Letters on Paraguay, comprising an account of a four years residence in that Republic, under the government of the Dictator Francia. (Francia's Reign of Terror. By J. P. and W. P. Robertson.)

Front matter

FRANCIA'S REIGN OF TERROR, BEING THE CONTINUATION OK LETTERS ON PARAGUAY. VOLUME FRANC1AS REIGN OF TERROR. 3E1NG TUE CONTINUATION oh LETTERS ON PARAGUAY. m J P. and W P. ROBERTSON IN THREE VOLUMES VOL. Ill LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, AUBEMARUE STRliK'l I83y LONDON: Printed by W. Ciowks and Sons, Stamford Street. DEDICATION. TO HIS EXCELLENCY CAPTAIN PRESCOTT K.N., GOVERNOR OF NEWFOUNDLAND. Dear Sir, Dedications, if much expanded, are often so fulsome, and therefore so onerous to the party addressed, that in writing them, we think the Author's motto should be taken from his Latin Rudiments, — " Vir sapit qui pauca loquitur." Trying, in this instance, to suit the deed to the precept, we shall only farther say, that our Volume is dedicated to Your Excellency as a VI DEDICATION. testimony of sincere respect from both Authors ; but more particularly as one of cordial friendship from the senior writer, who, after long experienced, and most agreeable intercourse, could tes tify to qualities of head and heart, upon which, in deference alone to his Motto, he will not permit himself to dilate. With the greatest sincerity, We are your faithful Servants, THE AUTHORS. London, 1st January, 1839.

Preface

. We come now before the Public with our pro mised Sequel to 'Letters on Paraguay.' Such has been the reception accorded to the first two Volumes, that, like favoured actors at the call of the audience, we appear before it to return our unfeigned thanks for the kind indulgence which has fallen to our lot. We find ourselves in the agreeable position of having to thank our critics, one and all. We have not a word of cavil or objection to offer against any one of them. And be it permitted us to record, in honour of the press of England, that in no one instance, directly or indirectly, has influence of any kind, as far as we are concerned, biased a single article in our favour. We acknowledge ourselves highly inpreface. debted to the metropolitan as well as to the country press ; nor is it any disparagement to the former to say, that among their contemporaries in the counties, there is to be found a talent that would do honour to the first-rate ability with which so many of the London journals are con ducted.

And thus we close our Preface. In the present Volume, as well as in its predecessors, we shall only say, that we have aimed at placing simple facts, simply recorded, before our readers ; and at drawing from those facts such plain and obvious inferences as we thought they naturally suggested. We have also, throughout our work, en deavoured to keep in view what ought, perhaps, to be considered the only legitimate objects of an author, — the inculcation of practical good, and the diffusion of useful knowledge. 1st January. 1839. Page CONTENTS.

Letter II

W. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. Francia's Levee — His condescension — Change of Manner and of System — Takes the Title of Supremo, or Supreme — Increased austerity — Pavalyzation of Commerce — The Secretary of State, Martinez — Harangue to the Old Spaniards — The Pelado — The Clergy — Elevation of Pai Montiel 13

Letter III

W. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. Dr. Parlett and the Medical Practitioners of Assumption — Francia's first interview with Parlett — The celebrated cures he performs — Recalde's daughter — Parlett's death and destitution ....... X CONTENTS. F.lje

Letter IV. Vt

P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. THE BANISHMENT OF MENDEZ. The establishment of Mendez — DuEa Juanita — Walking-dress of the Assumpcianas — And of a Montevideana — Not admitted to the Cathedral — The Tertulia — Intimation of Banishment — Desolation — A Woman's fortitude — I as-ist Mendez — His departure — A narrow escape — Doiia Juanita's letter — The Port of Quarepoti — Abreakdown in a wood — Further troubles — Reflections — Journey continued — Curuguati — Mendez's release — And return to Buenos Ayres . . . . • .40

Letter V. Commencement Of Ihe Letters Of

J. P. ROBERTSON, J. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. Introductory — Serious aspect of affairs — Preparations fur a return to Paraguay — Interview with the Director Alvear, and his Secretary Herrera — A fatal letter intrusted to me, and a fatal shipment made — I sail for Assumption — Candioti, Governor of Santa Fe — His speech and conduct — My capture and treatment by Artigutnos — A perilous predicament, and yet more wonderful escape from it, through an Indian — The Artigueuos dressed in Bond Street clothes, and I in ArtigueEo attire — I am forced to play the flute — Arrival at the Kajadu — A fortunate encounter — I am lodged in the common gaol — The inmates of it — My transfer to a solitary cell — The Honourable Captain Jocelyne Tercy — His letter to Artigas — I am set at liberty ...... CONTENTS. XI 124

Letter VI

J. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. Page A transition state — The Indian to whom I owed my life — Artigueilo gambling — Restoration of my ship and pro perty, minus what was plundered — Return to Buenos Ayres — Visit to the head-quarters of Artigas — Short sketch of him — My interview with him, and a description of his quarters, occupations, and encampment — Cause and origin of his vast power — His poverty — Return from the Purificacion to Corrientes . . . . .95

Letter VII

W. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. The Letter ofthe Scotch Serjeant intimating the capture of J. P. R. My first interview with Francia on the occasion — His Letter to Herenu — My second interview with the Dictator on occasion of my Brother's disaster — My third interview on the occasion — Francia pronounces Sentence of Banishment against us both . . . .111

Letter VIII

J. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. Third visit to Paraguay — News received from Assumption — Arrival there — Interview with my brother, and with the Dictator — My banishment — Its effects on the inhabitants of Assumption — I finally depart from Assumption

Letter IX

J. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ES(J. Return to Corrientes — State of that place, and unforeseen perils in landing there — Obstacles overcome, and a second escape from the hands ofthe Philistines — Their departure from Corrientes, and my establishment there — Conclusion of personal observations . . . CONTENTS. 177

Letter X

W. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. Page Remarks on Francia— Society of Assumption — The Jovellanos family — Their servants — Plain speaking— Sleeping under corridors — Amusements — The Sarandig — The Figueredos — I become a Padrino — My compadre and comadre — A death and a velorio— The funeral of an Angel 140

Letter XI

W. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. Catholic Lent — Contrasted with Protestant — Reflections — Passion-week — Good Friday — Sermon of Christ's agony on the cross — The funeral service, and conclusion of Good Friday .... .... 136

Letter XII

W. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. Francia sets up as Paviour- — Cheap mode of paving — A trip to the Quarries and surrounding Country — Aspect of it — And hospitality of the People — The Paraguay Peasant and his Family — The Estanciero — Don Pedro Francia — A Reduccion — Fiestas ofthe Indians — The Bull Ring — The Sortija— The Mystery 165

Letter XIII

W. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. THE PAYAGUA INDIANS. Their Tolderias — Ornaments — Doctors — Cacique's Wife — A Flitting — A Feast — Their Thefts — and Banishment

Letter XIV

W. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. Vicissitudes — The winding up of our Affairs — Tenacity about Silver — I prepare to leave — Last Interview with Francia — The Piragua — We are alarmed, boarded, and searched — A temptation resisted — Scene with a Tiger — Arrival at Corrientes ....... CONTENTS. XIII 236

Letter XVIII

W. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. MR. OKKS's EXPEDITION TO PARAGUAY. His character — Suggestion for the voyage of Okes to Paraguay — His departure — His voyage — The Bajada — His arrival — Francia an Astronomer — Favourable reception of Okes — Permission to depart — The sequel — Issue of the adventure — One of Francia's bloody deeds

Letter XIX. IV

P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. DON JOSE DE MARIA. He visits Francia — A sale of salt — Interference for Foreigners by Sir Woodbine Parish — Denouement of the interference — Effect of Francia's system on the minds of the Detenus — -Decree of perpetual silence — Francia's private secretary — Jose de Maria's imprisonment — The fate of Chilaber CONTENTS.

Letter XX

J. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. DON PABLO SORIA. Page Navigation ofthe Vermejo— Soria's capture— His treatment by Francia — H*.s liberation, and return to Buenos Ayres 269

Letter XXI

W. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. MONS. AI51E BONPLAND. His arrival in Buenos Ayres — He proceeds to Candelaria — His establishment there — Its total destruction by Francia, and massacre of his people — Horrible cruelty — Francia's own account of the transaction — Santa Maria — Attempts made to procure M. Bonpland's release — Failure of these attempts — Bonpland's colony at Santa Maria — His philanthropy — Dismissal from Paraguay — Return to Buenos Ayres ........ 27j

Letter XXII. To Thomas Fair, Esq

J. P. R. RESUMES, AND CONCLUDES THE SERIES AND THE VOLUME. The three salient points in Francia's history — His fear of assassination — His prying and minute organization of his troops — He sows jealousy of each other among them — His minuteness — Military insolence encouraged — Anecdotes of his cruelty and caprice — Courts-Martial — Increase of dungeons aud prisons — The public prison — Treatment ofthe prisoners — Females notexcepted — State dungeons . _ CONTENTS. XV

Letter XXIII

J. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. . Page State dungeons — Their inmates — Tevego made a place of exile — The torture-chamber — Use made of those instru ments of tyranny — The Pelado — His fate — Horrible mode of conducting executions — Fearful progress of the reign of terror — Case of the shoemaker — The trades men's gibbet — Generalization — Application of it to the shoemaker's case — Dark prospects — Anecdote of a jury — Inference drawn— Applicable to Francia — Hazael, Nero, and the Dictator ..... 303

Letter XXIV

J. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. Francia's growing tenors of assassination — Conspiracy against him — The conspirators betrayed — Wretched consequences — Fate of the conspirators — Further precautions taken by Francia — The intrigues of Ramirez, an Artigue- Eo colonel — Executions and torture — Executions continued — Female heroism — Change of the national character — Fate of Don Andres Gomez — General effects produced by the Reign of Terror .... 323

Letter XXV

J. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. Measures adopted against the old Spaniards — The unfortunate mason — False accusations and cruelty — Imprisonment, murder, and mockery — General Velasco — His history — His humming birds — His butler — The fate of both — Fate of the Bishop — Fines imposed on the old Spaniards — Orders to shoot all who looked at the Government House — Solitude around the Tyrant's abode ••......• CONTENTS. 369

Letter XXVI

J. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. Page The Dictator's various occup.ations— General of Dragoons — His military attire — He gives the word of command — • He turns Laud-surveyor — Lays off a town— Demolishes the old one— Endeavours to build a new one — The job proves a failure — Francia finds that he cannot make successful war upon the elements — His sites are staked off, but not built upon ...... 353

Letter XXVII

J. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. Reflections preparatory to the closing Review of Francia's Character — Charges brought by Francia against Mons. Rengger, -' That he is a wretch, assassin, poisoner, seducer, and intriguer ;" "that he wants to marry a Paraguay lady;" that he is "a mendacious miscreant;" " that his work is an essay of lies ;" " that he is an ungrateful vagabond'' — His Letter about Buenos Ayres — The Dictator's contempt for him

Letter XXVIII

J. P. R. TO THOMAS FAIR, ESQ. ANALYSIS OF THE PRECEDING DOCUMENT, AND CONCLUSION OF THE SERIES. Scurrility of Francia's Expose — Notoriety of the Facts stated by Rengger — Lowness of Francia's Imagery aud Language — Mons. Rengger's Forbearance — Reason assigui-d for this — Ciedit given to Francia by Mons. Rengger — Investigation of Francia's Charges — Their Refutation — Address to Francia, containing a Resume ol the Charges against Him ........ 381 Conclusion

Letter I. The

AUTHOPvS TO THEIR READERS. INTRODUCTORY AND SOMEWHAT RETROSPECTIVE. London, 1838. When we published, about three months ago, the first series of these letters, the public and ourselves were utter strangers to each other. Our two volumes constituted our first appear ance on the stage of English literature ; and many misgivings we confess we had as to the result of our maiden attempt. The difficulty of imparting an interest, and something like a freshness, to events not very recent, enhanced by the apathy which had grown up in regard to South America, gave us no imaginary cause to look forward with an anxious and even dubious eye to the issue of our labours. They have been received, however, in a way to exceed our most sanguine expectations; and we have not only every reason to be satisfied VOL. III. b but to feel honoured by the reception with which our first work has met.

We trust that the se quel to the strange annals of Dr. Francia, and the further incidents connected with' Paraguay which we have now to give, may not be deemed of inferior value to the part upon which the public has ahead}' pronounced so favourable a judgment. Before proceeding with our history, we must take the liberty of detaining our readers at large for a short time over a few preliminary remarks, intended principally for the benefit of those who may not have seen our two first volumes. The interest which the public has attached to our sketches of Paraguay, and its Dictator, Fran cia, only show*s the truth of what may pass for an axiom, that man's curiosity, as a propensity, and almost an instinct, of his nature, knows no bounds. It is subject, no doubt, to the many modifications which time, place, and circumstance produce : yet while he reserves his stronger sym pathies for those scenes and actions which come within the scope of his own observation, he is nevertheless ready to take an interest in what is more distant, and less palpable to his senses ; he concerns himself more or less with the occur rences of the whole world in which he lives, and with all that moves therein.

The fact is, that the utility derivable from the study of man is enhanced rather than diminished by the modifications of climate, education, habits, and institutions. The truly philosophic principle is, " Homo sum, a me nihil humani alienum puto ;" and while the sentiment is in all cases correct, it applies with double force to those in which some marked peculiarity in the construc tion of society is discernible, or where the leader or ruler of that society exhibits such broad traits of character as do not, in our previous reading or experience, easily find a parallel. Such a state of society we think we have so far exhibited in Paraguay, and such a ruler in its living Dictator, Doctor Francia.* Various con current circumstances have combined to lend a peculiar interest to the general history of the country of which we treat, and we have already endeavoured to call the attention of our readers to them. * The Doctor's death, so currently reported three months ago, we now know has not taken place. .2 Paraguay was a land which, when we took up the subject, was enveloped in a vague and misty celebrity.

Most people who had read anything of the New World knew that there was a beautiful and fertile region of that name, a long way in land in some part or other of South America; that it produced a sort of tea, as generally used in those parts as we use the Chinese plant in England ; that it had been the seat of the Jesuits ; that it had become, in common with all parts of Spanish America, independent of the mo ther country; and that it had at last come under the rule of a strange and incomprehensible per son, called Doctor Francia. Such, in general terms, was the extent of knowledge which the bulk of English readers possessed of Paraguay. The colonial regime of Old Spain, as we have shown in our first volumes, tended to keep all her transatlantic possessions from the public gaze of Europe; and as they receded inland from her principal ports, they became more and more in distinct and fanciful to the vision.* Thus the * Every one knows how pleasingly Southey has taken advantage of this circumstance in the romantic poem which he has founded ou a passage from old Dobritzhoffer, and of which the scene is laid in Paraguay. very existence of Assumption, the capital of Pa raguay, situated 1200 miles up the Eiver Plate, was only known as a city to the learned few, and to Spain herself and her colonies.

The country was indeed thrown open for a time after the revolution of 1810; but almost before anything could be seen of it, and transmitted to general knowledge, it was shut up more rigorously than ever by Francia ; and while he lives the proba bility is that it will remain hermetically sealed to all the world. Yet the beauty, the richness, the luxuriance of Paraguay, — its noble rivers, its magnificent forests, its verdant plains, its picturesque mountains, its fine though warm climate, its fertility in every tropical production of value, and its endless variety of objects of natural history, — all render the country one of the most interesting in the New World, and respecting the peculiar features of which every admirer of the beauties and bounties of nature must be pleased to have some detailed information.

Such information we have already, to a certain extent, endeavoured to supply, and we propose to complete it, as well as we can, in the present volume. Another striking circumstance connected with the history of Paraguay is, that of the rise, pro gress, and fall of the Jesuits in that country ; and this subject we have completed in our first volumes. A short retrospect of the matter here for our present readers shall therefore suffice. The interest which the history of the Jesuits in Paraguay involves, will be best understood by asking how we should view among ourselves the phenomenon of an organized society, independent of the laws, civil and ecclesiastical, of the realm, yet subordinate to laws of its own, effectual for the restraint of crime, the promotion of corporate aggrandizement, and the working out of a pro vision, on the principle of a community of goods, for every member of the body politic?

Should we not eagerly scan its institutions, investigate its principles, admire its excellencies, or probe its defects ? In what variety of speculation should we not indulge as to the legality and utility of such an imperium in imperio ? How would its proceedings be decried by some, applauded by others, scrutinized by all ? And would not such investigation lead to many important and prac tical results in the constitution of social order ? Now, though the inquiry into such an institu tion could not proceed as of one existing, or that had existed among ourselves, yet if " history be philosophy teaching by example," it is assuredly true that neither the historical details connected with the government of the Jesuits, nor the in ferences deduced can be materially affected by a mere reference to their locality.

The popular account of the Jesuits, embodied in our former letters, was framed either from au thentic MSS., which we perused, or from our own personal observation ; and we are glad to believe that it has been by many considered to be of an historical importance calculated to in struct the philosopher, as well as to interest the general reader.* We gave as comprehensive a view as our * We have not been able to refrain from a smile on finding ourselves charged by an otherwise kind and discriminating re viewer as being too deeply imbued with the spirit of John Knox and of Presbyterianism to give a fair account ofthe Jesuits. Our respected critic will, perhaps, allow us to say that our facts are drawn from, and our reasonings are in accordance with, Roman Catholic writers who have preceded us ; and that, as we neither are, nor ever have been, Presbyterians (albeit holding in respect that erudite sect), the doctrines and feelings of that church have in no way influenced our views of the labours of the Jesuits in Paraguay. limits would permit, first, of the institutions of the Jesuits, and, next, of the state to which their communities were reduced after their expulsion.

That expulsion itself, the result of the jealousy created in the Spanish court of the increase of power acquired and exercised by the Jesuits, was attended with great individual oppression; and it forms an interesting chapter in the history of their decline and fall. In little more than forty years after the expul sion of the Jesuits, by order of the King of Spain, the successor of that monarch was des tined in his turn to see his authority on the wane, and his dominion pass away from him over countries from which his predecessor had driven tlie sons of Loyola. In the history of the revolution by which the vast transatlantic possessions of Spain were con verted into a number of independent govern ments or republics, Paraguay comes early into the field; and though of small comparative im portance in the general struggle, the singular policy it has pursued for twenty-five years has attracted very general attention in Europe.

It forms a sole exception to the anarchy and confusion which have reigned throughout the other republics, from the time of their colonial emanci pation to the present day. Dr. Francia, the author, and, up to this hour, the inflexible upholder of the non-intercourse policy of Paraguay, is, doubtless, one of the most singular characters of his day. Before this man's real character became known, he received no small credit for the tranquil order which ho maintained in his republic, while all the others about him were engaged in apparently intermin able broils and civil discords. But the peace and quiet of Paraguay arc as the stillness of the grave. What originated in a deeply-laid plot of oppressive tyranny has been consummated by a universal system of terror. By the most ruthless cruelty, — by the sternest despotism, — Francia established, and now main tains his sway : crimes of a dye so deep, — of a character so appalling as to make human nature shudder and recoil, — have stained his course as he has advanced in his relentless and bloody ca reer.

The character of such a man, wherever the theatre of his actions may lie, cannot but excite a strong and general interest; and in proportion b3 as the knowledge of his system and of his acts has been scanty and unauthentic, a desire has arisen to have more credible testimony respecting them. We have already shown to some extent, and we propose still further to show, that we have the means of placing the history of this tyrant and of his government in an authentic and con nected form before the public. We have in our first volumes given some details (now to be fol lowed up by more) of the personal intercourse which we held with Francia while we resided in Paraguay during the early part of his career ; and we shall, by-and-by, show the connexion which we kept up with the country after we left it, and the means which were afforded to us, through our own agents and others, of tracking the fiendish course of the cold-blooded and cruel Dictator.

The history of Francia's mind, as developed in his actions, is a truly astonishing one. The ac cusation we have here made against him of pro gressive oppression and blood-thirsty tyranny will be found to be supported by the most start ling facts, attested by a host of witnesses. They are facts, too, which relate not to some Negro chieftain of a savage tribe of Africans, but to a lawyer, — a scholar, — a political chief, — who, in all probability, exercises, at this moment, absolute sway over a country larger than Great Britain : a country which, for three centuries, was ruled by a civilized European power ; and a country, which, though now coerced into the timorous si lence of absolute slavery, and laid prostrate at the feet of a gloomy despot, we ourselves have seen full of life and activity, teeming with abundance, and looking, as an effect of the very revolution which has brought it so low, to perennial prosperity and wealth.

Alas ! where unprincipled ambition wades through blood to the possession of des potic power, — and maintains that power by a paralyzing system of terror, — what baneful in fluences must we not be prepared to see shedding their poisonous dews over the length and breadth of the land ! We have here adverted to some of the claims which a history of Paraguay has on the attention of our readers, and which the public at large has already so promptly recognised. That history will be successively developed in the course of this sequel to our first letters ; and, as the whole are not the result of any hasty or superficial survey, but of a personal intercourse, or of correspondence with confidential agents, corrobo rated by other and high authorities, it is pre sumed that they may lay claim to some accuracy; and that, while they minister to the general reader instruction and amusement, they may not be destitute of interest to the political, and even to the philosophic inquirer. The Authors.

Letter II

W. P. 11. to Thomas Fair, Esq. Francia's Levee — His condescension— Change of Manner and System — Takes the Title of Supremo, or Supreme — Increased austerity — Paralyzatiou of Commerce— The Secretary of State, Martinez — Harangue to the Old Spaniards.,.— The Pelado — The Clergy — Elevation of Pai Montiel. London, 183S. The first series of these letters, which you have seen, and which we addressed to our friend Mr. Gilfillan, has so far been stamped by the public approbation as to warrant our placing your name in full, without much danger to your reputation, at the head of our Second Series. When I state that you were our partner in business in Buenos Ayres for a lengthened period of time, — that, as such, you were leagued with us during the whole course of our adventures in Paraguay, — and that a friendship of twenty-five years' standing has continued to link us together on higher and more enduring grounds than a mere junction of worldly francia's levee.1 interests could effect, — I am sure our readers will agree that no name can stand more appropriately at the head of our letters than your own.

Our last volume left off at one of the great po litical eras of Francia's life, — his nomination for three years to the dictatorship of Paraguay. You have seen the manœuvres to which he resorted in order to insure his popular election to that high office ; and I have informed you that his congress of a thousand deputies, having gratified the ambitious consul by a unanimous vote, put a suicidal end to its own existence after a brief, though it must be confessed, an important life of three days' duration. The two days which followed the election were graciously set apart by the Dictator as dias de Besamanos, or levee days. I of course waited on him with the crowd of courtiers which these two days called into an ephemeral existence in Assumption. Old and antiquated Spanish court dresses, which I be lieve had in some cases been handed down from father to son, since the days of the first con querors of Paraguay, were to be seen in all directions.

They were worn by shopkeepers, merfrancia's levee. 15 chants, and some of the better landed proprietors of the old school. The prevailing fashion was very much in the Dr. Bargas style, being a coat of great amplitude of cuff, pocket and flap, of " Pano de San Fernando," the best, and most costly superfine of Spain, with monstrously large flat buttons, and tails reaching to the calf of the leg. The rest of the dress was in keeping with this well-preserved heir-loom. Then came the doctores in court suits of black of an equally ancient cut; a few (among these, Generals Yegros, and Cavallero) in fantastic, medley, and very tight regimentals; and a few more, young men like myself, who had been to Buenos Ayres, and adopted the modern European fashion. But, to me, the most grotesque looking of all the dictator's visitors at his Besamanos, were the sons of some of these motley courtiers of a day.

Boys of not more than eight or ten years of age, strutted by the sides of their fathers, dressed precisely after the same fashion as their elders, with gold-headed little canes in their hands, and conversing with all the gravity and self possession of men of sixty. They made their obeisance to the Dictator with ease and propriety, ms condescension. and they were received by him not only with cour tesy but formality.* Many belonging to the classes of a lower grade were admitted to these levees, held for the first and the last time by the Dictator. Among them I remarked my little Sancho Panza looking friend, Orrego the spy, decked out in a new, gaudy, and many-coloured suit, purchased for the all-important occasion. Whether he had come to spy the Dictator him self or not, I cannot say ; but I caught them exchanirinff significant though furtive looks, duro ****> o o ing Orrego's stay in the saloon.