ANOTHER UNFORTUNATE FRIEND.' 447 hundred dollars for a seat to Buenos Ayres. I concluded the purchase on the spot, and, without any intention to over-praise the article because it became my property, I must confess that, when I had it brushed up and washed, it looked à peu de chose près, that is to say, within a mere trifle, as handsome and respectable as the common run of those two-wheeled covered carts generally used by washerwomen in and about London.-The Provost was delighted, and so was I. AUGUST 1st, I received the following letter, of which, for the benefit of those who are not conversant in the original language, I subjoin a translation. Mi mas digno Jefe. La triste situacion en que hoy dia me sobrecoje, y la bondad publica de V, me hace tomar la confianza de suplicarle el favor de llevarme en su compañia hasta Bs. As. de adonde puedo esperar llegar en mi pais, por ser uno de los officiales Españoles comprendidos en la capitulacion del finado General D. P. A. Olañeta, y habiendo tenido el honor de conocer à V, en España, primeramente en Estremadura mientras el sitio de Badajos, despues en tres campañas en diferentes partes, y ultimamente en Madrid en la restauracion del Rey, estoi inducido a esperar, que sus buenos servicios, recien dados a un compañero infeliz, se extenderan ahora a mi, favor à que vivere siempre agradecido. Soy de V, su mas humilde servidor Q. S. M. B. FRANCISCO CANOS." 448 FRANCISCO CANOS. 66 MY MOST WORTHY CHIEF, "The unfortunate situation in which I am here placed, and your goodness, encourage me to implore the favour to be taken in your company to Buenos Ayres, whence I may hope to reach my native country, being one of those Spanish officers who capitulated with the late General Don Pedro Antonio Olañeta; and having had the honour to know you in Spain, first in Estremadura, at the period of the siege of Badajoz, afterwards during three campaigns, in different parts, and lastly at Madrid, on the restoration of the King, I am induced to hope that your kind services, recently given to an unfortunate comrade, will now be extended to me, for which I shall feel for ever grateful, and remain your obedient humble servant, FRANCISCO CANOS." The writer of the foregoing letter was companion in arms with colonel Don Carlos, and as such, his companion in misfortune and adversity. The reader may suppose that the style in which I am addressed at the head of the letter, "Mi mas digno Jefe," is merely flattery of the humble suitor, but it is not so; it is customary in Spanish for a military person to address his superior in that form, and whatever I may be at the present day, I was at one time, for the space of four years, the "chief" of Francisco Canos, who was a sub-lieutenant of foot in the same brigade in which I was a "captain bold of horse," and at the conclusion of the Peninsular war, in which we had both followed the for AN OLD BROTHER OFFICER. 449 tune of the Spanish arms from the Guadiana to the Pyrenees, Sub-lieutenant Canos was promoted to a company in the army of Murillo, and sent to South America under that general to be defeated by the patriots. Captain Canos now felt (and in truth I felt so too) that he had on me the claim of an old brother-officer; therefore, being aware of the truly helpless situation to which the fortune of war had reduced him, I did not venture into any reasoning or calculation with myself on the state of my finances, but yielded at once to a commanding voice that whispered in my ear"Be mindful of good turns, for thou knowest not what evil shall come upon thee, and when thou fallest thou shalt find a stay." Within one hour I had his name entered in my passport, under the head of "unfortunate friends.”—Captain Canos was delighted, and so was I. And is this what has been termed, binding up the wounds of the afflicted' -" -'pouring the balm of comfort into the heart of the distressed?' If it be so, how little do we rich deserve thanks or gratitude for an office that is attended with so little trouble and inconvenience to ourselves! The words of the philosopher -"The best and surest way of en 450 RECOLLECTIONS. larging human happiness is by a communication of it to others"-should be engraven on our hearts; but, so far as we generally observe them, they seem to have been traced upon sand. I have elsewhere remarked, that pleasure is to be derived from the remembrance of days of misfortune and sorrow that have passed; that there is also a pleasure in looking back on scenes of happiness, a long evening passed in conversation with my unfortunate friends' has clearly proved; and blank must that life have been, the retrospect of which cannot afford, in a convivial hour, wherewithal to interest and amuse. On the present occasion, it was with no trifling degree of enthusiasm that we talked over the events of our campaigns in that long and sanguinary war, in which, at one period, every person was proud to show that he had borne his little share. Then we transported ourselves to Madrid, and there partook of the festivities of the national jubilee, given on the occasion of peace-then again, but with a different feeling, we examined the list of our old friends and companions, and it was not with indifference we noted the number of names that untimely death had since swept from the catalogue. August 2nd. Equipped myself in my rid ing gear, my poncho, rolled up, hanging like a cross-belt over the shoulder, and having lighted my cigar by that of a gaucho, I mounted my mule, and proceeded to visit an estate about two leagues from the town, for which the proprietor asked six thousand dollars; the dwelling-. house and sundry other houses upon it were of course very indifferent; but still, many were the advantages the property possessed, and nothing could exceed the beauty of the situation; the extent north and south was something more than five miles, and about four east and west. A capital of little more than two thou |