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284 a duel à la mort. Fate was against Mejia and he perished. Taken prisoner on the field of battle at the hacienda La Blanca, he was shot. It is said that, being informed of the sentence of death passed upon him, he asked when he was to be shot.

"In three hours," answered the official.

"If Santa Anna had fallen into my power, I should have given him only three minutes," was his reply.

There have been other generals of the same name and family who have shown equal bravery in death.

In September, 1841, occurred another brief revolution, so fully described by Madame Calderon, that it may serve as a specimen. She says:

"This revolution is like a game of chess, in which kings, castles, knights, and bishops are making different moves, while the pawns are looking on and taking no part whatever.

"To understand the state of the board, it is necessary to explain the position of the four principal pieces,—Santa Anna, Bustamente, Paredes, and Valencia. The first move was made by Paredes, who published his 'Plan,' and pronounced on the 8th of August, at Guadalajara. Shortly after a newspaper of Vera Cruz, entirely devoted to Santa Anna, pronounced in favor of the 'Plan' of Paredes, and Santa Anna, with a few miserable troops, and a handful of cavalry, arrived at Perote. Here he remains for the present, kept in check by the government forces. Meanwhile Paredes, with about six hundred men, left Guadalajara and marched upon Guanajuato, and there a blow was given to the