Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1849-05-10


us both. An excellent fellow, notwithstan-
Ding" continued the captain, after brief
pause, was Pedro Davila too good for
Spaniard, much: one could hardly believe
it of him. I was going to say he was equal
to an Englishman, but that perhaps would
be pushing it too far. Many skin of wine
have we emptied together none ofthe sloe
stuff you get here, but the genuine juice it,
self" The captain smacked his lips at the
pleasing Renaissance, and then, TO reward
them for the exercise, imbibed a portion of
another demi-tdsse, crafty qualified to his
taste.
AT the time | speak Of, it was highly
dangerous to harbor, succor, or conceal any
FrenchmaD, woman or child. Death, or
worse punishment, was pretty sure to be the
doom or any one offending against the law
of vengeance and it happened that one
of the most ferocious ofminor guerrilla lea
ders, n relentless hunter and slayer of mis-
cradle fugitives, was Ramez, native of the
village or town near which Pedro lived
He was seldom long absent from home
and was, in fact, the real Governor of the
place.
"Wel, it Glanced one unfortunate day
that wounded French officer, who had
been chased several days by Ramez ard
his fellows, crawled into Pedro's cottage,
and implored shelter and succor. His re-
quest was, as you may anticipate, after what
l have told you of Pedros notions of phi
losophy, granted and the hunted man was
successfully concealed, carefully tended,
and restored to health. The day of his de-
partnre had arrived he was carefully dis
guiscd, mounted on Pedro's mule, aud was
just bidding his beneiactor goodbye at the
garden gate Marietta, fortunately, as it
turned out, was not at home,) when who
should poke up his diaboical suout from the
other side of the hedge but Ramez The
ugliest rascal, gentlemen" continued Cap
tain Smith with violent emphasis, :" the most
ill-favored scoundrel | ever saw in my life
was Ramez; and that from a man who has
been twenty years in the army, and who has
lived upwards of twenty in London, is say
ing great deal"
This was quite cheerlully assented to -
The ugliness that after such heightened
and first rate experience bore off the palm,
was pronounced necessarily incompatible
by the entire auditory.
" He gave poor Pedro" continued the
captain, one most dabolical look U'l be
bound the streaks from his eyv,-,.cc a, ~, :; IS
squintcd both sides inwards when he was in
passion-crossed each other within an
inch of his nose, then rushed forward, and
bawled Justify for help. The Frenchman
spurred furiously into the adjoining forest,
and escaped. Pedro was seized, and the
alpha and the omega of it, as the chaplain
of the old half-hundredth used to sSy. was,
that lie was logged to prison, tried lew
hours afterwards, and condemned to death
as traitor. 1t was wild time in Spain
then; most places managed their own af-
fairs in their own way, and this was Master
Ramez and the alcaldes way. Pedro was
to have been strangled, gavOtted they call
it, but there was no apparatus handy, and
nobody that particularly liked the job; so,
as a particular heavenly grace to him, the
alcalde said, it was determined he should
be shot on the third day after his arrest
1t happened" resumed the captain, af
ter again refreshing himself, "that was,
on the very day after Pedros arrest and con-
demnation, returning from Burgos to Gen
Picton's headquarters, good way beyond
Astorga; and being near, aud in no very
particular hurry, turned out of my road tc
visit Pedro. When | arrived at the cot.
tage, | found things, as you may suppose
in a very different state from what | had
been imagining for the last hour or SO. In,
stead of wine, there was Mysteries; and fol
an omelette and salad, shrieks and Paintings
Marietta chung around my neck with ire
mendous energy-I should not have thought
if had not experienced it, that prett,
I woman's embrace could have been so very
unpleasant-franticaly beseeching me to
send for the British army to liberate her Pc
dro. Extricatng myself from her grasp a
speedily as possible, began to cast abou
in my mind as to what could be done; bu
/ could not at all clear up my ideas Re
Numbering that never had been able to d.
so on lean stomach, ! suggested that w
should first dine, and then, perhaps, 1 nigh
! hit upon something for poor Pedro's bene
fit. Marietta agreed with me ; and we had
considering that her husband and my dear
est friend was to be shot the day after tn
, next, very nice comfortable dinner indee'
, -very-and some capital wine afterwards
and then, gentlemen, the father ofmischle
: or the wine, or Mariettas black eyes,
r don't know which, perhaps altogether, in
+ duced me to make as spoony proposal a
+ ever fell from the lips of green cockney.
"There are clever, sensible men in tn
city," interjected Tape, as the captain paus
ed an instant TO supply himself with fires
cigar
, " Perhaps so, Mr.. Tape but those ger
, tlemen seldom volunteer into the army,
: believe. knew" said the veteran, continu
A ing his narrative, "that | might as we
r whistle jigs to milestone, and expect it t
3 get up and turn partners, as ask the genel
al in command of the division about fort
7 miles off to rescue Pedro from the grasp c
: the Spanish authorities. The British ger
= erals never meddled with the adminstratio
d OF Spanish justice, under any pretence wha
I ever; but also knew that if he received
a message stating that was in danger, h
d was bound, by general orders, to afford m
n every assistance in his power. Marietta,
b said | at last--the wine must have been III
!. usually strong-'I have hit upon it. We
a save Pedro yet, in spite of them all ? TIL
o pretty creature jumped up, clapped he
9 hands, and sobbing, laughing and talkin
d all in breath, exclaimed Dear lngles,
+ l knew you would ? You, Marietta sal
II N.