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258 the officers to be put to death on that uncontested battle-field; the next day he ordered the execution of all the sergeants, and on the next the corporals. Every time he became intoxicated his thirst for blood returned with redoubled fury, and there are still persons alive who heard him give orders for various assassinations, with minute directions as to the manner in which they were to be accomplished; that at such a spot, at such an hour, the legs of a certain victim were to be cut off; in another case the tongue was to be cut out, and in another the face was to be so mutilated as not to be recognized. Such deeds of barbarity were then unheard of and surpassed all imagination, but now they are common enough, and Buenos Ayres, Tucuman, Cordova, and Mendoza, have become familiar with still greater atrocities. Terror had then paralyzed the people, and when Quiroga arrived, he found it easy to obtain all the money he desired. There is still in existence an order which he drew upon the government for the payment of his gaming debts; for wherever he went the silence imposed by the terror of his name was only disturbed by rumors of punishments and executions for the purpose of obtaining means to carry on his games at the card-table. Mendoza remained under this evil influence, and a large army was prepared to resist General Paz.

During the monk's rage for blood, his wife or mistress saved the lives of many victims. His brother José, more considerate and more humane than himself, also tried to appease his fury, but with each evening came intoxication and unpremeditated outrages. From this time Aldao lived in a state of continual alarm,