PADRE OF SAN JACINTO. 175 



ance in front that required support to keep it from fall- 

 ing. His dress consisted of a shirt and pair of panta- 

 loons, with button-holes begging for employment ; but 

 he had a heart as big as his body, and as open as his 

 wearing apparel ; and when I told him I had ridden 

 from Esquipulas that day, he said I must remain a week 

 to recruit. As to going the next day, he would not 

 hear of it ; and, in fact, very soon I found that it was 

 impossible without other aid, for my abominable mule- 

 teer filled up the measure of his iniquities by falling ill 

 with a violent fever. 



At my earnest solicitation, the padre endeavoured to 

 procure me mules for the next day, and during the even- 

 ing we had a levee of villagers. The man upon whom 

 he principally relied said that it was dangerous travel- 

 ling ; that two Ingleses had been arrested in Honduras, 

 and had escaped, but their muleteers and servants were 

 murdered. I could perhaps have thrown some light 

 upon this story, but did not think it worth while to 

 know anything about such suspicious characters. The 

 padre was distressed that he could not serve me, but at 

 length said that a man of my rank and character (I had 

 shown him my passport, and Augustin had fired the Ba- 

 lize guns) ought to have every facility, and he would 

 provide for me himself; and he ordered a man to go 

 early in the morning to his hacienda for mules ; after 

 which, fatigued with such unusual efforts, he threw his 

 gigantic body into a hammock, and swung himself to 

 sleep. 



The household of the padre consisted of two young 

 men, one deaf and dumb, and the other a fool. The 

 former possessed extraordinary vivacity and muscular 

 powers, and entertained the padre by his gesticulations, 

 stories, and sleight-of-hand tricks, and particularly with 



