A DELICATE CASE. 



417 



The men were all away at work, and all day there was 

 a procession of women in white cotton dresses moving 

 from the gate to the well and drawing water. It was 

 pleasant to find that marriage was considered proper 

 and expedient, conducing to good order and thrift cer- 

 tainly, and probably to individual happiness. Don Si- 

 mon encouraged it ; he did not like to have any single 

 men on the estate, and made every young Indian of the 

 right age take unto himself a wife. When, as often 

 happened, the Indian, in a deprecating tone, said, " No 

 tengo rnuger," " I have no woman," Don Simon looked 

 through the hacienda and found one for him. On his 

 last visit he made four matches, and the day before our 

 arrival the Delmonico major-domo had been to the near- 

 est village to escort the couples and pay the padre for 

 marrying them, the price being thirteen shillings each. 

 He was afraid to trust them with the money, for fear 

 they would spend it and not get married. 



The old major-domo was energetic in carrying out 

 the views of his master on this important subject, and 

 that day a delicate case was brought before him. A 

 young Indian girl brought a complaint against a mar- 

 ried woman for slander. She said that she was enga- 

 ged to be married to a young man whom she loved 

 and who loved her, and the married woman had inju- 

 red her fair fame by reporting that she was already in 

 " an interesting situation;" she had told the young man 

 of it, said that all the women in the hacienda saw it, 

 and taunted him with marrying such a girl ; and now, 

 she said, the young man would not have her. The 

 married woman was supported by a crowd of witnesses, 

 and it must be admitted that appearances were very 

 much against the plaintiff; but the old major-domo, 

 without going into the merits at all, decided in her fa- 



Vol. II.— 3 G 



