A RETROSPECT.
Before carrying our story further we must give the reader certain
details about the family and antecedents of Don Sebastian Guerrero, who
is destined to play a great part in our narrative.
The family of Don Sebastian was rich; he descended in a straight line
from one of the early kings of Mexico, and pure Aztec blood flowed in
his veins. Like several other great Mexican families, his ancestors had
not been dispossessed by the conquerors, to whom they rendered important
services; but they were obliged to add a Spanish name to the Mexican
one, which sounded harshly in Castilian ears.
Still the Guerrero family boasted loudly of its Aztec origin, and if it
seemed ostensibly devoted to Spain, it secretly maintained the hope of
seeing Mexico one day regain her liberty.
Thus, when the heroic Hidalgo, the humble curate of the little village
of Dolores, suddenly raised the standard of revolt against the
oppressors of his country, Don Eustaquio Guerrero, though married but a
short time previously to a woman he adored, and father of a son hardly
six years of age, was one of the first to respond to the appeal of the
insurgents, and join Hidalgo at the head of four hundred resolute men
raised on his own enormous estates.
The Mexican revolution was a singular one; for nearly all the promoters
and heroes were priests--the only country in the world where the clergy
have openly taken the initiative in progress, and thus displayed
profound sympathy for the liberty of the people.
Don Eustaquio Guerrero was in turn companion of those modest heroes whom
disdainful history has almost forgotten, and whose names were, Hidalgo,
Morelos, Hermenegildo Galeana, Allende, Abasolo, Aldama, Valerio
Trujano, Torres, Rayon, Sotomayor, Manuel Mier-y-Teran, and many others
whose names have escaped me; and who, after fighting gloriously for the
liberty of their country, now repose in their bloody tombs, protected by
that glorious nimbus which Heaven places round the brow of martyrs,
whatever be the cause they have defended, so long as that cause is just.
More fortunate than the majority of his brave comrades in arms, who were
destined to fall one after the other, some as victims to Spanish
barbarity, others conquered by treachery, Don Eustaquio escaped as if by
a miracle from the innumerable dangers of this war, which lasted ten
years, and at length witnessed the complete expulsion of the Spaniards
and the proclamation of independence.
The brave soldier, prematurely aged, covered with wounds, and disgusted
by the ingratitude of his fellow countrymen, who, scarce free, began
attacking each other, and inaugurated that fatal era of
_pronunciamientos,_ the list of which is already so long, and will only
be closed by the ruin of the country, and the loss of its nationality,
retired, gloomy and sad, to his Hacienda del Palmar, situated in the
province of Valladolid, and sought, in the company of his wife and son,
to recover some sparks of that happiness he had formerly enjoyed when he
was but an obscure citizen.
But this supreme consolation was denied him; his wife died in his arms
scarce two years after their reunion, attacked by an unknown disease,
which dragged her to the grave in a few weeks.
After the death of the woman he loved with all the strength of his soul,
Don Eustaquio, crushed by sorrow, only dragged on a wretched existence,
which terminated exactly one year after his wife's death. Her name was
the last word that wandered on his pallid lips as he drew his parting
breath.
Don Sebastian, who was scarce twenty years of age, was left an orphan.
Alone, without relatives or friends, the young man shut himself up in
his hacienda, where he silently bewailed the two beings he had lost,
and on whom he had concentrated all his affections.
Don Sebastian would probably have remained for many years in retirement,
without seeing the world, or caring how it went on--leading the
careless, idle, and brutalising life of those great land-holders whom no
idea of progress or amelioration impels to trouble themselves about
their estates, timid and fearful, like all men who live alone, spending
his days in hunting and sleeping--had not chance, or rather his lucky
star, brought to Palmar an old partisan chief who had long fought by the
side of Don Eustaquio, and who, happening to pass a few leagues from the
place, felt old reminiscences aroused in him, and determined to press
the hand of his old comrade, whose death he was not aware of.
The name of this man was Don Isidro Vargas. He was of lofty stature, his
shoulders were wide, his limbs athletic, and his features imprinted with
an uncommon energy; in a word, he presented in his person the type of
that powerful and devoted race which is daily dying out in Mexico, and
of which, ere long, not a specimen will be left.
The unexpected arrival of this guest, whose heavy spurs and long
steel-scabbarded sabre re-echoed noisily on the tiled floors of the
hacienda, brought life into the mansion which had been so long devoted
to silence and the gloomy tranquillity of the cloister.
Like all old soldiers, Captain Don Isidro had a rough voice and sharp
way of speaking; his manners were brusque, but his character was gay,
and gifted with a rare equanimity of temper.
When he entered the house Don Sebastian was out hunting, and the
hacienda seemed uninhabited. The captain at first found enormous
difficulty in meeting with anyone to address. At length, by careful
search, he detected a peon half asleep under a verandah, who gave some
sort of answer to the questions asked him. By great patience and
questions made with that craft peculiar to the Mexicans, the captain
succeeded in obtaining some valuable information.
The death of Don Eustaquio only astonished the worthy _soldado_
slightly; he expected it, indeed, from the moment he learnt the death of
the señora, for whom he knew his old comrade professed so deep a love;
but on learning the idle life Don Sebastian had led since his father's
death, the captain burst out in a furious passion, and swore by all the
saints in the Spanish calendar (and they are tolerably numerous), that
this state of things should not last much longer.
The captain had known the young man when he was but a child. Many times
he had dandled him on his knee, and thus, with his ideas of honour and
generosity, he thought himself obliged, as an old friend of his father,
to remove the son from the slothful existence he led.
Consequently the old soldier installed himself authoritatively in the
hacienda, and firmly awaited the return of the man he had been
accustomed to regard for a long time almost in the light of a son.
The day passed peacefully. The Indian peons, long accustomed to profess
the greatest respect for embroidered hats and jingling sabres, left him
free to act as he pleased--a liberty the old soldier did not at all
abuse, for he contented himself with ordering an immense vase full of an
infusion of tamarinds, which he placed on a table, up to which he drew a
butaca, and amused himself with smoking an enormous quantity of husk
cigarettes, which he made as he wanted them, with that dexterity alone
possessed by the Spanish race.
At about _oración_ time, or six in the evening, the captain, who had
fallen quietly asleep, was aroused by a great noise, mingled with
shouts, barking, and the neighing of horses, which he heard outside.
"Ah, ah!" he said, turning up his moustache, "I fancy the _muchacho_ has
at last arrived."
It was, indeed, Don Sebastian returning from the chase.
The old partisan, who was sitting opposite a window, was enabled to
examine his friend's son at his ease, without being perceived in his
turn. He could not repress a smile of satisfaction at the sight of the
vigorous young man, with his haughty features bearing the imprint of
boldness, wildness, and timidity, and his well-built limbs.
"What a pity," he muttered to himself, "if such a fine fellow were to be
expended here without profit to himself or to others! It will not be my
fault if I do not succeed in rousing the boy from the state of lethargy
into which he is plunged. I owe that to the memory of his poor father."
While making these reflections, as he heard the clanking of spurs in the
room before that in which he was, he fell back on his butaca, and put on
again his usual look of indifference. Don Sebastian entered. He had not
seen the captain for several years. The greeting he gave him, though
slightly awkward and embarrassed, was, however, affectionate. After the
first compliments they sat down face to face.
"Well, muchacho," the captain said, suddenly plunging _in medias res_,
"you did not expect a visit from me, I fancy?"
"I confess, captain, that I was far from supposing that you would come.
To what fortunate accident do I owe your presence in my house?"
"I will tell you presently, muchacho. For the present we will talk about
other matters, if you have no objection."
"At your ease, captain; I do not wish to displease you in any way."
"We will see that presently, _cuerpo de Dios!_ And in the first place,
to speak frankly, I will tell you that I did not come to see you, but
your worthy father, my brave general. _Voto a brios!_ The news of his
death quite upset me, and I am not myself again yet."
"I am very grateful, captain, for the kindly memory in which you hold my
father."
"_Capa de Cristo!_" the captain said, who, among other habits more or
less excellent, possessed to an eminent degree that of seasoning each of
his phrases with an oath, at times somewhat unorthodox, "of course I
hold in kind memory the man by whose side I fought for ten years, and
to whom I owe it that I am what I am. Yes, I do remember him, and I hope
soon, _canarios!_ To prove it to his son."
"I thank you, captain, though I do not perceive in what way you can give
me this proof."
"Good, good!" he said, gnawing his moustache. "I know how to do it, and
that is enough. Everything will come at its right season."
"As you please, my old friend. At any rate, you will be kind enough to
remember that you are at home here, and that the longer you stay the
greater pleasure you will afford me."
"Good, muchacho! I expected that from you. I will avail myself of the
hospitality so gracefully offered, but will not abuse it."
"An old comrade in arms of my father's cannot do that in his house,
captain, and you less than anyone else. But," he added, seeing a peon
enter, "here is a servant come to announce that the dinner is served. I
confess to you that, as I have been hunting all day, I am now dying of
hunger: if you will follow me we will sit down to the table and renew
our acquaintance glass in hand."
"I ask nothing better, _rayo de Dios!_" the captain said as he rose.
"Though I have not been hunting, I think I shall do honour to the
repast."
And without further talking they passed into a dining room, where a
sumptuously and abundantly-served table awaited them.
According to a patriarchal custom, which, unfortunately, like all good
things, is beginning to die out, at Palmar the master and servants took
their meals together. This custom, which had existed in the family since
the conquest, Don Sebastian kept up--in the first place, through respect
for his father's memory, and secondly, because the servants at the
hacienda were devoted to their master, and to some extent supplied the
place of a family.
The evening passed away, without any incident worthy of remark, in
chatting about war and the chase. Captain Don Isidro Vargas was an old
soldier, as cunning as a monk. Too clever to assail the young man's
ideas straightforwardly, he resolved to study him for some time, in
order to discover the weak points of his character, and see how he must
attack him in order to drag him out of that slothful and purposeless
life he led in this forgotten province. Thus several days were passed in
hunting and other amusements, and the captain never once alluded to the
subject he had at heart. At times he might make a covert allusion to the
active life of the capital, the opportunities of securing a fine
position which a man of Don Sebastian's age could not fail to find at
Mexico, if he would take the trouble to go there, and many other
insinuations of the same nature; but the young man let them pass without
making the slightest observation, or even appearing to understand them.
"Patience!" the captain muttered. "I shall eventually find the flaw in
his cuirass; and if I do not succeed, I must be preciously clumsy."
And he recommenced his covert attacks, not allowing the young man's
impassive indifference to rebuff him.
Don Sebastian performed his duties as master of the house with
thoroughly Mexican grace, amenity, and sumptuousness; that is, he
invented every sort of amusement which he thought would be most suited
to the worthy captain's tastes. The latter let him do so with the utmost
coolness, and conscientiously enjoyed the pleasures the young man
procured him, charmed in his heart by the activity he displayed in
pleasing him, and more and more persuaded that, if he succeeded in
arousing in him the feelings which he supposed were slumbering in his
mind, it would be easy to convert him to his own ideas, and make him
abandon the absorbing life of a _campesino_.
More than once, during the few days they spent in hunting in the
magnificent plains that surrounded the hacienda, accident enabled the
captain to admire the skill with which the young man managed his steed,
and his superiority in all those exercises which demand strength,
activity, and, above all, skill.
On one occasion especially, at the moment the hunters galloped in
pursuit of a magnificent stag they had put up, they found themselves
suddenly face to face with a cougouar, which threatened to dispute their
progress. The cougouar is the American lion. It has no mane. Like all
the other carnivora of the New World it cares little about attacking a
man, and it is only when reduced to the last extremity that it turns
upon him; but then it fights with a courage and energy that frequently
render its approach extremely dangerous.
On the occasion to which we allude the cougouar seemed resolved to await
its enemies boldly. The captain, but little accustomed to find himself
face to face with such enemies, experienced that internal tremor which
assails the bravest man when he finds himself exposed to a serious
danger. Still, as the old soldier was notoriously brave, he soon
recovered from this involuntary emotion, and cocked his gun, while
watching the crouching animal, which fixed its glaring eyes on him.
"Do not fire, captain," Don Sebastian said with a perfectly calm voice;
"you are not used to this chase, and, without wishing it, might injure
the skin, which you see is magnificent, and that would be a pity."
Don Sebastian thereupon let his gun fall, took a pistol from his
holster, and spurring his horse at the same time that he checked it,
made it rear. The animal rose, and stood almost on its hind legs; the
cougouar suddenly bounded forward with a terrible roar; the young man
dug his knees into his horse, which bounded on one side, while Don
Sebastian pulled the trigger. The monster rolled on the ground in
convulsive agony.
"_Cuerpo de Cristo!_" the captain shouted; "why, you've killed it on the
spot! No matter, muchacho; you played for a heavy stake."
"Bah!" the other said as he dismounted; "it is not so difficult as you
fancy; it only requires practice."
"Hum! It must require practice to shoot such an animal on the wing. The
ball has entered its eye."
"Yes, we generally shoot them there, so as not to spoil the skin."
"Ah, very good! To tell you the truth, though, I, who am by no means a
bad shot, should not like to try the experiment."
"You are calumniating yourself."
"Very possibly."
"Poor Pepe, my tigrero, will lose by that a reward of ten piastres--all
the worse for him. Shall we return to the hacienda, and send someone to
bring the brute in?"
"With all my heart."
They went back.
"Hum!" the captain said to himself as they galloped on, "I must have a
definitive explanation with him this very evening."