The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-08-10

lie was eighteen EuOnJnS IN EurOp6--lu Eng
land France, Spain, Germany, and Italy. In
this trip he picked up great deal of superb
cial knowledge and some polish. 1t was by
seeing the European armies, probably that
he imbibed notion of initiating them, AMI
playing Napoleon in South America. His
mission had no particular object, beyond
bringing Paraguay before the world.
The first Lopez died in 1862
A subscription was got up to erect monu-
ment to the memory of Lopez |. This was
ostensibly spontaneous motion of the citi-
zens, though in reality done by the order of
Lopez H. It was arranged that no subscrip-
tions greater than five dollars (e1) should be
received, and receipts for that amount were
made out in the name of every one who was
supposed to have five dollars, and sent round
with demand for the money, without asking
whether the people wished or not to subscribe.
This was done with foreigners as we'll as
natives In the month of June fifty-tive
thousand dollars we're collected from Para
guayans alone. The whole amount collected
has disappeared, and of course no inquiries
are made as to the reason, neither did any
monument make i,s appearance.
The Bishop OF Paraguay, Urvieta, was an
old man, but still rode about on horseback.
In Congress Lopez II referred to his old age,
and proposed to get bull from the Pope for
a new bishop, to be ready at the decease of
the old one. He got the bull for a country
priest called Palacios, man about thirty-five
years old, and one on whom he could count
for anything.
The new President was .fctcd with banquets
and speeches, as it was deemed indecent to
give balls so soon after the death of the late
President.
Neither the first nor the second Lopez ever
allowed anything to be said against Franca.
Their own system would have been the next
to come under criticism.
The War.
The forces of Paraguay at this time con-
sisted of an army of eighty thousand men, a
third of which were cavalry, and the rest in
fantry and artillery. The best men were
picked out for cavalry and artillerymen. The
cavalry was divided into regiments, and the
infantry into battalions; the artillery nomi-
nally into regiments of horse, and battalions
of heavy artillery.
There was at this time in the whole of
Paraguay perhaps one hundred thousand
horses, only half of which could gallop two
or three miles. The Paraguayan horses
were never good, and terrible disease in
the spine had latterly carried off the greater
part of them, attacking generally the best
animals.
They had sufficient, but poor artillery.
AS in the French army, all officers were
promoted from the ranks Young men of
good family who were enlisted had to take off
their shoes and so barefooted, as none of
the Paraguayan soldiers were allowed to wear
shoes.
Lopez in the Field.
Lopez was continually in great fear of being
assassinated, and at night had double cor
don of sentinels round his house. This was
afterwards increased to treble one. During
the daytime these were removed, and the
guard was kept under an open roof next door
to Lopez. People who wished to see him had
to wait under this same roof. One evening
/ was waiting there to see Lopez, as were also
several other officers, and a sergeant of the
guard entered into conversation with me-
After q short time there was a great stir, Off
GERS going in and out of Lopezs room;
the guard relieved. and the other officers
who were waiting al arrested. One of Lo-
peZ's aids-de-camp came and said to me, His
Excellency sends word to you to write down
all the conversation you have had with the
sergeant Of the guard, and to bring it to-mor-
row morning. | went away, not expecting
to be able to remember a twentieth part of
the silly talk Of the sergeant: but as things
looked serious, | tried, and probably remem-
bered it all. 1t filed a whole sheet of paper,
and was all of il somewhat in this style:-
1.-The sergeant asked me If Queen Victoria
always wore her crown when she went out to
the Paraguayran uniform when went to Eng
land 1t was sealed up and taken next morn
ing to Lopez, about A. M. He was not yet
up, but the sergeant was already shot, and
all the soldiers OF the guard received a hun
dred lashes each. A few months afterwards
| heard that the sergeant had been convicted
of conspiring, with two men who had Just re-
turned from UrUguyana, to murder the
President, and that the two men had been
found that night in the yard of Lopez house.
The sergeant manner that evening was GER
tainly not that of a conspirator. Lopez never
said word about it to me, nor acknowledged
receipt of the written conversation, probably
feeling ashamed to 10 SO.
CoTentino girl, who had come over with
the army from Corlientes, tried to go away
one day into the country but was caught, and
received sixty lashes in public on her bare
flesh, which was considered a very good joke.
In the Paraguayan camp no correspondence
was allowed between the army and their rela-
tives; women, however, were constantly
coming and going and these carried news to
AsunciOn of what was taking place in the
camp. People we're ordered to consider every
day new triumph for Lopez, and of course
they dared not show that they did not think
so, though many people in AsunciOn expected
! every day TO see the Allies march in. People
there were kept well occupied every family
having orders to buy, make, and deliver
within a certain period so many dozen shirts
and drawers for the army. Almost every day,
too, masses were said at the Cathedral ''for
the safety and welfare of Don Francisco
| Solano Lopez. These masses were paid for
by private people.
If Paraguayan, in the midst of his COM
rades, was blown to pieces by a shell, they
would yell with delight, thinking it a capital