48 



A SOUTH AMERICAN GUERILLA CHIEF. 



avoid any appearance of acting the part of a con- 

 quex*or. " For the last ten years," said he, " I 

 have been unremittingly employed against the 

 Spaniards ; or rather, in favour of this country, 

 for I am not against any one who is not hostile to 

 the cause of independence. All I wish is, that 

 this country should be managed by itself, and by 

 itself alone. As to the manuer in which it is to be 

 governed, that belongs not at all to me. I propose 

 simply to give the people the means of declaring 

 themselves independent, and of establishing a 

 suitable form of government ; after which I shall 

 consider I have done enough, and leave them." 



Those who heard this declaration at the time 

 with scorn and incredulity, will do well to take 

 notice how exactly the whole of his subsequent 

 conduct was in accordance with these professions. 

 General San Martin is now residing in retirement 

 at Brussels. 



On the next day, the 8th of July, a deputation 

 of the principal inhabitants of Lima was sent to 

 invite San Martin formally to enter the capital, as 

 the inhabitants had agreed, after the most mature 

 deliberation, to the terms proposed. To this 

 requisition he assented, but delayed his entry till 

 the 12th, some days after. 



It is proverbially difficult to discover the real 

 temper and character of great men : and I was, 

 therefore, on the watch for such little traits in San 

 Martin as might throw a light on his natural dis- 

 position ; and I must say that the result was most 

 favourable. I took notice, in particular, of the 

 kindly and cordial terms upon which he lived with 

 the officers of his family, and all those with whom 

 his occupations obliged him to associate. One day, 

 at his own table, after dinner, I saw him take out 

 his cigarrera, or pouch, and while his thoughts 

 were evidently far away, choose a cigar more 

 round and firm than the rest, and give it an un- 

 conscious look of satisfaction ; — when a voice from 

 the bottom of the table called out, " Mi General ! " 

 He started from his reverie, and holding up his 

 head, asked who had spoken. " It was I," said 

 an officer of his establishment who had been 

 watching him ; " I merely wished to beg the favour 

 of one cigar of you."—" Ah ha ! " said he, smiling 

 good-naturedly, and at once tossed his chosen 

 cigar with an assumed look of reproach to the 

 officer. To everybody he was affable and courteous, 

 without the least show or bustle, and I could never 

 detect in him the slightest trace of affectation, or 

 anything, in short, but the real sentiment of the 

 moment. I had occasion to visit him early one 

 morning on board his schooner, and we had not 

 been long walking together, when the sailors began 

 washing the decks. " What a plague it is," said 

 San Martin, " that these fellows will insist upon 

 washing their decks at this rate ! " — " I wish my 

 friend," said he to one of the men, " you would 

 not wet us here, but go to the other side." The 

 seaman, however, who had his duty to do, and was 

 too well accustomed to the General's gentle manner, 

 went on with his work, and splashed us soundly. 

 " I am afraid," cried San Martin, " we must go 

 below, although our cabin is but a miserable hole, 

 for really there is no persuading these fellows to 

 go out of their usual way." These anecdotes, and 

 many others of the same stamp, are very trifling, 

 it is true ; but I am much mistaken if they do not 

 give more insight into the real disposition, than a 



long series of official acts : for public virtue, 

 whether justly or not, is unfortunately held to be 

 so rare, that we are apt to mistrust a man in power 

 for the very same actions, which, in a humble 

 station, would have secured our confidence and 

 esteem. 



On our way back to Lima we were threatened 

 with an attack from a body of a dozen robbers : 

 men let loose upon society by the events of the 

 day. Our party consisted of four gentlemen, each 

 armed with a pistol. As we rode up the great 

 approach of the city, we saw the robbers pull 

 three people off their horses, and strip them of 

 their cloaks, after which they formed a compact 

 line across the road, brandishing their cudgels in 

 defiance. We cantered on, however, right against 

 them, with our pistols cocked and held in the air. 

 The effect was what we expected : an opening was 

 made for us, and the robbers, seeing their purpose 

 frustrated, turned about, and became of a sudden 

 wonderfully good patriots, calling out, " Viva la 

 Patria ! Viva San Martin ! " 



On the 1 Oth of July, I dined with a small party 

 at the Marquis of Montemira's. Whilst we were 

 at dinner a soldier entered with a letter, which he 

 delivered to the old Governor. He was a short, 

 round-faced, daring-looking fellow, dressed in a 

 shaggy blue jacket, and trowsers of immense width, 

 with a blue cloth cap on his head, encircled by a I 

 broad silver band, and by his side hung a huge j 

 broadsword. His manners were somewhat too j 

 free, but not vulgar or offensive ; and there played 

 about his eyes and his mouth, during the interview, 

 an expression of broad coarse humour, which a 

 glass or two of wine, and a little encouragement 

 on our part, might, not improbably, have ripened 

 into impertineuce. The old Marquis, whose heart 

 was open with excess of glee at all the events of 

 the day, was delighted with his new guest ; and 

 rising from the table, actually embraced the as- 

 tonished soldier, who was standing most respect- 

 fully behind his chair, little dreaming of such 

 familiarity. I was seated near a friend, who, 

 though by birth a Spaniard, was a thorough Patriot 

 at heart, and from being long resident in Lima, 

 had become acquainted with every distinguished 

 or notorious individual it contained. I observed 

 him fall back in his chair, and in vain try to sup- 

 press a laugh on seeing the Marquis embrace the 

 bearer of the despatch. On my insisting upon 

 knowing the cause of his mirth, he told me that 

 our new friend was no other than one of the most 

 noted robbers in the whole country, who, not many 

 months since, had been condemned to be hanged, 

 but was let off with a sound whipping through the 

 streets of Lima. San Martin, who was on the 

 look-out for every sort of instrument to advance 

 his purpose, had heard of him as a man of talents 

 and enterprise, and had given him the command 

 of a band of Partidos, or Guerillas, composed 

 chiefly of Indians, from the lower districts of the 

 Andes. 



I was much amused with this account of our 

 new companion, who was urged by our host to take 

 his seat at the table, and where he accordingly 

 made himself quite at home in a very short time. 

 This was just the sort of man to flourish in a 

 revolution, and we found him a very shrewd 

 person, well adapted to his situation in the event 

 of any desperate service being required. He was 



