The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-05-16

/ fore him, while his thoughts were evil
IDENTIFY far away. When he spoke again,
| he did SO with unmistakable diffidencc
! and hesitat ton.
I "Our conversation has recalled my stu
| dent days-the best period OF my life
30 vividly-and the contrast between then
and now" He did not finish the SEN
tence, and again for some minutes he
| smoked on silently-while l sat equally
| silent and waiting.
Perhaps you do not know, senor," he
began presently. II come Of good fam
| lily. My ancestors came over from Spain
| about the beginning of the last century,
| which may or may not be true. At any
| rate my father was AN intimate friend of
| Gen. Calzado, whom the Juarez govern
ment outlawed, and about the time l
| was 10 years old both were captured, ex-
| ecuted side by side and all their prop
erty conhscated by the State. Nothing
except my mothers hacienda, La Peria,
was saved from the wreck, and there
was allowed to grow up without educa-
| ton or restraint of any kind. You know
what life is on Mexican rancho, and
| what qualities of human nature are most
likely to be developed in such an atmos-
| where. Well, as boy, l was perhaps
worse than the average. l am extremely
passionate, and when | am aroused lose
| all central over myself to such an extent
that l am not much better than a wild
animal I ought to have been shot or put
| out of the way long ago, and sooner OF
later that is the fate / expect to meet.
| was only II when l had a quarrel with
a friend over girl we both fancied; we
had fight, of course, and 1 killed him.
| can't say that l felt much remorse at
the time; on the contrary, was rather
proud of my victory. No one had seen
us together, so | was not afraid Of it's
being discovered. My rival was out of
the way, and l prOfted by it; then few
days later, satiated and disenchanted,
realized what l had done. So, between
fear and remorse and shame, / determin-
| ed to leave the country.
| "Ah, Europe Don Juan, that was a
revelation to me. l had never seen any
| thing OF civilization. / saw it first in
| Paris. For few months l lived the
reckless, profitless life of most Spanish
| Americans abroad, but at last its shall
lowness palled upon me. l saw that
| whenever our people came in touch with
| intelligent foreigners, our nferiOrity was
| painfully evident, and it made me angry
| obvious. | made up my mind to work
inside OF play. I was as good as they,
and il work could prove it, they should
| know it. | set my teeth and / worked
| like the devil. Now and then the wild
animal in my nature got the better Of
| me, and | had to let him loose but not
as before, for education had given me a
strong bride, and after each outbreak
L pulled up and went back to my books
with new ardor.
Eraclio stopped, and for the first time
since he began to talk, ne looked at me.
You wouldn't own up to all this.
would you? Would you have cataloged
your virtues and left out the vices? That
| is an AnglO-SaxOn trait, and one Of the
meanest OF its characteristics You all
think man can't have his failings
known and still be a man-d- hypo-
critics! Shakespeare and Fielding paint
ed their men naked, part good and
part bad, true human beings-their men
will live while all the sawdust manni-
kins You put up to-day will be forgotten
tomorrow. | have seen a good many
English and Americans, Don Juan, and
If | have found them perhaps stronger
and more generous as a whole than men
of other natiOnalities, / have found
in your newspapers and the men in your
novels are not the same species. You
smile! OF course, of course The theories
and criticisms of a Mexican bandit are
only fit to be laughed at. But yet you
cannot honestly deny the truth of what
l say. However, that is neither here
nor there. SO, senior, / worked hard
and learned something. | travelled and
studied both in England and Germany,
then one day | woke up as from dream,
and came home to Mexico.
We love our country, Don JUAN in our
unintelllgent, passionate way, and the |
Jlco TO me means perhaps even more
than the union does to you. With my
knowledge, my fortune and my will. l |
felt strong; l felt that | should be-
come great leader, and that my name
would be known and loved throughout
my country. On my way to Europe l |
had pa ssed a few days in Columbia, Wis
itlng some relatives, and one night out |
on the plains, as we sat by the camp
fire, one of the older men spoke of Boil |
var. l see him now Don Juan! standing |
in the glowing light, his deep voice trem. |
bling with emotion, laundering forth Boil |
wars proclamation of Independence
even then, ignorant boy that I was. the |
scene impressed me profoundly, and the |
respect, the veneration of his listeners, |
as the old man ended with the invoca-
ton, 'Ah Bolivar, liberatorr-I have |
never forgotten. Bolivar! Why not |
Soils! 1t is great purpose that makes /
great man, and believe that my pur-
pose was great one. Throughout the /
land Of Mexico. wide as 1t is from north /
to south, Eraclio Soils should be house
hold word. Ha! AS it has become in
deed! A household word throughout the |
land OF Mexico, wide as it is from north |
to south. Eraclio Soils should be house
hold word. Ha! AS it has become in
deed. A household word throughout the |
land, quoted in the annual reports among
the cursed OF Mexico, on the same pa ges
with yellow fever, famine and droughtw
Soils had risen from his chair. He
was much excited, and spoke quickly.
with passionate utterance and uncon-