Page:Letters from the Battle-fields of Paraguay (1870).djvu/158



128 MONTEVIDEANS :

Lady Chapel to the right of the entrance, and a well- dressed mob pressed towards an especially vile daub repre- senting the Resurrection. At the entrance stood an avenue of male humanity to admire the small pufiy clouds of pink, green, and sulphur-yellow which formed the Sortie de Messe : we awarded the palm of beauty to the daughters of an old compagnon de voyage, M. Cibil, a wealthy Spanish landowner. The rainy south-easter prevented the bull- fight of Easter Sunday, and there were no signs of ball or feast.

Wishing to hear his impressions of Paraguay, I called upon Admiral C. N. Davis, an old and experienced officer commanding the United States squadron, and not likely to be imposed upon by mere " amiability and plausibility.^^ Marshal-President Lopez had affected him favom'ably, as^ indeed seems to be his fate with naval men â€” for instance. Captains Kirkland, Mitchell, and Parsons. He believed that the " atrocities of Lopez" â€” another popular heading â€” had been grossly exaggerated, and he remarked that the Marshal-President had killed one brother nine times in three or four different ways. The Honourable Mr. Wash- burn had assured me that Marshal- President Lopez was too fat to ride, and could not engage in guerilla warfare. Admiral Davis saw him mount a fiery horse and dash away through a violent storm.

The history of the AdmiraFs mission is curious. Mr. G. F. Masterman, an English apothecary, with local rank as lieutenant, became doctor to the United States Legation, and the secretaryship was given to Mr. Porter C. Eliss. The latter, the son of a Reverend in the State of New York, was aged about thirty-two, a linguist, especially a student of " Indian"^ dialects, and a man of some education, but mostly superficial. He had been tutor in the family of General Webb, United States Minister at Rio de Janeiro,