whether the silver, which is transmitted to him in return for the 
 
Mexico in 1827. 5i 
 
 produce of his labour, proceeds from Guanajuato, or Durango, from the ceutre of 
 the Table-land, or the fastnesses of the Sierra Madre. The capability of the coun- 
 try to produce it in sufficient quantities to ensure a constant market, and an equally 
 constant return, is the only point which it can be of importance for him to ascer- 
 tain ; and of this, from the moment that a sufficient capital is invested in mining 
 operations, 1 have no scruple in stating that there can be no doubt." 
 
 It is to be regretted, upon the other hand, that events have occurred to 
 moderate, toward the conclusion of the work, the tone of confidence in which, 
 thus far, Mr. Ward had spoken of the Mexican future. In the Fourth Book, 
 he had said 
 
 " As the mines improve, these remittances will increase : we have, at present, 
 but little more than the proceeds of that capital, by which the regeneration of the 
 mines is to be effected, in conjunction with a produce, not exceeding one-third of 
 the average standard before the Revolution. When the mines begin to pay, the 
 case will be very different ; for, in addition to the half, which I suppose to be ab- 
 sorbed by the expenses, one moiety of the remaining half will go to the Mexican 
 proprietor, and consequently remain in the country, until it is exchanged there for 
 the produce of European industry. 
 
 " Upon the amount of that produce consumed, the most important branch of the 
 Revenue depends ; and it is to the increase or diminution of the Revenue again, 
 that the creditors of Mexico must look for regularity in the payment of the inte- 
 rest due upon the loans contracted in this country." 
 
 It was evident, even here, that Mr. Ward felt the force of certain secret 
 misgivings; but, in subsequent pages, he "speaks" very fully, and very 
 strongly. The evil, and the danger, in short, consists in the violence of do- 
 mestic parties, the Escoceses and the Yorkinos, of the respective principles 
 of whose politics, and the origin of whose names, Mr. Ward gives us a very 
 distinct account. 
 
 V. The " Personal Narrative" of our author forms, as may be expected, 
 the "light reading" of his book, and abounds in passages of pleasing and 
 useful interest. In the narrative of the author's first visit to Mexico, in 
 1825, we meet, in juxta-positioii, the contrasted descriptions of human po- 
 verty and natural riches. 
 
 " We found at Santa Fe the first specimen of the sort of accommodations that we 
 were to expect on our journey through the Tierra Caliente of Mexico. The village 
 was composed of five or six Indian huts, rather more spacious than some which we 
 afterwards met with, but built of bamboos, and thatched with palm-leaves, with a 
 portico of similar materials before the door. The canes of which the sides are com- 
 posed, are placed at so respectable a distance from each other as to admit both light 
 and air : this renders windows unnecessary. A door there is, which leads at once 
 into the principal apartment, in which father and mother, brothers and sisters, pigs 
 and poultry, all lodge together in amicable confusion. In some instances, a subdi- 
 vision is attempted, by suspending a mat or two in such a manner as to partition off 
 a corner of the room ; but this is usually thought superfluous. The kitchen occupies 
 a separate hut. The beds are sometimes raised on a little framework of cane, but 
 much oftener consist of a square mat placed upon the ground ; while a few gourds 
 for containing water, some large glasses for orangeade, a stone for grinding maize, 
 and a little coarse earthenware, compose the whole stock of domestic utensils. We 
 found, however, provisions in abundance; fowls, rice, tortillas, (thin maize cakes,) 
 and pine-apples, with a copious supply of orangeade, furnished an excellent supper, 
 after which we commenced our preparations for the night. We had all taken the 
 precaution of providing ourselves with brass camp-beds, which, in America, are one 
 of the necessaries of life : they pack into so small a compass that two of them make 
 a light load for a mule ; while, when put together, which requires but little time or 
 trouble, they ensure to the traveller the means of resting after the fatigues of the 
 day with every possible convenience and comfort. Above all, the musquito-net 
 should not be forgotten ; for without it there are few parts of the New World in 
 which those troublesome insects do not make such an example of a nouveau debarque, 
 as not only to deprive him of rest, but to throw him into a fever for some days. 
 We put up our beds in the open air, under the shed which projected from the 
 front of the inn, while Dr. Mair and Mr. Thompson, whose baggage was not come 
 up, slung two cots, which they had brought from on board, to the rafters above us. 
 
 E 2 
 
52 Mexico in 1827. 
 
 Our horses were picketed close round the shed, with an ample provision of Zacate, 
 (dried maize stalks ;) the servants slept on the outside, wrapped up in cloaks, with 
 our saddles for pillows ; and beyond them again the men and horses of the escort 
 were stationed, with a large watch-fire, and two or three sentinels, to prevent rob- 
 beries during the night. Upon the whole, I have seldom witnessed a more curious 
 scene, and we could none of us help remarking, as we contemplated it, that if this 
 were a fair specimen of the introduction to American Diplomacy, there would be 
 few candidates for the Missions to the New States amongst his Majesty's older 
 diplomatic servants in Europe." 
 
 To the foregoing is presently subjoined, 
 
 "Nothing can be more monotonous than the general character of the country 
 from Veracruz to the Puente ; the sand-hills do not indeed extend above three 
 miles into the interior, but for some leagues there seems to be a struggle between 
 vegetation and sterility. Patches of a rich and luxuriant green are intersected by 
 long intervals of rocks and sand, nor is it until you reach Paso de Ovejas, that any 
 thing like regular cultivation is discovered. There we passed the ruins of a large 
 Sugar Hacienda, which had been abandoned during the Revolution, and saw evident 
 traces of a rich and productive soil. But on leaving the river to which this fer- 
 tility is due, we again found ourselves in a sandy desert, where little but the Mi- 
 mosa was to be seen, except in spots where some apparently insignificant stream 
 called into existence, at once, the luxuriant vegetation of the Tropics. In these we 
 were quite bewildered by the variety of plants, all new to the European eye, and 
 generally thrown together in such fanciful confusion, that the most experienced 
 botanist would have had some difficulty in classing them ; for, as each tree supports 
 two or three creepers, the fruits and flowers of which bear no sort of proportion 
 in point of size to the slender branches of the mother plant, it is not easy to dis- 
 tinguish them, at first sight, from the produce of the tree to which they cling. 
 The air is quite perfumed at times with this profusion of flowers, many of which 
 are most delicately coloured, (particularly the varieties of the Convolvulus kind ;) 
 while the plumage of the birds, of which, in some places, the woods are full, is 
 hardly less brilliant than the flowers themselves. Flocks of Parrots and Macaws 
 are seen in every direction, with Cardinals, Censontlis, or mocking-birds, and a 
 thousand others, the names of which, in any language, 1 cannot pretend to give ; 
 Deer, too, occasionally bounded across the road ; but of the Jaguars, (Mexican Ti- 
 ger,) and other wild animals, we saw none, although their skins are to be met with 
 in great abundance. Throughout the Tierra Caliente, not one hundredth part of 
 the soil has been brought into cultivation ; yet in the Indian cottages, many of 
 which I entered, I always found a plentiful supply of Indian Corn, Rice, Bananas, 
 Oranges, and Pine-apples, which, though certainly not equal to those of the Ha- 
 vanna in flavour, seemed to us, when heated with travelling, a most delicious fruit. 
 Of the Banana I am not an admirer ; its taste reminded me of sweet pomatum, and 
 I gave it up after a very short trial. All these fruits are produced, with little or no 
 labour, on a spot of ground in the vicinity of the cottage, which, though apparently 
 too small to support a single individual, is usually sufficient, with the addition of a 
 few Frijoles, (beans,) and a little Chile from the Interior, to provide for the sub- 
 sistence of the whole family. For this, indeed, not much is required. They seldom 
 partake of animal food : their fowls supply them abundantly with eggs, and enable 
 them, when sent to the market of the nearest town, to purchase a little clothing : 
 this, however, the beauty of the climate, and a sufficiently primitive notion of what 
 decency requires, enable them, in a great measure, to dispense with. If a horse be 
 added to the establishment, which is indispensable where there is any mixture of 
 white blood, the forest furnishes abundant pasturage, and it causes no additional 
 expense. A saddle, and a Machete, a long cut and thrust sword, which is almost 
 always worn, are indeed costly articles ; but these are transmitted, as heir-looms 
 in the family, from one generation to another ; and the young man who .obtains 
 possession of such treasures, during his father's life-time, by any exertions of his 
 own, may be said to have established his independence at once." 
 
 The reader will here be beforehand with us in our concluding remark, that 
 the whole of these volumes display, in the most advantageous point of view, 
 the talents, the industry, and the temper of their author. 
 
 The volumes are adorned and illustrated by numerous lithographic prints, 
 executed from the drawings of Mrs. Ward. They do credit to the lady's 
 
A Swiss Tour. 53 
 
 pencil ; and, where the subjects are architectural, they bear testimony that 
 the Moorish taste, so strongly cherished in Spain, has been transplanted, in 
 the most decisive manner, into the Spanish colony of Mexico. It is a curious 
 addition to Arabian history, that the arts of the Arabs, after being spread 
 by themselves to the western limits of Europe, should have been carried by 
 their Spanish subjects and scholars into America. The countries of the Pa- 
 cific Ocean, which interposes itself between America and India, are thus, if 
 even there, the only interval, in the circuit of the globe, in which the works 
 and the influence of Arabian genius are not to be discovered ! 
 
 A SWISS TOUR. NO. V. 
 
 LEAVING Meyringen after noon, we proceeded through the valley to 
 the small village of Brienz, on the shore of the lake. It is in a charm- 
 ing situation, and provided with a very good inn. Soon afterward we 
 hired a boat to cross the lake, in order to view the falls of the Giesbach. 
 After rowing about a league, we landed, and walked up a winding path 
 to a chalet that stands just below the falls. It is inhabited by a family, 
 consisting of husband, wife, and five or six children ; and each indivi- 
 dual is blessed in a certain way with a musical taste, and voice to give 
 vent to it. This family circle is represented to the life in a coloured 
 plate, sold amidst a host of other choice Swiss subjects : the old man 
 seated at a piano, and each member, with mouth wide open, joining in 
 the song. The piano is actually in the chalet, and any stranger may 
 command a melodious display, just beside the cataract. The waterfalls 
 of the Giesbach have a character as well as beauty altogether peculiar ; 
 six of them are seen at one glance, descending in succession from the 
 lofty and wooded heights of the mountain above. They have the ap- 
 pearance at first of artificial cascades in a superb garden, so elegant and 
 tasteful is their appearance ; but their grandeur, and the great body of 
 water, quickly convince us that the hand of Nature alone is there. The 
 middle and highest fall is seen from a small gallery carried directly be- 
 hind it, and the cataract rushes close beside, and almost on, the specta- 
 tor ; but this contrivance diminishes instead of augmenting the effect, 
 since it is perceived thereby that the torrent, which looked so resistless 
 in front, is composed of a slender volume of water, through which the 
 light pierces. The falls above, on the higher declivity, are very fine ; 
 and inferior in grandeur as the Giesbach undoubtedly is, altogether, to 
 the more impetuous Reichenbach, imagination cannot conceive so lovely 
 a situation as it enjoys ; shrouded amidst the richest wood, the beauti- 
 ful lake into which it plunges spreads directly underneath. 
 
 Quitting this attractive spot, we returned to the village of Brienz, and 
 to our tranquil apartment that looked far over the shores. During 
 supper, a company of female singers, said to be the best in the country, 
 came into the adjoining apartment, and commenced a kind of shrieking 
 lament, not in the plaintive voice of sorrow, for it rang shrilly and 
 wildly through the whole house. They were six in number, and each 
 took her part in the air with infinite rapidity and in excellent time. We 
 adjourned to the garden in front of the hotel, and it being a fine moon- 
 light night, the singing sounded much softer than from within. They 
 gave a variety of songs, during more than an hour, and would have 
 continued till midnight, if permitted. The lake had a lovely appear- 
 
54 A Sioiss Tour. 
 
 ance in the clear light, and the rush of the distant cataract on the other 
 shore was distinctly heard. Next morning we took boat in order to 
 cross the lake : the Belle Bateliere has given up her trade of rowing 
 since her marriage, and with less captivating rowers we went on our 
 course. The shore opposite the village is particularly bold and well 
 wooded all the way down toward Interlaken : about half way, the 
 snowy mountains are seen in the distance ; a small isle, too, adds to the 
 scene ; yet, however attractive in many parts, this lake must yield in 
 charm and variety to that of Thoun, from which it is separated by so 
 small a territory. 
 
 Passing down the river Aar to a small wooden bridge, we landed and 
 went to Interlaken : this village is greatly resorted to by travellers of all 
 nations, as much for a residence of afew months or weeks, as for a tran- 
 sient survey. Here are two well-organised boarding-houses for, their 
 reception. The situation of the place is central, and excellently adapted 
 for excursions to some of the finest spots. A. residence here is also 
 excessively cheap ; indeed, the charge per day at the houses of recep- 
 tion is often so low as three francs, or half a crown, including board 
 and lodging ! The table d'hote frequently displays a motley assem- 
 blage of guests ; and as the neighbourhood is really beautiful the Aar 
 pouring its blue stream through luxuriant banks, and a high wooded 
 eminence or knoll, with a kind of frail building on its summit that looks 
 out on extensive prospects, the spot is absolutely like a fashionable wa- 
 tering-place has tea-parties, fishing excursions, pic-nics ; is perfectly 
 romantic, and cannot fail to fascinate travellers upon their first journey 
 from their own loved isle, and by whom the wonders of the land are yet 
 unexplored. Great and rich is the variety of characters assembled ; 
 most of them animated with an eager appetite for Nature, a devouring 
 passion for glaciers, avalanches, and inaccessible mountains. What is 
 Clifton, with its poor hot-wells, and its mean, miserable river filthily 
 creeping along? or even Matlock, with its pigmy mountains and shal- 
 low glens ? Here the mighty Jungfrau is directly opposite the windows 
 of the dining and bed-rooms : the Staubbach might be heard to roar, 
 if it could possibly be detached from the rock to which it clings so 
 closely; and lakes, gloomy valleys, and horrid precipices, may not be 
 counted, for number ! Dazzled by the variety and splendour of these 
 objects, or rather lulled by the good accommodations and comforts of 
 the hoarding-house of Interlaken, how many a determined tourist, or 
 family party, who left " the city," or, maybe, the politer end of town, 
 with energy and glorious hope, have lingered here ingloriously on the 
 banks of the Aar, and returned, satisfied that the land had its good 
 things, leaving its perils all untried. 
 
 Not thus, however, thought or acted a desperate traveller with 
 whom two friends that were for a short time our companions, fell in 
 contact on the heights of the Simplon. A Yorkshire gentleman, alone 
 (at least accompanied only by his guide), and on foot, was overtaken 
 by them, who were also pedestrians, about mid-day. He had a pair of 
 top-boots, a greaUcoat with four capes, a staff of tolerable thickness, 
 and a broad-brimmed hat. The day was excessively hot, it being in 
 the month of July ; yet so rapid was his pace, that they had some diffi- 
 culty at first to keep up with him. Overjoyed, however, at meeting 
 with two fellow-countrymen, he after a while slackened his progress, 
 
( 155 ) 
 
 A TOUR IN MEXICO IN 1827. 
 
 HAVING made rather an extensive tour in the States of Mexico in the 
 year 1827, and feeling reluctant to "bestow all my tediousness" On the 
 reader, I have fixed my introduction to him at a place concerning which 
 much interest has been lately excited, the town of Real del Monte. The 
 hospitality which I experienced among my friends engaged in the English 
 Mining Company established there, as well as the objects of curiosity it 
 afforded, induced me to prolong my stay a little at that spot. It is dis- 
 tant rather more than twenty leagues from the city of Mexico, and in the 
 direct road thence to the sea-port of Tampico, whither I was proceeding. 
 The town is situated on the side of a hill, yet on one of the most level spots 
 in its vicinity ; the surface of the country being, with hardly any exception, 
 rugged and uneven for several miles around. The view, as far as the eye 
 can reach, consists entirely of a range of mountainous summits, whence the 
 district derives its name of Real del Monte. Most of these are well clothed 
 with verdure ; a peak here and there, however, exalting itself in naked ma- 
 jesty above its neighbours. The character of the whole is grand and beau- 
 tiful. The size of the town would be very imperfectly estimated at first by 
 a stranger. When I entered it (June 1st), the number of houses in abso- 
 lute ruin nearly equalled that of the inhabited ones. The fury of the late 
 Revolution, which freed Mexico from the Spanish yoke, was peculiarly felt 
 around the mines, occasioning their total abandonment. The dwellings, 
 chiefly built of unburnt bricks, and roofed with " tejamanil," slight shingles 
 of fir- wood, if spared from the devastations of man, soon fell a prey to the 
 ravages of the periodical rains. Three churches, besides several small cha- 
 pels, remained unimpaired by hostile hand. The same forbearance with 
 regard to places of worship, when all beside was spoiled, had prevailed here 
 as well as throughout Mexico. In front of the principal church is a large 
 plaza, or square ; and, besides the few regular streets, a great number of 
 huts are scattered around, so buried amid an ever-verdant variety of shrubs 
 as not to be visible till you find yourself suddenly close to them. The num- 
 berless small winding paths which lead to these are in like manner so con- 
 cealed that, till actually treading them, one has not the least suspicion of 
 their existence. The whole population at this time, much increased since 
 the renewal of the working of the mines by the English, was probably above 
 three thousand souls. The English were numerous also, amounting to near 
 two hundred, including agents, miners, and artizans of all kinds. Almost 
 all the stone-built houses were occupied by them ; and though purchased 
 in a very dilapidated state, no cost or labour had been spared to render them 
 fit for their accommodation. 
 
 The principal objects of interest in Real del Monte are its celebrated 
 mines ; and I did not omit, during my stay, to make inquiries concerning 
 their state and prospects. I shall state a few such facts as came under my 
 observation relative to them, wishing to place the truth in its strongest light,, 
 and leave arguments on the subject to others. I was informed that the dis- 
 missal of a mining captain had arisen from his having stated to Mr. Morier, 
 the British Ambassador, with true Cornish bluntness, that he considered the 
 whole adventure as " a miserable job." Notwithstanding, however, such 
 an example, I found no great difficulty in obtaining the information 1 wish- 
 ed. The long discussions to which these speculations have given birth may, 
 on a closer view, give way to a very plain tale. If the radical principle on 
 which all the South American mining speculations were founded is shown 
 to be false and absurd, it will spare the trouble of seeking, in the faults of 
 their management, reasons for the disappointment with which they have 
 been attended. The motives which induced Europeans to undertake the 
 working of deep and extensive mines, in a state of utter ruin, long abandon- 
 ed, and left as hopeless by the Mexicans, must have been founded on a con- 
 fidence of their superiority to these latter in the art and means of working 
 them. Four essential points of consideration are capital, industry, eco- 
 
156 A Tour in Mexico in 1827. 
 
 nomy, and skill. As to capital, though the superiority, of the English can- 
 not be denied, yet it is also true that there exist even in Mexico, monied 
 men well able and willing to advance large sums on a mining speculation 
 which should seem to hold out a fair inducement. In proof of this, a Spanish 
 family at Pachuca, only one league distant from Real del Monte, is at this 
 time deriving great riches from mines not quite so deep indeed, but more 
 profitable. Secondly, with regard to the alleged superior industry of the 
 English, I will only repeat the expressions of the then managing agent, who 
 told me that the labours of the very best of the English workmen amounted 
 but to what in Cornwall are termed " stems/' or work done " out of course/' 
 Nothing can be more evident than that these men had no longer the same 
 stimulus to exertion which they possessed in their own country. The profits 
 of a Cornish miner at home are proportioned to the quantity of work per- 
 formed, or ore raised by him. In a foreign country, engaged at a fixed 
 salary for a term of years, his only care is to save appearances, and spend 
 the allotted period with as much ease to himself as may be. Add to this, that 
 the possession of four or five times his former wages gives him temptation 
 to dissipation, and to a consequent idleness, extremely difficult to resist. 
 Thirdly, economy is a point which the English adventurers had it in their 
 power to preserve, yet in this they seem most to have failed. It would 
 be far too long, and beyond my power, to enter into particulars ; but the 
 stranger, on entering Real del Monte, cannot but be struck at the great 
 abundance of surface- works huge storehouses and other buildings, exten- 
 sive walled and floored yards for the reception of ore, and expensive roads 
 for the carriage of it. And if he is struck at the magnificent scale of these 
 works, will he not be still more astonished, on inquiring whether the works 
 below ground keep pace with those above, to be informed that little of the 
 ore for which such preparations have been made is yet discovered ? that, so 
 far from the mines being cleared of their rubbish and drained of their water, 
 to judge from the contradictory accounts respecting that hoped-for consum- 
 mation, it seems very doubtful whether it will ever take place at all ? I 
 should omit the most heavy article of unnecessary expenditure, did I not 
 mention the continual purchase of new mines, which were all set at work 
 together, ere a single one had been proved. At one time, any kind of hole 
 christened by the natives with the name of a mine, must have had bad luck 
 indeed not to find a price. The last but not the least important point which 
 I have named, of supposed superiority in the English, is, that of greater skill 
 in the working of these mines than is possessed by the natives themselves. 
 Herein I will again quote the inornate but very intelligible language of the 
 Cornish miners, who confessed to me " that any old woman, born and bred 
 on the mines, knew more about silver ore than they did." Yet, however 
 curious the presumption of the new adventurers may appear in this particu- 
 lar, it is under this head that we must class the only real advantage possess- 
 ed by them, the introduction of the steam-engine. Natives, as well as 
 English, whom I questioned on the subject, having, in truth, at that time 
 some trifling interest in the adventure, all concurred in referring to the 
 *' maquinas" for its ultimate success. This solitary improvement, then, on 
 the part of the English, is to be set against the numerous disadvantages 
 laboured under by them, of which I now come to speak, and which are by no 
 means of a light order. The first of these which I shall mention is one of 
 more consequence than it may at first appear. This is their constant liability 
 to deceit and robbery from the natives in their employ. These are, perhaps, 
 hardly to be exceede'd any where for a low kind of cunning. Their various 
 arts of secreting the more valuable part of the ore are almost inconceivable. 
 To reduce it to powder and plaster the hair with it is a common trick ; but 
 when they proceed on a larger scale, it is with the connivance of the person 
 on the surface, who receives the bags of attle, or rubbish, which he wheels 
 away to the appointed pile. By some signal, easily communicated from below, 
 he is informed which of these bags contains a portion of ore, and takes care to 
 
A Tour in Mexico in 1827. 157 
 
 empty it in such a manner that it may be concealed for the time, and easily 
 found again afterwards. In the former working of the mines, their owner, 
 Count Kegla, was invested with the arbitrary power of a judge in his own 
 cause, and might at pleasure make an example of any detected person ; yet 
 the crime was still so prevalent, that he found it expedient to enact a law 
 whereby any one succeeding in carrying off ore might immediately, with im- 
 punity, bring it to sale on the very spot whence it had been stolen, which 
 was preferred to its being sent to another market. If, with the influence of 
 the Count Regla, it was found impossible to suppress theft, how much more 
 must the English be exposed to suffer from it ! We may consider the greater 
 propensity of the natives to cheat them, from the natural jealousy enter- 
 tained against foreigners and heretics ; and their greater capacity to do so, 
 from the others' ignorance of their habits and manners, and even language. 
 It is true, Veladores, or guards, are appointed in great number, but of what 
 sort ? Natives themselves ; in whom the trust reposed may only enable the 
 trade to be carried on in a more wholesale manner. Other disadvantages 
 there will be no occasion to dwell on, as they need but be named to show 
 their weight and moment, Such are, the allowance of profits to the Count 
 Regla, no less than a clear half (independent of a duty to Government), in 
 earnest of which he already receives what are denominated " alimentos," a 
 yearly sum in advance, before any of the expected riches are in sight. If, 
 with these drawbacks, we connect the unsettled state of the Government, to 
 which recent and serious insurrections give ample proof, it will seem worse 
 than doubtful, even supposing that the mines should yield profits, whether 
 the English adventurers will ever be allowed to reap them. I will only 
 add, that all I could collect from persons best qualified by experience to de- 
 cide, but confirmed the impression which I had previously entertained, that 
 the single advantage of the introduction of the steam-engine by the English, 
 burdened by the stupendous and almost insuperable difficulties of conveying 
 it to the spot, and the deficiency of proper fuel when there, is not sufficient 
 to counterbalance the many disadvantages under which they labour; and 
 that, by a natural and inevitable consequence, every South American mining 
 speculation, conducted as they have been, must end sooner or later, to repeat 
 the words of the Cornish captain, in " a miserable job." 
 
 I am now going to attempt the description of a ball which took place a few 
 days after my arrival at Real del Monte, in honour of the establishment of a 
 militia in the town. The warmth of the season proved no obstacle to this 
 favourite mode, among the Mexicans, of celebrating any agreeable event, 
 public or domestic. The entertainment was held at the house of the Al- 
 calde, or chief magistrate for the year. The English party with which I 
 attended, arriving early, we lighted our segars, and seated ourselves, as eti- 
 quette at first prescribes, at the end of the room opposite that allotted to the 
 ladies. The apartment was spacious, furnished all round with good cushioned 
 benches ; and lighted by solitary candles, fixed to the walls at a respectful 
 distance from each other, and having each a large tin reflector, which added 
 much to the brilliancy of the assembly. The room being tolerably filled, the 
 ball was opened by two or three couple waltzing, till their numbers having 
 gradually increased, after a short time they formed into a country-dance. The 
 waltz step, however, is still the favourite, and almost only one employed ; 
 though much diversified by the constant motion of the arms, with which they 
 form a variety of curious figures. The dexterity with which both sexes shift 
 their "cigarros" from one hand to the other in the changes of the dance is re- 
 markable. These, which consist of a little tobacco rolled up in paper, must 
 be held between the finger and thumb, and only applied to the mouth for oc- 
 casional whiffs ; thus, while one hand is employed in this office, the other is 
 round their partner, and the fume ascends between for their mutual benefit. 
 That females should use such things, will no doubt appear shocking at first 
 view of the case, especially as they are always smoked through the nose ; 
 yet 1 can safely assert, from my own observation, that to the native beaux 
 
158 A Tour in Mexico in 1827. . 
 
 who are accustomed to the sight, the fragrant steam issuing from the nos- 
 trils of the fair one is rather a provocative to gallantry. In a small room ad- 
 joining that of the ball, was a table spread with a profusion of cakes of differ- 
 ent kinds, attended by a few bottles of Frontignac, some of bad sherry, and 
 more of "aguardiente," strong white brandy of the country. After partaking 
 of these potent refreshments, several of niy countrymen, I observed, grew 
 rather rude in their gaiety. " Esto es lo pejor de los'lngleses" " This is the 
 worst of the English,'' said an old man near me. One of them, in particular, 
 was so disorderly as to salute several ladies, and among others the lady of the 
 house, her husband, the Alcalde, standing by. The latter, though, I believe, 
 a temperate man, and well inclined to the English, instantly exclaimed, 
 f ' Amigo, se dan puilaladas" " Stabs are given, my friend," said he, ' ' among 
 us for these things." In fact, it was high time for our young friend to be re- 
 moved, and the company soon after separated. As I departed, I observed 
 one of the lower classes, who. towards the close of the evening, generally in- 
 trude themselves as spectators, lying on his back dead drunk in a corner of 
 the room. 
 
 On the morning after the ball, I was informed by the young gentleman 
 whose deportment had been so over-vivacious at it, and who slept in the same 
 house wherein I was quartered, that he had had a narrow escape from the 
 vengeance of some of the annoyed party. They lay in wait for him where it 
 was supposed he would pass ; but, his rambles being probably rather devious 
 that evening, he had taken an unexpected route and eluded them. Another 
 Englishman, however, was stopped by them, his arms seized by one man, 
 while others stepped up on each side of him, muffled in their cloaks. On 
 finding their mistake, they let him go, but prevented his returning to warn 
 his friend, whom they did the honour of inquiring after most particularly. 
 We may conclude hence that such frolics as excite the jealousy of these irri- 
 table people cannot be indulged in without danger. Jealousy, however, is 
 generally confined to foreigners. In their intercourse among themselves pre- 
 vails a disgraceful laxity and indifference. The priests use their influence to 
 instil into the female mind the most violent prejudices against English 
 heretics. Their favourite illustration of our merits is by a comparison to 
 asses. They arrive at this conclusion, no doubt, from seeing that their 
 idol worship and solemn ceremonies, which they consider the highest offices 
 of the soul, make no impression on us, which insensibility they impute to our 
 having no souls at all. Hence the term of " monos" (monkies) is also fre- 
 quently and obligingly bestowed upon us. A servant of the British vice- 
 consul at Vera Cruz, on the first arrival of a party of Cornish miners, was 
 heard to call to his fellow to come andjsee the finefmonkies ",unos monos 
 muy grandes." A gentleman who was among the first who visited this coun- 
 try after the Revolution had opened it to strangers, told me that on taking 
 a warm-bath, the servant who assisted could not contain his expression of 
 surprise at perceiving his want of an appendage possessed by most varieties of 
 the monkey genus a tail. But to return to our young countryman, who, 
 however imprudent, had not deserved so heavy a punishment as assassination, 
 I, at his desire, accompanied him to the house of a person suspected of hav- 
 ing joined in the ambush laid for him. He denied the charge, but in such a 
 manner as gave more reason to suppose him guilty. After a few angry 
 words, my friend begged to inform him that he had a brace of pistols at hia 
 service. But this was a resource which by no means met the ideas of the 
 other. He retorted, " Y yo tambien tengo un cuchillo a su servicio de su 
 picho de V." "And I also have a knife at your bosom's service," which was 
 all the satisfaction to be obtained from him. Fire-arms are little understood, 
 and much dreaded^by the Mexicans. Neither are what are called the laws 
 of honour held in much honour by them. One Colonel Cortazar, in the 
 Mexican service, boasted to me of a trick he had played a brother officer in 
 an affair of the kind. Happening to quarrel, he gave him one of a brace of 
 pistols which was unloaded, reserving a loaded one for himself. In the result 
 the other, though not aware of this inequality, did not possess sufficient re- 
 
A Tour in Mexico in 1827. 159 
 
 solution to put it to the test; which prevented the Colonel's reaping any ad- 
 vantage from his ruse, of which, however, he spoke with great glee. As- 
 sassinations are more frequent in Real del Monte, it is said, than in other 
 districts of Mexico. They are most likely to occur on the Sunday, a 
 day fixed on for the payment of the weekly wages of the workmen,* and by 
 consequence chiefly devoted to gambling and drinking. The English have 
 little temptation to frequent the common places of resort of the Mexicans on 
 these occasions, and are the less exposed to danger ; but among the natives 
 scarcely a week passes without some sanguinary occurrence. The only case 
 which came under my observation, was the act of an officer in the militia 
 newly raised for the preservation of tranquillity. In the exercise of his au- 
 thority he interfered between some persons quarrelling in the street, and cut 
 off one man's arm at the elbow. His sword being as sharp as a razor, shaved 
 cleanly through the socket bones, and the arm hung by a small bit of flesh or 
 muscle. He said, indeed, that it was a mistake, and that he only meant to 
 strike with the flat of the blade ; but on my expressing some commiseration 
 for the sufferer, replied that it was " very little" "Es muy poco, senor, es 
 muy poco." Such is the light way of regarding these affairs, in general, in 
 this country. Even the women are by no means uninfected with the fondness 
 for the knife ; and many more murders are committed by them than those of 
 the eye alone. It is when gazing on these belles, seated perhaps at a cock- 
 fight,, without an idea of any more refined recreation than seeing the poor 
 birds kill each other with slashers it is when contrasting them to the orna- 
 ments of female society in England, that one feels most being in a barbarous 
 country, and the heart yearns for home. There was at this time a woman in 
 prison at Real del Monte, under rather singular circumstances. Being in 
 the employ of an Englishman as cook, she received a visit from one of her 
 countrymen, who reproached her with having acquired a partiality for here- 
 tics in such gross terms, as provoked her to plunge a knife into his side, 
 which caused his death in a few hours. The punishment of such a crime sel- 
 dom exceeds a short imprisonment ; after which an escape is usually con- 
 nived at. Hardly any offence is so much persecuted and interdicted by the 
 priests as that of two persons living openly together as man and wife, with- 
 out the sanction of the marriage tie. The only reason for this is that they 
 receive a considerable fee for the performance of the ceremony. In other 
 respects the priests themselves are far from the purest examples of morality. 
 A new era has, however, within a few years opened to the Mexicans ; and it 
 is to be hoped that many virtues will speedily spring lip and grow among 
 them, that were hid and depressed under the debasement of Spanish despot- 
 ism. The dress of the common classes in Mexico is simple, and easily de- 
 scribed. The principal garment of the men is a " zarape/' much resembling a 
 blanket, inwoven with a variety of colours, and large enough to wrap seve- 
 ral times round the person. Their pantaloons are frequently of coarse brown 
 leather, open at the sides in the fashion called "Wellington." It is thought 
 a great ornament to show part of a loose white drawers hanging out at this 
 opening. The women's upper garment consists of a " pano," a coarse cotton 
 shawl : below this they have but their shifts, and their " enaguas" or petti- 
 coats, tied very tight just above the hips. In this, however, I am describing 
 the dress of the lower orders : the richer imitate in most particulars that of 
 Europeans. 
 
 I was so fortunate as to gain at Real del Monte an agreeable companion 
 for the rest of my journey, in an English gentleman lately attached to the 
 mines, and now, like myself, returning to his native country. As the roads 
 to Tampico were represented as extremely bad, to be as little incumbered as 
 possible, we reduced our baggage to two mule loads, which, with our own 
 horses and that of our Arriero, or Muleteer, formed the whole of our little 
 cavalcade. On the evening before our departure, we called on the Alcalde to 
 
 * This has been since happily altered by Mr. Tindall, who superseded Captain 
 Vetch in the direction of the mines. 
 
160 A Tour in Mexico in 1827. 
 
 take leave. Our conversation fell on religion, and both he and his lady 
 pressed us with great warmth, and apparent sincerity, to think, that we might 
 he converted from the errors of heresy. Their daughter, who was one of the 
 prettiest girls in the neighbourhood, sat by us ; and I cast a glance at her oc- 
 casionally, to see if she partook of the interest which her parents expressed 
 for our conversion; but she showed a most provoking insensibility. I must 
 mention, however, as one proof at least of what may be regarded as refine- 
 ment, that, on extending my hand to this young lady at parting, she was so 
 slow to reply to my advances, that her mother had time previously to ap- 
 proach and say, " Las senoritas Castellanas no dan la mano a los cabalieros:" 
 " The Spanish young ladies do not give the. hand to gentlemen/' This, 
 indeed, is a privilege which one may more easily dispense with here than in 
 some other countries. The finger-ends of these fair creatures are tinged, not 
 with henna, but with the smoke of their tobacco, which, exuding through the 
 paper "cigarros," gives them exactly the colour produced by green walnut- 
 j uice. The old lady herself was eminent in this respect ; and her face, she 
 told me, had not been washed for fourteen years* Too frequent ablutions in 
 cold water are supposed by the Mexicans to injure the softness of the skin. 
 
 We left the town of Real del Monte about noon on the 14th of June, de- 
 scending by a road made by the English Company to the neat village of 
 Omitlan, at about a league's distance. In this space we counted no fewer 
 than thirteen bridges over the stream which encircles the hills along whose 
 base the road is formed. These bridges are strongly built of timber, with 
 buttresses of mason-work. The fury of the torrent was in some places very 
 great, increased by the opposition of many fallen rocks, and sudden 
 turnings in its course. At times, the rugged precipice rising on each side 
 almost perpendicularly, gave an awfulness to the close dell between. The 
 jutting rocks seem ready to fall on the head of the traveller, and the moun- 
 tain goat ,is seen frisking on their top with the utmost fearlessness. At 
 Omitlan we were kindly welcomed by El Senor Cura, a person of much consi- 
 deration, having added to the profits of his cure of souls those of the cure of 
 hides. He pressed us to enter his house, where we partook of a beverage of 
 his own composition, called " rompompi,"a mixture of eggs, brandy, and spices. 
 Hence we proceeded over a plain, rendered extremely slippery by some rain 
 which had fallen in the morning, to the town of Grande, distant four leagues. 
 The heat of the climate was already much greater than among the mountains 
 we had left, though it had not yet become oppressive. About midway we 
 were hailed from a "pulque" shop, and invited to drink, with an^assurance that 
 an opportunity so desirable would not again occur on the road we were pur- 
 suing. Huts by the road-side for the sale of pulque, the fermented juice of 
 the aloe, are very frequent in regions where the plant flourishes, and often 
 afford a welcome refreshment to the traveller. This beverage, which is in 
 colour like milk and water, is most palatable when newly taken from the 
 bullock-hides, where it is placed to ferment, and is then called " pulque-dulci.'' 
 It is of an intoxicating and narcotic nature, and the prevailing sluggishness 
 of the inhabitants of this country may be greatly attributed to the immoderate 
 use of this liquor and of " cigarros/ and the facility with which both are ob- 
 tained by them. The road at the entrance of Grande is skirted by wild cherry- 
 trees of an enormous size, but the fruit is small,(and apparently worthless. The 
 town is considerable and well built, and the "meson" or inn is, for the country, 
 incomparably good. We should have been well pleased to pass the night 
 here, but had previously settled to proceed to Soquital, a Hacienda about 
 two leagues farther on. A Hacienda combines the characters of a country- 
 seat and a farm, the centre often of an estate of immense extent. As it not 
 unfrequently is the case that no other place of shelter exists within several 
 leagues, it is open to passengers in general ; and the traveller whose rank 
 entitles bin) to distinction, or who bears a recommendation to the owner, is 
 usually entertained by him with the greatest hospitality. The owner of a 
 large Hacienda is looked up to with no little awe by his immediate depen- 
 dents. Most of these are, in general, Indians, and virtually in a state of 
 
A Tour in Mexico in 1827. 161 
 
 bondage to him. They dwell around his mansion in miserable huts, built of 
 tc tejamanil," which serve both for sides and roof. Many of them having 
 incurred a small debt to the proprietor which they are unable to pay, are 
 held in consequence liable to him for their services on such terms as he may 
 choose to grant. This, with a natural disinclination in others to change their 
 habits and places of abode, seems to bind them his hereditary slaves. 
 
 Our host had three daughters, one of whom I felt a curiosity to see, from 
 having heard the effects her charms had produced on a young English work- 
 man at the mines of Real del Monte. While living in the same neighbour- 
 hood, they had somehow formed an acquaintance with each other, easily 
 effected in this country, where the difference of station is little or no bar 
 to intimacy. Becoming enamoured, and thinking his case desperate, he was 
 tempted to hang himself for her sake, and had nearly effected his purpose 
 when discovered. 1 looked in vain in this young lady's face to find an ex- 
 cuse for so violent an expedient. At supper a grace was pronounced, not by 
 either of the party at table, but by an attendant a slipshod damsel. Some 
 traveller in Mexico, I think Mr.Bullock, was much struck on a similar occasion 
 at the spirit of devotion which prompted such an act. At least, this mode of 
 performing it by proxy is more according to the Roman Catholic than to Pro- 
 testant ideas of devotion. Our supper consisted of two or three hot dishes, 
 with the never-failing" frijoles" or beans, and ' ( chili," the principal ingredient 
 in the cookery of all classes. Our liquors were Xeres, or sherry, strongly 
 brandied, as is the case with most Spanish wines in this country (which are 
 generally imported through the United States), and " aguardiente." 
 
 15th. After several leagues of a level country, we came this morning to the 
 steep and rocky descent of Santa Monica, well termed the " dread of Arrie- 
 ros/' Instead of any attempt to form a practicable path here, it seems as if 
 pains ha,d been taken only to add fresh obstacles to those of nature ; and 
 though dismounted, and leading our horses by a halter, we were in a conti- 
 nual state of anxiety both for them and ourselves. At the base lies the great 
 Barranca, a deep valley, or rather ravine, formed by the mountains on each 
 side. Through this runs the bed of the Rio Grande, or great river, composed 
 of the different streams from the mountains uniting in their course to the 
 sea. There are two usual roads hence to the coast ; one rough and circuitous 
 over the mountains, the other more plain and easy, between them. But the 
 latter being often intersected by the windings of the river I have mentioned, 
 the swelling of the waters in the rainy season often renders it impassable. 
 It must be confessed that the descent of Santa Monica, and the crossing of the 
 river at its foot, where it is perhaps widest, afford fair specimens to the tra- 
 veller of the difficulties which await him in his progress, so that he may choose 
 between those of mountain and flood. Though the rainy season had com- 
 menced, we determined to try the Canada, or valley-road ; but our under- 
 taking did not prove a very successful one. On this our first crossing, how- 
 ever, the depth not being great, our baggage-mules got over with little 
 trouble. For ourselves and horses, as the streams ran with great rapidity, 
 we thought it best to undress, and, fastening our clothes to the backs of the 
 animals, led them across. 
 
 We obtained to-day at one of the few huts which we passed, a drink called 
 f ' tipache," a substitute for pulque, extracted from rice and sugar. It is cool- 
 ing and pleasant to the taste. It was very late, and quite dark, ere we 
 reached San Bernaldo, our resting-place for the night. Here we were glad, 
 after much trouble, to gain the shelter of an outhouse half filled with grain, 
 where we stretched the mattresses we brought with us on the rush-mats of 
 the country laid on the earth floor. Our greatest annoyance was from the 
 multitude of moths, that breed among the corn, which being disturbed by 
 our arrival, retaliated by constantly flying into our faces. We could get no- 
 thing for supper but some " tortillas," thin pancakes of maize or Indian corn ; 
 but this might be owing to the lateness of the hour. The owner of the house 
 observing that I was about to lock the door after him, turned back, and ra- 
 ther rudely took away the key, saying we were among honest people ("horn- 
 
1 62 London Lyrics. 
 
 bres de bien"), from whom no harm was to be apprehended. I did not much 
 like this manoeuvre, but it would have been useless to object ; and on reflec- 
 tion I attributed it, and no doubt truly, to an honest feeling. 
 
 16th. In the morning we saw SanBernaldo to be a long, straggling village, 
 nearly a league in extent ; but all its houses, or rather huts, presenting the 
 same poor appearance. Two leagues farther on is the town of Zacualtipan, 
 nearly twice as large as Grande, and containing some thousands of inhabi- 
 tants. It is not, however, so well built, and its church is an unusually mean 
 one. We were here informed that the waters had already risen to such a 
 height as to prevent our progress in the direction which we had intended ; we 
 were obliged in consequence to diverge from the accustomed route, towards 
 an Indian village called Tianguistengo. On the road thither, our fears 
 were chiefly divided between the chances of falling forward, from its steep- 
 ness and ruggedness, and of being jammed between its rocky sides from its 
 extreme narrowness. At a little distance from Zacualtipan we came to a 
 beautiful clear stream of water, where, in the manner of the country, a large 
 party of damsels were washing linen. The kneeling postures in which they 
 were engaged, and their attire on such occasions, afford advantages for the 
 contemplation of their various figures, which might strike a searcher after 
 the picturesque. The first view of Tianguistengo on the road from Zacualti- 
 pan, whence it is distant about six leagues, repays all the difficulties of the 
 way. After ascending the steep side of a mountain, the path slopes gradu- 
 ally downwards along the brink of a precipice. Here, just beneath, but at 
 an immense depth, the village suddenly opened on our sight, gilded by the 
 rays of the setting sun. The habitations display a remarkable neatness, 
 having walks of communication between them, fenced on each side with 
 great regularity, and overhung with festoons of the most beautiful shrubs. 
 It seemed as if Nature had resolved to surpass Art even in its own manner, 
 and in its most favourite walk. The spot on which this pretty village stands 
 is perfectly flat : the contrast it affords to the mountainous scenery in which 
 it is buried gives it, at a distance, the appearance of an enchanting vision. 
 When at last we reached it in reality, we were no less pleased with the clean- 
 liness and civility of its inhabitants. They allotted us a comfortable little shed 
 for our beds, and cooked some fowls for our supper; while, forgetting the fa- 
 tigues of the day, we sat smoking our segars at the door, and looking at our 
 animals eating their maize before us. This room, however, did not seem at 
 first to be exclusively appropriated to us, being filled by persons of both sexes, 
 showing wonderful curiosity, particularly the women, concerning us, and 
 every article of our baggage. 
 
 LONDON LYRICS. 
 
 Kemp Town. 
 
 QUOTH Ralph to Hugh, at evening's close, 
 As, in their sight, tall Kemp Town rose : 
 
 (Did Babel e'er rise faster?) 
 " See, in its front, yon lamps of glass 
 Strange that the town should waste its gas 
 
 To illumine lath and plaster. 
 
 The houses yet few tenants hold, 
 Yet, in yon lamps, like burnish'd gold, 
 
 The gas at night-fall quivers." 
 "Well! where's the wonder?" answer'd Hugh 
 
 " Here butcher's law is builder's too 
 
 The lights before the livers." 
 
( 243 ) 
 
 A TOUR IN MEXICO IN 1827.* 
 
 17th. From Tianguistengo, we found ourselves obliged to make a still 
 more circuitous tour among the mountains than we had been led to expect. 
 Great part of this route is scarcely known but to the Indians, and was pro- 
 bably never before undertaken by an English traveller. Our Arriero being 
 unacquainted with it, we were obliged to depend on casual information, and 
 as passengers and habitations were alike rare, found ourselves often much at 
 a loss. I do not remember that we saw a single inhabited hut this morn- 
 ing ; but we were frequently disappointed at seeing what at a short dis- 
 tance appeared such, but on approach proved invariably deserted, having 
 been only erected for use during the season when the crops of maize 
 are collected. The scenery was very magnificent. Our path often wound 
 down the side of some mountain, the direct descent of which was fearful to 
 contemplate, only to ascend another equally steep beyond it. Their tops are 
 chiefly covered with large fir, and their bases generally divided from each 
 other by a swift, clear stream of water, overhung by trees of different kinds, 
 dipping their boughs in its current. When, on attaining some high sum- 
 mit, we could take an extended survey of the mountainous scenery around, 
 though impossible to satiate the gaze, the mind shrunk at the immensity of 
 the landscape. Grand as it was, and seen only for a moment, it seemed be- 
 yond and above our capacity of enjoyment, like those hues 
 
 " Of the sky, 
 Which from our earthly memory fade away." 
 
 There was scarcely a sign of animated life in all the mighty range, except- 
 ing our own small party moving slowly on. Not even a little bird chirped 
 on the bushes near us, but the harsh scream of the guagua, or maccaw, 
 was sometimes heard, resounding at such a distance as only added to the 
 dreary impression of solitude. In the afternoon we arrived at the village of 
 Huchiquitlan, not above two or three leagues from our last resting-place. 
 As it was Sunday, all the inhabitants of the environs were, according to cus- 
 tom, collected in the plaza, or market-place, in front of the little church, 
 trafficking in their fruits and vegetables, and such pedlary articles as are 
 usually exhibited at these weekly markets or fairs. The only fruit, how- 
 ever, which I remarked was a few plantains, apparently brought from a dis- 
 tance. We met a good woman here who lived at a place called Colouacan, 
 about a league farther on our road ; and being anxious to proceed as far as 
 possible, she promised to give us a shelter there. We found Colouacan to 
 consist of half a dozen huts, of which hers was the largest and best. The 
 family consisted of a fine young woman, two little girls under twelve, and 
 two children. The girls struck me as lovely specimens of the Spanish 
 Creole race. The Spaniards themselves whom I met with in Mexico are in 
 general of a harsh and dry exterior, while the pure Indian shows a dull, 
 broad set of features, somewhat resembling those of an Esquimaux, and re- 
 pulsive to a European. The race sprung from these different sources, how- 
 ever, is possessed of greater attractions. Black eyes, very long lashes, and 
 good teeth, are found not unfrequently united to an oval countenance, deck- 
 ed with fine and flowing hair. Their charms also ripen more rapidly than in 
 northern climates ; and even children are distinguished by a pensive ex- 
 pression of features, and signs of maturity, the contrast of which to their 
 light, infantine figures, renders their appearance peculiarly interesting. An 
 European who looks at them, may sometimes forget the absence of that de- 
 licacy of skin, and beauty of complexion, which a torrid climate can seldom 
 boast. Their prematurity, however, is balanced by as early a decay, to which 
 the heating nature of their food, always seasoned with chili, and the char- 
 coal fumes with which their habitations are filled, may, perhaps, contribute 
 as much as the climate. With the evening, arrived at our hut a young fel- 
 
 * Concluded from page 162. 
 
244 A Tour in Mexico in 1827. 
 
 low, husband of the eldest daughter, and apparently lately married, which I 
 suppose occasioned the allotment to them of a separate division of the hut, 
 but did not prevent our sharing it for that night. The trouble and incon- 
 venience thus imposed by our visit on this goodnatured family was not sub- 
 mitted to by them from a desire of gain. They asked only four rials (two 
 shillings English) for our accommodation, including a fowl, with tortillas 
 and frijoles, dressed for our supper, and a plentiful supply of milk in the 
 morning. We had also brought a stock of chocolate from Huchiquitlan, 
 which is one of the main resources of the traveller in Mexico. 
 
 18th. On leaving Colouacan, we ascended a long, steep hill by a road which 
 looked like a ditch dug out in the wet clayey soil. It was so deep arid nar- 
 row as quite to exclude the rays of the sun, and prevent any view of the sur- 
 rounding country. The sides were consequently always dripping, like those 
 of a cavern, the moisture from which found its way downwards in a small 
 dribbling rill between our feet. One of the baggage mules a little in advance 
 of our party, made a violent effort to mount a gap on one side, but tumbling 
 back, rolled over several times, and I thought would not have stopped till it 
 had overturned all in the rear, and sent us rolling down the hill together. 
 After toiling great part of the day up this tedious ascent, we reached Agua- 
 catlan, a small village, prettily situated in a valley fringed with spreading 
 trees. We rested here an hour or two, but could find no person who under- 
 stood, or would appear to understand a word of Spanish. The only answer 
 to our inquiries for some articles of sustenance was " Amounka, amounka ;" 
 equivalent to the Spanish " No hay '' (there is none), so often encountered 
 in this country. Any intimations of a disposition to enter the huts of these 
 harmless, but extremely timorous people, filled them with dismay. One 
 might have imagined that the invasions and oppressions of Cortez and his 
 followers were still fresh in their recollections, and that the impressions then 
 made unfavourable to the European character, had descended to them by 
 tradition, with little diminution from subsequent opportunities of intercourse. 
 At length, by the mediation of our Arriero, who knew something of the In- 
 dian language, we gained admission into one of their huts, where we got some 
 eggs boiled, and a pot of some kind of young greens. This last was a very 
 great treat to us ; and the good people, who, now that we were quietly seated 
 among them, laid aside their alarm, showed more amusement than disappro- 
 bation at the eagerness with which we appropriated what they had prepared 
 for themselves. Our road to Calnales, another village, two leagues farther 
 on, was tolerably level and good. Here we were introduced to a large public 
 apartment as our place of lodging, the mud floor of which, though rather un- 
 even, was swept clean. Adjoining was the prison, but untenanted ; and in 
 front, across a small plaza, a neat little chapel. In expectation of our 
 supper, it was delightful to ramble among the beautiful orange trees sur- 
 rounding every house. The fruit was fine, and almost as numerous as the 
 leaves, but so green as not yet to be distinguished from them by colour. 
 The village and valley are overlooked by a remarkable rock, called the 
 Aguila, which struck me by its resemblance, though on a smaller scale, to the 
 Ailsa rock on the coast of Scotland. 
 
 1 9th. For our supper of the preceding night, consisting of three fowls, with 
 the usual accompaniments of frijoles and tortillas, we paid only seven 
 rials (three shillings and sixpence), and left Calnales highly pleased with the 
 friendly and simple manners of its nearly Indian population. I could not 
 help remarking to-day what seemed at first an army of small green insects, 
 of the most various and fantastic shapes, but all crossing in the same direc- 
 tion the path we were pursuing. On examination, I found them to be ants, 
 carrying every one a piece of the same kind of green leaf, large enough com- 
 pletely to cover and conceal their bodies. Ludicrous as the comparison may 
 seem, I was irresistibly reminded of " Birnam wood marching to Dunsinane." 
 I killed with my sword a snake lying asleep on the point of a rock, close to my 
 path. It was rather longer and more slender than a European viper, and of a 
 bright green colour. We catered to-day the district of La Mesa, or Table Land, 
 
A Tour in Mexico in 1827. 245 
 
 where the country, though flat, is still picturesque and well-wooded. We pass- 
 ed two small villages, but without stopping, till we reached Mexatlan, by far 
 the worst quarters we were thrown in during our journey. Before arriving 
 there, we saw a mountain, near which we passed, literally on fire. The 
 grass and brushwood at its base having been ignited, according to the usual 
 method in these parts of clearing the ground for cultivation, the flame had 
 communicated itself, and the whole hill was blazing upwards like one im- 
 mense bonfire, which even by daylight presented a splendid spectacle. At 
 Mexatlan we could discover only three dirty, miserable huts, at some dis- 
 tance from the road, concealed among thick foliage. Here it was with 
 grudging that they bestowed on us a draught of water ; and though we saw 
 no few poultry around us, we were peremptorily denied any thing to satisfy 
 our hunger. *The manners of the inhabitants were such, that I could not but 
 say to myself, if these were fair specimens of the natives as found by the first 
 invaders, they might be excused for all the cruelties inflicted on them, We 
 deemed it advisable, however, to confine ourselves to more gentle methods, 
 and the sight of some silver was the prevailing argument which at length in- 
 duced them to part with a young turkey to us. Having paid the money, we 
 were allowed to enter the huts, but were quickly driven out again by the 
 stench and filth, which corresponded perfectly with their exterior appear- 
 ance and that of their tenants. Neither was the courtesy we experienced 
 from the female inmates of these dwellings such as to tempt us to prolong 
 our stay in them. I had summoned all my gallantry on entering in the hope 
 of softening the heart of a good dame who sat toasting tortillas: but she 
 either did not understand my fine speeches, or was unwilling to waste her 
 own in reply. Losing patience at last, I snatched up one of her cakes, at 
 which she uttered the most dissonant scream, and had I not made good my 
 retreat in the most hasty manner possible, would, I fear, have knocked me 
 down with one of the stones she used in kneading them. There was even 
 here a person calling himself Alcalde, who sold me for a rial his wand of 
 office, the necessary appendage of that authority. We were obliged to lay 
 our beds in a ruined cattle-shed, with little covering left overhead, and 
 plenty of mud beneath. Here we were chiefly tormented by the sharp bites 
 of a winged insect, which I never met with elsewhere. It seemed a very di- 
 minutive beetle, not much larger than a flea, and black in colour ; which, 
 burying half its body in the flesh, left a bloody mark that itched for days 
 after. In this situation, the only alleviating circumstance was the natural 
 beauty of the spot. We were surrounded by orange and lime-trees of every 
 different species, and above all the high citron-tree, whose fruit had already 
 acquired that magnificent size and pale golden colour which .entitle it the 
 fairest of fruit/' 
 
 20th. We started earlier than usual this morning, glad to leave our un- 
 pleasant quarters. Our road still lay over La Mesa, and, though less grand, 
 the scenery was equally romantic, and presented a greater diversity of animal 
 and vegetable life. Our path often resembled the close smooth walk through 
 a^shrubbery, edged with the most beautiful and curious shrubs and plants. 
 The bird called in Mexico the calandria, often darted before us, display- 
 ing in its colours the contrast of the brightest orange to the deepest jet. 
 The beautiful cardinal, all red, even to the hue of its bill, frequently on 
 some bush not far off charmed us as well by its note as its plumage. I 
 should in vain attempt to describe the endless and gaudy variety of butter- 
 flies that floated in the air around us. Yet the most brilliant of these did 
 not surpass a large species of dragon fly, some of which had a yellow, 
 others an azure spot at the tip of each of their four wings. The texture of 
 the wings being transparent, these colours, when in quick motion, are the 
 only part visible, and playing around the body produce a magical effect. We 
 crossed in the morning with some difficulty, and not without a wetting, a 
 broad swift stream of water ; and were not a little pleased to meet on the 
 other side a party of Arrieros with loaded mules, which seemed to indicate 
 that we were once more entered on a somewhat frequented path. They in- 
 
246 A Tour in Mexico in 1827. 
 
 quired anxiously concerning the depth of the stream we had just crossed. 
 We rested at noon at a small neat village called Clapesco, three leagues from 
 Mexatlan. On comparison of the two places, we were struck, as we had 
 heen on more than one former occasion, at the partial and capricious spread 
 of civilization in the country through which we were travelling. No- 
 thing could surpass the clean and cheerful looks of all the family in whose 
 cottage we stopped to refresh ourselves. We saw here, for the first time, that 
 troublesome insect the garrapata, which we had been taught by report to hold 
 in so much dread. It resembles a bug in size and shape, but is of a light brown 
 colour. Like a tick, it is accustomed to fix itself fast into the flesh, so that 
 the head will often remain when the body is removed : but the application 
 of a lighted segar, in the first instance, will speedily make it let go its hold. 
 As we approached the coast, we found them literally swarming in the long 
 grass and low shrubs, from which, with great speed, they transfer themselves 
 to the animal, and thence to the person of the traveller. Between Clapesco 
 and another village, called Aguatipan, distant five or six leagues, we passed 
 through a grove of plantains on the bank of the river, the main channel 
 of the streams from the mountains, to which our road had again brought us. 
 The freshness of the shade afforded by these gigantic plants is truly delicious. 
 The fruit, which hung down in enormous clusters towards us, was out of 
 our reach even on horseback. But it was green, being usually gathered in 
 that state to ripen. At the entrance of Aguatipan I observed a young ne- 
 gress, almost the only one I ever saw in the interior of Mexico. Her sym- 
 metry was admirable, and the bright deep hue of her skin lost nothing by 
 comparison with the dull brown colour of the Indians. The houses are 
 prettily disposed round an oval level space, skirted with trees. The huts 
 themselves, much prettier than those we had hitherto met with, being built 
 wholly of cane, and thatched with the leaves of the palm. Of similar ma- 
 terials are constructed a bed and table ; and often seats in front of the habi- 
 tation, under a verandah of the same work. The perfect uniformity and 
 simplicity of these abodes produce a pleasing effect. Their inhabitants, in- 
 deed, were not much disposed to pay any attention to strangers, and our 
 company was rather suffered than welcomed. Thus we were disappointed 
 of our supper, but much pleased with our lodging, in a large shed, the lower 
 part of which was intended as a shelter for cattle, but the upper part, sepa- 
 rated by a layer of reeds, at a good distance from the ground, formed a com- 
 fortable kind" of loft for our beds. 
 
 2 1 st. We entered this morning on a marshy country, in which we found 
 the mosquitoes very numerous, though not so indefatigable as we were after- 
 wards doomed to experience them. Proceeding about a league, we came to 
 the river of which I have already spoken, over which we were ferried in a 
 canoe, formed of the hollowed trunk of a large tree. Although the stream 
 was scarcely one hundred yards broad, the crossing it was attended with 
 much delay, it being necessary entirely to unload the horses and mules, and 
 take across the baggage in the canoe at several turns. The animals them- 
 selves are transported by a rope fastened round their necks and held by some 
 person in the canoe, by which, being dragged into the water, they are guided 
 across. We reached in the afternoon Puerta del Calabozo, a village three or 
 four leagues farther on, where we had again to cross the river ; but finding 
 the difficulties of embarkation still greater than in the morning, resolved to 
 defer it till next day. This was evidently a very unhealthy spot. The 
 ground was so swampy that it was hardly possible to pass from any one hut 
 to another, without stepping in mud up to the ancles. Necessity, however, 
 at first, and afterwards curiosity, prompted us to penetrate to the interior of 
 several, which we found in a sad sickly state. Many were the deplorable 
 objects, wasted away to pale skeletons, apparently in the last stage of viru- 
 lent fever. We considered these as symptoms of our entrance on the 
 dreaded region of the yellow-fever, and feared that we should find similar or 
 progressively worse ones, throughout our progress to the coast, always the 
 worst seat of infection. But these apprehensions proved happily unfounded. 
 
A Tour in Mexico in 1827. 247 
 
 though increased at the time by the gloomy predictions of the poor sufferers 
 here. Every one seemed either under the influence of sickness, or of a sul- 
 len, silent melancholy, inspired by the dread of it. We hired an empty 
 house at a dollar the night, which the owner, a sulky old woman, exacted in 
 advance, observing that she had been once cheated by some of our country- 
 men. It was not till after several rebuffs that we prevailed on her to get 
 something for our supper ; but I fancied that she had been soured by the loss 
 of some or all of her relatives, for the poor soul seemed quite alone and com- 
 fortless. Some milk which we obtained here had such a peculiar flavour as 
 to induce me to content myself with a very moderate draught. 
 
 22d. It rained heavily, to complete the inconvenience of our passage in a 
 leaky canoe. The natives who assisted commented on this as the attendant 
 of a sickly season. Not more than three leagues on the other side of the 
 stream, we came to Tantayouca ; the first place deserving the name of a 
 town that we had met with since Zacualtipan, where we turned out of the 
 main road, which we had just re-entered. Although we had made but half a 
 day's journey, we felt constrained to halt on finding ourselves once more 
 among houses built of stone, and shops furnished with European articles. 
 The town is not large, but cheerful ; and, as we did not see any symptoms of 
 sickness, so neither did we find any gloomy forebodings of it. The school- 
 piaster of the place very politely resigned to us his own apartment, adjoin- 
 ing the public school-room. This, indeed, was rather a noisy neighbourhood, 
 the boys bawling out their lessons all at once, on what, 1 believe, is called 
 the Lancasterian system. 
 
 We spent most of the evening in conversation with the master, Don Ma- 
 nuel Manso, a person of more intelligence than had lately fallen in our way. 
 He affirmed the Holy Alliance (Santa Liga) to be "una conspiracion con- 
 tra las luces del siglo." Of his own countrymen he spoke in general as an 
 unenlightened set, and was evidently desirous to convince us of his own par- 
 ticular superiority. The luxury of a clean tablecloth and a silver fork was 
 not the less appreciated by us here, from our preceding meals having been for 
 some time eaten merely with the aid of our fingers. 
 
 23d. Soon after leaving Tantayouca, the road enters on groves of palm- 
 trees, extending in every direction as far as the eye can reach. This view, 
 though novel and striking at first, soon acquires a character of sameness from 
 the uniformity of their round tops and straight trunks. About mid-day we 
 stopped to luncheon at a few huts called Les Huevos. The inmates of one 
 of these, a middle-aged matron and her young daughter, were both very 
 lively in conversation, and showed great briskness at a repartee, which we 
 attributed to their frequent intercourse with passengers in this part of the 
 road. We saw only a few more huts, at a short distance from the road, and 
 none of such an appearance as to tempt us to approach them till we reached, 
 just before nightfall, Los Alacranes, nearly four leagues farther on. This is 
 a rancho, or small farm, comprising two or three dwellings, inhabited by a 
 numerous family. For our bed-room we were accommodated with a loft, 
 such as 1 have described on a former occasion. 
 
 24th. The same scenery as yesterday : a flat uninteresting country, with 
 palm-trees. After proceeding between two and three leagues, we again 
 crossed the river in a canoe, at a place called Chiquian. Here were a few 
 habitations where we could obtain nothing eatable but some young palm-tree 
 hearts ; which, when newly cut, are as sweet and crisp as a chesnut ; and, 
 stewed, form a wholesome and savoury dish. A little farther on, at the 
 larger village of Tanceme, we were saluted from the mouths of a hundred 
 dogs at once. It is not the custom of this country to destroy any part of a 
 litter, so that almost every house harbours a little pack of these animals, 
 which fly out and bark with the utmost fury at passengers, but never bite. 
 In the interior many betake themselves to the mountains, where they herd 
 with the jackalls, and, I believe, intermix their breed with them. Here 
 they are used to rouse the jaguar, or, as it is usually called, the tiger of Ame- 
 rica. This animal, which is of rather a torpid nature, when disturbed by their 
 
248 A Tour in Mexico in 1827. 
 
 barking, instead of turning on his hunters, is apt to seek refuge in a palm- 
 tree, where they have a good opportunity of shooting it. The ocelot, or 
 Mexican cat, called by the natives tigrillo, is also found in these palm- 
 forests. I procured a skin of each kind. That of the jaguar measured 
 about five feet, and its tail two more, and resembles the leopards of the old 
 continent. The ocelot is not above half the size, but its fur is much finer 
 beautifully marked along the back and sides with dark stripes, and its belly 
 white with a sprinkling of little black spots. This species was represented 
 to me as more fierce and ravenous than the other, but neither will often at- 
 tack man, if not provoked. We passed no more habitations till we reached, 
 at sunset, the rancho of Canchegil, having journeyed in the day about 
 eight leagues. The family here was small, and in a state of great poverty. 
 Our supper consisted of a dish of " carne charqueada," charqued, or, as the 
 Americans of the United States term it, "j irked" beef. A lump of meat is 
 sliced round, somewhat as one would pare an apple, in stripes not exceeding 
 half an inch in thickness, but extending several yards in length. These are 
 hung up to dangle and dry in the sun. They thus become rather hard, but 
 that fault is remedied by an immoderate quantity of lard used in stewin^ 
 them. The want of a candle was here poorly supplied by a slip of rag dipped 
 in some kind of grease : this being ignited, flamed for a minute or two, and 
 gave us an opportunity of casting a glance around the loft in which our beds 
 were laid. There was great difficulty, however, in holding this flimsy torch 
 so as to keep the lighted end uppermost, and not burn one's fingers. Hear- 
 ing a rustling in the thatch over my head, I looked up and saw, just above, a 
 scorpion, startled probably by the blaze, winding his bloated body and long 
 train from among the palm-leaves. The light went out just as I had dis- 
 covered the character of this disagreeable guest. I was rather alarmed, 
 never having in the interior seen any of half the size of this, which was, I 
 suppose, four inches in length. But the sting even of these large ones, as I 
 have since witnessed, though indeed exquisitely painful, is by no means fatal. 
 25th. Our mules taking fright and starting off at full speed as soon as 
 loaded, in quite a different direction from that which we intended, gave us a 
 long chase after them. One bore on his back a young parrot, of a small green 
 species (cotorra), crimson on the top of the head and around the bill, which 
 I had bought the day before for four rials. It was, as may be supposed, soon 
 dislodged from its post in the race, and did not again make its appearance. 
 After travelling a league or two, we found ourselves obliged to ford a large 
 pool or lake- The water was very muddy, notwithstanding which I could not 
 resist the temptation of cooling my limbs in it. Near at hand were a few 
 huts, in one of which we found a d'elicious refreshment in some acoque, or 
 sour milk. ] obtained here for a couple of dollars two young parrots of 
 the species called loro : green like the cotorra, but larger, and having 
 orange on the crest and throat instead of crimson. Thousands of both kinds 
 were continually flying and screaming around us among the palms through 
 which we were still travelling, and in which they build their nests. Ere we 
 reached the resting-place for the night, the scenery assumed a more diversi- 
 fied appearance, being very fertile and well-wooded with trees of various 
 descriptions. We slept at a solitary rancho, named El Paso de Mayo, 
 which is only at a short day's journey from the coast and the town of Tam- 
 pico. We found, on arriving, only one woman, who repulsed our addresses 
 with much discourtesy. But on her husband's return from the labours of 
 the day, her demeanour suddenly changed, and she proceeded to cook for us 
 a supper of (C carne charqueada," and supplied us also with a little aguar- 
 diente, attending us in the most obliging manner. Hence it was evident 
 that her previously impolite behaviour had been but the effect of her appre- 
 hensions of us as strangers, in the unprotected state in which she was then 
 left. Here were some cattle beset in a most frightful manner by a species 
 of garrapata, different from that which attaches itself to man, and of the 
 size of a common English beetle. The ears and other parts of horses and 
 cows, were literally filled with them. In a division of the hut in which, 
 
A Tour in Mexico in 1827. 249 
 
 separate from the rest of its tenants, we stretched our mattresses, I ob- 
 served on the walls several spiders of marvellous dimensions. They do not 
 appear to use webs either for prey or security, but trust for both to the 
 speed of their long legs. One of these was holding crunched in his pincers, 
 a cock-roach nearly the size of a man's thumb, and that with the utmost 
 apparent sang froid. A blow which I made at him, he eluded with the 
 quickness of lightning, and in a moment gained some remote part of the 
 dwelling. I was told that they will sometimes bite people when asleep, out 
 of mere " malicia," causing much pain and inflammation. Just as we had 
 betaken ourselves to rest, a party arrived, principally of women, " flying 
 from the pest," as they termed it. They gave the most dire accounts of the 
 raging of the black vomit at Tampico, magnifying, as is usual, the dangers 
 from which they had themselves escaped. 
 
 26th. Though this day was to end our journey and its attendant priva- 
 tions, yet we may be pardoned if we were, in the course of it, somewhat 
 affected by the uncheering reports of the preceding night. We met a good 
 
 many travellers on the road from the coast, all whom our imagination repre- 
 sented as " flying from the pest," like those of the evening before. Soon 
 
 j_, ^ j c? y " % 
 
 gave it to an old lady, who seemed struck with its abstemious qualities, and 
 in whose keeping I will answer for it that it ate nothing afterwards. Before 
 we reached the new town of Tampico, the sandy soil and freshening breeze 
 gave signs of our approaching the sea-shore. On gaining the top of a hill, 
 we saw the town lying close before us, and had at the same time a full view 
 of the ocean. I never felt so much ecstasy at seeing land after a long voy- 
 age by sea, as now, at the first glimpse of that beautiful element, after seve- 
 ral years' confinement to the interior of a foreign and barbarous land. There 
 is to an Englishman a feeling of national pride connected with the sight, as 
 well as the recollection of former pleasures. The new town, or rather vil- 
 lage, of Tampico, is still at two leagues to the interior of Pueblo Viejo, or 
 Old Town. The former is composed entirely of habitations of one story, 
 roofed with tejamanil, and inhabited principally by those who supply the 
 markets of Pueblo Viejo de Tampico. We reached the latter early in the 
 afternoon, thus having travelled about two hundred miles in thirteen days. 
 This is a large and respectable town, with some handsome buildings and 
 many good shops. Of these, several were kept by Germans. They com- 
 plained that trade had been almost entirely transferred to a third town, 
 Tampico de Tamaulipas, on the opposite bank of the Rio Tampico, which is 
 here about a league across. This is of equal population (near three thou- 
 sand), but not so substantially built as the other. It has, indeed, only 
 sprung up within the last three years ; the site having been fixed on as more 
 convenient for trade, and somewhat nearer the mouth of the river. Its dis- 
 tance from the Bar is about seven miles. It was supposed also that the 
 ground being a little higher would prove more healthy ; but I doubt greatly 
 if it has been found so. The houses are less crowded together ; but the vi- 
 cinity of an immense marsh more than balances that and its other advan- 
 tages. After a heavy fall of rain, it is accustomed to emit intolerable 
 effluvia ; and one night while I remained there, turned all silver articles and 
 utensils quite black, requiring repeated frictions to restore their original 
 colour. Houses newly whitewashed at the same time became perfectly yel- 
 low. The river between the two towns is choked in many places by small 
 islets, which add to its beauty, though they impede its navigation. They 
 abound with a great variety of cranes and other birds. Of these, the soft 
 tinge of the rose-coloured spoonbill is extremely beautiful. We did not see 
 BO much cause for alarm from sickness on the coast as we had anticipated. 
 Yet we were still very anxious to sail, as, in addition to the risk, the mos- 
 quitoes, sand-flies, jiggers, and many other plagues, combined to render our 
 situation at best very uncomfortable. We were so unfortunate, however, as 
 March. VOL. xxv. No. XC1X. s 
 
250 The Prediction. 
 
 to be detained at Pueblo Viejo and Tamaulipas three weeks for want of a 
 vessel, Tampico being yet but a small trading-port. During this period, 
 many persons were with great suddenness taken off by the vomito: 
 among others, the captain of a vessel in which I had engaged a passage, a 
 cause of my farther detention. This poor man, who died after a few hours' 
 sickness, was, a few hours after his burial, dug up again by the natives ; a 
 liberty which these good Christians seldom scruple to take with the bodies 
 of heretics, unless properly watched. Their motives are, partly a love of 
 mischief, and partly a desire for the grave-clothes. The great "evils to be 
 avoided for the preservation of health are, exposure to the beams of the 
 sun, and any violent exertion either of body or mind. The game of billiards 
 is a great resource, as affording a pleasing recreation to both, without fa- 
 tiguing either. Accordingly, nothing is so universal. Among the worst 
 -foes are the mosquitoes and sand-flies, whose attacks, depriving their victim 
 of his nightly rest, are often the primary causes of fevers. The croak, or 
 rather roar, of the bull-frogs from the neighbouring marsh has, 1 think, like 
 the cawing of rooks, a soothing effect, and rather tends to invite slumber; 
 but this opinion of mine is, I dare say, singular. Lemonade, of which I 
 drank great quantities, is, I suppose, of service in keeping the body cool ; 
 and I never felt the prickly heat. Having embarked at last on board a small 
 American schooner bound to New York, I found the accommodations so bad 
 that I ere long repented my too great haste, and wished I had remained even 
 at Tampico, till a more favourable opportunity. Hi. 
 
 THE PREDICTION. 
 
 YES, wreathe thy golden locks, fair Maid, 
 
 Yes, deck thy blooming bower, 
 And tune thy lute, though clouds invade, 
 
 And gathering tempests lower. 
 
 The storm will come, thy flowers shall die, 
 
 Thy lute's sweet strings be rent, 
 And thou shalt view their wreck, yet sigh 
 
 O'er them no fond lament. 
 For he, the loved, the cherish'd youth, 
 
 For whom thou bidst them smile, 
 Ere then, shall own his changeful truth, 
 
 And .tell thee of his guile. 
 Poor trusting Maid ! thy falling tears 
 
 Too soon will mix with mine ; 
 I weep to think how sad appears 
 
 The fate of thee and thine. 
 'Thy speech can like thy lute delight 
 
 With music sweet and rare, 
 The roses on thy cheek are bright, 
 
 As those upon thy hair. 
 
 Yet what, alas ! in one short hour, 
 
 Will this gay scene impart ? 
 A broken lute a blighted bower 
 
 A torn and bleeding heart ! 
 
 M. A. 
 
New Mont lilt/ Magazine. 3 
 
 again. So also it is a point of policy in the editor of a magazine, when 
 he breaks up a long article, "to choose that precise paragraph at which 
 the reader will not reply to his To be continued "Who cares?" or 
 " No more of that, Hal, if thou lovest me," but shall be agonized with 
 impatience for the rest, and call upon the gods to annihilate both time 
 and space, and to drive the moon through her lunation, as if she was 
 one of the Melton hunt, or a member of the four-in-hand. 
 
 These cases, however, are riot by any means parallel ; for what 
 would an audience say, if, at the end of a fourth act, a gentleman, 
 dressed in a full suit of black with a cocked hat under his arm, should 
 step forward with a supplicating "Ladies and gentlemen," and dismiss 
 the house with a reference for the rest of the play, like a justice's mit- 
 timus, to the end of " one calendar month ?" Wits, you know, on 
 the other hand, have short memories, and the preceding number of a 
 magazine is not always within reach to refresh our recollections ; so 
 that " Continued from our last" is often little better than an invitation 
 to skip the article. Therefore once more, Mr. Editor, I thank you, for 
 myself and the public, for abstaining as much as possible from this 
 provoking practice of your rival contemporaries. 
 
 There is something in the very essence of a Magazine peculiarly 
 congenial to my disposition, which from the cradle was discursive and 
 miscellaneous. I never could believe that the human mind was formed 
 to be tied down for ever to one subject ; nay, not even to be trusted 
 with an entire pursuit, but to be confined like a pin-maker's journey- 
 man either to heads or points ; 1 ever thought the 
 
 JEthereum sensum atque aurai simplicis ignem 
 
 was created to expatiate at large through the wide fields of nature 
 and of science, 
 
 From grave to gay, from lively to severe, 
 
 and, in short, to embrace the " omne cognoscibile ;" to which nothing 
 is more conducive than the reading your Magazine. Magazines hold 
 that just medium between occupation and amusement, study and dis- 
 sipation, which redeems the labour of learning, and avoids the reproacli 
 of idleness ; and really, Mr. Editor, I must say you have as agreeable 
 a variety, and as charming a list of contributors, as a reader could 
 wish. What a funny fellow is "Peter Pindarics!" How agreeable 
 the " Campaigning Cornet!" "Lips and Kissing" set one's mouth 
 watering. " Grimm's Ghost," like all his family, grim or ghost, is 
 truly delectable. I say nothing of your own contributions, to save 
 your modesty a blush ; but Don Leucadio was delicious though, be- 
 tween you and me, is he not a bit of a Radical, or a Carbonaro, or some 
 such thing ? His dislike of Inquisitions makes him suspected of being 
 suspicious. I hope he is gone to Spain for more news of his interesting 
 curate. I wish also your " Silent River" would murmur once more : 
 he flows with so sweet and melancholy a movement, that all your 
 readers must cry out " That strain again." 
 
 " Select Company" is a most choice article ; the " Reflections on a 
 Plum-pudding" are very relishing ; the " Bachelor's Thermometer" 
 was well graduated; the " Land of Promise," a land of performance ; 
 and your " One-handed Flute-player," quite an ambidexter. Ccetera 
 quid referem ! where all excel, it is useless to particularize ; but there 
 is one of your correspondents for whose signature I always look with 
 
 B 2 
 
4 New Monthly Magazine. 
 
 a singular earnestness for I am never disappointed, when I find M, 
 at the end of an article. I hope I am not alone in my partiality for 
 that writer ; for whether he"favours us with verse or prose I am equally 
 prepared to admire his wit, and to venerate the deep thought which 
 that wit involves. With this lively interest in your Magazine and its 
 " jolly crew," you may naturally suppose I am all ears whenever the 
 subject is started; and I heartily wish the space which I propose to oc- 
 cupy with the present article, would allow me to mention the half of 
 what I have heard. 
 
 First, Sir, you are to know that the New Monthly Magazine is con- 
 ducted with avast deal of spirit, very lively and wittily written, but 
 as dull as an oyster ; devilish clever, but d d stupid ; full of variety, 
 with too much sameness ; in most extensive circulation, but does 
 not sell. (G d help Mr. Colburn, then, " Thinks f to myself" for he 
 must soon be ruined.) Mr. Campbell's Lectures are the only things 
 worth reading in the book ; but what is Greek literature to us ? There's 
 nothing amusing but Grimm's Ghost, except Peter Pindarics and the 
 Irish Bar. Doblado's Letters are highly interesting by the air of 
 verity they possess, though they are evidently fictitious, and not a 
 word of them true. The great merit of the publication is, that it does 
 not meddle with politics ; but it is too decidedly a Tory work, the 
 editor is a reputed Whig, and half the contributors downright Radicals. 
 The public rejoice that the editor is no saint, but they would like the 
 publication much better if it were a shade more " Serious." One 
 gentleman asks for a series of geological essays, one wishes for a paper 
 on the millennium, and another would be delighted to know the mean- 
 ing of the hieroglyphics on the tomb in the British Museum. There 
 is " a constant reader" who thinks it does not " look like a magazine" 
 for want of double columns ; and two maiden ladies, with whom I 
 sometimes drink tea, would think much better of the publication if it 
 were stitched in a blue cover. 
 
 These, Sir, are some of the lights I have collected concerning your 
 Magazine, and the manner in which it is conducted ; and I doubt not 
 that your good sense and discrimination will enable you to profit by 
 the information I thus afford. I rely with confidence on your candour 
 in appreciating the industry with which I have gleaned, and the sim- 
 plicity with which I have communicated these fruits of my research. 
 So with a parting " Floreat seternum" I take my leave, subscribing 
 myself your admirer and friend, M. 
 
 SKETCH OF THE POLITICAL CAREER OF SIMON BOLIVAR, 
 President of the Republic of Colombia. 
 
 SIMON BOLIVAR, commander-in-chief of the Independent forces of 
 Venezuela, and president of the Colombian republic, is descended 
 from a family of distinction at Caracas, where he was born about the 
 year 1785. He was one of the few natives of the Spanish colonies 
 who were formerly permitted to visit Europe. After finishing his stu- 
 dies at Madrid, he went to France, and, during his stay at Paris, ren- 
 dered himself an acceptable guest in its social circles by the amenity 
 of his manners and his other personal recommendations; in the midst, 
 however, of all its distractions, his strong and ardent imagination an- 
 ticipated the task which the future fortunes of his country might im- 
 
Political Career of Simon Bolivar. 5 
 
 * V 
 
 pose upon him, and even in his twenty-third year, he contemplated 
 the establishment of her independence. Whilst he was at Paris, 
 Bolivar's favourite and principal occupation was the study of those 
 branches of science which belong to the formation of a warrior and 
 statesman ; and he was anxious to form such connexions as might give 
 a more perfect direction to his hopes and views. Humboldt and 
 Bompland were his intimate friends, and accompanied him in his travels 
 in France : nor did he think he had learned enough until he had tra- 
 versed England, Italy, and a part of Germany. On his return to 
 Madrid, he married the Marquis of Ulstariz's daughter ; and shortly 
 afterwards, went back to America, where he arrived at the very moment 
 when his fellow-countrymen, who were wearied with the oppressions of 
 the Spanish government, had determined to unfurl the standard of in- 
 dependence. The talents, rank, and acquirements of Bolivar pointed 
 him out as the worthiest and best qualified among them to be placed 
 at the helm ; but he disapproved of the system adopted by the Congress 
 of Venezuela, and refused to join Don Lopez Mendez in his mission 
 to England, which was connected with the interests of the new govern- 
 ment. Bolivar even declined any direct connexion with it, though he 
 continued a stanch friend to his country's liberties. 
 
 In March 1812, an earthquake devastated the whole province, and 
 among other places, destroyed the city of Caracas, together with its 
 magazines and munitions of war. Fresh troubles followed this ca- 
 tastrophe, in which twenty thousand persons lost their lives ; but its 
 most disastrous result was, that it became a rallying point for the 
 priesthood, and facilitated their endeavours to bring back a consider- 
 able portion of their superstitious flocks to the ancient order of things. 
 In their hands, the earthquake became a token of the Divine wraith, 
 and, indeed, it was so manifest a token, as they alleged, of the indig- 
 nation of Heaven, that the anniversary of the insurrection was the 
 chosen day of its occurrence. The credulous mind was disconcerted 
 and overwhelmed by these insidious representations; dissension en- 
 feebled the Independents ; and a succession of disasters overtook them 
 on the approach of the Spanish general, Monteverde, who lost no time 
 in attacking them whilst labouring under these disadvantages. Bolivar 
 hastened to join Miranda, who had fought in the ranks of the 
 French revolutionists under Dumourier, and had already unsheathed 
 his sword in the cause of freedom. But Miranda's efforts were un- 
 successful, and he was obliged to retreat as far as Vittoria. Bolivar 
 himself was unfortunate in his first attempts. He had obtained the 
 governorship of Puerto Cabello, in conjunction with the rank of co- 
 lonel ; but was compelled to evacuate this place, in order to save it 
 from the destruction which impended over it, in consequence of the 
 revolt of his prisoners, who had made themselves masters of its citadel 
 and well-supplied ramparts. The loss of so important a position was 
 deeply felt by the Independent army, though it did not weaken Bo- 
 livar's ascendancy. The Congress of New Grenada gave him the com- 
 mand of a corps of six thousand men, which he led across the moun- 
 tains of Tunza and Pamplona to the farthest extremity of New Gre- 
 nada, on the banks of the Tachira. After putting some parties of 
 Royalists to flight, he marched upon Ocana with the view of penetrating 
 on that side into the Venezuelan territory. Rivas, his second in com- 
 mand, having reached him with reinforcements granted by the Con- 
 
6 Political Career of Simon Bolivar. 
 
 gress of New Grenada, he attacked his enemies at Cucuta, routed 
 them, and despatched a detachment towards Guadalito under the orders 
 of Don Nicholas Briceno, who levied more troops in that neighbour- 
 hood, and then proceeded to occupy the province of Barinas. Bolivar, 
 in the mean while, met with fresh successes at Grita, and seized upon 
 the department of Merida : whilst Briceno, being defeated by the 
 Royalists, fell into their power with seven of his officers. This event 
 afforded the Spaniards an opportunity of applying to their own colonies 
 the same horrible system of warfare which they had practised in 
 Europe, under the pretext that every means is allowable to repel ag- 
 gression. Tilear, the governor of Barinas, ordered these prisoners to 
 be shot, together with several other members of families of distinc- 
 tion, who were accused of holding correspondence with the Indepen^ 
 dents. Bolivar, who had hitherto conducted the war with great for- 
 bearance, was inflamed with indignation at these cruelties : he swore 
 to avenge Briceno, his brother in arms, and declared that every 
 Royalist who should fall into his hands should be consigned over to 
 the vengeance of his soldiery. But this spirit of inexorable justice 
 and retaliation ill-accorded with Bolivar's character : the menaces he 
 held out were, we are assured, never realized but on one single occa- 
 sion, and that, indeed, at a time when the safety of his followers ap- 
 pears absolutely to have required it. His army increasing daily, he 
 divided it into two corps, one of which he committed to Rivas ; while, 
 placing himself at the head of the other, he advanced towards Caracas 
 through the districts of Truxillo and Barinas. After several engage- 
 ments, which terminated in their favour, the two commanders were 
 assailed by the flower of Monteverde's troops at Gestaguanes ; and the 
 obstinate encounter which ensued was finally determined by the Spa- 
 nish cavalry, who passed over to the side of the Independents, and thus 
 gave them the victory. Monteverde then shut himself in Puerto Ca- 
 bello with the remains of his army. On the other hand, Bolivar fol- 
 lowed up his success, and invested Caracas, which capitulated by the 
 counsels of a junta suddenly collected. The conditions which he ex- 
 acted were by no means severe : he declared that no one should be mo- 
 lested on account of his political opinions ; and that those who wished 
 to withdraw were at liberty to remove themselves and all they pos- 
 sessed. Whilst Bolivar was entering the place, the governor made his 
 escape, and embarked for La Guyra, leaving fifteen hundred Royalists 
 at the conqueror's mercy. 
 
 Monteverde, spite of the humiliating situation in which he was 
 placed, assumed a tone of arrogance which could not fail to hasten 
 the entire defection of the colonies from the mother-country : he re- 
 fused to ratify the treaty presented to him, and declared " that it was 
 derogatory to the dignity of Spain to treat with these rebels." The 
 disdain which the rebel general displayed was much more in character, 
 for he confined himself to leaving the insult unnoticed. He was re- 
 ceived with great enthusiasm at Caracas on the 4th of August, 1813. 
 
 Marino, another commander, was equally victorious in the eastern 
 provinces ; and the entire region of Venezuela, with the exception of 
 Puerto Cabello, was rescued from the grasp of its oppressors. 
 
 Bolivar, desirous of turning his success to the account of humanity, 
 proposed an exchange of prisoners with Monteverde ; who, regardless 
 
Political Career of Simon Bolivar. 1 
 
 of the disparity of numbers, was unwilling to lower his pride 
 to such a compromise : he preferred applying the reinforcements 
 which had reached him to a fresh assault upon the Independents, at 
 Agua-Caliente. This assault recoiled upon himself : the greater part 
 of his force was destroyed ; he was saved with difficulty from falling 
 into the hands of his enemies, and was carried to Puerto Cabello, se- 
 verely wounded. Bolivar had hoped that this victory would have 
 drawn the calamities of war to a nearer close ; he again sent a flag of 
 truce to the Royalists, accompanied by Salvador Garcia, an individual 
 whose virtuous character entitled him to the esteem of all parties. 
 J3ut Salomon, the new Royalist commander, proved himself to have 
 inherited the impolitic principles and ferocious disposition of his pre- 
 decessor : he ordered the venerable priest to be loaded with irons and 
 cast into a dungeon. It appears as if the Spaniards had been anxious 
 to exasperate men's minds, and aggravate the horrors of a warfare, 
 the principal miseries of which were ultimately doomed to fall on their 
 own heads. Puerto Cabello, being vigorously attacked both by sea 
 and land, was speedily reduced ; an event greatly hastened by D'Eluyar, 
 a young soldier, to whom the Independent general had intrusted the 
 operations of the siege. The citadel, however, refused to capitulate, 
 though it was afflicted with disease, in want of provisions, and without 
 the remotest hope of being relieved. In consequence of its obstinate 
 resistance, Bolivar determined simply to invest it, and was deterred 
 from attempting an assault, which must have proved murderous, and 
 might have miscarried. During this siege, a battalion of the Indepen- 
 dents was attacked by a party of Royalists, and behaved so ill that Bo- 
 livar thought it right to disarm it; but a short time afterwards the 
 battalion, eager to regain its lost credit, armed itself with pikes, and 
 rushing on the enemy, plundered them of their arms and accoutrements, 
 and used them for its own equipment. This achievement signalized 
 the combat of Araure. The whole of the campaign of this season 
 was eminently conducive to the prosperity of the Independent cause. 
 
 The inhabitants of the province of Caracas, as is the case with all 
 infant republics, were extremely jealous of the liberty which it had 
 cost them so many sacrifices to acquire ; their mistrust was roused by 
 the continued dictatorship which was exercised by Bolivar, who dele- 
 gated it to his inferiors, by whom it was abused to a degree which fre- 
 quently redoubled their apprehensions ; and, although he had never 
 himself applied his power improperly, yet his refusal to resign it on 
 the requisition of the Congress of New Grenada engendered a spirit of 
 discontent which met him even in the midst of his own followers. He 
 perceived that this was the proper moment for divesting himself of his 
 authority. A general assembly of the principal civil and military officers 
 was therefore convoked on the 2d January, 1814 ; and in its presence 
 Bolivar was resolved upon renouncing his dictatorial powers ; after 
 rendering a scrupulous account of his operations, as well as of the 
 plans he had deemed it necessary to adopt. His power was tottering ; 
 but this proceeding gave it new vigour. The leading persons of 
 Venezuela, men whose patriotism was above suspicion, Don Carlos 
 Hurlado de Mendoza, governor of Caracas ; Don J. Ch. Rodriguez, 
 president of the municipality ; and the highly respected Don Alzura, 
 sensible" of the necessity which still existed for the tutelary superin- 
 tendence of such a leader as Bolivar, were joined by their colleagues in 
 
8 Political Career of Simon Bolivar. 
 
 soliciting him to continue in the dictatorship, until the province of 
 Venezuela should be united again with New Grenada. 
 
 The Royalist party were, by this time, aware of all the difficulties in 
 which their struggle against the Independent provinces was involved ; 
 and hoping for new allies in the slaves which peopled them, they sent 
 agents secretly among them to organize their irregular bands. Among 
 these emissaries were Palomo, a negro, who was a notorious thief and 
 murderer, and a man of the name of Puy, who was abhorred in every 
 quarter ; in short, the persons pitched upon for the purpose were every 
 way worthy of their mission and the object it proposed. The new 
 plot was revealed to Bolivar by some intercepted despatches ; though 
 it was not in his power wholly to prevent its execution. Any country 
 that has long been the theatre of war, must contain numbers who are 
 ready for plunder and devastation, particularly when they can put on 
 the false mask of a pretended " good cause ;" the activity of the Inde- 
 pendent general did not long permit them to pursue their ill designs 
 with impunity. The execrable Puy, who was far more bloodthirsty 
 than any of his comrades, repaired to Barinas, where, fearing that its 
 inhabitants would rise en masse against him, he seized and shot five 
 hundred of them. The remainder owed their rescue entirely to the 
 sudden appearance of Bolivar on the spot. In a few days the Royalist 
 agent again fell upon the town, and massacred the remnant of his victims. 
 Exasperated by the infamous conduct of his adversaries, Bolivar as- 
 sumed a character totally foreign to his generous principles and habits, 
 and ordered eight hundred Royalists to be shot. This severe retalia- 
 tion occasioned the death of the Independents who were imprisoned in 
 Puerto Cabello ; but whom the Governor had hitherto spared. In the 
 midst of these shocking scenes, Bolivar was eagerly prosecuting 
 a more honourable warfare : he routed one of the principal Royalist 
 commanders near the Tuy, whilst Rivas was obtaining minor advan- 
 tages over the motley horde commanded by Rosette, a mulatto ; and 
 Yanez, a Royalist partisan, was totally defeated at Ospinos, and pe- 
 rished on the field of battle. Rosette, and Boves another Royaliet 
 leader, were not, however, to be discouraged by these reverses ; they 
 were strengthened by considerable reinforcements, and immediately re- 
 sumed the offensive, by marching to Caracas and attacking Bolivar 
 himself. Here he was so ably seconded by Marino and Montilla, that 
 he completely defeated the Royalists at Bocachica ; and being joined 
 by Urdaneta and Morino on the 28th of May, he obtained another signal 
 victory over the Spaniards, who were under the command of the gallant 
 Cagigal. These repeated successes were unfortunately the occasion of 
 disaster to the Independents ; for their over-eagerness in the pursuit 
 of their foes led the respective generals to separate, and Bolivar was 
 consequently attacked in an unfavourable position in the plains of Cura, 
 where the Spanish cavalry had ample space for operations : the Inde- 
 pendents fought manfully for several hours, but were at last obliged to 
 resign the contest. This victory reanimated the hopes of their oppo- 
 nents ; and Cagigal, Boves, and Calzadas, having effected a junction, 
 menaced Marino's division, which was compelled to retreat before far 
 superior numbers into Cumana. The reverses which now attended 
 the Independents' operations led to consequences in the. highest degree 
 disastrous. The people, being deprived of the benefits which induced 
 them to approve or tolerate a military government, began to discern its 
 
Political Career of Simon Bolivar 9 
 
 disadvantages, and were become sensible that the very rapidity of 
 military movements, and the arbitrary measures which follow in their 
 train, were irreconcilable with the spirit of liberty. They soon learned 
 to look upon the ill-success of those who fought in defence of that li- 
 berty with an eye of indifference. These impressions incapaci- 
 tated the Republicans from recruiting their forces at this period. 
 They were obliged to raise the siege of Puerto Cabello and embark 
 for Cumana, where Bolivar arrived with the shattered remnant of his 
 forces. The Spaniards reentered La Guyra and Caracas, and the in- 
 habitants of Valencia, notwithstanding a gallant defence, were forced 
 to- capitulate. The conquerors have been charged with violating the 
 terms of this surrender, and putting the eloquent Espejo and other 
 officers of the garrison to death, after the town had surrendered. A 
 short time before all these reverses, a young man, who was descended 
 from one of the first families of Santa Fe, had hallowed the cause of 
 independence by an act of devotion which is well worthy of being 
 handed down to posterity. Ricante was in command of the fort of 
 San Matteo, and an action was contesting at some distance from 
 it. One of the Royalist chiefs determined to make himself master of 
 the fort, the garrison of which was extremely scanty, and made his way 
 towards it at the head of a strong detachment. Ricante, perceiving 
 that resistance was useless, sent away all his soldiers, who joined their 
 countrymen on the field of battle. The Spaniards, conceiving the fort 
 to be evacuated, entered it without opposition ; but the gallant youth, 
 setting fire to the powder, buried himself and his enemies beneath the 
 ruins of a post which he was unable to defend ! 
 
 It was not in the power of adversity to shake the dauntless patriot- 
 ism of Bolivar ; he reappeared at the head of a considerable force in 
 the province of Barcelona, and was doomed to experience fresh re- 
 verses in the unfortunate conflict of Araguita ; whence his next move- 
 ment was to embark for Carthagena, where he might devise the means 
 of restoring the tottering fortunes of his country. Rivas and Bermu- 
 dez, in the mean while, had taken up positions which enabled them to 
 keep together the troops under their command, and were in a short 
 time joined by many who were determined not to succumb under the 
 Spanish yoke, or were hopeless of escape excepting from the success 
 of a cause which they had openly espoused. Morales and Bovcs made 
 several fruitless attempts to overcome them, until, their ranks being 
 considerably increased, they were in a situation to act with decision ; 
 which they did, by attacking and defeating them at Urica, on the 5th 
 of December, and then occupying Mathurin, which had been the head- 
 quarters of the Independents. Rivas was taken prisoner and shot : 
 whilst Bermudez took refuge in the island of Margarita, where he re- 
 mained until the arrival of the Spanish general Morillo. When the 
 expedition under the orders of this celebrated commander approached 
 to lay siege to Carthagena, Bolivar quitted it, and repaired to Tunja, 
 where the Congress of New Grenada was then sitting. Here he put 
 himself in motion with a few troops, and made himself master of Santa 
 Fe de Bogota ; from whence he marched towards Santa Martha, in 
 his attempt on which he was foiled through the jealousy of Don M, 
 Castillo, the governor of Carthagena. Enraged at the refusal of the 
 reinforcements which the Congress had assigned to him, he was on the 
 eve of entering Carthagena sword in hand, when he found that Mo- 
 
10 Political Career of Simon Bolivar. 
 
 rillo had begun operations against that important post. Bolivar now dis- 
 missed every feeling of resentment from his mind, united his troops to 
 those of the garrison, and set sail for Jamaica, from whence, he trusted, 
 he would be enabled to return with forces adequate to effect the raising 
 of the siege ; but the failure of pecuniary resources crippled his efforts 
 and prevented his arriving in time to save Carthagena from falling into 
 Spanish hands. This place had undergone the most lamentable suf- 
 ferings : and its very conquerors were deeply affected at the misery 
 to which famine and disease had reduced its brave defenders ; who eva- 
 cuated it on the 6th of December, 1815, after spiking the guns, em- 
 barked in thirteen vessels, and, forcing their way through the enemy's 
 gun-boats, made for Aux Cayes. 
 
 The hopes of the Independents seemed now at their last gasp. Their 
 enemies in the old world, the enemies of freedom in all hemispheres, 
 thought it strange that the Americans should conceive the idea of 
 possessing a country of their, own. America had witnessed her 
 worst reverses, emerging from her most signal successes ; and Spain, 
 in her turn, beheld her victorious career in a foreign clime pregnant 
 with the ultimate ruin of her hopes. She would have thought her 
 triumph incomplete had she refrained from humbling the vanquished ; 
 and forgot that her arrogance might estrange those colonists who had 
 hitherto adhered to her cause. The encouragement which these new 
 allies held out to them, excited the indefatigable warriors, whom the 
 fatal rout at Urica had not tamed into submission, to form themselves 
 into corps of guerillas, and place themselves under the command of 
 Monagas, Zaraza, and other chiefs. A short time demonstrated the 
 formidable character which such bodies may assume ; the suddenness 
 of their incursions, and the rapidity of their movements, justly entitled 
 them to the appellation of " The Tartars of America'' and enabled them 
 to rekindle the dying embers of their liberties. Arismendi, after va- 
 rious successes, took possession of the island of Margarita ; and Bolivar, 
 skilfully availing himself of this fortunate turn of affairs, lost no time 
 in hastening the equipment of an expedition which was collecting at 
 the expense of some private individuals. Among these was Brion, a 
 man of large property, whom none could exceed in devotion to the 
 cause of freedom : to him was intrusted the command of two ships of 
 war and thirteen transports, which composed the naval force of this ex- 
 pedition. Towards the close of March 1816, Bolivar, who had been 
 joined by two battalions of black troops, from Petion, the Haytian pre- 
 sident at Port au Prince, set sail with his little army. On his way, he 
 captured two vessels under Spanish convoy, one of them a king's ship, 
 of 14 guns and 140 men, after an action in which Brion was wounded ; 
 he afterwards disembarked at Margarita, and drove the Spaniards from 
 every part of the island, excepting the fort of Pampatar. At Carupano 
 he strengthened his force with several corps of guerillas, and compelled 
 the Spaniards to evacuate that post; thence he marched to Occumare, 
 where, after resting his troops at Choroni, he left his advance, under the 
 command of Mac Gregor, who made himself master of Marafay and the 
 Cabrera. The future depended on instant energy and decision ; and 
 Bolivar circulated a strong manifesto throughout the province of Ca- 
 racas, in which he developed his intentions, and strove to rekindle the 
 dormant patriotism of those for whose sake he had once more hoisted 
 his standard. This manifesto, instead of awakening the enthusiasm which 
 
Political Career of Simon Bolivar. H 
 
 it ought to have inspired, served but to rouse the apprehensions of the 
 sordid-minded. In vain had the general himself led the way, by en- 
 franchising his negroes, and ranging them as volunteers under the 
 banners of liberty ; the principal colonists were more alarmed by the 
 fear of losing their slaves, than anxious to be avenged of the Spaniards, 
 and betrayed their own cause in their eagerness to preserve their rich 
 plantations. The opposition which ensued was productive of the most 
 disastrous consequences. Bolivar, calculating on the co-operation of 
 the inhabitants, had weakened himself, by leaving Mac Gregor in 
 another province; he was consequently incapable of sustaining the 
 assault of the Spaniards under Morales, and after an obstinate resist- 
 ance, in which he lost his best officers, was forced to retreat in disorder. 
 The two Haytian battalions gallantly covered the retreat of their bre- 
 thren in arms ; whilst those of them who escaped the sword of their 
 adversaries, found a miserable grave where they had expected a gene- 
 rous asylum ; being pitilessly butchered by their own countrymen, in 
 whose defence they had ventured their lives. On the other hand, Mac 
 Gregor, unable to contend single-handed against the victorious Spa- 
 niards, was compelled to retire to Barcelona ; which he succeeded in 
 gaining, though harassed on all sides by light troops. 
 
 Arismendi was more fortunate in his operations : as his position was 
 more favourable, he laid hold of Pampatar, left not a Spaniard remain- 
 ing in Margarita, and embarked with a part of his force for Barcelona, 
 where the Independent troops were to form a junction. At this period, 
 Bolivar, who was anxious to resume the offensive with greater effect, 
 set out from Aux Cayes, where, it is asserted, he escaped assassi- 
 nation in consequence of a mistake made by a Royalist emissary, who 
 stabbed the master of the house in which Bolivar resided, instead of 
 the general himself. On his arrival in Margarita, Bolivar issued a 
 proclamation, convoking the representatives of Venezuela in a General 
 Congress ; and thence passed over to Barcelona, where he established 
 a Provisional Government. Morillo now advanced to this place, with 
 four thousand men, supported by his whole naval force, and on the 
 15th of February, 1817, paid dearly for a temporary success he gained 
 over his antagonist, who rendered it entirely useless by setting fire to 
 his own ships. The 16th, 17th, and 18th, were occupied in a desperate 
 conflict, which terminated in Bolivar's obtaining possession of the 
 enemy's camp ; though the struggle so completely crippled him, that he 
 was unable to pursue the Spaniard, before he was reinforced by a con- 
 siderable detachment. Morillo, who had suffered greatly during his 
 retreat, was met and defeated by General Paez, in the plains of Banco- 
 Largo. Other successes attended the Independent forces under Piar, in 
 the district of Corona, as well as in Caycara under Zaraza, who had 
 raised a force much needed by his party, by breaking in the wild 
 horses of America for his cavalry. 
 
 Bolivar, having been chosen supreme director of Venezuela, towards 
 the close of this year (1817) fixed his head-quarters at Angostura, 
 where he was enabled to organize the civil and military affairs of his 
 government. On the last day in December, he took his departure, with 
 two thousand horsemen and two thousand five hundred foot ; ascend- 
 ed the Orinoco, was joined on his route by Generals Cedeno and Paez ; 
 and after a march of two-and-forty days, appeared before the ramparts 
 of Calobozo, three hundred leagues from Angostura. After several 
 
12 Political Career of Simon Bolivar. 
 
 engagements, which were fought on the 12th of February, 1818, and 
 the two subsequent days, he forced Morillo to abandon that place; he 
 pursued and attacked him on the 16th and 17th, at Sombrero, whence 
 he compelled him to take refuge in Valencia. The exhaustion and di- 
 minution of his own troops, after such a series of hard fighting, as 
 well as the necessity of providing against any operations in his rear, 
 induced him to desist from farther pursuit, and detach Cedeno and 
 Paez to take possession of San Fernando de Apure. His force being 
 thus reduced to one thousand two hundred cavalry and about five 
 hundred foot, Morillo suddenly attacked him on his advance to 
 San Vittoria, near Caracas. A continued conflict was thence kept up 
 from the 13th to the 17th of March, at La Cabrera, Maracay and La 
 Puerta ; during which the Spanish commander was wounded. Cedeno, 
 as well as Paez, who had received some reinforcements from England, 
 now rejoined Bolivar, who, on the 26th, became the assailant in his 
 turn, attacked the heights of Ortiz, and carried the Spanish position, 
 which was defended by La Torre. The enemy, however, in his retreat, 
 directed his march on Calobozo, and captured it on the 30th of the 
 same month. On the 17th of April, Bolivar narrowly escaped from 
 being delivered up to the Spaniards by one of his own officers ; for 
 this villain, a Colonel Lopez, made his way with twelve men to the 
 spot where his general was reposing, and scarcely gave him time to 
 get away in an almost naked state. 
 
 No sooner hadBolivar rejoinedhis corps,th an he was vigorously assailed 
 by Antonio Pla, a Spanish officer, who cut off four hundred of his men. 
 Some days afterwards, Morillo, having collected the garrisons of several 
 places, effected a junction with La Torre, and on the 2nd of May 
 attacked Paez, in the plains of Sebanos de Coxedo : the conflict which 
 ensued was equally disastrous to either party, and put an end to the 
 campaign in the interior of the country. Some of Bolivar's officers 
 had, in the mean while, laid hold of several places on the coast : 
 Marino had possessed himself of Cariaco, whilst Admiral Brion, after 
 dispersing the Spanish flotilla, and sending some pieces of artillery, ten 
 thousand musquets, and other warlike stores, up the Orinoco, surprised 
 the post of Guiria, on the 30th of August. 
 
 On the 15th of February, 1819, Bolivar presided at the opening of 
 the Congress of Venezuela at Angostura; where he submitted the plan 
 of a Republican Constitution, and solemnly laid down his authority : 
 .though a strong representation of the exigencies of the times was again 
 pressed upon him, and became his inducement to resume it. Availing 
 himself of the rainy season to reorganize his forces, he set out on the 
 26th of February towards New Grenada in search of Morillo, who 
 had selected the Isle of Achagas, which is formed by the Apure, as an 
 impregnable position. The Royalist troops in that province had been 
 routed by General Santander, and Bolivar anticipated that their coali- 
 tion would decide the fate of the campaign : when, therefore, he had 
 been reinforced by two thousand English troops, and had defeated La 
 Torre, he used every exertion to this end, and succeeded in effecting 
 the junction on the 13th of June. After receiving deputations from 
 several towns of New Grenada, he resolved upon attempting the pas- 
 sage of the Cordilleras. Fatigue and privations of every kind were 
 endured with exemplary fortitude in the advance of his forces through 
 this wild, precipitous, and barren region, where they lost their artillery 
 
Political Career of Simon Bolivar. 13 
 
 and most of their equipments, although they succeeded in reaching the 
 neighbourhood of Tangia in the valley of Sagamoso on the 1st of July. 
 They found its heights occupied by three thousand five hundred Spaniards: 
 these were instantly attacked by Bolivar, and completely overthrown ; the 
 result placed Tunja in his power. The battle of Boyaca a few days after- 
 wards gave him possession of Santa Fe. These two victories achieved 
 the deliverance of New Grenada, and were accompanied by the surren- 
 der of Barreyro, the Spanish commander-in-chief, and the remnant of 
 his army, together with all their arms, ammunition, horses, artillery, &c. 
 " The advantages (observes Bolivar in his official despatch) are in- 
 calculable which will result to the cause of the Republic from the 
 glorious victory of yesterday. Our troops never triumphed more de- 
 cidedly, and have seldom engaged soldiers so well disciplined, and so 
 ably commanded." In Santa Fe, from which Samano, the viceroy, 
 'had scarcely time to escape, Bolivar found a million of piastres, and 
 resources of every description ; but more than this, he was joined by 
 a host of recruits, and enabled effectually to repair the losses he had 
 sustained both in the battles he had gained, as well as in the hardships 
 he had encountered in crossing the mountains. The province, which 
 he had so signally emancipated, hailed him with enthusiasm as its 
 deliverer ; he was nominated President of New Grenada at Santa Fe, 
 and in his proclamation of the 8th of September following he com- 
 plied with the public voice by reuniting this province with Venezuela. 
 
 Inaction was ill-suited to his disposition and the auspicious circum- 
 stances of the moment; but before he embarked in a new enterprise 
 he nominated General Santander as vice-president, proposed an ex- 
 change of prisoners to Samano, regulated every thing that concerned 
 the administration of the government, and made a levy of five thou- 
 sand men. Having so done, he resumed his route to Angostura. 
 
 The fame of his successes had reawakened universal confidence 
 throughout the province of Venezuela; his advance across that country 
 resembled a triumphant progress ; and the 17th of September, 1819, 
 crowned the great and dearest wish of his heart, that the two pro- 
 vinces should form one undivided commonwealth ; to which the Con- 
 gress attached the title of "Republic of Colombia." A new capital 
 was ordered to be constructed, which should be known to after-ages 
 by the illustrious name of Bolivar : in the interim, the provisional seat 
 of the General Congress was directed to be fixed at Rosario-Cucuta. 
 Seven days had scarcely elapsed before Bolivar was again in motion at 
 the head of the most formidable army which the Independents had 
 hitherto mustered ; and the flames of intestine discord being extin- 
 guished, the promise of a happy and unclouded futurity dawned upon 
 the fortunes of Colombia. Such indeed was the general spirit of ani- 
 mosity prevalent at this moment against the Spanish government, which 
 had endeavoured to prop its declining authority by acts of the most 
 atrocious cruelty, that the people eagerly joined his standard from every 
 quarter. The prospect of peace seemed no longer a dream, and the 
 true friends of American liberty lent themselves to it with eager sin- 
 cerity. On the 5th of January, 1820, Bolivar made himself master 
 of Calobozo, and this was afterwards followed by a series of memorable 
 advantages over his opponents ; but no sooner was he informed of the 
 favourable change which had taken place in the mother-country in 
 the commencement of 1820, than he made proposals to Morillo for the 
 
14 Political Career of Simon Bolivar. 
 
 purpose of terminating a contest which had involved both nations in 
 so long a course of bloodshed and calamity. The Spanish general 
 listened joyfully to these overtures ; commissioners on both sides were 
 despatched to Truxillo, and speedily agreed to an armistice, by which 
 Spain recognised Bolivar as president, or supreme chief of Colombia. 
 In vain did Morillo's delegates endeavour to secure an acknowledgment 
 of the sovereignty of Spain over the two provinces ; the Independents 
 would neither listen to their representations, nor subsequently to those 
 of Morillo himself. During the continuance of these negotiations, 
 both commanders appeared to entertain sentiments of reciprocal es- 
 teem and admiration ; nor could a more signal proof be given of the 
 confidence which each of them placed in the honour and integrity of 
 his late antagonist, than that they twice passed a whole night together 
 within the same chamber at Truxillo. 
 
 On the conclusion of the armistice, in November 1820, the two 
 armies retained the respective positions they had occupied previously 
 to it, on the banks of the Unare and Guanare ; but Morillo shortly 
 afterwards returned to Spain, leaving La Torre in command of the 
 Spanish forces, and about the same time the Independents despatched 
 M. Zea and two other commissioners to Madrid with a view to bring 
 about a final pacification between the two governments. The con- 
 stancy with which the Colombians insisted upon an unreserved recog- 
 nition of their independence, would probably, at all events, have ren- 
 dered every attempt at such a pacification abortive : in spite, however, 
 of this barrier, the Madrid negotiations lingered on until the intelli- 
 gence of the rupture of the armistice broke them off. On the 10th of 
 March, 1821, Bolivar announced to La Torre, that he would, in confor- 
 mity with the terms of the armistice, renew hostilities on the 28th of April 
 ensuing ; being forty days after the notification he then made. The 
 privations to which his army was exposed in their cantonments, and 
 the great mischiefs which were accruing to the cause of Independence 
 by the continuance of the armistice, were the principal motives which 
 he assigned for adopting this course. In the beginning of May, there- 
 fore, Bolivar took the field with a force of upwards of eight thousand 
 men, which he divided into three corps, respectively commanded by 
 generals Paez, Cedeno, and Anzoategui. These divisions advanced 
 by separate routes to the plains of Tinaquillo, where they formed a 
 junction on the 23d of June, and then advanced towards Calobozo, 
 where the Spanish head-quarters were fixed. In their advance the In- 
 dependent army had to penetrate through a narrow precipitous defile 
 in the mountains. The leading division was that of general Paez, who 
 was at the head of the battalion of British troops, the battalions called 
 " The Bravos of the Apure," and a corps of thirteen hundred horse. 
 The position occupied by the Spaniards was one of great strength ; 
 the heights, commanding the only pass by which it could be approached 
 were crowned with artillery ; and the pass itself did not, in many 
 places, admit of more than one person advancing at a time. At eleven 
 in the morning of the 24th, Paez's division defiled in front of the 
 enemy, under a heavy fire from the heights : and without waiting the 
 advance of the other divisions, its gallant leader, as if impatient of 
 dividing the victory with his brave colleagues, determined on an im- 
 mediate assault of the Spanish position. , In spite of the superior ad- 
 vantages, which numbers and strength of position afforded, his enemies 
 
Political Career of Simon Bolivar. 15 
 
 were, in the short space of half an hour, driven from their intrench- 
 ments with great slaughter by the valour and impetuosity of his troops, 
 whose assault he led in person. Stores and artillery were alike aban- 
 doned by the vanquished, and victory smiled on the cause of freedom 
 before the second division could arrive to share in its achievement : a 
 few of its Tirailleurs alone had come up, and at their head Cedeno im- 
 patiently placing himself, rushed upon a square of Spanish infantry, 
 in the midst of which he and the greater part of his companions found 
 a glorious death. The British troops distinguished themselves highly 
 on this occasion, and, indeed, were the principal instruments of this 
 brilliant victory : nor was Bolivar slow to recognise their good con- 
 duct : he conferred upon the remnant of the battalion of which they 
 consisted, the title of " Battalion of Calobozo," and on the surviving he- 
 roes, both officers and privates, the decoration of the order of Liberators. 
 The Spaniards, after losing one half of their force in this decisive 
 conflict, fled with dismay in the direction of Puerto Cabello. 
 
 The independence of this portion of the American continent was 
 the happy consequence of the battle of Calobozo, and the first fruit 
 which it yielded was the retaking of Caracas : whence Bermudez, 
 who had already once captured it in the course of the campaign, had 
 been almost immediately afterwards driven out by Colonel Pereyra. 
 Bolivar again retook it on the 30th of June without resistance ; and 
 four days afterwards, La Guyra capitulated, the garrison under Pereyra 
 being allowed to proceed by sea to Puerto Cabello. On the 6th of 
 July, Bolivar (now called the President Liberator) declared Caracas 
 the capital of the department of Venezuela, and transferred the Court 
 of Admiralty from the island of Margarita to La Guyra. It has been 
 stated, that not a white person was found in either of these once flou- 
 rishing towns, when Bolivar took possession of them ; the only inha- 
 bitants remaining in them being a handful of negroes. He issued a 
 proclamation in consequence, intreating all its former inhabitants to 
 return to the enjoyment of their properties, and solemnly assuring them, 
 whether they were Royalists or Independents, of the future and sacred . 
 protection of the new government. 
 
 The Independent forces were now intent upon reducing the other 
 towns which remained in the hands of the Spaniards. Carthagena ca- 
 pitulated on the 25th of September, and Cumana about a month after- 
 wards. Puerto Cabello has however continued to baffle every effort 
 to reduce it, and the possession of a superior naval force has enabled the 
 Spaniards to do considerable mischief to the commerce and tranquillity 
 of the neighbouring coast. 
 
 The General Congress had been summoned to meet at Rosario de 
 Cuenta on the 1st of January, but the delay which occurred in the 
 assembling of the deputies prevented the formal opening of their sit- 
 tings before the 1st of May. Other objects having called Bolivar 
 away, Antonio Marino, the vice-president of the republic, was deputed 
 by him to preside at its opening ; on which occasion he addressed hi& 
 colleagues in a tone of warm congratulation on the flattering prospects 
 which the achievement of their independence held out. This was con- 
 sidered as the first Colombian Congress, and its first decree confirmed 
 that of the Venezuelian legislature, which, in December 1819, had or- 
 dained the perpetual union of Venezuela and New Grenada, under 
 the title of the " Republic of Colombia." An amnesty for all past 
 
1 6 Political Career of Simon Bolivar. 
 
 offences was proclaimed ; whilst every person, whatever might have 
 been his political conduct or opinions, was promised the restoration of 
 his property on his taking an oath of fidelity and allegiance to the state. 
 
 After decreeing every possible mark of the national gratitude to 
 their brethren in arms, the Congress applied itself diligently to the 
 drawing up of the Constitutional Charter of the Republic, and closed 
 its important labours on this head before the termination of the ses- 
 sion. The constitution of the United States of America seems to have 
 served as a model to the Colombian legislators, who vested the execu- 
 tive functions in a president and vice-president, and conjointly with 
 them, the legislatorial office in a senate and house of representatives ; 
 making, however, a noble and beneficent improvement on the constitu- 
 tion which was their prototype, by abolishing slavery ;( declaring that 
 i the children of slaves born after the promulgation of the constitution 
 j should be free, apd enjoining that measures should be adopted for gra- 
 ^ dually redeeming and emancipating all existing slaves. This object 
 T*ejng despatched, the Congress next discussed the plan for public 
 education, and the laws for regulating the commerce of the republic. 
 Bolivar, who was elected president in conjunction with Santander as 
 vice-president, hesitated at first to accept this high office ; but the 
 general voice compelled him to give way, and the same talents, acti- 
 vity, and perseverance, which entitled him to this just mark of the vene- 
 ration and confidence of his fellow-countrymen, have ever since dis- 
 tinguished his exercise of the important dignity conferred upon him. 
 The Congress, having brought its useful labours to this termination, 
 broke up on the 13th of October ; and some weeks afterwards, Bolivar 
 removed the seat of government to Santa Fe de Bogota, to co-operate 
 the more readily in the liberation of Quito and Cuenfa, and thus re- 
 tain the former as the frontier province towards Peru, which is it- 
 self engaged in the struggle for its independence. 
 
 The introduction of the trial by jury, the toleration granted to all 
 religions, and the establishment of schools on the Lancasterian system, 
 are sufficient pledges of the provident and enlightened spirit by winch 
 the infant republic and its high-minded president are actuatecL'-C^or 
 have its powerful neighbours, the United States, been slow to avail them- 
 
 / selves of the opportunity, which the promise of its future prosperity 
 affords, for advancing North American interests, by placing their rela- 
 tions with the Colombian people at an early hour on the most friendly 
 footing. The President of the United States had already observed to 
 Congress, " It has long been manifest that it would be impossible for 
 Spain to reduce these colonies by force ; and equally so, that no con- 
 ditions short of their independence would be satisfactory to them." 
 The American executive has since sealed this declaration, by formally 
 recognising the independence of South America, and appointing minis- 
 ters to Colombia, Buenos Ayres, and others of the new governments. 
 Surely, the character of that country whose sons ~have bled in the 
 contest for South American freedom, and the dignity of that throne 
 whose strength and glory consist in the affections of a free, enlightened, 
 and generous people, surely, neither the good name of Great Britain 
 can be defiled, nor can its future prosperity be compromised, by taking 
 example from its Trans-atlantic offspring, and inscribing over the 
 threshold of Colombian freedom its own sacred motto " Esto vcr- 
 pctua !" 
 
1 lie Indian City. 577 
 
 There stood one tent, from the rest apart 
 That was the place of a wounded heart. 
 Oh! deep is a wounded heart, and strong 
 A voice that cries against mighty wrong ; 
 And full of death, as a hot wind's blight, 
 Doth the ire of acrushM affection light. 
 
 Mairnuna from realm to realm had pass'd, 
 And her tale had rung like a trumpet's blast. 
 There had been words from her pale lips pour'd, 
 Each one a spell to unsheath the sword ; 
 The Tartar had sprung from his steed to hear, 
 And the dark chief of Araby grasp'd his spear, 
 Till a chain of long lances begirt the wall, 
 And a vow was recorded that doom'd its fall. 
 
 Back with the dust of her son she came, 
 
 When her voice had kindled that lightning flame, 
 
 She came in the might of a queenly foe, 
 
 Banner and javelin and bended bow ; 
 
 But a deeper power on her forehead sate 
 
 There sought the warrior his star of Fate ; 
 
 Her eye's wild flash through the tented line 
 
 Was hail'd as a spirit and a sign, 
 
 And the faintest tone from her lip was caught, 
 
 As a sibyl's breath of prophetic thought. 
 
 Vain, bitter glory ! the gift of Grief, 
 That lights up vengeance to find relief, 
 Transient and faithless ! it cannot fill 
 So the deep void of the heart, nor still 
 The yearning left by a broken tie, 
 That haunted fever of which we die! 
 
 Sickening she turn'd from her sad renown, 
 As a king in death might reject his crown ; 
 Slowly the strength of the walls gave way 
 She wither'd faster, from day to day. 
 All the proud sounds of that banner'd plain, 
 To stay the flight of her soul were vain ; 
 Like an eagle caged, it had striven, and worn 
 The frail dust ne'er for such conflicts born, 
 Till the bars were rent, and the hour was come 
 For its fearful rushing through darkness home. 
 
 The bright sun set in his pomp and pride, 
 As on that eve when the fair boy died ; 
 She gazed from her couch, and a softness fell 
 O'er her weary heart with the day's farewell ; 
 She spoke, and her voice in its dying tone 
 Had an echo of feelings that long seem'd flown. 
 She murmur'd a low sweet cradle song, 
 Strange 'midst the din of a warrior throng, 
 A song of the time when her boy's young cheek 
 Had glow'd on her breast in its slumber meek, 
 But something which breathed from that mournful strain, 
 Sent a fitful gust o'er her soul again, 
 And starting as if from a dream, she cried, 
 " Give him proud burial at my side ! 
 There by yon lake, where the palm-boughs wave, 
 Where the temples are fallen, make there our grave." 
 VOL. X1Y. NO. LX. 2 Q 
 
Guatemala. 
 
 And the temples fell, though the spirit pass'd, 
 That stay'd not for victory's voice at last, 
 When the day was won for the martyr-dead, 
 For the broken heart, and the bright blood shed. 
 
 Through the gates of the conquer'd the Tartar steed 
 Bore in the avenger with foaming speed, 
 Free swept the flame through the idol-fanes, 
 And the streams flow'd red~ as from warrior veins, 
 And the sword of the Moslem, let loose to slay, 
 Like the panther leapt on its flying prey, 
 Till a City of Ruin spread round the shade, 
 Where the Boy and his Mother at rest were laid.* 
 
 Palace and tower on that plain were left, 
 
 Like fallen trees by the lightning cleft, 
 
 The wild vine mantled the stately square, 
 
 The Rajah's throne was the serpent's lair, 
 
 And the jungle grass o'er the altar sprung 
 
 This was the work of one deep heart wrung! F. H, 
 
 GUATEMALA^. 
 
 AMERICA, just raised to independence, and which, as a discovery, 
 laid open by the calculations of genius, fixed the attention of the 
 sixteenth century, deserves no less to occupy the undivided considera- 
 tion of the nineteenth. Some of the new republics have already em- 
 ployed the pen of the politician ; and several of them have lately been 
 visited and described by travellers. One of them, however, The Fede- 
 ral Republic of Central America^ in consequence perhaps of its having 
 been the last to emancipate itself, has not yet attracted the notice 
 of writers. Isolated in the midst of the New World, and without com- 
 mercial relations, in consequence of its harbours being closed, the bare 
 existence of the kingdom of Guatemala was all that was known respect- 
 ing it. But two years have elapsed since that vast region elevated 
 itself to the rank of an independent republic, and assumed the title, 
 not yet generally disseminated, of " The Republic of Central Ame- 
 rica." This beautiful country, as an elegant writer of Guatemala^ 
 expresses himself, was till then a ruse shut up in its bud% \ At present, 
 not only by reason of its new political aspect, but also on account of its 
 valuable and multifarious productions, to say nothing of its extent, it 
 demands a distinct place in the geography of modern America, and 
 claims forcibly the attention of the commercial world. 
 
 The geographical position of Guatemala is most favourable, and 
 conducive to the extension of its riches and power. It is situa- 
 ted in the centre between North and South America, having on one 
 
 * Their tombs are still remaining, according to Forbes, in a grove near the city, 
 t These details respecting the Federal Republic of Central America, are given 
 upon the authority of the journal which Dr. Lavagnino, who travelled during the 
 last summer in that part of America, had the kindness to communicate to us ; upon 
 secondly, the writings and statistical observations of Senor del Valle, one of 
 the most learned and eminent citizens of that republic ; upon the verbal infor- 
 mation which Senor Herrera, Ex-Deputy of the Constituent Assembly of Guate- 
 mala, has had the politeness to communicate to us ; and lastly, upon the acts of 
 the government, and other official documents in our possession. 
 
 J Senor del Valle. $ " Una rosa encerrada en su capello." 
 
Guatemala* 579 
 
 side -the Republic of Colombia, and tbat of Mexico on the other. It is 
 washed equally by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and thus admira- 
 bly placed so as to carry on those extensive relations which it will esta- 
 blish with all the nations of the Old and New World at some future day. 
 The superficial extent of Guatemala is 26,152 square leagues, varying 
 much in quality, height, exposure, temperature, and fertility. From 
 this superficies it may be seen that it is larger than Spain in Europe, 
 or the Republic of Chili in the new world. From the summits of the 
 mountains which cross the territory of Guatemala, numerous rivers 
 descend, that fertilise the soil through which they flow, refreshing the 
 atmosphere, and discharging themselves into the Northern and Southern 
 oceans. Some of these rivers are partly navigable, such as the Mo- 
 tagua, L'Ulua, L'Aguan, &c. many others might easily be made so, 
 were the scheme encouraged by the government, or were it an object 
 of private speculation : and no doubt, we shall behold the government 
 seriously occupying itself with this important improvement as the pro- 
 spects and resources of the nation unfold themselves. The great lake 
 of Nicaragua, which is one hundred and fifty leagues in circumference, 
 lies in the territory of this republic : a circumstance that will perhaps be 
 one of the active concurring causes to make it an emporium of commerce, 
 if the design of opening a communication between the Pacific and the 
 Atlantic, by means of that lake and of the river San Juan de Nicara- 
 gua, be carried into effect. This undertaking several mercantile houses 
 in London and North America are even now desirous of entering upon. 
 The territory of Central America is accessible by numerous harbours. 
 Towards the North are the ports of the Gulf, Omoa, Truxillo, San 
 Juan, and Matina ; and on the South those of Ricoia, Realexo, Con- 
 chagua, Acajutla, Iztapa, &c. The productions of the soil are almost 
 innumerable ; nature never appearing tired of conferring her bounties ; 
 and the succession of the fruits and produce of all kinds is uninter- 
 rupted through the year. 
 
 E mentre spunta Tun I'altre matura! 
 
 TASSO. 
 
 The two productions most known to commerce, and most esteemed, 
 are indigo and cochineal. In the province of Soconusco, the cocoa 
 for the especial use of the Court of Madrid, was formerly gathered. 
 There are many mines of silver in the provinces ; and as these are at 
 present the favourite speculation of British adventurers, we will here- 
 after give a description of them. 
 
 According to Baron Humboldt, in 1822, the population of the ancient 
 kingdom of Guatemala did not exceed 1,600,000 souls. These calcu- 
 lations, however, by the acknowledgment of M. Humboldt himself in 
 a letter to Bolivar, are only vague conjectures, which require to be rec- 
 tified by accurate statistical data. Senor del Valle is of opinion that 
 the population of Guatemala cannot be less than 2,000,000. He re- 
 marks that no pestilential diseases have occurred in that country for 
 many years ; that it has not been exposed to devastating wars like 
 Buenos Ayres, Chili, Peru, Colombia, and New Spain. Articles of 
 provision are to be met with there at lower prices than in Mexico ; and 
 marriages are more prolific. According, therefore, to the opinion of 
 Senor del Valle, which appears by no means ill founded, the popula- 
 
 2 Q 2 
 
580 Guatemala. 
 
 tion of Guatemala may be estimated to exceed that of Venezuela, Peru, 
 Chili, and perhaps of Buenos Ayres. 
 
 Guatemala remained subject to Spain till 1821. From 1821 to 
 1823, the epoch of its absolute independence, it went through various 
 eventful changes worthy of record. The new-born Republics of Ame- 
 rica may be likened to the slaves who, escaping from the prisons of 
 Algiers, excited to such a pitch the public curiosity respecting the 
 story of their late misfortunes, that every one was anxious to accost 
 and interrogate them regarding the sufferings they had endured, and 
 their past perils : a curiosity honourable to the human heart. But 
 what feeling should be more intensely interesting to mankind than the 
 desire of knowing by what changes, perils, and anxieties, a people have 
 obtained the imprescriptible right of liberty ? We will therefore give 
 a rapid delineation of Guatemala as a colony, and the figure it now 
 assumes as a free and independent nation. 
 
 Sometime before the year 1821 the minds of the inhabitants of Gua- 
 temala had been prepared for shaking off the yoke of Spain. The 
 journals, the writings, and opinions of men of influence, had kindled in 
 the breast of the natives, a love of their country : together with the 
 charm of liberty, the dignity and advantages ever concomitant with in- 
 dependence, were demonstrated to them. The fire, which for a long 
 time had lain smothered under the ashes, was at last fanned into a 
 flame. On the 15th of September, 1821, the general wish for inde- 
 pendence was openly manifested ; and that day of the month became a 
 solemn and beloved anniversary which the Constituent assembly de- 
 creed every year should be celebrated with patriotic festivities, reli- 
 gious pomp, and dotations to the poorest young persons of the capital 
 who had married during the preceding twelvemonth. The spirit of in- 
 dependence spread with the celerity of electric fire ; and the Deputies 
 of Guatemala, who took part in the Cortes of Madrid as the repre- 
 sentatives for that nation, joining in the shout of joy raised by their 
 countrymen, echoed in Madrid, in December 1821, the cry of their 
 country in a splendid banquet, and united their vows to those of their 
 fellow citizens.* 
 
 But before Guatemala had well shaken off one yoke, it was doomed 
 to fall under another, less galling, however, and ignominious than the 
 first. Mexico, which had proclaimed her independence at the same 
 time, was desirous of forming one state in conjunction with Guatemala, 
 and saw with displeasure that these provinces desired to constitute 
 themselves a separate and independent nation. The government of 
 Mexico, therefore, sent the Commandant Filisola, an Italian, with 
 some troops to prevent the threatened separation. The machinations 
 of the Captain-General, in unison with the views of the Mexican go- 
 vernment ; the wishes expressed by many towns and cities, gained over 
 by cabal ; and the rumour industriously propagated, that Filisola came 
 with an imposing force, (when in reality he had no more than 700 
 men,) tended to make it appear that the union of Guatemala with 
 Mexico was voluntary, although, in fact, that union was but the effect of 
 deceit arid violence. The efforts of many of the citizens to set aside 
 
 * See the letter of congratulation written on that occasion by three Deputies to 
 the government of Guatemala. 
 
Guatemala. 
 
 that forcible and absurd connexion proved abortive ; the voice of 
 Senor del Valle on that occasion was not listened to, nor were the 
 wishes of several patriots sufficiently favoured by fortune. These ge- 
 nerous lovers of their country were not permitted to reap the fruit of 
 their courage and eloquence, until two years afterwards in 1823. 
 The province of San Salvador, however, and a part of that of Nicaragua, 
 refused, from the first moment, to submit to Mexico. They took up 
 arms in defence of their independence ; and, although assailed by the 
 forces of Filisola, reinforced by the troops of the province of Guate- 
 mala, prolonged their resistance until the public opinion of all the 
 provinces, on the 21st of June 1823, spoke out again in favour of com- 
 plete independence. 
 
 Guatemala, united to Mexico by force and political cabal, fol- 
 lowed, for some time, the fate of that empire, and sent deputies to the 
 Mexican Congress ; and when, on the 1 8th of October 1 822, that Con- 
 gress was dissolved by the powerful hand of Iturbide, Guatemala sub- 
 mitted to the yoke of the usurper. 
 
 The fall of Iturbide was the signal for the recovery of her independ- 
 ence ; and, in consequence, on the 24th of June 1823, Guatemala 
 declared herself an independent state. Every thing was now in her 
 favour. The Commandant Filisola, who had had opportunities of 
 knowing the true wants and wishes of the people of that country, 
 instead of opposing the insurrection, gave all his assistance to help it 
 forward ; although the motive which induced him to give such co- 
 operation, was not perhaps of the most generous nature. 
 
 Animated with the desire of becoming the chief of the new republic 
 of Guatemala, he was in hopes, by such an adhesion, to open to himself 
 the road to power. The Congress of Mexico, having become more 
 wise from experience, and more just by reason of its own misfortunes, 
 a few months afterwards acknowledged the independence of Guatemala. 
 But the army, (that terrible element of modern society !) which had 
 first given oppression, and subsequently liberty to the country, threat- 
 ened again to overthrow the republic, and to place a usurper on its 
 ruins. On the 14th of September 1823, a dangerous conspiracy 
 against the government broke out among several corps of the army, 
 and the fate of the republic was for two days undecided. During this 
 time the sittings of the Constituent Assembly were suspended, broils 
 and combats arose in the streets, while the hall of the Assembly 
 served as a fort to the patriots against the attacks of the military. At 
 last patriotism stood forth triumphant ; and Captain Ariza, the contriver 
 of the conspiracy against the government, was constrained to fly, while 
 a serjeant of artillery, his accomplice, suffered the punishment of death, 
 a penalty which he had most deservedly incurred. The troops which 
 had rebelled were disbanded, praises were prodigally bestowed on the 
 courage and patriotism of the inhabitants of Guatemala, and the names 
 of those who, during these days, had sacrificed their lives in fighting 
 for their country, were engraved on marble in the hall of the Congress. 
 It may boldly be asserted, if we except this momentary storm, that the 
 tree of Guatemalan liberty is almost the only one which has not been 
 watered by a great effusion of blood. 
 
 Guatemala had scarcely raised the standard of independence, on the 
 24th of June 1823, when measures were taken to nominate a Consti- 
 
582 Guatemala. 
 
 tuent Assembly, by which the basis of a constitution, fit for a federal 
 republic, might be arranged, and through the medium of which it might 
 be presented for approval to the five states composing the nation. 
 
 After some months the labours of the Assembly were completed. 
 The model which served to guide the legislators of Guatemala, 
 was the republican form of the United States of America, together 
 with that of Colombia. All the nascent republics of America felt the 
 necessity of constituting the New World on one and the same principle. 
 
 A worthy and enlightened American, Senor Rocafuerte, (now charge 
 d 'affaires of Mexico in London) some years ago, in a book entitled 
 " El Systcma Columbiano" demonstrated the necessity of following the 
 republican plan : and, coinciding with this view of the case, the Consti- 
 tuent Assembly of Guatemala adopted as their form of government the 
 system of a representative federal republic ; vesting the legislative 
 power in a federal congress and a senate. The congress is elected by 
 the people, and is half renewed every year. Each state sends a repre- 
 sentative for every 30,000 inhabitants. The senate is composed of mem- 
 bers popularly elected, in the ratio of two for each state. That body 
 has the right of sanctioning all the resolutions made in congress ; and a 
 third part is renewed annually, the individuals going out being eligible 
 to be re-elected. The executive power is exercised by a President 
 nominated by the inhabitants of the different states of the Federation. 
 The offices of President and Vice-President (both nominated in the 
 same way) last for four years, and the individuals who fill them may, 
 without any interval, be once re-elected. The constitution abolishes 
 slavery, establishes individual liberty, and guarantees the freedom of 
 the press. The republic is at present divided into Jive states; Guate- 
 mala, Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Each of these 
 states is '.free and independent as to its provincial government and in- 
 ternal administration*. 
 
 On the 20th of February 1825, the Constituent Assembly was dis- 
 solved, and the Federal Congress succeeded it, which swore to maintain 
 the constitution on the 10th of last April. Senor Del Valle, who until 
 that time had been President of the Executive Power, on resigning his 
 office, pronounced an eloquent speech at the opening of that congress. 
 It is impossible sufficiently to praise that estimable citizen, for the good 
 which he has effected for his country. In the speech to which we have 
 alluded, while reminding his auditory of the importance of the duties of 
 
 * Senor Barraudia, one of the most zealous patriots and eloquent orators of the 
 republic, and president of the commission which prepared the project of the con- 
 stitution, thus defends the federal form of government adopted by Guatemala : 
 " In framing this project," says he, " we have adhered, in most instances, to the 
 model of the United States a model worthy of imitation by every people just be- 
 come independent. And, though we did not think tit to make any considerable 
 alterations, or to create, if I may so speak, all that might have been deemed compa- 
 tible with our circumstances, or reconcilable with the enlightened principles which, 
 from the epoch of the rise of that nation, have in a great measure caused the ad- 
 vance of the legislative science : we kept also in our view the constitutions of 
 Spain and Portugal, the federative and central one of Colombia, and all the consti- 
 tutional legislative proceedings of France that great nation, which, amidst a thou- 
 sand celebrated writers, and philosophers of every class, made experiments in all 
 the forms of government except the federal, and which, although unfortunate in 
 its revolution, gave lessons to the world ; still regenerated itself in an astonishing 
 manner ; and undoubtedly discovered and developed most interesting ideas for ge- 
 neral reform, and the liberty of the human race." 
 
Guatemala. 583 
 
 a representative, he made use of the following eloquent language : 
 " The people believe that, from the moment they have made choice of a 
 citizen to be a representative, the private character of the man should 
 cease, and nothing exist but his public capacity : that self should die, 
 and nothing live in him but his country ; that the individual should dis- 
 appear, and his country only be seen ; that all personal likes and dislikes 
 should be annihilated, and nothing survive but the sublime and de- 
 lightful sentiment of patriotism." 
 
 The journals, the acts of the republic, and the speeches of many 
 statesmen which we carry in our recollection, are so well composed, 
 and so sound in principle, that they afford the best refutation of the 
 assertions of those who (by way of desperate resistance to truth and 
 fact !) declare the American people not sufficiently polished, enough 
 matured, or too uncultivated to live under a free and independent 
 form of government. 
 
 These few historical outlines of public events will serve as a 
 groundwork whereon to finish the hasty picture which it is alone our 
 intention to sketch. We will, therefore, now revert to the territory, and 
 to a description of the country, its customs, and inhabitants. The 
 Commercial Road, to which every traveller is wont to give the prefer- 
 ence, leading from Omoa, a port on the Atlantic, to the city of Guate- 
 mala, is the first line of country we shall notice. This city is the capital 
 of the republic. We shall transcribe, for this purpose, extracts from the 
 Journal of Doctor Lavagnino. 
 
 "On the 26th April, 1825," says the Doctor, " we arrived at Omoa; not 
 without having experienced much inquietude from the pirates, who frequently 
 made their appearance in the gulf of Honduras. Omoa lies at the extremity 
 of a bay, and is inhabited by negroes living in huts. A few white merchants 
 are resident there, who carry on business as agents. The climate is unheal- 
 thy, by reason of the stagnant waters in its neighbourhood j for this reason, 
 we preferred remaining on board ship, in order to be less exposed to the in- 
 fluence of the putrescent vapours which exhale from the marshes. Were a 
 channel cut to conduct those waters into the sea, which is close at hand, 
 Omoa might become a pleasant place of residence. It possesses a fortress, 
 built of stone, of regular formation, and surrounded by a fosse. A Black 
 officer, who came on board our schooner, gave us but a sorry idea of the gar- 
 rison of the place. He requested money from us under frivolous pretexts, 
 took one bottle of wine from us in a shameful manner, and even offered to 
 introduce us to ladies, if we would give him a second. The commandant of 
 the place, who possessed the most polished manners, made ample compensa- 
 tion, however, for the disgust we felt at the conduct of this despicable negro. 
 
 "On the 28th we departed, at eleven in the morning, for Izabel, and, at 
 break of day on the 29th, arrived at the mouth of the river which disem- 
 bogues itself from the Golfo Dolce (sweet gulf) into the sea j having traversed 
 
 country in 
 " cross- 
 in the 
 Golfo DoTce.' 
 
 " On the 30th, very early in the morning, we descended to Izabel, a small 
 village inhabited by negroes, which only began to be re-inhabited about a 
 twelvemonth ago. Izabel was sacked and burned by some pirates, who came 
 from the Island of Providence, and were supposed to have had an understand- 
 ing with the Commandant of the fort of San Felipe. They made a booty of 
 a million and a half of dollars ; and also carried away the cannon of the 
 fortress. We look up our abode in a hut, and found a few fowls, but all 
 other kinds of - revision it is requisite, nay indispensable, for travellers 10 carry 
 
584 Guatemala. 
 
 with them. In this village we sold our mattresses, and purchased a kind of 
 bedding, which in this country is called amache. The climate is salubrious. 
 The Commandant of the place, who has also the charge of the whole gulf, 
 facilitated for us, by all the means in his power, the procuring every thing ne- 
 cessary. The distance from the mouth of the river to Izabel is 18 leagues. 
 
 " On the 2nd May, after a day's delay, we left Izabel at five in the morning, 
 and arrived at Micho at two in the a'fternoon. The journey is only seven 
 leagues ; and the road passes by a mountain called Del Micho. or the Moun- 
 tain of Guatemala. The road we traversed on that day was horribly bad, and 
 we often sank deep into the mud. In the rainy season the mules frequently 
 perish in lakes of mud. Sometimes a traveller passes on the verge of preci- 
 pices, where it is necessary to shut his eyes not to be terrified by beholding 
 danger in its most frightful aspect. Then he is forced to trust entirely to the 
 experience of the mules, which are wonderfully sagacious in selecting paths; 
 but, notwithstanding their sagacity, they sometimes sank to the belly in holes 
 of mud. At other times the traveller is compelled to pass on an inclined 
 plane, from which he every instant appears doomed to slip and fall into quag- 
 mires. If his attention be diverted from his perils and difficulties, he hears 
 the roarings of lions and tigers,* and a confused noise, arising from the howl- 
 ings of animals, and the singing of birds, the beautiful and lively colours of 
 whose plumage seem to be brought into view, in some sort to qualify the 
 scene of horror and affright around. If the mind can but contemplate the 
 magnificence and beauty of the vegetation of this country in tranquillity, an 
 intense sentiment of admiration takes possession of the soul. When the tra- 
 veller arrives at a certain distance from El Micho, the thick woods which skirt 
 the path diminish, until at last the earth is totally stript of trees,- which are 
 again shortly met with in abundance, under the description of large cypresses. 
 We slept at Micho in a hut on our amache, boiled a fowl, and made some 
 soup with biscuit. 
 
 " On the 3d, at eight in the morning, we set out from Micho. The road 
 is on the top of the mountain, beautiful, and tolerably good ; but the descent 
 is somewhat inconvenient. The usual roaring of tigers resounded in our 
 ears. On that day four labourers, who had gone to hunt tigers, had slain 
 one, when another of that furious species of animals sprang upon one of the 
 huntsmen, who with difficulty saved himself by climbing a tree. These 
 mountains are covered with pines, and abound with fine pastures. We saw 
 several horses and cows wandering at liberty upon them. We now traversed 
 a delightful grove of wild palm trees, and it is impossible to describe the im- 
 pression produced by the sight of them ; the effect was like magic. The ap- 
 pearance of these trees, and the intertwining of their branches, were often so 
 beautiful and fanciful, that Tasso might well have chosen one of these 
 retreats for the abode of his Armida. Sometimes, on the contrary, the spot 
 was so entirely savage, and conveyed such ideas of horror, that Byron might 
 there have aptly enough placed his misanthropic Manfred. We arrived about 
 one o'clock in the afternoon at Encuentros, where there is a post-house, and 
 custom-house officers, though but few inhabitants. This little mean hamlet 
 is situated immediately on the bank of the river Motagua, which we crossed 
 by a ford, although it is there called Rio Grande de los Encuentros. The dis- 
 tance between El Micho and Encuentros is about six leagues. 
 
 " On the 4th, at eight in the morning, we departed ; and at one in the 
 afternoon arrived at Guana. The road uniformly proceeds on the mountains, 
 and is pleasant and good; but it would be much shortened were it cut along 
 the sides of the hills. Here the bowlings of the wild beasts were heard no 
 more. Vegetation is of a large growth, vigorous, and abundant. On the 
 contrary, animated things.Jsuch, for instance, as wild quadrupeds, birds, insects, 
 
 Lions and tigers, properly so called, do not exist in America ; the jaguar is 
 the animal usually denominated a tiger by the inhabitants of the New World. 
 
Guatemala. 585 
 
 &c. were small, and rarely met with. From Encuentros to Guana, is a route 
 of four leagues. At three in the afternoon we left Guana. The road is plea- 
 sant, passing over small hills, and through the midst of woods. We came at 
 eight in the evening to Gualam, from Guana to which place we reckoned 
 four leagues. Gualam is a country containing 4000 souls : the district is daily 
 increasing in prosperity and population, by reason of the river Motagua 
 passing m its neighbourhood, by which stream all the merchandize from 
 Omoa is transported to Guatemala. 
 
 " On the 5th, at nine in the morning, we again set forward on our jour- 
 ney, and halted at San Antonio, about two leagues distant. We found pro- 
 visions moderate in price. A dozen of eggs cost us a real. At four in the 
 afternoon we proceeded, after having eaten five hard eggs, in order to be able 
 to resist the attacks of hunger. Without that precaution, famine might have 
 assailed us on the way, as nothing was to be had on the line of our journey. 
 1 advise all travellers to carry with them their own provisions, a precaution 
 which tends to make travelling: in this country less unpleasant. The road is 
 steep and stony ; and the river Motagua is seen at a small distance: we were 
 informed that alligators or crocodiles were to be found in it. We often met 
 convoys of mules laden with merchandize. The bales are placed in a right 
 line, and the mules, when unladen, are left to themselves, and sometimes stray 
 as far as two leagues in quest of pasture. At every moment we saw tents, 
 wherein merchandize was heaped up, guarded by one or two white men. 
 The right in the soil begins now to be marked out in a particular manner* 
 Vast extents of land, inclosed with artificial fences, in which herds of horses, 
 oxen, and cows feed, sufficiently indicate a right of property. The country, 
 nevertheless, is always uncultivated, and no trace of agriculture appears. 
 The road is more beaten than formerly, which announces that the country 
 begins to be move thickly inhabited than it was. We observed some Indians 
 nearly naked, and loaded'like beasts of burden. These Indians, called labour- 
 ers, are very rare, because Indians in general are lazy. A traveller, while pass- 
 ing through these solitudes, and beholding the state of abandonment in which 
 the virgin and fertile soil is left, cannot but feel indignation against the Kings 
 of Spain. Thirty nations inhabited this part of America before the conquest 
 by the Spaniards, all of which have been well nigh utterly destroyed by the 
 Spanish rulers, for the empty pleasure of adding a new title to their style, 
 and in order to call themselves " Kings of the Indies !" Catholic fanaticism 
 was an accomplice in these devastations. Alexander VI. that monster de- 
 corated with the Tiara, drew a line on the map of the world, which was to 
 form the limits assigned to the dominion of the Kings of Spain in America. 
 With that documentary proof of property in their hands, the conquest was 
 carried on with fire and sword, and twenty-six thousand square leagues of 
 land (which is the superficial space of the republic of Guatemala) became a 
 vast solitude. The foolish titles which the despots of Asia assume, such as, 
 Emperors of the Moon, Brothers of the Sun, &c. did not cost humanity 
 such torrents of blood, as were shed when the titles of " King of Jerusalem 
 and of the Indies" were proclaimed to the world. Spain imposed taxes on her 
 colonies, but never received any profit from the kingdom of Guatemala. 
 The friars, soldiers, and persons employed in public capacities, consumed 
 the whole amount of the tribute exacted from its miserable inhabitants. 
 
 '* In these burning regions the sight of a hut is a real consolation ; not only 
 on account of the pleasure communicated by finding ourselves again in an in- 
 habited place, but also because we are then in hopes to meet with a glass o 
 water. We had been for many hours tormented with thirst, when fortunately 
 we beheld some huts, towards which 1 anxiously guided my mule. An old 
 Indian woman presented herself, and, at my request, ordered a young girl to 
 bring me a draught of water. At the same time an old man advanced to- 
 wards me, whose aspect, manner, and the extraordinary vivacity of his eyes, 
 surprised and impressed me with respect. He first desired the girl to get the 
 water from the coolest place, and then observed to her, that I was un bianco if 
 
586 Guatemala. 
 
 calallero, a white man and a gentleman. I thanked him ; and he replied, 
 * There is no cause, Sir ; a Castilian considers it a duty to be courteous to 
 strangers.' Saying this, with a joyful gravity, he gave me his hand, and asked 
 me if 1 were returning to Europe. 1 answered in the affirmative ; upon which 
 he said, My bones will rest in these deserts I' words which were uttered by 
 the old man in the accent of unfeigned grief. I was greatly affected, and, 
 thinking it a charity to avoid all further inquiries, having drunk the water, 
 which at that moment was a high treat to me, I dropped his hand, which he 
 held in mine, and spurred my mule into a gallop. What an enigma, said I to 
 myself, is the love of country ! Two Europeans of different nations in Europe 
 are always strangers, and often enemies to each other ; and in America they 
 see and salute one another as countrymen ! Long did I carry the venerable 
 figure of that old man engraven on my memory. He was very eloquent. 
 But the recollection of his country, instead of being a comfort to his heart, 
 was like the apparition of a defunct mother which constantly presents itself 
 tormentingly to the vision. 
 
 "At eight in the evening we reached San Pablo, an Indian village with a 
 church. From San Antonio to San Pablo the distance is five leagues. There 
 we reposed till eleven at night. Trusting to the moon, which was then risen, 
 we set forward, and arrived at Zacapa at three in the morning, having jour- 
 neyed three leagues. 
 
 "On the 6th 1 rested at Zacapa, by reason of a want of mules to pursue my 
 journey. I there became acquainted with a young Frenchman, Monsieur 
 Legette, who, having abandoned France for political opinions, had inhabited 
 Guatemala during six months, where he had established a library. 
 
 " Zacapa is a large village, situated in a plain which extends as far as Sima- 
 lappa, that is to say, eight leagues in length and four in breadth, gradually 
 diminishing as you proceed. Zacapa reckons an amount of population of dif- 
 ferent castes not inferior to 6000 souls. It possesses a church, the architec- 
 ture of which is somewhat of the Moorish kind, wherein two priests officiate. 
 There are several houses in the village built of stone, but very low j and the 
 commerce of the place is inconsiderable. Cocoa and coffee are extensively 
 cultivated, but indigo and cochineal are rarely met with. The heat is exces- 
 sive. We underwent great fatigue in search of mules to pursue our journey. 
 They were extremely difficult to be got, because no fodder was to be procured 
 for them on the road, by reason of the intense heat, and the sterile aridity of 
 the soil, which invariably occurs whenever rain has not fallen for any length 
 of time. 
 
 " At a short distance from Zacapa, on the road to Guatemala, the river 
 called Zacapa is crossed, which, at about a league farther on, unites its waters 
 with the river San Augustine. At the confluence of these two streams the 
 river Motagua commences ; and, after flowing nine leagues, as far as Gulani, 
 it becomes navigable for large canoes down to the sea, a distance of forty 
 leagues. The greater part of the indigo, cochineal, and all the other produc- 
 tions of the export, of which Guatemala stands in need, are transported by that 
 river. The government intends to render it navigable to the confluence whence 
 it begins, to which, several masters of canoes assured me, they had sailed the 
 whole way. With a little outlay of money, it is thought that even the river 
 San Augustine might be fitted for the purposes of navigation, as far as the 
 town of the same name, a course of eight leagues. Should this ever be ac- 
 complished, the province of Chiquimula will derive infinite advantage from 
 the circumstance. In that province is situated the celebrated mine of' Alote- 
 pegue. The mine of San Pantaleone, which is now inundated, at one time 
 yielded an immense quantity of metal. In the Museum of Madrid, two 
 chests with specimens from that mine are preserved. Several masses of stone 
 are there bound together by bandages of pure silver, which are easily recog- 
 nized, being suspended in the air. On account of the immense treasure con- 
 tained in this mine, the Spanish government was induced to grant several pri- 
 vileges to the family of Zea, in order to induce them to work it. it might be 
 
Guatemala. 587 
 
 dried, by making a canal or drain at its base: a circumstance important to re- 
 mark, inasmuch as it precludes the necessity of machinery, and consequently 
 greatly diminishes the probable expenses attendant upon the enterprise. The 
 mines of Santa Rosalia, Montenita, and San Antonio A bad, on the same vein, 
 have yielded a great abundance of metal, and could again be put into activity 
 at a small expense, as nothing more is wanting than to clear away the masses 
 of earth which have fallen into some of the subterraneous galleries. The 
 neighbouring Indians go to the mine, and collect silver, which they sell at 
 four or five reals the ounce, to the Spaniards, who speculate in the commo- 
 dity. Several families of the city of Chiquimula and the adjacent country, 
 reap great profits from this commerce. The riches of the mine may be more 
 easily conceived by stating that, in the report made to government by the 
 Assayer of the Mint of Guatemala, it is proved that every quintal of ore 
 yield? seventeen marcs six ounces and three-eighths of an ounce of silver.* 
 
 " The family of Zea became proprietors of this mine in 1800, and worked 
 it with all the energy practicable from the fortune of private persons. It con- 
 veyed mineralogists and miners from Mexico; (400 leagues distant !) but 
 the mistakes and bad faith of these people deprived the family of the profit 
 which it had rationally expected to realize; and it was ruined by bad admi- 
 nistration, while the artisans employed became rich. The mine now belongs 
 to an English company, which intends to commence operations next spring, 
 with all the advantages which the progress made in the study of mineralogy 
 and mechanics, added to a wise administration, are likely to ensure them. 
 
 " On the Qth of May, after having lost a day by reason of the difficulty of 
 procuring the requisite number of mules, we put ourselves in motion for Si- 
 malapa. The road is flat and pleasant. We halted at a hut about half an 
 hour's distance from Simalapa, exhausted by thirst, hunger, and intolerable 
 heat. We acted very unwisely in attempting to travel within fifteen degrees 
 of the line, in the middle of the day, and without shade. Near Zacapa 
 we passed the river of the same name ; and met the American Consul on his 
 way to Omoa. Shortly after, we crossed two other small rivers. The distance 
 from Zacapa to Simalapa is eight leagues. 
 
 " On the 10th, at five in the morning, we again continued our journey. 
 The road was beautiful, but the heat insupportable. We passed through Si- 
 malapa, which consists of some hundred small huts. On the road we per- 
 ceived a great number of horses and cows dead from starvation, in conse- 
 quence of the pastures being parched up for want of rain. Some pine-apples 
 which we purchased from a party of Indians, invigorated us a little. At nine 
 in the morning we reached Sobecas, where we found excellent lemons, of 
 which the inhabitants take no account. Simalapa is four leagues from So- 
 becas. 
 
 "On the llth, at half-past three in the morning, we left Guastatojas, 
 where there is an aqueduct, and a large reservoir well stocked with fish. 
 This town has a better appearance than Simalapa; and exhibits several stone 
 houses. At ten in the morning we rested at Incontro, a place containing 
 only two houses. In our progress we frequently crossed torrents of water! 
 The road proceeds invariably at the bottom of the valleys, and on the sides 
 of the mountains, covered with shrubs. We now found ourselves skreened 
 from the rays of the sun, and saw the earth uniformly clothed with Teen 
 herbage, and veiled with the shade of the plants that it nourished, whiclfgave 
 us ideas of security, and made the road infinitely more pleasant. The tem- 
 perature was also more mild. The distance from Sobecas to Incontro is six 
 leagues. At three in the afternoon we left Incontro, and kalted, after jour- 
 neying a league, at a house called Honcadilia, there being no other houses 
 till we reached Omoita. 
 
 "On the 12th we set off at seven in the morning, and proceeded along 
 valleys shaded by noble trees, with woods on both sides of our path. At 
 
 * The marc is eight Castilian ounces ; and the proportion between an English and 
 Castllian ounce is as 100 to 104. 
 
588 Guatemala. 
 
 last, after having ascended a mountain, and passed over various bills in sue* 
 cession, we reached Montegrande, where we began to perceive some sugar- 
 plantations and good houses. As we travelled onwards, the temperature be- 
 came more and more moderate. It is worthy of remark that in this part, 
 during some months of the year, the weather is cold, on which account the 
 people are enabled to cultivate cochineal. We observed immense wens on 
 the grown-up persons, and great bellies' in the younger part of the population. 
 Roncadilla is four leagues from Montegrande. 
 
 " At two in the afternoon we departed, and arrived at the estate of Father . 
 Cabal leros at six in the evening. The road is excellent, and the sugar-plan- 
 tations very frequent. On the plantation of Father Caballeros there was an 
 aqueduct, wherein I bathed, and felt myself much the better for it ; and I 
 advise travellers to bathe as often as they can find an opportunity. From 
 Montegrande to the estate of Father Caballeros is five leagues. 
 
 " On the 13th, we set out at five in the morning. The road is very nar- 
 row, and on the brink of a precipice, passing near a volcano, which has been 
 extinguished for some time, whence run many rivulels of warm sulphureous 
 water, the whole of which united disembogue themselves into a river which 
 flows along the side of the volcano, and is called Aqua Caliente. At ten in. 
 the morning we reached the estate of San Jose, where the air is delightfully 
 salubrious and cool. To arrive there we ascended a high mountain, from the 
 summit of which we beheld a beautiful plain. The elevation above the sea 
 must be very considerable, judging from the temperature, which may be 
 compared to that of the advanced spring of Lombard y. We met, as we had 
 frequently done before, a troop of Indians, of both sexes, loaded like beasts 
 of burden, walking to the sound of a drum, in order perhaps to alleviate the 
 fatigues of the road. We traversed five leagues from the estate of Father 
 Caballeros till we reached San Jose. We took up our quarters for the night 
 on the estate of San Diego, two leagues further on than San Jose. 
 
 " On the 14th, at half-past five, we proceeded again, on a road at first de- 
 lightful, but which gradually grows worse and worse. At about a league dis- 
 tance from Guatemala that city is discovered ; which, with its houses entirely 
 white, and its numerous and beautiful churches, presents a most agreeable 
 coup d'ceil. It is situated in a plain, wherein are seen many villages inhabited 
 by Indians. Agriculture has riot made great progress. That plain, which in 
 Europe would present a luxuriant cultivation, in Guatemala exhibits but few 
 traces of culture, and the natural fertility of the soil gives rise to an abundant 
 vegetation, consisting, for the most part, of useless plants." 
 
 On the road from Omoa to Guatemala, as described by Doctor 
 Lavagnino, we have seen that, at short intervals, villages and bands of 
 Indians are met with. The tribes of Indians in the republic of Guate- 
 mala form more than half of the population ; and therefore, before we 
 enter on a description of the city of Guatemala, the sittings of its federal 
 congress, the plans of its government, or involve ourselves in political 
 matters, we will give a succinct account of the Indians, which cannot 
 fail to interest the philosopher and the philanthropist. 
 
 The Indians who people the republic of Guatemala have not a 
 common origin. The descent of a great proportion of them may un- 
 doubtedly be traced from the Julteca Indians ; who, after having con- 
 quered Mexico, extended their dominion even to the territory of the 
 present Guatemalian republic. Nevertheless, before their conquests, 
 that part of America was peopled by different nations ; and the Jultecas, 
 on entering the Mexican kingdom, found it occupied by the Chichimecas. 
 Were all the Indians of this republic descended from the stock of the 
 Jultecas, they would universally speak nearly the same dialect ; on the 
 contrary, as the natives of this country speak many and opposite 
 languages, it is to be presumed that they are Descended from divers' 
 
Guatemala. 689 
 
 nations. In the provinces of Quiche and Potonicapon, in a part of 
 Quezaltenego, and in the town of Rabinal, the inhabitants make use of 
 the languages of Quiche ; that is to say, of the Jultecas. In Gue- 
 guetenago, in a part of Quegaltenago, and in the province of Soconusco, 
 the Mam or Pocoman language is spoken ; and in no kingdom of the 
 New World are so many and so different dialects heard, as in the con- 
 fines of Guatemala. The languages which are known and have a name, 
 as those of Quiche, Mam, Pipil, Zoque, Choi, Lenca, Maga, &c. alone, 
 amount to twenty-six. Many of these languages, however, have some 
 analogy to each other ; and, generally speaking, are very difficult to 
 acquire, having a strong, harsh, guttural sound, and the signification 
 being changed by only laying a greater or less stress on the words.* 
 
 Charles V. ordered the Dominican friars to instruct all the Indians in 
 the Spanish language, merely to facilitate among them the introduction 
 of the Catholic religion, since it could not have been supposed that the 
 Castilian would ever become the organ of communication among the 
 Indians themselves. But that wise enactment did not take effect in all 
 parts ; which is proved by some of the more uncultivated and savage 
 Indians not understanding or speaking a word of Spanish. 
 
 Before the Spanish conquest the Indians were idolaters, and had 
 their priests, who, on many occasions, acted as soothsayers. Subse- 
 quently, in 1524, when Don Pedro Alvarado had subdued for Spain 
 the different kingdoms into which that vast part of America was 
 divided, by means of the ministry of successive Spanish missionaries the 
 different populations embraced the Catholic religion ; and many and 
 heavy were the difficulties and dangers that these missionaries had to 
 surmount, in order to establish the gospel. Besides the ruggedness of 
 the roads, thirst, famine, and bad health in unwholesome climates, they 
 had otfen to encounter death, rendered hideous and appalling by tor- 
 ments invented by the barbarity and ferocity of their indocile neophytes. 
 Nevertheless, these holy persons left nothing untried to attain their 
 object. They lavished presents on the Indians ; caressed them ; and 
 sometimes, by means of the converted part of their wild community, 
 putting some part of the mysteries of religion into verse, caused 
 these compositions to be sung ; and thus attracted the curiosity of the 
 Indians, who, allured by the singing, were anxious to know the details 
 and issue of its history. Thus it was that they initiated them into the 
 mysteries of the new worship. 
 
 Those Indians, who did not inhabit the great cities and fortresses, 
 were not accustomed to live in t6wns, after our fashion. Their towns, 
 before the conquest, were similar to some of those which exist in the 
 present day (called Pajuyuco) ; in which the houses are so dispersed, 
 and at such a distance from each other, that a town of 500 families not 
 unfrequently occupies the space of a league. The missionaries, in order 
 to baptize and instruct with more facility, collected these natives into 
 villages, formed after the Spanish way ; the church being erected in the 
 centre, in front of which was a square with a chapter-house, jail, and 
 other public buildings, with the houses distributed into square allotr 
 ments, and rectilinear streets. Had the Spanish missionaries refrained 
 from employing the bayonets of the soldiery, trusting their cause to the 
 
 * Compendium of the History of the City-of Guatemala, written by Dr. Domingo 
 Juarros, in the year 1818. 
 
590 Guatemala. 
 
 powers of persuasion, and had they not contaminated the minds of their 
 converts with absurd superstitions and a farrago of ridiculous miracles, 
 they would have rendered by their ministry an incalculable service 
 to humanity. 
 
 Notwithstanding, however, the zeal of these missionaries, many 
 Indians, a century after the conquest, were not converted to Christianity ; 
 and others, towards the year 1725, abjured that belief, and put to death 
 three missionaries who chanced to be among them, accusing religion 
 and the Spanish friars of having been instrumental in their slavery.* 
 At present the greater proportion of these Indians profess the Catholic 
 religion ; the most part of them, however, without understanding it. 
 They are credulous and superstitious. In the state of Honduras, on the 
 banks of the river Ulua, exist a tribe of Indians, from fifteen to twenty 
 thousand, called Sicaques, who are quiet and hospitable in their disposi- 
 tion. They welcome most affectionately every stranger ; and if such 
 persons show an inclination to become domiciliated among them, give 
 them a hut, and provide them with agricultural utensils ; and after a 
 year, if they have conducted themselves well, incorporate them with 
 their community, giving one of their daughters in marriage to each 
 of them. ' 
 
 The foreigner who receives these marks of favour and hospitality 
 should take especial care never to speak of the missionaries, whom they 
 detest, as having uniformly been the chief agents in the work of their 
 oppression. In the state of Honduras also, the Mosquito Indians are 
 resident, rough in their aspect, dirty, and nearly naked. These are 
 implacable enemies to the Spaniards, who never could subdue them. 
 They are inhospitable, and carry on an insignificant commerce with the 
 English alone, selling to them the small quantity of silver and gold 
 which they pick up in the rivers and mines. Some of them are seen in 
 the streets of Wallis(an English settlement), who appear like the gipsies 
 among us, and live apart from all the other inhabitants, feeding on un- 
 cleanliness and the offal which they find in the streets. Some will have 
 them to be cannibals, but certain it is that they are still idolaters. 
 
 When we behold the disorder, narrowness, and total want of conve- 
 nience in the houses of the natives of this country, and the state of 
 misery in which they are now found, it appears incredible that the 
 Indians before the conquest should have had palaces of such magnifi- 
 cence, cities so well constructed, fortresses and castles defended with so 
 much art, and other edifices for mere ostentation and parade, of which 
 many histories descant, and some traces still remain. The richest 
 Indian has now nothing but a miserable house for his habitation, which, 
 generally speaking, has only one chamber ; and, although sometimes 
 their houses may contain several apartments, they are arranged without 
 any continuity of order, and separated from each other ; so that there 
 is no instance of an Indian possessing a house inclosed in walls with 
 any vestige of taste, notwithstanding they have the abodes of the 
 Spaniards constantly before their eyes. 
 
 The Indians in the vicinity of Guatemala are as yet in a wild state : 
 they speak the indigenous language, and clothe themselves like savages, 
 
 * The Court of Rome, as usual, canonized, fis saints, these three missionaries, 
 nd made them perform miracles. 
 
Guatemala. 591 
 
 if a piece of cloth with which they cover their middle, leaving all the 
 rest of the body naked, can be denominated clothing. The females are 
 not more covered than the men ; but the bronze-like colour of their 
 skins, and their coarse physiognomies, are antidotes against the seduc- 
 tions of such a dress. The Indians of the other provinces are more 
 civilized, clothing themselves after the European fashion, and speaking 
 the Spanish tongue. 
 
 It is generally remarked, that the Indians are naturally timid and 
 cowardly, a fact which is perfectly established by the history of the 
 conquest. Don Pedro Alvarado* conquered the numerous kingdoms 
 which existed in his day with some hundred Spanish soldiers, and six 
 thousand allied Indians from the province of Plaxaltecas. The armies 
 of the Indian kings consisted of thirty, fifty, and sometimes eighty 
 thousand men, if credit can be placed in the Spanish historians. But 
 by degrees, as these Indians proceed in civilization, they acquire 
 courage and valour ; and in the last war many of them evinced great 
 prowess. Their principal weapon is the sabre, and several of them 
 know how to use muskets. Many of the tribes are armed with spears, 
 and esteemed skilful in shooting with arrows. 
 
 By the present constitution, the Indians have acquired the right of 
 citizenship, and are placed completely on an equality with the de- 
 scendants of the Spaniards. They cannot, therefore, be otherwise 
 than attached to the new system, and many of their entire towns are 
 open partisans of the republican government. 
 
 Under the Spanish rule, these people lived in oppression. The 
 government, to appearance, protected them ; but, in reality, their laws 
 tended solely to keep them in ignorance and inferiority. Thus the 
 Spanish law considered the Indians as minors during their whole life, 
 and subjected them to a perpetual tutelage. In order to prevent in- 
 struction from penetrating to them in any way, the Spaniards were pro- 
 hibited from entering Indian villages. Dancing in their own houses 
 was not permitted ; and, to the end that they might not become accom- 
 plished in the exercises of war, they were debarred from even mount- 
 ing on horseback, although their country was most abundant in horses. 
 In fine, under the Spanish sway, they were liable to be compelled by 
 the proprietors of mines to work in those subterraneous caverns for 
 two reals a day. These people, therefore, have cause to bless the pre- 
 sent constitution, which has emancipated them from a state of degra- 
 dation ; and their emancipation would always be a powerful obstacle 
 in the way of the pretensions and attempts of Spain, even were that 
 power in a state of capability to aspire to the reconquest of its colonies. 
 
 The historian Torquemada says, that these Indians, under their 
 kings, had colleges and seminaries for children and adults, under the 
 superintendence of approved, prudent, and able persons. Although, 
 in the present day, no traces of these colleges remain, nevertheless 
 Indian parents take great pains with the education of their children. 
 The mothers suckle their offspring till it attains the age of three years ; 
 and there is no instance of their confiding their children to a strange 
 nurse. They carry them slung over their shoulders, wrapped up in a 
 
 * The descendants of that conqueror inhabit the state of Costa Rica. That family, 
 excellent and enlightened citizens, has one of its members seated in the Federal 
 Congress, and another in the Senate. 
 
592 Guatemala. 
 
 piece of cloth, which they tie before them. With this burden they 
 wash, and grind, the movement of the mother serving as a gentle 
 rocking to the child. They do not defend them from the inclemencies 
 of wind, of rain, of sun, or of frost ; nor have they any cradle but the 
 hard ground, or at most a piece of cloth. As soon as the child can 
 walk, they place burdens on him adapted to his strength, and at the 
 age of five or six years, he is conducted to the fields to gather grass, 
 or to collect wood. At a more mature age the father instructs his sons 
 in hunting, fishing, labouring, using the bow and arrow, dancing, and 
 other accomplishments. The mothers teach their daughters to grind, 
 to spin cotton and pita, and to weave all kinds of cloths. They accus- 
 tom them to bathe frequently, as often as twice or thrice a day. They 
 are jealous of the honour of their daughters, and never suffer them to 
 be absent a moment from their sight. 
 
 The Indians lead a life of great hardship, ^sleeping on the bare 
 ground* with their heads wrapped in a woollen covering, and their feet 
 exposed to the air. They eat from off the ground, without any cloth 
 or napkin, and their chief aliment consists of maize ; for, although they 
 eat ox -flesh, game, and other mountainous animal food, it is taken in 
 small quantities, and always accompanied with a tortilla, which is a 
 cake of maize, thin, and baked on a comal or plate of clay, and season- 
 ed with a small quantity of salt. They drink water, or else chic/ia, 
 which is a beverage extracted [from maize, bran, or different fruits. 
 The chicha is a sweet drink, and also of a strong nature. The Indians 
 .are particularly partial to brandy, which they purchase in bottles, or 
 make in their own houses from bran, or panela, which is a sort of sugar 
 of a very vile qualify. In some villages, a bottle of brandy costs two 
 reals, and in others four. The government has always imposed a tax 
 on this distillation. 
 
 When they pay visits, they make use of long harangues full of repe- 
 titions ; and their sons, when they accompany them on such occasions, 
 observe the strictest silence. The Indians preserve secrets with the 
 greatest fidelity, and would surfer death rather than reveal them. When 
 interrogated about any thing, they never reply determinately, but always 
 in the way of a doubt, and with a quizas si, which signifies perhaps.* 
 
 Among the Indians in the province of Guatemala, and those of Que- 
 saltenango, there are many who possess sheep in abundance. These 
 persons avail themselves of the wool to weave stuffs of various kinds. 
 The most common of these stuffs is that called Serga, which, for the 
 most part, is a mixture of black and white wool, and is used by the In- 
 dians for clothes, as well as by other people who are employed in rough 
 and hard labour. They weave a more ordinary sort of stuff, which 
 scarcely deserves the name of cloth, and is destined for various pur- 
 poses. The lowest price of these stuffs is a real the vara, which is 
 nearly an English yard- The Indians also manufacture cotton cloth 
 higher in price than the stuffs we have just mentioned, and of which 
 the Indian women make use for dress, as well as the poorer classes 
 of people in the cities. 
 
 * The most general occupation of the Indians is agriculture. Many of them 
 work in the mines, and others employ themselves with their rough manufactures. 
 The government has now ordered that each village shall have possession of land 
 to the extent of a league around it; that the population may employ itself in agri- 
 cultural pursuits, and so that erery person may labour for himself. 
 
Song. 593 
 
 It ,is by no means true, as some writers have asserted, that the 
 Indians are inferior to Europeans in physical force, and in intel- 
 lectual faculties ; or at least some writers have assigned too low a cri- 
 terion for judging of the natives of America. With regard to physical 
 power, if the Indians are not to be compared with Europeans in the 
 conventional beauties of figure, many of them are their equals, or su- 
 periors in strength, and are capable of carrying loads of two hundred 
 pounds English weight. They also resist diseases better than Euro- 
 peans. There is no doubt that the organization of the Indians 
 is similar to that of the European inhabitants of America; and to prove 
 that they possess the same facilities for acquiring any art or science, it 
 is sufficient merely to reflect, that, from among those Indians who have 
 been placed in contact with civilized society, and instructed by priests ca- 
 pable of guiding their understandings, many have stood forth eminently 
 skilled in philosophy, in theology, in jurisprudence, and in other 
 sciences which they have been taught. In the province of Nicaragua 
 there was an Indian ecclesiastic, (not long dead) styled Doctor 
 Ruiz, who was a scholar of no ordinary stamp. In general they make 
 great progress in whatever studies they take up ; and are particularly 
 gifted with fluency of language and feelings of patriotism. They were 
 the first, in 1812, to take part in the revolution of Independence ; and 
 in the first Constituent Assembly of Guatemala, in 1823, three Indian 
 deputies took their seats, of whom two were ecclesiastics. Besides 
 which, an Indian was elected Senator, and sat in the assembly of 
 the republic, in the year spoken of; nor is it improbable, that in the 
 first sittings of the Congress, several Indians will appear as deputies. 
 
 In the days of the Spanish government there were few schools for 
 the use of the Indians ; and those established were but ill endowed and 
 miserably conducted, nothing being taught in them but Castilian read- 
 ing and writing. At present, primary schools are increasing, and es- 
 tablishing with great spirit ; and, when in a subsequent article we dis- 
 cuss what has been done, and is intended yet to be done, by the new 
 Constitutional Government in favour of public instruction, we shall not 
 omit to mention the measures it has already taken to introduce and dis- 
 seminate schools on the Lancasterian system. 
 
 SONG. 
 
 1 VOW'D a vow of faith to thee, 
 
 By the red rose of June ; 
 
 I vow'd it by the rainbow, 
 
 And by the silver moon. 
 
 The red rose is departed, 
 
 Fresh ones are blooming there ; 
 
 The rainbow has not left a shade 
 
 Upon the azure air. 
 
 And the crescent moon has swell'd 
 
 Into a golden round, 
 
 And a sign of chance and change 
 
 On each and all are found. 
 
 Then say not I have broken 
 
 The faith I vow'd to thee ; 
 
 Change was made for all on earth, 
 
 Was it not made for me? L. E. L. 
 
 VOL. XIV. NO. LX. 2 R 
 
( 594 ) 
 
 A DEFENCE OF THE ALPHABET. 
 
 THERE does not exist, on the face of the earth, a worse used commu- 
 nity than the alphabet. To judge the members by the reports that are 
 daily circulated against them, one must take them for the most trouble- 
 some, immoral, wicked, profligate, abandoned set of wretches that ever 
 formed a society. For " poisons, conspiracies, and assassinations libels, 
 pasquinades, and tumults," the very Abderites would have blushed for 
 them. That they sometimes appear to be concerned in libels and pas- 
 quinades ; that instances of religious, political, and literary prostitution 
 may be adduced to their discredit, must, in fairness, be admitted ; but it 
 must also be remembered, in extenuation of their seeming offences, that 
 in such cases they are not free agents, but the mere passive instruments 
 of potent employers, against whose authority they are altogether unpro- 
 vided with the means of resistance. That they would not willingly 
 lend themselves to such vile and dirty purposes, there is no reason to 
 doubt ; for those most respectable members of the community, U and I, 
 have frequently protested against all such misemployment of their ser- 
 vices. Of wilful participation in the criminality of such proceedings, 
 they must, therefore, stand acquitted ; and if odium must attach to them, 
 it can be only in the same degree, and upon the same unjust principle, 
 that an army is made to share in the disgrace of a defeat occasioned by 
 the incapacity or the misconduct of its leader. 
 
 If then there be so slight a foundation for such accusations as those 
 against them, how deplorable must their situation appear, when it is con- 
 sidered that all other accusations, of what nature soever, are atrocious 
 calumnies ! Heavens ! were it otherwise, there is not one among them 
 from A to Izzard, for whom hanging, drawing, and quartering would 
 not be excess of tenderness the hurdle, the gibbet, and the stake, a 
 paradise. Read the daily prints, and it will be found that not an elope- 
 ment is planned ; not an unsuspecting female is ruined ; not a crim. 
 con. is committed ; not a prodigal son is guilty of an offence, at once, 
 against his family and the state ; in short, not a crime in the long cata- 
 logue furnished by human depravity is perpetrated ; but some unhappy 
 letters of the alphabet are denounced as the criminals ! And innocent 
 as they are, why should this be ? Why should they, even for a day or an 
 hour, be selected as the scape-goats, to bear the odium of offences attri- 
 butable to others, who may be sufficiently adroit or powerful to procure 
 for themselves secrecy and shelter under cover of an innocent initial ? 
 By such allowance, not only are the ends of justice perverted (often 
 defeated) but crime is, in some measure, encouraged ; for there is many 
 a heartless fellow, who, had he no other tribunal to account to than his 
 own indulgent conscience, would readily commit an act from which he 
 would be deterred by the certainty of exposure, in the event of detec- 
 tion, to the rigour, not merely of the laws, but of public opinion. It 
 may be objected, that this assertion is not strictly applicable as regards 
 the graver offences against society, such as do really fall within the 
 cognizance of the laws ; and that no subterfuge is available to screen 
 the authors of such misdeeds from the infliction of their merited pu- 
 nishment. Such objection is partially admitted ; but there can be no 
 doubt, that so far as concerns the commission of innumerable offences 
 contra bonos mores, which do not come within reach of the arm of jus- 
 
( 63 ) 
 
 GUATEMALA*. 
 
 IT is asserted by the Spaniards, who wrote the history of the Con- 
 quest, that in the kingdom of Guatemala alone, before the arrival of 
 Don Pedro Alvarado, thirty different nations of Indians existed. If 
 we believe this account, and contrast that immense population with the 
 700,000 poor and degraded Indians who are now living in solitary dis- 
 persion throughout the vast extent of that republic, a sentiment of 
 horror cannot but pervade every bosom, resulting from the conduct of 
 the superstitious court of Madrid, which, under the pretext of extir- 
 pating human sacrifices, immolated to the fiend of intolerance so many 
 innocent people. But even supposing the assertion to be devoid of 
 reality, there is little doubt that the lamentations which the pious Las 
 Cazas has transmitted to posterity in favour of the Indians, are too 
 well founded, as are also the observations made by the philosopher 
 Raynal, while treating of the same subject, upon fanaticism and re- 
 ligious intolerance : and it must be confessed, if this be an exaggerated 
 account of the Spanish historians, that the conquerors of South America 
 are even worse than the Turks, inasmuch as they boast of having oc- 
 casioned more evil and committed more direful ravages than they 
 actually did commit ; a thing unknown to these eastern fanatics, who 
 lay waste with fire and sword, but never vaunt of being more cruel 
 than necessity warrants, by increasing the amount of the slaughtered vic- 
 tims belonging to the nations which they have subjugated. Without, 
 however, entering into a minute calculation of the massacres committed 
 by the Spaniards in that part of America, it cannot be denied that they 
 were the original spoliators of the country, and the destroyers of the 
 many cities which existed prior to the conquest. To prove this, it will 
 be sufficient to quote the description given by Don Francisco de 
 Fuentes, the historian of the kingdom of Guatemala, of the city of 
 Utatlan, in former times the residence of the King of Quiche, and by 
 far the most splendid which the Spaniards met with in that country. 
 
 Don Francisco de Fuentes took up his abocje expressly in Quiche, 
 anxious to investigate its alleged antiquity by an accurate survey of 
 the ruins or manuscripts which his assiduity might discover. Accord- 
 ing to his narrative, that capital was built nearly on the site of the 
 present city of Santa Cruz del Quiche, which leaves room to conjecture 
 that the latter might have been a suburb to the former. It was sur- 
 rounded by a precipice, which served it as a fosse, and left no access 
 to the city but by two very narrow entrances, defended by the castle 
 of Resguardo : in this situation it was considered impregnable. In 
 the centre of the capital was the royal palace, inclosed by the houses 
 of the nobility, it being the usage for the plebeians to reside at the ex- 
 tremities of the city. Its streets were extremely narrow, and the place 
 was so populous that the king collected from it alone seventy- two 
 thousand soldiers to dispute the entrance of the Spaniards. It was a 
 most wealthy capital, and adorned with numerous sumptuous edifices, 
 the most celebrated of which was the seminary, where five or six 
 thousand young men were fed, clothed, and instructed, at the expense 
 of the royal treasury, and where sixty directors and preceptors were 
 
 * Continued from Vol. xiv. p. 578. 
 
t>4 Guatemala. 
 
 employed in the various labours of education. Besides the extensive 
 castles of Atalaga and Resguardo, which were both capable of contain- 
 ing a vast number of defenders, the grand alcazar, or palace of the 
 JCing of Quiche, was immense and beautiful in the extreme ; and, ac- 
 cording to Terquemada, its opulence competed with the palace of 
 Montezuma in Mexico, and that of the Incas in Cuzco. Its front 
 from east to west measured 376 geometrical paces, and its sides 728. 
 It was built of divers-coloured stones, was elegant and magnificent in 
 its proportions, and was divided into seven departments. The first 
 served as quarters for a numerous band of spearmen, archers, and 
 other expert soldiers, whose duty it was to guard the royal person. 
 The second was destined for the habitation of the princes and relatives 
 of the king, who during celibacy were treated with royal magnifi- 
 cence. The third was the abode of the king himself, wherein were 
 apartments set apart for morning, after dinner, and evening. In one 
 of these chambers, under four canopies of feathers, stood the splendid 
 regal throne, the ascent to which was by a grand flight of steps. In 
 this part of the palace were the royal treasury, the tribunal of the judges 
 of the people, the armoury, the gardens, the cages of the birds and 
 wild beasts, and a great variety of offices. The fourth and fifth de- 
 partments were amazingly extensive, and occupied by the palace of the 
 queens and concubines of the king. It contained an assemblage of 
 suites of apartments requisite for the accommodation of thirty females, 
 who were treated as queens ; and was provided with gardens, orchards, 
 baths, and places for the birds that furnished the feathers in use among 
 the natives of the country. Contiguous to the last was the sixth de- 
 partment, which was the college of the young ladies, where the 
 princesses of the blood royal were educated. 
 
 To those who are of opinion that the natives of America derive their 
 origin from the Asiatics, the description of that immense capital might 
 furnish evidence conclusive in support of their doctrine ; inasmuch as, 
 without taking into account the idolatrous worship, the analogy of 
 colour and form, and the pusillanimity common to both these people, 
 it might rationally be inferred from the use of harems, from the plu- 
 rality of wives, from the baths, from the narrowness of the streets, 
 and from various other circumstances, that the two nations are de- 
 scendants of one family. 
 
 Before the conquest, many large cities of nearly equal note existed in 
 the kingdom of Quiche, and in the other Indian countries ; such as 
 Xelahu, Chemequena, Patinamit, the famous city of Atitlan, and the 
 fortress of Mizco ; but, as has been already observed in the preceding 
 article, nothing now remains of these spacious places but distant re- 
 cords, or a few uncertain traces. 
 
 In return for so much destruction, the Spaniards founded here and 
 there, and not unfrequently on the ruins of the ancient, some new cities, 
 which deserve no particular notice either for the beauty of their con- 
 struction or the magnitude of their population. The magnificent and 
 grand was found by the Spaniards ; and, like the Turks, they have sub- 
 stituted on its wreck meanness and deformity ! The greater part of 
 the cities founded by the Castilians are dedicated to a saint ; but, not- 
 withstanding the patronage of these celestial patrons, their inhabitants 
 remain invariably in a state of poverty and ignorance. 
 
From thi* list, however, we must except the city of Guatemala ; 
 which, not only on account of its structure, but from the circumstance 
 of its being the capital of the new republic, deserves particularly to be 
 mentioned. 
 
 Guatemala is the fourth city which has borne the name. The first 
 was that Guatemala which was the residence of the kings of the 
 Rachiqueles, and which has so entirely disappeared that the Spanish 
 historians are still at issue as to the spot where it existed. The second 
 was founded by the Adelantado* Alvarado, in 1524, between two vol- 
 canoes, as a temporary establishment, until he could select a more ap- 
 propriate situation ; but finding none such, the inhabitants resolved to 
 remain stationary, approaching somewhat nearer to the east, at the 
 bottom of the volcano called Vulcan de Agua, a most fertile and pleasant 
 site, the temperature of which is rather cold, with a wholesome atmo- 
 sphere, and a soil well supplied with cool and salubrious waters. In 
 that situation the conqueror Alvarado founded the city on the 22d 
 November, 1527; and very soon afterwards it was peopled by that 
 cloud of locusts which then followed the Spanish army, in other words, 
 by the Dominican, Franciscan, and La Merced Friars, the Hermits of 
 our Lady, the begging hermits, those of the True Cross, and by all 
 the rest of their innumerable family. The city, however, at first in- 
 creased but slowly, having been inundated and desolated, on the night 
 of the llth September, 1541, by a tremendous torrent of water which 
 issued from the volcano, destroying with its flood, trees, houses, and 
 inhabitants ; by reason of which disaster that city (called Ciudad 
 Viaja) was rebuilt on the supposed site of the old Guatemala, (Antigua 
 Guatemala.) 
 
 This third city of Guatemala was founded in a pleasant valley, en- 
 compassed by woods and ever-verdant hills, enjoying a moderate tem- 
 perature, and blest, as it were, with a perpetual spring. In the cathe- 
 dral of this Guatemala were buried the mortal remains of the Adelan- 
 tado Alvarado. This city was also peopled by Dominican, Franciscan, 
 and La Merced friars, as well as by Jesuits. It contained ten monas- 
 teries of regulars, and five convents of nuns, who, as the author of 
 the MONACOLOGY justly observes, are rarely found far apart, being 
 like plants among which the male and female of each species are 
 always seen in contiguity. There was likewise a convent of the order 
 of La Conception, of such vast extent, that nuns, novices, and servants, 
 to the amount of more than a thousand, are said to have inhabited it : 
 but notwithstanding the presence of so many Seraphic inhabitants, the 
 city was unfortunately shaken by frequent earthquakes, from the visita- 
 tions of which it was doomed several times to be destroyed. At last, 
 the place having again been partly laid waste by the earthquake of 
 1773, the inhabitants, tired of ruin and of so often rebuilding their 
 domiciles, resolved to remove to a spot further distant from the 
 volcano and the misfortunes it occasioned, making choice for lhat pur- 
 pose of the valley of Mixco, where in 1776 the new Guatemala was 
 erected. 
 
 * Adelantado, in old Spanish, signifies the military and political government of a 
 province on the confines of a kingdom Pra-fectus, Presses. 
 
 Jan. VOL. xvi. NO. LXI. F 
 
New Guatemala, the capital of the republic, is built in a spacious 
 plain, five leagues in diameter, watered and fertilized by various rivu- 
 lets and considerable lakes, under a smiling sky, and enjoying a benig- 
 nant climate ; so much so, that throughout the year woollen or silk 
 stuffs may be worn indiscriminately. The streets of the city are straight, 
 tolerably long, and in general paved. The houses, though built low, 
 for fear of earthquakes, are nevertheless commodious, pretty in ap- 
 pearance, and have gardens and orchards attached to them. The prin- 
 cipal plaza is a large square, of which each side measures 150 yards, 
 well paved, with porticoes all around. In front of it is the cathedral, 
 built by an Italian artist, in a correct and magnificent style of ar- 
 chitecture. On one side of the cathedral is the archiepiscopal palace, 
 and on the other one of the seminaries. In front of the cathedral is 
 erected the palace of government, near which stands the palace of jus- 
 tice, and in the middle of the square plays a fountain, slightly carved. 
 The churches of Guatemala are all handsomely and elegantly con- 
 structed ; and attention is particularly arrested by a beautiful amphi- 
 theatre of stone, destined for the barbarous amusement of bull-baiting; 
 and in this building, by way of refinement in cruelty, combats between 
 jaguars and bulls have sometimes been exhibited. There is a well-built 
 university, where law, theology, medicine, mathematics, and natural 
 history, are taught; to which are attached a small library, and an 
 anatomical museum, with several curious preparations in wax. The 
 city possesses, besides, an academy for the fine arts, an elegantly 
 constructed mint, very deficient, however, in the machinery employed 
 in European establishments of the same kind. To remedy this defi- 
 ciency, the government has lately commissioned an individual, at pre- 
 sent in London, to purchase one of Bolton's machines. This mint has 
 always been in active employment; and from it was issued, in 1824, 
 the recent gold and silver coin, stamped with the newly-devised armorial 
 bearings adopted by the republic ; exhibiting on one side a tree, with 
 the motto " Libre cresca y fecundo" and on the other a rising sun 
 enlightening five mountains, emblematical of the five federal states. 
 
 According to the census, instituted by order of Senor Del Valle, 
 while he was president of the republic, the population of Guatemala 
 exceeds 40,000 souls. 
 
 The city is nine Spanish leagues distant from the ancient Guatemala; 
 ninety leagues from the sea on the north, twenty-six from the Pacific 
 ocean, and four hundred from the city of Mexico. 
 
 The federal congress and the senate are the most valuable establish- 
 ments of this capital, and cannot fail to render it flourishing and cele- 
 brated in time to come. These two bodies conjointly exercising the 
 legislative power, assemble in two distinct halls, founded on the site 
 of the old university. In the first national assembly more than eighty 
 deputies look their seats. At the present time the federal congress 
 reckons but forty-six representatives, and the senate is composed of 
 ten members. The senate-house has been lately adorned in a simple 
 and d : gnified style. The hall of congress is in no way remarkable, 
 and its walls are covered with velvet and damask. It has a gallery for 
 the public ; and behind the president's chair is a kind of balcony, where 
 ladies may be present at the debates. It is an incontrovertible fact 
 
(rualetnala. $7 
 
 that eloquence is rare in all assemblies where the members are few in 
 number. As writers are warmed into enthusiasm by possessing in ima- 
 gination an uncontrollable dominion over the judgment and applause of 
 posterity : in like manner the presence of a numerous auditory excites the 
 passions and gives a zest to the imaginative powers of the orator. The 
 limited number of deputies in the federal congress of Guatemala, curtail- 
 ing the space for the expansion of the majestical and far-extending wings 
 of eloquence, may therefore be assigned as the true cause of the languid 
 state of the present oratory of the country. Last June, however, a sit- 
 ting was held in the hall of congress, not less important from the nature 
 of the discussions which took place, than on account of the ani- 
 mated speeches delivered on the occasion ; and the subject being in- 
 teresting to humanity collectively, it may not perhaps be amiss to give 
 a detailed account of the proceedings. 
 
 One of the first acts of the constituent assembly of Guatemala was 
 the abolition of slavery, which disgrace of civilized ages was annihi- 
 lated by a decree of the 17th of April, 1824. Nevertheless the law 
 wisely settled a rate of indemnity for the owners of slaves. Senor del 
 Valle, ever foremost in the paths of patriotism and humanity, was very 
 urgent in recommending such a compensation, and his example was 
 followed by the greater part of the proprietors. The number of slaves 
 at that time in the republic did not exceed five hundred. The epoch of 
 that decree was observed by the government as a season of festivity 
 and jubilee ; and the legislative power, rejoicing in the benefit done to 
 humanity, declared in its message that the decrees of the assembly 
 deserved to be registered on tablets of brass, in the hall of the as- 
 sembly, as one of its greatest ornaments. 
 
 In process of time the constitution was promulgated by the national 
 assembly, and confirmed the abolition of slavery by the 13th article, 
 worded as follows : 
 
 " Every man in the republic is free ; and no one who takes refuge 
 under its laws can be a slave, nor shall any one be accounted a citizen 
 who carries on the slave-trade." 
 
 By means of this article the republic was placed by the constitution on 
 a footing with the temples of the ancients, which served as an asylum 
 to the unfortunate. In consequence, during last spring, one hundred 
 slaves, belonging to the English settlers at Belize,, fled from the colony, 
 and sought refuge in the republic- The superintendent of the establish- 
 ment demanded the restitution of the fugitives. The executive, in the 
 message with which it forwarded the demand to the legislative power, 
 gave its opinion in favour of the required restitution : influenced, no 
 doubt, by an apprehension that the British Government would not 
 tamely permit a refusal to be given, which would so materially tend to 
 alarm its subjects, proprietors of slaves in the West Indies, where 
 slavery is still tolerated. The public of Guatemala, on that account, 
 were anxious to know the resolve of the legislative power upon so de- 
 licate an affair. The 6th of June was fixed for the debate, and the hall 
 of congress was crowded to excess. Attention and anxiety were visi- 
 ble on every face ; and so intensely were the feelings acted on, that the 
 eyelids seemed to cease from their involuntary motion during the 
 period of suspense. The deputy, Alvarado, opened the debate. 
 
6<S Guatemala. 
 
 " Era cste noble mozo de alto hecho, 
 Varon de autoridad, grave, y aevero, 
 Amigo de guardar todo derecho, 
 Aspero, riguroso, y justiciero, 
 Decuerpo grande y relevado pecho."* 
 
 These verses, with which Ercilla pourtrays Caupolicon in the Arau- 
 cana, convey a correct idea of Alvarado. On that occasion he 
 brought the constitution to the view of the congress ; thus addressing 
 it: 
 
 " This is the sacred Jgis, under cover of which the slaves of Belize 
 have taken refuge ; and I call on you to recollect that you have sworn 
 to maintain it inviolate. Shall we break that oath so shortly after hav- 
 ing pronounced it ? What are commercial interests, when put in com- 
 petition with the paramount duty of preserving justice ? They should 
 weigh as a feather in the balance ! England, it is true, protects the 
 interests of her traders ; but is she not bound still more to prefer and 
 protect the sanctity of oaths ?" 
 
 The whole harangue of the orator, besides being animated by the 
 glowing sentiments of a generous heart, was interwoven with brilliant 
 sentences of manly logic, and obtained from the auditory, whose emo- 
 tions sympathized with the words he uttered, reiterated expressions of 
 approbation. After him arose an opponent, who, with all the powers 
 of oratory, exerted himself to prove the propriety of the restitution, 
 and, by quotations from ancient and modern history, to show that the 
 principles of justice, which ought to regulate the conduct of individuals, 
 cannot be always made applicable to a state. Many other deputies fol- 
 lowed on the same false side of the argument : but Senor Alvarado was 
 not disheartened ; and returning to the charge, adduced fresh argu- 
 ments in reply ; declaring in conclusion, that if the English Govern- 
 ment should insist on recovering possession of the slaves by force, he 
 would prefer to fall a victim to violence rather than become an accom- 
 plice to injustice. These last words, pronounced loudly and with im- 
 passioned emphasis, by an orator whose countenance was invariably 
 clothed with an air of sadness, again drew down the plaudits of his 
 hearers, whose hearts were without exception in unison with justice. t 
 Notwithstanding, however, the manly resistance of Senor Alvarado, 
 the discussion was eventually decided by a majority in favour of the 
 contrary opinion ; and in consequence the congress ordered the resti- 
 tution of the slaves a decision which fortunately was subject to the 
 revision of the senate. That second legislative chamber, therefore, 
 resumed the discussion, and pronounced an opposite decision, declaring 
 the slaves to be free; but at the same time uniting the rights of liberty 
 with the claims of property, it determined to award a just compensa- 
 
 * "That noble youth was of great spirit, a man of authority, grave and stern, 
 never swerving from what was right, and rigorously enforcing justice : tall in 
 stature, with a high breast." 
 
 f Senor Alvarado is in high esteem with his countrymen, by reason of the firm- 
 ness and intrepidity of his character. He was not long since condemned to death 
 by the Spaniards, for having been one of the first favourers of Independence. His 
 trial had been gone through, and he was placed in the church, to be conducted 
 afterwards to the gibbet, when he was providentially saved. This fearful incident 
 af hib life gave a melancholy cast to his visage, and impressed his mind with a 
 ' Itorror of injustice. 
 
Guatemala. 69 
 
 tk>n to the English owners of the slaves. Does not the revision of the 
 preceding decision prove, in an incontrovertible manner, the necessity 
 of a second chamber to preserve the equilibrium of the legislative 
 power ? The senators, who most distinguished themselves in the dis- 
 cussion in favour of these slaves, were the Senors Barrundia, Alvarado, 
 Alcayagua, and Mendez. 
 
 Wars, revolutions, and political catastrophes, invariably bring for- 
 ward great characters. Guatemala, which has experienced none of these 
 violent political convulsions, cannot present us with a series of illus- 
 trious warriors, or of extraordinary men. Nevertheless this republic, 
 even in the course of ordinary events, has produced enlightened and 
 zealous patriots, who might well be placed in rivalry with many illus- 
 trious characters who have done honour to their country. Senor Bar- 
 rundia, at present a member of the senate, is a native of the state of 
 Guatemala. Previously to the declaration of Independence, he was a 
 naval officer, and suffered much in the cause of liberty. Always poor, 
 yet ever honourable, he often displayed his disinterested disposition by 
 refusing many employments which were pressed on his acceptance. 
 Public opinion and esteem pointed him out for the situation of Presi- 
 dent of the Committee charged with arranging the outlines of the con- 
 stitution ; and to his assiduity the public is indebted for a great portion 
 of that labour. He is about thirty-two years of age, fair, with a fine 
 aspect and interesting physiognomy. He speaks with eloquence, not- 
 withstanding a certain degree of difficulty in his delivery a defect 
 which is amply compensated by a sonorous enunciation and dignified 
 gesticulation. He is considered by all parties as a man of unimpeach- 
 able integrity. 
 
 Father Alcayagua, formerly a member of the constituent assembly, 
 is one of the senators. This priest, rector of the village of Duenas, 
 was also a member of the committee for preparing the constitution, and 
 took a distinguished part in its formation. He possesses an amiable 
 disposition ; and his countenance, which age has now rendered venera- 
 ble, is distinguished by strong traces of amenity. Highly gifted with 
 intelligence, he is decidedly liberal. But though his conduct is irre- 
 proachable, when he sat in the constituent assembly he was denounced 
 as a heretic. Such unfounded calumny is unfortunately not without 
 precedent. During the reign of ignorance, learning among an unen- 
 lightened people was always a motive for founding accusations of 
 heresy and sorcery. 
 
 The senator Alvarado, brother of the deputy, is another clergyman of 
 spotless character and severe principles. His stately and imposing 
 figure, his inflexibility in doing what is just and upright, and his intre- 
 pid patriotism, make him more worthy to immortalize the name than 
 the Conqueror Alvarado, from whom he is descended. 
 
 Don Francisco Sosa, an ardent patriot in the commencement of Inde- 
 pendence, is the present minister of justice and public worship in the 
 interior. He is thirty years old, highly educated, with fine manners 
 and a graceful mien ; and was a deputy in the national assembly, and a 
 member of the committee for preparing the constitution. 
 
 Don Jose del Valle deserves to rank foremost among his country- 
 men. Every thing combines in this patriot to gain him the esteem of 
 his fellow-citizens and the respect of foreigners. Thoroughly versed 
 
70 Guatemala. 
 
 in all the sciences, he speaks and writes with admirable eloquence and 
 facility. Following in the steps of Franklin, he began his career by 
 editing a journal, entitled '* El Amigo de la Patria," for the pur- 
 pose of instructing his countrymen, and of elevating their minds for 
 the reception of independence. Nominated in 1822 to serve as a 
 deputy in the congress of Mexico, he omitted no opportunity to speak 
 aloud for the independence of his country. In October 1822 he was, 
 with several other deputies, arrested by the usurper Iturbide ; and, by 
 one of the singular caprices of fortune which are usually conco- 
 mitant with despotism, was liberated from incarceration by the tyrant, 
 who had imprisoned him, to be invested with the portfolio of minister 
 of the interior and foreign affairs. On the overthrow of the despot, he 
 strenuously exerted all his influence to obtain the independence of Gua- 
 temala ; and his countrymen rewarded his patriotism by appointing 
 him president of the republic, which office he filled till last April. 
 He was subsequently elected vice-president, which situation he declined 
 accepting, as he conceived himself to have been fraudulently deprived of 
 the presidentship, to which he had been re-elected by a majority. His 
 fortune is considerable. He is of high stature, in the prime of life, 
 and ardent in his wishes to procure the felicity of his country. His 
 courtesy to foreigners is the theme of admiration ; in short, he is one 
 of those men who, by their virtue and talents, suffice to give fame and 
 splendour to a nation. 
 
 It is now time to redeem the promise we gave in our article in the 
 preceding number, and to show what the government of the new re- 
 public has already done for the public good, and what it still intends 
 to do. 
 
 We will begin with Public Instruction. On this point every credit 
 is due to the wisdom of the government, which, from the first moment, 
 invariably acted on the principle, that the instruction of the people con- 
 stitutes the true foundation of virtue and liberty. The local autho- 
 rities were directed to present the list of the schools existing in each 
 province, and to propose the means best fitted to augment similar semi- 
 naries. In the city of Guatemala are ten schools for reading and writ- 
 ing, in which nearly 700 young men are educated. The government, 
 anxious to establish the system of mutual instruction, directed its mi- 
 nister at the United States to procure a professor capable of trans- 
 planting and diffusing that plan in the republic, while it disseminated 
 throughout the provinces a pamphlet printed in Mexico, in which the 
 new method was explained ; and a committee was selected to translate 
 the projects of Fourcroy, Condorcet, and Talleyrand, on the subject of 
 public instruction. 
 
 A chair of mathematics, of botany and agriculture, and another of 
 architecture, were endowed in the university : and in order to propa- 
 gate the knowledge of agriculture and botany, so essential in a country 
 highly favoured by nature, and so shamefully neglected by man, 
 young persons were brought from all the provinces to be instructed in 
 those sciences. As a proof of the laudable impartiality of the govern- 
 ment, it is worthy of remark, that six black young men of Omoa and 
 Truxillo are educated at its expense. 
 
 The cultivation of cochineal in the different provinces is greatly en- 
 couraged by the ruling powers ; and, by their direction, pamphlets 
 
Guatemala. 71 
 
 have been circulated, disclosing the most approved methods of cul- 
 tivating that valuable production, as well as printed essays on the rear- 
 ing of cocoa and indigo. The latter article, which in former years had 
 fallen in value, rose in 1824 to a price unexampled for many years. 
 The plantations of cochineal recently cultivated in the republic make 
 great progress, and in a short time this production will be one of the 
 principal sources of national wealth.* 
 
 Mines. 
 
 In this part of America, Nature has been prodigal in mines containing 
 an abundance of wealth. Besides the mine of Alotepeque, which we 
 have already described, another, called Del Corpus, lies in the territory 
 of the republic, from which branch many veins were actively worked 
 till 1810, and only then abandoned by reason of a want of money and 
 machinery sufficient to drain off the water which had inundated them. 
 The riches of theses mines must have been considerable; in proof of 
 which position it is merely necessary to state, that during a period of 
 six years, they produced eight millions of dollars. In the vicinity of 
 these subterraneous works, five thousand Indians were resident, who 
 for two reals a day were employed in the excavations ; considerable 
 forests were also at hand, and a river at the distance of two leagues* 
 The mine of San Martin, when in a state of labour, was one of the 
 richest ; nor were those of San Antonio and Santa Lucia much inferior in 
 value. In the state of San Salvador was situated the mine of Tapanco, 
 also very rich. The vast extraction of metal from these mines in times 
 past, and their position in the same ridge of mountains, in the bosom 
 of which are situated the mines of Peru, Potosi, and Mexico, induce 
 a belief that their wealth is not much inferior to that of those celebra- 
 ted veins of ore. Many of these, it is true, have not yielded a compara- 
 tively equal produce, having uniformly been abandoned, at a cer- 
 tain point, in consequence of the scarcity of scientific mineralogists and 
 expert miners a drawback which has never ceased to exist through- 
 out th kingdom of Guatemala. This deficiency in so requisite a 
 science may be attributed to the want of a good school of mineralogy 
 in the country an advantage which, even under the Spanish sway, 
 was only enjoyed by Mexico ; on which account its mines were always 
 better stocked with machines and experienced workmen. The new 
 government of the republic, aware of this obstacle, and anxious to in- 
 vigorate and protect so important a source of wealth, began, among the 
 first acts of its administration, to put into effect every possible me- 
 thod for the improvement and prosperity of the mines. It caused 
 printed instructions to be distributed among the miners, and circulated 
 an essay on the separation of metals, bringing at the same time a pro- 
 fessor of mineralogy from Mexico, and urging the agents of two Eng- 
 lish commercial houses to establish a company for the purpose of 
 undertaking the proper working of the mines. 
 
 Roads and Canals. 
 
 Whoever has travelled in Spain, need not be told that the Govern- 
 ment there is no promoter of the facility of communication between place 
 and place. Can it therefore be a matter of wonder, that the court of 
 
 * Fide Memoria presentada al Congreso General de los Estados Federados de 
 Centro America ; por el Secretario de Estado encargado del despaeho universal al 
 eomen>: .r las sesiones del ano de 1825. Guatemala. 
 
74 Guatemala. 
 
 were exacted from them in times past. The fact is, that the inhabi- 
 tants of Guatemala pay less taxes than any other people of the present 
 day in Europe or America. Senor del Valle having compared the 
 contributions of Mexico with those of Guatemala, proves that in Mexico 
 each person pays eleven reals, and in his country but two and a half. 
 
 Colonization. 
 
 The 12th article of the constitution declares that " the republic is a 
 sacred asylum for every foreigner, and the country of any one who 
 desires to inhabit its territory." The government, aware of the ne- 
 cessity of inviting foreign industry to establish itself in the republic, by 
 a decree of the 12th January, 1824, (which on account of its length we 
 cannot now extract,) offered the most liberal advantages to foreigners 
 who colonized there. Land is easily obtained, and its possession is 
 accompanied with exemption from taxes for twenty years, and the 
 right of citizenship after three ; besides which, the most careful pro- 
 tection is given to every foreign agriculturist. 
 
 This, then, is the position which the Guatemalan nation presents to 
 the eyes of the world : agitated no more by revolutions and de- 
 structive changes, it advances in a steady manner towards wealth and 
 civilization. " The government of Guatemala," to use the words of 
 Senor del Valle,* " has never for an instant lost sight of the welfare 
 of the nation; an object which it has forwarded with foresight, and 
 without dangerous precipitancy. A laborious peasant may now recall 
 his toils, and look on the profits derived from them with pleasure. The 
 benevolent exertions of a zealous government in behalf of its citizens, 
 are satisfactory to the governors and the governed. I have laboured 
 strenuously for the public last year, and shall labour still more in the 
 present. The people have confided their destinies to me, and I shall 
 live wholly for the people. A tear less, an ear of corn more, or a shoot 
 from a plant not cultivated before my administration, will place me at 
 the summit of felicity." 
 
 At this moment the Grand Congress of all the new American repub- 
 lics is assembling at Panama; whence will undoubtedly be diffused an 
 electric fire, which will impart new impulses to the infant states, and 
 tend to quicken their prosperity. What a powerful influence may not 
 that free and confederate continent, in a century to come, exercise over 
 Europe ! -f 
 
 * Speech of the President charged with the executive power, on the opening of 
 the Federal Congress of Guatemala, on the 25th of February, 1825. 
 
 f- Without wishing to detract from the works of M. de Pradt upon the Colonies, 
 we take leave to quote a passage from the writings of the Italian philosopher Geno- 
 veri, who, about the middle of the last century, predicted the emancipation of the 
 American colonies; adding another prophecy, which we hope will not be verified so 
 literally as the first. His words are these : " It is nevertheless true that those 
 who have founded extensive colonies in the new world, thought, as is the custom of 
 mankind in general, more of present utility than of future consequences. These colo- 
 nies, in process of time, cannot but organise themselves after the European model, 
 and become anxious to possess all our arts and sciences j and, when this happens, 
 they will inevitably make themselves independent of the mother country, whose 
 gains will then be at an end. Nor do 1 deem it beyond the pale of probability that 
 these colonies may one day become our masters. Every thing in the world is 
 subject to mutations, and assumes a new aspect in the lapse of time. Who could 
 have imagined, in the days of Augustus, that the country of the Italians would 
 dwindle into colonies of the southern nations !" 
 
( 201 ) 
 
 MR. DICKSON'S NARRATIVE. 
 Mexican Banditti. 
 
 [Our readers will recollect in the newspapers, about a twelvemonth ago, the 
 accour.t of an attack made upon a party of travellers proceeding from Mexico to the 
 coast, in which all but one were destroyed by banditti, the survivor, Mr. Dickson, 
 having miraculously escaped with numerous wounds : the following is that gentle- 
 man's narrative of his preservation.] 
 
 THE carriage rolled on through a shaded ravine, on our journey to 
 the coast. All my companions had gradually dropped asleep ; I, too, 
 was dozing and waking at intervals. 1 have some confused recollection 
 of being asleep and dreaming ; whatever it was, my eyes were closed in 
 perfect forgetful ness. Suddenly, the discharge of fire-arms in front 
 aroused me. The holster pistols were lying on the cushion at my 
 side ; I grasped them instinctively, and sprang from my seat. 
 
 One, two, three, half a dozen horsemen, armed and masked, were in 
 a moment round the carriage. 
 
 "Alto! co JOB!" they vociferated; "surrender, surrender, ye dogs !" 
 
 " Ha !" cried I, levelling my pistol, and in an instant the foremost 
 of the band staggered forward and fell ; his horse bounded past the 
 carriage with an empty saddle. " N , there goes one !" I exclaim- 
 ed, " now for the other ;" and ere the words parted from my lips a se- 
 cond of the brigands shared his fate. 
 
 I saw them for a moment cowering on their saddles in the next, a 
 
 second discharge took place, and two more fell on N 's side. The 
 
 smoke filled the carriage. I disengaged another pistol from the sash 
 pocket, for we were well prepared not a word was spoken a moment 
 of intense interest succeeded, it was but a moment, when, dashing 
 wildly on, came a whole troop of horsemen, masked and armed, 
 filling the air with horrid yells and imprecations. 
 
 " Now ! now, N !" cried I hoarsely, " we shall have it ; but 
 
 they shall buy us dearly." 
 
 '* For God's sake, Santiago, fire not," shrieked R ; " we are 
 lost men ;" and in the instant came a crashing volley from their car- 
 bines, dashing the panels of the carriage to pieces, and the shouts 
 and tramp of horses, and forms half seen, came rushing upon us. 
 
 Again and again were seen the straggling flashes in front, in rear, on 
 every side of our devoted carriage. The air resounded with the yells, 
 and groans, and shouts of the brigands that encircled us, even as their 
 forms gleamed amid the smoke. Curses were heard, loud and furious, 
 as a comrade fell by our fire. Enveloped in the smoke, unable to see, 
 and half suffocated, I stood with one knee resting on the cushion, my 
 carbine in my hand. All at once there was a hush ; not a sound was 
 heard ; till the current of air sweeping through the carriage wafted 
 away the smoke which filled it, and displayed their lances and sabres 
 glistening in the sun. 
 
 Oh that moment! I feel it even now: the blood rushed to my 
 heart, retreated, then closed with icy coldness in my veins my car- 
 bine dropped I raised it again in indecision. I glanced around me 
 
 my eye fell on N ; I started in horror and surprise, for the blood 
 
 was issuing copiously from a wound in his head. 
 
 " Good God !" 1 exclaimed, my carbine falling from my hand. 
 " N- !" but he spoke not ; he seemed dead ; and the warm blood 
 
 March. VOL. XXVIII. NO. CXI. P 
 
202 Mr. Dicksori's Narrative. 
 
 was streaming from his countenance : he had fallen back on the seat 
 he almost seemed smiling poor fellow ! he was quite dead. 
 
 I tore my cravat from my neck, it was the work of a moment and 
 I tried to staunch the wound in his head. I thought I had succeeded 
 alas ! again the blood came oozing, and gushing through the bandage 
 with increased vehemence. I became very sick and faint, and as I 
 turned in anguish from my friend, I staggered and fell backward my 
 heart felt icy cold. 
 
 " Picq.ro, co-jo!'' cried one of the bandits, making a thrust at me 
 through the window with his sabre; " your arms, co -jo!" 
 
 Mechanically I raised my carbine and handed it to him, for I felt 
 incapable of defence. As I lifted up my arm to give it. him, something 
 pressed against my side. 1 heard the discharge of fire-arms, and a 
 sudden blow against my breast, which sent me bounding up against the 
 roof of the carriage. I staggered on one side, fell against the corner 
 of the cushion, and writhed for a moment in horrid pain. 
 
 I then thought I was shot, and imagined that the brigands seeing me 
 still standing up in the carriage would fire again. I had presence of 
 mind left to fall down among the bodies of my companions,, where I lay 
 for the time nearly suffocated with shortness of breath and dreadful 
 thrilling pain. 
 
 The order to form was now given, and the whole of the robbers came 
 round the carriage in silence : the curtains of the windows were drawn, 
 and the mules moved on : they did so for a few paces, but the road 
 becoming very stony, the carriage paused, unable to proceed. The 
 brigands, rinding that the mules were not capable of drawing it over the 
 stones, dismounted, and some of them applying their shoulders to the 
 wheels, tried to proceed ; the others got infuriated by the delay, and 
 commenced abusing the postilions. 
 
 I heard one of them, named Juan, reply, in a dogged manner. " Cut 
 him down," cried one ; " Abajo con el cojo" vociferated another ; 
 then instantly came the clashing of swords, and the groan of some one 
 wounded. I saw nothing of it, for I was lying bleeding at the bottom 
 of the carriage, and the curtains were close. 
 
 They at length succeeded in extricating the carriage from the stony 
 ground and away it rolled towards the forest hard by without far- 
 ther interruption. 
 
 I had been hurt in the breast, and the pain seemed concentrated in 
 one part, so that, had I not heard the report of fire-arms, I should 
 have imagined it only a stunning blow from some blunt instrument. 
 
 I was completely breathless for a few minutes, so much so, that I 
 panted dreadfully for respiration ; however, as the carriage proceeded, 
 my breathing began to feel somewhat alleviated, and the pain became 
 gradually less acute. I now for the first time considered the danger- 
 ous position in which 1 was, and felt an inclination to look cautiously 
 around me. 
 
 I glanced upwards at the countenance of poor N , he was quite 
 
 dead, and had fallen a little out of his former position, from the motion 
 of the carriage. I turned away my gaze in horror and sorrow to Juan 
 
 R ; he was breathing heavily, the blood was issuing from seven or 
 
 eight places of his body, his eyes were quite shut. I remained looking 
 
Mexican Banditti. 203 
 
 at him in a fixed stare, till soon his breathing became almost imper- 
 ceptible ; his eyes slightly opened, and then he breathed no more. 
 The bottom of the carriage was swimming in blood ; my hands and 
 knees were amongst it. My wound was bleeding fast, and in order to 
 staunch it I pressed in part of my dress; in doing so I made a slight 
 movement of my person ; in that instant the females with us, who appear- 
 ed to be unwounded, perceiving it, whispered me for God's sake to keep 
 motionless. I remained so for a moment, listening to their ejaculations 
 of " Ave Maria! audi nos pecador que soy yo. Senora Guadalupe 
 de nuestros pecados," and running over their paternosters. Then, for 
 the first time, I thought of religion, and I too tried to pray. The 
 words of olden time passed from my lips hurriedly, but my heart was 
 not with them, even as I strove to pray. I found myself beginning 
 over and over again, till I gave it up in despair : again I resumed I 
 tried to repeat the Lord's Prayer the first few words issued from my 
 lips and then a sudden motion of the carriage sent a thrillvng sensa- 
 tion of pain through my body. I stopped instantly in feelings of hor- 
 ror and desperation. " Oh ! I cannot, will not, dare not die," groaned 
 I to myself; "impossible! I cannot die!" And then 1 thought of 
 every mode of escape which I could possibly have a chance of. I 
 thought of all the banditti scenes that I had ever read, but none seemed 
 like this, and I gave up my hope of escape in despair. I even recollected 
 that Gil Bias had joined the banditti he met with, and that I might do so 
 too with these. " But will they spare my life after killing so many of 
 them? No! but why should they know that you killed them?" and 
 I then thought, or it occurred to me, that if I hid the pistols I had fired 
 they could not distinguish who fired. Full of that idea I slowly raised 
 my arm and grasped the pistols which were lying on the cushion and 
 thrust them one by one among the dead bodies. Again I thought of 
 offering to enlist in their band, but then it occurred to me that being 
 wounded I could be of little service to them, and they too might think 
 so and kill me ; but if they did consent to spare my life on condition 
 of becoming a member of their band, I could retire with them to their 
 haunt in the woods, and, at some future time, contrive to make my es- 
 cape from them. At that instant I recollected a deep ravine, shaded 
 over by pines, near Rio frio, and I thought the present banditti might 
 have a cavern in such a place as that, for it had been pointed out to me 
 as the haunt of Gomez's band. I had nearly brought my mind to the 
 resolution of offering my services to enlist amongst them, when a pause 
 in the motion of the carriage took place, and all the preceding scene passed 
 hurriedly through my mind and half defined. The curtains of the car- 
 riage were drawn, and a stern voice cried loudly, " Are they all dead ?" 
 
 "Si Senor" replied the lady, trembling and weeping, ** Si Senor, 
 sen todos muertos. Oh ! have mercy, good caballero, and spare our 
 lives !" The curtains were hastily drawn, and the same stern voice 
 commanded them to hasten their pace. 
 
 At the instant that the curtains were opened, and I heard the harsh 
 voice inquiring after our death, I felt a cold thrilling sensation spread- 
 ing slowly, but strangely over my body it came and retreated, leaving, 
 as it passed away, an undefinable feeling of fear and horror and anguish. 
 I trembled like an aspen leaf, for I thought the sword already thrust 
 
204 Mr. Dicksorfs Narrative. 
 
 through my back, and plunged repeatedly into my body, with the demo- 
 niacal expression of revenge the robber used, as he looked in amongst 
 us the victims of his rapine. 
 
 It was then I felt a fear stealing over me that any hope of admit- 
 tance to their band would be futile that they thirsted too eagerly for 
 our blood to spare us ; for many of their comrades had fallen. I 
 thought with horror what might be now the fate of the defenceless 
 females ; but it was but a passing thought, for selfishness had seized 
 upon me with an iron grasp, and again I tried to cherish a hope of es- 
 cape. I saw none; and then 1 felt shame burning within me that 
 I should have for a moment yielded, through base cowardice, to the 
 ignoble idea of saving my life on such terms as mingling with a horde 
 of desperadoes and villains. 
 
 But yet the thought of death ! " 'twas very bitter to die unpre- 
 pared." I clenched my teeth together in my agony, and felt I would 
 not die. Oh ! those dreadful moments wild, horrid moments ! 
 
 I tried again to pray, " God have mercy on my soul ! Christ Jesus 
 have mercy !" -'twas useless; even as I strove with myself bitterly, I 
 knew my thoughts were not with the expression of prayer I offered up to 
 the Almighty: the words fell like the barbed arrow on the shield of 
 adamant ; they touched not my heart, for 'twas busy with my wounds 
 and the anguish of my body. How often I strove eagerly to repent, 
 to offer up my fervent prayer, alas, I know not ; but many a moment 
 flew away till I resigned it in horror and despair. Alas, my heart felt 
 cold, and fearful, and desperate. After a time I tried again to think 
 of the danger that surrounded me. " We might be met and rescued ;" 
 but then, too, the brigands were numerous and well armed. Oh ! how 
 ardently I listened for some sound of hope, of rescue ; but none ap- 
 peared. Away we were rolling fast into the forest, and all was gloomy 
 silence save the ominous tramp of the robbers' steeds. " Is there no 
 hope of escape? None ! Would to God I had never travelled that 
 I had never left ray native country !" groaned I to myself. " To die 
 thus to be butchered in cold blood to have the dagger pointed to my 
 heart to feel it slowly pressing into it, till at once it burst, and I die 
 horridly O God! O God! Would that I had died righting shot 
 
 like poor N . Is there no hope of escape? alas! none. I would 
 
 care not, had I but vantage ground and arms, and power to use them, 
 twenty to one. I should at least then die fighting but to die thus ; 
 dreadful ! horrid !" and I groaned deeply in anguish and pain. 
 
 Farther and farther we rolled into the woods, and I even heard the 
 howling of the blast through the forest, and among the pine-trees. I 
 was perfectly myself. There I lay, the warm blood oozing from my 
 side at every motion of the carriage. 
 
 " Yes !" thought I, a sudden idea striking me, " there is one chance 
 yet left me. I must feign myself dead. They may suppose me killed 
 like the others ; and after they are gone, I may crawl away for assist- 
 ance." Grasping at the instant thought, I seized convulsively the 
 
 cravat still wet with N 's blood, and steeped it in the gory pool 
 
 which swam on the bottom of the carriage. I raised and rubbed my 
 face and hands with it. 
 
 The blood came gushing from my side with the fresh exertion I had 
 made. I held both my hands close to it, and catching the blood in the 
 
Mexican Banditti. 205 
 
 hollow of my hand, bathed my face and hair in it. I then paused in a 
 mingled feeling of horror at what I had done disgust, sickening, and 
 wild, at the blood and joy that I had some hope of escape. Con- 
 vinced that 1 had now sufficiently disfigured myself, and that the 
 robbers would certainly conclude me dead, I remained motionless, ex- 
 cept when trying to staunch the wound by pushing against it part of 
 my dress. In this I nearly succeeded, for afterwards I felt but a few 
 drops trickling away at intervals. I awaited with anxious expectation 
 the moment which was to decide my fate. At last I heard the cry to 
 halt, and then came the heavy tramp of numerous feet as the thieves 
 alighted. 
 
 "Place the videttes/' cried one loudly; " see if the Captain is re- 
 turning, and the rest of you form quickly round the carriage to pillage 
 the bodies and equipage." " Now !" thought I, " courage and presence 
 of mind for a moment, and all will be safe." They came in silence to 
 the carriage door, and while it turned on its hinges I fell back as if mo- 
 tionless. I was caught by some one ; his hand was thrust and twined 
 among my hair, which was long and in ringlets ; he paused for a mo- 
 ment. I remained still and without motion, as if 1 had been actually 
 dead. It was a horrid, suffocating effort ; for he grasped my hair 
 with one hand, while perhaps with the other he was ready to plunge 
 his dagger to my heart, if I betrayed the least sign of life. 
 
 He seemed on the instant satisfied with his scrutiny, for he raised 
 my body up and commenced searching for doubloons and money. He 
 found a few pieces on my dress, and then searched with his hand round 
 my waist for the belt where travellers generally conceal their trea- 
 sures. I now found an opportunity for breathing, but so slowly and 
 imperceptibly, that the brigand remained in ignorance. Finding no 
 belt as he had expected, he muttered an imprecation, and with his open 
 hand struck me a severe blow on the face ; then grasping me by the 
 limbs, he lifted me up and threw me with violence out of the carriage 
 on the grass. 
 
 I fell with a severe blow on my head ; but instantly mindful of my 
 stratagem, composed my limbs as if they had lost all power of motion. 
 The brigands came round me as I fell. " Es mi Iftgles, cojo .'" 
 said one, triumphantly, as he turned me over with his foot. " Un In- 
 gles?" cried the other inquiringly ; " Maldito herege / he seems quite 
 dead 'twill teach him to fire again,'' observed some of the others, 
 laughing. 
 
 As these words were spoken, the bodies of my comrades were 
 heaved out of the carriage, and fell with a severe blow and concussion 
 upon my breast ; that of Rodriguez was placed by the fall across 
 my breast, and I lay almost covered by them, while the blood ran 
 streaming from their wounds over my dress and breast. 
 
 I now heard the cutting of ropes and traces, the tumbling on the 
 ground of the equipage, as it was cut loose and thrown from the carriage. 
 
 " Where is the black box '?" cried the same stern voice which before 
 had inquired whether we were dead, when the curtains were drawn on 
 the journey. 
 
 " Which ?" asked one of the brigands. "A small wooden case, which 
 ought to be somewhere in the carriage, and which contains jewellery 
 and silver." They found it after some search, and by their expres- 
 
206 Mr. Dickson's Narrative. 
 
 sions they seemed to deliver it to one who, vaulting on his horse, gal- 
 loped off with it into the forest. 
 
 " No puedemos romper este cojo de cajon !" cried one ; " I can- 
 not break the box open who has got a machete?" "4gui hay" said 
 another, riding forward past us. So they commenced breaking open 
 the trunks with their cleavers, and in a few moments dress, linen, 
 and camp-beds, &c. were strewed around. 
 
 I was still perfectly myself, and now had an opportunity of recon- 
 noitring cautiously. I gazed around me. I started involuntarily on 
 observing the great number of the brigands. Some fifteen or twenty 
 were breaking up the equipage, and narrowly scrutinizing every pack- 
 age. I saw one of them seize a fine double portmanteau of mine, and 
 most unceremoniously hack away at the Bramah lock with his machete. 
 He succeeded in making a passage into it through the thick leather ; 
 then, grasping at the glittering Mexican dresses, threw them, after 
 examination, upon the ground; while others immediately picked them 
 up ; some taking one thing, some another. He next found some rare 
 specimens of gold, which I had procured at the mines ; these he 
 threw away, after once slightly looking at them. He pursued his 
 search : at last he reached the bottom of the second partition, and 
 found but a few dollars. No words can express his rage, or the 
 imprecations of disappointment he made use of, when he found only 
 a small quantity of them ; he turned rapidly away to the carriage, 
 lifting up the seat, and examining every part for gold. Some twenty 
 men were lying on the grass, with the lassos of their horses near them, 
 pistols stuck in their belts, and their swords drawn and attached to 
 their wrists by a black thong of leather. Many were stationed in groups 
 on horseback, under the shade of the pine-trees. 
 
 In one hollow glade, where a few straggling trees stood forward, on 
 the open space stood about a dozen horses, with the dead bodies of such 
 of the brigands as had fallen, slung over them. 
 
 There were four men pacing with drawn swords before two trees, 
 to which they had tied the females, with their faces from the scene of 
 pillage; while some seven or eight were tying up the two young pos- 
 tilions to the wheels of the carriage. Most of them wore masks, 
 though some had taken them off. All seemed to have artificial beards ; 
 indeed, their appearance was most stern and ferocious. They at length 
 ceased to pillage, but seemed little contented with the booty they had 
 obtained ; seemingly, from the expressions they dropped, they had ex- 
 pected more. Several of the horsemen came riding in from a short 
 distance, and cried out aloud, " Did any one hear the Commandant say 
 whether we were to await him here, or disperse to the haunt ?" 
 
 " No ! "cried one, quite close to me, and who seemed to be over- 
 looking the baggage ; " we must remain here till his return ; he cannot 
 be long now." 
 
 "Where is he carrying his brother?" asked he who had spoken 
 first ; " was he much wounded ?" 
 
 " Shot in the forehead dead by this time long ago. He went to 
 the nearest hacienda to see if he could procure assistance ; he cannot 
 be long coming now." 
 
 "Ojala! would -he were; this maldito firing will inevitably bring 
 out the troops from Acajete ; we shall have the soldiers upon us." 
 
Mexican Banditti. 207 
 
 Every thing now resumed its former silence, and I heard nothing 
 but the tramp of the sentinels and the whispering of the brigands. I 
 had closed my eyes when the robbers came near me ; but at the in- 
 stant that I heard their step retiring a little farther off, I again tried 
 to reconnoitre. I looked towards the deep glade where I had seen 
 the dead bodies slung across the horses ; and when I perceived 
 the number, I was for a moment surprised to find so many dead, 
 for scarcely as many shot had been fired by our party in the con- 
 flict. It seemed to me that they must have wounded each other in 
 the melee, and I felt quite delighted for the moment in the idea, and 
 gazed upon them with warm spirit and feeling of revenge. As I 
 looked upon the brigands awaiting in silence the return of their 
 chief, I thought how easy it might be to surprise them and take them 
 prisoners. " And then, too," I said to myself, " I would not spare their 
 lives no, not one." My reverie was interrupted by the rapid riding-in 
 of one of the videttes, who cried, " To horse ! to horse ! The troops of 
 Acajete are out and scouring the forest; we must be gone!" 
 
 Oh ! how eagerly I listened for the moment of their obeying the man- 
 date ; and a sudden joy thrilled through me when I heard them vault- 
 ing into their saddles on the moment ; but they did not otherwise move. 
 " We must wait the Commandant ; he will be here soon," cried seve- 
 ral voices near me. 
 
 " Bien !" replied the new comer ; "have you pillaged everything? 
 And what shall we do with these dead bodies?" 
 
 " Let them remain there que son." 
 
 " Tis strange," said one, " that we have found so much less gold on 
 the Ingleses than we expected ; they must have it concealed somewhere 
 yet, I think." 
 
 " You had better look and see," observed a few of the band, laugh- 
 ing ; " you will get little now from them ; but remember, fair play 
 we go shares." One or two of them dismounted. I immediately closed 
 my eyes, and with a palpitating heart, awaited their approach. 
 
 " We will make sure that they have nothing about them," said they, 
 
 lifting up the bodies of N and Rodriguez ; " let us strip them." 
 
 They soon performed the office, and I lay trembling, momentarily ex- 
 pecting them to commence with me. I feared now they would dis- 
 cover that I was alive ; for my breath was more hurried and short than 
 at first, so that I scarcely hoped to restrain my breathing. One of 
 them, in a few minutes, laid his hands upon me, and tried to pull off 
 my military jacket ; but I had got so faint from loss of blood that, as 
 I had feared, I could not refrain from breathing. The brigand, in- 
 stantly perceiving it, started up with an exclamation of surprise. 
 
 Finding by his cry that I was discovered, I now opened my eyes, 
 and saw a wild-looking being, with black beard and mustachios, 
 bending over me. " Hola !" cried he, while a fiendish smile gleamed 
 on his countenance, " here is one of the cojos alive yet." 
 
 " Diablo /" cried the others, starting, and approaching me hurriedly 
 gazing at me with eyes in which exultation and rage were blended. 
 
 I said not a word, but lay quietly expecting instant annihilation. I 
 had become so desperate and hopeless now that I cared little for death ; 
 at the same time, I knew it a needless effort to ask for quarter. 
 
 " Curse the heretic!" said one of them, furiously making a thrust at 
 
208 Mr. Dicksorfs Narrative. 
 
 me with his lance. I started aside to the utmost stretch of my power, 
 and the weapon sunk into the earth at my side. 
 
 " HombreJ hombrel" cried one; ** no le matas, el pubre ! Do not kill 
 the poor fellow !" 
 
 " Maldito herege!" exclaimed another; "let us kill him; we have 
 lost too many of our brave comrades through their maldito firing." 
 
 " No ! kombre, dejalo ; leave him 'twill be less scandalous ; we have 
 killed enough to make the place too hot for us ; dejalo, sera menos es- 
 carifloloso!" 
 
 The latter exhortation seemed to have some influence with the band, 
 and I almost began to think my life would indeed be spared, when the 
 swift tramp of a galloping horse attracted their attention, and they left 
 me for a moment ; while instantly came up the Commandant, whom 
 the banditti were expecting! 
 
 " Hola !" cried he, as he rode up ; " Tamonos, pronto > r quick ! let us 
 go ; that cursed firing has brought the soldiers out." 
 
 " Here is one of the Ingleses alive yet," said one of the band; 
 11 what shall we do with him ?" 
 
 Oh ! that moment ! how my heart palpitated, as I turned my eyes 
 from one brigand to another to discern some traces of a merciful feel- 
 ing; but I met alone the ferocious glances which seemed each a dagger 
 pointed to my heart. " Alive !" repeated the captain in surprise, and 
 dismounting from his horse ; " who is he ?" " No sabemos." 
 
 I saw him approaching he drew his bota-knife from his deer-skin 
 boot he paused for a moment as he passed the female attendant who 
 was tied to one of the trees, and asked her fiercely " if I was one that 
 fired?" "Si, Senor! yes, Sir," cried she, terrified, and quailing un- 
 der the glance of the brigand. 
 
 "Ha! the co -jo! 1 muttered he fiercely; then he sprang towards 
 me, and in an instant was at my side. 
 
 " For God's sake, give me quarter quartet por el amor de Dios /" 
 
 " Ask quarter from hell !" said the brigand, aiming a stab at my 
 breast. I tried to rise, but staggered back and fell on my side, cross- 
 ing my breast with my arms and hands. In a moment, his knee was 
 on my chest, and the knife passed through my right-hand deep into 
 my breast. I saw the knife draw back my hand it glittered before 
 my eyes one stream of blood gushed out, and then the murderous 
 blade descended again and again. I have some faint recollection of a 
 struggle, and then all became darkness and confusion I fainted away. 
 
 A long forgetfulness was varied only by dim recollections, which 
 came and went like the fitful dreams of delirium. Slowly and gra- 
 dually I regained my senses, but a long time must have ensued. At 
 first, strange fleeting images of darkness and light flashed before my 
 mind then a confused recollection of horrid forms struggling with me 
 and overpowering me, and fearful cries and shouts were ringing in my 
 ears I felt a heavy, overpowering sensation oppressing me, then all 
 seemed chaos and darkness. 
 
 How it came to pass that I first awoke from this state of in- 
 sensibility I could never recollect, nor could my memory ever distin- 
 guish the cause of my first opening my eyes ; but I remember well the 
 confused vacant stare with which I gazed around me. It was long 
 ere I could penetrate through a sort of film which enveloped my vision 
 with an obscure haze. At length I was slowly able to distinguish sur- 
 
Mexican Banditti, 209 
 
 rounding objects ; I looked upwards, and saw some dense body above 
 me ; but so confused were my ideas, that it was long ere I recog- 
 nized the carriage. Still undecided as to where I was, I gazed 
 around me as I lay motionless, and then espied the pine-trees, and the 
 gloomy recesses and dark glades of the forest. In the instant the 
 whole of the horrid scene flashed across my memory, and I lay panting 
 for breath; my respiration seemed abandoning me. 
 
 " Oh, God !" exclaimed I to myself, " what dreadful sensation is this 
 I feel," experiencing, for the first time, a burning thirst, which seemed 
 to consume my very mouth with fire; and, in the eagerness of the 
 moment, my lips moved tremulously, as if to ask for water, but my 
 voice failed me. I essayed to move, but could not I seemed chained 
 to the earth -my arms, head, limbs, all refused the usual offices. 
 
 It might have been a moment only, to me it seemed an hour, when 
 hearing nought but the shrill cry of the coyote, and judging by the si- 
 lence that the banditti had departed, I tried again to speak ; the words 
 died away upon my lips, and I gave myself up to despair. I thought 
 of nothing but the awful scorching thirst that oppressed me. I heard 
 a rustling sound I listened but it was only the sweeping of the blast 
 as it passed through the trees. I at length felt able to articulate, and 
 1 murmured out an indistinct prayer for water. 
 
 " Hombre!" said I, slowly pausing between each word ; "hombre 
 give me water for the sake of the Virgin !" No one replied. 
 
 " Is there no one to give me water ?" moaned I again bitterly. 
 
 " Callate, be silent !" whispered a voice close to me ; " they are not 
 gone yet." 
 
 "No! that we are not," cried some one sternly, and a trio of 
 the brigands slept out from behind the carriage and asked who spoke. 
 
 " 'Twas I," replied the same voice which had whispered me silence. 
 
 " No ! there was some other : speak pronto. 1 " 
 
 " 'Tis only one of the Ingleses moaning." 
 
 " What !" cried they, " still alive ? El cojo tiene mas vidas que vn 
 gctta, he has more lives than a cat." 
 
 One of the men came close to me ; I thought he was going to stab 
 me again from his threatening attitude, so I murmured out to him to 
 spare my life. 
 
 " Leave me to die I cannot live long now take all, take every 
 thing," said 1, imploringly. " Oh ! leave me to die in quietness." 
 
 " Why did you defend yourself, madman?" 
 
 I did not answer. One of them said quickly, " You must have more 
 doubloons somewhere ? where did you hide them ? we know you had 
 more speak tell me or I stab you." 
 
 In the instant it occurred to me that I distributed my money, the 
 gold and silver, in different portions of my equipage, in case of accident, 
 that some might escape ; and so I had placed some five and twenty dou- 
 bloons in a carpet travelling-bag ; I thought, perhaps, these might 
 have escaped the plunder of the carriage. I accordingly hinted that 
 there was more gold. 
 
 " Where ? where ?" cried they eagerly. " Adonde esta ?" 
 
 II But will you spare my life?" 
 
 " Si, si, si," said the brigands, " quick where is the gold ?" 
 " Swear by the Virgin you will spare my life." 
 " We swear." 
 
210 Mr. Dicksotfs Narrative. 
 
 They went, and after some difficulty found the bag, and tumbled 
 out its contents ; but could not find the gold. " Where is it, you ras- 
 cal? you have deceived us," said they in a threatening manner. 
 
 " No !" murmured I, " the doubloons are in a rouleau." 
 
 They seized their prize, and, instantly vaulting on their saddles, 
 they bade me " adios" and " a buen viage a los ijifiernos." They 
 rode rapidly off, and the sounds of their horses' hoofs soon died away 
 in the distance. 
 
 Partly re-assured by the departure of these the last of the brigands, 
 I again, after a short pause of anxiety, cried out for water to quench 
 my burning thirst ; it was with difficulty I could utter a few words 
 expressive of my desires, when the same voice that had before address- 
 ed me, and which I now found to be one of the postilions speaking, 
 who had been tied to the wheel, replied hastily, " I cannot assist you, 
 for I am tied by the arm to the spoke of the wheel ; we must wait till 
 the military come up ; the robbers have gone off, because they were 
 afraid of remaining longer." 
 
 I was at that moment lying with my breast underneath the hinder 
 wheel, so that if the carriage moved it would have passed over my 
 body and soon terminated my existence, and thus a new cause of 
 anxiety crossed my mind, " Good God I" said I, " if the mules move, 
 I shall be killed ; can you not remove me ?" 
 
 " No/' replied he, " I cannot aid you ; be silent, and there is no 
 fear that the animals will move/' 
 
 Finding that patience was my only remedy, I lay still and motionless 
 in the fear that the slightest movement of the carriage would cause in- 
 stant destruction to me, and suffering dreadful agony from the con- 
 suming thirst which burned within me. Oh! that long, almost eternal 
 seeming period, when moments passed as years, and minutes as ages, till 
 the tramp of horses sounded on the ground approaching nearer and 
 nearer. 
 
 My hurried breath I drew more quickly, and my heart palpitated 
 more violently; an indescribable feeling of hope and joy shot through 
 my frame, and flushed with pleasure my languid features. " Ha !" 
 exclaimed I to myself, " I am not to die yet! No, the troops of Aca- 
 jete will soon come up. They will find me carry me to the village 
 bind up my wounds ; I shall recover, and then, my own dear England, 
 I shall see you again." 
 
 So powerful now was the tide of recollection that rushed in one over- 
 whelming stream over my memory, that it drove away for the time 
 all thoughts of my dangerous situation, or even of the excruciating 
 thirst which still held its sway over me. 
 
 But suddenly the sound ceased I heard no longer the former 
 sounds minute after minute, time after time passed away, and no one 
 came : cold, and thirst, and fear, and despair, now held possession of 
 me, and my firmness and presence of mind were fast ebbing away. 
 
 Already had the shadows of evening come on, and my eye rolled 
 over the obscurity in which the glades were wrapped in vain search for 
 the coming aid. It was then I felt the awful bitterness of hope spring- 
 ing and still delayed. All at once, I heard again the tramp, and the 
 shouts, and discharge of fire-arms ringing in the air ; and presently 
 a numerous troop of desultory soldiery and Indians came dashing on 
 
Mexican Banditti. 211 
 
 into the open space where we were lying, and a carriage whirled rapidly 
 amongst us. 
 
 " Carrai!" shouted the foremost, as they came in view of the slaugh- 
 ter. " What the devil is this ?" 
 
 " What is this? Que es este?" cried the soldiery, leaping from their 
 horses, and some of them untying the postilion and the females. " Who 
 are these ? and how has it happened ? Oh ! they are Ingleses ; they 
 were fools enough to defend themselves, and so " 
 
 " They have all been killed," said one of the troop, interrupting him. 
 " Had they much money with them ?" 
 
 " Did the Ingleses kill any of the ladrones?" 
 
 " Yes ; han matado algunos but their comrades have carried off 
 the bodies." 
 
 I had at the moment of their approach remained silent, for I was not 
 altogether sure whether they were the banditti themselves come back to 
 finish me, on hearing from their comrades that I was still alive ; but 
 when I heard the many voices inquiring into the affair, I took courage, 
 and tried to speak ; but the numerous exclamations of " Capital booty!" 
 " Lucky fellows !" " Paid handsomely for it!" and sundry laughs 
 and expressions of " Esos Ingleses han peleado como diablos These 
 English have fought like devils," rendered it impossible for me to make 
 known my existence for a considerable time. At last, taking advan- 
 tage of a sort of pause in the noise, I called out for aid to remove me 
 from under the wheel. 
 
 No one moved. I cried again, but no attention was paid. " Well, 
 then," said I to myself in despair, " I will try if this does not make 
 them ;" and I murmured out for a Padre. 
 
 " Hola!" cried one, " some fellow is alive, and calls for a priest." 
 
 " Impossible," said the other ; " the English are all pagans." 
 
 " No," remarked another, " they are heretics." " Well," replied 
 the other, " all pagans are heretics." 
 
 I cried again for a priest. " He must be a Cristiano," said they, 
 communing with each other ; " let us pull him out from under the 
 carriage." 
 
 Two or three then came around the wheel. "Curdado!" said I to 
 them imploringly ; " Take care softly for I am badly wounded." 
 They lifted me up softly in their arms, and conveying me a little way 
 off, tried to place me on my feet; but I was too weak, and be- 
 sought them to put me down, and give me some covering, for it was 
 very cold. They wrapped me in a serrape, and carried me towards a 
 pine-tree, and placed me on the ground with my back to it. My 
 head fell down upon my breast I implored them to hold it up, for it 
 nearly suffocated me ; and then I prayed for water. They had none 
 with them, but went to search for it in the wood. 
 
 I had now time to look at a carriage with them which contained some 
 
 females. They told me they were the G . They were weeping 
 
 very much, for they thought we were all killed. One of the military 
 approached the carriage, and told them that one of the Ingleses was 
 alive and asked for a Padre. 
 
 " It will be poor Santiago," said they, addressing a priest who had 
 found his way into the carriage. " You had better go and see him, 
 Senor." 
 
212 Mr. Dicksorfs Narrative. 
 
 " No puedo ! I cannot," said the Padre, refusing to go. 
 
 " We will take him into the carriage, and will carry him to Acajete 
 now," said the ladies. 
 
 " That cannot be," replied the soldiers ; " he must not move from 
 hence till the Alcalde comes up and takes the depositions." 
 
 " Good God !" thought I, " what barbarians! 1 shall bleed to death." 
 I then entreated them to take me away from the spot ; but it could 
 not be. 
 
 The Padre was again applied to by the Indians, " telling him that one 
 of the English was a Cristiano, and wished to confess." " I want none 
 of your confession ; I only wish to get to the village," murmured I to 
 myself. The Padre still refused, and I must say I was glad he did ; 
 for I had little inclination to be kept any longer where I was. In a 
 
 few moments, the G , perceiving that they could be of no farther 
 
 service, drove away in the carriage through the forest. An Indian 
 woman now returned from the wood, and brought me some water in 
 the hollow of a gourd. She knelt down by my side, and put it to my 
 lips. " Drink," said she, " pobrecito here is water." 
 
 I took a long draught, but interrupted by my hard pantings for 
 breath. The water passed over my throat without cooling the thirst 
 I felt. It seemed to me like drops of water on a red hot iron. I 
 eagerly emptied the gourd, and asked for more. She told me there 
 was none ; that this she had brought along with her when her husband 
 joined the soldiery in the search. 
 
 " Oh, for God's sake, put the gourd to my lip once more only one 
 drop of water to quench my thirst!" I again tried> as she put it to my 
 lips, but I had drained it empty. I turned away in angry, feverish dis- 
 appointment. 
 
 Oh, that dreadful horrid thirst! But those alone who have felt its 
 power on the battle-field can have an adequate conception of a fire 
 which seemed to scorch the very brain. It is too deeply imprinted on 
 my memory ever to forget that awful, consuming sensation. 
 
 The poor Indian woman, after I had in vain tried the gourd, rose up 
 and stood gazing at me with expressions of commiseration. " Pobre- 
 cito Ingles /and so young too to die, Pobre Inglesito ! and you 
 have a mother among the Europeos," said she, bending over me and 
 arranging the serrape: "your poor madre, what will she say of this, 
 when she hears that you died a cruel death in a far country ?" 
 
 "Mother!" ejaculated I, bitterly, as I thought of all 1 held dear 
 and I felt that burning scorching of the eye, when no tear presses from 
 the parched eyelids tc Mother !" repeated I in anguish it was as if 
 an arrow had pierced my soul. I hung down my head in bitterness of 
 spirit, for the darkness of despair and desolation oppressed me. 
 
 The painful current of my thoughts was turned aside by the hasty 
 arrival of the Alcalde, or magistrate of the village, who, riding up, dis- 
 mounted near me. 
 
 " Where have the ladrones gone ?" said he ; " disperse and follow 
 them." " 'Twill be too late now, too long since they are gone," replied 
 the younger of the postilions." 
 
 " Which road did they take ?" 
 
 " That which leads towards the mountain ; but they rode off rapidly 
 'tis impossible to find them now and the evening is approaching; 
 'tis almost sunset now." 
 
 
Mexican Banditti. 213; 
 
 " Let some of the military follow you, and go upon their traces," said 
 the Alcalde. The troops rode hastily off, and the magistrate inquired 
 who we were. Being told we were English, and that one was alive, 
 he came to where they pointed me out, and thus addressed me: 
 
 " Where are you wounded ?" 
 
 " Every where side, breast, arms todo el cuerpo." 
 
 11 Tiene Vm. balazos ?" 
 
 " Si Senor a ball has entered my right breast, but I am dreadfully 
 cat, and bleeding about my shoulders." 
 
 I looked at my right-hand it was covered with coagulated blood, 
 and swollen greatly ; as I gazed at it mournfully, " 'Twill have to be 
 cut off," said I coolly ; " 'twill have to be cut off." 
 
 " I hope not," said the Alcalde ; *' you must try and keep up your 
 courage a little longer, while I take the evidence and depositions of the 
 affair." 
 
 " But I shall bleed to death," remonstrated I, hoarsely and im- 
 ploringly ; " can I not be carried to the village ? I shall bleed to 
 death if I remain long here/' 
 
 " No, no !" said he hurriedly ; " you cannot bleed any more now ; 
 'tis too cold the blood has clotted over your wounds I must fulfil 
 my duty. Paciencia, for a moment. Here !" cried he, turning him- 
 self away, "look after the Inglese, and you others come and give your 
 evidence that I may put it on paper." 
 
 I felt very cold, and I shivered much, for as I was seated under 
 the shade of the pine-tree, the wind came blowing past me with a 
 piercing coldness. I saw that the last rays of the sun were shining on 
 the opposite side of where I was, and entreated them to carry me there. 
 They lifted me up and placed me, as I requested, near a small tree of 
 the acacia mimosa, two of the Indians sitting down by my side, and sus- 
 taining me in their arms. 
 
 I now had a full view of the scene before me. The sun was setting 
 clearly and coldly behind the lofty volcanic mountain of Puebla, 
 while its lower disk seemed resting on its snow-clad summit. The last 
 gleams of the sun were glistening on the forest of the Final. I gazed 
 long on the sunset, with the troubled eye of a man taking the last look 
 of his friend when the grave is closing over him ; and as the brilliant 
 orb sunk slowly down, 1 felt a sensation of bereavement heavy and 
 keen. 
 
 " And is this to be the last sun I am to look upon ? Alas ! am I 
 never to see another ? Little did I think last night when mingling in 
 the dance at Puebla, that the next night-fall would find me dying, 
 weltering in my blood." I turned away my gaze in wild, heartfelt 
 sorrow, and threw my eye on the fitful gleam of light which fell around 
 me. " Oh ! 'tis hard to die alone, without friends, consolation, or re- 
 ligion ; 'tis hard to die in the spring of life ! To die so young un- 
 prepared oh! God have mercy on me!" murmured I, as a fleeting 
 faintness thrilled through my frame. "Oh! God have mercy!" I 
 recovered once more to gaze around me. I now found myself asking, 
 why should I die? What is in a wound? many have recovered, I 
 may too ; coragio, defy the body, my spirit ! I may yet live long to 
 remember the forest of the Final." 
 
 Gradually fortifying myself by the hope of soon leaving the place, I 
 
214 Letter from Miss Mortimer. 
 
 remained watching the hasty effort of the postilion to arrange the 
 coach and tie the traces together. The alcalde soon finished his in- 
 vestigation, during which they examined the bodies of N and 
 
 R , whom they found quite dead. I had now begun to suffer 
 
 less from the thirst that before tormented me ; perhaps my hope of 
 soon getting to the village made me feel it less. 
 
 At length 1 heard the joyful news that the cavalcade was going on 
 to Acajete, and the Indians immediately raised me up to carry me 
 towards the vehicle. They lifted me on my feet, and dragged me 
 slowly towards the carriage. Just as they were assisting me in, they 
 made me stand upright for a moment ; one of my supporters was 
 hastily called away, and, thinking I might be strong enough, he let me 
 go. Unable to support myself, I staggered upon the other Indian, and, 
 had he not hastily supported me, I should have fallen to the ground. 
 
 To such a state of weakness had the vast loss of blood reduced me, 
 that the movement had a great effect on my nerves ; so much so, that 
 when they raised me up again, my eyes began to swim round and 
 round ; blue and green shades flashed before them ; at first the per- 
 sons, then the trees, became indistinct, and floated 'before me. 
 
 " Dreadful !" thought I at the moment, " if I faint now, 'tis all 
 over. I shall never recover. I shall die;" and in the strong con- 
 vulsive energy of a last moment, I gnashed my teeth, and strained my 
 eyes on an object. 
 
 I succeeded again I beheld distinctly every thing around me. The 
 moment I appeased my panting for breath, I tried to speak to implore 
 them to stop a moment. I found it impossible to give utterance ; but 
 I fixed my eye on the countenance of the Indians ; they seemed to un- 
 derstand my wishes. I remained motionless for a short time, and 
 having regained sufficient strength and recollection, I was placed 
 within the carriage, and away it rolled to Acajete. 
 
 LETTER FROM MISS AMELIA JANE MORTIMER, LONDON, 
 TO SIR HENRY CLIFTON, PARIS. 
 
 DEAR HARRY, 
 
 You owe me a letter, 
 Nay, I really believe it is two ; 
 
 But to make you still farther my debtor, 
 I send you this brief billet-doux. 
 
 The shock was so great when we parted, 
 I can't overcome my regret ; 
 
 At first I was quite broken-hearted, 
 And have never recover'd it yet ! 
 
 I have scarcely been out to a party, 
 
 But have sent an excuse, or been ill ; 
 I have play'd but three times at ecarte, 
 
 And danced but a single quadrille ! 
 And then I was sad, for my heart ne'er 
 
 One moment ceased thinking of thee ; 
 I 'd a handsome young man for my partner, 
 
 And a handsomer still vis-a-vis. 
 
Letter from Miss Mortimer. 215 
 
 But I had such a pain in my forehead, / 
 
 And felt so ennuied and so tired ; 
 I must have look'd perfectly horrid, 
 
 Yet they say I was really admired ! 
 You'll smile, but Mamma heard a Lancer, 
 
 As he whisper'd his friend and, said he, 
 The best and most beautiful dancer 
 
 Is the lady in white meaning me ! 
 
 I 've been once to Lord Dorival's soirees, 
 
 Whose daughter in music excels, 
 Do they still wear the silk they call moirees ? 
 
 They will know if you ask at PradePs. 
 She begg'd me to join in a duet, 
 
 But the melody died on my tongue ; 
 And I thought I should never get through it, 
 
 It was one we so often have sung ! 
 
 In your last, you desire me to mention 
 
 The news of the Court and the Town ; 
 But there's nothing that's worth your attention, 
 
 Or deserving of my noting down. 
 The late carried Catholic Question, 
 
 Papa thinks, will ruin the land ; 
 For my part, 1 make no suggestion 
 
 On matters I don't understand ! 
 
 And, papa says, the Duke has not well done 
 
 To put his old friends to the rout ; 
 That lie should not have quarrell'd with Eldon, 
 
 Nor have turn'd Mr. Huskisson out. 
 And they say things are bad in the City, 
 
 And Pa thinks they '11 only get worse 
 And they say the new bonnets are pretty, 
 
 But I think them quite the reverse ! 
 
 Lady Black has brought out her two daughters, 
 
 Goosl figures, but timid and shy; 
 Mrs. White 's gone to Bath for the waters, 
 
 And the doctors declare she will die. 
 It 's all off 'twixt Miss Brown and Sir Stephen, 
 
 He found they could never agree ; 
 Her temper 's so very uneven, 
 
 I always said how it would be ! 
 
 The Miss Whites are grown very fine creatures, 
 
 Though they look rather large in a room, 
 Miss Grey is gone off in her features, 
 
 Miss Green is gone off with her groom ! 
 Lord Littleford's dead, and that noodle 
 
 His son has succeeded his sire ; 
 And her Ladyship 's lost the fine poodle, 
 
 That you and I used to admire. 
 
 Little Joe is advancing in knowledge, 
 
 He begs me to send his regard ; 
 And Charles goes on Monday to College, 
 
 But Mamma thinks he studies too hard. 
 We are losing our man-cook, he marries 
 
 My French femme de chambre, Baptiste ; 
 Pa wishes you 'd send one from Paris, 
 
 But he must be a first-rate artiste. 
 
Letter from Miss Mortimer 
 
 I don't like my last new piano, 
 
 Its tones are so terribly sharp ; 
 I think I must give it to Anna, 
 
 And get Pa to buy me a harp ! 
 Little Gerald is growing quite mannish, 
 
 He was smoking just now a cigar ! 
 And I ; m fagging hard at the Spanish, 
 
 And Lucy has learnt the guitar. 
 
 F suppose you can talk like an artist, 
 
 Of statues, busts, paintings, virtu ; 
 But pray, love, don't turn Bonapartist ; 
 
 Pa will never consent if you do ! 
 " You were born," he will say, " Sir, a Briton," 
 
 But forgive me so foolish a fear ; 
 If I thought you could blame what I've written, 
 
 I would soon wash it out with a tear ! 
 
 And pray, Sir, how like you the ladies, 
 
 Since you 've quitted the land of your birth ? 
 I have heard the dark donnas of Ca'diz 
 
 Are the loveliest women on earth ! 
 Th' Italians are lively and witty, 
 
 But I ne'er could their manners endure ; 
 Nor do I think Frenchwomen pretty, 
 
 Though they have a most charming tournure ! 
 
 I was told you were flirting at Calais, 
 
 And next were intriguing at Rome ; 
 But I smiled at their impotent malice, 
 
 Yet I must say I wish'd you at home ! 
 Though I kept what I fancied in petto, 
 
 And felt you would ever be true : 
 Yet I dreamed of the murd'rer's stiletto, 
 
 Each night and its victim was you ! 
 
 I 'm arrived at the end of my paper, 
 
 So, dearest, you'll not think it rude, 
 If I ring for my seal and a taper, 
 
 And think it high time to conclude. 
 Adieu, then dejected and lonely, 
 
 Till I see you I still shall remain, 
 Addio, mio caro, Yours only 
 
 Yours ever, 
 
 AMELIA JANE! 
 
 P. S. You may buy me a dress like Selina's, 
 
 Her complexion's so much like my own ; 
 And don't fail to call at Farina's 
 
 For a case of his Eau de Cologne. 
 And whate'er your next letter announces, 
 
 Let it also intelligence bring, 
 If the French have left off the deep flounces, 
 
 And what will be worn for the Spring ! 
 
The first Month of the Session. 297 
 
 seeking information, to delay his progress in the good work. We no- 
 tice this because we have opportunities of watching them which they 
 little suspect, and we will not lose those opportunities. We feel bound 
 here to make a single observation regarding the Chancellor. We have 
 occasionally heard his name mixed up with the delay that has taken 
 place in the reforms of the law, and that, as the Court over which he 
 presides requires more purifying than any other, he ought to have been 
 the most active in the cause. In reply to this we merely remark, that 
 Lord Lyndhurst came from a common-law court, where he had prac- 
 tised all his life, to his present high station, with the exception of a few 
 months at the Rolls ; and that had he attempted to reform abuses in 
 the Court of Chancery before he had become thoroughly conversant 
 with the nature and practice of that Court, he would have done more 
 harm than good. His Lordship, like Mr. Peel, is surrounded by in- 
 terested advisers when he is making inquiries respecting reforms in 
 Chancery, whose machinations can only be set aside by practical know- 
 ledge. The Chancellor has laboured hard to gain that practical know- 
 ledge ; we speak advisedly when we say so. He has already given fruits 
 of his knowledge in the cause of legal reform, and we have no fear of 
 his progress in that course as far as his personal exertions avail. 
 
 That Augaean stable, the Irish Church Establishment, has been 
 looked at during the present session. The object has been to increase 
 the incomes of those who perform all the clerical duties in Ireland, and 
 cause those who perform no duty to pay for their ease. It is always 
 well to have these cases brought before the public in any shape ; but 
 this is a pigmy effort against the monstrous abuses in the Irish church 
 establishment. We shall hope to see a different notice taken of it at 
 no distant day a reduction in enormous ecclesiastical incomes in many 
 cases a total annihilation of them in others. We wish not incautiously 
 to interfere with present incumbents, but that four archbishops and 
 eighteen bishops, many of them with princely incomes, all of them with 
 very large ones, should be retained over a poverty-stricken flock of 
 hardly a million of souls, is an anomaly and a stretch of power that 
 the present state of knowledge will not long endure. Can it be se- 
 riously asserted that this can be necessary with deans and archdeacons, 
 and all the expensive accompanying machinery, for the cure of souls? 
 If it be, we can only say that an Irish soul requires more spiritual care 
 than any other upon the face of the globe. 
 
 The supporters of abuses like these are the true revolutionists, and we 
 earnestly call upon Ministers, before it be too late, to get out of their 
 fangs, and look for support in the only legitimate place they can find 
 it in the attachment of the people. God and Mammon cannot be 
 served together. The haughty selfishness of the Tory faction, and the 
 great interests of the nation cannot be amalgamated. 
 
( 298 ) 
 MR. DICKSON'S NARRATIVE.* 
 
 Mexican Banditti. 
 
 THE lady and her female attendant who had travelled with me, had 
 entered the carriage hefore me, and taken their places in the back seat. 
 The Indian seated me, erect on the front part, and as the vehicle com- 
 menced moving, 1 fell back against the front panels. I tried to move 
 my body into one corner, but my effort was unavailing. I then en- 
 treated the females to place one of my feet against the opposite cushion 
 to steady my position. They did so. I now tried to push myself 
 with one strong effort, but could not succeed. At last, with infinite 
 difficulty, I edged myself into one corner, and tried, by means of 
 pressing my foot against the opposite cushion, to keep myself steady. 
 The continual movement of the carriage as it passed over the rough 
 uneven ground, rendered my situation very painful, and my head got 
 severe blows against the broken panels and glass of the front window. 
 
 I endeavoured to keep the gunshot-wound in my breast from bleed- 
 ing. I grasped my right wrist with my left-hand, which was un- 
 wounded, and tried to press it against my side; but the pain even 
 from this exertion was so severe in my left shoulder, that I instantly let 
 it drop ; from thence I concluded my left shoulder was more severely 
 wounded than I had before imagined. 
 
 Finding my attempt of no avail, I pressed with what remaining force 
 I had, my right elbow close to my side, and then contrived to keep my 
 dress hard against the wound. I partly succeeded, but ever as the 
 carriage jolted, it was suddenly loosened from its position, and I could 
 distinctly feel the warm blood trickling down my side with a strange 
 hot sensation. 
 
 The carriage, I found from the exclamations and conversation of the 
 soldiery, had been brought by the brigands a considerable distance to 
 the left of the main road, and in our effort to regain it, we passed over 
 much broken ground and brushwood. We had gone on for a consi- 
 derable time when the carriage on a sudden stopped. They had come 
 to a very uneven spot where they found it difficult to pass ; in tr\eir 
 exertions, some of the traces had broken, and they stopped to fasten 
 them. The ropes had been very much cut by the robbers when they 
 left the carriage, and it was with difficulty they were able to repair 
 them, and fit them for the journey we had still to undergo. 
 
 I took advantage of the pause to beg the females to look for some 
 wine, which I recollected had been brought with us in the morning 
 when we left Puebla. They looked, but found only broken fragments 
 of the bottles. I suffered much from thirst not quite so much, how- 
 ever, as before ; but I was bitterly disappointed when they told me 
 there was no wine. I felt it the more as I began almost to despair of 
 reaching the village alive. I felt frequently a strange faintness coming 
 over me, but had no resource but patience. I resigned myself, not 
 without deep anxiety, to my fate. I felt renewed hope when the car- 
 riage again moved on, and they said that we were now only a short 
 distance from the village. I thought, if I once arrived there, that there 
 
 * Concluded from page 214. 
 
Mexican Banditti. 299 
 
 was no fear I should indeed recover. 'Twas a long, dreary time. It 
 seemed to me as if we never should enter it the time was an age : all 
 at once we left the broken ground, and issuing once more into the main 
 road, galloped towards the village. 
 
 The darkness had set in as we neared several straggling groups of 
 the cactus and enclosures of the aloe. I recollect well the joyful mo- 
 ment when I first beheld these plants, for I knew we were near the 
 longed-for Acajete. I still kept up my spirits in the hope of recover- 
 ing, for 1 was perfectly myself. At last a few detached houses ap- 
 peared. I considered myself arrived, but had again to experience dis- 
 appointment for a brief distance ; the carriage rolled on for some time 
 longer. At length we entered the village. I implored the females to 
 desire the postilions to stop at the first house we passed, where I saw 
 a numerous concourse of people by the glare of torches. We did so, 
 and they brought me, at my earnest request, a jar of water. 
 
 At that moment a person rather genteelly dressed came up and 
 advised me not to drink it, for he said it would endanger my life. I 
 could not resist the temptation in part. I tasted a few drops, and then 
 they took it away. The females told me that the assemblage of peo- 
 ple was caused by the dead bodies of my comrades having been 
 brought in, and that the villagers were looking at them. So much 
 had my own danger occupied my thoughts, and so exhausted was I, that 
 I could not for worlds spare one expression of commiseration for their 
 fate. We left the spot quickly, and after driving a little farther into 
 the village we reached the Posada, where the Senoritas had put up ; 
 the carriage stopped at the door of the house, and the inmates imme- 
 diately came out to see who it was. The postilion telling them that I 
 was still alive, the attendants brought out a mattress and laid it on the 
 ground close to the carriage door. I was lifted carefully out of the 
 vehicle by three Indians, and placed upon the cushions. They then 
 carried me gently into a large saloon, and deposited me on the floor. 
 
 The exertion had weakened me so much, that when I attempted to 
 move my position on the couch a spasm came on, which lasted for 
 nearly a minute, depriving me of all power to breathe, and almost car- 
 rying me off. I entreated them, so soon as I could speak, to raise up 
 my head ; they placed cushions underneath, and I felt relieved. 
 
 The apartment into which they had brought me was entirely di- 
 vested of furniture, excepting a round table which stood in the centre. 
 They had laid me down close to it, and then placed lighted candles at 
 my side. The room was immediately filled by a great concourse of In- 
 dians and Creoles, staring at me in silence. I inquired faintly for the 
 
 G , for I longed to see some well-known countenance. They came 
 
 immediately with their brother : when they approached the mattress 
 whereon 1 lay, I perceived they were weeping. 
 
 " Oh ! poor Santiago," said they, " what a dreadful affair ! poor 
 
 Senor N and R are quite dead ; we saw them brought in. 
 
 Why did you not surrender ? what a shocking accident ! are you 
 much wounded?" 
 
 " I do not know," I replied faintly, " but I am very weak and weary, 
 and the sight of so many people confuses me ; I wish much they would 
 leave the room." They spoke to the Indians, who immediately retired, 
 and the Alcalde entering, we at last obtained some order and silence. 
 
300 Mr. Dicksotts Narrative. 
 
 I took advantage of the moment to ask if there was no surgeon in the 
 vicinity. There was no one nearer than the city of Puebla. 
 
 " Tis of no use ; we are at least eight leagues from thence," said I 
 bitterly. " I shall be dead before then, if I have not assistance per- 
 haps there is a barber in the village ?" 
 
 " No ! we have already inquired, but find none." 
 
 " Oh, God !" groaned I, " then there is no hope ; I must die. I 
 shall lose so much blood during the night that by to-morrow I must be 
 dead." 
 
 " Oh ! Santiago," said the young ladies, weeping, and seating them- 
 selves on the mattress, "poor Santiago, do not speak so ! we will try 
 and do what we can for you ; we have sent to the Cura's for some bal- 
 sam, it will soon arrive try and be patient for a moment, and tell us 
 where you are hurt." 
 
 " I cannot tell, indeed!" said I, trying to move my position, for it 
 pained me very much, " but you will soon know. Oh ! for a little wine 
 to refresh me a little wine I should feel so much invigorated, I am 
 sure." 
 
 " I will go and look for some," said the brother, rising, and leaving 
 the apartment : he soon returned to tell me that there was none in the 
 Posada, and that it was hopeless to think of getting any in the village 
 without money. " We were robbed, have lost every thing, and have 
 no money to purchase it," he observed mournfully. 
 
 One of the Senoritas had saved a small piece of jewellery by con- 
 cealing it in her dress ; she now produced it, and gave it to her brother, 
 telling him to try and dispose of it for wine. The brother again left 
 the room, and I waited long and anxiously for his return ; he came at 
 length with a bottle of Xeres wine. I felt quite revived at the very 
 sight of it, and entreated him eagerly for a little. There was no glass, 
 so he put the bottle to my mouth. I eagerly drank some of it, but 
 suddenly turned away, for it seemed to scorch my tongue and throat. 
 " 'Tis too strong 'tis as hot as fire," said I ; " I cannot take it so ; 
 would you mingle water with it." All the time I was so very faint 
 that the slightest exertion of body or mind fatigued me greatly, and 
 threatened to bring on a return of the spasms, which had before 
 affected me. 
 
 He returned from another room with a glass of pure cold water, 
 and poured some of the wine into it, and gave it me, putting it 
 to my lips. I drank it all off, and felt so much refreshed that I longed 
 ardently for more. This the ladies would not permit me, being afraid 
 it might prove injurious ; and they begged of me to await quietly the 
 arrival of the balsam. While I lay panting heavily for breath, anxiously 
 expecting the balsam to come, and considering that I should be most 
 
 speedily restored to health when it was once applied, the G inquired 
 
 of me some of the particulars of the attack and defence ; but I had 
 nearly lost all memory of what occurred ; in fact, so reduced was 
 I in strength, that I could scarcely remember a conversation which had 
 occurred but a few moments before. 
 
 After a long, weary time, during which I gazed listlessly around me, 
 and ever looked anxiously at the door of the apartment, the balsam 
 came : it was a black, thick, oily substance, in a little bottle. The 
 
Mexican Banditti, 301 
 
 Cura had no lint, so they were puzzled how to apply it to the cure of 
 the wounds. 
 
 At that moment the youngest of the ladies observed, that if the 
 others would cut off my military jacket with their scissors, she would 
 take a piece of linen and undo it into threads, which might perhaps 
 serve the purpose as well. She immediately took a piece of the linen 
 which had escaped the pillage, and commenced taking it, thread by 
 thread, to pieces. The others asked me if I would not wish to see the 
 Cura before they dressed my wounds. I told them that I should pre- 
 fer seeing him afterwards, being more anxious to have my wounds 
 examined. 
 
 The sisters then took the scissors and began cutting the jacket and 
 taking it off in pieces ; then the gold lama vest and linen, leaving my 
 neck and breast uncovered. I suffered dreadfully while they were re- 
 moving it, the greater part of the dress having affixed itself to the 
 gashes with the clotted blood, and in tearing it away it caused me great 
 agony. I was too weak to express half my feeling of pain in words, 
 but I moaned heavily I They often wished to pause, fearful of the pain 
 it caused me ; but I implored them to disregard my feelings, and only 
 to think of saving my life by speedily dressing the wounds. 
 
 When at length they cut away the last portion of my dress covering 
 the breast, and saw the numerous bleeding gashes which disfigured it, 
 they shrieked in horror, and one of them suddenly fainting, they left 
 me for a moment to aid their sister : they led her out of the apartment, 
 nor did she return that night, the sight being too revolting to her feel- 
 ings for her to look upon. The sisters shortly entered, and lifted up 
 the cloak they had thrown over me when they left the room. On 
 examining, with their brother and the Alcalde, into the wounds I had 
 received, they found sixteen stabs of a poniard on my breast, shoul- 
 der, and right-hand ; nine stabs had passed through the latter, which 
 was swollen dreadfully ; another wound was lower down on the left 
 side ; but they were unable to determine whether it was the grazing of 
 some ball, or a stab from lance or dagger. The wound on my right 
 breast puzzled them most, for I told them it was a ball-shot from one 
 of the brigand's pistols. They shook their heads, believing it impos- 
 sible for me to have survived if it had been so, and then asked me if it 
 had remained or issued again. I told them that I felt no pain except 
 at the orifice of the wound ; but that if they looked, perhaps they would 
 find some other hole where the ball might have come out. They did 
 so, and found another opening about twelve inches distance from the 
 entrance ; it was lower down on the left side : they had not seen it be- 
 fore, because it was covered by a portion of the dress. 
 
 They now commenced cleansing the gashes with cold water ; and 
 having dipped a little of the thread into the balsam, they placed it care- 
 fully inside the wounds. The operation was tedious, and caused me 
 great pain: it was at length finished, and some linen was torn into 
 bandages, with which they bound up the wounds ; and then they co- 
 vered my person over with some blankets, for my feet had become icy 
 cold. I thought of some plan to restore my feet to the usual warmth, 
 for I recollected how dangerous it was to have the lower members of 
 the body without circulation of the blood. It occurred to me that 
 
302 Mr. Dicksorfs Narrative. 
 
 I had often heard of bottles of hot water being applied with good effect ; 
 
 I therefore mentioned the circumstance to the brother of the G . 
 
 He went immediately and procured one, and filled it from a jar in 
 another apartment. He then placed the bottle close to my feet, but it 
 was long ere I felt the slightest return of warmth. 
 
 From the conversation passing in the sala, I found, though they 
 spoke low, that my death was considered inevitable, and that the next 
 morning would certainly find me dead ; it was impossible that I could 
 survive so many wounds : in fact, they were consulting whether I should 
 be buried in the cemetery, or as a heretic ; for the Indians had not given 
 
 implicit faith to the story of my being a Cristiano. I heard the G 
 
 inquiring frequently for the coming of the priest. When I perceived 
 them thus coolly discussing my death, and seeming to regard it as a 
 fixed event, I must own that I began to think it might indeed be likely; 
 the more so as I had but little confidence in the manner my wounds 
 were dressed, for no surgeon had been there to examine them. 
 
 The young ladies approached me, for they had seated themselves 
 near the door ; they implored me earnestly to see the Cura, and confess 
 to him ; that there were no hopes of my surviving, and that it would be 
 the best thing to have the consolations of religion as early as possible. 
 They told me, that no doubt in my own country, if I was dying, the 
 ministers of my religion would come and sit by me in my last hours, 
 and that there was not so much difference as to preclude my seeing one 
 of the Catholic persuasion. I told them that I was ready to confess to 
 him so soon as he should arrive. 
 
 At length the Cura came. He was a fine mild-looking old man ; he 
 advanced to the couch, and asked me tenderly how I felt. 
 
 I replied to him, that I was fearful my death was near ; that I 
 scarcely hoped to outlive the night, and that I would be glad of the 
 consolations of religion as soon as possible, for I might even die in a 
 few minutes, if one of the spasms that attacked me before returned. 
 You are a Cristiano, then ?" said the Cura. 
 Si Sefior." 
 
 1 You believe in the Holy Trinity ?" 
 
 Sir 
 
 In our Saviour Jesus Christ?" 
 Si Senor !" 
 
 ' You firmly believe in the purity of the Virgin Mary, the mother of 
 Jesus Christ?" 
 
 " Lo creo /" 
 
 " Basicf!" said he, rising and approaching the G . He put some 
 
 questions relative to me ; they answered him, but what it was I do not 
 Jknow, but one of them came near me, and took from the pillow 
 some little embroidered images of the Senora Guadalupe, which they 
 had given me at St. Martin, and held them up to the Cura, saying 
 I had worn them about my neck, and that when they were dressing 
 the wounds they found them there. What else they said to him seemed 
 to satisfy him ; so he came again near me, and asked me solemnly if 
 I wished to confess to him. I said that I was willing. He then desired 
 every one to leave the room. They departed, closing the door after 
 
 them, and we were left alone. 
 
 ****** 
 
Mexican Banditti. 303 
 
 When the doors were reopened, they found me weak, exhausted, and 
 panting strongly for breath. I murmured out a request for wine ; they 
 brought me some, as before, mingled with water. The young ladies 
 then inquired of me anxiously if I felt any better, and hoped I had re- 
 ceived relief, and was now prepared to die. I thanked them for all 
 their kindness to me, and regretted only that I never might have an 
 opportunity, in this life, of thanking them again for all their kindness 
 and Christian conduct towards me, but that the Almighty would re- 
 ward them. They entreated me not to despond; perhaps I might re- 
 cover, and they hoped I did not repent having seen the Cura. 
 
 " No!" said I to them, " confession is not such a dreadful affair as I 
 always imagined it, and I feel greatly relieved in mind and less afraid 
 of death than I ever was before but 'twill be all the same to me 
 now I shall never again see the light of day." They retired, telling 
 me they would remember me in their orisons that night, and tenderly 
 bade me adieu ! 
 
 After they were gone, I received the sacrament of the communion, 
 and the extreme unction was administered to rne ; but not before they 
 had coincided that I was sure to die that night, and that there was in- 
 deed no hope. 
 
 All those who had been lookers-on now left the room, one by one, 
 and I was left alone with the three Indians, who had volunteered to sit 
 up that night along with me. After giving me a little wine and water, 
 they retired to a distant corner ; and while one sat himself down on a 
 low bench with a lamp near him, the others wrapped themselves in their 
 serrapes, and lying down on the earthen floor soon fell asleep. 
 
 It would, indeed, be difficult to describe the strange thoughts and 
 feelings which possessed me on that eventful night; and, even deeply 
 engraved as they are yet upon my memory, I can find no words, no 
 human simile, in which to clothe their intensity. Nevertheless, amid 
 the despair of life which had gradually seized upon me, I felt a strange 
 confidence that I was not to die my time had not yet come. I lay a 
 long time in silence, brooding in my mind over the past ; of the future 
 I could not bring myself to think, for I clung to life with the convulsive 
 energy of a drowning man ; it was not that I felt a dread of a future 
 state, for, strange to say, I felt my soul wholly relieved by the religious 
 intercourse which had taken place, and I felt a firm hope of mercy at 
 the throne of my Creator, for I knew that I had repented, and that my 
 Saviour would intercede for me. These were my feelings for a consi- 
 derable time after the Cura left me, till at once I became entirely taken 
 up with my hope of still living and surviving the night. 
 
 I thought often what a strange thing death appeared to be, and I felt 
 resolved to watch his approach, and retain my senses to the last. I lay 
 long revolving in my mind how I should feel when the time came, till 
 minutes and hours passed away, and I found myself so far from weak- 
 ening, gradually feeling more and more invigorated, and afraid of the 
 approach of death. 
 
 Were I to record here the strange thoughts now bordering on the 
 sublime, now on the ridiculous that flashed across my mind in the 
 long hours of that tedious night, no one would believe me ; so contra- 
 dictory, so extraordinary do they seem to me even now, that I scarcely 
 dare trust my memory. 
 
304 Mr. Dicksorfs Narrative. 
 
 Long ere the midnight passed I thought the morning come, and 
 every minute that flew away seemed a weary age to my anxious mind. 
 It would be in vain to describe my thoughts I feel it impossible 
 images, fleeting and wild, flashed before my soul, like the swift spark- 
 ling of brilliant meteors, crowding one upon the other in strange con- 
 fusion. Altogether, it was the most incomprehensible night ever mor- 
 tal passed. 
 
 At length day dawned, and a streak of light shot through the inter- 
 stices of the door and reassured me that the long wished-for morning 
 had at length arrived. I awoke the Indians from their sleep, by dis- 
 jointed murmurs for them to open the door; they arose, and as they 
 drew the bolt and flung it wide open, a fresh current of air swept into 
 the sala and fanned me as I lay. 
 
 Oh ! how lovely and refreshing seemed the breaking of that morn, 
 while all around me was silent as the tomb : it was the ushering in of a 
 Sunday, and the Indians were all at mass. The sun rose quietly, and 
 the gleams of light fell on the floor of the sala as he gradually ascended 
 the heavens ; it was late ere any one came to disturb the silence in 
 which every thing lay. The first who entered was the Alcalde ; he 
 asked the Indians who had sat up with me, if I had outlived the night. 
 I replied to him feebly, that I felt much better. He immediately ap- 
 proached the couch, and tendered his congratulations : while he was 
 
 yet speaking, the G entered the room, and were rejoiced to find 
 
 me recovering. My countenance instantly lighted up with a smile when 
 I perceived them : few there can be who feel not pleasure when visited 
 by such friends in the hour of adversity, and the single fact of their pre- 
 sence invigorated me more than I can express. They asked me what I 
 meant to do ? whether await in the village the arrival of a surgeon from 
 Puebla, or be conveyed there at once in a palanquin. They told me, 
 if the latter, it would be evening ere I could reach the city. I thought 
 I had sufficient strength still left me to bear the fatigue of the journey, 
 and requested the Alcalde to make the necessary preparations ; that 
 I had friends in Puebla who would be happy to discharge all expenses. 
 He said that till mass was concluded, the villagers could not go, but 
 at mid-day they would be ready ; meanwhile, he would prepare a 
 littera in which to carry me. The Alcalde then said something to the 
 
 G relative to the burial of the dead bodies of N and R . 
 
 They answered, but they spoke so low I could not hear. The Alcalde 
 
 next turned to me and asked whether N was a heretic or a 
 
 Catholic. 
 
 " He was a Cristiano," said I, evasively, for I knew that if I called 
 him a heretic he would be buried in unconsecrated ground. 
 
 He again asked whether he was a Protestant or Catolico apostolico 
 Romano. 
 
 I said he never told me what his religion was, therefore it was im- 
 possible for me to say. 
 
 The Alcalde then called the two young postilions who had survived 
 the attack, and enquired of them whether they had ever seen El Senor 
 N attending mass. They answered that they had not. 
 
 " Pero, Senor" said I, " these Muchachos have not been with us 
 one Sunday yet, therefore how can they tell whether he attended mass 
 or not ?" 
 
Mexican Banditti. 305 
 
 " Oh !" remarked the Alcalde, " he has, no doubt, died a heretic." 
 So, in spite of my remonstrances, they decided on burying him in uncon- 
 secrated ground : and the Alcalde departed to give the necessary in- 
 structions for the interment. 
 
 I had now become sufficiently recovered to make some enquiries of 
 
 the G as to the manner in which they had been robbed. They 
 
 told me, that after we entered the shady ravine, they had gradually got 
 the advance of us some hundred yards ; that they were suddenly sur- 
 rounded by a numerous body of men, some seventy or eighty banditti, 
 masked and armed, who ordered them to deliver up their arms ; their 
 brother immediately handed over his pistols, and they were then com- 
 manded to leave the carriage ; they did so, and the banditti commenced 
 searching the vehicle, and commanded them to give up their dou- 
 bloons and keys. They then opened the trunks and ransacked them for 
 jewels: all that they discovered they took, as well as some of the dresses. 
 The robbers were going to tie them up to the trees, but they implored 
 them to have mercy. One of the brigands snatched up a beautiful 
 shawl from one of the trunks, and was taking it away, when the el- 
 der of the young ladies took hold of his arm, and said eagerly, " This 
 is mine you shall not take it give it me," He laughed and threw 
 it to her. The robbers having insisted on their taking out their ear- 
 rings, also took them, as well as every article of value they found. 
 
 The ladies were then asked how far the English were behind. They 
 would not tell ; but when the brigands threatened them with their sabres, 
 they mentioned about a quarter of a league. Instantly one, who seem- 
 ed to be the leader, rode off with a few men ; in less than five minutes 
 they heard the report of fire-arms, and in a moment the whole of the 
 banditti left them, and galloped off to where their companions had gone. 
 
 They heard nothing but a continual discharge of fire-arms for a short 
 time, and then one of the brigands came galloping past them, with a 
 body slung across the saddle bow, and bleeding from a shot in the 
 forehead : as he passed them, he reined in his horse for a moment and 
 shouted fiercely, " 16s co -joshan matado mi hermani but they shall die 
 for it ; they have slain my brother, and I will murder you too." He 
 then put spurs to his horse, and galloped across the country towards 
 some hacienda, leaving them almost fainting from terror. They con- 
 cluded that we were all shot, and gave themselves up to despair. In a 
 few moments they saw our carriage, guarded by the robbers, issuing 
 from the ravine, and entering the deep glades of the forest, while a 
 party of the horsemen rode up to them, and were going to kill their 
 brother ; the ladies instantly threw themselves on their knees and prayed 
 for their brother's life ; it was granted to them when they declared that 
 we did not belong to their party. The banditti having assured them- 
 selves that nothing of value was left, rode off into the wood, and 
 
 the G immediately drove off to the village of Acajete, where 
 
 they gave the alarm. So near were they to it that almost every person 
 in the village had heard the firing, but did not seem to regard it as 
 proceeding from an attack of brigands. When the young ladies con- 
 cluded their story, I asked them if the brigand who had rode past them 
 had his mask off ? whether he was a tall man with a wide scar on his 
 cheek ? 
 
 " The very same," said they eagerly. 
 
 April. VOL. XXVIII. NO. CXII. Y 
 
306 Mr. Dicksorfs Narrative. 
 
 " Ha ! the villain, it was he that stabbed me so much. Thank God, 
 I killed his brother !" exclaimed I, rejoicingly, as my rage got the 
 better of me; and, had not the presence of the ladies restrained me, I 
 should not have been, I dare say, very choice in my epithets, 
 
 What a sad thing passion is when it once gets the upper hand ! The 
 single fact of having sent a few of the villains to their long home did 
 more to recover me from my lassitude and debility than any medicine 
 administered to me. I shall never forget the satisfaction I received 
 while dwelling on that idea. It is sinful, no doubt, to glory in revenge, 
 yet I did glory ; it was justice; I had aright to kill them. I had asked 
 the G how the lady and her attendant, who had been in the car- 
 riage with me, were ? I was informed they had passed the entire night 
 in weeping, nor were they as yet wholly themselves, such a hold on 
 their imagination had the horrid affair taken ; they had, however, 
 gone to mass, and would soon return. 
 
 Not long afterwards they did come in, and, as they entered, I per- 
 ceived their dresses were stained with blood ; they told me they had 
 been plundered of all their clothes that were in the equipage, and 
 that, till they reached Xalapa, they could get no others. 1 asked the 
 female attendant, rather angrily, what induced her to tell the brigand I 
 had fired ? That she could easily have said it was one of those who 
 were already dead. She told me she was so terrified by the threatening 
 address of the robbers, that, if he had asked her if she had fired too, 
 she should have answered him in the affirmative. 
 
 " Ah !" said I, " I was afraid, while in the carriage, you would say 
 so when questioned, and I wished to put you on your guard, but 
 imagined the brigands would hear me speak 'Tis no matter now. 
 When do you leave this ?" 
 
 '' To-day, Sefior," replied she, " as soon as the carriage is ready. 
 AdioSj Senor," continued she, bidding me farewell, " Dios guarda-Vm. 
 muchos anos" 
 
 " Adios, Senora ; Adios, Amiga," returned I faintly ; " may you reach 
 your friends in safety and viia-Vm. mil anos." 
 
 After a few minutes' conversation, such as my weak state would per- 
 mit, the lady also bade me adieu, deploring the unfortunate issue of the 
 affair, and thanking me for "the effort I had made to defend them. She 
 told me she would ever remember me in her prayers, and hoped God 
 would spare my life, and that ere long I might be restored to my friends 
 and native land. 
 
 After her departure the G tried to cheer me, and inspire me 
 
 with hope of recovery. I assured them that I had now little fear, and 
 that if I could reach Puebla that evening, all would be well. They 
 were surprised to find me in such good spirits, considering the number 
 and pain of the wounds I had received, and the great loss of blood I 
 had sustained ; but they were the more so when I mentioned the fact of 
 this having been all foretold, and that I knew it was to come to pass, 
 but in what particular manner I was not assured. 
 
 They seemed puzzled to understand me. I then asked them if they 
 believed geomancy? They understood me better when I said that my 
 nativity had been taken and my horoscope cast by a celebrated astro- 
 loger of London, before I crossed the Atlantic, and that what he then 
 mentioned referred to this individual affair with the brigands ; that 
 
Mexican Banditti. 307 
 
 when I first resolved to leave Mexico, it was not without forebodings 
 as to the danger and risk attending the attempt ; it was foretold to me 
 that, within a certain period, my life would be twice narrowly endan- 
 gered. The first referred to certain circumstances which had pre- 
 viously occurred the second evidently referred to this affair, since it 
 was mentioned as Mars in the house of travelling, under events of 
 
 a peculiar force. The G listened with much attention to what I 
 
 mentioned, and were surprised that in Inglaterra there were also for- 
 tune-tellers. 
 
 I am really not in jest when I thus speak of my nativity having been 
 cast ; it was actually done about three years ago, by a gentleman of 
 celebrated talent in the Fine Arts : his name it is not necessary to 
 mention, but, if required, I have no objection ; and every thing that he 
 spoke of likely to occur, has actually taken place. It is no doubt a 
 very strange coincidence, but a stranger yet I have to state. It had 
 been my purpose to engage a passage, on my arrival at Vera Cruz, in 
 an American schooner bound to New Orleans, with the intention of 
 proceeding up the Mississipi. I was attacked by brigands, wounded, 
 and consequently delayed. The schooner left Vera Cruz on its pas- 
 sage to New Orleans a violent storm came on ; that same vessel foun- 
 dered at sea, and all hands on board perished. If this was really tlu 
 case, and my information was from authentic sources, it is one of the 
 most extraordinary instances of peculiar intervention of Providence 
 on record : overpowered by one danger that another and more fatal 
 one might not come near me : it is strange, but yet it is true. 
 
 The time at last came when the G too departed, and, as I kissed 
 
 their hands, I said to them that some day, soon, I would be at their 
 tertulia in Vera Cruz ; and I kept my promise. 
 
 Ere they left the village they obtained a small escort of ten villagers 
 to accompany them for the first day's journey ; it was not, however, 
 without difficulty that they obtained such aid, but the Alcalde being a 
 very excellent man, he commanded them to accompany the party 
 without charge. 
 
 The mass had been over some time when a few of the Indians carried 
 into the apartment a rude sort of hand-barrow, which they called a " lit- 
 tera ;" they speedily contrived a covering for it of mats, and when they 
 had finished it, theAlcalde desired them to place my mattress in it. They 
 lifted me out, and one of them held me on a chair, while they arranged 
 the couch, and put it with the blankets into the littera. I was soon in- 
 stalled also, and completely covered over with the arched matting they 
 had fastened over it, sundry hoops having been formed into semi-cir- 
 cles rising about three feet above the littera ; over these, and fastened to 
 them, was the matting which was to protect me from the heat of the 
 sun in the journey we had to go. 
 
 They had agreed with the Alcalde to carry me the twenty miles , 
 there being sixteen Indians, four to relieve the same number every 
 hour for the sum of four rials each, or about two shillings of our 
 money; but just as we were departing, they laid down the palanquin 
 again, and said they would not go unless each received six rials ; this 
 the Alcalde would not submit to, saying it was an imposition, and that 
 four were quite enough. 
 
 They then said that it would be evening before they could arrive at 
 
308 Mr. Dickson's Narrative. 
 
 Puebla ; consequently, that was one day ; and that it would take them 
 the greater part of the next to return, besides the expense of remaining 
 all night in town : in fine, they would not stir an inch without a guaran- 
 tee of six rials per man. The Alcalde still opposed it, till I begged of 
 him to give them whatever they asked, and to take me away as fast as 
 they could. 
 
 They arranged matters with the Alcalde, and I was to pay them on 
 my arrival in the city, or at the hospital, to which they were desired to 
 carry me, if I could not find out the name of the street where my 
 friend Don Juan de Palacios Trueva lived. 
 
 We at length set out on our journey ; they lifted the palanquin on 
 their shoulders, and bore me rapidly away. I stopped them frequently 
 to drink a little of the wine and water they had brought along with 
 them for me as also some limes and oranges, of which they squeezed 
 the juice out, and gave to me to cool my thirst. I found them very 
 refreshing, and they served, more than any thing else, to keep up my 
 spirits and to invigorate me. 
 
 We had journeyed on for a considerable time in silence till we had 
 nearly passed the outskirts of the forest"; and by the speeches of the 
 Indians, who now commenced whispering among themselves, I under- 
 stood we were near the place of our attack. After they had again be- 
 taken themselves to silence, they hurried on, and on arriving at one of 
 the breaks in a shady ravine, they turned aside, and tried to ascend to 
 gain the higher ground, and enable them to take a shorter cut across 
 the country to Amasoque. After some short time and difficulty, we 
 reached the summit of the elevated banks of the fissure, and were once 
 more resuming our pace, when suddenly shouts, and cries of "Para- Vm. 
 stop! stop!" were heard in front of us. The Indians hastily laid 
 down the palanquin, and 1 heard the tramp and galloping of horses 
 coming nearer and nearer. 
 
 " Oh God !" cried I, " the villainous banditti are upon me again ; 
 they have heard that I am alive, and corne to kill me ! Villains ! 
 devils !" 
 
 " Que quiere-Vm ?" asked one of the Indians, who heard me muttering. 
 
 " Who are they crying to stop?" said I, in alarm. 
 
 " We know not, Senor but they are not ' Ladrones.' " 
 
 In the instant, the party of horsemen, who had descried us as we rose 
 out of the ravine, galloped up, shouting " Que el diablo ! que es eso .'" 
 
 " Un herido Ingles 'tis a wounded Englishman." 
 
 Then followed numerous inquiries, of how, where, and when ? Some 
 of these being answered, one of the new party cried, " Can he speak ?" 
 and, without waiting for an answer, he asked aloud in English if I was 
 much wounded. The sound of my native language had a considerable 
 effect upon me ; but, weak as I was, I could reply but to a few of the 
 many questions he put to me ; and, indeed, before I had answered 
 the first, he told me his own history : he was a Yankee, going to 
 Vera Cruz, with mules laden with flour, &c. He kept the palanquin 
 on the spot nearly half an hour, questioning me till I was nearly dead 
 with impatience, anger, and fatigue. I implored him to let the Indians 
 go on, and not to keep them waiting while I was so severely wounded 
 and ill. The rascal that he was, he cared little whether I lived or died, 
 so that his confounded curiosity wa gratified. I believe I said a few 
 
Mexican Banditti. 309 
 
 severe things, and sent him to the Devil more than once for his rascally 
 behaviour sitting on horseback, cold and calculating, and keeping me 
 there against my will. This same fellow had the impudence to say, 
 when he arrived in Vera Cruz, that I was laughing and joking about 
 the affair with the brigands, while my sufferings were calling forth all 
 my fortitude. I never was so fortunate as to meet him again, nor do I 
 remember his name. At length, having got the whole story repeated 
 some dozen times, he moved off with his cavalcade of mules and flour. 
 
 I commanded the Indians, for the twentieth time, to take up the pa- 
 lanquin. Having no one to hinder them now, they lifted it up, and ran 
 along quickly towards Amasoque. 
 
 It was nearly four in the afternoon ere we reached the village. Im- 
 mediately on our entrance into the Plaza, the Indians laid down the 
 palanquin, and sate themselves on the ground close to it to rest awhile. 
 A large crowd of people soon came round us, and eagerly inquired into 
 the particulars of the affair. One or two of the women lifted up the 
 mat over my head and looked in at my countenance, disfigured as it 
 was with blood, which had never been removed when my wounds 
 were dressed at Acajete. They asked the Indians if I was a " Chris- 
 tia.no?" They answering in the affirmative, I heard instantly expressions 
 of commiseration, and " pobrecito /" and "pobre Inglesito!" " los picaros 
 de Ladrones /" which every one now let fall. One Indian girl brought 
 me some limes, which she made me a present of; and every one in the 
 Plaza seemed to lament the misfortune that had befallen me. 
 
 We at length resumed our journey, amid the good wishes and 
 " adios " of every one, and soon issued from the village of Amasoque. 
 We journeyed on for some considerable time, during which I became 
 gradually weaker and weaker, and felt no slight wandering in my ideas 
 so much so, that I mistook frequently the Indian language spoken by 
 my bearers for English ; and, once or twice, so firmly was I convinced 
 of it, that I actually stopped them to inquire who it was that was speak- 
 ing English ? and not even their surprise and repeated assurance could 
 make me think otherwise. 
 
 During several hours, we pursued our journey without any interrup- 
 tion, while I found myself becoming more and more confused in my 
 mind, till I neither recollected what had happened nor where I then was. 
 I frequently mused as to what had befallen my right hand, it felt so very 
 icy cold and heavy, till all at once I thought it had been converted into 
 a bar of silver and so firmly did this curious idea take possession of 
 my mind, that I lay long meditating which would be the best mode to 
 bring it to its natural state again. It puzzled my chemistry neverthe- 
 less, and I gave up the attempt in despair, and commenced abusing 
 some friend of mine, who resided in the city of Mexico, as being acces- 
 sory to causing the metamorphosis. 
 
 My thoughts soon took another course, and it appeared to me that 
 some one had placed a four-cornered wooden box under my left shoul- 
 der, for something pressed with a hard sensation against it. I sud- 
 denly called out to the Indians to stop, and desired them to look for 
 my right hand, which, as I told them, had become pure silver. 
 
 " Plata .'" cried they, in astonishment " Li ! platafma." 
 
 " Where, Senor ? No hay plata ajin it is only your wounded hand," 
 said they. 
 
310 Mr. Dicksoifs Narrative. 
 
 " Well ! " continued I-" but there is a box under my left shoulder ; 
 look for it." They raised me up, shifted the cushion, but found no- 
 thing, and they began whispering and laughing ; and I heard frequently 
 the word " plata" and " he is mad es loco" bandied amongst them. 
 
 I now began to have some faint glimmering of the real case, and to 
 recollect that I had been wounded ; and desiring them to replace me 
 gently on the cushion, I ordered them to move on. 
 
 Some time afterwards, when it had already become evening, we ar- 
 rived at the " Garita:" here I came once more perfectly to my seases, 
 in the moment I perceived the edifice and heard the questions of the 
 Custom-house officers. I was detained nearly a quarter of an hour, 
 while they examined the bearers as to the particulars of the fight, a 
 confused rumour of which had already reached the city ; at length we 
 were permitted to move on, and in a short time we entered the town of 
 Puebla de los Angeles. 
 
 The instant I found we had entered the city, and were traversing the 
 street, I desired the Indians to carry me to the house of Sefior Trueva, 
 who lived in the same street where the " Correo " was. After some 
 time passing through the principal streets to the Plaza, they stopped at 
 the door of my Spanish friend ; by this time, a considerable crowd had 
 collected and had followed the littera. The larger gate of the edifice 
 was unlocked and opened, and I was carried in the palanquin into the 
 Patio, or square court, inside the mansion. 
 
 They had scarcely brought me there when my friend Trueva, who 
 had been at the theatre that evening, came home, owing to a report 
 which arose there, that the English who had quitted Puebla the day 
 before had been all murdered in the Final forest. He was very much 
 alarmed when he found the report so far true that we had been at- 
 tacked ; and he came close to the palanquin in the persuasion that I 
 
 had been killed, and that poor N had been brought in wounded. 
 
 He was addressing me to that effect, when I cried out, " It is I, Santi- 
 ago, that am alive, though they have left me so against their will ; but, 
 Gratia a Dios ! I have killed a few of them. Picaros! rascals!" 
 He was delighted to find I had escaped, and desired them to carry me 
 immediately up-stairs into one of the western apartments, where he said 
 I should be more free from the noise of the streets ; and he ran off for 
 a surgeon. 
 
 They contrived, after some difficulty, to remove me, palanquin and 
 all, to the room he had designed. The females had in the mean 
 time prepared a bed for me, to which I was removed immediately. 
 At last, after some delay, the surgeon came with Trueva. I was lying 
 on my back when they entered ; they started on perceiving my hair 
 all matted with gore, and my face disfigured with patches of dried 
 blood, imagining that I was wounded in the head. I undeceived them, 
 and they instantly commenced their examination. They tried the pas- 
 sage of the ball with their probes, but found it already closed up in 
 the middle. They next applied proper balsam to the wounds, and in 
 the course of another hour they left me to repose. 
 
Aristocracy. 1G7 
 
 science; our representatives for their talents and principles and 
 their talents and principles only. They do not represent their own pro- 
 perty and fortunes they represent ours. As for those worthies who 
 imagine that because they are gentlemen they ought to be legislators 
 who contrive to hitch into some odd corner of their addresses an honour- 
 able mention of their family and their prospects, we commend them 
 to the anecdote of Marshal Meilleraye, who, when a sturdy gentleman 
 of Bretagne asserted that if he was not a marshal, he was, at all events, 
 of the wood of which a marshal was made, very politely assured him that 
 when marshals were made of wood, his pretensions should riot be forgotten. 
 But then a gentleman is wanted who can contribute to the charities, and 
 give blankets to the poor. But what makes the people poor ? bad 
 laws and oppressive taxes ; and so long as we select foolish persons to 
 tax and to legislate for us, so long we shall want rich ones to relieve us. 
 Why not meet the evil at its root ? If a man gives us wherewith to 
 buy a loaf, and then votes to make bread dear, we shall not, in the long- 
 run, be very considerably benefited by his bounty. 
 
 So much for the especial case of candidates at the ensuing elections. 
 But we take another and a still wider view of the manner in which this 
 prevailing absurdity has affected, and doubtless will one day contrari- 
 wise affect, the state of society in England. As there is no country 
 where money and gentility are so extravagantly valued, so is there none 
 where talent and science are so ridiculously underrated. In France, in 
 Russia, in most of the states of Germany, (with the exception of these 
 islands) we may say throughout the whole of civilized Europe a man 
 of genius, a man of knowledge, is a recognized power. 
 
 The highest honours are awarded the most distinguished courtesies 
 are paid him. To be even attached to the clique of men of letters is a 
 rank, a passport into all society, a title which is claimed with a certain 
 degree of pride and assurance. Here, to call a man an author, is to 
 treat him with disrespect. He can have no other claim to distinction if 
 he does not ostentatiously put it forth. Horace Walpole exulted in the 
 idea that he was an Honourable ; and Gibbon prided himself on being a 
 country gentleman. We ourselves remember a distinguished, and even 
 talented fine lady, calling Washington Irving " the man who writes the 
 books." Graceful affectation ! AVhat is the class rising and that must 
 rise ? What is that class which, as our people become a reading people, 
 will be invested with the popular authority ? Before whom, and before 
 what, does the bloated arrogance of a purse-proud, pampered aristocracy 
 quail and shrink into utter nothingness at the present moment ? Lo ! 
 there is the Press ! The press the thousand-tongued the Briarean- 
 armed press ! Every advance which fashionable indolence ventures to 
 make towards literary activity, is a sign that the man of letters is ad- 
 vancing upon my lord. 
 
 A new chivalry is in the field. The nobility of knowledge must become 
 the aristocracy of the epoch. The beautiful theory of St. Simon, for 
 so far, if so far only, is it beautiful, that to the superiority of the mind, 
 which elevates and poetizes power, power should and ought to be con- 
 ferred, is not yet ripe for realization ; but, if we know anything of the 
 future, we know that the two great axioms on which society will work 
 out its new changes are, the diffusion of power with the diffusion of 
 intelligence the diffusion of property with the diffusion of power. 
 
(168) 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WILLIAM PATERSON, 
 
 THE PROJECTOR OF THE DARIEN COLONY, THE BANKS OF ENGLAND AND 
 OF SCOTLAND, AND OTHER PUBLIC UNDERTAKINGS. 
 
 BY JOHN GALT. 
 
 THIS remarkable person was bom on the farm of Skipmire, in the parish of 
 Tinwald, in the county of Dumfries, about 1660. 
 
 In the account of that parish in " the Statistical Account of Scotland '," the 
 Reverend Mr. James Lawrie says, that Paterson " does not seem to have 
 been an obscure Scotchman, as he more than once represented Dumfries in 
 the Scottish Parliament, and that his grandnephew, Dr. James Mounsay, 
 was first physician for many years to the Empress of Russia," and adds, that 
 ** the same house of Skipmire, in which Paterson was born, was, about 1791, 
 in possession of the sister of Dr. Rodgerson, who succeeded the latter as im- 
 perial physician." The name of the Empress is not, however, mentioned to 
 whom Mounsay was physician; but Rodgerson was probably doctor to Ka- 
 therine II. The fact is, however, curious, as it shows the hereditary talent 
 of the family who resided at Skipmire, and also, that there must have been 
 some influence or connexion between it and St. Petersburgh, to procure for 
 the son of a small Scottish farmer the dignity to which Dr. Mounsay attained. 
 But that Paterson was a Member of Parliament before the Union of the King- 
 doms, is very doubtful. The Rolls of the Scottish Parliament, prior to that 
 event, have been searched, and his name has not been found in them, though 
 that of the member for Dumfries is regularly given ; and that he was other- 
 wise than an obscure Scotchman, before the promulgation of his great 
 schemes, seems therefore equally certain. 
 
 The only biographical sketch, if such it may be called, of William Paterson, 
 is in a scurrilous pamphlet called "A Defence of the Scots abdicating Da- 
 rien," 1 published in 1700. It is anonymous, but supposed to have been written 
 by a Lieutenant Harris, who says of himself that " he was the first person 
 employed in the service of the (Darien) Company*, and the first who left it." 
 As the tract is very scarce, and possesses an amusing ill-natured vigour of 
 style, it will be interesting to quote the passages which relate to Paterson, 
 rather than to weave them into a more urbane narrative. 
 
 " William Paterson," says this writer, " the author of this project, and penman (as 
 it is shrewdly guessed) of the Octroy, came from Scotland, in his younger years, with 
 a pack on his back, whereof the print may he seen, if he be alive (1700); having 
 travelled this country several years, he seated himself under the wing of a warm widow 
 near Oxford ; where, finding that preaching was an easier trade than his own, soon 
 found himself gifted with Anadab's spirit." 
 
 Afterwards, however, he went out as a missionary ; at least this is the infe- 
 rence to be drawn from what Harris states. 
 
 " He went on the propaganda fide account to the West Indies, and was one of those 
 who settled on the island of Providence" 
 
 a small isle on the coast of Honduras, and a distinguished rendezvous of the 
 celebrated fraternity of the Freebooters or Buccaneers, and famous for its 
 extraordinary fertility, and for enjoying the reputation, like Ireland, of not 
 being infested by venomous reptiles. 
 
 With that fraternity he is supposed to have associated himself; an asso- 
 ciation in the meridian of its glory, if such terms can be applied to 
 exploits and darings which have no parallel in the history of mankind, as 
 they have been celebrated by Basil Ringrove, the author of the history of the 
 Buccaneers, and who was himself one of the number. 
 
 The origin of these Spartans of the ocean seems to have sprung from the 
 dauntless bravery of a few individuals, fostered by the rash and unwise policy 
 of the Spanish Creoles, in transactions at once striking from their simplicity, 
 and offensive to humanity. Their state and history is briefly this : 
 
 * It was properly the African and Indian Company. 
 
Biographical Sketch of William Paterson. 169 
 
 At the commencement of the seventeenth century, the island of St. Do- 
 mingo was overrun with wild cattle, which afforded employment in hunting 1 , 
 for the sake of their hides, to many persons who bartered them for merchan- 
 dise with the inhabitants of the neighbouring island of Tortugas. These 
 hunters lived chiefly in places named boucans, or sheds, which sheltered 
 them from the sun and rain, but were open at the sides to every wind. 
 
 Among other remarkable regulations of the Buccaneers.no married person 
 could be admitted a member of their society. Two of them, joined together, 
 had everything in common ; and when one died, the survivor was heir to all 
 his property. Every Buccaneer was allowed, however, to supply his wants 
 from the boucan sheds, where the property was regarded as public stock. It 
 was owing to this circumstance that they acquired from strangers the appel- 
 lation of Buccaneers ; but they styled themselves " Brethren of the Coast." 
 Whoever desired to become a member of this fraternity, was obliged to drop 
 his surname and receive another more descriptive ; but when they left the 
 society and married, they commonly resumed their original names. 
 
 Though the " Brethren of the Coast," wild and roving young men, led this 
 life for a few years, and then settled as colonists, it had such charms for 
 others, that several, who were known to have inherited considerable possessions 
 in Europe, sacrificed their inheritances ratherthan return to take possession. 
 
 The proximate cause of the unquenchable animosity between them and the 
 Spaniards is not known, but their enmity grew to such a height, that their 
 enemies resolved to extirpate them ; and, having gathered together a consi 
 derable force, massacred all that fell into their hands. The Buccaneers reta- 
 liated with exasperated cruelty, and the better to secure success in their ven- 
 geance, never hunted but in parties, nor fought without the resolution to be 
 victorious, which they often were. 
 
 The Spaniards, seeing that they could not overcome them, resolved to cut 
 off their means of existence, and accordingly proclaimed a general hunt to 
 exterminate the wild cattle, an undertaking which they pursued with such 
 ardour that the race was nearly destroyed. The Buccaneers being in conse- 
 quence obliged to enter on another mode of life, joined * the Freebooters,'' 
 who at this time infested those seas; and thus the policy of the Spaniards 
 contributed to strengthen that power which, in a few years afterwards, ra- 
 vished their commerce and pillaged their towns. 
 
 The fraternity of the Freebooters chiefly consisted of English, French, 
 Dutch, and Portuguese. The natives, however, of all other nations were 
 eligible to become members, save only the Spaniards, against whom they 
 waged interminable war. 
 
 At first these fierce adventurers had neither ships, provisions, nor money. 
 Their arms consisted of pistols and cutlasses ; but with these weapons and 
 undaunted courage, they captured both merchantmen and ships of war. 
 
 Their first expeditions were in small boats and canoes : the captains, who 
 generally furnished the means, received six shares ; the other officers in pro- 
 portion; and the men each one share. Such as were wounded in battle re- 
 ceived gifts according to their injuries, and those who particularly distin- 
 guished themselves were generously rewarded, the gifts being always deducted 
 irom the booty before any division took place. The shares of those who fell 
 in fight were invariably reserved for their nearest relations. 
 
 Some of their regulations were very severe. No woman was allowed on 
 shipboard under pain of death; and among the Freebooters, as among the 
 Buccaneers, every man was heir to his companion. But as there was no 
 restriction with respect to marriage, except as to bringing their wives on 
 board, when a married man died, his family got the one-half of his property, 
 and his comrade the other. No fighting was permitted at sea, but if the 
 parties were not reconciled before they landed, the quarrel was then decided 
 in the presence of an officer. 
 
 The adversaries first fired each with pistols, and if that took no effect, they 
 then fought with sabres till one drew blood, when he was declared in the 
 right. They were strict also in their regulations as to theft, especially the 
 
170 Biographical Sketch of William Paterson. 
 
 French, who, if a Freebooter among them was convicted of stealing' only a 
 single piastre, they exposed him on a desert shore with a fusee, a few shot, 
 a hottle of powder, and another of water. 
 
 Whenever they went on an expedition, they solemnly made oath to each 
 other not to appropriate any part of the booty to their individual use. It is 
 said the other Freebooters were less severe, but thieves were banished from 
 their society. The laws respecting gambling and drinking were equally ri- 
 gorous, but often broken, both by officers and men ; and it was a striking 
 peculiarity of their discipline, when they discovered a ship which they deemed 
 a prize, to bind themselves by an oath to take her or perish in the attempt. 
 
 Under the command of the Welshman, Morgan, Sir Henry, as he was 
 called, they attained the summit of their power and renown ; an individual 
 who, according to those exploits which were deemed brave and honourable 
 among them, was deservedly considered a hero. He commenced his career 
 as a common sailor, and under his directions the fraternity rose to such 
 eminence, that they possessed a fleet of no less than thirty-seven ships of 
 various rates, when they advanced, in 1670, to attack Panama. His own 
 vessel, as the admiral's, carried thirty-two guns, others twenty, eighteen, and 
 seventeen, and the smallest four. In this expedition, Morgan bore at his 
 mainmast-head the royal standard of England, and distinguished the two 
 squadrons, into which he divided his navy, in imitation of the English, by 
 the red and white flags, and appointed officers accordingly, 
 
 Though in this man were many traits of rude grandeur, approaching to 
 the heroic, his general character may be said to have been made up of gross 
 and vulgar vices : and certainly, by the manner in which he withdrew from 
 his companions after enriching himself with the spoils of Panama, he has 
 darkened even the lurid glory of his piralical renown. 
 
 It is, however, in Ohnois that we have the sternest example of the ferocity 
 to which these bold rovers aspired. Having committed several severe depre- 
 dations on the Spaniards, they sent a vessel of six guns and ninety men to 
 seize him ; and that no delay might occur after his capture in his execution, 
 they sent also a negro to perform the hangman's office. 
 
 Olinois and his comrades seeing this ship, swore to take her ; and although 
 only thirty in number, they boarded her on both sides at once. The Spa- 
 niards, surprised at this sudden attack, after some desperate fighting, were 
 driven into the hold, where the Feeebooters followed and disarmed them. 
 Olinois, knowing for what purpose the ship had been sent, determined to 
 show no mercy ; and accordingly, ordering his prisoners to ascend, one by 
 one, he, with his own hand, smote off their heads as they severally came on 
 deck, and so rejoiced and glutted in this savage slaughter, that he licked the 
 blade of his sabre at every stroke. But the atrocities of this cannibal would 
 only overwhelm modern delicacy with disgust were they to be related at 
 greater length. 
 
 Such was the society, such the manners, and such the characters among 
 whom Paterson, when a young man, threw himself as an adventurer; and if 
 his visit to the island of Providence was a missionary enterprise, it surely had 
 been conceived in the spirit of martyrdom, since he must have known that 
 he had to encounter not only savage licentiousness, but the crimes and cor- 
 ruptions of civilization. Nothing, however, in his subsequent career justifies 
 the supposition that he was either actuated by fanaticism or motives of reli- 
 gion. The same spirit of adventure which led him to quit his father's house, 
 accounts for his voyage to the haunts and regions of the pirates, and the sub- 
 sequent use which he made of the knowledge acquired among them, shows 
 that he did not delight only in roving enterprise, but was instinctively in quest 
 of some unknown but magnificently conceived object. 
 
 In 1688 he returned to England. At this time he was only twenty-eight 
 years of age, at which period he is described as a serious young man of agree- 
 able manners, and an engaging serenity of countenance, endowments which 
 deserve the more attention, as it is imputed with disparagement, that he owed 
 to them the ascendency which he afterwards obtained over the minds of those 
 

 Biographical Sketch of William Pater son. 171 
 
 whose good opinion he endeavoured to cultivate. Harris thus describes his 
 proceedings after his return : 
 
 " He endeavoured to make a market of his ware [his project for the settlement] in 
 Holland and Hamburgh without success. He went afterwards to Berlin and opened 
 his pack there, and had almost caught the Elector of Brandenburgh in his noose, but 
 that miscarried too." 
 
 Failing thus in his attempt to get his Darien plan supported, he returned 
 to London, and " let his project sleep for many years." Harris then goes on 
 to say that 
 
 " His former wife being at rest as well as his project, he wanted a helpmate that 
 was meet for him, and not being very nice, went no farther than the red-faced coffee 
 woman, a widow, in Birchin Lane, whom he afterwards carried to the Isthmus of 
 Darien." 
 
 But although his colonial project slept, his speculative mind was wide 
 awake. " He was concerned," Harris states, "in the Hampstead water; and 
 had an original hand in the project of the Bank of England, but being obliged 
 to communicate his thoughts to some eminent men who were more able to 
 carry it on, they bubbled him out of the premium and the glory of the scheme." 
 
 Harris takes no notice of the fact in any other manner, but it must be evi- 
 dent to the reader, that Paterson was at this period a person both of influence 
 and distinction in the city of London. " The man," continues this vitupe- 
 rative author, "thinking himself ill-used by the managers of the Bank of Eng- 
 land, studied how to be up with them ; and in opposition to it he applies him- 
 self to the project of the Orphan's Bank, where he was afterwards some time 
 a Director." Having cause, however, to be discontented with that institution 
 likewise, " he roused up his Darien genius, and having vamped it up with 
 some new light he had purchased by conversing with Dampier," he went to 
 Scotland. 
 
 At this time he occupied a considerable space in the public eye ; his talents 
 were deemed of a high order, and wherever he appeared in his native coun- 
 try, he was treated with the greatest distinction, insomuch that Harris says 
 with disparagement, that the Royal Commissioner to the States of the King- 
 dom was regarded with scarcely more consideration. Nor was he undeserv- 
 ing of this great popularity, for it was at this time that he assisted in forming 
 the Bank of Scotland, and brought out his grand colonial project. 
 
 It would, however, be doing injustice to Paterson, not to mention that his 
 plan for the Bank of Scotland was distinguished over that of her elder sister 
 in London, by a most politic peculiarity. 
 
 At this period the resources of the country had been greatly impoverished, 
 by those national transactions and troubles which shook the kingdom from 
 the time of Charles I., and it must be allowed that it was a highly ingenious 
 conception of Paterson to draw capital into the kingdom, to hold out an in- 
 ducement to aliens to subscribe to the Bank, that they should become thereby 
 naturalized subjects, a privilege which all foreigners enjoyed till it was inju- 
 diciously annulled by an Act of Parliament, after the close of the late war. 
 
 When Paterson went to Scotland, he had with him two young men one a 
 person of some notoriety. Harris calls them a couple of subtle youths whose 
 office was to put Paterson's crude and indigested notions into form. But al- 
 though Harris also alludes to his intimacy with the famous Fletcher of Sal- 
 toun, he does not seem to have been acquainted with the talents of that il- 
 lustrious man, to whom tradition ascribes the composition of the law for in- 
 corporating the Company, under which the Darien expedition was undertaken 
 a law which, for conciseness, the beauty of perspicuity, and an occasional 
 felicitous use of Scottish phraseology, is itself a high literary curiosity. 
 
 " The Company's Act," says Harris, " being now touched with the royal 
 sceptre," the ancient Scottish mode of giving the King's assent to Bills in 
 Parliament, the subscriptions flowed in, and some idea may be formed of the 
 importance attached to Paterson's plan by the agreement made with him by 
 the Company, that he was to receive twenty thousand pounds premium for 
 his suggestion and forming it, with his two assistants. Yet Paterson did not 
 
172 Biographical Sketch of William Paterson. 
 
 disclose all his plan to the public. The Company was ostensibly formed for 
 the African and Indian trade only ; the Act, however, has reference to Ame- 
 rica, a circumstance particularly deserving of attention. It is thus declared : 
 
 " His Majesty understanding that several persons, as well foreigners as natives of 
 this Kingdom, are willing to engage themselves with great sums of money in au^me- 
 rican, African, and Indian trade, to be exercised in and from this kingdom." 
 
 Paterson, it should be mentioned, is one of the incorporated among others 
 as a merchant of London. 
 
 The Scottish subscription of four hundred thousand pounds was, as soon as 
 the Act of incorporation passed, filled up with great avidity by most of the 
 nobility and gentry, and all the cities and Royal boroughs of the kingdom. 
 A suitable house for the business of the concern was bought in Meadow- 
 square, Edinburgh, and ships were immediately built and bought. Something 
 of the nationality of the Scots was shown in naming of these truly national 
 vessels, such as the St. Andrew, the Unicorn, and the Caledonia. They had 
 other vessels, the Dolphin and the Endeavour, but these, from their names, 
 were probably those which were bought ready made. 
 
 As soon as the business of the African and Indian Company, as the un- 
 dertaking was generally spoken of, had been fairly instituted in Scotland, 
 Paterson and others were sent to Holland and the Hanse Towns, to collect 
 the additional capital, which was expected there ; and with him were two 
 colleagues, which Harris describes as "one Alexander Stevenson, Kirk Trea- 
 surer of Edinburgh, a zealous and lay grace-sayer, and a Captain James 
 Gibson, Merchant and Malignant of Glasgow 7 ." In this expedition Paterson 
 failed, by an act of singular perfidy on the part of the English Government. 
 For the affairs of the Company, and its many immunities, were by this time 
 making a great noise on the Continent, and the Hamburghers were well in- 
 clined to have taken a large interest in the project, but the English Govern- 
 ment instructed their accredited Minister to admonish the Hamburghers not 
 to subscribe, as they had intended; the details of which affair, however, more 
 properly belong to the history of the Company than to this biographical 
 sketch. In the end, Paterson returned to Scotland and accelerated the 
 equipment of the ships, the destination of which was not otherwise publicly 
 known, than that they intended to proceed to somewhere in Africa or the 
 Indies, by which was meant either to those of the East or West. 
 
 On this occasion, when the question as to the destination was debated in 
 the Council of the Company, Paterson urged his original project, conceived 
 ten years before, and prevailed. Accordingly the three ships, with the two 
 tenders, sailed from Leith, having upwards of a thousand soldiers and 
 sailors on board, with a curious cargo of merchandise, which our limits, and 
 the sketchy nature of this account, prevent us from detailing. 
 
 Among other parties who influenced the Company to determine on fixing 
 their settlement at Darien, was the famous Lionel Wafer, who was then 
 printing his voyages in London, and which the Company induced him to 
 suspend. For what special reason they had recourse to him is not very 
 clear, but their proceedings towards him, as the seditious Harris states, were 
 not candid ; and he also alleges, that, in engaging him, they were not actu- 
 ated by fair motives towards Paterson. 
 
 " Mr. Wafer," says Harris, " pursuant to the contract, (having ordered his 
 affairs in England for his voyage to Darien,) took post for Scotland, and on 
 the road passed by the name of Brown, by the Committee's directions. He 
 was stopped atHaddington, twelve miles short of Edinburgh, by Mr. Penny- 
 cook, who was ordered to lodge him at Mr. Fletcher's house, about two miles 
 wide of the road ; and there he was to stay till the Committee should come to 
 him, lest by going into Edinburgh he should be seen by Paterson or Lodge, 
 who at that time were kept in the dark as to the Company's resolutions." 
 
 However, the expedition, after many equivocal proceedings, sailed from 
 the Frith of Forth, on the 17th of July, 1G98, and passing north, arrived at 
 Madeira about the end of August ; stayed there five or six days, and took on 
 
Biographical Sketch of William Paterson. 173 
 
 board twenty-seven pipes of wine. Here the Deputies of the Council opened 
 their instructions, by which they were ordered to steer to Crab Island, and 
 take possession of it in the name of the Company and of the Crown of Scot- 
 land. This island lies to the leeward of Santa Cruz, about nine leagues to 
 the windward of Porto Rico, and about eighteen leagues from St. Thomas's. 
 
 The expedition was insufficiently provided with stores for so adventurous a 
 voyage, insomuch that, before even reaching Madeira, they suffered consi- 
 derable inconvenience. Harris, without being sensible of the inadvertency, 
 admits that, by his official situation, he was partly to blame for this. His 
 account of the provisions is, however, amusing. 
 
 " That you may taste," says he, " a little of our provisions as well as I, you must 
 know that our stock-fish was the best, if there had been a proportion of butter or oil to it. 
 Our beef was three-fourths Irish, and the rest Scotch, both alike fit for a long voyage. 
 There was about a fifth part of the Irish stall-fed ; the rest grass beef; and the whole 
 about eighteen months in salt. As for our bread, twenty-seven thousand pounds weight 
 of it was made up of damnified wheat, which was bought cheap ; and the money of it is 
 now in the pocket of a Director, whose Christian name is Drummellier. This bread 
 was not fit for dogs to eat ; but it was a mercy we had a good many Highlanders in 
 our legion who were not used to feed on much of God's creatures that's hallowed. The 
 pork was indifferent good, but there being no great store of it on board, we reserved it 
 always for our Sunday's dinner. As for cheese, we had none, by reason, I suppose, 
 that that only serves for concoction, or to create an appetite." 
 
 But to continue the account of the voyage. Having made Santa Cruz, one 
 of the tenders was sent to St. Thomas's for pilots, to conduct them to the 
 Main ; and while she returned to the squadron, at Santa Cruz, the Governor 
 of St. Thomas's, hearing from the tender that they intended to take possession 
 of Crab Island for Scotland, sent a sloop there before them to hoist the Danish 
 standard, which the expedition found flying on their arrival. 
 
 On the second of October they left Crab Island, disappointed at being so 
 anticipated ; their passage thence to Darien was tedious and unhealthy, and, 
 it is said, that during a week which they were becalmed between Carthagena 
 and Tiberoon, their men fell down in the sulphurous air, ' and died like 
 rotten sheep." 
 
 In November, 1698, the expedition reached the Bay of Darien; and on the 
 25th of March, 1699, the news of their arrival was received in Edinburgh, 
 and was celebrated there with great rejoicings by the populace, and by solemn 
 thanksgivings in all the churches. Indeed no event had ever been celebrated 
 with such demonstrations of joy in the Scottish capital. A public gradua- 
 tion of students was held at the University, in the presence of the magistrates 
 in all their formalities, at which the professor of philosophy made an oration 
 in favour of the new colony. The students defended its wisdom in their 
 theses even from the pulpit it was the subject of pious declamation. The 
 whole nation was delighted with golden ideas, and a bright, interminable 
 vista of prosperity. 
 
 Soon after, a gentleman, said to have been belonging to the expedition, 
 came home ; and to satisfy the ardent curiosity of the people, he pub- 
 lished a short account of the proceedings of the colonists, under the title of 
 " The History of Caledonia, or the Scots Colony in Darien; 1 ' an interesting 
 little work, but which has fallen into oblivion among the mass of contempo- 
 raneous works which, on the same subject, then agitated all Europe. 
 
 Having sounded the coast of Darien between the 8th and 10th degrees of 
 north latitude, the colonists fixed on a fine natural harbour, which they called 
 New St. Andrew's; and having formally taken possession, they fortified it, 
 and laid out a town, which they named New Edinburgh. The Deputies 
 with the expedition, among whom was Paterson, then went to negociate a 
 league with the sovereign, as they conceived, of the country. The whole ac- 
 count of this negotiation is in itself picturesque, and exceedingly amusing. 
 
 " Accordingly," says the author, " some deputies were sent out, among whom was 
 Mr. Paterson, the chief projector of the whole design. They found the Indians, as be- 
 fore related, very tractable, and had certain intelligence that one of their great kings 
 
174 Biographical Sketch of William Paterson. 
 
 was not far off, upon the ridge of the mountains, and would be very glad to understand 
 their design, and enter into any league against the Spaniards, whom they mortally 
 hated. They set, out with a small train, to give no occasion of jealousie, and had se- 
 veral slight merchandises, as heads, lianen and woollen cloths, and other things which 
 they knew would be acceptable presents to the wild Indians. 
 
 " The Indians were so secure, that they (the deputies) saw, as they passed along, 
 several of them sleeping in hammocks tied to two trees, and had no other covering ox- 
 canopy but large plantan leaves ; for they were told by their priests, or rather magi- 
 cians (who went a conjuring, which they call panawiny, as soon as our fleet arrived), 
 that the people newly arrived would be a great assistance against the Spaniards, their 
 enemies, and would never molest them if they failed not on their part. 
 
 " The panawing is performed, as the deputies were informed, with hideous yellings 
 and shrieks, in which they imitate sometimes the hissing of serpents, sometimes the 
 croaking of toads, sometimes the yelping of foxes, and barking of dogs ; to which they 
 join the noise of several stones struck together, and of a sort of drums made of bamboos. 
 They labour so hard, and strain themselves so much, that they are all in a great sweat ; 
 and often fall into strange ecstasies and trances for a considerable time, and then 
 renew their shrieks again, till the oracle be given. The great enemy of mankind, and 
 lover of discord, invited by such jarring music, at last visibly appears, and audibly 
 gives his answer. ***** 
 
 " But to return to where we left off. After they (the deputies) had made two 
 easy days' journeys, they arrived at the place where the King was, which was on the 
 top of a very high hill, which had a noble prospect towards the North Sea, as far as 
 the eye could reach. * * * * * 
 
 " As soon as the King had intelligence that the deputies were near at hand, he sent 
 a few persons of the best quality to conduct them to his presence : these were attended 
 with a set of musicians, who played upon a kind of pipes, made of small, hollow bam- 
 boos and reeds, full of knotches, with which they made a kind of whinning noise, but 
 nothing musical to European ears ; and all the company, to keep concert, made a 
 humming noise to themselves. 
 
 " As they approached nearer, they were diverted by a dance of forty men in a ring, 
 who stretched out their hands, and laid them on one another's shoulders, movinggently 
 sideways round in a circle, wriggling themselves into a thousand ridiculous postures, 
 something like the Highland dancers in Scotland ; and after they had danced a pretty 
 while, one of the company jumped out of the ring, and played several antic tricks, 
 throwing and catching a lance, bending backwards towards the ground, and springing 
 forward again with great activity, to the no small admiration of the deputies. * * 
 
 " When they were come to the top of the hill, and almost in sight of the King, to 
 show how welcome they were to both sexes, they were entertained by a dance of 
 women, who behaved themselves with great modesty and activity, dancing in a ring 
 as the men did. * * * * 
 
 " These women danced still before the deputies, till they were arrived in the King's 
 presence, whom they found seated under a tree of extraordinary bigness, upon a kind of 
 throne made of several logs of wood, piled neatly upon one another, and covered with a 
 sort of party-coloured cloth, which he had purchased from the Spaniards for a great sum 
 of gold. He had on his head a diadem of gold plate, above ten inches broad, indented 
 at the top, and lined with net-work, made of small canes, and a robe shaped something 
 like a frock of cotton, down to his heels, with a fringe of the same cotton, above a span 
 long, with short, wide open sleeves, reaching only to the middle of his arms : his face 
 was painted with red, as he designed war upon some of his neighbours : he had a plate 
 of gold hanging over his mouth, of an oval figure, covering his mouth from corner to 
 corner : he had, hanging at each ear, a pendant, made of two large plates of gold, fas- 
 tened to a ring, the one hanging before to the heart, and the other behind on the 
 shoulder : the plates were about eight inches long, and shaped like a heart. 
 
 " Those who attended him, wore on their heads a kind of diadem made of cane-work, 
 indented and jagged at the top, wrought very fine, and well painted ; set round at the 
 top with long, beautiful feathers, in the form of a crown. 
 
 " The deputies, after they had made a long obeysance to his Majesty, were conducted 
 by the master of the ceremonies (who is always a principal man) to some seats made 
 of logs of wood, covered with cotton cloth just over against the King's throne, but 
 much lower :" and then the negotiations began. 
 
 Mr. Paterson, the first of the embassy, then rose, and, after due reverence, 
 said that they were come from the uttermost coast of the world, being the sub- 
 jects of a mighty prince, to admire his grandeur, to establish traffic, and to 
 
^Biographical Sketch of William Paterson. 175 
 
 make a strict league with him against all his enemies whatsoever* ; but just 
 as he had finished, a drove of monkeys creatures common at all courts 
 came leaping up and down the branches of th r ^ trees, making a loud chatter- 
 ing, and flinging sticks and boughs at the whole party, besides committing 
 many other unseemly actions. But our limits do not allow us to detail all 
 the ceremonies of the occasion, many of which are exceedingly curious, 
 especially the banquet which followed, and a royal hunting. Nothing, indeed, 
 could be more flattering than their reception, nor the sanguine hopes which 
 their league with the King encouraged. 
 
 But the reader, after this minute description, will be surprised to hear that 
 the little work, from which this description has every appearance of having 
 been compiled, was either by Wafer, or from his voyages, which were then 
 printing ; for in that work he gives an account of the King, almost verbatim, 
 the same as we have just quoted. 
 
 " I once saw Lacenta," says he, u in a great council, wear a diadem of gold plate, 
 like a band, about his head, eight or nine inches broad, jagged at the top like the teeth 
 of a saw, and lined in the inside with a net-work of small canes. And all the armed 
 men who then attended him in council wore on their heads such a band, but like a 
 basket of canes, and so jagged, wrought fine, and painted very handsomely, for the 
 most part red j but not covered over with gold, as Lacenta's was. The top of these 
 was set round with long feathers of several of the most beautiful birds, stuck upright 
 in a ring or crown ; but Lacenta had no feathers on his diadem." 
 
 This curious similarity induced us to examine more narrowly the different 
 accounts of this noted embassy, and I find the folio wing description by Harris: 
 
 " Being arrived at his plantation, Captain Ambrosio (the King) came out of his wig- 
 wam about thirty paces, and welcomed xis. He had a white cotton frock on, fringed 
 at the bottom, and his court or clan behind him, to the number of thirty men, besides 
 women and children : they were in such frocks as Ambrosio's, and had short lances in 
 their hands. He carried us into his wigwam, and his wives gave every one of us a 
 plantan and calabash of their drink this being all the food we got, till the next day at 
 noon we came down to our boats, except a dish of minced-meat of wild hogg, wherein 
 was about two pounds of meat, which served to give us a taste of their finest cheer. 
 We hung in hammocks that night in Ambrosio's wigwam, amongst his and his son 
 Pedro's wives, and our men lay rouncl a large fire. 1 " 
 
 Amused with the remarkable variance between the different descriptions, 
 the reader will probably be interested to see still another account of the same 
 ceremony, from a different publication of that period, the author of which 
 we have not been able to discover ; but by the internal evidence of the 
 pamphlet, he must have been a Scotchman, and of the expedition. Speaking 
 of Ambrosio, or Lacenta, he describes him as 
 
 " A man about sixty years of age, but strong and vigorous, well-limbed, and of a 
 stern countenance. He is a mortal enemy to the Spaniards, with whom he had a long 
 war. He is esteemed the bravest of all the Indian captains. His son-in-law, Don 
 Pedro, having been taken by the Spaniards, and kept by them as a slave at Panama, 
 he can neither forget nor forgive them. * * * Captain Ambrosio's house lies about a 
 league from the water-side, on the bank of a river, having twelve lesser houses about 
 it. When we drew near to it, he advanced fifty paces to meet us, being attended by 
 twenty men, in white loose frocks, with fringes round the bottom, and armed with 
 lances : he saluted us kindly, and gave us a calabash of liquor, almost like lambs-wool, 
 made of Indian corn and potatoes. His house is 90 feet long, 35 broad, and 30 in 
 height, curiously thatched with Palmetto royal, and over that cotton leaves. The floor 
 is firm, like tarras, very smooth and clean. The sides are composed of large canes, as 
 thick as a man's leg." 
 
 The exultation of the Scots at the success of their colony was soon destined 
 to suffer a sudden blight. On the 3d of May, 1699, in little more than a month 
 after the news of the arrival of the fleet had been received, the Spanish Ambas- 
 sador presented a remonstrance against the insult suffered by the King his 
 
 * It would seem from this that Paterson was acquainted with their language ; but on 
 this occasion they had really a Jew> who spoke Spanish, which the Indians understood, 
 
176 Biographical Sketch of William Paterson. 
 
 master, from the Scots taking possession of a portion of his territory. The 
 English Parliament also addressed King William on the subject of the injuries 
 which the Scottish Colony was likely to produce to the East Indian trade of 
 England ; and it deserves particular notice, that the King's reply to the Parlia- 
 mentary address shows that vindictive spirit which the Scots have always 
 alleged William cherished against them. " I have," said his Majesty, " been 
 ill-served in Scotland ; but I hope some remedies may be found to prevent 
 the inconveniences which may arise from this Act" the Act of Incorporation. 
 
 In the mean time, instructions were given to the different Colonial Go- 
 vernors not to assist the Scots Colonists ; and as a proof of the wickedness 
 to which William was consenting, these different Governors declare in their 
 proclamations, that the King was not acquainted with the intention of the 
 Scots to settle on the Isthmus of Darien a dry fact, perhaps true in itself. 
 But Paterson's project for settling there had many years been publicly known; 
 and it was equally well known, that he, as a counsellor of the Company, sailed 
 with the expedition. Besides, the Board of the Company had addressed the 
 King, informing him of the news of the arrival of the colonists at Darien, 
 and of their flattering prospects. 
 
 When it was understood at Edinburgh how much the English Government 
 was set against the colony, the popular violence was as wild as the generaljoy 
 was extravagant when the news of the arrival of the expedition was received. 
 The King's Commissioner (the Lord- Lieutenant of the kingdom) and the great 
 officers of state were obliged to fly the city, says Arnot, in his History of Edin- 
 burgh, and tumult and turbulence pervaded all ranks. This ebullition was, 
 however, of no avail the fate of the colony was decided, to the everlasting 
 grief of the Scots, and the disgrace of King William's Government ; for, al- 
 though there may have been error in taking possession of the Isthmus of 
 Darien, there was no possible reason, in policy or humanity, for the treat- 
 ment which the colonists received from their own Sovereign, in abandoning 
 them to starvation. 
 
 Upon the right to take possession of Darien many ingenious and curious 
 pamphlets were published at the time, but it would be inconsistent with our 
 limits to notice them particularly here, further than that one published at Glas- 
 gow is the ablest that has fallen under our observation : to us it is not, how- 
 ever, quite convincing. As this article has already exceeded the limits we had 
 prescribed to ourselves, we have only to add that the fate of Paterson is not 
 known, nor mentioned in any of the books or papers to which we have had 
 access. It is, however, probable that he perished with the great body of the 
 colonists, either at Darien, or during the hardships that the remnants encoun- 
 tered on their return a circumstance which throws a melancholy shade over 
 the few relics we have been able to gather of a man that must be regarded as 
 of no ordinary stamp. 
 
 By his contemporaries, when all the specks and spots of individual infir- 
 mity tended to diminish the lustre of his talents, it is easy to conceive how 
 differently Paterson must have been considered, compared with the brightness 
 in which he appears to posterity, when cleared from the clouds which sur- 
 rounded his setting. There is nothing, indeed, more striking in biography 
 than the fortunes of this man. We see him a poor stripling, proceeding from 
 a lone cottage in a remote part of the kingdom, friendless and pennyless ; 
 his curiosity incites him to embark in the enterprises of a lawless and fero- 
 cious brotherhood ; his observations among them, subsequently corrected 
 by one of the most adventurous voyagers, enable him to project the planta- 
 tion of a state, in its design, as described in the Act of Incorporation, worthy 
 of the greatest Kings. But, though baffled by the jealousy of nations, the 
 character of his prospective genius still survives in what may be called the 
 mere debris of his conceptions the two national Banks of England and of 
 Scotland. The former, indeed, may be said to influence and improve the 
 condition of the whole earth, and yet the period of his death is still question- 
 able, and the spot where he lies is not only unmarked by any monument, 
 but literally unknown. 
 
THE 
 
 NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. 
 
 THE GAUCHOS ; 
 
 A TALE OF THE PAMPAS. 
 
 THE events I am about to relate may appear wild and incredible to the 
 inhabitants of a country in which justice has long been regularly adminis- 
 tered, and where the influence of civilization has ameliorated the passions 
 of men, or, at least, caused them to display themselves in a form less re- 
 volting than among barbarous nations. 
 
 An Indian shoots at his enemy from behind a tree ; a Turk will strike 
 his handjar into the heart of his foe while he sleeps ; and a South American 
 Spaniard will rip up, on the spot, the bowels of one who has insulted him ; 
 while an Englishman or Frenchman calls out the man who has cast a 
 stain upon his honour, and running him through the midriff, according to 
 the rules of fence, or blowing out his brains at the dropping of a hand- 
 kerchief, walks away, and calls this a fair, manly, open revenge receiving 
 the satisfaction of a gentleman. 
 
 Which of these two modes of procedure is the least inconsistent is easily 
 enough decided; but it is also equally clear, that if there must be some ex- 
 tra-judicial check upon the ill-disposed or turbulent part of a community, the 
 latter is that which is least likely to be hurtful to society in general, since 
 it necessarily involves the total absence of mystery. An Italian, with his 
 secret stiletto and his hired bravoes, shows, indeed, that a nation may 
 possess, or have possessed, in perfection, a knowledge of the " arts of 
 war and peace," and yet imitate the savage in his mode of revenge ; the 
 cause of which is, doubtless, to be traced to the dark, subtle policy of 
 their governments, influencing society to its lowest ramifications. But 
 it is my object to relate a tale of the passions, and not to investigate the 
 cause of the peculiar manner in which they are displayed among different 
 nations. All who aTe acquainted with the state of the country in which 
 the events of my narration occurred, will acquit me of exaggeration, in even 
 the more dreadful parts of the recital. 
 
 It is about three years since I first became acquainted with a young 
 Englishman, named Ord, who having, on the death of his father, come into 
 possession of some valuable estates in the West Indies, was at that time 
 engaged in examining the value and management of his patrimony. In 
 the prosecution of this object he visited Cuba, where my father, whose 
 mercantile transactions were connected with his, resides, and where Ord 
 remained for some weeks. He had a complete passion for the sea, and in 
 the course of many pleasure-trips among the neighbouring islands, in a fine 
 little schooner which he had brought from England, we became the most 
 intimate friends. There was a noble, almost a wild, enthusiasm about his 
 character, which, though it harmonized well with his athletic and hand- 
 
 Feb. VOL. XL. NO. CLVIII. L 
 
138 The Gauchos; 
 
 some appearance, would have appeared Quixotic, had it not been borne out 
 by his utter contempt of danger, when danger really existed. I will give 
 one instance out of many. We were beating up against a stiff south-east, 
 breeze off Cape Tiburon, in Hispaniola, when one of the men, who had 
 gone aloft to take in a reef in the fore-topsail, sung out to those below that 
 a piratical galley was bearing down upon us with all sail set. Ord and I 
 were at that time in the cabin, and, having exhausted every social subject 
 of amusement, half-devoured with ennui, were engaged separately and 
 almost silently ; I, in turning over a set of engravings of sea-fights, and 
 Ord, cursing these " piping times of peace," in lazily setting up a few of 
 the ropes of a frigate, which he was making as a model. Immediately, 
 however, that the man, entering the cabin, doffed his cap, and smoothing 
 down his hair, told his story, Ord uttered a loud whoop of delight, and, 
 springing up with a haste which snapped half the spars in his beloved fri- 
 gate, rushed on deck. 
 
 The man at the helm was waiting for the expected order to put the vessel 
 about, and the crew were at .the sheets and braces ready to execute the 
 manoeuvre; but Ord, singing out "steady," seized a spyglass and ran up 
 the shrouds to examine the pirate. In a minute or two he came down, 
 with a joyous expression of countenance, and seeing that his men were 
 whispering discontentedly to each other, well knowing the bloody disposi- 
 tions of these pirates, he addressed them thus : 
 
 " My lads ! there are just a score of strapping negroes in the galley 
 bearing dow r n upon us ; of course they will be well supplied with cutlasses 
 and small arms, but they have not a single piece of metal among them ; 
 now, you all know well enough that the little Petrel (the name of our 
 schooner) has the legs of these luffards, and my wish is to send a message 
 from our long Tom among them in a friendly way ; we can run when we 
 can do no better; so all you who are willing to stand by your captain, 
 draw off to the weather side, and if there be any of you who are afraid of a 
 few naked blacks, in a long boat with a lug sail, keep your present stations," 
 
 Our crew consisted of four Englishmen, a Scotchman, a Dutchman, and 
 three or four negroes ; and it was curious to observe the effect of their cap- 
 tain's speech upon them. The Englishmen gave three loud cheers, and 
 sprang to the weather side of our little craft ; the Scotchman, more slowly, 
 but quite as determinedly, followed, muttering, that " it was by nae means 
 prudent, but damn him, if he wad craw the dunghill craw;" while the 
 Dutchman, without uttering a word, turned his quid in his cheek, squirted 
 the juice deliberately over the lee bulwark, and, hitching up his trousers, 
 walked after his companions. The negroes alone remained standing ; they 
 seemed utterly terrified at the idea of attacking these bloody and remorse- 
 less pirates, of whose atrocities they had heard and seen so much, and cast 
 fearful glances towards the nearing galley, as if they felt their long knives 
 already at their throats. 
 
 A good dram, and a threat of keelhauling them, however, presently put 
 them all right, and they bustled about with great alacrity to get the " long 
 Tom" (a long-barrelled gun, which we carried, and which was generally 
 stationed amidships) placed astern, with the muzzle depressed, and covered 
 with a tarpaulin. For my own part, as I was more familiar than Ord with 
 the barbarous cruelties of our pirates, I confess that I did not enter into the 
 affair with the joyousness which he seemed to feel. I knew that a moment 
 of irresolution, a chance shot, or a sheet missing stays, might place the 
 pirates alongside of us, and then there was nothing for us but torture and 
 death. However, I had every confidence in the excellence of our seamen, 
 in Ord's coolness, and, above all, in " long Tom." The crew seemed also 
 to consider the sun as their principal defence, for every glance at the ap- 
 proaching pirates was followed by one directed to the manoeuvres of one 
 of their companions, who, under cover of the tarpaulin, was cramming 
 
A Tale of the Pampas. 139 
 
 "long Tom" with what he called his "grub," being several pounds of 
 grape shot, old spike nails, and so forth. 
 
 We were still standing off On the starboard tack, and the pirates not at 
 all expecting the warm reception we were preparing for them, bearing 
 down with a flowing sheet upon us, when Ord, hailing them through a 
 speaking trumpet, ordered them to stand clear, or he would fire upon them. 
 The only answer to this summons was a loud discordant laugh, which, 
 coming down the wind to us, sounded as if they were already alongside. 
 Turning round with a calm smile on his face, Ord nodded to his men, who, 
 having before received their instructions, rounded the little Petrel on the 
 heel, and swept away on the larboard tack with a celerity which could 
 scarcely have been surpassed by the sea-bird whose name she bore. But, 
 though the manoeuvre was performed with the most admirable dexterity, it 
 placed the galley of the pirates for a moment within a hundred yards of us ; 
 and as, with our sheets close-hauled, we stretched away from them, a shower 
 of bullets discovered their vexation on being thus baffled. Most of the 
 balls fell short, though two or three rattled through the cabin windows, 
 and one, whizzing between Ord and the man at the helm, snapped off one 
 of the spokes of the wheel, and buried itself in the mainmast. " That's a 
 Spanish rifle, 1 ' said the helmsman, with great sangfroid, " and yon thun- 
 dering thief in the bow of the boat fired it ; I can see the long barrel shin- 
 ing yet ; none of their clumsy muskets could have sent a ball as far into a 
 spar of the little Petrel;" and he passed his hand down the splintered 
 wheel-spoke, as a person might examine the wounded limb of his friend. 
 " Never mind," said Ord, "we'll return their civility presently ;" and lifting 
 his hat, he cheered on the pirates who had got their boat round, and with 
 sails and sweeps were labouring in our wake. 
 
 Meantime we got " Long Tom's" nose, as the seamen jocosely called it, 
 levelled, and ready for being thrust out on the larboard quarter, the car- 
 penter, with his axe, standing ready to smash the bulwark, which yet con- 
 cealed the gun from our pursuers. They were soon so near us that we could 
 perfectly distinguish every individual of their crew, and fierce, bloody-look- 
 ing wretches they were as ever I beheld. Most of them were nearly naked 
 to the waist, where a belt, at which hung pistols and a cutlass, girded their 
 brawny frames. A tall, gray-headed negro stood at the bow of the boat, 
 holding with one hand by the forestay, and the other resting upon the long, 
 Spanish-barrelled gun which our steersman had before noticed. " I could 
 hit him now, Sir, if you would but trust me with your rifle for a moment," 
 said the man, casting another glance at his partially-shattered wheel. 
 Whether Ord was pleased with that congenial pride in his vessel, and that 
 desire to revenge an injury done to her, which every true seaman possesses, 
 and which the wish of the helmsman discovered, I do not know ; but, put- 
 ting his rifle into the man's hand, and taking his place at the wheel, he 
 simply desired him to make sure. Never did I see gratitude more forcibly 
 developed than in the expression of the helmsman's face, nor did I ever 
 behold more intense agony displayed in human features than a moment pro- 
 duced in his. The gun which he was raising dropped from his grasp upon 
 the deck, and his arm, shattered at the elbow, quivered convulsively at his 
 side. A glance at the smoking muzzle of the old pirate's rifle showed the 
 cause of this sudden injury ; while it gave proof of the quickness and dead- 
 liness of his aim. At this moment, the men forward cried out that other 
 galleys were making from the shore, which we were now at no great dis- 
 tance from ; and, looking round, we saw two or three large boats pulling 
 lustily out of a creek, where they had been concealed by the spreading 
 cocoa-nut trees and thick-tangled underwood. 
 
 It was now that Ord's perfect coolness and resolute courage displayed 
 themselves ; he put the helm into my hands, and, giving the word " ready, 
 about," to his men, took up the rifle which the wounded seaman had 
 dropped. The old negro was loading his piece, and we could even hear his 
 
 L 2 
 
140 The Gauchos ; 
 
 chuckling laugh at the success of his late exploit. Immediately Ord pre- 
 sented himself over the taffrail there was a general volley fired at him by 
 the crew of pirates, amid which he stood as unmoved as a rock, until, 
 catching his opportunity, as our vessel hung on the top of a wave, he fired, 
 and the old negro tumbling headlong among his companions, while his gun 
 was dischai'ged by the shock, showed that the Petrel and her steersman 
 were fully avenged. " About ship," cried Ord, as he laid his rifle care- 
 fully down on the deck, and looked at me with a half-suppressed smile of 
 triumph. Every thing was so silent that the creaking of the ropes, and 
 flapping of the wet canvass, as our sails gybed, were heard distinctly, but 
 in an instant the little craft was about, and, getting hold of the wind, 
 began to skip over the waves for the offing. The pirates were now on our 
 larboard quarter, and within a few oars' length of us, when Ord, with a 
 hand steady as if he were writing an invitation to dinner, took the apron 
 off " long Tom " with one hand, received a lighted match from a seaman 
 with the other, then nodded to the carpenter, who broke away the obstruct- 
 ing bulwark with one blow of his axe. I still think I see the horrified 
 countenances of the pirates, and their quick dilated glances as they dis- 
 covered the gun, and their confused oaths, and the rattling of the oars and 
 cordage as they attempted to escape the expected range of the shot. At 
 this moment of unutterable anxiety, when our lives depended upon the 
 coolness of our captain, and the success of his discharge, I caught a glimpse 
 of his features. He was, with his head turned from the gun, blowing 
 gently at the match to keep it clear from ashes ; his countenance was, I 
 thought, pale, but calm and resolved ; the next instant it was shrouded in 
 the smoke, as kneeling he stretched forward and applied the match to the 
 touch-hole. We were not an instant in doubt. Ord had seized the moment 
 when the partial confusion of the pirates had placed their galley within 
 twenty^ feet of us, her huge sail shivering, and herself almost motionless 
 on the* crest of a wave. Before that wave had lifted the little Petrel, 
 before the smoke of the gun had drifted by, the crash and the plunge, 
 and the horrible yells of the scattered and mangled wretches, assured us of 
 their destruction. Their boat, and great part of her slaughtered crew, 
 wheeled down into the deep at our very stern, while a few, who had not 
 been wounded, struggled for a little time, and went down one by one as 
 their strength failed. A stiff breeze, and a flowing sheet, soon placed us 
 out of hearing of their dreadful cries for help, and out of sight of their still 
 more dreadful features, convulsed with agony, and their eyes turned up 
 white in the last death-wrestle. The next morning we entered St. Jago, 
 to place our wounded man under proper care. 
 
 I have here only described an occurrence which is commonplace enough 
 among the West Indian islands ; but I wished that an opinion should be 
 formed of my friend rather from his actions than from any epithets of mine. 
 A determined courage, and a high love of romantic enterprise, were indeed 
 the prominent traits in his character, and the story I have told will furnish 
 a sufficiently familiar notion of it on these points ; but how can I ever con- 
 vey an idea of the interest, the fascination, which his gentleness, his polished 
 manners, his deep and ardent feelings, tinged as they were by his chivalrous 
 nature, created about him, making him the envy of the one sex and the 
 idol of the other ? Thrown so completely together as we were in the cabin 
 of his little schooner, I perhaps learned more of his character during that 
 short period of our friendship than years of observation, under other cir 
 cumstances, would have possessed me with ; and never did I behold such 
 sensitive and strong feelings, combined with such manly dignity and firm 
 ness, as were combined in his character. I remember to have seen him 
 burst into tears, and his frame quiver with emotion, when reading aloud 
 to me that last mournful scene in " Romeo and Juliet;" and half an hour 
 after he was at the helm of his little bark, in one of the most dreadful hur- 
 ricanes 1 have ever seen, calmly and collectedly giving forth his orders, in 
 
A Tale of the Pampas. 141 
 
 a voice which rose above even the roar of the tempest, and with a skill and 
 coolness which alone could have encouraged the terrified seamen, and 
 saved us from certain destruction. Such was the gallant youth for whom 
 was reserved one of the darkest destinies which the weird sisters ever wove 
 for man. 
 
 Some time after the adventure I have related, Ord, having shipped a 
 quantity of red cloth for ponchos, bridle-bits, spurs, &c., in a Spanish bot- 
 tom for Buenos Ayres, suddenly determined on accompanying the vessel 
 himself, in order, as he said, " to have a gallop across the Pampas, and 
 see how the Indians rode." He persuaded my father to allow me to accom- 
 pany him, and, after a quick and delightful run down the coast of South 
 America, w e found ourselves, early one delicious morning, swinging at anchor 
 in the Rio de la Plata, with the dome of the cathedral, and the tops of the 
 houses of Buenos Ayres rising above the faint, treeless, and ill-defined 
 shores, for banks they cannot be called, of the ample river. 
 
 Among those gentlemen to whom Ord brought letters of introduction, 
 was a rich, old Spanish merchant, who possessed all the dignified hospi- 
 tality and politeness of his countrymen, while the grave pomposity and 
 solemn pride, which is no less characteristic of the Spaniards, had been in 
 him in a great measure destroyed by his intercourse with strangers and the 
 influence of his commercial pursuits. 
 
 From the very first he seemed to have a partiality for my friend, and 
 every day we spent some hours at his house. But it was not that his bal- 
 cony was the coolest, that his patio was shaded best from the heat of the 
 noon, or that his roof received the freshest breeze from the far-stretching 
 Plata ; far less was it the excellence of his never-ending dinners, the flavour 
 of his divine claret, or foam-springing champagne, which attracted Ord to 
 the casa of Don Jose Maria Echivera ; there was another motive, more 
 irresistible than any of these, which, in the shape of Donna Louisa, the 
 merchant's only daughter, offered as lovely and as powerful an attraction 
 to an enthusiastic cavalier, as ever youth, beauty, and innocence displayed 
 to mortal man. 
 
 From the first time that he breathed the usual devoted address to her of 
 " A los pies de usted, Senora !" I saw that he was stricken by her surpassing 
 loveliness ; and she was a creature of grace, simplicity, and witchery, well 
 fitted to strengthen and render indelible such a first impression. She was 
 about sixteen years of age ; but sixteen summers kindle a different degree 
 of thought and feeling in the mind and heart, and a different degree of love- 
 liness and grace in the form of a Spaniard, more especially a South Ame- 
 rican Spaniard, from those created in an inhabitant of these colder coun- 
 tries. Donna Louisa had already, by nature, the deep-black melancholy 
 eye, full of feeling and slumbering passion, the exquisitely-rounded form, 
 and the voluptuous grace of matured loveliness, while her early age, and 
 the retired mode of life which she had led, gave a piquancy and naivete to 
 her manners which early youth, among Spaniards at least, alone possesses. 
 The flexibility and unstudied elegance of her gestures and motions seemed 
 (to use a fanciful expression) like the acted language of the soul, whose 
 impulses gave birth to them ; in fact, I never saw a creature so perfectly 
 fascinating. Nor did this admiration become in the least diminished, as is 
 too often the case with beauties, on longer acquaintance with Donna 
 Louisa. Not that she was a whit more learned, or accomplished, accord- 
 ing to oar meaning of the terms, than the rest of her fair countrywomen, 
 who have as little book-learning, or systematic accomplishments, as possi- 
 ble. A beautiful Spanish girl, indeed, needs none of these things : her eye 
 is a soul of itself, and speaks, as it were, by divine inspiration all the living 
 and dead languages ; she can utter the most beautiful sentiments without 
 dividing her lips, merely with her fan, wrist, and fingers, while the slightest 
 perceptible elevation of her smooth, symmetrical shoulders is more con- 
 vincing than a syllogism. Her walk is the very music of motion; and 
 
142 The Gauchos; 
 
 Donna Louisa so far excelled in this silent harmony, that I remember Ord 
 whispering to me, as she crossed the patio to meet us, " Milton, in a 
 vision, must have seen her when he wrote, 
 
 " Grace was in all her steps, heaven in her eye, 
 In every gesture, dignity and love !" 
 
 I think it is a proverb, that no woman talks or walks like a Spaniard. 
 Certainly I never knew any whose conversation was so bewitching, who 
 took me so much out of myself, as Donna Louisa. From her father and 
 mother she had caught the pure Castilian accent, and her graceful utter- 
 ance of that rich language, the earnestness of passion which she threw 
 into all she said, and the quick, dark glance of her eye, whose expression 
 gave proof of the sincerity of her words, altogether created an effect like 
 magic. Then she seemed all spirit. What were the wisdom, or the learn- 
 ing, of other times before the untutored pleadings of that artless, but im- 
 passioned girl's heart? To me, at least, they seemed useless and vain 
 pedantry. But I am dwelling too long upon my recollections of this fair 
 creature, such as I beheld her in the lap of luxury and love, fearful to pro- 
 ceed to the dreadful events which have hurried her from those scenes whose 
 chief ornament she was, into the arms of a wild Indian, if already Death 
 has not stepped in to her relief. Ah ! it is sacrilege even to think that the 
 treasures of that exquisitely delicate and not yet fully unfolded bosom have 
 long ere now, if not buried in the grave, been rifled by a rude savage ; that 
 the lovely hand and arm, which to gaze on alone was heaven, 
 
 So soft, so fair, so delicate, so sleek, 
 
 As she had worn a lily for her glove !" 
 
 instead of arranging the folds of the graceful mantila, is now, if not power- 
 less, familiar with the meanest household offices ; and that the countenance, 
 whose every lineament spoke of " the melting thought, the kiss ambrosial, 
 and the yielding smile," O God ! is it not madness to think that this being, 
 if not now livid with corruption, is obliged to turn with a forced smile of 
 fondness upon an uncouth being, whose love is lust, or to feel her maternal 
 emotions for the offspring of their unnatural union checked by inextin- 
 guishable horror and hate ? Madness ! ay, the memory of her fate has 
 Suenched one noble intellect ; and it is now even consolatory to reflect that 
 >ng ere this the lances of hostile Indians, toil, exposure, or sorrow, must 
 have levelled her mind with that of her lover, or left her bones to bleach 
 upon the trackless plains of the Pampas. 
 
 The absurd jealousy which characterized the government of Spain to- 
 wards her South American colonies had hitherto not only excluded from 
 their ports all foreign merchandize, except such as came in Spanish bot- 
 toms, and was consigned to a Spanish merchant, but had, by preventing 
 foreigners from visiting the country, kept the world as ignorant of the 
 aspect of that immense continent, and the manners of its inhabitants, as 
 they themselves were respecting the affairs of the Old World. This ex- 
 treme jealousy in the government brought my friend Ord and myself into 
 a dilemma from which we should have found it difficult to extricate ourselves 
 without the friendly interference of the rich old Spanish merchant. The 
 goods which Ord had brought to Buenos Ayres, though shipped in a Spanish 
 vessel, and consigned to Don Jose himself, were seized by some of the offi- 
 cers of the customs, as belonging to a foreigner, who thus became liable to 
 the punishment due to a defrauder of the revenue. It is well known that 
 crews of ships driven by distress of weather into any of the ports of South 
 America have formerly been seized and sent to the mines, and that persons 
 in the same situation as Ord and myself had unwittingly placed ourselves, 
 have had their goods confiscated, and have been themselves executed as 
 contrabandists. I have little doubt that such would have been our fate, as 
 the rich cargo of cloths and other articles was a temptation strong enough 
 
A Tale of the Pampas. 143 
 
 to have caused the avarice of the government to quell any qualms of con- 
 science as to the injustice of hanging us up to dry in a South American 
 sun. Fortunately, however, the information had not been laid until we had 
 been some time in Buenos Ayres, and until Ord had raised up to himself a 
 powerful friend in Don Jose. By what political or commercial manoeuvres 
 we were relieved from all apprehension 1 never exactly understood ; but the 
 conditions seemed to involve in them the necessity of certain conferences 
 taking place between Don Jose and my friend, at least, such I understood 
 to be the cause of their long and secret discussions. 
 
 One afternoon we were seated under the awning of the patio of our hotel, 
 with more than usual silence discussing our cigars and coffee, when I 
 noticed that Ord began to fidget about on the sofa, and knock the ashes off 
 his cigar with unusual frequency and vehemence. I saw that he was about 
 to speak of something embarrassing ; but, knowing his frank and decided 
 disposition, and perhaps enjoying his uneasiness, though unconscious of its 
 cause, I applied myself to a careful search for a fresh Woodville, out of a 
 heap of real Havannahs lying before me. At last, after puffing away till 
 his cigar was red hot, he knocked the ashes from it haslily, and thrust the 
 fiery end into his mouth. He sprang to his feet with a common Spanish 
 exclamation" By the Holy Virgin !"' cried he. " Donna Louisa Echivera ?" 
 said I, finishing his oath in my own way. " The sweetest saint out of the 
 skies," continued Ord, laughing good-naturedly ; " I wanted to speak of 
 her.' " I have been thinking so this half hour," said I. " You are in 
 love with her beyond redemption, Ord." " And I have told her so too, old 
 fellow," cried he, chuckling, and flinging a handful of cents to a parcel of 
 black urchins, who were playing before the gate of the patio. " Well, and 
 what did she say?" said I. " And I have told her father so, too," con- 
 tinued Ord, without answering my question. " The devil you have I" 
 cried I. " No, it is an angel I have," answered he, " or will have ; for I'm. 
 to be married in a month, and then, hie for England !" I gave a long 
 
 "U* .1.1 . 1 _1_ _ . 1_ 1*1 i -iii , , T* t t n ~r -ii 
 
 ride ; to live on beef and water, and sleep on my saddle ; to climb the 
 heights and cross the torrents of the Cordilleras ; and to look down from 
 the ^summit of the Andes upon the wide Pacific. I have persuaded Don 
 Jose to procure me permission to cross the countiy ; so that, if you will 
 accompany me, we will be off in a few days." 
 
 I assented with delight ; and from that day we began to prepare for our 
 journey, by spending as much time as possible in the saddle, in order to 
 make us able to bear the daily gallops of a hundred and fifty or sixty miles, 
 with which we intended to cross the Pampas. 
 
 A few evenings after this conversation, it chanced that Ord was walking 
 in the Alameida with Donna Louisa and the old merchant, when a drunken 
 Gaucho from the plains happened to meet them, and, in passing, ran rudely 
 against the young lady. Thinking that the insult had been intentional, Ord 
 felled the inebriated ruffian to the earth with one blow of his fist. With 
 the rapidity of thought, the Gaucho sprang to his feet, drew out his long 
 knife from his horse-skin boot, passed it twice or thrice across the heel, as 
 if to improve its edge, and then, drawing the back of it fiercely against his 
 clenched teeth, rushed upon Ord with the exclamation, "Ha! you want 
 the knife, Sefior !" My friend was completely unprepared for the stroke, 
 so sudden had been the movements of the Gaucho ; but Don Jos6, with a 
 presence of mind and courage which his age and usual habits scarcely 
 would have warranted any one in believing he possessed, closed with the 
 assassin, and struck up his hand with a smart blow of his walking-cane. 
 Thus foiled, the Gaucho glared for an instant on his fresh assailant, again 
 raised his long knife into the air, as if to sheath it in the heart of Don 
 Jose; but suddenly dropping the point* and drawing a full inspiration, 
 
144 TheGauchos; 
 
 while his whole frame underwent, a strong convulsion, he uttered, in a 
 hoarse tone, " Don Jose;, you are your father's son, and a second time I 
 spare your blood ; but the blow shall come heavier, because unseen. Re- 
 member Leonardo! and let this springald, too_remember ! Adieu, Senors ;'* 
 and, lifting his hat with the punctilious politeness of a true Spaniard, he 
 moved away as if unconcerned. Ord was fully occupied with Donna Louisa, 
 who had fainted away ; and Don Jose, instead of calling for any one to 
 pursue the man, seemed struck with some strange terror, and followed him 
 with eyes which appeared fixed by fascination to his movements. The 
 Gaucho seemed completely sobered by his rencontre ; for, changing his 
 staggering gait for a firm and proud one, and throwing a piece of scarlet 
 cloth over his poncho, with a hand that seemed to have been familiar with 
 the long, graceful Spanish cloak, he strode forward through the recoiling 
 groups of people, slapping his elbow with the flat part of his knife. 
 
 It was not till the party returned home that I received an account of this 
 assault from Ord and Don Jose, the latter of whom, on my expressing my 
 surprise at the conduct of the Gaucho, gave us the following information : 
 " The Gauchos," said he, :< who are scattered up and down the Pampas, 
 and who support themselves by catching and breaking the wild horses, and 
 by slaughtering the cattle of the plains for their hides ancl tallow, are, in 
 many instances, descended from the best families in Spain, their ancestors 
 having been driven to this mode of life by poverty, arising sometimes from 
 extravagance or gaming, sometimes from having been expelled from their 
 patrimonies for capital offences, which have, in "many instances, been of a 
 political nature. Thus their pride and touchiness (as I believe you English 
 call it) on points of honour, for which they are proverbial even among 
 Spaniards, may often be traced to their consciousness of superior birth ; 
 while their revengeful and fierce tempers, as well as their hospitality and 
 politeness, for which they are equally proverbial, may perhaps be, with the 
 same justice, ascribed to this sentiment, grafted upon the principles which 
 their wild and unfettered mode of life naturally create. 
 
 " Whatever be the cause, however, nothing is more true than that a 
 Gaucho of the Pampas is, according to circumstances, the most proud, 
 polite, revengeful, or hospitable of all men. He may be bloodthirsty, but 
 he is never treacherous ; he will perhaps cut your throat for a dollar, but 
 he will die sooner than allow you to be deprived of a single cent while in 
 his hut. Accustomed to what the inhabitants of cities consider the meanest 
 offices, he still retains all the dignity, and, if necessary, the hauteur, of a 
 nobleman ; and though, when scouring the plains with his lasso, he would 
 drag you from your horse and rifle your pockets, yet enter but his cottage, 
 utter once beneath his roof ' Buenos dias, Senor,' and you will find his 
 answer to your salutation, ' Soy todo suyo' ' I am wholly yours/ fully 
 interpreted in his kind and hospitable conduct to you. 
 
 " This general character of the Gauchos, then," continued Don Jose, 
 addressing me, " though of course not extending to every individual of 
 them, will explain to you the probable cause of the peculiar mixture of 
 ferocity and politeness at which you were so much surprised in the man 
 who attacked us to-day." 
 
 " But his sudden change of countenance and action, and his mysterious 
 words ! You will excuse me, my dear Senor, but my curiosity is on the 
 rack to know what is to be known of that man," said Ord. 
 
 Don Jose went on making a paper cigarillo, but I could see that his 
 countenance was working with feelings which he was attempting to 
 suppress. When he had finished his little cigar, struck a light solemnly 
 with his flint and tinder, applied it to the weed^ and puffed a few times, he 
 looked up to us both with a grave aspect. " Senors," said he, "you will, 
 excuse me that I have felt some hesitation in explaining the words of the 
 wretch who assaulted us, since such explanation involves the disclosure of 
 matters relating to my own family which I naturally feel some reluctance 
 
A Tale of the Pampas. 145 
 
 to speak of. But," continued he, waving his hand, as he saw that we were 
 about to interrupt him, " the sight of that Gaucho brought so strongly to 
 my mind features with which I was familiar in youth, and which I 
 afterwards saw fixed in the rigidity of death, that 1 felt for a moment as if 
 a supernatural being stood before me, and when he uttered at the same 
 time the name of my brother, whose image he bore" 
 
 " Your brother !" exclaimed Ord and I in a breath. 
 
 "The story is briefly this," said Don Jose, with an expression of features 
 like that of one who has resolved to bear patiently something unpleasant : 
 " Before my father married, he had been attached to a young lady, whose 
 beauty was greater than either her rank or her virtue, and who bore him a 
 son, named Leonardo de Pelasga, after his mother. By an unfortunate 
 arrangement, the boy was brought up in my father's house till about fifteen 
 or sixteen years of age, when first his violent and fierce disposition began to 
 display itself. His mother was still alive, and it is probable that, from her, 
 he had acquired ideas ,of his own consequence, which, in the end, proved 
 his ruin. It was indeed rumoured that my father had been married to his 
 mother, and this false report, reaching the ears of Leonardo, would most 
 probably inflame his haughty and revengeful nature. It happened, one 
 day, that my mother reproved him with a good deal of asperity for some 
 ebullition of passion to which he had given vent, and even had the 
 imprudence to call him 'bastard!' and to apply to his mother a name 
 which I will not repeat. I remember, to this day, the deadly paleness 
 which struck into the features of Leonardo at this insult, and how his lips 
 became compressed until the blood sprang from them. But this was only 
 for a moment ; he walked firmly to the place where I was seated, dragged 
 me to my mother's side, and suddenly unsheathed a knife which it was his 
 humour to wear. ' Behold, Seiiora, the bastard !' he said ; * and be assured 
 that it is only my father's blood which keeps my knife from drinking that 
 of this boy.' 
 
 " So saying, he quietly replaced his Unife, told me to look to my mother, 
 who was fainting, and strode out of the apartment. He never returned to 
 the house ; but before he went, he broke open my father's cash-box, and 
 took a purse of one hundred dollars, leaving his note for the sum. The first 
 time we heard of him was about two years afterwards, when a fierce-looking 
 fellow, on horseback, rode into the patio of our house, and threw a bag of 
 dollars into the counting-room, saying, that was from Leonardo. 
 
 " Many years after I had occasion to cross the Sierra Morena to look after 
 some property which had come into my possession on the death of my 
 father. This road had always been infested by banditti, and the pas- 
 sengers in our conveyance had concealed their money in various places, 
 in order to escape the search of the robbers, should they attack us. Our 
 suspicions were confirmed ; we were stopped by a band of horsemen, who 
 made us alight from the vehicle, while they rifled our trunks. We were 
 made to lie down, with our faces on the ground. While in this position, 
 I heard one, who appeared to be the captain of the banditti, and who was 
 turning over some papers in my portmanteau, utter, in a tone of surprise, 
 'Ha! Echivera!' I looked up suddenly, and recognized, in the wild and 
 ruthless features of the robber, my brother Leonardo. At that moment, a 
 bullet whistled over my head, and he fell backwards. Two or three shots 
 followed in quick succession, and a small body of foot-soldiers, who had been 
 stationed in that part of the Sierra to put down the banditti, rushed from a 
 copse which lined the road. A short struggle ensued, and the robbers 
 retreated ; but, before our baggage was replaced in the carriage, and while 
 I was yet bending over Leonardo's lifeless body, they again rushed forward, 
 and succeeded in bearing off the corpse of their commander. They were 
 hotly pursued by the soldiers, but escaped by means of their horses, and their 
 superior knowledge of the passes. 
 
 " Since that time I have never heard any thing of these banditti ; they 
 
146 TheGauchos; 
 
 had probably sought out other scenes to carry on their depredations, and 
 Leonardo doubtless found a grave among the unfrequented crags of the 
 Sierra Morena. Yet so strong was the resemblance to Leonardo in the 
 tone of voice of the desperado who attacked us to-day, and so strange was 
 the similarity between his features, and those which imagination gives to 
 my unfortunate brother, such as time and misfortune, had he lived, might, 
 have, by this time, produced in him, that, had I not seen with my own eyes 
 his lifeless body stretched upon the road in Spain, I would have believed 
 that he stood before me this evening in the Alameida of Buenos Ayres. But 
 it must be imagination alone ; and the Gaucho, who uttered his name, 
 may have been one of his friends, possibly one of his band, who still in his 
 intoxication retains a respect for the memory of his captain. This, at least, 
 is the most probable surmise I can form. And now, Senor," continued 
 Don Jose, addressing Ord, " let me entreat you to give up your intention of 
 crossing the plains, a Gaucho never forgets or forgives a blow, and 
 though, surrounded by the civil authorities here, I scorn the threats he 
 uttered against my house ; yet be assured, that if ever he gets on your 
 track in the Pampas, he will dog you like a blood-hound, till he has re- 
 venged the insult with your life." 
 
 This was the substance of Don Jose"s story. It will readily be imagined 
 that a resolute and romantic mind, like that of my friend, was not to be 
 driven from its purpose by fear of the revenge of a wretched Gaucho, and 
 we therefore made no change in our plans respecting our excursion to the 
 Andes. Indeed, Ord affected to consider the threats of the Gaucho as only 
 the wordy rage of intoxication, and he set down the fears of Don Jose to 
 the natural timidity of age, and the effect of his quiet pursuits. The very 
 night before our departure, however, a circumstance occurred, which 
 showed that some concealed enemy was watching our movements. My 
 friend and myself had been spending the evening with Don Jose and his 
 lovely daughter. When I said before that the Donna Louisa, with all her 
 fascination, cultivated no other accomplishments than Spanish ladies in 
 general possessed, I ought to have made exception in behalf of one accom- 
 plishment which her countrywomen seldom excel in, but of which she was 
 an exquisite mistress, music. She sang divinely ; except herself, indeed, 
 I never heard a Spanish woman attempt to sing, without feeling my ears set 
 on edge by the shrill discord, and this is excessively strange, considering 
 the sweetness and harmony of their speech in common conversation. Just 
 before we left Don Jose's hospitable house, (little anticipating that the 
 members of the party should never again meet together in the same 
 place !) the young lady sang a mournful old Spanish ballad, said to have 
 been composed by Ferdinand Pizarro, in the prison which was his only home 
 for twenty-seven years. We were all deeply affected, and Ord, whose sensi- 
 bilities were acute to a painful degree, could not restrain his tears. It was in 
 this frame of mind that we bade adieu to Don Jose and his daughter, when, 
 almost ere we had left the gate of the patio, a lasso* was thrown over Ord's 
 body, and he was instantly dragged to the ground. He had, however, 
 presence of mind to unsheath his knife and cut the thongs, when the 
 villains, who appeared to be two in number, fell back out of the shadow of 
 the wall into the moonlight, from the resistance which the weight they were 
 dragging had presented being suddenly removed. Before Ord or I could 
 attempt to secure either of them, they were gone, but my friend declared his 
 firm belief that one of them was the identical Gaucho, whom he had struck 
 a few evenings before in the Alameida. 
 
 This, of course, from the uncertain light, and the hurry and confusion of 
 
 * It is possible that some readers may require to be informed, that the /asso of 
 the South Americans is composed of plaited thongs of raw leather, softened with 
 grease, and with a running noose at one end, which is thrown with astonishing 
 dexterity over any part of the object of pursuit. 
 
A Tale of the Pampas, 147 
 
 the whole affair, could be but a surmise ; but it was one which filled him 
 with fear, on account of his betrothed bride and her father. It was his 
 determination to defer his journey on the morrow till he had warned Don 
 Jose to be on his guard, and informed him of this fresh attack. With this 
 resolve we proceeded to our hotel. The result of our deliberations, 
 influenced, I fear, considerably by my desire to set out on our journey, 
 was the contrary of this. I was sure that if the Donna Louisa and her 
 father were made acquainted with our adventure, they would use their 
 influence to prevent us from leaving the town. Besides, I was by no means 
 convinced that Ord was correct in believing he had been set upon by the 
 Gaucho whom he had struck down, and if such were not the case, we were 
 terrifying the Signer Echivera and his daughter without cause. These 
 considerations, to which Ord, from his own desire to escape all importunity 
 on the subject of our journey, was willing to give their full weight, 
 determined him not to speak to Don Jose of our adventure, but simply to 
 send a verbal message to him, advising him to be cautious in leaving his casa 
 after nightfall. The next afternoon, we were a hundred miles from Buenos 
 Ayres, at a station where there was a very good posada, or inn, and where 
 most of the horses which were sent to the coast were reclaimed from their 
 original wild state. A number of Gauchos were straggling about the 
 corral,* and a few young men from the town were standing round a remark- 
 ably handsome and powerful colt, which had just been taken from the herd. 
 One of the young men, who wished to purchase the animal, had offered a 
 handsome reward to any of the Gauchos who would back him, but such was 
 the fierceness and strength which he had displayed under three or four 
 lassos that none of them were willing to attempt it. At length an old 
 Gaucho, with a grizzled beard, and a cool calm snake-like eye, held out his 
 hand for the sum which the young man had offered, buckled his saddle 
 carefully on the colt's back, and, having examined his powerful Mameluke 
 bit, and the straps of his long spiked spurs, desired the thongs to be 
 loosened, and vaulting upon the maddened brute, dashed off with the speed 
 of lightning. At this moment I felt my arm pressed by Ord, who 
 whispered, when he had got me from the circle, " By Heaven ! that is the 
 man ! and he is already on our track." 
 
 This explained to me the quick furtive glances which I had observed the 
 old Gaucho pass towards us, but I answered nothing, deliberating in my 
 own mind what was to be done when the rascal should come back from his 
 perilous ride. 
 
 In breaking a horse in South America, for after the first severe gallop, 
 or backing as it is called, he seldom requires any further training, the 
 Gaucho generally gallops him at full speed in a circle of two or three miles 
 in diameter, accordingly as his disposition displays itself. The vast plains 
 afford the most perfect facility for the purpose in question, and however it 
 may militate against the experience of horsebreakers in Europe, nothing is 
 more certain than that, when a horse is taken by the lasso from the plains, 
 he requires nothing more than a gallop of five or six miles under a Gaucho 
 bit and spur to fit him for every duty he may afterwards have to fulfil in 
 that country. But it was in vain that, in the present case, we looked for the 
 curve in the rider's course. He progressed, or seemed to progress, till the 
 eyes of the most sanguine among us could not even pretend to see his 
 poncho streaming in the wind which his speed created, nor the waving of 
 his montero cap as his flying form cut against the clear settling sky. 
 
 While we were yet wondering at this extraordinary circumstance, the 
 
 * An inclosure generally 30 or 40 yards in diameter, formed of strong stakes 
 driven into the ground, in which the cattle destined for slaughter or the saddle are 
 placed. In the Pampas, the corral is usually placed fifty or a hundred yards from the 
 Gaucho's hut. 
 
148 The Gauchos; 
 
 night, which falls, as every body knows, with astonishing quickness in these 
 low latitudes, closed over us, and the whole party retired to the posada. 
 
 To persons less peculiarly interested than we were in the motions of the 
 Gaucho, it might have been highly amusing to notice the various ways in 
 which the surprise and vexation of our companions were displayed. None 
 of the Gauchos near us knew, or at least would confess that they knew, the 
 fellow who had absconded. They said that he must be some man " beyond 
 the clover ground," * and that they had never seen him near the coast 
 before. They were, however, highly indignant at his bad faith, and proffered 
 to the intended purchaser of the colt the best unbroken horse in the corral 
 as a remuneration for his disappointment. The young men, I remember, 
 were not to be convinced by the Gauchos for some time that they had not 
 been imposed on by one of their own number, who wished to retain the 
 noble animal for himself; and their disputes during the first part of the 
 night, and their noisy discussions afterwards, when they had adjusted the 
 matter over their brandy, kept Ord and myself from enjoying a particle of 
 sleep. In the morning accordingly we rose unrefreshed, but I could see 
 that it was not the want of rest alone w r hich had driven the colour from my 
 friend's cheek, and the lustre from his eye. A presentiment of evil had 
 come over his mind, which he declared himself unable to resist. It was in 
 vain I laboured to remove it by attempting to engage him in conversation 
 respecting his future prospects ; this only increased his melancholy. When 
 I found this to be the case, I urged him to return to Buenos Ayres, but he 
 expressed his determination to proceed. I thought that the excitement of 
 new scenes, and the glorious feeling of liberty which is felt in sweeping 
 across the plains at full speed, would presently remove his depression, and 
 therefore hurried on our preparations for departure ; and our peons, or 
 guides, driving before them the horses intended to relieve those we rode, 
 were presently on the way to the next station. 
 
 It is unnecessary to relate the occurrences which took place during our 
 journey. Without any greater accident than an occasional fall from our 
 horses into a biscachero,'^ or a blow on the head from the balls of the Gauchos 
 in our awkward attempts to use them, and without any greater privations 
 than the occasional delay or sometimes total want of our supper after a 
 fatiguing ride, we fulfilled the intention of our expedition. 
 
 We generally rode above a hundred miles every day, having changed our 
 horses eight or ten times during that distance, and after cutting our supper 
 from a huge shapeless piece of beef roasted on a rude iron spit stuck into 
 the ground, or perhaps having procured the greater luxury of a fowl baked 
 in the fashion of the gypsies, and having washed it down with a draught of 
 wine, we lay down in the hut, or more commonly in the open air, with our 
 saddle for a pillow, and the sky for our canopy. 
 
 When we reached the foot of the Corderillas, we exchanged our horses for 
 
 * The plains between Buenos Ayres and the Corderillas may be divided into three 
 broad belts, the first of which, nearest the Atlantic, about 180 miles in breadth, is 
 covered, during one part of the year, with thick clover; the second belt, about 450 
 miles broad, with long grass; the third, reaching to the foot of the Corderillas, with 
 stunted trees and bushes placed at considerable distances apart. 
 
 f The biscacheros are holes burrowed in the ground by an animal called a biscacho, 
 and were it not for the soft nature of the plains, it would be extremely dangerous to 
 cross them on horseback, as it is in many instances impossible to avoid the biscacheros, 
 and the speed at which the horses go would generally render a fall on hard ground 
 mortal. The " balls" spoken of consist of three brass globes which the Gauchos 
 wheel round their head, till they acquire sufficient impetus, and then they are darted 
 with such force and dexterity as to bring down a bird in its flight, or to stun the 
 strongest bull, stallion, gama, or lion. The lasso and the balls are in the hands of 
 the Gauchos from their earliest years, hence their inimitable skill in using them. 
 
A Tale of the Pampas. 149 
 
 mules, and after crossing the Andes by a route which torrents, precipices, 
 and the fear of robbers, combined to render somewhat perilous, we arrived 
 at length at Santiago in Chili. 
 
 During the whole of this most exciting journey, Ord never recovered his 
 wonted elasticity of spirits, nor did I ever but once see him escape from the 
 fasciuous kind of influence which had seized upon him. It was when the 
 mists of the lower grounds of Chili disappearing, like an embodied spirit 
 returning to its original invisibility, we beheld, from the summit of the 
 Andes, the wide waters of the Pacific glowing in the glorious morning sun- 
 light, I remember he burst into a wild poetical apostrophe to the spirit of 
 Vasco Nunez de Balboa, the first European who beheld this vast ocean ; 
 and, cheered by the change in my friend's state of mind, and delighted by 
 his enthusiasm, I felt that day to be, in spite of our toilsome path, one of 
 the happiest I had ever spent. If I do not now look back to it as such, it 
 is because the memory of its pleasures is clouded by the mournful fate of 
 him who created them. 
 
 The change in my friend's state of mind, as I have said, was transient ; 
 he relapsed into his former gloominess, answering all my attempts to reason 
 him out of his depression, by saying that " he felt a fixed conviction that 
 the days of his life, or of his dearest hopes, were numbered ; and though he 
 wished to meet his fate as a man, and trusted he would do so were the 
 danger before his eyes, yet the irresolution of his mind was as natural amid 
 the obscurity of his impending destiny as would be the faltering of his step, 
 if he were treading in the dark on the verge of a precipice." 
 
 It was impossible to expect to influence one who could look with this 
 calmness of settled conviction upon an imaginary evil ; and, to say the truth, 
 I felt that I was more likely to be led by him into a dread, if not a belief, 
 of some certain danger before us, than to restore my friend's mind to its 
 wonted healthy tone. He did not even express the slightest wish to hasten 
 his return, though I saw that great part of his terrors related to the Donna 
 Louisa. He had become, what I never saw either before or since, and what 
 1 do not think can exist, if the person be free from insanity or supernatural 
 influence, a practical fatalist and resigned himself implicitly to the 
 course of events. But I was determined not to allow him to sink into 
 incurable despondency, and therefore instantly prepared for our return. In 
 all things he was passive, undergoing even the fatigue and danger of the 
 journey across the Andes without being once roused to the excitement 
 which I had hoped the mere animal exertion would have communicated to 
 his mind. 
 
 In our rapid return across the Pampas, we were frequently alarmed by 
 reports of hostile Indians being on the path, and were entertained by our 
 terrified peons with tales of their ferocity and blood-thirstiness. Mounted 
 on the most powerful' and fleet horses, and themselves the best horsemen in 
 the world, wherever they came their course was tracked in blood. Their 
 many conflicts with the Spanish usurpers of their country had created a 
 spirit of the bitterest hostility in the breasts of both parties, and the idea, on 
 either side, of sparing a foe who had fallen into their hands was never 
 entertained. 
 
 Small parties of Indians, armed with their spears of eighteen feet in 
 length, had frequently attacked and burnt the unprotected huts of the 
 Gauchos, remorselessly slain the men, the old and the ugly of the women, 
 and carried the young and good-looking with them into the heart of the 
 Pampas. We became accustomed, however, to these recitals of cruelty, 
 and having come within three hundred miles of Buenos Ayres without 
 seeing any of these flying parties, ceased to consider them an object of 
 alarm. 
 
 We were within three days' gallop of the coast ; I was a few miles ahead 
 of my companions, when an ostrich crossed me at some distance, and I 
 pushed off alone after him, I had acquired some little skill in the use of 
 
150 The GaucJws; 
 
 the lasso, and being mounted on a horse of extraordinary speed and power' 
 made myself sure of my prize. There is perhaps no sport in the world so 
 intensely interesting as that in which I was engaged ; miles pass with 
 minutes, and the sight of the noble chase continually in view, keeps alive an 
 ardour which absorbs every faculty. I had made several unsuccessful 
 casts, but still kept up the pursuit with reckless impetuosity, when my 
 horse suddenly fell with me into a biscachero, and, rolling over my body, 
 bruised me severely. Fortunately I still retained hold of the bridle, but 
 unable to rise, lay helplessly on my back, gazing upwards upon innumerable 
 bright and fantastic objects which seemed to fill the atmosphere. At 
 length, when the sickness had in some measure left me, I managed to get 
 into the saddle, and walked my horse slowly in the direction, as I thought, 
 of the road which I had left. I now began to reflect that, as my course had 
 been almost at right angles to the track leading to the coast, and as I had 
 continued great part of an hour with unabated speed in the chase, there 
 was no possibility of my overtaking my friends, compelled as I was by the 
 pain of my bruises to proceed at the most gentle pace possible. I felt also, 
 from the frequent tripping of my horse, that he was well-nigh spent, and 
 now for the fif st time the appalling nature of my situation burst fully on my 
 mind. 
 
 I was alone in a trackless plain, without the power of reaching the 
 path I had left, and certain, unless some wandering Gaucho should by good 
 fortune pass me, to perish with hunger, or severe thirst, which, from the 
 bruises I had received, began to parch up my frame. I swept the horizon 
 with a glance dimmed by sickness and terror, but, save a herd or two of wild 
 cattle feeding among the deep clover, there was nothing to break the 
 sameness of the view. A troop of the naked Indian horsemen, of whose 
 cruelties I had lately heard so much, would at that moment have been 
 welcome to my sight. 
 
 Often, as the nature of the dreadful death to which I seemed doomed shot 
 through my heart, 1 struck my spurs into my horse's sides with a convulsive 
 movement, but the groaning of the fatigued animal, and the agony which 
 the least acceleration in his pace created in my bruised limbs, caused me as 
 often to return to a slow walk, and to yield myself up to despair. In a 
 short time, the thirst which I suffered became so intolerable, that I decided 
 on opening a vein in the neck of my horse, in order to quench it in his 
 blood. I knew very well that the best way to relieve my thirst, and 
 assuage the fever which caused it, would have been to draw a little blood 
 from my own veins, instead of that of my jaded steed ; but I was fearful 
 that, if fainting came on, I might bleed to death. I therefore took out the 
 instrument, and was about to dismount in order to perform my little ope- 
 ration. Before doing so, however, I cast another longing look around me ; 
 and to my inexpressible joy beheld a horseman gallop out from behind a 
 large herd of wild cattle which had for a little time concealed him. I hal- 
 looed with all my might, but the feeble sound must have died along the 
 plain before it reached him, for he kept on his course. At last I fired one 
 of my pistols, and I could instantly see his horse turn, and sweep tovvards 
 me at a rapid pace. I had time to reload my pistol, loosen my knife in its 
 sheath, and fix my almost sinking faculties upon the danger probably be- 
 fore me ; for 1 knew that a Gaucho, meeting an unprotected stranger like 
 myself on the plains, would think nothing of cutting his throat for the sake 
 of his bridle and spurs, besides the possibility of finding a few dollars in 
 his purse. Fortunately, however, my fears were groundless ; the rider who 
 had so opportunely crossed me proved to be a Gaucho boy, of about eleven or 
 twelve years of age. I returned my pistols to my girdle, and uttered an eja- 
 culation of gratitude. The little fellow came dashing up to me at full speed, 
 crying, as he checked his horse, till the animal i'ell almost on his haunches, 
 " Dios mio ! que es esto?" " My God ! what is this ?" 1 shortly explained 
 to him my misfortune, and requested to be taken to his home, which I 
 
A Tale of the Pampas. 151 
 
 found was at a few miles' distance, lying farther south than any other 
 Gaucho hut. He gave me a drink of water from a cow's horn, which was 
 slung round him, and never till my dying day shall I forget the exquisite 
 feeling of pleasure which that delicious draught communicated to my 
 parched frame. He then pulled some dried beef from a bag which hung at 
 his saddle bow, and I ate a few mouthfuls to relieve the faintness which 
 my long abstinence from food had created. Thus, having performed the 
 duties of hospitality, the young horseman dashed away in the direction I 
 was to accompany him, whirling his lasso above his head, and his poncho 
 streaming like a pennon behind, then ever and anon returning to my side 
 with an " Alegrarse ! alegrarse ! vamos ! vamos ! sefior." " Cheer up ! 
 cheer up ! come on, come on, senor !" In this way, after a most pain- 
 ful march, we arrived at his hut, which was larger and more neatly 
 built than any I had seen, containing two apartments, besides a covered 
 shed at a little distance to serve the purposes of a kitchen. The very 
 corral was not surrounded by the usual quantity of filth, the cause of which 
 was at once to be traced to the great number of hawks and heavy-looking 
 gorged vultures which sat upon the stakes of the inclosure, remaining, as I 
 rode past, almost within reach of my extended arm. They had gathered 
 round this settlement in greater numbers than I had seen in any other 
 place on the Pampas, and were also larger than any I had before met with. 
 A few noble horses were shut up in the corral, which, by their neighing as 
 we passed, proved that they had been but lately reclaimed from the plains. 
 Everything around looked less like the squalid hut of a wretched Gaucho, 
 than the decent home of an independent agriculturist ; and had it not been 
 for the corral, and the heaps of bones of every kind scattered about, I 
 could have fancied this to be the dwelling of some whimsical foreigner, 
 who had chosen to leave his vineyard in Languedoc, or his farm in Sussex, 
 to share with the wild horse, the gama, and the lion, the freedom of the 
 plains of Paraguay. 
 
 But, if I was surprised at the comparative neatness of the place, I was 
 soon much more, so at the extraordinary behaviour of its master, as, lifting 
 aside the bullock's hide which served as a door to the dwelling, he came 
 forth to meet me. I have said before that the Gauchos were famed for 
 their hospitality, and that they almost universally retain the grave polite- 
 ness for which Spaniards have always been remarkable. To such an extent, 
 in fact, is this carried, that a Gaucho never enters his hut without lifting 
 his cap with a gesture of respect, though there may be none but the mem- 
 bers of his own family within. I was therefore surprised to perceive that, 
 instead of welcoming me with the cordial alacrity which I had elsewhere 
 universally received, the Gaucho started as his eyes fell upon me, and slid- 
 ing his hand down towards his heel, drew forth his long knife with a threat- 
 ening gesture. So soon as I had saluted him, however, and explained my 
 misfortune, he seemed to recover himself, and muttering some words of 
 apology as he replaced his weapon, he begged me to enter his hut, and to 
 consider it as my own. Faint and weary as I was, I could not but perceive 
 the constraint and reluctance with which he uttered this usual compliment, 
 and, as the most delicate way of noticing it, expressed a hope that the en- 
 tertainment of a traveller for a night under his roof would not in any way 
 incommode him. He turned his quick grey eye on me as I spoke ; but 
 seeing, 1 presume, nothing like suspicion on my features, began busily 
 to occupy himself in releasing my horse from his recado, or saddle, and 
 bridle, as he expressed his pleasure in being honoured by the presence of a 
 cavalier like myself. " You must excuse an old man, senor," said he, " if 
 he is somewhat cautious and fearful ; in these wild plains there are more 
 salteadores (robbers) than honest Christians ; besides, we have certain in- 
 formation that the Indians are somewhere in these parts: they have 
 burnt some huts in the clover ground east, and may be upon us (may the 
 mother of God protect us \) before the morning : a man is rarely at his ease 
 
152 The Gauchos; 
 
 when he knows his throat may be cut before the next meal, seiior, and 
 therefore, I pray you, pardon my want of courtesy." And then giving the 
 horse a lash with the bridle, he moved towards the hut, desiring me, in the 
 true Spanish style, to consider both himself and his dwelling as created 
 only for my pleasure. I had been too often told of the Indians, to be alarmed 
 at the story of my host, besides that I considered it as a ruse intended to 
 hasten my departure ; and though I was utterly at a loss to discover the 
 cause of his churlishness, I was too much occupied by my own suffering 
 to notice it further than mentally to determine on leaving the station the 
 next morning at all hazards. There was something in the sound of the man's 
 voice also, which seemed not altogether unknown to me ; and a suspicion 
 that this might be the Gaucho whom Ord had struck rushed across my 
 mind ; but I had nothing, save the peculiarity of his manner, to strengthen 
 this fancy, and I presently forgot it in matters more nearly relating to 
 myself. 
 
 The inside of the hut was more clean and neat than usual in the Gau- 
 chos' cottages ; the bolas, or balls, and the lassos, the bridles, spurs, and 
 other implements, were arranged in an orderly manner along the walls, 
 the cradle, made of a bull's hide, suspended* by leathern thongs to the 
 rafters, occupied a remote corner of the apartment, the charcoal lire burnt 
 cheerily, while the lamp, fed by bullock's tallow, suspended from the roof, 
 poured a clear light into the recesses of the room. The night had fallen 
 during my late slow ride, and the cold had seized upon my stiffened limbs 
 with great severity. It had benumbed rather than chilled me, the feverish 
 heat raging as it were within my frame, while my extremities were almost 
 insensible, and covered with a cold sweat. The warmth of the room, how- 
 ever, presently equalized the heat in my whole body, and I prepared to 
 take away some blood from my arm. There was an instant stir among 
 several dark heaps which lay upon the floor, and four or five women, with 
 twice as many children black, brown, and red gathered round me to look 
 at the operation, the most common and favourite one among all Spaniards. 
 An old black woman, who, from her appearance, and from her bringing in 
 the huge piece of roast beef on the spit, seemed to be the cook of the esta- 
 blishment, held the vessel to receive the blood, and being more occupied in 
 examining my dress than in the duty of the moment, performed her part so 
 awkwardly that I reproved her in an angry and loud tone for her inatten- 
 tion. A shriek immediately burst from the other apartment, and the old 
 Gaucho, rising hastily, and with a mute gesture of rage, rushed into it by a 
 door which communicated with the room in which we sat. I was well 
 nigh fainting, but I noticed the glances of deep meaning which passed 
 between the persons around me, and could also hear the half stifled accents 
 of the old Gaucho addressing some one in the other apartment in a threat- 
 ening tone. 
 
 It is impossible for me to describe my emotions at that moment ; the 
 voice thrilled through even my clouded senses, and the doubt, the fear, the 
 suspicion, which rushed to my very heart's core, seemed to freeze up my 
 blood at its fountain. The stream, which was flowing freely from the open 
 vessel, stopped as if by magic ; and the cold, death-like sweat which was 
 coming over me, and which is the common effect of the abstraction of a 
 large quantity of blood, became, as it were, suddenly dried up, while my 
 muscles grew unnaturally rigid, and each individual fibre seemed to quiver 
 as if in the attempt to contract itself into a state of stony hardness. I was 
 painfully sensible of everything that passed, but I remained fixed, silent, 
 and motionless, horror having produced upon my frame, weakened by 
 fatigue, pain, and loss of blood, the same, or a similar effect, which some 
 unknown influence exercises upon the nerves of cataleptic persons. I was 
 as one " to stone converted by amaze.'' But my mind, if unable to com- 
 mand the material frame which it inhabited, seemed endowed with intense 
 and preternatural activity and decision. The voice I had heard, and which 
 
a Tale of the Pampas. 153 
 
 had created these extraordinary effects, was assuredly that of Donna 
 Louisa. The dreadful fact burst upon me with such stunning force, as to 
 render me, as I have just said, speechless, and to drive back, as it were, my 
 mental energies to their most remote citadel. 
 
 The reflections, which then shot with the rapidity of lightning across my 
 mind, seemed most like the spontaneous imagery of a dream ; for, as in a 
 vision of the night, I was unconscious of the least mental exertion in making 
 them. I may say then, that I felt, as if by a revelation, rather than by 
 any exercise of reason, that the Donna Louisa was in the same hut with 
 me, that the old Gaucho was he whom Ord and Senor Echivera had 
 mortally offended, that he had kidnapped the maiden to revenge himself 
 on both, and that he knew or guessed me to be Ord's friend. These con- 
 clusions, which proved in the end to be perfectly correct, were doubtless the 
 decision of my judgment from the facts before me, viz. the tone of the 
 voice, the sinister looks of the Gaucho, and my indistinct recollection of 
 his features at the posada : though, as I was utterly unconscious of deducing 
 them by any train of reasoning, the powers of my mind and body being, as 
 it were, for the time disunited, I felt somewhat disposed to consider them 
 as the effect of some unearthly impulse or revelation. Since that time, 
 however, I have heard gentlemen, who stand deservedly at the head of the 
 medical profession, declare that there are diseases, of a nervous order, in 
 which the body is for the time incapable of displaying, by the external 
 senses, the workings of the mind, though the person be all the time con- 
 scious of ideas rushing across him with a rapidity, and of a nature infinitely 
 superior to those which occupy his mind in health. I conclude, therefore, 
 that the effect produced on me by horror, conjoined with the peculiar phy- 
 sical and mental circumstances of my situation, was somewhat similar to 
 that which such diseases produce on their possessors. As the violence of 
 the paroxysm for I know not how else to designate it decreased, my 
 frame became gradually relaxed, the cold sweat preceding fainting rushed 
 from every pore of my body, and I sank back in a state of insensibility. 
 
 When I recovered, I perceived the old Gaucho standing over me with 
 his eyes bent in strict scrutiny upon my features, while the rest of the 
 family bustled around me with such restoratives as their simple means 
 afforded. Closing my eyes for a few moments, as if still under the influence 
 of weakness, I struggled to gather together my scattered energies, and to 
 resolve on my future conduct. My aim was to lull to sleep the suspicions 
 of the treacherous old villain, to leave the hut in the morning, and to return 
 as soon as I could collect as many men as would be able to overpower any 
 resistance he and his might make. Thanking my host, therefore, in a 
 languid manner for his attention, I begged he would allow me to repose 
 myself for an hour or two, and, in the mean time, order a fowl to be boiled, 
 as it would be dangerous for me to sup on such strong food as that which 
 was smoking on the spit near us. 1 saw at once that I had relieved his 
 fears and suspicions : he instantly became all politeness ; uttered compli- 
 ments with a gravity and extravagance which a Spaniard alone possesses ; 
 gave orders for my chicken broth, and with his own hand threw down two 
 or three ponchos for my bed, and adjusted a white, new- dressed sheep's 
 skin on my recado for my pillow. 
 
 I lay down, therefore, and simulated slumber, though it may well be 
 imagined that nothing was farther from me than repose. I was in the 
 shadow, and could see all that went on before me ; while my own form 
 must have been in a great measure concealed. The family gathered round 
 and ate their evening meal ; each individual, even to the children, cutting 
 with their knives a piece from the huge joint. This, with water, formed 
 their repast ; for bread there is none in the plains. Each then bent for a 
 few moments before a little image of the Virgin which hung at one end of 
 the hut ; and, lying down on the floor as chance or whim directed them, they 
 were soon fast asleep, The old Gaucho, however, and a very pretty mulatto 
 Feb. VOL, XL, pro, CLVIII. f 
 
154 . TheGauchos; 
 
 girl with a child in her lap, sate at the fire as if waiting for some one. The 
 youthful mother bent over her slumbering infant features wherein some 
 secret grief seemed blended with maternal anxiety. She frequently turned 
 her eyes towards the door, and then to the old Gaucho, with an expression of 
 surprise or fear at the protracted delay of some one whom she named Teo- 
 baldo. The old man never answered her, but seemed to be wrapped up in 
 deep reflection. The ruddy light of the charcoal fire fell upon his harsh 
 features, deep dark eyes, and grizzled beard, discovering every furrow on 
 his face with painful distinctness, and clothing his lineaments with a kind 
 of lurid light, which increased the savage, though slumbering, ferocity of 
 their expression. At length, when the young woman again turned her eyes 
 filled with tears upon him, and spoke in a querulous tone of the delay of 
 Teobaldo, the old man uttered an imprecation, and, grinding his teeth, 
 commanded her to be silent. He then relapsed into his former moody ab- 
 straction, while I could see the tears streaming down the cheeks of the 
 terrified girl upon her sleeping infant, fast and freely as from a fountain. 
 
 On a sudden the sound of a horse at speed approached the hut, and be- 
 fore either the old Gaucho or the girl could reach the door, a young man of 
 a powerful frame, and features expressive of reckless daring, burst into the 
 apartment, raising, at the same time, his cap, and uttering the usual saluta- 
 tion. He had the bolas wrapped round his waist, and I saw by the blood 
 with which they were clotted that he had been hunting. A number of 
 dogs, many of which bore terrible marks of the dangerous sport for which 
 they were kept, followed his steps, and with such gestures of pleasure as 
 their fatigue would allow them to make, gathered round the old Gaucho. 
 Meantime, the poor girl held up her child to be kissed by the young 
 huntsman, and laid her arm fondly round his neck. Bestowing the expected 
 caresses upon both, though with a carelessness which showed how little of 
 the heart there was in the action, he desired her to prepare his supper. 
 She placed the child in the cradle of hide which hung above my head, and 
 took from a kind of closet, made also of a bull's hide inflated and dried, 
 and having a square piece cut out and moving on hinges by way of door, 
 a flask of wine and other articles of fare of a more generous kind than the 
 family had used at their late meal. While she was thus busied, one of the 
 dogs came smelling up to me, and began to growl and erect his bristles. 
 " Down, Tauro ! down !" cried the old man, and to the surprised and in- 
 quiring looks of his son answered by briefly narrating the cause of my 
 visiting the hut. "Now, by heaven! Senor, ' said Teobaldo, scowling 
 upon his father, " you have done foolishly. A stranger, and from the 
 town, said you ? You might as well have harboured the devil redhot from 
 hell with a legion of his imps." He was going on lashing himself into an 
 outrageous passion, when the old. Gaucho interrupted him ; and though he 
 spoke only in a whisper, there was a tone of command and calm concen- 
 trated energy in his voice, which appeared to oblige the other to listen. 
 " Senor," said he, (for even the nearest relatives address each other in this 
 punctilious manner,) " you are young, and moreover seem to have forgotten 
 that I am your father. It is well that / cannot, or these words might call 
 for chastisement. We will talk of this at a fitter season, and in the mean- 
 time let us look to our guest." 
 
 " Voto a Dios ! let him look to himself," muttered the young desperado, 
 as, rising, he came towards me, and began furtively to view my features. 
 He was turning away, convinced apparently that I slept, and had not over- 
 heard his words, when, as if influenced by sudden suspicion, he again bent 
 over me, and drew forth his knife rapidly. It was a moment of the most 
 dreadful trial, but I had nerve enough for it, though, the next instant, when 
 he had turned away, I felt the big drops coursing down my forehead and 
 cheeks, so great a shock had the forcible suppression of my feelings com- 
 municated to my frame. The old man utterred a brief but threatening 
 expostulation to his son, which he answered by a look of fierce defiance, 
 and without further words drew the skeleton of a horse's head towards the 
 
a Tale of the Pampas. 155 
 
 fire, threw himself Upon it, and be:an to devour his meal in silence. In a 
 short time I was relieved from reflections of the most distressing nature, by 
 being requested by the Mulatto girl to sit up and take the food which had 
 been prepared at my desire. 
 
 I noticed, also, that she took some of it, with a small flask of wine, (how 
 procured, heaven knows,) into the other apartment ; and that, during the 
 time she was absent, the old Gaucho and his son were restless and impa- 
 tient, and cast furtive glances continually upon me. I was enabled, how- 
 tever, toescape their observation by allowing my features to take the ex- 
 pression of that listlessness and languor which my weakness, in spite of 
 circumstances, predisposed me to feel. Eagerly and the more so that I 
 was forced to torture my face into an expression of indifference did I wait 
 for the return of the girl; for, if my belief that the Donna Louisa was in 
 confinement in the other room, and had recognised my voice when she 
 screamed, was correct, I thought it probable that she would fall upon some 
 
 Elan to convey to me, by means of her attendant, a certain knowledge of the 
 ict. It was in vain, however, that I scanned the features of the girl when 
 she returned with the food and wine untasted. She whispered something 
 concerning " the Sefiorita" to the old man, to which he replied by a muttered 
 curse and a significant glance at his son. Sick at heart, and filled with 
 apprehensions, the vague nature of which was more unnerving than the 
 most terrible certainty, I muttered my " buenas noches," and was about to 
 retire to my poncho, when I observed the mulatto girl playing with a ring, 
 and viewing it over and over close by the light of the fire. The sight 
 completely deprived me of my circumspection. I started back in undis- 
 guised horror, and had uttered an exclamation fortunately in my native 
 language before I could recollect myself. From the shock which the cir- 
 cumstance gave me, the bandaged vein again burst out in blood, and the 
 inmates of the hut, (who, like all those that frequently use venesection un- 
 scientifically, have a horror on such occasion of an artery having been 
 opened,) ascribing my emotion to the unexpected sight of the blood, began 
 immediately to tighten the bandages, to roll up rude compresses made of 
 small stones wrapped in wool, and thus both afforded me time to recover 
 my quiet manner, and drew aside the attention of those who might, from 
 their conscious dread of detection, have ascribed my conduct to other 
 causes. 
 
 In the mean time, my mind was filled with a multitude of recollections 
 of the past and determinations for the future. The ring which I had seen, 
 in the hands of the mulatto girl I remembered well. It was a favorite one 
 of the Donna Louisa's, and had, moreover, attracted my attention particu- 
 larly, from the fact that Ord had written some stanzas upon it. I mention it as 
 a curious proof that the mind is capable of remembering with almost morbid 
 acuteness slight circumstances in periods of great peril that the sentiments 
 of my poor friend's verses were in my recollection at the very moment when 
 it might be supposed all my energies would have been directed to the 
 emergency before me. I remembered that, in his lines, he had wished to 
 be that ring, to encircle so fair a portion of his mistress, sometimes to be 
 pressed, when she was contemplative, to her sweet cheek, sometimes, in 
 the unconscious attitude in which sleep might place her downy palm, to be 
 nestled in the warm recesses of her bosom ! 
 
 But there were thoughts of a different nature succeeding to those remem- 
 brances. There was pity and sorrow for the lovely prisoner, hate and 
 horror, the stronger that it was veiled in a manner of cordiality, towards 
 the savages who had brought her there and resolve strong as death to 
 liberate her from her thraldom. "Without any difficulty, as 1 conceived, I 
 succeeded in convincing those around me that I suspected nothing, and 
 knew of no motive for suspicion ; and in this agreeable opinion, if anything 
 could be agreeable in my circumstances, I betook me to my former place 
 of repose. So soon as the bleeding from my arm was stopped, the old 
 
 M 2 
 
156 The Gauchos; 
 
 black cook, who had been among the first to start up and apply remedies, 
 together with two or three other women and the children, again lay down, 
 and presently gave audible proofs of being in a state of oblivion. A little 
 after I had adjusted my slight sleeping clothes, the mulatto girl, of whom 
 I have spoken so frequently, took her child from the swinging cradle, and 
 lay down to rest. Teobaldo stretched himself by her side, while the old 
 Gaucho remained dozing by the fire. 
 
 As will be supposed, it was impossible for me to sleep. I lay in a fever 
 of apprehension and doubt. Not a soul stirred in the hut. The old 
 Gaucho nodded his head in the lurid light of the fire, in a manner which I 
 shall remember to my dying day ; the young huntsman breathed heavily 
 beside his wife, or mistress, or slave, or whatever else she might be called, 
 and the rest of the household snored and slept naturally. 
 
 A couple of hours might have elapsed in this manner, when the old man 
 awoke, stretched his limbs, took down the household lamp, and, coming to 
 me, passed it across my eyes. I was, of course, fast asleep. He hung up 
 the lamp again, roused Teobaldo, and having by signs convinced him of my 
 somnolency, departed with him from the dwelling. It was some time before 
 I could determine on the course I was to pursue. Sometimes I thought of 
 bursting into the apartment of the Donna Louisa, and defending the open- 
 ing into it against all comers, for I knew that the lasso and the bolas could 
 be rendered effective only in open ground. Again, I was for taking my 
 chance of killing both the men at the door of the hut with my pistols, and 
 trusting to fortune for the rest. But prudence prevailed. I listened, with 
 an anxiety which communicated an exquisite acuteness to my auditory 
 nerves, to the breathing of the inhabitants of the hut : all of them, even to 
 the wife of the young huntsman, respired regularly ; and, rising cautiously, 
 I stole to the door. The moon was high in heaven ; but, fortunately for 
 me, the shadow, which was thrown on the front ground of the cottage, con- 
 cealed me entirely. Here again I must give a curious instance of the at- 
 tention of the mind to trifles when circumstances of an appalling nature 
 encircle it. I reflected that if I had been on the north instead of the south 
 side of the equator, I should have been fully exposed to those whose motions 
 I was interested in knowing, instead of being myself completely concealed, 
 while they were clearly discernible. Doubtless, they thought nothing about 
 northern or southern hemispheres, but only that he whose knowledge of 
 their plans they doubted or feared was asleep. 
 
 Keeping within the shadow of the low walls of the hut, I strained my 
 eyes on every side in vain ; but presently I heard voices breaking from the 
 corral, and, by the tones, I immediately recognised the old Gaucho and 
 Teobaldo. I could not see them, for they also were in the moon-shadow, 
 behind the stakes of the inclosure ; but I could, both by the sounds and the 
 sentiments of each voice, know to whom it belonged. 
 
 " Well, Senor," said Teobaldo, as if continuing the conversation, " you 
 have told me why this gentleman has come here, and how, for which, 
 voto a Dios ! I shall flog the boy who brought him ; but you have not given 
 me a single proof that he may not, on his return, forward such information 
 to the authorities as gets us both the cord, or the dagger. You saw his 
 emotion when his eye fell on that bauble of the Donna's, or, at least, I 
 was certain I perceived it, in spite of his attempts at concealment and I 
 doubt not he is here as a spy : he must brook the stab, Senor!" 
 
 " Now, by Heaven !" said the old Gaucho, " the steel which strikes his 
 body shall first have passed through my own heart's blood!" He spoke 
 in a tone of stern and iron resolve ; then, after a moment's pause, he re- 
 sumed more calmly: " I wonder not at the scorn with which we of the 
 plains are treated by the puny creatures of the coast, since even the last and 
 most cherished virtue of the Gauchos, their old famous hospitality and 
 good faith to their guests, seems departing from the present generation." 
 "Diosmio!" cried TepbaWo, interrupting him, " hospitality, like cha- 
 
a Tale of the Pampas. 157 
 
 rity, should surely begin at home. You would not give up our lives to a 
 foolish punctilio, Senor?" 
 
 " Teobaldo/' responded the old man to his son's remonstrance, " in my 
 own house I shall do in all things according to my pleasure. This stranger 
 has come to me sick, and without intention of evil ; his presence is the 
 effect of accident, and he cannot, therefore, be a spy. If these reasons are 
 not enough, I say that he came to me with the words of confidence and 
 politeness in his mouth he is entitled to my good faith and hospitality, 
 and, by the Mother of God, he shall have it !'' 
 
 " Muy bien ! Muy bien !" returned Teobaldo quickly ; " and now about 
 the Sefiorita. To-night I am determined to have the reward of my adven- 
 ture to the town, which I have now delayed only because you " 
 
 " Teobaldo," interrupted the old Gaucho, " we will talk of this to-mor- 
 row : patience patience !" 
 
 " Ay, by the Almighty God of immortality !" said Teobaldo, with a burst 
 of irrepressible indignation, *' thou hast used that watchword of a tame 
 and dastard spirit, till both my senses and my soul scorn to listen to it ! 
 To night, or a better reason than thou hast yet used !" 
 
 As'he spoke, I could hear the whistling of his knife as it came from its 
 sheath in his wet Gaucho boot ; and, horrified at the parricide which the 
 young savage seemed about to perpetrate, I involuntarily shifted my posi- 
 tion, and with difficulty restrained myself from rushing forward to prevent 
 such a deed. The instinct of self-preservation, however, was stronger than 
 the sentiment of horror, and I remained within the shadow which concealed 
 me. But, slight as had been the sound I had created, the acute organs of 
 the Gauchos had detected it, for I observed them emerge into the moon- 
 light at separate sides of the corral, each with his long knife gleaming in 
 his hand. Silently placing my thumbs on the hammers of my two pistols, 
 I remained motionless, determined, if they approached, to discharge the 
 balls into their bodies at such a distance as would insure their taking mor- 
 tal effect. After looking carefully round, however, they retired to their 
 former position behind the corral, to my infinite relief. For some time 
 they spoke in so low a tone that I was unable to catch anything, save 
 disjointed sentences, in which the word " Seiiorita" was frequently repeated. 
 At length the young man, raising his voice, swore, by a horrible oath, that 
 he would no longer be cajoled out of the possession of his promised mis- 
 tress, and hinted, in a significant tone, that he believed his father had some 
 more selfish reason for his reluctance to yield her up than any he had 
 yet given. 
 
 " Fool!" returned the old man " poor slave of thy passions ! Thou 
 wilt sacrifice the deepest, purest, and noblest revenge to the mere lust of 
 thy body ! Listen to me, and I will show thee that by disposing of this 
 girl as I wish, thou wilt, acquire the means of purchasing the embraces of 
 fifty fairer pieces of painted flesh than she, and wilt moreover regain that 
 rank in society of which we have both been unjustly deprived.'' 
 
 There was a short pause, during which I adjusted myself to catch every 
 sound. 
 
 " The girl," said the old Gaucho, "whom you are so deeply in lust with, 
 is your cousin ! Ay, start ! She is the daughter of my brother, and my 
 full niece. You have frequently heard the story of my mother's wrongs 
 and mine in the old world; how 1 was driven, by disgust and despair of 
 gaining my just rights, from my father's house ; and how, in the fastnesses 
 of the Sierra Morena, I recovered from my wounds by the care of my trusty 
 band. The father of this girl was the cause, let me do him justice, the 
 unconscious cause, of keeping" me from my inheritance. His father and 
 mine, curses on him that I should have to mention us both in a breath ! 
 deceived and disgraced my mother, may God forget me when I forgive it ! 
 and now, instead of being the possessor of wealth and honour, I am a poor, 
 outlawed, degraded wretch j and thou art the son of such a one ! Now, 
 
158 The Gauchos; 
 
 attend : This girl is as the apple of Senor Echivera's eye, and to regain 
 her he will, I am convinced, disgorge such a portion of the immense wealth 
 which he has amassed, as will purchase me the power of again treacling in 
 safety the soil of my native land, and afford thee the means of moving in 
 the sphere suited to thy birth. It only remains for us to execute "this 
 scheme in such a manner as to keep from Don Jose a knowledge of his 
 daughter's situation, and to bind him, by a sacred oath, never to divulge 
 the circumstances of the transaction." 
 
 "But Senor," said Teobaldo, " I have no desire to leave the plains ; the 
 freedom from trammels of every kind, mental and bodily, suit too well with 
 my nature for me to wish to exchange it for the constrained customs of 
 what is called civilized society ; nor above all, am I willing to give up so 
 fair a prize as Louisa for the possession of wealth which I do not need, and 
 the tenure of which must depend on the faith of one who has all his life 
 dwelt in cities." 
 
 " Boy !" said the Gaucho, " thou dost not know what thou art casting 
 away for the gratification of a moment; wealth, honour, power, and fame 
 are within your grasp, and you draw back your hand from such a glorious 
 prize, to fondle a girl who mark me ! can never love thee, such as thou 
 now art. I tell thee, the hoards of my brother are immense, and moreover, 
 I know well that his word is as true as his wealth is great. Honour and 
 good faith, Teobaldo, are not confined to the plains." 
 
 " It may be so, Senor," replied he, " but I am determined to go nowhere 
 else in search of them. I have been so long accustomed to the free air 
 which comes down from the borderillas, that the pent-up atmosphere of a 
 crowded ^ city would soon choke me, Senor : I will live and die in the 
 Pampas." 
 
 This he said in a tone of calm determination, and, in spite of my perilous 
 position, I could not but admire the sentiment. 
 
 " Foolish and stubborn boy !" said the Gaucho, yet in a tone more of 
 entreaty than scorn ; " can neither the prospect of gratified ambition, nor 
 the boundless power of satisfying every wish of your sensual passions, 
 awaken you from these slothful sentiments, which would better beseem a 
 base vegetable, that rots in the same dunghill where it rose, than the scion 
 of one of the noblest families in Spain ? With the wealth you will possess, 
 you may purchase the finest equipages and the fleetest steeds of Anda- 
 lusia " 
 
 " With my lasso," interrupted Teobaldo, " I can take, at my pleasure, 
 the noblest colts of the herd ; and all the equipage I require is my recado, 
 bridle, and spurs. I can back a new steed daily, if I choose it ; and though 
 I were to strike my knife into the heart of each after its single journey, 
 there would be no lack of horses on the Pampas !" 
 
 " You may possess lands and castles, forests and serfs, who will exist 
 only to serve you," urged the old Gaucho. 
 
 " The plains of Paraguay are mine as much as though I had bought 
 them with coined money," replied Teobaldo. " Will the lands which your 
 wealth has to purchase extend as far? Will the ostrich be there for the 
 chase, or the steed to follow him ? Will your forests be as large as those 
 beneath the borderillas; and will the lion, jaguar, lama, and 'wild goat 
 couch amid their green recesses, or skip among their grey cliffs ? Senor, the 
 air, the soil, and the sports of these wide plains have been familiar to my 
 boyhood ; and while my eyes can follow the flight of the fleet deer, or my 
 limbs support me on my recado, they shall perform their offices on these 
 plains alone. Urge me no farther." " 
 
 " It is thy ignorance, and not thy noble nature, which speaks, my boy," 
 said the old man, in a tone of earnest remonstrance. " There are other 
 pleasures, the exquisite nature of which thou hast yet to learn. Power in 
 the camp, influence in the council, priority in the splendid and regal pa- 
 
a Tale of the Pampas. 
 
 geant, the love of ladies, and admiration of noble cavaliers, all these, with 
 thy powers, thou mayest aspire to 11 
 
 " Pshaw !" said Teobaldo, interrupting him with startling energy ; " 'tis 
 but a variation of the old tune. Thou hast harped on that string of birth, 
 rank, and wealth, tilll, who in these wild plains know not what they mean, 
 am sincerely weary of the sound. I am free ! the noblest birthright can- 
 not give more seldom does it give so much. My rank is such as to 
 acknowledge no superior ; my wealth is my strength and skill, which can 
 supply all my wants, and which give me power over nobler animals than 
 the puny libels on humanity who^e society you wish to inflict on me. Give 
 me the pleasures and the occupations to which I have been accustomed, 
 which alone I can now fully enjoy, and I shall willingly allow the foolish 
 distinctions of men to pass without disturbing my desires. If I have not a 
 retinue of cringing slaves to minister to me, neither have I any one to kneel 
 to in return ; if I possess no influence in the courts which you have so 
 often described to me, neither is my soul prostituted by the meanness, ser- 
 vility, and falsehood which, I have been taught, exist there ; and though I 
 have not couches of down and castles of carved stone, I can yet sleep as 
 sweetly and as soundly upon the long grass of my native plains, with the 
 fresh breeze of heaven upon my cheek, and the clear stars alone to watch 
 over my repose. By the God of the true heart ! Serior, I swear that I love 
 the back of a fleet steed better than a throne ; and that I would not cast 
 aside the bolas, which I can strike through the skull of a lion, to grasp the 
 sceptre of Spain !" 
 
 " Base dog !" cried the old man, with a burst of bitter scorn, which he 
 could not control; then, as if suddenly recollecting himself, and solilo- 
 quising, though aloud" Yet how can I blame him? He knows not the 
 glory of possessing the power, in the regal pageant, of pressing near the 
 person of his prince ; nor in the court, of slighting, under the favour of his 
 monarch, the proudest peer of the land ! He has not felt the disinterested 
 pleasure of leaving the boar at bay for a royal shaft ; nor the still more 
 generous pride of yielding a favorite female to the embraces of his sainted 
 master." 
 
 " No, by G !" cried the young huntsman, almost choked with indig- 
 nation. " My good horse is the only created being I feel pride in pressing 
 near. I follow and I strike my own quarry, yielding precedence to none ; 
 and," continued he, sinking his voice into a tone of low defiance, " let him 
 who dares even to think of my favorite girl, though he were my nearest 
 in blood, come with his naked knife in his hand, and a stout arm to 
 wield it !" 
 
 " Thou speakest after thy own lights, and with a spirit which, in a better 
 cause, might have done better for thee," returned the old man, calmly, to 
 this burst of his son. " But regarding the Donna Louisa " 
 
 Ay, regarding her," said Teobaldo sharply. 
 
 hou must for the present give up thy intentions respecting that lady," 
 continued the Gaucho ; " at least," said he quickly, as though Teobaldo 
 
 " Thou must for the present give up thy 
 mtinued the Gaucho ; " at least," said 1 
 
 had made some sudden gesture of dissent, " at least, until thou hast fully 
 considered my late proposition. Thou art yet but a boy in years- " 
 
 " Boy!" cried Teobaldo, and I recognised the sound of his knife, drawn 
 with its back against his teeth a common gesture of the Gauchos, when 
 they are deeply enraged. " Boy, indeed ! Senor, that word has been used 
 too often, in a tone of insult, even for a son to bear from a father. Did I 
 prove myself a boy when, on foot, and armed only with this knife, I slew 
 the lion, from which yourself and two or three other doughty heroes fled in 
 dismay? A boy! By the Trinity! I will prove myself otherwise upon 
 the body of that fair saint whom we are at issue concerning." 
 
 " Teobaldo !" said the old man, sternly interrupting him ; " that thou 
 shalt never do, while I live." 
 
 " Ha, hoary letcher ! I have suspected this," said the frantic young 
 
160 The Gauchos ; 
 
 % 
 
 savage, speaking through his clenched teeth. " Thou hast gazed with 
 longing eyes upon Louisa ; and perchance the incest which the intercourse 
 involves hath stimulated thy jaded appetite. Ah ! it is rank rotten, -and 
 yet how clear!" 
 
 " Yes," said the old man calmly, after a brief pause, as if rather musing 
 than addressing his son ; " I, too, have looked for this moment; I could 
 not but look for it ; and it has come ! Boy ! thou art the last male of a 
 noble race ; but thou art also the spawn of thy whorish mother and thy 
 wretched father ; and now thou visitest the crime of thy birth upon him 
 who alone remains to answer for it. Thy weapon is drawn, defend 
 thyself!" 
 
 " Thou wilt have the knife then, Sefior ?" was all Teobaldo said, as he 
 crossed his blade with his father's. The sound of clashing iron disturbed 
 the silence of the night for a little time ; but in a few moments there was 
 a closer struggling, a good deal of hard breathing, and, at length, a long, 
 low groan. I knew not who had fallen in the desperate and unnatural 
 strife ; but, reeling under the influence of the horrors which the last half- 
 hour had placed before me, I returned into the hut, and lay down upon 
 the scanty couch which I had formerly occupied. A few minutes elapsed, 
 and I heard a step slowly approaching. My heart beat audibly, as I saw 
 the hand of the survivor drawing aside the bullock's hide; and the next 
 moment the old Gaucho entered the apartment with a firm step and a calm 
 demeanour. He took down the lamp, and steadily looked round upon the 
 sleepers ; but when he passed the light over the features of the poor mu- 
 latto girl and her child, I thought I could observe his hand waver : there 
 was blood on it, too. 
 
 Every human being in the cottage, except myself, was asleep. The 
 wearied dogs looked up without rising, both at the entrance of the Gaucho 
 and of myself; but there was one old hound, a tall, strong animal, whose 
 gashed face and torn ears gave proof of severe contests with the wild beasts 
 of the plains, and who, on the Gaucho passing him, sprang suddenly to 
 his feet, and after smelling round about the old man, uttered a low growl, 
 and immediately rushed out of the hut. Knowing the astonishing sagacity, 
 as well as the undaunted courage of these animals, I thought it possible 
 that the hound might prevent the Gaucho from moving the body of his 
 master, or, in the attempt, either throttle the old man himself, or make 
 such a disturbance as to awaken the household. In that case, I did not 
 doubt, from the natural horror the murderer would create on his crime 
 being discovered, that the very women would assist me to take and bind 
 him, or at least offer no resistance, in case I found it necessary to have 
 recourse to my pistols. 
 
 Never did I see any one more methodical in preparing for a journey than 
 this old murdering miscreant was in preparing the means for placing his 
 son in a bloody grave. He again examined carefully the features of every 
 sleeper in the hut, drew forth some iron implements from a recess near the 
 door, and after once more turning an anxious glance into the interior of 
 the dwelling, wheeling the lamp slowly round as he looked, he extinguished 
 it, and the next moment I could hear his footsteps rapidly retreating 
 towards the corral. 
 
 Probably half an hour elapsed before (my curiosity becoming uncontrol- 
 lable) I arose, and stole to the door. 1 could see no one ; but, at the gate 
 of the corral, two horses stood with their bridles over the stakes. In a 
 minute or two I heard deep groans issuing from the spot where the murder 
 had been committed, and thick, slow, and heavy sobs bursting with fright- 
 ful force from the breast of the old man. Nature had found her way to 
 his stony heart at last ! 
 
 In a short time these sounds ceased as suddenly as they had arisen, as 
 if the mourner had exercised that astonishing power of control over his 
 emotions which he seemed to possess, though a fatal instance of its ineffi- 
 

 a Tale of the Pampas. 161 
 
 ciency lay before him. I could hear him speak to the dog : " Down, Tauro ! 
 to heel, 1 say !" And then, breathing heavily under the burthen of his 
 son's corpse, he came forth into the light, and with difficulty laid the body 
 across one of the horses. Then taking the lasso from the recado of the 
 other horse, he placed the noose round the neck of the dead body, and, 
 passing the thong over the feet, he drew the two extremities of the corpse 
 towards each other under the belly of the horse, securing it in such a man- 
 ner that the motion of the animal could not shift its position. 
 
 It was such a picture as Fuseli might have loved to paint, delighting as 
 he did in the wild and horrible. The poncho of the young man had fallen, 
 or been rent off, in the previous struggle, and the full light of the brilliant 
 moon fell upon the naked corpse, discovering plainly two or three long 
 gashes on the breast ; while the streams of blood which had flowed from 
 each, being now hardened by exposure to the night-air, contrasted fearfully 
 their dull crimson hue with the whiteness of the rest of the body. The 
 livid distorted features, and glazed eye-balls, which from the effect of the 
 ligatures seemed bursting from their sockets, glared upwards in a manner 
 horribly distinct, while the tremulous moonbeams, playing on the lips all 
 dabbled with blood, gave them the appearance of motion, as if the spirit, 
 not yet departed from its mutilated tenement, were calling down vengeance 
 from the skies upon the head of the murderer. He, meantime, his hands 
 yet reeking with proofs of his unnatural crime, was binding the throat and 
 feet of his victim firmly together, sometimes kneeling to fix a knot, some- 
 times starting up and glancing fearfully around, while his hand mechani- 
 cally sought his knife ; then he would return again to his unholy occupa- 
 tion, which again he would interrupt to wring his hands together with an 
 expression of the most dreadful anguish. The hound was couched on the 
 earth, on that side of the horse to which the head of his late master was 
 fixed ; he never moved his glance from the writhen features, and I should 
 have considered him an uninterested spectator of the scene, had it not been 
 that the low, impatient whine he uttered was changed for a deep growl, 
 which sounded like distant thunder, when the hands of the Gaucho were 
 fumbling about the bloody neck of the corpse. The habits of obedience, 
 however, in which the poor animal had been trained towards the old man, 
 were too powerful for the suspicions of foul play, which his sagacity, doubt- 
 less, led him to entertain ; and it required only a tone of rebuke to still his 
 rising passion. 
 
 At length the Gaucho mounted his horse, and, speaking kindly to the 
 hound, moved slowly and silently away from the corral, leading the horse 
 which bore his son's body. I had till now been looking through a crevice 
 between the hide which served as a door and the lintel, but now, drawing 
 aside the skin, 1 looked forth into the night after the receding group. The 
 old man paced his steeds quietly for a little distance, and then dashed into 
 a furious gallop. A black cloud came over the moon at this moment, but 
 I could hear the sound of his horses 1 feet as he sped away into the waste 
 with his ghastly burden, like a demon who had clutched his prey to the 
 regions of everlasting darkness. 
 
 There is a mist before my memory respecting the events which followed, 
 and I was informed afterwards that I had been found lying near the door 
 of the hut in a state of insensibility, whence I had been removed, by the 
 old black woman, to my former place of repose. As the scene of last night 
 dawned upon me, a shudder of horror shook my frame, but, recollecting the 
 work I had before me, I laboured to repress all appearance of emotion, and 
 calling my kind but uncouth old nurse, with some difficulty I thrust a 
 couple of Spanish dollars into her grimy palm. Instinctively her fingers 
 closed over the unwonted treasure, and, grinning till her white teeth formed 
 a ridge across the whole breadth of her face, she began to pour forth, in 
 most diabolical Spanish, her gratitude for the gift. Having thus gained 
 time to collect my resolution, 1 looked round the hut for the old Gaucho, 
 
162 The Gauchos; 
 
 but he was nowhere to be seen. Every thing in the household seemed to 
 go on in a natural train : the mulatto girl was playing with her infant ; 
 the dogs lounged out of and into the hut ; and two or three older children 
 were, with little lassos of twine, attempting to noose the cocks and hens, 
 which also formed part of our establishment. It was evident that the 
 events 1 had beheld had not yet transpired. As I rose from my poncho, 
 I was delighted to find that the pain of my bruises was almost gone, and 
 that, the fever being entirely dissipated, a sense of languor, which in itself 
 was not unpleasing, alone remained to remind me of my accident. 
 
 As the old negress brought me some water to wash, (which, in true 
 Spanish style, consisted of about two table-spoonsful of that element,) 
 I asked, in a careless manner, where my host and the young huntsman were 
 gone to? " To the herds before sunrise, Senor," answered she, as if it 
 were a matter of course. " And the boy who brought me hither, where is 
 he?" " Gone to bring your breakfast, Seiior; for Don Leonardo said you 
 people of the coast love milk, and the boy has gone to the next hut, where 
 there are goats, to get some. It is but a two hours 1 gallop, and he will be 
 here presently ; but, in the meantime, Seiior, you must drink this, it is 
 good for those who have lost blood, at least it is good for the people of the 
 plains, and, though the coast people are not so hardy, they are flesh and 
 blood like the Gauchos, are they not, Serior?" And the logical old lady 
 grinned again, as she presented me a bowl of a dark-coloured liquid. In 
 my situation, the suspicion which crossed my mind respecting the contents 
 of the bowl was perhaps natural ; but it required only a glance at the honest, 
 open, guileless features of the old woman, to dissipate it. She told me it was 
 a decoction of a rare root which is found in the plains : so, partly to please 
 her, and partly to punish mysetf for my suspicion, I drank a portion of it. 
 It was bitter enough to possess all the virtues of the pharmacopseia, but 
 in a short time I felt its good effects in a gentle perspiration, which carried 
 off the rigidity remaining from the effects of my fall. 
 
 I had gone to the door with the intention of walking round the corral, 
 being led by a mysterious desire to look on the spot where the murder had 
 been committed, when I saw a horseman coming at a gallop towards the 
 hut. I soon saw that it was the boy who had first met me on the plain, 
 and who was now returning, after a ride of twenty miles, with a little milk 
 for my breakfast. As he came near me, he seemed in high glee, crying out 
 between loud bursts of merriment, " Cuidado ! Abate ! Serior." " Take 
 care ! have a care, Serior !" I accordingly stepped towards the hut, while 
 the lad, checking his horse till he nearly fell backwards, and giving his lasso 
 a jerk, swung an unfortunate pig, which he had been dragging over the 
 rough ground, fairly over the stakes into the corral. The poor animal came 
 down after its involuntary flight with a force which would have of itself 
 killed any other but a pig of the Pampas, whilst the mischievous youngster, 
 unbuckling his recado, laughed loudly at his exploit. Beckoning me to 
 him, he entered the corral, and began to unloose the lasso from the neck 
 of the poor brute, all the time addressing it in a jocular tone. " Murio 
 mucho tiempo ha :" " He is dead long ago," said I. " Sta viva ; mira ! 
 ves! He is alive. Look! behold!" answered the lad quickly, giving the 
 pig a prick with his knife. And indeed, in a short time the unfortunate 
 cochinillo began to revive, and presently, looking wildly around him, 
 arose, and trotted out of the corral. " Buena cosa por cierto ! Dios mio ! 
 Very fine indeed! Good God!" cried the little fellow, as he gathered his 
 lasso into its usual coils, and walked away with his recado. 
 
 1 was busy with some fresh eggs and the milk which had been pro- 
 cured for me, when the old Gaucho entered. As he lifted his cap and made 
 the usual salutation, his brow was as calm as ice, and his eye cool as a 
 snake's. It was with a most painful effort that I took some food with him ; 
 and, thinking that my silence might excite suspicion, I asked after Teobaldo. 
 " We met a party of Gauchos bound for the lion-ground, Senor," answered 
 
a Tale of the Pampas. 163 
 
 the grey villain steadily ; " and the boy, who is too daring to enjoy other 
 sport, has gone with them. Ave Maria purissima ! may he return safe !" 
 
 The young woman whom I have frequently mentioned was about to 
 speak, but the old man silenced her with a look under which she quailed, 
 and, retiring with her child to a corner of the room, she wept bitterly. 
 
 " Has he gone without his dogs, Sefior?" said I ; for, though fully con- 
 scious of the danger of rousing his suspicions, I felt the strongest tempta- 
 tion to expose the hoary hypocrite. 
 
 " His own were wearied, and the other Gauchos- were well supplied, 
 Seiior," he answered with calm promptitude : " he has only taken Tauro, 
 his best hound, and he will have to carry him, too, for the poor beast is 
 leg-weary." 
 
 Nothing further of consequence passed : he heard without reply, that I 
 wished to reach the nearest station as soon as possible, and supplied me 
 with a fresh horse instead of my own tired one. In a short time I was on 
 my way towards the nearest station, on the road between Mendoza and 
 Buenos Ayres, with the boy for a guide glad at length to have escaped from 
 the glance of the cool grey eye of this consummate hypocrite. 
 
 When I reached the courier- track, I dismissed my little guide with a 
 gratuity which caused his wild eyes to sparkle with delight, and his whole 
 frame to tremble with joy, as he fumbled about his cap in search of some 
 secure place to deposit his treasure. When this was effected, he caused 
 his horse to spring with a single bound close to ray side, and, leaning 
 towards me with his drawn knife in his hand, he swore that if I had a foe 
 in the plains, and would shew him his hut, before the morning his blade 
 should be gilded with his heart's blood. 
 
 " How is it to be wondered at," thought I, " that the men in these wilds 
 are reckless of shedding even the blood dearest to them, when the very 
 children, as soon as they can grasp the knife, are taught to strike it at the 
 life of a fellow-creature ?" 
 
 When I had told the boy that I did not need any service such as that he 
 mentioned, he very coolly returned his knife into its sheath, kissed his hand 
 to me, uttered a brief prayer for my welfare, crossing himself devoutly, 
 and then, striking his spurs furiously into his steed, he was out of sight in 
 a few minutes. 
 
 I found, on my arrival at the station, that my friend Ord had despatched 
 peons in search of me on every side, and had himself pushed on to the next 
 posada. I also discovered that, instead of scouring the country, the peons 
 had fled to a small fortified station at some distance, having received cer- 
 tain information of the approach of the Indians.* The old man who gave 
 me this information was attempting to carry off his women and children, 
 by securing the youngest in hastily constructed vehicles placed across the 
 back of a horse, and by fixing such substitutes for saddles as he could 
 obtain for the accommodation of the elder part of the family I procured 
 another horse from the corral, and pushed on to overtake my friend, de- 
 ploring the lawless state of a country where the very women and children 
 are ruthlessly butchered by their inhuman foes. 
 
 A considerable number of horses were picqueted around the posada, 
 which was defended by a ditch, and a wall about breast high, with strong 
 pointed stakes projecting from its summit. Groups of armed men lounged 
 about, some carrying grass for the horses, some examining the long 
 Spanish-barrelled guns, with which each man was furnished, while others 
 discoursed in an anxious and constrained manner. The words "los Indies," 
 
 * The noble horses on which the Indians of the Pampas ride, though they can 
 go any distance and any pace, are unable, because unused, to leap the smallest fence 
 or ditch; and thus it has frequently happened that a few determined Gauchos 
 have defended a place contemptible, so far as warlike defences are considered, against 
 a complete horde of these flying warriors. 
 
164 The Gauchos; 
 
 frequently repeated as I rode past the various parties, sufficiently explained 
 the cause of the assemblage. I was assailed on all hands by inquiries as 
 to whence I had come, and what were the opinions respecting the move- 
 ments of the Indians in the parts I had left. Having supplied them with 
 the little information I possessed, I was informed, in return, that the whole 
 troop had been engaged by Don Jose Maria Echivera to scour the Gaucho 
 country in search of his child, and that they had rendezvoused at their 
 present spot on account of the alarms respecting the approach of the 
 Indians. 
 
 It was with a beating heart that I entered the apartment which the 
 bereaved father and lover occupied. I had determined abruptly to com- 
 municate my knowledge of the Donna Louisa's place of confinement, and, 
 having mustered the force at hand, to accompany them instantly to the 
 hut of the Gaucho. But a single glance at my friend showed how dan- 
 gerous such a course would be. I had left him the day before depressed, 
 silent, passive ; now he was pacing the floor with bloodshot protruding 
 eyes, unequal gait, and maniacal gestures, his whole frame quivering from 
 intense mental agony, and, in short, with every appearance of the fancies 
 of his " o'erwrought brain" merging into madness. Senor Echivera sate 
 in the shadow ; the tears were stealing through the trembling fingers which 
 hid his face, and, between the convulsive sobs which burst from his breast, 
 I could hear him utter, in tones of the most heartrending sorrow, " My 
 child ! my child!" Nature was suffering too exquisite torture to be elo- 
 quent, for intense mental, like extreme physical suffering, has but one note. 
 
 There is something so touching in the tears of a man, still more, those 
 of an old man, that the grief of the aged and bereaved father caused me 
 to weep aloud. At the sound my poor friend looked up ; he gave a deep 
 groan when he perceived me, and wringing my hand convulsively, he said, 
 " The shaft has fallen at last, and in my most vital part. Oh God ! was 
 there no way to reach my heart but through her life blood ? She, the 
 pure, the lovely, the innocent, immaculate in all save that she was linked 
 tome! was there no way but through her?" And flinging away from 
 me, he ground his heel forcibly against the floor, knit his teeth together, 
 and threw his arms wildly upwards, as if abandoning himself to despair. 
 In a few moments, and ere I could fashion my speech to my mind, he came 
 close up to me again with a kind of stealthy pace, looking around as if 
 engaged in some guilty action ; and, pressing me with the grasp of a giant 
 into a chair, he sat down by my side. " My friend," said he, " when 
 after a day of toil we lie down to sleep, do you think the putting off our 
 garments before we address ourselves to repose is a crime ?" " Assuredly 
 not, my dear friend," I answered, trembling for his reason, which, from his 
 peculiar manner, seemed to be wavering. " Say then," he continued, 
 " that if I, worn beyond the power of suffering existence, shall put off 
 these corporeal garments, and seek repose in the grave, you will not 
 brand me as a guilty wretch, nor suffer the stain of infamy to rest upon 
 my name. Say,' 1 continued he with increasing energy, " that you will not 
 allow the dull lie of insanity to be used as a pretext for my self-murder ; 
 nor suffer my spirit to be slandered by the foul and false reproaches of 
 those who are as unable to fathom my present feelings as they are to over- 
 come the base animal clinging to life which they, in common with the 
 beasts of the field, acknowledge as their ruling passion. If I must depart, 
 it shall be as the noble spirits of the olden time, not from a dread of death 
 nor a loathing of life, but in order that, since all possibility of doing good 
 or enjoying happiness is gone, I may at least use the only means left to 
 me, in the hope of recognising, in the halls of eternity, that radiant soul 
 which was here so fondly mingled with mine. Louisa, mylo\e! that 
 glowing eye ! that lake-like brow ! that sweet mouth, which moulded all 
 words into music ! that easy grace ! that dignity of mien which con- 
 scious virtue alone can give ! that purity and loftiness of sentiment which, 
 
a Tale of the Pampas. 165 
 
 like a divine melody, filled us all with admiration born of love and awe ! 
 is all -all gone ! and for ever ! Oh ! my prophetic heart ! thou hast felt 
 this agony coming over thee, and yet, yet thou art unprepared, as though 
 it had been as unseen as it is horrible." 
 
 He flung himself on the ground, and gave way to the anguish for which 
 words were an inadequate vent. The Senor, forgetting his own grief in 
 the extreme passion of my poor friend, joined me in attempting to soothe 
 him, to raise him from the ground, and to pour the last consolation of the 
 miserable hope into his ear. For a time he seemed insensible to all our 
 caresses, but at length suddenly springing on his feet, he cried, in a tone 
 which caused even" the soldiers on the outside of the posada to start, 
 " Tis false as hell ! She dead ! did you say? Impossible ! she was too 
 
 Sure to perish ; and the dotards do but lie ! Go, go, silly old man, thy 
 aughter is alive and well. Lead me to her, and I will explain the passage 
 in Camoens we spoke of. Wilt thou not do it ? Pah ! the old man grows 
 uncivil ; but I know the way to the terrace, where Louisa loves to feel the 
 breeze, that comes cool from the regal Plata, breathe over the burning 
 beauties of her cheek. Farewell, Senor!" and he attempted to move 
 away towards the door. I saw that his sorrows had shaken his reason, 
 and resolved to risk the effect of the intelligence I possessed ; for, seeing 
 that he gradually grew more phrenzied, I thought the shock (as I had 
 heard in somewhat similar cases) might arrest the onward progress of the 
 disease, perhaps restore him to calmness. Briefly, therefore, and with a 
 cheerful tone, I recounted my adventure, and ended by urging our imme- 
 diate departure from the posada. 
 
 It would be in vain for me to attempt to describe the alternate hopes and 
 fears, and finally the joyful emotion of Senor Echivera, on learning his 
 daughter's situation. But neither his age nor his habits were those of vio- 
 lent or long-continued passion ; he presently sank down into a more com- 
 posed sensation of delight, poured forth a thanksgiving to his patron saint, 
 and then left the room to order the soldiers instantly to prepare to march. 
 But it was with the deepest sorrow that I saw the intelligence had failed 
 in producing a beneficial effect upon my friend Ord. He listened to me, 
 indeed, with attention, and seemed pleased by the information I conveyed ; 
 but it was a pleasure depending alone upon the connexion of the Donna's 
 safety with his own warped and maniac notions ; he was, in short, simply 
 pleased, but neither surprised nor grateful. When I repeated to him, the 
 second time, " Donna Louisa lives, my dear Ord, and you may see her be- 
 fore morning," he answered without emotion, " I know it, and know she 
 lives ; oh, she was too excellent a creature to die ! let us go to her, she 
 will surely think us rude ; come, let us go." 
 
 It was dreadful to hear my friend talk thus, and still more dreadful to 
 listen to the tones of his voice, and to mark the expression, the fatuitous 
 restlessness, of his eyes. However, I had still every hope, that when we 
 recovered the Donna Louisa, her gentle care would soon restore him. 
 
 Ordering a peon to procure us horses, I drew Ord towards Senor 
 Echivera, who was surrounded by a number of the dismounted soldiers, and 
 attempting in vain to prevail upon them to leave the defences of the posada. 
 They knew that the Indians were somewhere near them, that perhaps in a 
 single hour they might be down upon them, and that every one of " los 
 Christianos " whom they met upon the plains, would in a moment be trans- 
 fixed by a score of spears. The defences, slight as they were, of the posada, 
 were sufficient to keep out any number of Indians, who, besides the fact of 
 their horses being unable to leap a ditch or a wall, can do nothing as dis- 
 mounted troops. I thought our march would unavoidably be delayed on 
 account of the obstinacy of the men, who, many of them, having been 
 Gauchos, and well acquainted with the savage nature of the Indians, spoke 
 of them with a rage mixed with fear which seemed far more difficult to be 
 overcome than simple terror. " We cut all their throats, Senor," said an 
 
166 The Gauchos; 
 
 old moustachioed trooper, " and, by the Mother of God ! they cut all ours 
 in return." 
 
 " Offer them a dozen dollars a man," said I to Senor Echivera; " every 
 moment is worth the money to us." 
 
 " Young man !" answered the old merchant, " do you think I stand to 
 count dollars, when the blood of my only child may depend upon the issue ? 
 I would give them my whole worldly possessions to place the dear child in 
 my arms ; but though I were to offer each- of these rugged men a dozen 
 ounces of gold, instead of as many dollars, they, who know little of money 
 in the plains, would not stir for the bribe. But I will try them with an 
 offer which they all well understand the value of." Then raising his voice, 
 he said, " You all know that the viceroy placed you under my command, 
 and that on your return to Buenos Ayres, every instance of delinquency 
 will, on my reporting it, be severely punished : but I am willing, in a case 
 like the present, rather to influence you by kindness than by fear. I there- 
 fore declare, (and you all know my word will be strictly kept,) that every 
 man who is ready for the march, and willing to accompany me in a quarter 
 of an hour, shall have, on our return to the coast, a new recado, bridle, and 
 spurs, together with a gallon of strong waters." 
 
 Before the words were finished, a loud shout proclaimed their acquiescence 
 with his propositions, and in an instant there were a score of mounted 
 men flying across the plain, their lassos whirling round their heads for the 
 purpose of bringing in the horses which were grazing at a distance. Within 
 the specified time the whole of the men were mounted, and ready for the 
 road, with a- herd of horses in the van, which, as is usual in travelling over 
 the Pampas, they drove before them, for the purpose of having fresh steeds 
 when necessary. 
 
 The moon had risen, and was wading through thick clouds, as we neared 
 the dwelling of the Gauchos, where I had spent the preceding night. 
 Though well nigh falling from my horse through weariness and pain, 1 still 
 exerted myself to watch over my friend Ord, who, with the strangest infa- 
 tuation, considered we were proceeding to the coast to meet the Donna 
 Louisa. As our men, influenced by their fears of the Indians, marched, to 
 use an expression of their own, " with their beards on their shoulders," 
 that is, kept a good look out, they had made some slight military arrange- 
 ments for the purpose of guarding against surprise. They had scouts in 
 advance, and others on each flank, at some distance from the main body. 
 We approached the hut, as will readily be understood, by a very different 
 route from that which I had used in the morning, and were, perhaps, at a 
 distance of four or five miles from our destination, when one of our scouts, 
 falling back upon the main body, declared, in the utmost terror, that he 
 had seen a dead body, guarded by an evil spirit, in a hollow to the left. 
 Knowing that the Gauchos, like all solitary inhabitants of wild countries, 
 are deeply imbued with superstition, I struck spurs into my horse, and, 
 followed by Ord and a few of the men, went in search of the apparition. 
 The moans of some animal in pain directed me to the spot, and there I 
 found the corpse <of Teobaldo dug, apparently, out of the shallow grave in 
 which his murderer had placed him, by the old hound which I had observed 
 to follow the Gaucho on the previous evening. The poor animal was des- 
 perately wounded, and had been, probably, left for dead by Leonardo. A 
 dead vulture lay beside the body, which the faithful dog had evidently 
 slain, to prevent its feasting on the flesh of his master. As an act of 
 kindness I ordered the dying creature to be put out of pain, and, laying 
 him beside the corpse, caused the two bodies to be covered with the light 
 mould. 
 
 All this while Ord gazed upon the scene with stupid wonderment, 
 seeming at length to have sunk into a state of mental torpidity. There 
 was now, however, no time to attend to any thing save the object of our 
 march, which we would attain in half an hour, We were accordingly 
 
a Tale of the Pampas. 167 
 
 proceeding steadily and in silence, when a boy on foot, breathless and 
 terrified, rushed almost under the feet of the horses, shouting " los Indies ! 
 los Indies !" A confused movement took place in our little troop, and it 
 was evident that they were only restrained from flight by not knowing on 
 which side they were most likely to escape the enemy. A hundred 
 inquiries, exclamations, and curses burst from the men ; all subordination 
 was at an end, and, heedless of the commands of their officers, they began 
 to cluster confusedly together to canvass the best means of escape. The 
 sight roused Ord from his apathy, and seemed to have restored him to 
 sanity ; he threw himself among the men, and by commands, entreaties^ 
 and ridicule of their cowardice, succeeded at length in reducing them to 
 order. He then called for the boy, who was found crouching about among 
 the horses, trembling with terror. For some time I was too much occupied 
 by surprise and pleasure at the sudden change in Ord 1 s behaviour, to attend 
 to the questions which were put to the lad, and to which he could only be 
 got to answer, in accents of utter horror, "Si, Senor, si! los Indies'! los 
 Indies !" Yes, Sefior, yes ! the Indians ! the Indians!" At length, the 
 tones of the boy's voice struck me as being familiar to me, and, on looking 
 at him, I recognised my guide to the Gaucho hut. When I had got him 
 somewhat pacified and reassured, I asked him how his friends were, at the 
 hut. "All murdered!" answered the poor boy, with a shudder of extreme 
 horror. "Good God!" exclaimed Sefior Echivera ; " and my child ! is she 
 murdered too ? Say that she is safe, boy, and thou shalt have a thousand 
 dollars for the word." 
 
 Terror, had, however, so completely paralyzed the boy, that he could 
 utter nothing but " los Indies !" 
 
 Perhaps half an hour elapsed before we procured any further information 
 from him, during which time, so still were the men, that I could hear the 
 bridles ringing from the trembling of their hands ; yet they were all men who 
 would fearlessly have engaged in single combat, with their murderous knives, 
 if any one but a mounted Indian were their antagonist. 
 
 We had felt for some time the smell of smoke drifted down the breeze 
 towards us, and suddenly a bright sheet of flame illuminated the sky. " It 
 is the cottage where I was born !" said the lad, with a burst of that feeling 
 which is strong among the dwellers in the wilderness. 
 
 A terrible suspicion shot through my mind that the Donna Louisa might 
 still be in the hut, and, unless we rescued her, be burnt to death in the con- 
 flagration. "A hundred dollars to the man who first reaches the hut !" I 
 cried, as, dashing the spurs up to the rowel heads, I flew over the waste. I 
 was followed only by Ord, Senor Echivera, and the captain of the troop, 
 a gallant young Gaucho. The rest remained irresolute. We urged' our 
 horses in silence towards the light, and in less than ten minutes reached the 
 burning hut, which, lying in a hollow, had been hitherto concealed from us. 
 
 The Indians were gone, but there was a scene of bloodshed and horror 
 before us, such as these savage warriors could alone have produced. The 
 stakes of the corral had been broken or pulled up, and piled about the roof 
 and walls of the hut, in order to insure its utter destruction. Horses 
 slaughtered, or hamstrung, lay about on the ground which had formerly 
 been enclosed by the stakes ; an occasional plunge from a dying steed in 
 the sea of blood which surrounded him, being the only proof that the dark 
 group had once been endowed with vitality. Nearer the hut, and glim- 
 mering ghastly in the lurid light of the burning rafters, lay a heap of women 
 and children, whose gashed limbs and battered heads gave hideous proof of 
 the savage barbarity of their murderers. In turning over the bodies, I 
 recognised the corpse of the old cook and the other women, but neither 
 that of the mulatto girl nor of Donna Louisa was there. The Indians 
 always carry off the young and good-looking females, butchering the old 
 and the ugly together with the men and the children. 
 
 Rather to escape from the piercing lamentations of the old merchant, arid 
 
168 The Gauchos; 
 
 the fatuitous insensibility of Orel, than with any hope of making further 
 discoveries, I went round to the other side of the cottage. One end of it 
 had not yet caught fire, and on the ground beneath the shadow of the wall 
 lay some dark and bulky figure. Striking it with the end of my rifle, I 
 thought I heard a low stifled groan, and, bending down to look at it, I 
 encountered the dark eyes of an Indian rolling within an inch or two of my 
 own ! I sprang back, and'-drawing a pistol, was about to discharge it, when 
 the flame, suddenly leaping up again, showed me that the poor wretch was 
 completely disabled. The distorted appearance of his legs proved that they 
 were both broken ; and he was literally pinned to his horse by a long spear, 
 which, passing through the fleshy part of his thigh, had been driven into the 
 very body of the steed. I was so struck with his calm unquailing glance 
 as he saw the pistol within a yard of his head, and the astonishing resolution 
 which could cause him to be silent under the excruciating torture which he 
 must be suffering, that I remained silent for a time, and returned the pistol 
 to my belt. 
 
 At length I addressed him in Spanish ; for many of the Indians, in times 
 of peace, acquire some knowledge of the language by frequenting the 
 Spanish towns. He clearly understood my questions, but, either from pain 
 or obstinacy, answered nothing but their usual monosyllable " ugh ?" The 
 sound of my voice had drawn my companions to me, however, and the 
 young Gaucho captain presently found a way to make him more com- 
 municative. Unsheathing his knife, and placing its point on the naked 
 side of the Indian, he said " If thou wilt answer me a few questions relating 
 to this outrage, I will put thee out of pain on the spot ; but if thou art 
 silent, this shall be thy place of abode till the vultures feel that thy hand is 
 powerless, and pick thy flesh^ whilst thou art still alive. Speak, Indian ! 
 wilt thou accept my offer?" 
 
 " A brave warrior fears not death, in whatever shape, and Sangluca is 
 among the bravest of his tribe," answered the Indian, in a sweet, low, 
 musical voice, unbroken by suffering or fear." But a brave warrior may 
 desire to die before his courage is decayed by weakness ; and when he can 
 no longer hurl the bolas or the spear, he may wish to sleep in peace with 
 his fathers," said the Gaucho, adopting the peculiar phraseology of the In- 
 dians. 
 
 " Yes !" said the Indian, as if soliloquizing aloud ; " Yes ! Sangluca is 
 brave. Many are the lions he has slaughtered in the chase ; the pale faces 
 have often gilded his knife with their best blood. The wild colts feared his 
 lasso : his balls flew through the fronts of the strongest bulls of the herd. 
 Yes ! Sangluca is brave." 
 
 " Heretic !" said the Gaucho, " wilt thou accept my offer ? It is of little 
 consequence, Senor," continued he, turning to me, " whether we put him 
 out of the world now or to-morrow, seeing that he is inevitably damned 
 throughout a hot eternity. But I wish to be certain if any were carried 
 away alive, and this spear, on which he lies as if it were a bed of sheep- 
 skins, can only have been thrown by an Indian. But they will never an- 
 swer straight out ; one must go about as if one were getting the wind of 
 a gama in the hill-grounds, "in order to procure an answer from them." 
 He again addressed the wounded Indian. " The red man boasts that he 
 has slain Christians ; a Christian arm has at last revenged his friends." 
 
 " The pale faces cannot throw the Indian spear," cried he, quickly, and 
 with scorn ; " it was the friend of my bosom who drove the steel through 
 my body. We fought for the dark-eyed maiden ; he bore away the prize, I 
 fell, but it was by a brave man's hand." 
 
 " Miscreant !" cried Senor Echivera ; " has then an accursed savage 
 borne away my child ? Oh God ! my only child ! She, tenderly nurtured, 
 to follow a horde of murderers ! to suffer cold, hunger, fatigue, the rage of 
 her possessors " He stopped, overcome with the idea of the suffer- 
 ings which he had enumerated, and of others which were too horrible for a 
 
a Tale of the Pampas. 1G9 
 
 father to speak of; and falling heavily down on the grass, he abandoned 
 himself to despair. The Indian, who saw with astonishment this display of 
 emotion, contemplated the wretched father with some scorn, and at length 
 said, " She will be the wife of a brave man. Her offspring will not use 
 the effeminate saddle, nor dwell in cities. They will sleep on the plains, 
 hunt the lion and the ostrich, and slaughter the pale faces/' 
 
 " Dog of a heretic !" cried the Gaucho, passing his knife into the body 
 of the Indian, " seek the father of such sentiments in hell, whither thou wilt 
 shortly find thyself." 
 
 A gleam of triumph passed over the features of the dying warrior ; he 
 raised his long spear which had till now lain by his side, and pointing to 
 the stars, he exclaimed, " The God of the Indians has no hell! Behold 
 the spirits of my forefathers careering through the hunting-grounds of Pa- 
 radise ! Shortly I shall be with them. They will welcome me to the 
 chase. Bring a fleet steed, they will cry, for Sangluca ; he was brave ; 
 he slew many pale faces !" 
 
 He folded his arms composedly on his breast, and closed his eyes, as if 
 waiting for death. I thought he was gone, and stirred him with his own 
 spear shaft. He opened his large black eyes quietly, and said, " It is plea- 
 sant for an Indian warrior to die by the light of the burning hut of the pale 
 face ! the sight of the Christians whom he has slain is very pleasant to a 
 dying red man !" 
 
 The Gaucho again passed his knife, and in a more mortal direction, into 
 the body of the utterer of these horrible sentiments ; and he stirred no more. 
 
 While I stood, with folded arms, gazing on the dead warrior, and musing 
 on the strange perversion of heart which the education of a savage pro- 
 duces, I was startled by a scream from Senor Echivera, and looking up, I 
 beheld a blackened and scorched form staggering forth from the burning 
 ruins of the hut. He held a long knife in his grasp, and his face and breast 
 were marked with gashes half hidden by clotted blood, which seemed baked 
 hard by the heat. He turned a wild and unsteady glance on each of us ; 
 then, turning to the old merchant, who had risen and recoiled from the re- 
 volting figure, he said, " Don Jose ! I am Leonardo !" Another scream 
 of terror was the wretched old man's only answer to this announcement. 
 " I am that Leonardo," he continued, with bitter energy, " whose mother 
 your father betrayed, whom your mother cheated of his honour and his 
 
 Eatrimony, and drove from his home. But I have given your heart to ever- 
 isting misery ; I have given your daughter your only child to a wild 
 Indian, and 1 am revenged ! Will the hoards which you have accumulated 
 relieve your present and future anguish? No more than that anguish will 
 wash my son's blood from my hands, or restore my slaughtered family to 
 life, or quench the flames of my house. Yet, I am revenged, though the 
 knife which has reached you has severed my own heartstrings ! Insolent 
 boy !" continued he, turning to Ord, " on thee, too, I am revenged ; I have 
 taught thee how a Gaucho retaliates a blow !" 
 
 At this moment my friend was standing within a few yards of the smoking 
 hut, and as the Gaucho, as if to give force to his words, approached 
 him, he drew a pistol from his belt, and shot the ruffian through the body. 
 He staggered back a few paces, but collected himself at length, and, rush- 
 ing up to my unhappy friend, drove his knife deep into his side. Then 
 closing his arms round him, he murmured, " This for Teobaldo !" and 
 springing up in the agony of the death-pang, he buried himself and his 
 victim in the burning ruins. 
 
 At that moment part of the roof, covered with flaming rafters, fell in 
 upon them, so that it was impossible for us to reach thenf, and in a few 
 moments the sparks of fire, and the burning brands, which were tossed 
 upwards, becoming still, showed that at length their struggles were over 
 for ever ! 
 
 Feb. VOL, XL, NO, CLVIII. N 
 
SCENES FROM THE ALCESTIS OF ALF1ERI. 
 
 BY MRS. HEMANS. 
 
 THE " Alcestis" of Alfieri is said to have been the last tragedy he 
 composed, and is distinguished, in a remarkable degree, by that ten- 
 derness of which his former works present so few examples. It would 
 appear as if the pure and exalted affection, by which the impetuosity of 
 his fiery spirit was ameliorated during the latter years of his life, had 
 impressed its whole character on this work, as a record of that domestic 
 happiness in whose bosom his heart at length found a resting place. Most 
 of his earlier writings bear witness to that " fever at the core," that 
 burning impatience of restraint, and those incessant and untarneable 
 aspirations after a wider sphere of action, by which his youth was con- 
 sumed; but the poetry of " Alcestis " must find its echo in every 
 heart which has known the power of domestic ties, or felt the bitterness 
 of their dissolution. The interest of the piece, however, though entirely 
 domestic, is not for a moment allowed to languish, nor does the con- 
 jugal affection, which forms the main-spring of the action, ever degene- 
 rate into the pastoral insipidity of Metastasio. The character of Alces- 
 tis herself, with all its lofty fortitude, heroic affection, and subdued 
 anguish, powerfully recalls to our imagination the calm and tempered 
 majesty distinguishing the masterpieces of Greek sculpture, in which 
 the expression of mental or bodily suffering is never allowed to transgress 
 the limits of beauty and sublimity. The union of dignity and affliction 
 impressing more than earthly grandeur on the countenance of Niobe, 
 would be, perhaps, the best illustration of this analogy. 
 
 The following scene, in which Alcestis announces to Pheres, the father 
 of Admetus, the terms upon which the oracle of Delphos has declared 
 that his son may be restored, has seldom been surpassed by the author, 
 even in his most celebrated productions. It is, however, to be feared 
 that little of its beauty can be transfused into translation, as the severity 
 of a style so completely devoid of imagery must render it dependent, for 
 many incommunicable attractions, upon the melody of the original 
 language. 
 
 SCENES FROM THE " ALCESTIS" OF ALFIERI. 
 4d I Scene II. 
 
 ALCESTIS PHERES. 
 
 Alcestis. Weep thou no more. O, monarch dry thy tears, 
 For know, he shall not die ; not now shall Fate 
 Bereave thee of thy son. 
 
 Pheres. What mean thy words ? 
 
 Hath then Apollo is there then a hope ? 
 
 Alcestis. Yes, hope for thee, hope, by the voice pronounced 
 From the prophetic cave. Nor would I yield 
 To other lips the tidings, meet alone 
 For thee to hear from mine. 
 
 Pheres. But say, oh ; say, 
 
 Shall, then, my son be spared ? 
 
TWO SONNETS. 
 
 BY MRS. MARDYN, FORMERLY OF DRURY'LANE THEATRE. 
 
 To THE MORNING STAR. 
 
 MEEK Hermit of the Sphere ! whose watch-fire bright 
 
 Is kindled late and lofty in the skies, 
 When sink such weary stars as wait on night, 
 
 In lonely loveliness I mark thee rise. 
 
 So fair, like rains of silver, falls thy sheen 
 So sighing-soft the airs which steal around, 
 
 I muse enamoured of the peaceful scene, 
 Nor ask a gaudier light, a bolder sound. 
 
 Nay, when meridian suns their glory shed, 
 Planet of milder beam ! for thee I mourn ! 
 
 So the wild maid in sylvan cabin bred, 
 
 If thence to courtly crowds and splendour borne, 
 Amidst the blaze will oft invoke, with tears, 
 The calm simplicity of earlier years. 
 
 THE WANDERER. 
 Written at Genoa, in November, 1822. 
 
 The roving merchant, whom a froward fate 
 Long years divorces from his native land, 
 
 May cheerly trace Magellan's ice-girt strait, 
 Or patient traverse Barca's burning sand ; 
 
 For Hope, whene'er his vent'rous spirit faints, 
 Sheds her rich colours o'er the present bourne, 
 
 And in the far perspective gaily paints 
 A home of loves to greet his fond return. 
 
 But ah ! for her whose home lies fallen low 
 Whose social ties with life are rent in twain 
 
 Nor kin nor friend a hermit in her woe 
 What, charm may that faint wanderer's heart sustain ? 
 
 E'en Hope no more the rainbow dares illume, 
 
 But veils her brow and muses o'er a tomb ! 
 
LOS PUELCHES ; OR, THE PAMPA INDIANS. 
 
 " THERE is something," says Washington Irving, " in the character 
 and habits of the North American Indian, taken in connexion with the 
 scenery over which he is accustomed to range, its vast lakes, boundless 
 forests, majestic rivers, and trackless plains, that is to my mind won- 
 derfully striking and sublime." I know not if the observation of the 
 elegant writer I have just quoted does not still more forcibly apply to 
 the aboriginal inhabitants of the southern portion of the American con- 
 tinent, many of whose tribes have to this day maintained that proud 
 independence, the main pillar of savage virtue, and whose lofty spirits 
 have never yet been humiliated and debased by a sense of inferiority, or 
 corrupted by the withering breath of civilization. And yet, notwith- 
 standing that the man of savage life presents to the philosopher so inte- 
 resting a field for study and research, it is really singular how few and 
 barren are the facts we are in possession of concerning him. The early 
 conquerors of America, and even the missionaries, have never given us 
 a true and faithful description of these [people ; and, with the view of 
 magnifying their own exploits, have grossly exaggerated the number of 
 Indian nations, and disfigured their character by ridiculous stories of 
 barbarism and cannibalism, which, even to this day, are accredited by 
 the ignorant vulgar. At the period of the conquest, the territory at pre- 
 sent constituting a part of the Argentine republic, that of the Cisplatina 
 republic, or the Banda Oriental, and the southern portion of the 
 dominions of the Dictator Francia, were inhabited by the following 
 nations : The Charnas, Yaros, Bohanes, Chanos, Minurnes, and the 
 Pampas. Although the most perfect physical resemblance existed be- 
 tween all these tribes, they were strongly contradistinguished both in 
 manners and language. The Pampas the subject of the present paper, 
 and who have cost the Spaniards more blood than all the armies of 
 the Peruvian Incas, or those of the Mexican Montezuma led a wan- 
 dering life between the thirty-sixth and thirty-ninth degrees of latitude ; 
 they were first known by the name of Querandis or Puelches, because 
 every division of the nation has its own distinctive appellation, and 
 which in consequence led to the erroneous supposition that they were so 
 many distinct tribes. This nation opposed the invaders with such obsti- 
 nate pertinacity, that, after experiencing a considerable loss, they obliged 
 them to abandon their newly-founded city of Buenos Ayres. But, 
 struck with the importance of the position, the Spaniards came a 
 second time, and being strong in cavalry, at that period an arm as terrible 
 to the Indians as they have since made it to their Spanish oppressors, 
 the Pampas were unable to resist, and retired to the territory they have 
 since inhabited, where they exist by hunting the yatoo, the hare, 
 and the ostrich, which on these boundless plains are found in great 
 abundance*. But in a very short time after the arrival of the Spaniards, 
 
 * Before the revolution, it was computed that there existed in the province of 
 Buenos Ayres twelve million oxen, and three to four million horses, without 
 comprising the innumerable herds of wild cattle without proprietors. At that 
 period, and even at the present day, an ox was frequently killed for its tongue and 
 hide, and the carcass left for the vultures of the plains. 
 
Los Puekhes ; or, the Pampa Indians. 79 
 
 the wild horses had multiplied to such an astonishing degree, that the 
 Pampas hegan to catch them ; and their flesh,being found palatable, has 
 since constituted their ordinary food. The Spaniards, on the other 
 hand, deriving an immense commerce from the hides and tallow of these 
 wild animals, soon thinned the numerous herds that extended on the 
 west to the Cordillera, and on the south to the very confines of Pata- 
 gonia, Thus the Pampas, deprived of their ordinary means of subsist- 
 ence, began to make incursions into the Spanish territory inde bellum ; 
 hence the origin of those bloody wars that have ever since almost con- 
 tinually raged between the Pampas and the descendants of Spaniards ; 
 in the course of which whole provinces have been laid waste by their de- 
 vastating fury, the communication between Buenos and Chile frequently 
 interrupted, and the safety of that city itself more than once endangered. 
 And yet the number of these warriors, who have so long set at defiance 
 the Spanish power, never exceeded a thousand. Living constantly in 
 the open air, naked, and subsisting on horse-flesh, prizing beyond every- 
 thing else their savage independence, these children of Nature present a 
 singular and interesting contrast to the condition of their fellow men in 
 civilized society, whose numerous trammels and complicated misery so 
 justify the observation of Lucan, that 
 
 " Faucis humanum vivit genus." 
 
 In person the Pampa is about six feet high, strongly limbed, with a 
 broad flat countenance, wearing an habitual expression of melancholy 
 and sternness. Neither the men nor the women ever cut or comb their 
 hair ; the former bring it up to a point, and tie it with a thong round 
 their head ; the latter part it on the forehead a la Vierge, making with the 
 ends two thick tails, which fall back over the neck and the arms. When 
 in the Pampas both sexes go nearly naked ; but those who, during the 
 moments of truce that sometimes prevail, come down to Buenos Ayres, 
 adopt the poncho, which they ornament in a rude fashion with bones 
 and feathers. Every chief inhabits a separate district, which they 
 change as soon as forage becomes scarce, for they are unacquainted with 
 even the simplest elements of agriculture. Laws they have none ; and 
 their religion is of so complicated a nature, as to render it doubtful 
 if they possess any exact notions of a Supreme Being ; but that they 
 believe in a future state is evident by their funeral rites, and their ideas of 
 the pleasures of Paradise; these they make consist in hunting the gama 
 and the ostrich during the day, and in carousing through the night. 
 Thus, on the death of an Indian, his bolas and his favourite steeds are 
 slaughtered and buried with him, and also a large portion of the strong 
 fermented liquor distilled from the cactus, of which they are so passion- 
 ately fond. Polygamy, so common among the other Indian nations, is 
 rarely found among the Pampas, so that the social condition of their 
 women is infinitely superior to that of those of the other tribes. 
 
 But it is in their system of warfare that these hardy children of 
 Nature will excite our liveliest admiration, by a display of daring intre- 
 pidity, a lofty contempt of death, unsurpassed by any people who have 
 ever existed*. Strange as it may appear, with the use of the bow they 
 
 * Azara relates the following anecdote of the courage of these Indians : Five 
 of them, -who had been made prisoners, were put on board a line-of-battle ship, and 
 
SO Los Piiekhes; or, Ihe Pampa Indians. 
 
 are perfectly unacquainted. At the period of the conquest they made 
 use of the javelin, which they either hurled, or used hand to hand in 
 close combat ; but on becoming a nation of horsemen, they have con- 
 verted this weapon into a formidable lance, eighteen to twenty feet in 
 length, which they use with singular dexterity. The peculiar arm of 
 the Pampas is the bolas * and the lasso ; with the former he can, when 
 at full gallop, strike an object at 150 paces distance; or again, when the 
 object is nearer, they strike it without letting go the thong to which the 
 ball is attached. It was with this singular arm that they captured and 
 put to death Don Diego de Mendoza (the brother of the founder of Buenos 
 Ayres) and the whole of his staff; and, by attaching bundles of burning 
 straw to these missiles, they once succeeded in setting fire to several 
 .houses at Buenos Ayres, and even burnt some ships in the harbour. 
 
 When they have determined on a warlike expedition, they imme- 
 diately hide their women, and then set forward with the speed of the 
 Pampero wind of their native plains, driving before them herds of wild 
 horses, which enable them to execute marches which, for rapidity and 
 length, will appear incredible in Europe. On approaching the enemy's 
 territory, they detach some scouts on their front and flanks to reconnoitre. 
 These men then advance with the greatest precaution, crouching down 
 beneath their horses' bellies, and stopping every now and then to allow 
 them to graze, the better to deceive the enemy ; for this reason the In- 
 dian horses are never bitted. Sometimes they will advance crawling on 
 their hands and knees, and, having completed their reconnoissance of the 
 hut, the object of attack, they gallop back to the main body, taking 
 care, if discovered, to take an opposite direction. When all is ready for 
 the attack, they dash forward with the fury of demons, striking their 
 mouths with their bridle hands, and, setting up a wild scream that 
 strikes terror into the stoutest heart, set fire to the hut, and murder all 
 without discrimination, "reserving only the young and beautiful females, 
 whom they carry off in triumph to their inhospitable deserts. 
 
 Yet, in spite of all, there must be either some charm unknown to us 
 children of civilization in the wandering life of the desert, or, on the 
 other hand, there must be more soil in the heart of the Pampa Indian 
 for the growth of the all-generous sympathies and affections of our nature 
 than is usually ascribed to him ; for there exist numerous instances of 
 women thus carried off by the Indians, who have refused, after some 
 years' experience, to return to the civilized habits of their infancy. 
 There is also another feature in the mode of life of these Indians which 
 appears to have escaped the attention of the philosopher, and this is the 
 revolution produced in their manners by the introduction of the horse 
 among them. Although at present ignorant of the simplest rudiments 
 of agriculture, the peculiar nature of the country they inhabit would, 
 without the use of this useful quadruped, have rendered an existence by 
 
 sent to sea. On clearing the mouth of the Plate, the captain allowed them to come 
 on deck, when one of them, approaching a corporal of marines, and, observing him 
 off his guard, seized his arms and immediately killed two pilots and fourteen 
 sailors. The four others attempted also to seize some arms, but, failing in the 
 attempt, they threw themselves into the sea, and perished. 
 
 * Both these arms have been so often described, that it is unnecessary to recur to 
 them here. The lasso, however, is not of American origin like the bolas. Mention 
 of it will be fouud in Herodotus, in his catalogue of the invading army of Greece 
 under Xerxes. 
 
Los Puelches ; or, the Pampa Indians. 81 
 
 the chase so very precarious, as to convince us of the impossibility 
 of its being their only means of subsistence. Again, the paucity of 
 the lactiferous animals, and the consequent absence of pastoral na- 
 tions in the New World, offers a powerful argument against the theory 
 which would people America from Eastern Asia, for it is hardly to be 
 supposed that any of the pastoral hordes of Tartary would emigrate 
 across the Strait of Behring, without carrying with them a supply of 
 those cattle on which their whole subsistence depended. That America 
 was admirably suited for the propagation of them is proved by the ex- 
 traordinary herds of wild cattle and horses which have overrun the 
 plains from the few originally carried over by the Spaniards. Be this 
 as it may, certain it is that the introduction of the horse has completely 
 revolutionized the mode of life of the Pampa Indian. So identified is 
 he become with this animal, that almost every occupation of his life is 
 performed on horseback, to such an extent, that on foot lie is literally 
 the most useless animal in existence. 
 
 For the defence of their frontiers against the incursions of these sa- 
 vages, the Buenos Ayrean Government had established a chain of posts 
 along the Indian frontier, but they proved ineffectual in checking the 
 depredations of the Indian, which were more frequent in ratio as the 
 immense herds of cattle became thinned, a circumstance which the late 
 revolutionary war had greatly increased. About eighteen months ago, they 
 accordingly despatched an army under the command of Manoel Rozas, 
 for the purpose of ridding themselves of the scourge that had so long- 
 been the terror of their frontier line. The result was crowned by the 
 most signal success ; the once formidable Puelches have been nearly 
 exterminated, and their scattered remnants driven into the inaccessible 
 fastnesses of the Andes. 
 
 Once, on my return from an excursion to a large Estancia, situated in 
 the very heart of the Pampas, our party, while pushing on at a rapid pace, 
 to gain the next station before night-fall, observed, as the sun was casting 
 its lengthening shadows across the plain, a single horseman spurring 
 towards us at a furious rate, from a hut which we had left about half a 
 league on our right. From the signs which the man kept making, and 
 his furious exertions to come up with us, we deemed that he might have 
 something important to communicate ; we accordingly drew bridle until 
 he had joined us. " Viva Dios" exclaimed the Gaucho, courteously 
 doffing his montero " Viva Dios, cavalleros ; fortunate for you is it 
 that you passed within sight of my hut, or, by our Lady del Carmen, 
 not one of you would see to-morrow's sun ; for know ye that the In- 
 dians are scouring the neighbourhood ; they have already burnt several 
 huts, murdered their inmates, and driven off the cattle. Return, there- 
 fore, to my hut, if you wish to see again the mothers who bore you ; and 
 there you will find a party of dragones a cavallo, (dragons on horse- 
 back,) on their march toone of the frontier posts, whose Commander has 
 deemed it prudent to halt till the barbaros have retired into the desert." 
 The latter part of this unexpected communication convinced us that it 
 would be madness to proceed ; we therefore galloped towards the hut. 
 
 The hut proved more spacious than the generality of the Gauchos' 
 habitations, and was surrounded by a ditch. Before its principal en- 
 trance a party of troopers and Gauchos were lounging about, smoking 
 their cigars ; and the corral, about a hundred paces off, was literally 
 
 Sept. VOL. XLII. NO. CLXV. G 
 
82 ^ Los Puelches ; or the Pampa Indians. 
 
 crowded with cattle. On alighting, the two officers commanding the 
 cavalry detachment came out, and, corroborating the intelligence of our 
 guide, politely invited us to enter the hut. On entering the principal 
 apartment of this rude habitation, the' scene that presented itself was 
 singularly wild and picturesque. The red glare of a charcoal fire threw 
 put in fearful relievo the groups of savage-looking figures that occupied 
 it. In one corner was a party of troopers busily engaged in cleaning 
 and examining the locks of their carbines ; in another, a group of women 
 and children, the latter of whom were playing with two large and fierce 
 dogs of the blood-hound breed ; and in the centre, a party of Gauchos, 
 stretched upon the ground, were playing at monte ; while around the 
 walls were arranged the different implements of war and the chase. In 
 this hut I passed nearly a week, and, anxious as I was to reach the city, 
 I did not regret a delay that afforded me so fine an opportunity of study- 
 ing the manners of the Gauchos to an European, a race, from their wild, 
 predatory existence, almost as interesting as the Indians themselves. 
 
 Although personally brave, and among the finest horsemen in the uni- 
 verse, the Gauchos frankly own their inferiority to their Indian foes, and 
 quail before their whirlwind charge on the open plain. Yet under cover 
 of their huts, and by the aid of a few fire-arms, a mere handful of these 
 men have, over and over again, repulsed a host of Indians. On the 
 present occasion, these fiery spirits sought, by the attraction of play, to 
 dispel the ennui of their confinement (for, while the Indians were in the 
 neighbourhood, none dared stir beyond the precincts of the hut) ; and 
 the gam a, the lion, and the ostrich ranged their boundless plains, unpur- 
 sued by the flying bolas or the fatal lasso. Seated on the skeletons of 
 horses' heads, these singular beings would literally pass the whole day 
 at their favourite game of monte : each man had his naked knife beside 
 him, as an ultima ratio, in case of dispute ; and it was both curious and 
 interesting to remark how accurately you could read the alternate turns 
 of good and ill luck, by the varying hues of their dark, handsome coun- 
 tenances. On the approach of night, the whole party withdrew within 
 the hut the evenings were passed in listening to stories of the War of 
 Independence two of the troopers having served in every action from 
 Maipo down to the decisive victory of Ayacucho, which sealed the inde- 
 pendence of Spanish America. On the conclusion of the recital of some 
 brilliant exploit, the whole party would sing, con amore, a stanza of the 
 patriot hymn 
 
 " Con libertad protestamos vivir, 
 O con gloria juramos morir ! " 
 
 Sometimes a Gaucho would, to a guitar accompaniment, sing one of the 
 wild and beautiful ditties of the Pampas; the melodies of which airs 
 are simple and plaintive, and, when accompanied by the national dance, 
 the clashing of their huge, ponderous spurs, and the fiery, animated looks 
 of the dancers, impart to the whole scene a singularly wild and pic- 
 turesque effect. But the chief attraction of these reunions was the 
 tales of Indian warfare, which were listened to with intense and profound 
 attention. Many that I heard were so singular in their details, so heart- 
 rending in their catastrophes, that if only slightly embellished by the aid 
 of fiction, the popular tales of the Pampas would be read in this country 
 with profound interest ; as it was, the effect produced upon the assembled 
 party by these tales of blood was electric the women and children 
 
Los Puelches ; or, the Pampa Indians. 83 
 
 would draw closely together as if the Indian yell was already pealing in 
 their ear ; while the men, their dark countenances glowing like copper 
 exposed to the action of a furnace, would draw their long knife across 
 their gnashed teeth, and utter fearful exclamations of revenge. 
 
 On one occasion I ventured to hint that there might be some exag- 
 geration in these stories of Indian cruelty. 
 
 " Come here, Manuella," said our host, turning towards the group of 
 females that occupied one corner of the apartment " Come here, and 
 tell this foreign cavallero thine own bloody tale how the fierce Puel- 
 ches murdered all thy kindred, and how, by the misericordia di Dios, 
 thou escaped'st the dreadful fate that awaited thee." 
 
 The person thus addressed was a female, tall beyond the usual stan- 
 dard of the South American women, her age might have been forty ; 
 and her countenance, though bronzed by the winds and burning sun of 
 her native plains, was marked by a Grecian regularity of outline ; her 
 eyes were dark and lustrous, and a profusion of raven hair fell back 
 wildly on her neck and shoulders, reminding me strongly of one of the 
 dark creations of Velasquez or his pupil Murillo's pencil. 
 
 Manuella arose, and came and seated herself beside me. 
 
 " And is it then true," said I, addressing myself to her, " that you 
 have been an eye-witness of one of those bloody scenes such as this night 
 I have heard related ?" 
 
 " Si, Cavallero; and with the permission of those present will I relate 
 my tale." 
 
 " Prosigue con Dios, Manuella," exclaimed several of the party ; " it 
 is a story we never tire of hearing." 
 
 Thus encouraged, Manuella spoke as follows : 
 
 " Come next St. John's eve, it will be just four and twenty years 
 since the occurrence of the horrible catastrophe which robbed me of all 
 that endeared existence. I was at that time residing with my family in 
 a hut, on the western extremity of the clover ground, not far from the 
 post-road to Mendoza. Confiding in the long truce which had existed 
 with the Indians, my husband and father had neglected those precau- 
 tions of defence usually adopted on the Pampas. In this state of fatal 
 security we were one night awakened by the well-known Indian war-cry 
 Dios mib I Dios mio! Cavallero, those yells, to which the cries of the 
 damned must be joyous seguidillas those cries which tolled the knell of 
 my whole family, will for ever ring in my ears, were I to live for centu- 
 tries. Before we could recover from our surprise, the enemy had forced 
 the door of the hut, and commenced the work of extermination." 
 
 " And did they give no quarter?" said I, interrupting her. 
 
 " Quarter, indeed, Cavallero Si mataron a todos, hasta a los che- 
 quitos they murdered all, even the very infants. Yes, Cavallero, with 
 these eyes," and as she spoke she drew down her cheeks with both hands 
 till her eye-balls appeared starting from her head " with these eyes I 
 saw my aged mother dragged at a horse-tail round her burning dwelling 
 I saw my father and husband, after a brave defence, expire under the 
 most excruciating torments. But this was not all the w r orst still re- 
 mains to be told by the light of the moon, which grew pale at the 
 scene of blood, I saw the murdered body of my first born, mi querida 
 Manuelito, (my darling Manuella) borne high in the air, on the point of 
 an Indian lance, amid the frightful yells of the fiends, till, tired with 
 
 G 2 
 
81 Los Pit etches ; or, the Pampa Indians. 
 
 the sport, they tossed it as fuel into the flames ! Santa Madre di Dios /" 
 exclaimed this poor creature, in a tone of heart-rending anguish, and 
 burying her face in her hands " what had thy poor servant done to 
 draw down upon her head such signal vengeance ?" 
 
 " And yet, Manuella," said I, after a short pause, " you alone escaped, 
 to tell this dreadful tale." 
 
 '* Si, Senor, sola alone I escaped. Look upon this face on which 
 time and grief have made such fearful ravages por mis peccados it 
 was then as young and beautiful as it is now old and ugly. Si, Cavallero, 
 that fatal gift of beauty of which I was then so proud and vain, that 
 heaven in its wrath designed it an instrument of punishment that fatal 
 gift reserved me for a fate, to a buena Christiana, worse than a million 
 deaths to be the bride of one of those murderous dogs to drag on the 
 remainder of my wretched existence amid a race of descomulgados 
 Indios, who have ni fe, ni ley, ni rey /" 
 
 " Dreadful, indeed, Manuella, would have been thy fate!" I rejoined; 
 " but by what miracle did you escape ?" 
 
 u Senor, Dios es grande," she replied, crossing herself. " Although 
 the maidens of the Pampas, probably from the scenes of bloodshed to 
 which they are inured almost from their cradles, possess not the keen and 
 tender sensibilities of the damas of the city, still they can feel aye, 
 and acutely, too. When I saw the body of my murdered innocent tossed 
 into the flames that were consuming its father's feet, a sickening feeling 
 came over me that rendered me insensible to all around. I have some 
 indistinct recollection of being placed on a horse, and of sweeping away 
 across the Pampa, as if borne on the. wings of a Pampero wind but 
 beyond this I know nothing. When I came to my senses, I found 
 myself in a Gaucho hut, whose inmates found me lying on the plain, 
 abandoned by the Indians, who doubtless thought I had expired. Thus, 
 Senor, by the mercy of Our Lady did I escape." 
 
 " And* yet, Manuella," said I, breaking the pause which followed the 
 conclusion of the narrative, " you still continue to live on the Pampas; 
 bereaved as you now are of kindred, why not seek the quiet and protec- 
 tion of the city ?" 
 
 Manuella smiled bitterly. "What, Cavallero ! exchange the pure 
 breezes of the Pampas, for the close, sickly atmosphere of that human 
 charnel-house, the city ? Forego the cravings of revenge for the dull 
 stagnant quietude of its walls ? How little you know of our Gaucho 
 feelings ! Behold this knife," she continued with terrible energy, draw- 
 ing from her boot one of those long sharp weapons, while her whole 
 frame quivered with emotion ''behold this cuchillo I thrice has its 
 thirsty point drunk deeply of Indian blood, and, con la gracia di Dios, 
 it shall drink a long draught ere Manuella sleeps with her fathers !' : 
 
 I shuddered as she spoke, and soon after found that she had indeed 
 outlived every feeling but that of revenge. 
 
 I arose early on the following morning, and walked forth, eager to 
 exchange the close, confined atmosphere of the hut for the pure breezes 
 of the Pampas. The sun was just rising through the thick mists that still 
 hung over the Pampas like a pall ; the solemn stillness that prevailed the 
 boundless expanse of plain the numerous bones and skeletons that 
 surrounded the hut and corral, gave to the whole scene an air of savage 
 desolation. As I stood gazing upon the solemn scene, I was joined by 
 
Los Piielchcs ; or, the Pampa Indians. 85 
 
 the commander of the cavalry detachment, to whom I took the liberty of 
 suggesting the propriety of erecting a chevaux-dc-frise in the ditch, and 
 likewise a mde stockade at each angle of the hut, which, in case of an 
 attack, would enable us to enfilade the assailants. 
 
 " Such precautions I would not neglect," he replied, " had we a 
 skilful enemy in our front; but with the Indians they are unnecessary. 
 With your party we muster forty carbines, a single discharge of which 
 will send them back to their deserts, and open to you the road to the 
 capital, and to me my future quarters." 
 
 This officer told me that if they fell in with the Puelches on the open 
 plain, their only chance of safety would be to disperse and act en tirail- 
 leur. " The deepest formation," he added, " would be broken by their 
 furious charge; on the other hand, so terrified are the Indian horses at 
 the report of fire-arms, that a well-sustained fire will soon disperse 
 them." He related to me many curious anecdotes of this singular race. 
 
 The day passed as before, but not so the night. As I stood watching 
 the moon that was slowly sinking in the west, I observed on the extre- 
 mity of the horizon a dark spot; suddenly it expanded, and swept 
 towards us with the speed of the whirlwind. To me, this appeared but 
 some natural phenomenon of these regions but not so to Manuella, 
 who stood beside me she saw in this advancing cloud a body of hostile 
 Indians, and immediately gave the alarm. In an instant the door was 
 barricaded and every man at his post. Manuella, too, had hers, and 
 with a carbine I had lent her, appeared absolutely mad with revenge. 
 Suddenly a cry burst upon our ears, accompanied with a peculiar hollow 
 sound, which was produced by the Indians striking their bridle-hands 
 against their mouths, and which literally made the earth tremble. With 
 the fury of the tempest, they pushed their wild steeds to the edge of the 
 trench. But here, a well-directed fire, which brought down several, 
 checked their furious onslaught. With the rapidity of lightning, they 
 wheeled, re-formed, and returned to the charge ; but their second advance 
 was to carry off the bodies of their disabled comrades, which they did 
 by throwing their lassos over their bodies and dragging them after them 
 till out of the range of our fire. Never shall I forget the Indian war- 
 cry, or the horrid scene that followed their repulse. On issuing from 
 the hut, we discovered the bodies of two Indians which had been left 
 behind : both were quite dead ; but in an instant every Gaucho's knife 
 was buried in their bodies ; while Manuella, with hers reeking in their 
 blood, danced with fiendish joy upon their bodies, uttering wild excla- 
 mations of delight too dreadful to relate. 
 
 On the following morning I resumed my journey, and reached Buenos 
 Ayres without accident. The success which has attended the late expe- 
 dition of Manuel Rozas will have put an end to the barbarous warfare 
 that has so long desolated these regions, and rooted up every germ of 
 civilization almost as soon as planted. The spear of the Puelche is 
 broken ; in a few years he will exist but as an old tradition or a nurse's 
 tale. Or, if he should still be found, it will be with the mighty condor, 
 in the higher regions of the Cordilleras, where alone he can escape from 
 the persecutions of civilized man. 
 
( 86 ) 
 
 MONTHLY COMMENTARY. 
 
 Close of the SessionThe Display in Dublin Miss Martineau's Departure Re- 
 markable Deaths Eton School Negro Emancipation The Big Balloon 
 
 , The Moors and the Fields Bill to promote Immorality Cobbett's Consistency 
 New York in London Wealth and Mortality Our Monthly Salute. 
 
 CLOSE OF THE SESSION. A GREAT variety of events some highly 
 important have occurred during the past month; and however disin- 
 clined we may be, upon a general principle, to touch upon politics, it 
 would be highly unfair and unjust to our readers not to refer cursorily 
 at least to the proceedings in Parliament towards the latter end of the 
 session. 
 
 The Bill for the Admission of Dissenters was thrown out of the 
 House of Lords by a majority of 102, the numbers being 187 to 85. 
 The coincidence of the relative numbers in this division is very curious : 
 the Peers present, who voted for the Bill, were 38 ; and the proxies, 
 47 ; making together exactly the same number as there were Peers 
 present who voted against it. The majority against the Bill consisted of 
 85 present and 102 proxies, so that the actual majority against it was 
 precisely the same in amount as the proxies against it. The enemies of 
 proxies would perhaps adduce this as a reason inconclusive enough, we 
 must admit for the reformation of the proxy system ; but in reply to 
 such an argument, we have to observe that the majority of 85 to 38 
 peers present, is equally decisive in proportion. 
 
 The Lords passed the Poor Laws Amendment Bill after several 
 clauses had been added by the Duke of Wellington, which entirely 
 altered the spirit of the measure, as well as many of its most important 
 details. Under the operation of this Act, Mr. Frankland Lewis, Mem- 
 ber for Radnorshire (who vacates in consequence), has been appointed 
 Senior Commissioner for the management of the poor, together with 
 Mr. Shaw Lefevre and Mr. Nicholls. Mr. Frankland Lewis gets 
 2000/. per annum, with the patronage of appointing nine Deputy Com- 
 missioners at 500/. per annum and their travelling expenses. If the 
 Bill should not work well, (and it is generally considered impracticable,) 
 all these gentlemen will be entitled to retiring allowances. 
 
 The Lords threw out the Irish Tithe Bill, and at the recommendation 
 of the Lord Chancellor, rejected the Warwick Election Bill, which had 
 passed the Commons by a large majority. His Lordship, in so doing, 
 took occasion to eulogize Lord Warwick ; to declare his opinion that the 
 evidence before the House did not bear out the allegations contained in 
 the Bill; and moreover, that there was nothing illegal, dishonourable, or 
 unusual in the interference of Peers in elections : nevertheless, the House 
 of Commons subsequently, on the motion of Lord John Russell, decided 
 that no writ should issue to Warwick till next Session. 
 
 The King prorogued Parliament on the 1 5th, with a speech in which 
 there was about the usual number of words, but which was remarkable 
 for nothing but having produced one of the cleverest parodies in the 
 " Times" newspaper we ever read. It is so good that we are tempted to 
 submit it to our readers, some of whom may not have seen it : 
 
 MODEL OF A KING'S SPEECH. 
 
 My Lords and Gentlemen, It is with a deep sense of the exertion and 
 labour which you have bestowed in the prosecution of your pleasures that 
 
( 331 ) 
 
 FRANCIA, DICTATOR OF PARAGUAY. 
 
 BY THE HON. MRS. ERSKINE NORTON. 
 
 AMONG the great political changes that have taken place during the last 
 half-century, and which, for good or for evil, must necessarily influence the 
 condition of those who succeed us, to remote generations, few are more 
 interesting and important than the secession of the Spanish Colonies of 
 South America from the weak, yet oppressive sway of their mother 
 country. 
 
 At the time when the English colonies of North America achieved their 
 independence, and France was progressing in her frightful revolution, 
 Spain, in lieu of profiting by the lessons imparted by these events, and 
 which all who opened their eyes might read in lieu of turning her closest 
 attention towards her western empire, redressing its grievances, facilitating 
 and protecting its commerce, educating its youth, improving its laws and 
 institutions, and at the same time keeping it in due submission by the 
 strongest control of her authority and exertions of her power instead of 
 all this, what did she ? She continued to creep on in the old worn-out path, 
 to govern unjustly, injuriously, rapaciously, and at the same time so 
 weakly, that her colonies had only to will their freedom, and they were 
 free. With stupid wonder, Spain, herself on the verge of ruin, saw them 
 shake her yoke from their necks almost without an effort. 
 
 They obtained their liberty ; they did not exactly understand what that 
 was, but they were as proud and as pleased as though they did : still less 
 did they know what use to make of it, and instead of trying to find out, 
 they talked in their assemblies of Greece and Rome, Caesar, Pompey, and 
 the Gracchi gave themselves high-sounding republican titles quarrelled 
 with their neighbours and with each other and finally look at them 
 now at the expiration of five or six and twenty years, what are they ? a 
 mere prey to the spoiler. 
 
 These states are not fitted for republicanism : that form of government, 
 it would appear, suits best a nation in its first vigour, emerging from bar- 
 barism, while yet free from the taints of luxury and ambition. The States 
 of South America are not forming from the strength of youth, but from 
 the decrepitude of old age ; they are remnants of the two most degenerated 
 nations of Europe, the Spanish and the Portuguese, with their negro 
 mixtures. The Portuguese, it is true, have as yet no republic, but their 
 taste is decidedly that way. One cannot choose but laugh at spying the 
 pig-tail, huge cocked hat, and tarnished embroidery of the old Spaniard 
 and Portuguese protruding through the hastily-assumed toga of republican 
 Rome the ass in the lion's skin. 
 
 The author of this sketch will not apologise to her readers for presuming 
 that they know but little about either Paraguay or Francia. Not even the 
 detention of M. Bonpland, and the efforts made in Europe by his family for 
 his release, could attract the public attention towards this secluded terri- 
 tory and its ruler. A small volume has been published by Messrs. Menger 
 and Longchamps, Swiss gentlemen, travelling as naturalists, who were 
 detained at Assumption (the capital) as unjustly as was M. Bonpland, 
 from 1819 to 1825. This narrative is written with much good sense and 
 simplicity, and its account is confirmed by the information personally re- 
 ceived by the present writer from two other gentlemen who had been in 
 Paraguay, one of them as a detenu for five years. From these sources is 
 derived the following sketch, with the anecdotes which accompany it : 
 
 Paraguay is an inland state of nearly the size of England, with a salu- 
 brious climate and rich soil, watered by fine navigable rivers, with a popu- 
 lation of about five hundred thousand. 
 
 z 2 
 
332 Francia, Dictator of Paraguay. 
 
 After some puerile attempts to establish a few republican forms and 
 names, consuls, a legislative assembly, &c., the whole state sunk in the 
 short space of four years under the absolute controul of one master-mind; 
 Gaspard Roderick de Francia was created Dictator, at first for three years, 
 and at the expiration of that time for life. 
 
 Francia was born in Paraguay, and has never been beyond the Spanish 
 colonies of South America. "His father is supposed by many to have been 
 a Portuguese, but he prefers to have it believed that he is of French origin ; 
 his mother was a Creole of Paraguay, and he was one of several children. 
 
 He was intended for the Church, but his destination was changed, and 
 he embraced the profession of the law. He received the first rudiments of 
 his education from the monks at Assumption ; he then studied at the Uni- 
 versity of Cordova du Tucuman, where he was admitted Doctor of Theo- 
 logy, and he is usually denominated Doctor Francia. 
 
 In the exercise of his profession as a lawyer, and especially as a judge, 
 he was remarkable for his integrity and disinterestedness. He was elected 
 a Member of the Cabildo, and afterwards succeeded to the office ofAlcaldi. 
 He was exceedingly independent, flattered no party, and professed his sole 
 political object to be the entire separation of Paraguay from Spain, and 
 its formation into a republican state. 
 
 When the revolution was effected, a junta was established, to which 
 Francia was appointed secretary, with a deliberative voice ; but all was in 
 confusion ; the army, as usual on snch occasions, seemed inclined to take 
 the lead, and for a time terror and dissension alone prevailed. Francia, 
 however, at that critical moment, obtained an ascendancy he never after- 
 wards lost : his superior talents, address, and information were constantly 
 appealed to, and nothing of any importance could be transacted with- 
 out him. 
 
 At length it was settled that the government should be consular; Francia 
 and a colleague were appointed consuls for one year, each in supreme com- 
 mand for four months at a time ; Francia took care to secure to his share 
 the first and the last four months of the year. Two curule chairs were 
 prepared on this occasion ; upon one was inscribed the name of Caesar, 
 and on the other that of Pompey; Francia eagerly took possession of 
 the first. 
 
 But the grand blow yet remained to be struck ; by the most consummate 
 art and management, and by the influence he had obtained over the troops, 
 he got himself at the end of the year proclaimed Dictator, and, as before 
 said, at the end of three years. Dictator for life. The first nomination 
 took place in 1814, when Francia was about 53 years of age. 
 
 From the moment he found his footing firm, and his authority quietly 
 submitted to, his whole character appeared to undergo a remarkable 
 change : without faltering or hesitation, without a pause of human weak- 
 ness or a thrill of human feeling, he proceeded to frame perhaps the most 
 extraordinary despotism that has ever been submitted to. In Paraguay 
 there exist at present but two classes the Dictator forms one, and the 
 populace the other ; in the Dictator is lodged the whole power, legislative 
 and executive, of the state ; the populace has no power, and only one 
 duty to obey. All was done rapidly, boldly, and powerfully; he well 
 knew the character of the weak and ignorant people at whose head he had 
 placed himself, and who had had the temerity to presume that they pos- 
 sessed energy and virtue enough for a republic. 
 
 As the result of this remarkable effort, the middling orders are destroyed; 
 there is no gradation between the ruler and the people a man may be 
 richer or better educated than his neighbour ; but if these advantages be 
 not quite as useful to the Dictator as they are to their possessor, they only 
 render him liable to become an object of distrust and oppression. 
 
 Even that most difficult of all powers to control the power of a 
 bigotted but dissolute clergy over a deceived and ignorant people Francia 
 
Francia, Dictator of Paraguay. 333 
 
 has entirely mastered ; not a monastic institution now exists in Paraguay. 
 The poor old bishop appointed by Spain has been long in a state of derange- 
 ment, brought on by his horror at the revolution and its consequences ; his 
 place is filled by a vicar-general, a creature of the Dictator's. No proces- 
 sions of any kind are allowed to take place except that of the Fete Dieu, 
 and the Sabbath is the only religious holiday permitted to be observed. 
 The Dictator nominates all the curates throughout the country, and with- 
 draws them at his pleasure. He proclaims tnat every individual in Para- 
 guay may adopt any creed he pleases ; he may even be a Mahometan or a 
 deist anything but an atheist. 
 
 He has long since put an end altogether to the municipal body termed 
 the Cabildo, not only in the capital, but in every town in Paraguay ; in the 
 former he has replaced it by a couple of alcaldes, a fiel executor (head of 
 the police), and an advocate for minors ; they are all dependent on him in 
 every respect. 
 
 The Dictator is the sole receiver and disposer of all the revenues of the 
 state ; he observes great secresy concerning them, so that it has not yet 
 been found possible to make a just estimate of their amount. The minister 
 of finance is merely a principal clerk ; he cannot make the smallest pay- 
 ment, or the most trifling delivery of stores, without the authority of the 
 Dictator, whose economy is ludicrously minute. The only branch of ex- 
 penditure on which he appears to be liberal is the provision of the warlike 
 stores, which he is awarefin the event of an invasion, could not be pro- 
 cured ; but although the supply is amply kept up, it is only by oppress- 
 ing the foreign merchant or the native artizan. The salaries of the public 
 functionaries are very moderate many have none but their fees of office ; 
 the clergy are almost all supported by voluntary contributions. The 
 public works are carried on by prisoners, or by means of forced labour, the 
 master workmen alone receiving salaries. 
 
 The revenues of the state arise from tithes, a tax upon shops and store- 
 houses in the capital, an import and export duty, the sale duty, stamps, 
 postage of letters, fines, confiscations, the produce of the national domains 
 (which are very extensive), and the droit daubaine. 
 
 Of these taxes the most severe are the import duty and the droit d'au- 
 baine ; the latter is one of the most wicked and unjust oppressions of. this 
 nature ever invented : by it, the state becomes the heir of all foreigners 
 who die without legitimate children born in Paraguay. As the poor 
 stranger breathes his last, he beholds the myrmidons of government in 
 his house, taking inventories and affixing their seals he is obliged to de- 
 clare upon oath the amount of his property, without even deducting his 
 debts although he may be in the agonies of death, he is removed from 
 his bed into another apartment, while his chamber undergoes the same 
 scrutiny as the rest of his habitation ; if yet likely to live for a few days, 
 a small pittance is doled out from his own purse to supply him with mere 
 necessaries ; there is not left even sufficient for his interment, which is 
 usually done by subscription, while his widow and foreign-born orphans 
 are turned destitute from their roof. 
 
 The army is the Dictator's instrument of power it consists of only five 
 thousand regular troops and twenty thousand militia; the levies of both 
 carefully exclude young men of education, or who belong to wealthy fami- 
 lies. Among the regulars, all must serve at first, without exception, in 
 the ranks, from whence they are raised, at the pleasure and choice of the 
 Dictator, to fill the station of officers that is to say, of ensigns and lieu- 
 tenants, not more than half a dozen individuals at most possessing the 
 rank of captain, beyond which there is no promotion. A soldier of the 
 line can only be tried for any serious crime by the Dictator in person. 
 Very strict discipline is enforced in all that regards their conduct as sol- 
 'diers ; but when off duty, they are at perfect liberty, lead licentious lives, 
 and are seldom reprimanded for any misconduct towards the citizens. 
 
334 Francia, Dictator of Paraguay. 
 
 There are at the capital two kinds of prisons ; the public prison for cri- 
 minals and debtors, and the state prison for offenders against the govern- 
 ment. In the first, the prisoners are crowded together in the most un- 
 wholesome and miserable manner, without distinction of age, rank, sex, or 
 species of crime ; but their condition is not so hopeless and heart-breaking 
 as that of the state-prisoners, who languish for years in darkness, chains, 
 and solitude : not sickness, nor even the approach of death itself, occa- 
 sioning more than a slight amelioration in their treatment. A Doctor 
 Sabaler, who was as an especial favour allowed to be visited by one of the 
 Swiss travellers in his medical capacity, died with the grillos on his feet, 
 and was not allowed even to receive the sacrament. 
 
 But the most singular feature in the government of Francia is the per- 
 fect isolation in which he has succeeded in placing Paraguay. In the 
 attainment of this object he has been no doubt assisted by the peculiar 
 situation of the country : in the midst of an immense and thinly-populated 
 continent, it stands alone and impenetrable : its large rivers, extensive 
 forests and morasses, together with the vigilant measures adopted by the 
 Dictator, render it next to impossible for a single individual to escape from 
 his dominions ; the attempt is perilous in the extreme : those who make 
 it have to encounter the dangers of entirely losing every clue to their des- 
 tination in the wilds ; of being destroyed in one of the immense and frequent 
 conflagrations of the forest ; of excessive fatigue and exposure ; of starva- 
 tion, and of attacks from serpents, wild beasts, and savages : if they are 
 brought back, instant execution, or chains and imprisonment await them. 
 
 The only possibility of escape is during the time that the river Paraguay 
 overflows the surrounding plains ; it is then just practicable, and has been 
 effected : but the Swiss travellers give an interesting account of an attempt 
 to escape during that time, in 1 823, which failed. The fugitives, however, 
 showed great want of foresight in their preparations : they had neither 
 fire-arms nor fishing-tackle, both indispensable either to their defence or 
 .subsistence. The party consisted of a Mr. Escaffier, four free negroes, and 
 a negress in a state of pregnancy. One of the men died from fatigue, an- 
 other from the bite of a serpent ; at one time they were surrounded by a 
 conflagration, at another involved in an immense glade in the midst of a 
 -forest, where they wandered abont for fifteen days, seeking the only outlet 
 it contained, namely, the one by which they had entered it. At last they 
 were taken by a serjeant of militia; they were in so reduced a state that 
 the whole party were quite incapable of defending themselves against one 
 man : they were imprisoned and tortured, but ultimately treated with more 
 lenity than might have been expected. 
 
 This singular system of national imprisonment extends not only to the 
 natives of the free republic of Paraguay, but also in a most unjust and ex- 
 traordinary degree to the foreigners residing there. The two Swiss gentle- 
 men already alluded to were travelling for scientific purposes in these vast 
 and unknown regions. At Corrientes, which wasinastateof commotion,they 
 were detained eight months, before being permitted to re-embark on the 
 Parana, which conveyed them into Paraguay, and to Assumption, its ca- 
 pital, in July 1819. Here they were presented to the Dictator, and were 
 told not to concern themselves about his government, but in all other re- 
 spects to do as they pleased ; and it appears that no obstacle was thrown 
 in the way of their researches, for which long excursions into the country 
 must have been necessary. 
 
 In consequence of a conspiracy being detected, and of some other com- 
 motions on the frontier, occasioned by the banditti of Artigas, who after a 
 life of general plunder, upon all estates and parties, was forced to take 
 refuge in Paraguay from his own troops the port was closed, and all 
 foreign communication put an entire stop to. This was a sad blow to the 
 Europeans in Assumption, who now amounted to about forty persons, 
 English, French, Swiss, and Italian ; all merchants, except the two Swiss 
 
Francia, Dictator of Paraguay. 335 
 
 gentlemen and an English physician. Still, however, they experienced no 
 molestation, until the arrest of M. Bonpland, at his establishment on the 
 frontier, dispelled their illusion. The excuse was that he had held commu- 
 nication with the rebel troops of Artigas, and that his establishment was 
 formed less for commercial or scientific objects than to facilitate an inva- 
 sion. A party of his Indians were massacred by the soldiers of the Dic- 
 tator ; M. Bonpland himself, although apparently unarmed and unresist- 
 ing, was wounded ; his property was plundered, and, without any pity for his 
 sufferings, they conducted him with irons on his feet to Santa Maria. In 
 the course of this painful journey, he forgot, like a good Christian, that he 
 was among his enemies, and attended in his medical capacity the soldiers 
 whom the Indians had wounded in their own defence. However, as soon 
 as the Dictator was apprized of the treatment M. Bonpland had received, 
 he ordered his irons to be removed, and restored to him such of his pro- 
 perty as had escaped the plunder of the soldiers ; but he was not permitted 
 to come to the capital ; a residence was assigned to him near Santa Maria, 
 where he remained a prisoner for many years : the more interest that was 
 made for him, either by governments or individuals, the more Francia ap- 
 peared to rejoice at having him in his power. 
 
 At length, having received an official notification of the acknowledg- 
 ment of the South American Republics by England, accompanied by a 
 request that the English in Paraguay might be permitted to leave the 
 country whenever they pleased, with their effects, the Dictator ordered 
 them to get their vessels ready. The Swiss gentlemen thought it a 
 favourable moment to apply for the same benefit, which, after the delay of a 
 couple of months, when they were beginning quite to despair, was suddenly 
 granted. Passports were given to them at eleven o'clock in the forenoon, 
 with orders to sail by a vessel that was to depart at one the same day 
 two hours allowed them to settle their affairs, make their preparations, 
 and, above all, to pack up their collections of objects of natural history, 
 several of which were of a very fragile nature. There is no spur like 
 necessity. Leaving much in the hands of confidential persons, they went 
 on board and sailed at the prescribed hour, amidst the good wishes of a 
 multitude of spectators of all ranks ; after a sojourn of six years in Para- 
 guay two years voluntarily, and four by forcible detention. 
 
 While on the subject of the treatment of foreigners in Paraguay, it will 
 doubtless not be uninteresting to present an account of the reception there 
 of a countryman of our own. He is one of the two gentlemen (the detenu 
 for five years) already mentioned as having afforded to the writer of this 
 the advantage of personal information. The account which follows is in 
 his own words. 
 
 " It was late in the evening that the little sloop in which I took my 
 passage had entered the waters of Paraguay. On the approach of night 
 we secured our bark, as is the custom in that river, to a tree, in order to 
 await the dawn of the next morning. We had not been long in this situa- 
 tion, when a certain noise, repeated and answered at intervals, attracted our 
 notice. We had on board an Indian who was returning to his native 
 country, in the capacity of our pilot; he told us that the noise proceeded 
 from the encampment of a tribe of Indians who occupied the right bank 
 of the river, and were then at war with Paraguay. This intelligence 
 caused us some uneasiness. After supper, our men had scarcely retired to 
 rest when a canoe came rapidly down the stream, and was alongside before 
 the person on watch had discovered it. The noise made by him to arouse 
 the people, seemed to have alarmed the persons in the canoe ; they let go 
 our chains and were gliding along with the current, when my fowling-piece, 
 which happened to be at hand loaded with bird-shot, was discharged in 
 their direction ; they returned us the compliment once with ball, and left 
 us to digest as we might this nocturnal encounter. Presuming that they 
 would return during the night with additional force, we made some little 
 
336 Francia, Dictator of Paraguay. 
 
 preparation to receive them. We were not disturbed, however, until day- 
 break, when a canoe was seen coming up the stream : after a cautious 
 approach, the persons in it hailed, and came on board; they inquired who 
 was patron or master, and on the poor fellow going forward, they assaulted 
 him with their sabres in the most brutal manner. I inquired the cause of 
 such violent conduct; but the only answer I could get from them, was 
 the frequent repetition, in a very agitated manner, of the words ' You will 
 see presently/ 
 
 " I thought that our hour was come that the villains were going to 
 take us on shore among the bushes, and shoot us at once. The pilot, who 
 spoke of course the Paraguay language, was asked who I was ; on being 
 told, I suppose they considered me entitled to equal attention with the 
 master ; so they took hold of me, but without striking, they tied both 
 hands behind my back, as they had already done to him.'" 
 
 " In this situation an eclaircissement took place : instead of Indians as 
 we had supposed them, our nocturnal visitors happened to have been free 
 Paraguayos taking their rounds in their capacity of river patrol, or guard. 
 Our small shot had spread so much that it slightly wounded three of the 
 men, who in their terror took us for a man-of-war ; and the silly fellows, 
 under that impression, proceeded straight to the nearest piquet, where they 
 made their report accordingly. The officer on guard, without waiting for 
 further investigation, sent an express with the awful intelligence to the 
 comma'ndant of the district, who in his turn was equally expeditious in 
 sending it on to the capital. I requested our captor (from whom we got 
 the first part of this intelligence, and who was by degrees becoming less 
 choleric and more disposed to hearken to reason) to ease the ties on our 
 hands as much as was consistent with the security of our persons. As 
 the master, smarting under the excruciating pain produced by the brutal 
 manner in which they had tied him was crying aloud like a child, he was 
 ordered to be untied altogether. My release soon followed : on the removal 
 of the cords, and the re-action of the blood, the sensation was most 
 unpleasant : for a moment or two I lost my sight, and could scarcely stand ; 
 my hands were swollen and much discoloured. 
 
 " The master fainted away on being untied, and was obliged to be carried 
 below. On his recovery we were ordered into the canoe conducted a few 
 miles up the river landed and lodged in a guard-house, where the master 
 was immediately placed in the stocks. My time had not yet arrived. The 
 serjeant who conducted us had, during our intercourse, become somewhat 
 less hostile towards me, and washing to save me the indignity of the stocks 
 desired me to sit down in the porch of the guard-house, under the eye of 
 the sentinel. 
 
 " The commander of the detachment forming this guard now made his 
 appearance, not at all in a disposition to deprive me of the benefit of a 
 repose in the stocks. His orders in this respect were soon complied with ; 
 but accident brought about my release sooner than either the fellow 
 wished or I anticipated. As the affair of the previous night had now 
 assumed quite a different shape to what had been originally given to it, it 
 became the commander's duty to forward, without delay, a fresh bulletin, 
 together with the papers and manifest of the vessel, as well as the cor- 
 respondence, of which I might be the bearer. I told him he could have 
 none of those papers unless^ I went on board. Persisting in this, I soon 
 found myself at comparative liberty, accompanying the officer to the vessel. 
 By the time we had returned to the guard-house his temper was some- 
 what mollified, and he did not insist on a second lodgment in the stocks. 
 The rest of the day was passed in much preparation, and it must have been 
 about ten o'clock 'at night when the master was roused from his slumbers 
 in the stocks ; we mounted on horseback, and, strongly escorted, travelled 
 all night. At day-break we were in sight of, and not very distant from 
 Neembucii, the residence of the commandant of the district, a halt was 
 
Francia, Dictator of Paraguay . 337 
 
 ordered, and a person approached, who told me with civility that he must 
 secure my hands before we entered the town. I desired him to do his duty ; 
 he then fixed a cord to my arms above the elbows, leaving sufficient 
 play to guide the horse: the master was served in like manner. This 
 individual, a native of Portugal, had hitherto wished to pass himself off 
 upon me as the bravest of the brave ; but ever since our capture he had 
 behaved in a very pusilanimous manner, often crying aloud, entreating the 
 mercy of the brutal Paraguayos, and ever and anon using earnest suppli- 
 cation to the Virgin Mary. 
 
 " We were very soon conducted to the presence of the awful com- 
 mandant of Neembucii ; a tall, lank, elderly man, and with his arm 
 stretched out very like a cross-road sign-post. On our approach, he 
 apparently assumed his most imposing manner, and asked ' how we had 
 the temerity to fire on his people ?' I replied, * that we did not know them 
 to be his people that they came alongside and attempted to board in a 
 dark night without hailing ; a conduct so unusual, that we took them to 
 be some of the barbarous Indians, whose signals we had heard a little time 
 before, and that under similar circumstances we should again act in the 
 like manner.' After expressing his indignation, he ordered our bonds to 
 be removed, sent the master to the common prison, and placed me under 
 the surveillance of a guard stationed on the bank of the river, to keep a 
 look-out for such vessels as might be passing either up or down. I passed 
 about a week in this situation, but that week produced a great change in 
 our affairs. Francia had received in due course the intimation of the 
 presence of an enemy's vessel in the river, and lost not a moment in 
 adopting defensive measures. Six hundred men were under marching 
 orders for the frontier, when the intelligence reached him that the terrible 
 man-of-war had dwindled down into an insignificant merchantman, and 
 that his men had been accidentally wounded with bird-shot, for having 
 attempted to board at night without hailing. He was very angry with his 
 people on this occasion, and particularly chagrined at the want of etiquette 
 which had caused them to be taken for barbarous Indians: 'Would to 
 God,' he exclaimed, ' that the Englishmen had sunk them !' 
 
 " About one-half of the troops assembled were sent after all to Neem- 
 bucii under a new commander, so that I had the pleasure to see the old 
 one removed in disgrace. His successor treated me with civility, placed 
 me in possession of my vessel, and restored me the master. 
 
 " From this place we had a long passage of about three weeks to the 
 capital, where I found that the sensation produced by our rencontre with 
 the canoe was very great. Much speculation was afloat about the recep- 
 tion I was to meet with from the Dictator. 
 
 " On landing, I was conducted by a soldier to the government -house, 
 where my arrival was announced. I had not to wait long before I was 
 requested to enter ; the day was cold and rainy I was dressed in a body- 
 coat buttoned, over which I wore a great coat my pocket-handkerchief, 
 for convenience of access, was pushed in between the buttons of my coat 
 at the breast. The officer requested me to take off my great coat, and, 
 without saying a word, he pulled out my pocket-handkerchief then, 
 without further ceremony, requested me to enter. 
 
 " At the end of a long interior corridor I saw a thin, spare man, not 
 very tall, with a pen stuck behind one ear. His coat, which was made of 
 light grey cloth, might be said to be neither civil nor military ; a little 
 stripe of lace on the shoulder was all that distinguished it from any com- 
 mon garment of the same class. Not taking this personage for the Dic- 
 tator, I hesitated to proceed, but he beckoned and I advanced. I told him 
 I was an Englishman just arrived ; he asked when I had left Buenos 
 Ayres ? why I had remained so long on the way ? and many other ques- 
 tions. He spoke of England and the English people with great affability 
 and frankness of manner, 
 
338 Francitt, Dictator of Paraguay. 
 
 " I have heard that persons admitted to his presence have been required 
 to stand, and to place their hands in a certain position; I studied no par- 
 ticular posture, nor did he seem to pay the least attention to it. He told 
 me that I had several countrymen in the city, some of whom were then 
 about returning to Buenos Ayres: he then dismissed me in a manner indi- 
 cating; kindness and friendship more than anything else. He made no 
 allusion to the affair of the canoe, and in that respect I thought it prudent 
 to follow his example ; although, if it had come from himself, I was rather 
 desirous to speak to him on the subject. 
 
 " The Paraguayos are a kind and hospitable people, and during the many 
 pleasant excursions I made into the interior of the country, they amply 
 atoned to me, by their attention and civilities, for the barbarous manner in 
 which I was treated on entering their country. 11 
 
 This gentleman intended to have stayed two months in Paraguay ; he 
 was detained Jive years, only receiving his release at the time 1 have 
 alluded to, when permission was granted to the English to quit, and in 
 which permission the two Swiss gentlemen, Messrs. Menger and Long- 
 champs, were so fortunate as to get themselves included. There were also 
 some French merchants who had already been detained some years, and 
 who have not yet effected their release ; a representation on the subject is 
 at this moment making to the French minister at the court of Rio de 
 Janeiro. 
 
 Another class of persons whose situation in Paraguay calls for the com- 
 miseration of all, is that of the Spaniards. Against them the suspicion, 
 jealousy, and hatred of Francia are particularly directed; as in Brazil the 
 Portuguese are the chief objects of enmity, and as in the United States 
 the English are the most disliked of all Europeans. 
 
 The Spaniards at the time of the revolution formed the most wealthy 
 and educated class of the community ; most of them had Creole wives ; 
 notwithstanding which, their race was declared extinct so far as related to 
 civil affairs, and they were prohibited for the future from intermarrying 
 with white women. This decree was, however, suffered to lie dormant 
 until Francia had arrived at the height of his power ; when, unfortunately, 
 a fanatic Spaniard being exasperated at the quartering of six hundred men 
 in the Convent of St. Francis, had the imprudence openly to exclaim, 
 " The Franciscans, it is true, are extinct, but Francia's turn is yet to 
 come. 1 ' This language was duly reported the culprit was sent for- " As 
 to when I shall go,' 1 the Dictator said to him, " I really am ignorant ; but 
 this I know, that you shall go before me." The unhappy man was shot 
 next day, his property confiscated, arid his widow and children reduced to 
 beggary. 
 
 This was the commencement of the reign of terror, as far as regarded 
 the Spaniards ; the consular decree just mentioned was revived, and con- 
 fiscations and executions rapidly increased. At length a conspiracy w as 
 formed; it was headed by Francia's late colleague, and other members of 
 the junta established at the revolution it was discovered torture, chains, 
 and death succeeded, and the failure of this hostile attack only served to 
 confirm the power of the Dictator. 
 
 The convicted and the sufferers upon this occasion had been chiefly 
 Creoles, but Francia was resolved to strike one grand blow at the Spa- 
 niards, against whom his suspicion never slept. Having shot one of them 
 for not pleasing him in some mason-work he had been intrusted with, the 
 Dictator issued an order calling on all the Spaniards inhabiting the city 
 and places within a league of it to assemble in three hours at the square 
 in front of the government-house. They assembled to the number of three 
 hundred ; they were accused, among other frivolous charges, of obstruct- 
 ing the proceedings of government ; they were led to prison, and crowded 
 by fifties into ill-ventilated rooms, where they were shut up at night, and 
 by day were allowed to walk in a small yard. The Dictator appeared to 
 
Francia, Dictator of Paraguay. 339 
 
 think that he treated them with great lenity, and called them, not his 
 prisoners, but his recluses. The late Governor of Paraguay, who had 
 ruled up to the tims of the revolution, contrary to the usual practice of his 
 countrymen, with much justice and moderation, was among the number; 
 he sickened and died, without being able to procure medical assistance. 
 
 Some of the prisoners, those of humble condition, were in a short time 
 enlarged, but compelled to withdraw from four to ten leagues' distance 
 from the capital. The more influential persons remained in prison nearly 
 nineteen months, and only recovered their liberty on the hard condition of 
 paying within three days a fine of 150,000 piastres. The money was exacted 
 upon so rigorous a principle, that one individual having died, his con- 
 tingent was levied on his orphans, although they were Creoles. Three 
 were kept in prison for default of payment, and many others were only 
 enabled to make up their proportion through the kindness of some Creole 
 merchants: much to the credit of the Paraguayos be it told, that on this 
 occasion they buried in oblivion their national antipathy,' and liberally 
 assisted, fed, clothed, and employed the poor Spaniards, to whose influence 
 in the state Francia had thus given a death-blow. 
 
 The complete isolation of Paraguay produced one important benefit ; 
 the inhabitants were forced to pay attention to agriculture, which the 
 Dictator wisely encouraged, and by his own practical knowledge greatly 
 improved. Besides the^cultivation of the tobacco-leaf, the sugar-cane, and 
 the zucca-root, which together with the preparation of the herb of Para- 
 guay, had hitherto exclusively employed the industry of the natives, 
 their fruitful plains began now to be spread over with rice, maize, fruits, 
 and vegetables hitherto unknown to them. Above all, the cultivation of 
 cotton, which article they had until now received wholly from Cement es, 
 succeeded so well, that its home produce entirely replaced the quantity 
 which had been usually imported. The encouragement of the breed of 
 horses and horned cattle produced the same effects. Manufactures kept 
 pace with agriculture ; and the clothing of the people, which had for the 
 most part been imported ready made at a great expense, was now entirely 
 manufactured and made up at home. The Brazilian Consul on his return 
 from Paraguay in 1825, embarked at St. Catherine's, on board the frigate 
 commanded by the husband of the writer of this sketch, and is the other 
 informant to whom allusion has been made. He presented the writer with 
 a scarf and pocket-handkerchief from Assumption ; the scarf is of white 
 cotton, of a rough, unfinished texture, with the ends most elaborately 
 worked in all manner of devices ; the pocket-handkerchief is of French 
 cambric, worked in Assumption, most richly and delicately, although it 
 had evidently been so long in hand that the material itself had become 
 worn. The Consul stated, that the females employed in these fine works 
 were constantly attended by slaves, and were not even permitted to turn 
 the handle of a door, for fear of spoiling the delicacy of their touch. 
 
 Thus out of evil came forth good; for it cannot be denied that Francia' s 
 suspicions and illiberal system has brought out, in objects of the first 
 importance, the dormant energies of a very talented people. Commerce, 
 where it precedes agriculture and manufactures, is out of its place, and 
 this is its situation generally in regard to South America, which remains 
 poor in the midst of mines of silver, gold, and gems. Commerce has also, 
 in this point of view, a demoralizing effect it encourages expense and 
 idleness ; it produces foreign luxuries, where no home-comforts exist ; 
 speculation and rapacity take the place of steady industry ; all is show and 
 incongruity nothing substantial and consistent. Some ludicrous effects 
 have been related of this premature introduction of foreign conveniences. 
 
 At an inland estate in Brazil, the negroes and their overseers were em- 
 ployed in carrying ore, with all its weighty additions of earth, stone, and 
 rubbish to the stamping-mill, which was at a considerable distance from 
 the mine, and much time and labour, were wasted in the conveyance. To 
 
340 Francia, Dictator of Paraguay. 
 
 obviate this inconvenience, the owner of the estate, who was at Rio de 
 Janeiro, sent them a supply of wheelbarrows from a lot which had been 
 just imported. The sagacious overseers and their sable workmen admired 
 the contrivance of the wheelbarrows, which they perceived would carry 
 three times as much as could be transported in the usual way ; accord- 
 ingly they loaded them the patient blacks stooped their silly heads the 
 wheelbarrows were placed on them, and they staggered along under the 
 painfully-increased load congratulating themselves, however, that they 
 should have but one run instead of three; and this continued, no one, 
 black or white, discovering the blunder, until the astonished owner 
 returned and rectified it. 
 
 A gentleman travelling in the interior of Brazil put up for a night at a 
 farm-house, furnished in the primitive style of the country ; but on the 
 table, in company with a long tallow candle, w r ere placed a handsome pair 
 of plated snuffers and its stand, which he had received as a present from 
 Rio de Janeiro. " What conveniences you invent in Europe !" said the 
 Brazilian to his guest ; " before I received this pretty present, I used, 
 after taking off the candle-snuff to throw it about the floor, or perchance 
 on the bench where I was sitting, or over my clothes but now, mark the 
 difference !'' So saying, he pinched off the long snuff between his thumb 
 and finger, put it carefully into the snuffers, and closed them up with a 
 look of triumph at his highly-amused spectator. 
 
 But to return : while agriculture and manufactures thus rapidly improved 
 and flourished, commerce on the other hand was absolutely annihilated. 
 During the close of its port, Assumption resembled a coast where a hun- 
 dred ships had run aground, and its storehouses, as well as those of the 
 other principal towns, were heaped with rotting tobacco and the herb of 
 Paraguay ; the latter, which grows wild in the forests, being the staple 
 commodity of the country, used for making matte, a kind of tea, without 
 which the Spanish Americans can scarcely exist. 
 
 Among numerous instances of the breach of hospitality by Francia, one 
 singular example of its observance merits being recorded. The bandit 
 chieftain Antigas had done a great deal of injury to Paraguay, both by 
 land and on the river, and had incensed Francia yet further by fomenting 
 revolts among his Indians. Nevertheless, when one of Antigas' s lieu- 
 tenants rebelled against him, and forced him to retreat with the wreck of 
 his army, he threw himself on the mercy of the Dictator, and his appeal 
 was listened to. He was conducted by an escort to the capital, where he 
 was very anxious to obtain an audience of the Dictator ; but this was 
 refused, and he was sent to the village of Curngnaty, eighty-five leagues 
 north of Assumption. From that place it is impossible for him to escape 
 but by a desert on the Brazilian side, of which there is very little danger 
 that he will avail himself, after the excesses he has committed against that 
 nation. The Dictator assigned him a house and lands, with thirty-two 
 piastres a month (his pay formerly as lieutenant of chasseurs), and 
 ordered the governor of the circle to furnish him besides with whatever 
 accommodations he required, and to treat him with great respect. It 
 appears that since that time Antigas has wished to expiate, at least in 
 part, the iniquities he has perpetrated. At the age of sixty he cultivated 
 his farm with his own hands, and became the father of the poor in Curn- 
 gnaty. It is presumed that he is still residing there. 
 
 Among other means of making himself master of all that passes in his 
 territory, Francia has suppressed the post-office; but the post-masters 
 keep their places, in order to expedite official letters, and collect the post- 
 age of all others brought by private conveyance, for these letters do not 
 pass free. The violation of the confidence of letters is so well known, that 
 few take the trouble of sealing them. 
 
 Francia does not encourage education, but he throws no obstacles in its 
 way : he allows the public elementary schools for boys, which he found 
 
Francia, Dictator of Paraguay. 341 
 
 established at Assumption, to continue, and takes no notice of several 
 private seminaries that have lately been formed for both sexes. 
 
 The city of Assumption is built in the shape of an amphitheatre upon a 
 rising- ground, washed by the river Paraguay. Its streets, in 1820, were 
 crooked, irregular, and narrow. The houses, consisting of only one floor, 
 generally stood apart from each other ; they were interspersed with trees, 
 little gardens, brushwood, and patches of verdure. Numerous springs 
 issued from the ground in every part of the town, and formed streams or 
 stagnated into pools ; the rain-water had furrowed the soil, and broken up 
 all the sloping streets. Such was the city Francia undertook to remodel ; 
 and the description given by the Swiss gentlemen of the effects produced 
 by ignorance, miscalculation, and injustice, are almost incredible. At the 
 end of four years the capital of Paraguay presented the aspect of a city 
 that had been bombarded for several months ; whole streets were seen 
 bordered merely by hedges of dry reeds ; and among the thinly-scattered 
 houses, but a very few had their fronts towards the street. The individual 
 loss and suffering exceeded calculation. 
 
 It may be interesting to give, in conclusion, a few details of the private 
 life of Francia, and a few anecdotes concerning him, which will place this 
 singular personage in a closer point of view. 
 
 Discovering once (before he became corrupted by the acquisition of 
 power) that he was possessor of eight hundred piastres, he thought this 
 sum too much for a single person, and he spent it. There seems to have 
 really existed originally in the breast of this man somewhat of that simple 
 and severe species of virtue which is essential in the formation and preser- 
 vation of a republic. 
 
 The unfavourable change in his disposition when he became 'Dictator 
 perhaps not even he himself can clearly account for ; he was past the age 
 when any dormant vice, except that of avarice, springs up in the character ; 
 he was not dazzled by the pomp and circumstance of exalted rank, nor 
 even by that nobler weakness, the desire of fame ; for he takes no pains 
 to display his power, or spread his reputation among foreign nations, nor 
 to hand it down to posterity. On the contrary, he carefully shrouds him- 
 self, and as far as possible his dominions, in haughty seclusion. Admitting 
 that he had become convinced that his country in her present state was 
 not fitted for republicanism, and that it was requisite for her real welfare 
 that absolute power for a time, at least, should be wielded by one able and 
 vigorous hand still, on assuming that power, had he not the most splendid 
 opportunity ever enjoyed by a man, of rendering the most lasting and 
 essential benefits to his country ? Admitting even that it was necessary 
 for him to rule with a rod of iron in one hand, who would have blamed 
 him had he showered down blessings with the other? 
 
 One of the strongest and most painful proofs of how little the real good 
 of his people lies at the heart of Francia, is, that no provision appears to 
 be made for their government at his death, which may now, from his great 
 age, be soon expected. All then will probably relapse into anarchy, unless 
 the army take affairs into its own hand, and experience has fully shown 
 us what the governor and the governed are then likely to endure. 
 
 The ruling, or rather the absorbing passion of Francia, is the love of 
 power of power for itself alone ; it is with him a pure, abstracted prin- 
 ciple, free from desire of the splendour which usually surrounds it, of the 
 wealth which usually supports it, and of the fame which usually succeeds 
 it. To this passion is united one more spring of action, and one only it 
 is the fear of assassination : " Even-handed justice returns the chalice to 
 his own lips," he who inflicts terror on all around him is himself its 
 greatest slave ; and for one death that he causes, he suffers in imagination 
 a thousand. 
 
 There is one peculiarity which must not be omitted in any scrutiny into 
 the causes of Francia' s habits of mind. His father was of very eccentric 
 
342 Francia, Dictator of Paraguay. 
 
 habits, his brother and one of his sisters were lunatics, and he himself is 
 subject to fits of hypochondria, which have sometimes degenerated into 
 madness: his mind is therefore not sound; but while the knowledge of 
 this fact diminishes our wonder at the inconsistency of his character, it 
 very much increases it as to the folly of the people, who with such abject 
 submission bend down their necks for him to trample on. 
 
 When the hypoctiondriacal fit comes on, Francia sometimes shuts him- 
 self up for several days, but if unhappily he does not do this, he ill-treats 
 every one around him, orders arrests, inflicts the severest punishments, and 
 thinks nothing of issuing a sentence of death. 
 
 On the occasion of an execution, the Dictator himself gives out the ball- 
 cartridges, and so parsimonious is he of these materials, that he allows but 
 three men to each execution ; so that, in more instances than one, the un- 
 happy victims have been dispatched by the bayonet. Francia is a witness 
 of these scenes of horror, for the executions take place always beneath his 
 window, and frequently in his actual presence. 
 
 Once, while under the influence of his hypochondriacal affection, being 
 offended at the intrusion of a poor woman, he gave the following order to 
 the sentinel placed in front of his gate : " If any passenger should dare to 
 fix his eyes upon the front of my house, you will fire at him ; if you miss 
 him, this is for a second shot (handing him another musket loaded with 
 ball) and if you miss again,! shall take care not to miss?/ow." The order 
 being quickly made known through the city, the inhabitants carefully 
 avoided passing before this terrible palace, or if any person was obliged to 
 do so, he kept his eyes constantly fixed upon the ground. A fortnight had 
 passed without any accident, when an Indian of the tribe of Payagua, who 
 knew nothing of the order, slopped to look at the Government-house; the 
 sentinel discharged his carbine, but missed him, probably intentionally: 
 the report of fire-arms brought out the Dictator, and when the cause was 
 made known to him, he revoked the order, averring that he did not recol- 
 lect ever having given it. 
 
 Francia was never married ; but in his earlier days he was by no means 
 insensible to the charms of the fair sex; however, on becoming Dictator, 
 he abjured them altogether, and at the same time relinquished play. The 
 only being for whom he seemed to have any lasting attachment was a sis- 
 ter, who was usually in charge of his country-house ; but so jealous is he 
 of his authority, that he sent her away, because she took upon herself to 
 order a slave to be chastised. He has nephews, but apparently takes no 
 interest in them; when he became Dictator he dismissed two, who were 
 officers in the army, only from the fear that they might presume upon their 
 relationship. One he confined in irons four years for having at a ball (it 
 seems people dance even in Paraguay !) struck a man who had insulted 
 him ; and another passed a year in the public prison for having employed 
 one of the military band in a serenade which he gave his mistress. 
 
 At the commencement of Francia' s dictatorship for life, while the people 
 w r ere not yet sufficiently trained for their yoke, when he rode out on horse- 
 back he was escorted by hussars ; two went before and one followed him ; 
 it was their duty to see that every person on the road stopped in the most 
 respectful manner as he passed. At a subsequent period, Francia required 
 his attendants to drive back on the highway all who presented themselves ; 
 and the blows of the flat part of the sabre, with which these directions 
 were enforced, very soon disgusted the curious. 
 
 He imprisoned the wife of a conspirator, who, upon the arrest of her 
 husband, took the resolution of joining together the broken threads of the 
 conspiracy. Though detected and put in irons, she still repeated every 
 day, " Had I a thousand lives to lose, I would risk them all to destroy this 
 monster!'' 
 
 A woman out of jealousy accused her lover of having uttered offensive 
 expressions against the Dictator, who ordered the unfortunate man to re- 
 
Francia, Dictator of Paraguay. 343 
 
 ceive a hundred blows : but the latter was so averse to this disgraceful 
 punishment, that he begged to be shot rather than undergo it, and his 
 request was immediately complied with. The Dictator, however, was 
 never known to reward either a spy or informer ; on the contrary, he so 
 justly appreciated their character, that he dismissed some officers who had 
 acted for him in that capacity, as soon as he had no further use for their 
 services. 
 
 Since 1820, Francia has taken no part in public worship, and has seized 
 every occasion to show his dislike to the established religion. To a com- 
 mandant, who asked him for the image of a saint, that he might place a 
 newly-constructed fortress under its protection, he answered " O people 
 of Paraguay, how long will you remain idiots ! When I was a Catholic I 
 believed as you do, but now I know that bullets are the best saints you 
 can have on the frontiers." 
 
 To give an idea of the instruction of the clergy, one anecdote will be 
 enough. In the vale of Ita, about thirty miles from the capital, there is a 
 community of Indians, subjects of Paraguay, who had a curate, the son of 
 a warrior, on whom the king of Spain had conferred the title of Don, in 
 reward for some service. This title, which the courtesy of modern times 
 extends to all who have the least pretension to gentility, descended by right 
 to his son, the curate, who, it appears, had been regularly educated for the 
 Church. He was a kind, hospitable, social man, much beloved in the 
 neighbourhood, and sought after by all travellers. There were three points 
 on which he piqued himself: his great sobriety, the abundance and excel- 
 lence of his table, and his deep knowledge of sacred history. It was no 
 doubt his superiority on the last point which, in despite of his reputation 
 for gallantry, attracted all the fair penitents of the country round. As a 
 specimen of his scriptural erudition, he maintained that the Sacred 
 Founder of our religion (whose name I dare not mention in such a sen- 
 tence as this) " and Mahomet were very intimate friends ; that they met 
 frequently to discuss certain points of their respective religions, and that 
 many an evening had they passed together, sitting on the same cloth, and 
 smoking out of the same hookah. 11 
 
 Besides the neighbours and strangers that usually met at the Padre's 
 hospitable board, its benefits were extended to fifteen cats and one-third 
 that number of dogs, which daily surrounded it, and were fed from the hand 
 of their benevolent master. The Padre in the hot weather regularly un- 
 dressed for dinner; sitting down only in a pair of long drawers, trimmed 
 at the ankles with lace, and a scarf thrown over his shoulders ; of these he 
 had a great variety, worked by the fair penitents aforesaid. Indeed the 
 Paraguays, although fond and vain of dress on occasions of show, are very 
 indifferent to it as an object of decency and comfort. Both sexes are 
 permitted, especially in the country, to go unclothed, until they are well 
 advanced in their teens ; if a young girl be sent on a message to a neigh- 
 bouring farm, she merely throws a scarf over her head, its ends hanging 
 negligently down in front, and thus trudges along quite unconscious of 
 the surprise her singular appearance excites in the passing stranger. From 
 this complete freedom they spring up strait and well-proportioned : " I 
 could not help," says the informant of the present writer, " comparing 
 them to the palm-trees around ; they were as graceful and as pliant, and 
 like them, too, their heads alone were covered.'' 
 
 Francia is much praised for his disinterestedness in regard to money : 
 his private fortune has never been increased by his elevation ; he has never 
 accepted a present, and his salary is always in arrear. He is not forgetful 
 of the claims of old fellowship or kindness, provided they are accompanied 
 with diffidence and great respect. 
 
 The Dictator admits of no confidant; he has never been known to take 
 counsel of any one, nor can any one boast of ever having exercised influ- 
 ence over him. 
 
344 Francia, Dictator of Paraguay. 
 
 " I knew an officer," says our liberated fellow-countryman, " of the 
 Dictator's body-guard, who was supposed to be making rapid progress in 
 his favour ; he did not however stand his ground long ; he was dismissed, 
 and having no family who could support him, was reduced to become a day- 
 labourer in the fields. One day, while strolling in the neighbourhood of 
 the city, I saw this individual, naked from the waist upwards, occupied in 
 roasting sweet mandioca for his dinner. 
 
 " The body-guard," he continues, " was composed of about a hundred 
 picked men, the tallest and handsomest that could be found in the country. 
 The lieutenant, by whom the guard was commanded, was a young man of 
 very little education, although the son of parents in easy circumstances. 
 From his situation about the person of the Dictator, he was much looked 
 up to by many, and was considered as possessing favour at head-quarters. 
 This youth grew uncommonly vain, and scarcely knew how to walk or 
 dress, till at last not a day passed without producing some new or extrava- 
 gant article of apparel. Francia saw with displeasure his monkey-like 
 behaviour, and one morning, when he presumed to appear at parade in an 
 extraordinarily-shaped and ornamented jacket, he called him, and with 
 some familiarity asked where he had got his pretty jacket? * You look 
 extremely well in it,' said Francia, * but I think you would look still better 
 if you were to take off your trousers, and wear it without them, after the 
 fashion of your countrymen.' The poor fellow was obliged to take the 
 hint, strip, and walk a turn or two before the Dictator, who complimented 
 him on his appearance, and appealed to the soldiers as to whether he had 
 not suggested a striking improvement. After this scene his services were 
 no longer required." 
 
 This corps looked well ; it was clothed in a handsome manner, and 
 was much esteemed by Francia for a time : when in good humour he was 
 in the habit of calling it his corps of " Frenchified Russians," thereby 
 meaning, *' barbarians in progress of civilization." However, it finally 
 incurred his displeasure and was disbanded. 
 
 Francia treats his officers with very little ceremony ; when displeased 
 he abuses them in the presence of the soldiers, as though they were his 
 menial servants, thus aiming at diminishing their importance and increas- 
 ing his own. 
 
 The death of a person, in his service, under the following melancholy 
 circumstances, produced a great effect upon the mind of the Dictator, and 
 was followed by some beneficial consequences. About the middle of 1824, 
 a young man (of whose capacity Francia entertained a high opinion, and 
 for whom he had created the office of secretary of state) having committed 
 some trifling errors in the exercise of his functions became alarmed for the 
 consequences. Dreading to be reproached or dismissed by the Dictator, 
 he resolved to drown himself, though, as first officer of the government, he 
 might have effected his escape. Before dying, he wrote a letter to the 
 Dictator, in which he gave an account of his official conduct, adding, that 
 in the position in which he stood, he considered that flight would dishonour 
 his country and disgrace his name. The Dictator was moved ; he per- 
 ceived how heavily his yoke bore even upon those who were most devoted 
 to him. He was induced to hint that the time was not far distant when 
 Paraguay might enjoy some liberty. Imprisonments became less frequent ; 
 none but criminals were sentenced to death, and the denunciations of in- 
 formers were more disregarded : he punished, too, in his army, some 
 instances of oppression and insolence towards the people. In short, Para- 
 guay, from that moment, began to breathe somewhat more freely, and the 
 self-sacrifice of this honourable and heroic youth was at least not made in 
 vain. 
 
 The Swiss travellers describe the Dictator as a man of middle stature, 
 with regular features, and those fine black eyes which characterize the 
 Creoles of South America ; and as having a most penetrating look, with a 
 
Francia, Dictator of Paraguay. 345 
 
 strong expression of distrust. On their first introduction he wore the 
 official costume, which consisted of a blue laced coat (the uniform of a 
 Spanish general,) waistcoat, breeches, stockings of white silk, and shoes 
 with gold buckles. He was then sixty-two years of age, but did not appear 
 more than fifty. At the commencement of a conversation he is haughty 
 and intimidating, but if met with firmness, he softens down, and finishes, 
 when in a good humour, by conversing very agreeably ; and he is then 
 perceived to be a man of great talent and extensive acquirements. He is 
 a devoted admirer of Napoleon, whose downfall he always deplores ; he 
 contemplated with much interest his portrait when shown to him by the 
 Swiss gentlemen ; he had in his possession a caricature of Napoleon, which 
 he had mistaken for a portrait, until his visitors explained the German 
 inscription that was underneath it. They believe that it must have been 
 this caricature that suggested to the Dictator the idea of adding to his 
 costume an enormous badge in imitation of the clumsy star with which 
 Napoleon is decorated in that piece. Francia also showed the strangers 
 his library, which, together with the best Spanish authors, contained the 
 works of Voltaire, Rousseau, Raynal, Rollin, &c. He possessed, also, 
 some mathematical instruments, globes, and maps among the latter the 
 best map of Paraguay that is to be found in the country. From the know- 
 ledge of the constellations, which he acquired by means of his celestial 
 globe, and of the localities of his own territory by the map, it is imagined 
 by the people that he is an astrologer, but he himself does not encourage 
 this notion. 
 
 In the last interview Dr. Renger had with Francia, when at the end of 
 six years he and his friend had conceived hope from the English being per- 
 mitted to depart, and ventured to ask for passports, Francia listened to the 
 request without replying to it, but desired Dr. Renger to go and inspect 
 some forty or fifty recruits who had fallen sick. On his return, Francia 
 asked him several questions about his travels in the interior of Paraguay, 
 and what he intended publishing. He appeared to be very well satisfied 
 with the recognition of the new republics by England, and said, " The 
 French government was wrong not to have been beforehand with the 
 English. The analogy between the characters of both nations, a common 
 religion, and the nature of the produce and manufactures of France, which 
 are better adapted to the wants of these countries, seemed to call for 
 amicable relations, which would have opened new and invaluable channels 
 to French commerce. But that government, instead of signalizing itself 
 by an act of liberality, which was in perfect conformity with the interests 
 of France, has preferred maintaining, by a ruinous expedition, a tottering 
 throne, the fall of which it can only defer, but not ultimately prevent. I 
 should not be surprised to see that government making an attack upon 
 our republics in the name of Ferdinand the Seventh, and that is one of 
 my reasons for not permitting the French who are here to depart. With 
 regard to your request, we shall consider of it." The result of this con- 
 versation is known to the reader. One motive for the delay in granting 
 the request was, that the Dictator wished to have appointed Dr. Renger 
 chief physician to the troops, with the direction of a new military hospital 
 he intended to establish. 
 
 Fn ncia's household consists of four slaves a negro, one male and two 
 female mulattoes, whom he treats with great mildness. He leads a very 
 regular life the first rays of the sun rarely find him in bed. As soon as he 
 rises, the negro brings a chafing-dish, a kettle, and a pitcher of water, which 
 is heated in his presence. Francia then prepares with the greatest possible 
 care his mate, or Paraguay tea; having taken this, he walks under the inte- 
 rior peristyle that looks upon the court, and smokes a cigar, which he first 
 fakes care to unroll, in order to ascertain that there is nothing dangerous 
 in it, though it is his own sister who manufactures them for him. At six 
 o'clock the barber arrives a filthy, ragged, and drunken mulatto, but the 
 
 March, VOL, XLIII, NO. CLXXI. 2 A 
 
346 Francia, Dictator of Paraguay. 
 
 only member of the faculty in whom he confides. If the Dictator be in 
 good humour he chats with him, and often in this manner makes use of 
 him to prepare the public for his projects. This barber may be said to be 
 his official gazette (no new incident, by the by, in the annals of history). 
 He then puts on his dressing-gown of printed calico, and repairs to the 
 outer peristyle, where he walks up and down, and receives at the same 
 time those persons who are admitted to an audience. At seven he enters 
 his closet, where he remains until nine, when the officers and other func- 
 tionaries come to make their reports and receive his orders. At eleven 
 o'clock the principal secretary brings the papers that are to be submitted 
 to his inspection, and writes from his dictation until noon, when all the 
 officers retire, and Francia sits down to table. His dinner, which is ex- 
 tremely frugal, he always orders himself; when the cook returns from market, 
 she deposits her provisions at the door of her master's closet, who comes 
 out and selects what he wishes for his own use. After dinner he takes 
 his siesta; on awaking, he takes his mate and smokes a cigar, after 
 observing the same precautions as in the morning. From this until four 
 or five he is occupied with business, when the escort to attend him on his 
 promenade arrives ; the barber then enters and dresses his hair while his 
 horse is saddling. During his ride Francia inspects the public works and 
 the barracks, particularly those of the cavalry, where a habitation is pre- 
 paring for him. While riding, though surrounded by his escort, he is 
 armed with a sabre and a pair of double-barrelled pocket pistols. He re- 
 turns home about night-fall, and sits down to study until nine, when he 
 takes his supper, consisting of a roasted pigeon and a glass of wine. 
 If the weather be fine he again walks under the peristyle, where he often 
 remains till a very late hour. At ten o'clock he gives the watch-word, and 
 on returning into the house he fastens all the doors himself. 
 
 For several months in the year he resides at the cavalry barracks, which 
 are outside the city, about a quarter of a league from his usual residence ; 
 but there his manner of living is the same, except that he sometimes takes 
 the pleasures of the chace. In the apartments that he occupies there are 
 always arms within his reach ; pistols are hung upon the walls, or placed 
 upon the table near him ; and sabres, the greater number unsheathed, are 
 to be found in every corner. This fear of assassination is also shown in 
 the etiquette prescribed at his audiences : the person admitted must not 
 approach nearer to the Dictator than six paces, until he makes him a sign to 
 advance, and even then he must always stop at the distance of three paces, 
 his arms must be held close to his body, and his hands open and hang- 
 ing down, so that it may be evident that he has no concealed weapons. 
 The officers even are not permitted to enter his presence with swords by 
 their sides. He is pleased, however, that the person addressing him 
 should look him straight in the face, and return prompt and positive an- 
 swers. He told Dr. Renger one day, when about to open the body of one 
 of the natives, to see if his countrymen had not one bone more than the 
 usual number in their necks, which prevented them from holding up their 
 heads and speaking out. Alas ! it was the fetter on the mind, beyond 
 the skill of the physician to remove, that bowed down their necks. 
 
 In the foregoing sketch it has been the writer's object rather to excite 
 than to gratify curiosity. It is impossible but that great interest will pre- 
 vail towards Paraguay on the death of its singular ruler : none can con- 
 template with indifference the idea of this fine province, with its docile 
 and industrious population, being given up to anarchy, and gradually 
 returning to the waste desert from whence it has been struggling to 
 emerge. 
 Rio de Janeiro, July, 1834. 
 
( 347 ) 
 
 WAS I RIGHT, OR WAS I NOT ? 
 
 WAS I right, or -was I not ? 
 
 The age exact I cannot tell, 
 But 'twas some time in teens, I wot, 
 
 That I came out a dashing belle. 
 My mother called me " hare-brain'd chit," 
 
 But that I heeded ne'er a jot, 
 For little Miss must flirt a bit. 
 
 Was I right, or was I not ? 
 
 Away I sparkled in the ring ; 
 
 And soon was known as false and fair. 
 Oh ! 'tis a dear, delightful thing 
 
 When first we make a swain despair. 
 There was young Frederick all on fire, 
 
 Who vowed and swore I know not what 
 Of course I left him to expire. 
 
 Was I right, or was I not ? 
 
 Dear me ! I felt a trifle sad, 
 
 When all dried out " What have you done !" 
 For, sure enough, I loved the lad : 
 
 But who'd take up with number one ? 
 So vive r amour / I gaily cried, 
 
 And he, poor wretch, was soon forgot, 
 For I'd an hundred sparks beside. 
 
 Was I right, or was I not ? 
 
 Some shook their heads, but I had skill : 
 
 Lovers and friends I went on winning. 
 What will you have ? I flirted still, 
 
 Because I flirted at beginning. 
 A long gay train I led away ; 
 
 Young Cupid sure was in the plot : 
 I thought the spell would last for aye ; 
 
 W r as I right, or was I not ? 
 
 But now 'tis come into my head 
 
 That 1 must grow discreet and sage ; 
 For there are hints my charms have'fled, 
 
 And I approach " a certain age." 
 So the next offer that's my plan 
 
 I'll nail, decisive, on the spot ; 
 'Tis time that I'd secured my man. 
 
 Ami right, or am I not ? 
 
 But ah ! though gladly I'd say " Yes," 
 
 The looks of all the men say " No." 
 Who would have thought 'twould come to this ? 
 
 But mother says, " I told you so !" 
 Friends, lovers, danglers, now are gone : 
 
 Not one is left of all the lot, 
 And I'm a " maiden all forlorn !" 
 
 Is it right, or is it not? 
 
 Q.Q. 
 
 2 A 2 
 
( 348 ) 
 
 MY HONOURABLE FRIEND BOB. 
 
 IT was at a public school that I first became acquainted with my 
 friend Bob Burnaby ; he was then a little round-faced, curly-pated boy 
 about ten years of age ; and I, being two years his senior, and there 
 existing some intimacy between our parents, he was put under my espe- 
 cial protection. Bobby had been a spoiled child (the only one possessed 
 by Mr. and Mrs. Burnaby,) and until his tenth year the world had been 
 to him a world of pies and tarts, of comfits and comforts ; his will had 
 been the regulator of the paternal mansion, and his pleasure the main 
 object promoted by his mother. 
 
 All this ended (that is, as far as the young gentleman's residence at 
 Burnaby Hall was concerned) in those roots of all evil, idleness and 
 ignorance : and some rash and glaring acts of insubordination having 
 brought upon Bob's head the wrath of his father (whose head, by the 
 by, was more in error than his son's,) the young reprobate had sudden 
 notice to quit ; and in spite of the threats, entreaties, and hysterics of 
 Mrs. Burnaby, he was immediately borne off to the academic shades 
 superintended by the Rev. Dr. Rearpepper. 
 
 I soon became very fond of Bob ; we naturally feel attached to those 
 who cling to us for support, and everything was so new to him, poor fel- 
 low, that without me he was miserable. By day and by night he was 
 my appendage ; he sat on the same form, at the same desk, casting up 
 his little sums, or writing his little exercises ; and at night his little bed 
 was close to mine, and he used to talk to me about papa and mama, and 
 the big dog Pompey, till he talked himself to sleep. At that very early 
 age Bob had acquired a taste for extravagance ; his money always 
 burned a hole in his little breeches pocket, and when it was gone many a 
 shilling did he borrow of me, and more did he owe to Mrs. Puffy, the 
 fat vender of pastry, whose residence was " down the street." 
 
 These premature extravagances, petty as they certainly were, of 
 course led to little difficulties ; and perhaps the worst result likely to 
 arise from early embarrassments is, the habit of fibbing, and making a 
 mystery and a concealment of troubles, which nothing but candour 
 could really remedy. And thus it was with Bob : had I not loved him, 
 and been a real friend, he would have forfeited my friendship a hundred 
 times ; so often did he borrow, so often did he promise repayment, and 
 so often did he forget to fulfil the promises he voluntarily made. But 
 no, I wrong him, he did not forget ; I always saw that he felt infinitely 
 more annoyed than I did, when he stood before me a defaulter, and his 
 flushed cheek and moistened eyes proved that he endured humiliation, 
 and that at heart he was even then my honourable friend. 
 
 At sixteen I left Dr. Rearpepper's establishment, and many were the 
 tears that poor Bob shed at my departure : he said nothing about the 
 nine shillings and fourpence that he owed me, but when I said, " Bob, 
 be sure you write to me," I suspect that he almost expected me to add, 
 " and don't forget to enclose the money." 
 
 During my residence at Oxford we never met ; at first our interchange 
 of letters was frequent, and the style of our communications most affec- 
 tionate : but gradually a change came over the spirit of our dream, and 
 for a whole year I heard nothing of him. At length, by the coach came 
 
My Honourable Friend Bob. 349 
 
 a splendidly-bound copy of a work which he knew to be my favourite, 
 and in the title-page was written my name, and underneath the words 
 " from his affectionate and grateful friend, Bob." 
 
 " Yes," thought I, " as I read the inscription, " and still thou art 
 my honourable friend." Bob, after so long a period had elapsed, was 
 naturally ashamed to send me the few shillings which he owed me ; but 
 he could not be happy till he had spent many pounds on a gift which 
 was intended to repay me. With the parcel I received a letter announc- 
 ing his having entered the army, and adding that he was about to join 
 his regiment, which was then on a foreign station. He entreated me 
 not to suppose from his long silence that he had forgotten me ; and in 
 short, there was so much warmth of heart in the whole letter, that Bob 
 was reinstated in my good graces, and I wrote him a most affectionate 
 reply, assuring him that whenever we met he would find me unaltered. 
 
 After quitting Oxford, I travelled on the continent for many months, 
 and on my return to England I found my friend Bob at an hotel in Bond- 
 street, and in every sense of the word " a gay man about town." 
 
 Ours was more like the re-union of boys after a summer's vacation, 
 than the meeting of men who had seen something of the world ; we 
 could talk only of the past, of frolic, and of fun ; and while arm in 
 arm we ranged the streets of the west end, we laughed almost as much, 
 and were really nearly as thoughtless, as in the days when together we 
 ranged the playground of old Rearpepper. 
 
 Whatever / may have been, Bob was indeed unchanged ; and not 
 alone in spirits and temper, for I soon found that his old habits had 
 grown with his growth, and strengthened with his strength. He still 
 retained his " sweet tooth," and daily did he lead me into Gunter's or 
 Grange's (nay often into both in turn,) and there I saw him indulge, 
 as he used of old in the habitation of Mrs. Puffy ; the only difference 
 was that his dainties were somewhat more refined, and more expen- 
 sive ; for, alas ! I soon saw that the old injunction, " Put it down to my 
 bill," had by no means fallen into disuse. I also saw, with regret, that 
 all other tradespeople were most impartially dealt with by Bob in the 
 same way ; and I saw him take possession of trinkets, coats, hats, and 
 boots, without considering it requisite to take his purse out of his pocket. 
 
 Now, I knew that Bob would eventually, in all probability, be ex- 
 ceedingly well off, but I greatly doubted his having it then in his power 
 to pay for one-fourth of the valuable articles which I saw him so un- 
 ceremoniously take possession of. I one day ventured to speak to him 
 on the subject, and from his embarrassed manner, and the deepened 
 colour in his cheek, I saw that he felt the truth of what I said ; but I 
 soon found that with the old error, he still retained the old bad habit of 
 fibbing to endeavour to conceal it ; and the consequence was that we 
 spent our evening together with much more reserve than usual. The 
 next morning I forgot all that had passed, for Bob ran to my bedside to 
 inform me that he was ordered to India, and must leave London in a day 
 or two : he showed me his letters, and it was evident that he must pre- 
 pare for his immediate departure. We breakfasted together, and during 
 the repast the waiter was continually presenting him with wafered notes, 
 and it appeared that several persons had called very earnestly wishing to 
 see him. I had my suspicions about these visitations, but said nothing. 
 Immediately after breakfast Bob took my arm, and requested me to 
 
350 My Honourable Friend Bob. 
 
 walk with him ; and after passing through several streets and squares in 
 unusual silence, and with an appearance of agitation in his manner, he 
 suddenly addressed me. 
 
 " There is no alternative," said he, " I must go." 
 
 " You must indeed, Bob," I replied, " unless^ou are detained." 
 
 " Detained /" said Bob, blushing, " how do you mean ?" 
 
 " Pardon me," I answered, " but really few young men could go on 
 as you have lately done, and be prepared for a departure so sudden ; now, 
 my dear Bob, you know what my finances are; you know I have lite- 
 rally nothing to spare, but if knowing this, you think I can be of 
 temporary use to you, command me." 
 
 Bob grasped my arm, and his eyes watered, but he was ashamed to 
 own the extent of his incumbrances ; he therefore hastily answered 
 
 " This is like yourself, my dear friend, and at the moment you may 
 indeed serve me by putting your name to a bill." 
 
 " Not of large amount, Bob, I trust?" 
 
 " No yes larger, I fear, than " 
 
 " If it be a large sum, Bob, you know that if your draft is not 
 honoured when it is due I shall go to prison instead of you." 
 
 " Never," said Bob, with a fervour and an evidence of deep feeling 
 which I could not distrust. 
 
 " Well, then, what is the sum?" said I. 
 
 " First let me tell you some circumstances which press heavily on my 
 heart," said Bob ; " not here come with me this way." 
 
 And in solemn silence he led me to Park-lane. 
 
 " What can all this mean ?" said I, at last. 
 
 " Hush !" said Bob, " you see that house ?" 
 
 And he pointed to a very handsome and well-appointed mansion. 
 Two footmen in splendid liveries were standing at the door, receiving 
 cards from the window of a coroneted carriage. 
 
 " See the house ? " I replied; " to be sure I do ; and what then ? " 
 
 " That house is owned by one of the richest commoners in England." 
 
 <e I should think so," I answered. 
 
 " He has an only daughter," said Bob. 
 
 "Has he?" said I. 
 
 " His sole heiress," added Bob. 
 
 And again I answered, u What then? " 
 
 " I am ashamed of having concealed all this so long from so dear a 
 friend," murmured Bob. 
 
 "All what?" 
 
 " But the secret was not my own." 
 
 " What secret ? " 
 
 " That lovely girl ! " 
 
 " Upon my word, Bob," I cried, " you put me out of all patience." 
 
 " I have won that girl's affections." 
 
 " The heiress ! " said I. 
 
 " She loves me," whispered Bob. 
 
 " My dear fellow," I exclaimed, " this is news indeed. You have 
 no occasion for assistance from a poor fellow like me." 
 
 " Oh ! " said Bob, " you have not heard all ; she loves me to mad- 
 ness loves me poor dear girl ! But rich as her father is, were he to 
 suppose that I am involved, he would forbid the match." 
 
THE 
 
 NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. 
 
 FRANCIA, THE DICTATOR. 
 
 [So little is known in Europe of this remarkable man, that, although we have 
 already published, upon hearsay evidence, some account of him and his country, we 
 gladly lay before our readers the statement of a gentleman whose personal inter- 
 course with the Dictator has enabled him to supply information of considerable in- 
 terest and importance. It will be perceived that he represents the character and 
 government of Francia in a still less agreeable light than our former correspondent. 
 This may be, in part, perhaps attributable to the persecutions he endured, and the 
 injuries he sustained by order of " the Despot of Paraguay ;*' but these injuries 
 and persecutions, on the other hand, are so many additional testimonies in support 
 of the view given of Francia' s character.] 
 
 WHEN the Spanish Governor Velasco was deposed after the victory 
 gained over the Buenos Ayres troops, a junta, consisting of the two 
 military chiefs Yegros and Cavallero, who had been in the action, 
 together with a Dr. Francia, was elected in the ordinary way, to preside 
 over and direct the affairs of the infant republic. 
 
 This Dr. Francia has made himself infamous by his tyranny. He 
 has exercised, in a spirit so ferocious and unrelenting, every species 
 of cruelty, not over his fellow-mortals merely, but over his fellow- 
 countrymen, that though, politically speaking, he is little known in 
 Europe, he yet deserves to be made known as a rare monster of atrocity 
 in these days of comparative humanity and civilization. He would 
 have ranked in the worst days of Rome, in refinement of cruelty, with 
 the worst of the Roman emperors. 
 
 In the calculating motives of his cruelty, in his unrelenting severity 
 of execution, in his studied aggravation of distress, in the exercise 
 of tyranny too petty to be called great, and yet too ferocious not to be 
 classified as monstrous, he proceeded to such deeds of imprisonment, 
 confiscation, and murder, as may well claim for him a very awful pre- 
 eminence in the annals of ambitious depravity. 
 
 This extraordinary person was educated at Cordova, (the Salamanca 
 of South America). He is a man of a shrewd, saturnine disposition, 
 and of very retired and studious habits. By dint of application, and 
 in spite of the jealousy of the Church, he contrived, in addition to the 
 ordinary branches of education taught at the University, to get a slight 
 knowledge of algebra, and a still more superficial one of geometry and 
 Greek. It was asserted that he understood both these branches of study 
 well ; nor in the whole fraternity of collegians was there anybody to 
 vouch for the contrary. Having taken out his degree, he returned to 
 Paraguay, where he soon came into considerable practice as a lawyer. 
 A stern adherence to the justice of the case as he conceived it, more 
 
 April, voi. XLIII. NO, CLXXII, 2 F 
 
418 Franda, the Dictator. 
 
 than ordinary acuteness and learning in his profession, great know- 
 ledge and consequent management of the weaknesses of his countrymen, 
 together with his reputation for mysterious familiarity w r ith the occult 
 sciences, brought him into great repute. To be able to multiply and 
 subtract letters, to read in a language the characters of which even 
 were unknown, to measure an angle and ascertain the height of an 
 eminence with a theodolite, and to show the satellites of Jupiter through 
 a telescope, were sciences as truly occult to every other inhabitant of 
 Paraguay but Dr. Francia himself, as at the University where he was 
 educated would have been a critical dissertation in Hebrew on the cu- 
 rious, and recondite, and most important subject of the digamma. 
 
 This ascendancy of Dr. Francia in his own profession was carried 
 by him into the government of which he soon became a member. He 
 began too soon, however, to attempt the overthrow of the military in- 
 fluence of his two colleagues, by the mere strength of his own legal 
 knowledge and growing popularity. He sneerecl, cavilled, and com- 
 manded, till the other members of the junta got impatient of his petu- 
 lance. He, on the other hand, refused any longer to brook their igno- 
 rance and assumption. In a fit of disgust and spleen on his part, and 
 under very ready acquiescence on theirs, he retired to the privacy of his 
 small country house, about six miles from town. 
 
 Here it was that gradually and effectually, though silently, he kept 
 extending his influence among the people, by assiduously courting the 
 lower classes, by apparent indifference about power, but constant in- 
 sinuations how much it was abused, and by an affectedly close pro- 
 secution of those studies, to which he knew he owed so much of the 
 blind and increasing deference he enjoyed. 
 
 I happened to live very near to him, at this period, in the country ; 
 and being one evening out shooting, passed so close by his house that, 
 in the exercise of a hospitality at that time common in all the Spanish 
 colonies, he invited me in. The cottage had a low thatched roof with a 
 little porch around it, which afforded shade out of doors, and, by keep- 
 ing the walls and the windows free from the rays of the sun, not only 
 preserved the humble dwelling cool, but cast an agreeable shade of 
 chiaro-scuro over the small rustic apartments within. It was situ- 
 ated at the foot of a little hill, beautifully wooded from the base to 
 the top. A few palm trees waved their graceful and lofty foliage on the 
 natural greensward of the open lawn in front of it. A large field of the 
 sugar-cane and one of cotton on one side of the house, and a thick dark 
 orange grove, affording food and shade to a multitude of parrots, on the 
 other, half occupied the little valley in which stood the lowly but roman- 
 tic dwelling of him who was to be the Dictator and Tyrant of Paraguay. 
 
 The last rays of the sun were just streaming in upon the peaceful 
 little vale, and tinging with the bright colours of evening the woody 
 acclivities in which it was embosomed. The parrots were coming in 
 roost, and the pheasants were taking their evening's repast along the 
 skirts of the fine natural copses everywhere around. 
 
 There was a delightful air of tropical luxuriance and stillness in the 
 scene, well calculated, one should have thought, with the solitary and 
 studious habits of Dr. Francia, to soften his character into something in 
 unison with the ostensible nature of his occupations, and the beautifully 
 sequestered spot in which he pursued them : but wild ambition, like a 
 
Francia, the Dictator. 419 
 
 lurking monster, lay crouching within his bosom, and only waiting for 
 an opportunity to spring from its lair, that it might destroy and desolate 
 the land with'blood, and leave around it a scene of, carnage and dismay. 
 
 He was walking to and fro under the porch, enveloped, after the 
 Spanish fashion, in a loose scarlet cloak, and sipping, through a tube, 
 out of a small calabash, or mate-cup, an infusion of the yerba or Para- 
 guay tea. His figure w r as tall and spare, his complexion swarthy, 
 and his air and manner evidently stern, though relaxed into an expres- 
 sion of grave politeness to receive a guest, whom he perceived to be a 
 foreigner. 
 
 After the first salutation, there was leisure to examine a countenance 
 full of sagacity, asperity, and penetration. His jet black hair was care- 
 fully combed back from his bold forehead, and allowed to fall in profu- 
 sion from the back part of his head almost down upon his shoulders. 
 He shot forth from his dark eyes a very keen and searching glance, from 
 which the attention was taken, however, in some slight degree, by a com- 
 posed, natural, and even simple demeanour and address. He spoke in 
 very general terms of the state of the country ; said he lived very much 
 to himself, and made offer of his house and services, in the terms of 
 commonplace civility usual in the country. 
 
 Shortly after this period he came again into power, having laid all his 
 plans and taken all his preliminary measures for making it permanent, 
 cruel, exclusive to himself, and wholly uncontrollable. 
 
 About the time of Dr. Francia's return to be a member of the go- 
 vernment, Buenos Ayres sent a deputy to Paraguay, with the reasonable 
 and natural expectation of entering into such arrangements, as, without 
 the remotest acknowledgment of dependence on the part of the latter, 
 should lead to reciprocal and friendly relations in politics, but especially 
 in commerce between both. The defined alliance proposed by Buenos 
 Ayres was one so obviously called for by the relative position and cir- 
 cumstances of the two countries, that one should have expected a very 
 speedy termination of the business, by the execution of a treaty founded 
 on stipulations consonant with the views and interests of both parties. 
 The result was far otherwise. 
 
 Dr. Francia had previously determined to have no intercourse with 
 Buenos Ayres or any other country, except Great Britain ; and this was 
 to have been permitted on pretty much the principles and terms so long 
 and so liberally conceded to us by China.' He was to have established 
 an outport at a place called Neembucu, 240 miles from Assumption, the 
 capital of Paraguay, and to have allowed his mercantile allies, the 
 English, to supply from thence their manufactures, on condition that 
 they should at the same time provide him with arms and ammuni- 
 tion. He determined about this period also to get rid of his colleagues 
 in power ; and affected, that before he could give an answer to the 
 deputy from Buenos Ayres, it was necessary he should assemble the 
 Grand Congress, to be composed of representatives minutely and scrupu- 
 lously chosen from among the people. He accordingly issued orders for 
 that purpose, in such a way as that it would require about three months 
 to collect the representatives. The intermediate time he successfully 
 employed in encouraging and increasing the enmity there naturally ex- 
 isted among his countrymen to Buenos Ayres in gaining over to his 
 interest the officers in immediate command of the Paraguay troops in 
 
 2*2 
 
420 Francia, the Dictator. 
 
 making himself personally and familiarly acquainted with every deputy 
 as he came into town and in at once flattering his vanity, and stimu- 
 lating his cupidity, by large but undefined promises of protection and 
 encouragement in relation to the order of men to whom the deputy 
 might happen to belong. By one delay after another, never appearing 
 to originate with Dr. Francia, he protracted the meeting of Congress 
 two months beyond the time appointed for its sitting, after all the depu- 
 ties had arrived in Assumption. By this plan, he not only had an op- 
 portunity of increasing adherents, fortifying converts, and deciding 
 doubters, but brought such inconvenience and expense upon the poor 
 deputies, as, aided by Francia's suggestions, determined them to insist 
 upon a final settlement of all their business on the first day of the meet- 
 ing of Congress. 
 
 They delivered themselves and the country up, bound hand and foot, 
 to the man who was to use the power with which they had invested him 
 for the annihilation of their trade the ruin of their agriculture the 
 absolute slavery of the lower classes and the prostration, imprison- 
 ment, or execution of every man in the country with the remotest pre- 
 tension to influence, wealth, or knowledge. 
 
 It were endless to relate the petty, low, but determined and systematic 
 devices by which Francia proceeded now to initiate his system of ter- 
 rorism. His first care was to call in and to have repaired under his 
 own immediate inspection every straggling musket and rusty blunder- 
 buss which could be collected. The number of guards (" Quarteleros" 
 as they were called, from occupying a quartel or species of barracks) 
 was augmented, and all higher rank than that of captain dispensed 
 with ; the Dictator himself became colonel, general, paymaster, quarter- 
 master, and head-tailor to the regiment. Not a musket was delivered 
 out but by his own hands ; grenadier hats and coat-trimmings were not 
 only devised, but fitted, stored, and distributed by himself. He held 
 personal communication with every man, almost, in his regiment of 
 guards; pampered, flattered, paid, and caressed them. At the same 
 time he diffused among them a spiritof constant and ever-jealous rivalry, 
 and aspiration to his favour and countenance. He began his system of 
 indulgence with the private, and diminished it as he carried it through 
 the grades of corporal, serjeant, ensign, lieutenant, till it faded into 
 nothing with the captain : whose superior rank was thus held subordi- 
 nate to the estimate and importance which every man in the company 
 naturally attached to the Dictator's private countenance and favour as 
 shown to him but denied, or at all events not publicly shown, to his 
 captain. This feeling of importance permitted to the subordinate offi- 
 cers and men was again, however, counteracted by the Dictator's exact- 
 ing from the soldiers and subordinate officers a strict obedience to the 
 captain's orders. The captain thus felt himself, without understanding 
 the plan acted upon by the Dictator, in possession of actual command, 
 without moral power ; and the soldier felt, without seeing how, that al- 
 though he must obey the captain and his other superior officers, as one 
 condition of the Dictator's favour, yet, that if either the captain or the 
 officer did not take care, the Dictator might very easily pitch upon him 
 (the soldier) to fill his place. The jealousy entertained on the one 
 hand by every superior officer of the one next subordinate to him created 
 a prying vigilance as to his conduct, and a never-failing report in case of 
 

 Francia, the Dictator. 421 
 
 misbehaviour. The hope of advancement fostered by the Dictator in 
 the subaltern and private kept them on the other hand within the sphere 
 of duty, but equally ready to report at head-quarters any dereliction from 
 it on the part of their superior officer. At the same time, an esprit 
 de corps was not only encouraged, but inculcated, by which every 
 man in the regiment even the lowest was to consider himself as 
 higher in the scale of importance than any mere civilian. By this dis- 
 tinction in favour of his soldiers, the Dictator not only meant to soothe 
 and compensate for the little feverish feeling to which, individually, 
 every man in the regiment was subjected by his system of discipline, 
 but to try how far he might push a system of terrorism, and annihila- 
 tion of every spark of civil liberty among the people. He was deter- 
 mined, if possible, at once to quell into absolute and silent submission 
 every spirit daring enough to question an authority which he seemed to 
 have determined should not only be boundless, but boundless in its career 
 of cruelty. He devised incessantly new means by which to render still 
 more abject, servile, and ignorant under the appearance, withal, of 
 contentment a people already so low as the Paraguayans were in the 
 scale of political prostration. 
 
 At this period, accordingly, it became impossible to walk the streets 
 without being intentionally jostled by every soldier you met ; he obliged 
 you to take off your hat to him laughed at you sneered at you and 
 asked you for money. No home was safe from their obtrusion, and not 
 many could escape the contagion of their vices. Francia occasionally 
 checked them more to let them feel the Dictator's unbounded power 
 even over the military license which himself had encouraged, than to 
 benefit, or oblige, or gain popularity from those who thus suffered by it. 
 
 His next step was to cut of all intercourse, both mercantile and epis- 
 tolary, with every place beyond the boundaries of Paraguay ; not a soul 
 was permitted to enter or leave the province not a bale of merchandize 
 to be exported; a dead and horrid silence pervaded the province, as if 
 to hide the sad and awful scenes about to be enacted there from the ob- 
 servation, and even from the knowledge, of mankind. 
 
 Busy vessels no longer enlivened the river, nor ministered to com- 
 merce ; the exportable produce of the country rotted in the warehouses ; 
 no more tobacco was grown, because none was inquired for ; the yerba 
 could not be sent away, and therefore was not collected ; the sugar culti- 
 vator suspended his labour; thousands of hale, active men were thrown 
 listless and idle upon the community ; and poverty stalked forth over 
 the land, in all the length and the breadth of it. Twenty-one years 
 have elapsed since Francia shut up the country from its natural inter- 
 course with other parts ; and in that time, not only have the inhabitants 
 relinquished the active and industrious pursuits by which they carried 
 on their once beneficial traffic, but idleness, vice, and misery, and a 
 slavish apathy and total indifference about their condition, have over- 
 taken them. At the same time, the countries which they before sup- 
 plied, especially with the yerba, or tea, and mild tobacco, have either 
 relinquished the use of them, or have had them superseded by importa- 
 tions from other places : so that their misery is not only present but 
 prospective, inasmuch as it will require great exertion and re-action to 
 bring things back even to their original state ; and if we estimate the 
 progress that would have been made under an ordinarily reasonable 
 
422 Francia, the Dictator. 
 
 administration, and compare it with the retardation which has been the 
 unavoidable consequence of Dr. Francia's tyranny, the amount of poli- 
 tical delinquency for which he has to answer will appear equally 
 frightful and incalculable. 
 
 Having delivered himself from all interference from without the pro- 
 vince, the Dictator proceeded now to silence all within. First, under 
 the most frivolous pretexts, and soon under none at all, he proceeded to 
 question, investigate, and set up a political inquisition into the private 
 actions, words, and even looks of every man of the least respectability 
 in the country. One man was taken up because he had written a letter 
 to Buenos Ayres, another because he had received one from that place. 
 Sometimes it was a delinquency to have spoken to the former members 
 of Government ; and at others, to have regretted that the trade of the 
 province was dying away. One after another of such presumptuous 
 scribblers and babblers as these was first imprisoned, and ^soon after 
 shot: their friends and relations often shared the same fate, because 
 they had been heard to regret the untimely end of him who had suf- 
 fered before them. Latterly, it was an unpardonable offence to inquire 
 even after the fate of a long-imprisoned, solitary, and famished dungeon- 
 outcast, under the Dictator's displeasure. One very fine young man, 
 Andrez Gomez, who was several years in my service in the capacity of 
 agent, upon the simple ground of better knowledge and more free in- 
 quiry than was usual among his countrymen, and of connexion and cor- 
 respondence with people not in the country, was torn from the arms of 
 his mother and sister thrown into a dungeon chained to the floor of 
 it left without communication with a human being but the gaoler 
 without the means even of cleaning his person till despair took place 
 of patience and reason, and he became a mournful maniac the victim 
 of Francia's groundless but unrelenting displeasure. To such a length 
 and to so great a degree has this persecution of well-doing, virtuous men 
 been carried, of men who constituted the only little respectability that 
 was to be found in the country, that there is not now a single family 
 of that class which does not mourn the loss of a father, a husband, or 
 a brother, and always of that member of the family who was looked 
 upon as its greatest ornament. The least spirit of enterprise or inves- 
 tigation, especially, was unpardonable ; and poor Padre Maiz, whom 
 the Spanish Bishop was content to banish to a country curacy for hav- 
 ing constructed a celestial globe, has now been immured in a dungeon, 
 for saying that " vox populi" was " vox Diaboli" in such a country 
 as Paraguay. 
 
 The Dictator's practice, when he rides out, is to send two guards 
 a'bout one hundred yards before him ; it being an understood requisition 
 to the inhabitants, when these guards come in front of their houses, 
 either that they shut their doors quite close, or leave them wide open ; 
 in the latter case, the owner of the house is obliged to stand out in the 
 street. This is to prevent the supposed probability of any one's taking 
 aim, from behind a Aa//-opened door, at the Dictator ; but it seems, in 
 fact, only to be one of the many devices by which he has chosen to bring 
 it irresistibly home to every man under his government, that Dictator 
 Francia is lord and master absolute. No one knows so well as the Dic- 
 tator himself, in Paraguay, that he has effectually silenced sedition and 
 conspiracy. He has left wholly unnerved every arm, and most effec- 
 
Francia, the Dictator. 423 
 
 luiilly subdued every spirit capable of giving that arni an impulse strong 
 enough to reach his cold heart. 
 
 Nothing can be more clearly indicative of the penetration, manage- 
 ment, and resolution by which Francia has subdued into slavish fear the 
 people over whom he rules., than the fact that, though they are 300,000 
 in number, his whole regular military force does not exceed 3000 men*. 
 
 But the same system of discipline, founded upon the great agitating 
 principles of our nature hope and fear, which he introduced into his 
 small regiment of guards, he diffused over the whole community. He 
 dispensed with all assistance in his government, except what was 
 merely mechanical, and could be rendered by the very lowest members 
 of the community. He was his own Minister of Finance, Secretary at 
 War, Collector of Customs, and Keeper of the strong box of the State. 
 No petty commandant of a petty village could pay his drummer and fifer 
 without an express order from the Dictator. He was the very axis upon 
 which every piece of the State-machinery turned, at once the centre of 
 attraction toward which everything gravitated, and the point from which 
 all public matters, great and small, were made to emanate. At the same 
 time, he professed ever to be looking out for agents and assistants ; and 
 the lowest man employed about him was allowed to entertain the hope 
 that he might become his minister or secretary. As the hopes of those 
 about him were thus excited, so, on the other hand, was their fear 
 equally alarmed, lest, instead of having places under the Government, 
 they might one day find themselves in a prison, or on the scaffold. 
 
 He once imprisoned a man, for whom an individual, in acknowledged 
 favour, ventured to intercede. " Sir," said the Dictator, " I made you 
 my friend, not because you deserved it, but because I chose it. You 
 now pretend to dictate to me, and by implication to impugn my judgment, 
 by speaking in favour of a person whom you know that judgment has con- 
 demned. You thus negatively advocate his cause, and support his prin- 
 ciples. Go where he is." And without a word more, he dispatched 
 him to a solitary dungeon, contiguous to that in which lay confined the 
 individual for whose liberation he had so imprudently and so fruitlessly 
 pleaded. 
 
 A lieutenant, presuming upon the Dictator's fancied partiality for him, 
 disobeyed his captain, and gave it as a reason for his doing so, that he 
 
 * In au article,, in the last Number of the " New Monthly Magazine," on 
 Dr. Francia, the population of Paraguay is stated at 500,000 ; but this includes 
 the migratory and other trihes of Indians on the west hank of the river Para- 
 guay, or Great Chaco ; and many of these, though, strictly speaking, in 
 Francia's territory, can in no sense he said to be under his control. The river 
 forms the great dividing barrier between them and that part of the province which 
 lies on the east side of it. The morasses and almost impervious brushwood of the 
 Chaco form an insuperable obstacle to any attempt at conquest there, even, were 
 that desirable. 
 
 The Indians referred to in the present Article are the Guarani Indians, origi- 
 nally found on the east side of the river, settled in small townships by the Jesuits, 
 and now, in a great measure, amalgamated with the descendants of the Spaniards. 
 
 The militia in Paraguay are stated, in Mrs. Norton's article, at 20,000 men. At 
 one time (about 1812) there might have been about half that number; but since 
 Francia called in the muskets, blunderbusses, and pistols scattered over the country, 
 and in the hands of the straggling militia force, their exercise has been disconti- 
 nued, and even the mustering of them at all ; they cannot, therefore, now, be con- 
 sidered as 'a military body. Francia early became jealous of them, and took instant 
 steps to curtail their power of ever rising against him. 
 
424 Francia, the Dictator. 
 
 was more a favourite of the Dictator's than the captain himself. The 
 Dictator heard this said not a word to the lieutenant; but ordering a 
 muster of the Quarteleros, or Guards, he went up to the officer, and 
 pulling him out of the ranks, he addressed him in this way : " I found 
 you a beggar, and I made you an officer : I now find you an ill-behaved 
 officer, and send you back to be a well-behaved beggar : for if you are 
 not that, I shall put you in the stocks or a worse place." Hereupon, he 
 had the officer stripped of his uniform, clothed in garments suited to a 
 beggar, and drummed out of the regiment. 
 
 In the year 1814, an event happened to myself, which, as developing 
 in its progress and results much of both the policy and character of Dr. 
 Francia, I shall here relate. 
 
 Before he discovered himself to be the ambitious despot and cruel 
 tyrant which he afterwards proved, I was in habits of great intimacy 
 and personal friendship with him ; and I had derived much pleasure, 
 as well as information on matters connected with South America, in his 
 society. Being almost the only foreigner in the country, Dr. Francia had 
 calculated, through me, on providing himself with what he might require 
 in the shape of warlike stores, without interference on the part of 
 Buenos Ayres to prevent their transit to Paraguay ; and he anticipated 
 that even if such a disposition should be manifested, our naval com- 
 manders on the station would not permit it to be carried into action. The 
 province of Paraguay was at this time at peace with all the others of 
 the river Plate. On leaving Paraguay, accordingly, with an intention to 
 return shortly, Dr. Francia commissioned me to bring him, if possible, 
 some sabres and muskets. 
 
 I shipped them, with the consent of the Buenos Ayres' Government, 
 in a vessel of my own, and proceeded up the river Plate on my voyage, 
 the third I had now made to Paraguay. I had left a brother there, in 
 management of my rather extensive concerns, during my absence. One 
 beautiful evening I went out in a boat to shoot pheasants, which abound 
 along the banks of the river. The schooner was moored to a tree, the 
 wind not being strong enough to enable us to stem the current, and the 
 laborious work of dragging the vessel up by ropes being, for the day, at 
 an end. 
 
 On my return, what were my horror and surprise to discover that a 
 party of soldiers had taken possession of her, and were pointing their 
 muskets into the boat : a serjeant, apparently in command of the party, 
 called out to me to stop, and presently sent his own boat to mine, with a 
 number of fierce-looking and most tattered men-at-arms. They tied 
 my hands behind my back, and in woful plight conveyed me on board 
 of my own ship. Here I found all mystery and confusion. I could 
 get no explanation of the outrage committed, nor of the power or party 
 by whose authority it was done; but I found my cabin completely 
 ransacked every one of the soldiers intoxicated one man with my 
 watch, another with a coat, a third with a pair of boots ; my whole 
 wardrobe was already distributed among these Philistines, and the place, 
 which two hours before I had left a picture of comfort and neatness, 
 was converted literally into a den of thieves and robbers, They stripped 
 me of every article of clothing, leaving me, in lieu of my own dress, 
 one of their veiy scanty great-coats and an old soldier's cap. After 
 beating me with their swords, and threatening with pointed pistols and 
 
Francia, the Dictator. 425 
 
 brandished sabres to take my life, they thrust me, bound as I was with 
 thongs, into the hold of the vessel. Here I lay, in horror and in dark- 
 ness, the whole night. I could hear nothing but the yells and carousals 
 of this troop of brigands except that, ever and anon, one or other of 
 their number would lift up the hatchway or covering of the hold, and cry 
 aloud to me, " Preparese a morir !" (Prepare to die.) 
 
 At length the morning dawned upon me ; and a search was com- 
 menced into every corner of the vessel packages were upturned and 
 broke open amid oaths and execrations, boisterous threats, and fiendlike 
 looks. The muskets and sabres were found ; but the men were per- 
 suaded there must be money on board, which, not having discovered, 
 they thought I had determined to conceal. Hereupon they landed, and 
 carried me into the wood ; I could give them no money, for they had 
 taken all. They tied me to a tree, and being drawn up by their ser- 
 jeant, were ordered to level their muskets and fire. At this moment 
 one of their own band a robust, swarthy Indian interceded. He 
 claimed a right, he said, to ask a favour and that favour, to my no 
 small joy and gratitude was, " that my life should be spared." It was 
 so. I was again carried on board of my vessel again put into the 
 hold ; and the crew being ordered to get under weigh, we were turned 
 in a direction contrary to that of our intended voyage, and carried down 
 the river at a rapid rate, both wind and current being with us. I was 
 now informed that the men in possession of the ship and property, as 
 well as of my person, were a party of soldiers belonging to the famous 
 chief Artigas ; and that they had been despatched from a place called 
 the Baxada of Santa Fe, for the express purpose of overtaking and 
 seizing the ship. Information, it seems, had been lodged with the com- 
 mandant of that place by one of the sailors, who had left her on the 
 upward voyage, that there were arms on board ; and this functionary, 
 without further ceremony or pretext, had sent out the party on their 
 commission of robbery, which, but for the interference of my Indian 
 friend, would have been consummated by murder. As we sailed down 
 the river, and my rough companions perceived my unobtrusive acquies- 
 cence in what was beyond my control, they relaxed a little in their 
 severity, and gave me occasionally a glass of my own wine. One day 
 they laid their hands upon a double flageolet, and after much expression 
 of wonder at the combination of two flutes or pipes into one, they 
 insisted upon it that I should play them a tune. I was not, as you may 
 conceive, gentle reader, in the best frame of mind to indulge in music ; 
 but the reiterated, and now rather stern orders to proceed, made me 
 change my note. "Toca la flauta," said the serjeant; " Vamos, hom- 
 bre, toca la flauta," said my Indian friend; " Toca, le digo," insisted a 
 fierce-looking corporal, till, rather frightened by their threats than 
 yielding to their solicitations, I did literally sit down ; and a prisoner, on 
 the stern of the vessel, in my miserable habiliments and total uncertainty 
 as to the fate which awaited me surrounded, too, by an audience far 
 from indulgent or complacent, I tuned my flageolet. I pray that no 
 one who condescends to read this may ever, in a similar predicament, 
 be constrained as I was " tocar la flauta," (to play the flute;) and yet 
 the sequel will show that I was constrained to do much harder things. 
 
 Having reached the Baxada, I was landed from the vessel under a 
 feu de joie of musketry, in token of rejoicing for the victory achieved, 
 
426 Francia, the Dictator. 
 
 and the brave troops who had made so brilliant a prize in so undaunted 
 a manner, marched me up the hill which leads from the harbour to the 
 town. With my arms pinioned, my soldier's coat and cap, and a pair 
 of old shoes being most literally my only habiliments, was I escorted 
 along in a strange land, and without the slightest chance, according to 
 human probabilities, of communicating even to my friends at Buenos 
 Ayres the predicament in which I was placed. We were separated by 
 a distance of 320 miles, with only two or three small intervening towns, 
 and mud-huts at intervals of five leagues each, for the relay of horses. 
 
 At this critical moment, and as despair almost was quite overpower- 
 ing hope, I met, coming out of the town, a red-haired Englishman named 
 Manuel, who had once been a servant of mine. As the party, under 
 whose escort I was, passed him, I had just time to implore him " for 
 God's sake to go and report to my friends what he had seen, and what 
 he could further learn of my imprisonment." Five minutes afterwards 
 I was marched into the public prison, ft consisted of but one largo 
 apartment totally unfurnished, unless a dozen bullocks' skulls, occupied 
 by so many prisoners, as scats, could be called furniture. I was re- 
 ceived by the savage inmates of this charnel-house with a frightful yell 
 of commingled welcome and derision. They struck their hands in rapid 
 succession against their mouths, and shouted forth their fiendish screams 
 at a pitch so discordant and so loud, that I felt as if I had at once been 
 ushered into Dante's hell, or Milton's pandemonium. It was towards 
 evening, and the flickering embers of a fire, in the middle of the prison, 
 at which the half-naked and swarthy wretches had been cooking their 
 day's meal, sent up, enveloped in smoke, a few feeble rays, which 
 lingering on their ferocious countenances, added indescribable horror to 
 the general gloom of the place. The prisons in South America team 
 with inmates guilty of every species of crime, but chiefly of the crime 
 of murder. Every one of the lower classes there carries a knife in his 
 girdle, and in their orgies at the gin-shops, or " pulperias," the use of 
 the knife is invariably resorted to as the only legitimate arbiter of their 
 quarrels. You are constantly shocked, as you pass one or other church- 
 door in any of the larger towns, by the exhibition of some stabbed 
 corpse, laid out by order of the clergy to excite the compassion of the 
 beholders, and through this compassion, to extort from them the means 
 to defray the expense of burying the murdered man. Thus, even mur- 
 der, there', constitutes no inconsiderable part of the Church's gain. 
 
 With this class of prisoners, was I now constrained to live in 
 common : they insisted upon my treating them to a bottle of spirits, 
 assuring me that it was an invariable, indeed immemorial practice, 
 thus to drink the health of every new lodger at his own expense. They 
 added, that if I were not shot before the next lodger came, I should then 
 participate, in common with them, in the enjoyment of this well-known 
 right and ancient privilege of the prison. I had no money not a quar- 
 tillo left me : and so not to infringe this traditional and long-respected 
 privilege they stripped me of my cap and old shoes, sold them for 
 "aguardiente" (the spirit of the country), and pledged me, as they insisted 
 upon it that I should pledge them, in a draught of the nauseous beverage, 
 handed round to the company in a filthy bullock's horn. 
 
 I relished this second edition of " toca la flauta," as little as the first : 
 but not to shock or detain.you by a detail of the tedious and varied misery 
 
Francia, the Dictator. 427 
 
 which, day after clay, and night after night, I experienced in this 
 wretched ahode, I shall simply add, that almost overborne by the weight 
 of calamity and woe which pressed upon me, I slight the last refuge of 
 the wretched sleep ; and I found it found it even upon the cold, 
 dank floor of the Baxada Prison, and amid the yells and the carousals 
 of the inmates of it. Nine long days and longer nights did I pass 
 there ; and I heard, during that time, my execution spoken of by the 
 other prisoners as a thing quite settled. They went out to w r ork in their 
 chains every day, and heard, and repeated to me, the reports on this 
 subject, as quite matter of notoriety. 
 
 Frequently was I taken, under an escort, to the governor's house, to 
 be examined on the various crimes and misdemeanours all of course 
 supposititious that were alleged against me ; and each time was I fully 
 persuaded, that instead of being called out for examination, I was 
 wanted for execution. 
 
 It is alleged that a shock of joy is often more fatal than a shock of 
 grief; and I believe experience has shown it to be necessary to an- 
 nounce, to even the hardiest felons, the news of a reprieve from sentence 
 of death with great circumspection. Possibly, however, as much cir- 
 cumspection might be wanted to announce to an ardent, loving hus- 
 band the quite unexpected death of a dear and doating wife. How the 
 theory of this comparative violence of sudden and unexpected emotions 
 of pleasure and of woe might turn 'out really to be, if closely and analy- 
 tically examined, I am not at present prepared to say ; but you shall 
 require no theory to persuade you, gentle reader, of the joy unspeakable, 
 the heartfelt delight, with which I received his Excellency the Governor, 
 when, on the ninth evening of my confinement, he came in, and with an 
 air of awkward condescension, which spoke volumes to me, announced 
 that he had received orders from General Artigas to set me at liberty. 
 Not an antelope bounding on the Andes not a frisking fawn skipping 
 in buoyant joy before its dam not a horse that " paweth in the valley, 
 and rejoiceth in his strength "no, nor yet Leviathan, when " in his 
 neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him," 
 was half so joyful as I, when my prison doors were thrown open, and I 
 was told to " go free." I felt not the ground under me as I ran, or rather 
 flew, to the house of a countryman in the town, ai Mr. Nightingale, 
 and there found solace, welcome, and repose. My beard, which had 
 grown for a fortnight, was shaved; the tattered great coat, my sole and 
 scanty covering, was exchanged for a clean shirt and comfortable suit of 
 clothes ; a hospitable board was spread for my refreshment ; and wine, 
 that " maketh glad the heart," was substituted in a limpid glass, for 
 the ditch-water beverage, in a bullock's horn, which had been my cold, 
 cold drink in prison. I found from my friend Mr. Nightingale (and, 
 be it observed, in justice to him, that all intercourse with me in prisoft, 
 except with the prisoners themselves, had been interdicted, or I should 
 have seen him before,) that my guardian angel, " red-haired Manuel," 
 had ridden to Buenos Ayres, a distance of three hundred and twenty 
 miles, in the almost incredibly short space of two days and two nights. 
 
 He had taken his departure a few hours after he met me in my for- 
 lorn procession to prison. He heard at once, in the town of the Baxada, 
 all the particulars of my capture, and set off with them, instantly, to my 
 friend Mr. Thoroughgood, known at that time from his extraordinary 
 
428 Francia t the Dictator. 
 
 height of six feet five, and extensive dealings with Paraguay, sometimes 
 as the " Paraguay Giant," and sometimes (his Christian name being 
 Thomas) as " Don Tomas y medio," that is, " Thomas and a half." 
 Mr. Thoroughgood instantly laid my case before the Honourable Joscelyn 
 Percy, then in command of the Hotspur frigate, and of his Britannic 
 Majesty's ships and vessels in the river Plate. This officer, with a truly 
 Hotspur alacrity and decision, yet tempered, in him, as a seaman, by the 
 discipline of modern naval tactics, and as a diplomatist, by the manda- 
 tory coolness of very defined instructions from the Foreign Office, deter- 
 mined at once what was to be done. 
 
 He had a beautiful little vessel, w r hich he had built on board of his 
 own frigate, after her model, and called the " Little Hotspur." He 
 despatched this man-of-war yacht to General Artigas, under the com- 
 mand of a very gallant English tar, then Lieutenant . He was 
 
 familiarly styled, by his messmates, and very appropriately, " Old Blow- 
 hard;" and he is now a distinguished post-captain in the navy. With 
 his smart coat, and most uncompromising cocked hat, this officer deli- 
 vered into the hands of the then all but omnipotent chief Artigas the des- 
 patches of Captain Percy. They were to the short and simple effect, 
 that unless I were liberated, and my property delivered up, (it being no- 
 torious that I had infringed no known law of the country,) he would im- 
 mediately proceed to make reprisals of all property under Artigas' flag. 
 This spirited display of cool and reasonable resolution had its desired 
 effect on the banditti chief Artigas : he despatched instant orders for my 
 liberation to the Governor of the Baxada; and in consequence of these 
 orders it was, that I was released from prison. 
 
 But Captain Percy did not stop here. At the same time that he sent 
 over his ship-of-war to Artigas, he despatched a well-known, active, and 
 athletic courier, of the name of Bob Braveall, to me at the Baxada, 
 with a communication to the Governor of that town, to this effect : 
 
 " Sir, You have, I understand, taken violent possession of the ship, 
 property, and person of the British subject, Mr. Renimaxe ; I beg to in- 
 form you that I have despatchedthe bearer, Mr. Braveall, to the Baxada, 
 for the express purpose of conveying to you a copy of my official notice, 
 on the subject of Mr. Renimaxe's illegal imprisonment, to General 
 Artigas. And I have to request, on the alternative there proposed, that 
 all proceedings against the British subject referred to be suspended, and 
 himself in the meantime liberated from prison, under such surveillance 
 as you may deem proper, until you receive specific and final instructions 
 on the subject from the most excellent Protector (so was Artigas then 
 styled) of the independent provinces of the river Plate. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, &c. 
 (Signed) " JOSCELYN PERCY, 
 
 " Commander of his Britannic Majesty's Forces 
 in the Rio de la Plata." 
 
 The Commandant and Governor of the Baxada had received, the day 
 before, the order from General Artigas himself for my liberation, issued 
 in consequence of the receipt of Captain Percy's communication to him 
 direct, by the Little Hotspur. It was the day after my liberation, that 
 the courier, Mr. Braveall, arrived at the Baxada from Buenos Ayres; 
 and though the demand for my liberation was no longer necessary, 
 through this channel, it will yet be readily believed that I did not the 
 
Francia, the Dictator. 429 
 
 less gratefully or gladly receive so triumphant a testimonial of my 
 innocence, and so handsome and effectual a proof of the alacrity 
 and zeal with which British interests were watched over, even in 
 the remotest parts of that almost uninhabited waste. I have much 
 pleasure, and I have much pride, in paying this small, alas ! very small 
 tribute of public acknowledgment and gratitude to Captain Percy, be he, 
 now, where he may. 
 
 In a few days after my personal liberation, my property was restored 
 to me, and my vessel, with the trifling deficit of about five thousand 
 dollars, which, besides the muskets, had been actually and irretrievably 
 plundered by the military cormorants of the place. The vessel proceeded 
 on her voyage to Paraguay ; I visited my friends at Buenos Ayres, and 
 thanked Captain Percy for his most timely and effectual interposition ; 
 I then went to the camp of General Artigas, and endeavoured, but in 
 vain, to get compensation for my stolen property; and I finally pro- 
 ceeded to Paraguay, on horseback, expecting at any rate, there, to be 
 received by Dr. Francia with open arms, after all I had suffered and lost 
 on his account. How far my expectations were answered, in this respect, 
 will be shown in a subsequent paper. It is solely with a view to the 
 better development of Dr. Francia's character, by showing the part he 
 acted in the sequel of this episode, that it has been at all introduced. 
 
 A TRAVELLER. 
 
 A POET S EPITAPH. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF " CORN-LAW RHYMES." 
 
 STOP, mortal ! Here thy brother lies, 
 
 The Poet of the Poor! 
 His books were rivers, woods, and skies, 
 
 The meadow and the moor ; 
 
 His teachers were the torn heart's wail, 
 
 The tyrant and the slave, 
 The street, the factory, the jail, 
 
 The palace and the grave ! 
 
 Sin met thy brother everywhere ! 
 
 And is thy brother blamed ? 
 From passion/danger, doubt and care, 
 
 He no exemption claim'd. 
 
 The meanest thing, earth's feeblest worm, 
 
 He fear'd to scorn or hate ; 
 But, honouring in a peasant's form 
 
 The equal of the great, 
 
 He bless'd the steward, whose wealth makes 
 
 The poor man's little more ; 
 Yet loathed the haughty wretch that takes 
 
 From plunder' d labour's store. 
 
 A hand to do, a head to plan, 
 
 A heart to feel and dare, 
 Tell Man's worst foes, here lies the m an 
 
 Who drew them as they are. 
 
( 430 ) 
 
 GILBERT GURNET. 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 So much has "been said and written from the days of Shakspeare to 
 our own degenerate times about the vice of drinking, that I have no 
 intention of dilating upon its folly and disgracefulness ; but in con- 
 fessing that I drank a great deal too much of everything exciting and 
 intoxicating upon this particular occasion, I may perhaps be permitted 
 to say, that although, under the influence of agreeable conversation and 
 a bad example, I might be induced now and then to exceed, I was not 
 habitually addicted to what are called Bacchanalian pleasures ; and that 
 one bout similar to that to which I now refer, generally produced at least 
 a six weeks' course of repentance. So it was upon this memorable night 
 for memorable, indeed, it proved to me ; and so rapidly did our potations 
 affect my faculties, that in the plenitude of our mutual confidence by 
 which, be it understood, I mean the confidence of Daly in inquiring, and 
 my own confidence in answering I imparted to him the secret of my 
 attachment to an amiable, dear, unsophisticated creature, who was 
 living in the romantic and beautiful sea-port of Tenby in South Wales ; 
 whither she had been conveyed, as it had been hinted to me, to get 
 her out of my reach, by her mother, whose designs for her were of the 
 Corinthian order, and who had no notion of allowing her lily to waste 
 its sweetness upon a desert " heir " to four or five hundred a-year. 
 
 I just recollect the enthusiasm with which I described my Emma's 
 beauties as the lamps twinkled before my eyes, and the various " drinks " 
 which Daly had ordered passed over my senseless palate ; but I was 
 diffuse in my eulogiums, and candid in the extreme as to the certainty 
 of my failure in obtaining the golden apple of the Cambrian Hesperides, 
 watched as it was by the matronly dragon who, as I firmly believed, 
 detested me. 
 
 In those days there really existed something like sentiment and affec- 
 tion, devoted and unqualified by worldly grovellings. Now, these exist 
 no longer; nobody ever hears of an unmarried woman's being seriously 
 attached j the highly-accomplished and double-refined beauty of the 
 period at which I write would be shocked to death if she were thought 
 to be what in other times was called being in love. Girls like dandies, 
 and with the dandies whom they like they flirt, and they waltz, and, if 
 it happens to be quite convenient to all parties, eventually marry them. 
 Wit and accomplishments have taken place of that sober serious devo- 
 tion which " looked unutterable things ;" and a man in these times con- 
 victed of having been upon his knees, would be as much damaged in the 
 estimation of the sporting-world, as a horse would be for the same reason. 
 
 But when I was sitting sipping and sighing at Dejex's it was not so. 
 I remember treasuring a fan of Emma's, as I would the relic of a 
 saint, aye and worshipping it, too. To a white kid glove ripped at the 
 thumb, I have bowed as pilgrims would at a shrine ; and a rose which 
 once had graced her bosom has been deposited in the leaf of some 
 favoured book to dry, a botanical memorandum of her beauties and my 
 own devotion. 
 
 I have a faint recollection of Daly's strong encouragement in my 
 pursuit, and a most earnest protestation of assistance in any of the 
 
Gilbert Gurney. 33 
 
 taken to her Ladyship. Consternation reigned, and his Royal Highness 
 had to re-ascend the stairs, and wait until the whole affair was re- 
 arranged. Of course I was as ignorant as my neighbours of the cause 
 of this calamity, and should have remained so until now, had not Daly 
 told me, in our way home, that having gone out into the garden in order 
 to get rid of his Jew's dress and basket, where he deposited them, he 
 found a band of Pandean Minstrels, puffing their hearts out into their 
 pipes, to which nobody listened, and being resolved, if possible, to destroy 
 the royal monopoly in the tent-room, to which he had not been invited, 
 and which, although locked towards the lobby, opened on to the lawn, he 
 directed the weary performers to go in at the window, which he set wide 
 for the purpose, and get their supper ; advising them by no means to call 
 for anything that was not there already to eat and drink what they 
 could, to make as much haste as possible, and when they had done to 
 lock the window on the outside, and throw the key into the two yards 
 square pond, which in rainy weather served as a wet dock to her Lady- 
 ship's pet swan. All of which instructions, it appeared, the said Pan- 
 deans followed to the very letter; and thus, to his infinite delight, 
 caused that confusion in which his heart so wonderfully rejoiced. 
 
 It was nearly five when I handed Mrs. Fletcher Green into her plain 
 dark brown chariot. I ventured to express some solicitude about her com- 
 panion at the supper-room door, till she assured me that she was quite 
 safe ; ' c because," said she, " she has a husband here to take care of her. 
 I am quite independent a thousand thanks I hope we shall be better 
 acquainted." 
 
 Away she drove I turned into the house to look for Daly but I 
 confess Mrs. Fletcher Green had made an impression upon me there 
 was such a charming mixture of worldliness and nature about her I 
 mean such a perfect knowledge of every body in society, and of every 
 thing that was going on, mixed with a genuine kind-heartedness a love 
 of fun and an artless hearty good nature ; all of which, combined with 
 talent of a high order, and accomplishments which even my short inter- 
 course with her had convinced me were of the first class, rendered her 
 engaging interesting captivating ! 
 
 When I went up stairs to look for my friend, the sun had superseded 
 the lamps and candles the decorations of the preceding night had lost 
 their freshness ; even the flowers were drooping the lovely girls looked 
 haggard, and the elderly ladies horrid the rouge burnt blue on their 
 cheeks, and there was not a curl in the whole community. Masks and 
 character-dresses lay heaped in corners, disregarded ; and people, in 
 their own proper persons, were languidly praising the humours and 
 delights of the party, listening, listlessly, for the announcement of the 
 carriages which were to take them away ; the vapour of tea and coffee 
 which were served, were the only refreshments of ihefletri scene, if I 
 except the morning air, which some of the most venturous of the girls 
 dared to admit through the open windows, malgre the warnings of their 
 more prudent mothers. 
 
 I soon found Daly, and we retired together my head aching my 
 heart not easy tired worn out and as much fatigued as if I had 
 travelled a journey of two hundred miles. All the consolation I derived 
 from my own sensations was, the hope that my friend would be equally 
 knocked up with myself, and would therefore delay his departure for 
 Tenby, for at least another day. 
 
 May. VOL, XLIV. NO. CLXXIII. D 
 
( 34 ) 
 
 FRANCIA, THE DICTATOR.* 
 
 THE vessel in which I had been made prisoner was called the Ingle- 
 sita. Being now liberated, she proceeded from the Baxada, on her 
 original voyage to Assumption, the capital of Paraguay. In the letter- 
 bag of general correspondence, which had been put on board at Buenos 
 Ayres, and which contained a great mass of letters from the merchants 
 and other persons there connected with Paraguay, there was one also 
 from Don Nicolas Heirera, then secretary of the Buenos Ayres govern- 
 ment, to Dr. Francia. This same Mr. Herrera had been the envoy 
 from that place to Paraguay, on the mission which so entirely failed, to 
 solicit, and establish by treaty, a commercial intercourse between the 
 two republics. I had known him very intimately, and seen him very 
 frequently at my house, during his residence at Assumption, about a 
 year before the events of which I am now writing occurred. 
 
 So much afraid were the natives, and all in any way connected with 
 Dr. Francia, of the remotest intercourse with the Buenos Ayres envoy, 
 that he was almost quite shut out from society. Dr. Francia was pleased 
 to extend to me, as a foreigner, the privilege of seeing as much of Mr. 
 Herrera as I chose : " for," said the Dictator, " I know you don't med- 
 dle with our politics ; and it is a pity that so loquacious a gentleman as 
 Mr. Herrera should be obliged to hold his tongue all day, for want of 
 any one to talk to : I wish you much joy of his company : he is a miser- 
 able charlatan." 
 
 The Dictator did me no more than justice in saying that I did not 
 meddle with his politics. I had too much regard both for life and for- 
 tune to do so. However occupied I might be in thinking of his mea- 
 sures, and in judging, by the signs, of the coming storm, I abstained most 
 scrupulously from all reference to the sultry state of the political atmo- 
 sphere, or the gathering darkness that might be seen on the horizon. 
 
 To Mr. Herrera, the Dictator by no means did justice. With much 
 shrewdness of character, and very gentlemanlike manners, the Buenos 
 Ayres envoy was a man of some literary attainments, and of so happy a 
 perception of the ridiculous, as to render him a very agreeable com- 
 panion, in a country affording such ample scope for the exercise of the 
 latter talent. 
 
 This gentleman, then, just before I sailed from Buenos Ayres in the 
 Inglesita, requested me to wait on him at the Government-house, he 
 being at the time Secretary of State. He told me that the govern- 
 ment had determined to write to Dr. Francia, knowing him to be in 
 great want of muskets, and offering to supply them, if, in return, he 
 would send them some Paraguay recruits. General Albear was then 
 Director of Buenos Ayres. 1 was introduced to him : he confirmed 
 Mr. Herrera's statement, and added, that as I was so well acquainted 
 with the state of affairs, both in Paraguay and the provinces of the river 
 Plate, the government, in its letter to the Dictator, would refer him to 
 me for information on all matters connected with the state of the country. 
 
 A communication to this effect was accordingly put into the Ingle- 
 sita's letter-bag ; and it was, as a matter of course, seized, and with all 
 the other letters and papers on board, at the time of the vessel's cap- 
 ture, sent to General Artigas. 
 
 Continued from Vol. xliii., p. 492. 
 
Francia, the Dictator. 35 
 
 Of this extraordinary man almost as great a wonder in one way, as 
 Dr. Francia in another I propose to give some account in a future 
 paper. Suffice it, in the mean time, to say, that at the period of which 
 I now write (1814-15), Artigas, at open war with Buenos Ayres, had 
 withdrawn from the federal union with that place, most of the interior 
 provinces and towns on the west side of the river Plate, and all those 
 on the east side, or Banda Oriental. Under the title of " Most Excel- 
 lent Protector " of those provinces, his word became a law, and his 
 measures, all directed against Buenos Ayres, threatened her very ex- 
 istence as an independent state. 
 
 Artigas was not at war with Paraguay; but he was using every 
 underhand and seductive means in his power sometimes resorting even 
 to open predatory incursions into that province to undermine the in- 
 fluence of the Dictator. Things were so equally poised between them 
 Francia being strong in his river-girt, isolated territory, and Artigas 
 powerful by his influence over the adjacent provinces, as well as by his 
 means of rapid locomotion with his cavalry that each had abstained 
 from any formal declaration of war against the other. But both were 
 intent upon making it, the moment that either should find himself with 
 such accession of power as should give him the decided superiority. 
 
 Meanwhile, from their respective fastnesses, they stood watching and 
 looking at each other like two implacable beasts of prey, resolved upon 
 the onset, yet pausing to measure, by their keen, ferocious glance, the 
 precise moment at which it might be most advantageously made. 
 
 In this position of affairs, having sent off the Inglesita from the Bax- 
 ada to Assumption, I returned on horseback to Buenos Ayres, thence 
 visited the camp of General Artigas, and finally proceeded on my jour- 
 ney, by land, to Paraguay. 
 
 Scarcely had I set foot on that territory when I was met by a courier, 
 which my brother had dispatched, with a letter to the following effect : 
 
 "Assumption, 1814-15. 
 
 " My dear John, Your vessel, the Inglesita, has arrived. The Dictator, 
 however, not only refuses to permit her" discharge, but has commanded me 
 to send her back, within eight days from this time. He has ordered me, 
 also, to quit the province, and allows me only three weeks to wind up your 
 affairs ; so that your scattered property here, and all the money owing to 
 you, may be considered as entirely lost. 
 
 " Nor is this all. The Dictator requires me to tell you, that as you value 
 your life, you are never again to set foot in Paraguay ; and I am too well 
 persuaded of his deadly intentions, not on the instant to dispatch our 
 courier, Velasquez, to you with the fatal news. I beseech, I intreat of 
 you, on no account to come here. I shall myself do all I possibly can, 
 in the short space allotted to me, to bring your affairs to a close. 
 
 " I will then join you wherever you may direct me to do so : and be so 
 good as to let me know your plans, that I may co-operate towards their exe- 
 cution as far as" lies in my power. The reasons alleged by Francia for 
 these harsh measures against you (and you know his measures to be not 
 more harsh than his resolutions irrevocable) are two : 
 
 " First, he says, that Captain Percy ought to have insisted, with Ar- 
 tigas, upon restitution of the muskets, as well as of your other property ; 
 and he asked me, in a tone of bitterness and indignation which 1 have sel- 
 dom observed, even in him, if 1 thought it reasonable that he should per- 
 mit a commerce in English rags to Paraguay, while yet the Commander of 
 the British forces was so pusillanimous as not to protect a trade in arms? 
 He says he will allow no such thing ; and is determined they shall know, 
 
 D 2 
 
36 Francia, the Dictator. 
 
 in Great Britain, that there is at least one man in the world he, too, a 
 Dictator that as little courts their alliance as he values their protection. 
 
 " The second source of Francia's displeasure, he urges as originating 
 entirely with yourself: and hence his terrible bitterness against you per- 
 sonally. 
 
 " It seems that among the letters taken by Artigas on board of the In- 
 glesita, there was one addressed by the Buenos Ay res government to Dr. 
 Francia, requesting him to send them recruits, in return for which they 
 would supply him with arms. Most unfortunately, reference is made to 
 you in this letter, as authorized by the Director Albear, to communicate 
 with the Dictator on this and other subjects. He hence infers and in- 
 sists upon it that you have been intriguing against him with the Buenos 
 Ayres government : and how vain how much worse than vain how 
 perilous, were all remonstrance with him to the contrary, you too well 
 know. 
 
 " What makes the matter altogether hopeless is this : that Artigas has 
 published, with many exaggerations, the letter in question, and is now 
 busy distributing it among Francia's people, and the soldiers on the fron- 
 tiers of Misiones. On the strength of this document, Artigas tells the 
 Paraguayans that their Dictator, in league with Buenos Ayres and heretical 
 foreigners, is bargaining to send thousands of them out of the country, and 
 to sell them, like so many flocks of sheep, for arms ; and that with these, 
 when he gets them, he will shoot or enslave his misguided countrymen. 
 
 " Under these accumulated circumstances, heightened and aggravated 
 by the fierce, impatient jealousy of the Dictator, you will see how hazard- 
 ous, not to say how reckless and rash an attempt it were on your part, to 
 come here. 1 send, therefore, express, to prevent your doing so. My hope 
 is, that the courier may meet you at Corientes, before you enter this now 
 dangerous and forbidden land. But if he should not if you should, ere 
 this'letter reaches you, be already in Paraguay for God's sake return in- 
 stantly : save yourself, and relieve the anxiety of your affectionate brother, 
 
 " WILLIAM ." 
 
 I was already within the province of Paraguay when I received this 
 letter. At the time the courier met me I was at full gallop for Assump- 
 tion, attended by a single servant and a postillion. The road lay through 
 a forest, dark and almost impervious ; and as I reined in my horse 
 read the ominous epistle looked upon the deep solitude and seclusion 
 of the spot the panting horses the nearly exhausted riders and the 
 anxious and alarmed countenance of the courier a fit of momentary 
 sickness came over me, and my head felt for an instant giddy. It was 
 but for an instant. I recovered immediately, and determined at once, 
 in spite of my brother's letter in spite of the affectionate remonstrance 
 of the old and faithful courier to ride on to Assumption, and face the 
 Dictator in his own palace. I was so completely conscious of my own 
 innocence of the accusations laid to my charge, and I was so indignant 
 at Francia's conduct, after all I had suffered on his account, in the cap- 
 ture of my vessel, loss of my property, and imprisonment of my person 
 at the Baxada, that I became as bold as a lion, and felt far more strongly 
 the impossibility of his daring to shoot me, than I even remotely feared 
 the chance of his doing so. 
 
 I contrived to reach Assumption at night, and rode as quietly through 
 the town as possible, till I came to my own house. I shall not stop to 
 describe the chill of horror and alarm which came over my brother when 
 he saw me. He intreated, he implored, I would instantly leave the 
 place ; but he did so in vain. He soon saw, in my cool but determined 
 resolution to meet Francia on the following day, a mind so made up as 
 
Francia, the Dictator. 37 
 
 to be absolutely impervious at once to his remonstrances and his suppli- 
 cations. We passed a great part of the night in conversation over our 
 bottle of wine. I heard of the thousand cruel and arbitrary acts of 
 which the Dictator had been guilty, since I had last been in Paraguay. 
 My brother recounted them in animated succession, and in the affec- 
 tionate though now very feeble hope that they might deter me from the 
 risk I was about to run, of becoming one of Francia's victims. My 
 mind, however, was thoroughly, irrevocably, made up to meet him. 
 
 Next morning, accordingly, my brother and myself went to the Dic- 
 tator's palace. On our names being sent in, we were admitted, under an 
 escort of two of his body-guard and a serjeant, to his presence. 
 
 He seemed wrapped up in an air and attitude of more than ordinary 
 sternness and severity. I stood before him immoveable, and without 
 uttering a word. 
 
 " How dare you, Sir," said he, " appear before me," when I gave 
 your brother orders to prohibit your coming into the province, at the 
 peril of your life ?" Hereupon the following dialogue, transcribed almost 
 verbatim, ensued between the Dictator and myself. 
 
 " Sir," said I, in reply to his question, " I dare to appear before you, 
 because, so far from having done anything reasonably to offend you, I 
 have risked my life to serve you ; and I dare to appear before you, be- 
 cause, instead of expecting any such despotic and ungrateful appeal, I 
 expected to receive both consolation and reward for what I have suffered." 
 
 Francia. " The letter, Sir the letter ! why did you countenance 
 the Government of Buenos Ayres in writing such a letter ? what made 
 you presume to authorize them to write such things to me?" 
 
 " I neither did countenance, Sir, nor authorize the Government's 
 writing any thing to you. If your Excellency will please to recollect that 
 I am a private and very humble individual, you will perceive the incon- 
 gruity of such a charge. What would you think, after you had made up 
 your mind upon a subject, written to the Government of Buenos Ayres 
 upon it, and told them that the bearer of your letter could give them any 
 information they required upon the state of the country you ruled, if 
 that Government, upon finding the contents of your dispatch unsavoury, 
 should take up the bearer of it, and threaten to shoot him, because he 
 had ' countenanced ' and * authorized J Dr. Francia to write such a 
 letter ? Sir, you dare not shoot me upon such a pretext ; and one of the 
 reasons for my appearing before you to-day, is to show you that I hold 
 such a threat to be a mere piece of dictatorial bravado. Much as you 
 affect to despise the English, you know very well were it only by Cap- 
 tain Percy's interference for my person and property at the Baxada 
 that they will not allow even Dr . Francia to shoot a British subject, 
 without a fearful foreboding, on his part, of the consequences. I do, 
 Sir, defy you to take my life." 
 
 Francia. " You impertinent scoundrel, do you thus dare to speak to 
 me, who am perpetual and supreme Dictator of this republic?'* 
 
 " I do, Sir," replied I, " not only thus dare to speak to you, but I tell 
 you that, as regards your country, you are a most despotic tyrant, and, 
 as regards me, a most treacherous and ungrateful friend." 
 
 Francia. " Leave my presence, Sir ; and if, twenty-four hours hence, 
 I find you in Assumption, yourself shall certainly be hung up in the square, 
 and you may not, possibly, have even a brother left to weep your 
 untimely fate." 
 
38 Francia, the Dictator. 
 
 This was such an argumentum ad hominem, and it was followed up by 
 so rude a grasp of the guards, as they dragged me forth from the dicta- 
 torial presence, that I was constrained per force to acquiesce. My poor 
 brother, during the short interview which I had with the Dictator, had 
 stood behind me, and in most affectionate solicitude, had endeavoured, 
 but in vain, to moderate tc the rancour of my tongue ;" this had become 
 " a fire," it could not " be tamed," it was for the moment " an un- 
 ruly evil," and was eager to set on fire, not so much " the course of 
 nature," as the course of Francia's most unnatural sway. 
 
 Forth, then, from the presence of the Dictator was I dragged. I was 
 escorted to my own house by a couple of his guards ; and while 7 re- 
 joiced in having declared my sentiments, my brother rejoiced in my 
 having escaped from death. How the Dictator was moved to a devia- 
 tion from his usual practice of following up his first determination by a 
 literal adherence to the terms of it, I cannot say ; but certain it is, that 
 my original sentence of death, should I put foot in Paraguay, was now 
 commuted to a sentence of banishment, with twenty-four hours' notice 
 to prepare for it. I delegated all preparation in the matter to my bro- 
 ther ; and in the meantime I sallied forth to scan the feelings of my 
 former " dear friends," and {< most obedient servants," as toward a 
 " proscribed" and " banished man." 
 
 Every inhabitant of the place the males, with whom I had been most 
 intimate the females, with whom I had been most gallant shunned 
 me as a thing blighted and contaminated by the Dictator's displeasure. 
 Every door was shut against my admission; every eye was turned away from 
 the glance which in mine attempted to meet it. Hospitality, which before 
 had greeted me with open arms, turned deadly pale at my appearance ; 
 and friendship, which had of old held outto me the right hand of cordial 
 fellowship, shrunk back now from even the civility of external saluta- 
 tion. A damp, cold, fearful chill, benumbed the affections, and froze up 
 all the genial currents of those hearts in which I had a little while ago 
 ruled and revelled. I felt like Cain, and was ready to say to my God, 
 " Behold thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth ; 
 and from thy face shall I be hid ; and I shall be a fugitive and a vaga- 
 bond in the earth ; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth 
 me shall slay me. My punishment is greater than I can bear." 
 
 One cot one lowly cot, and its inhabitants, alone did I find un- 
 changed. It stood upon the face of a hill, embosomed in the most 
 lovely and exuberant array of tropical profusion. Here the lofty cedar, 
 and there the splendid palm, were waving their foliage to the evening 
 breeze ; the sugar-cane plantations were bending to the wind, and the 
 Indian corn, tufted wdth its luxuriant flower, inferior only to that of the 
 horse-chesnut, was nodding in verdant majesty, and promising unlimited 
 abundance to the expectant cultivator of the favoured soil. Birds of every 
 variety of plumage, and still more beautiful and mellifluous variety of 
 song, were charming the eye, and filling the air with their notes. The 
 turtle wooed his mate in melancholy mood ; the green and yellow par- 
 rot flew cackling and chuckling to his fragrant sombre roost, the orange 
 grove ; the little " pica-flor," or humming-bird, of a thousand different 
 hues and sizes, was taking his last flirting sip of a jessamine or a pink. 
 At one corner of the garden of this cot you might see him, in form 
 not larger than a bee; and in another might you behold reflected from 
 him by the rays of the evening sun, his rich and variegated tinges of 
 
Fmncia, the Dictator. 39 
 
 purple, blue, and gold. Poised on his fluttering pinions, he inhaled 
 his fragrant nectar, and in his little sportive dalliance, and buoyant 
 joy, did he pass from flower to flower, depriving them only by his hasty 
 sip, of that which not impoverished them, and made him rich indeed. 
 
 This cot or cottage call it which you will peeped from its elevated 
 recess upon the wide-spread glassy surface of the river Paraguay. 
 Winding and meandering, this magnificent and silver stream, a mile in 
 breadth, was flowing between its banks and among its woods, so rich, 
 so verdant, and so dark as to make the liquid contrast with them of the 
 river, almost like milennial splendour. 
 
 Gazing I stood, enraptured with the scene. Francia was forgotten: 
 Carmensita was in my arms : I went not home that night to see my 
 brother. I passed it with Carmen at the cottage. At early dawn I tore 
 myself from her, and from her lowly but lovely cot. Alas ! I never 
 crossed the well-known threshold more. 
 
 Once, again, I stalked forth " the banished man," the brand of 
 proscription frightening every one from my path ; I reached my own 
 house : here my kind brother and the servants were busied in prepara- 
 tions for my voyage. I must leave Assumption at noon : the only 
 alternative, if I remained now, was death inevitable. I did leave it, 
 accordingly. I left it in the Inglesita ; and as I glided down the stream, 
 I got one parting glimpse of Carmen's cottage ; and by straining my 
 eyes, I got a last look of Carmen's self. Pale and solitary, there she 
 stood. One long, pure, and beautifully white robe was all her attire : 
 simplicity asks, and the climate permits, in Paraguay, no more. 
 It was tied round her slender waist by a little purple band, showing a 
 most exquisite bust, and a most finished form beneath. Her long 
 black tresses were floating to the breeze, not even caught up by a comb. 
 She waved her small and lovely hand to me and my departing bark ; 
 and, as I returned the sad signal of adieu, she rushed into her cot, and 
 vanished from my eyes for ever. 
 
 It is not my intention, in this paper, to pursue my personal memoirs 
 farther than as they are connected with Dr. Francia, or tend to illustrate 
 his policy and develope his character. 
 
 It is with this same view that the following further occurrences and facts 
 are adduced. Some of them happened before, some after I left Paraguay ; 
 but all of them may be relied on as having occurred, either under my 
 own personal observation, or as having come to my knowledge from 
 subsequent communication with persons entitled to all credit, whether 
 from their knowledge of facts, or their veracity in the relation of them. 
 
 General Velasco, to whom I have alluded in a previous paper, as go- 
 vernor of Paraguay, when the revolution, by which the Spanish power 
 was overthrown there, occurred, was a man of the most amiable and 
 interesting character. Descended from a very old family in Spain, he 
 had been long governor of Paraguay, under the Viceroys of Buenos 
 Ayres. His person tall, his air military and erect, he had, nevertheless, 
 in his countenance that which spoke humanity, kindness, and affability 
 to be the leading features of his character. His venerable form, and his 
 rey locks, and the remembrance of his unassuming, humane, and even- 
 anded administration of justice, had conciliated for him at once the 
 respect and the affection of all who knew him. When he was deposed j 
 accordingly, from the government, and superseded by the Junta com. 
 posed of Generals Yegros, Cavallero, and Dr. Francia, his very enemie s 
 
 g 
 h 
 
40 Francia, the Dictator. 
 
 respected him so far as to leave him unmolested, and at liberty to live 
 where he would, and move about as he pleased. 
 
 I was introduced to him soon after my first arrival in Paraguay. He 
 was then about sixty-eight years of age. His mode of life was simple, 
 frugal, and altogether unostentatious. 
 
 But yet there was something of iheje ne sai quoi of the old Governor 
 about him. Every part of his own attire was scrupulously clean ; 
 everything in his humble dwelling had an air of neatness and arrange- 
 ment, which showed rather diminished means than superseded habits of 
 elegance and taste. The plate off which he dined was beautifully 
 bright ; the small table at which he ate, and which never admitted of 
 more than one guest, was covered with a napkin snowy white; pure 
 and cool water, in a sparkling caraffe, showed that to be his principal 
 beverage ; for the wine stood on a small side-table, to be helped only when 
 called for. An old and favourite butler, the only servant in attendance, 
 stood at a distance more respectful, and waited with an attention more 
 reverential, than it was possible he could have done during General 
 Velasco's governorship. All this I saw when occasionally I dined with 
 him, preparatorily to our going to shoot partridges in the evening. He 
 w r as a keen sportsman, and an excellent shot. With his Spanish 
 barrel, all inlaid with silver, and a clumsy, but very capital lock, he 
 took his sure and graceful aim, and seldom missed his bird. Often did 
 we together, in the cool of the evening, go forth on horseback to our two 
 hours' exercise and sport, in the most lovely country upon which Nature 
 ever lavished her beauties. With our favourite dogs, and our two ser- 
 vants one to hold our horses, and another to alleviate our very gentle 
 fatigue by handing us a glass of what was there a great rarity, English 
 porter, did General Velasco and I pass many an afternoon together, 
 and return to his or my house, with our twelve brace of birds, to sit 
 afterwards in the open court, and smoke a cigar under the clear moon, 
 and the delightful and refreshing fragrance of the evening breeze. One 
 other amusement, only, the simple and patriarchial General had. He 
 was very fond of humming-birds, and had a dozen cages stocked with 
 them, and hung all round his usual sitting-room. There he bred them, 
 there he fed them ; and as you walked in upon him of a forenoon, you 
 might see him, in his morning go\\n, surrounded by a number of the 
 little flutterers, one sipping syrup from one small quill, another from 
 another. They flew about his ears, hovered round his mouth, or pitched 
 upon his shoulder, with all the endearment of perfect confidence and 
 love. When tired, he shook his hands in the gentlest possible way in 
 the midst of them, and instantly the rich and gaudy little tribe dispersed, 
 each to its respective cage. Scarcely had it been there, however, for a 
 moment, when it poised itself on its wings within its pretty tenement, 
 and looked towards its kind feeder, as if alike impatient and desirous 
 to know when it might return to him. 
 
 General Velasco was supported by the cheerful and voluntary dona- 
 tions of his countrymen, the old Spaniards, residing in Assumption. 
 They ministered to his every want in a way so delicate, and so honour- 
 able to themselves, that it deserves to be recorded. 
 
 The butler had been a servant in the general's family in Spain, and 
 left it, to accompany the member of it whom he most respected and 
 loved, when he embarked for South America. This butler had the entire 
 superintendence of all General Velasco's domestic affairs, when he was 
 
Francia, the Dictator. 41 
 
 governor. When he ceased to be governor, the general insisted upon 
 his butler's providing for himself, by getting another situation. The 
 butler remonstrated thus cc Ah ! Sir, is it possible, that after having 
 been a favoured servant of your own and your family's during twenty 
 years of your prosperity, you should now turn me off in the bleak day of 
 your adversity? What have I done to merit this?" 
 
 As Ruth to Naomi, so Benito (that was the butler's name) "clave 19 
 to his master. Most honourable butler; he would not go free. He 
 said Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after 
 thee : for whither thou goest, I will go ; and where thou lodgest, I will 
 lodge ; thy people shall be my people, and thy God, my God. Where 
 thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried ; the Lord do so to me, 
 and more also, if ought but death part thee and me." 
 
 Benito did go with his master ; it was to Benito's care and kindness 
 that all the nice arrangements about his master were to be traced. 
 Benito first spent his own little fortune to effect this, telling his master 
 that his friends, the old Spaniards, sent him the money, without sending 
 their names. Benito, when his own money was done, got, literally in 
 this anonymous way, from the Spaniards, what more was required for 
 his master's use. Benito was his master's servant he was also his 
 ministering angel. 
 
 " They were lovely in their lives, and in their death they were not 
 divided;" for when the cruel and relentless jealousy of the tyrant 
 Francia at length laid its iron gripe upon poor General Velasco, tore 
 him, at the age of seventy-six, from his home to a prison, and there suf- 
 fered him to die of starvation, neglect, and filth Benito, stretched out 
 at his master's feet, survived him but one day. 
 
 The bishop of Paraguay was a man almost equally respected and 
 equally unfortunate with General Velasco. I was introduced at the 
 palace to his lordship, and had the honour of kissing his hand, on which 
 sparkled a rich diamond ring. Dr. Francia told him that it was not 
 customary for Protestants to kneel to their prelates ; and that as Para- 
 guay was now a country that tolerated all religions, I must be excused 
 from this ceremony. The bishop very graciously acquiesced, spoke to 
 me a good deal, and considering I could not, as a heretic, occupy a very 
 high place in his opinion, I had much reason not only to be satisfied 
 with the distinguished honour of kissing his lordship's hand, but to be 
 very thankful for not having to go down on my knees. This latter ce- 
 remony was nothing more than every individual, at one time, in Paraguay, 
 went through as he passed the bishop in the street. 
 
 He was a venerable, meek, and mild-looking man, and had belonged 
 to the order of Franciscan friars. Francia so beset him with threats 
 and intimidations, and not content with completely undermining his 
 ecclesiastical power, so taunted and insulted, fretted and frightened him, 
 that he drove him to complete mental alienation. He lingered a few 
 years in this melancholy state, and then died in the depths and misery 
 of poverty, wretchedness, and destitution. Not a friend was found to 
 close his eyes ; neither could there be obtained for him a separate grave. 
 Dragged on a hurdle to the public place of burial, he was there com- 
 mitted, in a large hole, to his mother earth, in common with the naked 
 wretches who had died in prison, or been executed by order of the Dictator. 
 
 The celebrated botanist Monsieur Bonpland that JSonpland who 
 
42 Francia, the Dictator. 
 
 travelled with Humboldt during the course of his scientific researches 
 in Mexico, was detained many years a prisoner in Paraguay by Francia. 
 In one of his long, stern, unrelenting moods, the Dictator resisted every 
 effort, supplication, and influence used to obtain the liberation of Bon- 
 pland. This enterprising naturalist, having been led up the river 
 Parana, on botanical research, found, in a part of the Misiones territory, 
 some fine forests of the yerba, or Paraguay tea tree. The exportation 
 of this commodity having, under the system of Francia's non-intercourse 
 policy, been prohibited from Paraguay, Bonpland, with the Indians 
 residing near the spot, formed an establishment for the purpose of 
 collecting and preparing it. 
 
 This of course excited Francia's jealousy. He equipped a small military 
 force, sent it against the establishment of the peaceful but enterprising 
 botanist, completely overthrew it, and carried Bonpland himself a prisoner 
 into Paraguay. The wife and daughter of this gentleman were at the time 
 in Buenos Ayres. His wife, after exhausting, and exhausting in vain, 
 every effort there, to obtain her husband's liberation, proceeded at length 
 to Europe, to try what could be done through the mediation of the 
 French court, for the unhappy prisoner. The following letter, trans- 
 mitted to me from Lima, by my brother, who saw Madame Bonpland 
 there, on her return from Europe, gives a short account of the indefati- 
 gable zeal and energy of this amiable and accomplished woman. She 
 is an honour to her sex : she is a most especial honour to the married 
 part of it : she is a noble, a delightful specimen of the enterprize to 
 which, with conjugal love as the basis of it, that sex may be stimulated. 
 
 "Lima, 27 'th June, 1827. 
 
 " MY BEAR JOHN Madame Bonpland arrived here a few days ago, and 
 I have just had a long conversation with her. She is bound on the peril- 
 ous enterprize of joining her husband in Paraguay ; and it is impossible 
 not to feel the highest interest in her behalf. A year ago Madame Bon- 
 pland left Rio de Janeiro with her daughter for France, and there applied 
 to the King for a requisition of the person of Bonpland, as a French sub- 
 ject, from Francia. The French minister proposed addressing him as ' Dr. 
 Francia,' simply, and Madame Bonpland was three months engaged in the 
 arduous enterprise of getting the French cabinet to style him ' His Ex- 
 cellency the Dictator of Paraguay.' It was at last conceded to her, on the 
 solemn promise, that the dispatch should either be delivered by her own 
 hands, or returned to the King : so great was his Majesty's fear that the 
 style of the address might be construed into an acknowledgment of the 
 Doctor's government. Madame Bonpland next got a letter from Mr. Can- 
 ning, begging Bonpland's person of the Dictator; and she then returned 
 to Rio de Janeiro. 
 
 " Here she was disappointed in her hope of getting to Paraguay by 
 the route of Matagroso. She had previously established a correspondence 
 with General Sucre, who had offered her his assistance in getting to Para- 
 guay, if necessary, by the interior of Peru, and so to the Brazil frontiers, 
 on the river Paraguay, whence she could descend it, and reach Assumption. 
 
 " She sailed from Rio de Janeiro for Valparaiso, and arrived there lately. 
 She there got letters again, from the Chile government, in favour of her 
 husband, for Francia. She now waits here for General La Mar, (the Pre- 
 sident of Peru) to get letters to the same effect from him. She will pro- 
 ceed hence back to Arica, and so to La Paz. At this place she expects 
 either to hear from Francia, or to get a military escort from General Sucre, 
 with which to proceed straight across the country to Paraguay. 
 
 " The undertaking is as singular and arduous as can well be imagined ; j 
 
Francia, the Dictator. 43 
 
 and you cannot conceive a more interesting woman for the undertaking 
 than Madame Bonpland. She is of the age and figure and elegance of 
 Lady P y. Her face is not so handsome, but full of soul and intelli- 
 gence ; and she is not only accomplished and fascinating in her manners, 
 but has a really intelligent and well-cultivated mind. 
 
 " She left her daughter at Paris, and has no companion for her proposed 
 undertaking. Our'old school-fellow, Captain Tait, of H.M.S. Volage, 
 has agreed to give her a passage to Arica. 
 
 " I am only afraid, alas ! that the savage nature, and phlegmatic, cold- 
 blooded feelings of Francia, are totally incapable of relenting, even at the 
 sight of female heroism in distress, like that of Madame Bonpland. 
 "Yours, &c. 
 
 (Signed) WILLIAM ." 
 
 A single glance at the map, most gracious reader (and if a man, in 
 admiration of Madame Bonpland's devotion if a woman, as a tribute 
 of respect for what she could undertake, of sympathy for what she must 
 have suffered, you should bestow this glance,) a single glance at the 
 map will show the nature and extent of her voyages and travels, for the 
 one object of procuring her husband's liberation from captivity. 
 
 First, she sailed from the river Plate to France ; thence to England ; 
 and across the Atlantic again, from England to Rio de Janeiro ; from 
 hence you will see, that had she been permitted to follow up her original 
 intention of crossing the country to Paraguay, she might have reached 
 Assumption in three weeks, the distance between it and Rio de Janeiro, 
 by the land route, being not more than eight hundred miles. This, 
 however, she could not do, and so sailed from Rio round the cold and 
 boisterous region of Cape Horn, to Valparaiso. At Valparaiso she em- 
 barked for Lima, and sailed back from Lima to Arica. From hence, 
 crossing the sandy deserts of Peru, herself the only female, escorted 
 through a savage country by rough soldiers, she made her way to the 
 river Paraguay, above Assumption, and then embarking in a canoe, was 
 paddled by Indians down the stream, till she came to Francia's capital. 
 Before she could reach this place, she must have sailed and travelled 
 from the time of her first leaving Buenos Ayres, 21,500 miles. 
 
 She did then reach Paraguay had an interview with the Dictator 
 prostrate at his feet, she laid her credentials before him ; she entreated, 
 wept, implored " Oh, Sir, restore to me my husband!" Vain were 
 her tears, and useless were her supplications. As well might they have 
 been addressed to the flinty rock, or the howling wind. Francia's 
 heart was harder than the adamant more chilling than the blast. Not 
 only did he refuse to liberate Bonpland, but even to permit his wife to 
 see him. Back she measured her desolate and solitary steps to Chile ; 
 and there in widowed sadness her husband still alive she set herself 
 to earn a scanty subsistence by the establishment of a school. 
 
 Bonpland was liberated, and allowed to leave Paraguay, some years 
 after the date of the preceding letter from Lima, in consequence of a 
 remonstrance addressed by the French consul to Francia, from Buenos 
 Ayres, which had, I believe, the effect of intimidating the Dictator.* 
 Of the subsequent fortune or fate of Bonpland and his wife, I have 
 had no information. 
 
 * It was intimated to him that there were then French ships of war in the river 
 Plate, and that they would no longer permit the unjust violation either of the 
 liberty or the property of French subjects. 
 
( 44 ) 
 
 " OUR EXILE IN ENGLAND :" 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SPANISH REFUGEES. 
 
 ENGLAND has uniformly shown an honourable sympathy with that 
 noble little band of Spaniards the fallen defenders of a disastrous, but 
 inextinguishable cause who, a few years ago, sought the shelter of her 
 shores, after every sacrifice and every exertion that heart could prompt, 
 or hand achieve, on behalf of the constitutional liberty of their country. 
 Of these men, some have since died in their not inglorious exile died 
 with the consolation which the memory of patriotic deeds and motives 
 must ever impart and some who have lived on, " bating no jot of 
 heart or hope" for better times, are gone back to the land of their homes, 
 to lend fresh aid to the revived impulses of freedom while a few, yet 
 lingering among us in the persevering exercise of those vocations to 
 which necessity has constrained them, present to our admiration the 
 fine and touching spectacle of the constant mind struggling with ad- 
 versity. We need no apology for offering to our readers the following 
 brief records of such men as we have here referred to : on the contrary, 
 when we add that their own hands have traced the originals of those 
 records that their own pens have furnished the memorials of their 
 hopeful toils and their still hopeful sufferings we feel that we arouse 
 and interest at once those associations that have so often before caused 
 English bosoms to thrill in their behalf. For the opportunity of laying 
 before the public these " short and simple annals of the brave," we are 
 indebted to Mr. Upcott, of whose indefatigable exertions in the col- 
 lection of autographs they present a curious specimen, and one which of 
 itself goes far towards overturning the objections so often raised against 
 the alleged futility of such a pursuit. They are written in an album 
 nearly all in the native language of the contributors, from which noble 
 tongue we have transferred them to our own and all in direct con- 
 tinuity with each other, in agreement with that fraternal community of 
 spirit under which their authors had acted. Those which we now offer 
 are not the whole that appear in Mr. Upcott's book : we may perhaps 
 find future room to complete the series. 
 
 We would commence with General Mina, that scarred and veteran 
 pattern of intrepid constancy, that " telo animus prsestantior omni," 
 who is at this moment actively upholding the cause of political regenera- 
 tion, in support of which he has earned so many previous laurels ; but 
 the short memorandum from his pen happens to be one of mere com- 
 pliment, and is written in English of a somewhat imperfect construc- 
 tion, which we would neither alter, nor yet incur the risk of exciting any 
 inopportune levity of feeling by exactly transcribing it. Let him there- 
 fore pass, with three cheers (of the heart) for so gallant a soldier. 
 
 Next come we to the honoured name of General Quiroga. His 
 account of himself is faced by a lithographic portrait, exhibiting linea- 
 ments as frank and martial as Desdemona's self could desire. His 
 words, translated, are as follow : 
 
 " Anthony Quiroga, bora at Betanzos in Galicia, commenced his mar- 
 tial career in the Marine Guard in 1804 ; entered the army in 1808, at the 
 age of 16: was wounded and made prisoner in Asturias, in 1809; owed 
 his release to the officer in command of the escort, who then accompanied 
 him from Venavenre to the quarters of the Spanish army ; was appointed 
 staff-officer and Colonel in 1812 ; took part in the actions at Valmaread, 
 
( 183 ) 
 
 FRANCIA, THE EICTATOR.* 
 
 WHAT precedes sliall suffice to illustrate the character, and principles 
 of government, of the extraordinary man who has been the subject of this 
 memoir. I shall now proceed to give a short account of the scenery and 
 customs of the country of Paraguay. 
 
 It is next to impossible for those who have never left England, and 
 even for those who have visited some of the more magnificent scenery 
 which other parts of Europe present to the traveller, to form an ade- 
 quate conception of the vastness, the grandeur, or the sublimity of some 
 of the scenery of South America. 
 
 That of the Andes is of a huge, stupendous, and solemn character, 
 It impresses the traveller, as he' winds- his apparently interminable 
 way between masses of mountains which rear their cumbrous sum- 
 mits far into the clouds, or as he commences the long and laborious 
 task of ascending the gradual acclivity, his ride to the termination of 
 which is to constitute a day's journey, with feelings of the deepest awe 
 and veneration. 
 
 It is such a display of the wonders of creation, as takes him utterly 
 by surprise, because it exceeds in immensity all that his most extrava- 
 gant imagination could ever grasp. It realises to him so irresistible a, 
 display of the unlimited power of the Creator, as brings home to him, 
 with an intensity never before felt, the presence, by his works, of the 
 Divinity who made them. 
 
 He must be a cold observer" indeed, who can enter the deep and dark 
 ravines, by which the first approach is made to those mountains, without 
 sensations more than ordinarily solemn impressive at once of the 
 greatness of Him who framed the universe, and of the insignificance of 
 the atom man, except considered as an immortal being, whose career is 
 destined to be still new, when those mountains shall have " waxed old 
 as a garment," and when, " as a vesture they shall have been folded 
 up." 
 
 The scenery of the river Plate, though not of the same stupendous 
 character as that of the Andes, would yet be noble and majestic, were 
 there nothing but the river itself to constitute it. There is, however, much 
 more than this, especially as you ascend toward the source of it, which is 
 more than two thousand miles from its mouth. In the whole magnifi- 
 cence 'of its course it scarcely ever gets narrower than a mile, or a mile 
 and a half; it is often three miles broad ; and in many places it is 
 studded with the most beautiful and extensive islands. The shore on either 
 side is sometimes quite lost to the eye, and nothing meets it but waving 
 forests of stately trees, alternating with large clumps of evergreen shrubs, 
 that rise in groups " grotesque and wild, 5 * out of the silver expanse of 
 water by which they are surrounded. 
 
 After sailing occasionally for half a day through scenery like this, 
 you come again to be obviously confined by the banks of the river, 
 which are sometimes richly wooded on either side. Sometimes the 
 water is hemmed in upon one side by high and precipitous banks, and 
 
 . * Continued from No. CLXXIII., page 43, 
 
184 Franda, ihe Dictator. 
 
 on the other overflows, like a sea, the marshy and'extensive tract of land 
 called the Great Chaco. In the whole course of this majestic stream, 
 from the lake Xarayes, in which it has its source, to the mouth of the 
 river Plate, a distance, we have seen, of more than two thousand miles, 
 there is no obstruction whatever to the navigation of vessels drawing 
 eight or nine feet of water. A ship of three hundred tons was once 
 built at Assumption, of Paraguay timber, and floated down, without the 
 smallest difficulty, fifteen hundred miles to the sea. 
 
 The stream of the river Plate is called the Paraguay, till it joins at the 
 village of Corrientes, nine hundred miles below its source, a branch, 
 larger at their confluence than the parent stream. The two streams, 
 united here, flow down with an augmentation of their waters, which 
 gives a character of greatly increased splendour and majesty to the river, 
 now called the Parana. 
 
 After winding from this point in a broad, placid, uninterrupted 
 course, for more than a thousand miles, it pours its unsullied and salu- 
 brious waters into the river Plate, so first called, a little above Buenos 
 Ayres. From hence the river deepens and widens, with occasional banks 
 and shoals, till after a course of about two hundred miles more, it emp- 
 ties itself into the Atlantic, by an outlet nearly three hundred miles 
 wide. 
 
 The flux and reflux of the tide are distinctly observable at Buenos 
 Ayres ; and the water of the river Plate, impregnated with that of the 
 ocean, is salt at the distance of a hundred miles from this. The cur- 
 rent of the Paraguay and Parana runs at the rate of nearly three miles 
 an hour toward the sea. 
 
 The manner of navigating the river, when the current begins to be 
 strong, and the shores are much wooded, is curious. The Paraguayan 
 sailors, stripping themselves, plunge into the water with a rope in their 
 mouths. One makes his rope fast to a tree at some distance above the 
 vessel, by which the sailors remaining on board heave or pull the little 
 ship up against the current. By the time it gets to the tree to which 
 the first sailor had fastened his rope, another has fastened one still 
 higher up, by which the vessel, without delay, is again dragged along. 
 
 In the manner thus described, these Paragayan sailors, when there 
 is little wind, or a point of headland to be got round, swim and work 
 for hours together. In this slow and ponderous way, and by this im- 
 mensely fatiguing process, day after day, little by little, they drag the 
 vessel nearer to her destined port. 
 
 It commands at once our admiration, and excites our compassion, to 
 see the patient and cheerful constancy with which those men endure 
 fatigue. The vigour with which they work, and the small remunera- 
 tion, and rude simple fare which they are content to receive in return, 
 would not only excite astonishment, but breed contempt, in the mind 
 of a London coal-heaver, whose work, without being half so laborious, 
 is paid for at four times the rate of the Paraguay sailor's. 
 
 Though a vessel is often three months in getting up from Buenos 
 Ayres, against the stream, to the capital of Paraguay, very few of the 
 sailors receive more than two or three pounds for their labour during 
 the passage ; many of them work their passage up, for the mere con- 
 sideration of food. This food consists in beef, cut into thin strips, 
 and dried in the sun. They never have bread, and very often not salt 
 
Frdntia, the Dictator. 185 
 
 to it. They never, even incidentally, are allowed anything in the 
 shape of spirits or wine. 
 
 And yet, to see these men seated aronnd the fire which they have 
 kindled on shore for the purpose of roasting their dry, hard, unsavoury 
 fare, scanty as their garments are, and laborious as their exertions 
 through the day have been, there is not a countenance among them but 
 what is beaming with content. Often have I seen the cheerful blaze of 
 their fire, on the bank of the river, shining upon a dozen swarthy phy- 
 siognomies, and showing them to be lighted up into .laughter, by the 
 joke of one of their companions, or riveted in obvious delight by a story 
 from some gifted speaker, about their native land. The pleasure, at 
 length, of their frugal and even stale repast, but savoury conversation, 
 being superseded by the calls of wearied nature for repose, they give 
 themselves up to sleep. Stretched out around the embers of their fire, 
 wrapped up in their ponchos, sheltered by trees, and covered by the 
 sky, they find that rest which is so often denied to those who woo it by 
 blandishments more courtly, and preparations far more cumbrous and 
 artificial. 
 
 There is a great feeling of clanship, and love of country, among the 
 natives of Paraguay. 
 
 When they meet in a foreign land (as Buenos Ayres is by them con- 
 sidered to be) they are not only inseparable, but indefatigable in their 
 good offices one to another. You may hire them to work for much less 
 than their natural wages, if you can give them work in company with 
 their own countrymen ; and few or none of them that can go back are 
 ever known, permanently, to establish themselves out of Paraguay. 
 
 The country properly called Paraguay is quite distinct from the pro- 
 vince of Buenos Ayres, which has sometimes, as a whole, been desig- 
 nated by that name. 
 
 Paraguay formed part of the vice-royalty of Buenos Ayres the rich- 
 est, most valuable and populous part of it. It was a bishop's see, and, 
 as a government, esteemed next in importance to that of the Viceroy 
 himself. It is the country in which the Jesuits first formed their most 
 celebrated establishments, and of which I purpose hereafter to give a 
 detailed account. 
 
 You are struck, upon your first entrance into it, by the fine clumps of 
 trees through which you travel, emerging, ever and anon, into clear, fer- 
 tile tracts of country, either laid out in cultivation or covered with the 
 richest pasture. There is the finest possible variety of hill and dale. 
 You see lakes spread out in silver beauty in the valley, and forests that 
 never fade into the tints of autumn, but are covered with a foliage rich, 
 varied, verdant throughout the year. 
 
 Springs pour their crystal waters, in all directions, down the gentle 
 slopes of the hills, and irrigate the vale below. Cottages, lowly indeed 
 within, but neat and numerous, peep forth from the most romantic situ- 
 ations, surrounded by rich and waving crops of the sugar-cane, and cot- 
 ton-tree, mandioca, and tobacco ; while groups of palm-trees tuft the 
 hills, or stand out in splendid array upon the plain. 
 
 But to have a view of Paraguay scenery, in all its majesty and magni- 
 ficence, it is necessary to get upon some of the hills, near the great stream 
 which winds through the whole province, and thence to observe, for 
 miles, the peaceful, broad, pellucid mass of water, gliding and undulating 
 
 June. VOL. XLIV. NO. CLXXIV. o 
 
ISO Frdncia, the Ijictator. 
 
 through the country which it fertilizes, and wafting, at the same time, 
 the commerce of it, in busy barks, with sails outspread, from one point 
 of wooded beauty to another. 
 
 The male inhabitants of Paraguay are a very fine and hardy race of 
 people. They used to be employed, before Francia's terrorism para- 
 lyzed the country, in the navigation of the river ; in agriculture ; in the 
 preparation of the famous yerba, or tea ; and, finally, in felling the 
 forest-trees, in which the province abounds, and floating them in rafts 
 to Buenos Ayres. 
 
 The lower classes of females are very industrious, and almost invari- 
 ably pretty. Many of them are very ingenious at the loom. There are 
 specimens of their manufacture of cotton cloth, resembling in its texture 
 Indian crape, and also of lace richer than that of Brussels, which, hav- 
 ing been exhibited to some of the manufacturers of this country, they 
 confess themselves unable to equal. These females, partly owing to the 
 heat of the climate, aiKl partly owing to a primitive simplicity, unin- 
 truded upon or corrupted by foreign intercourse, are attired in a very 
 simple cotton robe of their own pure white cloth. It falls down nearly 
 to the ankle, and is girded round the waist with a band. 
 
 When they go abroad, there is suspended over the back part of their 
 head, hanging down on either shoulder, and sometimes crossed under 
 the chin, a scarf of the same material, edged or bordered with some 
 pretty simple device. They go without shoes or stockings ; but with 
 their small ankles and beautiful feet washed scrupulously clean : and as 
 the soil, where it is not of a moist sand, is covered with a fine green 
 sward, and intersected in all directions with brooks, rivulets, and springs, 
 the greatest cleanliness and freshness of person are a striking character- 
 istic of the Paraguay female peasant. Every one of them, especially 
 when filling her pitcher with the pure water which gurgles up from 
 some^chosen spring, or carrying it to her little home on her shoulder, looks 
 like a Rebekah : and you might almost say of her : " The damsel is 
 very fair to look upon, a virgin ; and she goes down to the well, and fills 
 her pitcher, and comes up and says, Drink, my lord, and hasteth and 
 letteth down her pitcher upon her hand, and giveth him to drink." 
 
 The population of the country is estimated at 500,000 inhabitants. 
 But this includes a great many wandering tribes of Indians, who living 
 mostly on the Great Chaco, or western side of the river, only visit As- 
 sumption occasionally, and cannot be strictly said to be under any go- 
 vernment, but that of their own respective petty chiefs. 
 
 The tribe of Indians, and that was a very large one, which was found 
 "by the original Spanish invaders, occupying the east side of the river 
 Paraguay, was called the Guarani tribe of Indians. These being sub- 
 dued, were established principally by the exertions of the Jesuits, in 
 many small townships over the whole province. Each village had its 
 priest, or padre, appointed to teach the inhabitants the principles of the 
 Roman Catholic faith. For the regulation and superintendence of their 
 own municipal affairs, however, which were, it is true, of a very limited 
 and passive kind, they were allowed to nominate one of their own body, 
 with the title of Alcalde, or Justice of the Peace. Of this distinction 
 they were not a little proud. The privilege of being put, in any one 
 case, on a footing of equality with the Spaniards who had invaded them, 
 has always been acknowledged by the Indians .as a mark of condescension 
 
Francia, the Dictator. 18? 
 
 from a superior to an inferior race of beings ; and they have ever ex- 
 pressed their sense of it by words and actions, constituting, in fact, ado- 
 ration. 
 
 The Paraguay Indians referred to, do very little for the benefit of the 
 community. One part of the produce of their rural industry, after main- 
 taining themselves, goes to purchase a flounce for the Virgin Mary, or a 
 piece of brocade for some other favourite saint. The remaining part 
 is snapt up by the padre, or in some more indirect way extorted for the 
 use of the church. The Indians are passionately fond of the mummery 
 of processions and adoration of saints ; and their idolatry is pretty equally 
 divided among these, the priests themselves, arid the persons holding any 
 official situation under government. The Roman Catholic religion, in 
 those remote regions, is to all intents and purposes one of strict idolatry. 
 
 This is one class, the Guarani Indians I mean, of the inhabitants of 
 Paraguay. Next to them are the peasantry descended from the old 
 Spaniards, and if not without a mixture of Indian blood, yet so attenu- 
 ated by the lapse of time as to be now scarcely traceable. One class of 
 this peasantry is occupied alternately as common day-labourers, col- 
 lectors, and preparers of the yerba, wood-cutters, and navigators of the 
 river. They are a fine athletic, hardy, and trustworthy race of men. 
 The other class is an equally fine race. They are the possessors, gene- 
 rally, of small tracts of ground, which, with the cottage upon it, often 
 repaired and sometimes wholly rebuilt, has been in possession of their 
 forefathers for three or four generations. 
 
 The class next above these, in the scale of society, is the larger 
 landed proprietor. His little estate yields him the sugar-cane, tobacco, 
 mandioca, cotton, the sweet potato, and almost every other kind of vege- 
 table, and every variety of tropical fruit. He has frequently, besides his 
 little agricultural estate near town, his larger grazing or cattle-estate, at 
 a considerable distance from it. He has, according to the country no- 
 tions of comfort, a tolerably comfortable house, in the midst of a beauti- 
 fully wooded country, finely watered, and every way fertile, and rich by 
 nature. He lives in plainness and simplicity, but in great abundance ; 
 in very primitive ignorance, but in the exercise of much hospitality. 
 He seldom meddles with things of the state ; and is content to take 
 rank under the better class of merchants. The classes enumerated, with 
 the merchants, retail dealers, store-keepers, lawyers, priests, mechanics, 
 and a large mixture of negro and mulatto population, make up the re- 
 maining mass of the inhabitants of Paraguay. There is little education, 
 but a great deal of natural simplicity, and almost refinement of manner, 
 among the better classes, particularly of the females, in South America; 
 find the Englishmen who have cultivated their society, having any pre- 
 tensions to be admitted to it (these pretensions, too, sometimes very 
 slight), have never, I am sure, had reason to complain of the result. 
 
 The commerce of Paraguay, for a South- American state, was very 
 great. Of the yerba it exported annually eight millions of pounds ; of 
 tobacco one million ; innumerable rafts of wood were floated down the 
 river ; and considerable quantities of cotton, sugar, mandioca, earthen- 
 ware, spirits, sweetmeats, and cigars, were also shipped. For these it 
 took in return, chiefly flour (the climate being too warm for the growth 
 of wheat), ponchos, which are a sort of coarse woollen mantle worn by 
 the natives, and British manufactures. 
 
 o 2 
 
188 Francia, the Dictator. 
 
 The manner of procuring and preparing the yerba, or Paraguay tea, 
 is curious. A man desiring to get a quantity of it, provides himself with 
 a number of labourers, ten or twenty, or perhaps more. He furnishes 
 them with ponchos for clothing, knives, axes, spirits, tobacco, and other 
 necessaries, and himself at their head, marches to the immense and 
 almost impenetrable forests, where the yerba-tree (for it is a large forest- 
 tree) grows. At the entrance of the forest he adds to his other prepa- 
 rations a number of live bulls, for food during the time to be occupied in 
 collecting his intended quantity of yerba. These are the only animals 
 hardy enough to penetrate into the forest and live there. The thorns 
 of the underwood get into their flesh ; gnats, mosquitos, and every other 
 description of insect annoy and torment them day and night. 
 
 Having arrived at the part of the forest where the cutting is to com- 
 mence, the yerba collector and his gang prepare a hut for themselves, of 
 branches of trees plastered with mud, and slightly covered with thatch. 
 From this hut, as from a common centre of their individual operations, 
 the yerba cutters proceed to different points of the forest, generally two 
 together, with their hatchets, knives, and ponchos. 
 
 They commence their operations by cutting such small branches of 
 the tree as have most leaves and young shoots upon them. These 
 being lopt off and put in their ponchos, or tied with thongs, are brought 
 home and deposited at head-quarters twice a day, as the stragglers re- 
 turn, at their stated periods, to dinner and supper. They are warned to 
 the former meal by the perpendicular rays of the mid-day sun ; and to 
 the latter by the coming shade of the night. For many weeks, and 
 sometimes for months, are their operations, day after day, thus carried 
 forward. When a sufficient mass of yerba branches and leaves is col- 
 lected, and a sufficient number of bulls slain to admit of their convert- 
 ing their hides into bags for the tea, a high stage is erected, and over- 
 laid with the branches of the tea- tree in such a manner as to admit the 
 flame of a fire which is kindled beneath, rising up and scorching them. 
 The ground under the stage is well beaten so as to be perfectly hard 
 and consistent. The embers of the fire which had been lit are now 
 swept away ; the scorched boughs and leaves are brought down from 
 the stage to the place which the fire had occupied ; and being by the heat 
 made brittle and easily pulverized, they are now reduced nearly to 
 powder, by the simple process of well beating them with sticks. The 
 hides of the bulls are now cut in two, soaked, and carefully sewed, so as 
 to make a nearly square bag or bale. The mouth of this bag being left 
 open, the tea is put into it, and so admirably packed and beaten down 
 with large wooden mallets, that when the mouth is sewed up, and the 
 hide become quite dry, the package has the hardness and consistency of 
 a stone. Small as its compass is, it is made to contain from two hun- 
 dred to two hundred and fifty pounds of the yerba. Of these bales of 
 tea, forty thousand, annually, used to be exported from Paraguay. The 
 price of it there was about three-pence per pound. 
 
 It is a most refreshing beverage, and was used by all classes of per- 
 sons, at all hours of the day and night, in every part of Spanish South 
 America. 
 
 When these yerba collectors issue from the woods, their first care is 
 to provide themselves with a horse bridle, richly mounted with silver, 
 and massive spurs and stirrups of the same metal, They then get a 
 
Francia, the Dictator. 189 
 
 large sleek horse, and having put upon him a saddle, overlaid and un- 
 derlaid with many folds of fanciful finery, their pleasure is to parade 
 about and see their friends, gamble the little money they have left, and 
 then betake themselves once more to the yerba forest, to labour like 
 slaves for six or eight months more. 
 
 It is very common to see a man in Paraguay, with horse furniture of 
 the gorgeous kind I have described, without either shoe or stocking; and 
 with a jacket, moreover, of such scanty dimensions, that one is led to 
 suppose that the rider's system had been, from accumulated savings in 
 broad-cloth, shoes, and stockings, to purchase a rich and massive capa- 
 rison for his horse. 
 
 There is in South America (and is there not, though less obviously 
 developed, in England?) much of this false and ostentatious parade. 
 In its essential character, whatever it may be in its accidental features- 
 whether it be mounted on horseback in Assumption, or rolling in gaudy 
 state in London it is one and the same sort of personage. Regardless 
 of consistency, and ignorant of real comfort, it is ever ready to sacrifice 
 to show, all the conveniences, and often the very necessaries of life. When 
 I hear of a devotee of fashionable display having first run himself out at 
 the elbows, and then run off to the continent to retrench, I ever think of 
 my Paraguay yerba-man setting out for the woods. 
 
 The paper which, under the title of " Doctor Francia," has preceded 
 this, in the April Number of the " New Monthly Magazine," commences 
 thus : " Such as / have described it, was the community of Paraguay, 
 when the Spanish Governor Velasco, after the victory gained over the 
 Buenos Ayres troops, was deposed." 
 
 I forgot, in the flurry of my thoughts on the subject, that I had taken 
 the perilous resolution of appearing in print ; and I wrote " have de- 
 scribed" with reference to my manuscript, where the description of the 
 Dictator's country preceded that of the Dictator himself. 
 
 You may now, reader, and if you have come thus far with me, most 
 courteous reader, perceive, that in ushering so mighty a personage as the 
 Dictator of Paraguay into your notice, there was a certain propriety and 
 decorum in allowing him to take precedence of his country. In the 
 natural order of things, I necessarily saw the country before I knew the 
 Dictator: but we have since wen (for I hope in this w r e are agreed), 
 that his country is only his footstool. You will have no difficulty, there- 
 fore, in concluding with me, that the two descriptions now stand in their 
 proper relative places ; first, that of the Dictator, next, that of the 
 country. Please to read with me, then, the initiatory paragraph of my 
 preceding paper, with the slight interlineation of a monosyllable, thus : 
 *' Such as I have" now " described it, was the community of Paraguay, 
 when the Spanish Governor Velasco, after the victory gained over the 
 Buenos Ayres troops, was deposed." That was in the year 181 1. What, 
 under the chilling sway of the Dictator, the community of Paraguay has 
 become since, you are also informed, from personal observation, by 
 
 A TRAVELLER, 
 
BEGINNING LIFE AT FORTY. 
 
 A SKETCH FROM REAL LIFE. 
 
 " FIVE feet eight, broad shoulders, hazel eyes, florid complexion, good 
 nose, white teeth, high forehead, curly dark brown hair." Had I been 
 lost or mislaid at the age of nineteen, such a description my affectionate 
 parents might have circulated, in the fond hope of recovering their 
 youngest treasure. Now alas ! but I will not anticipate. 
 
 I had good health and good spirits, and thought myself good-looking, 
 and that is sufficient to insure happiness at nineteen. I was, however, 
 a younger son, the youngest, indeed, of five children, and it was 
 therefore my doom to dig out my own path through the world. My 
 father had it not in his power to do more than give me a sum sufficient 
 to buy me the spade with which I was to dig it ; in other words, to 
 pay for my outfit. Away I went to earn my bread by the sweat of my 
 brow, in a climate where European brows are peculiarly addicted to the 
 moisture which in genteel society is rarely named. 
 
 An uncle of mine had an estate in a West India island, and, it being 
 considered prudent to send out somebody to look after it, I was offered 
 an allowance, and at the same time a line of conduct was pointed out 
 which could not fail, if diligently followed, to lead to competence, and 
 indeed, to wealth, in the comparatively short period of twenty years. 
 
 I acceded to the proposal with delight, The climate was unhealthy ; 
 no matter, I relied confidently on the strength of my constitution, and 
 talked of my return at the end of twenty years, with pockets full of 
 money, as gaily as if I had been speaking of events which were expected 
 to take place in a twelvemonth ! 
 
 " How indefatigably will I toil," said I, " and how rapidly will the 
 time pass ! In twenty years I still shall be on this side forty, still in 
 the very prime and vigour of life ; young enough to enjoy wealth and 
 all its advantages, and yet old enough to avoid the shoals and quick- 
 sands which would probably destroy me were I now unfortunately in 
 possession of the expected treasure. How I long to be forty ! would 
 that I could overleap the intermediate years, and see myself reflected 
 in yonder mirror, erect and robust, in the full maturity of good looks, 
 forty years of age, with forty thousand pounds in the funds !" 
 
 I will not trouble the reader with the name of the island to which I 
 was to be voluntarily transported, nor will point out the precise path in 
 which I was to grub my way to independence. Whether my exertions 
 were to be mercantile or legal, whether I was perched for twenty 
 years on a high stool before a higher desk, or superintending slavery 
 (for I am speaking of the past) in the open air, in a nankeen suit of 
 dittos, with an immense straw hat, shall be matters left to the diligent 
 research of the curious. I at once overleap the laborious interval, and 
 come to the period when I found myself, as had been predicted, thirty- 
 nine, and very rich. Be it most particularly remembered that my life 
 during these twenty years had been one of anticipation. I left England 
 for the purpose of enjoying life on my return. Enjoyment during my 
 absence was not thought of. I had an object to gain, and every nerve 
 was strained, every thought was devoted, to its attainment.