chuckling laugh at the success of his late exploit. Immediately Ord presented himself over the taffrail there was a general volley fired at him by the crew of pirates, amid which he stood as unmoved as a rock, until, catching his opportunity, as our vessel hung on the top of a wave, he fired, and the old negro tumbling headlong among his companions, while his gun was discharged by the shock, showed that the Petrel and her steersman were fully avenged. "About ship," cried Ord, as he laid his rifle carefully down on the deck, and looked at me with a half-suppressed smile of triumph. Every thing was so silent that the creaking of the ropes, and flapping of the wet canvass, as our sails gybed, were heard distinctly, but in an instant the little craft was about, and, getting hold of the wind, began to skip over the waves for the offing. The pirates were now on our larboard quarter, and within a few oars' length of us, when Ord, with a hand steady as if he were writing an invitation to dinner, took the apron off “long Tom " with one hand, received a lighted match from a seaman with the other, then nodded to the carpenter, who broke away the obstructing bulwark with one blow of his axe. I still think I see the horrified countenances of the pirates, and their quick dilated glances as they discovered the gun, and their confused oaths, and the rattling of the oars and cordage as they attempted to escape the expected range of the shot. At this moment of unutterable anxiety, when our lives depended upon the coolness of our captain, and the success of his discharge, I caught a glimpse of his features. He was, with his head turned from the gun, blowing gently at the match to keep it clear from ashes; his countenance was, I thought, pale, but calm and resolved; the next instant it was shrouded in the smoke, as kneeling he stretched forward and applied the match to the touch-hole. We were not an instant in doubt. Ord had seized the moment when the partial confusion of the pirates had placed their galley within twenty feet of us, her huge sail shivering, and herself almost motionless on the crest of a wave. Before that wave had lifted the little Petrel,before the smoke of the gun had drifted by,-the crash and the plunge, and the horrible yells of the scattered and mangled wretches, assured us of their destruction. Their boat, and great part of her slaughtered crew, wheeled down into the deep at our very stern, while a few, who had not been wounded, struggled for a little time, and went down one by one as their strength failed. A stiff breeze, and a flowing sheet, soon placed us out of hearing of their dreadful cries for help, and out of sight of their still more dreadful features, convulsed with agony, and their eyes turned up white in the last death-wrestle. The next morning we entered St. Jago, to place our wounded man under proper care.

I have here only described an occurrence which is commonplace enough among the West Indian islands; but I wished that an opinion should be formed of my friend rather from his actions than from any epithets of mine. A determined courage, and a high love of romantic enterprise, were indeed the prominent traits in his character, and the story I have told will furnish a sufficiently familiar notion of it on these points; but how can I ever convey an idea of the interest, the fascination, which his gentleness, his polished manners, his deep and ardent feelings, tinged as they were by his chivalrous nature, created about him, making him the envy of the one sex and the idol of the other? Thrown so completely together as we were in the cabin of his little schooner, I perhaps learned more of his character during that short period of our friendship than years of observation, under other cir cumstances, would have possessed me with; and never did I behold such sensitive and strong feelings, combined with such manly dignity and firm ness, as were combined in his character. I remember to have seen him burst into tears, and his frame quiver with emotion, when reading aloud to me that last mournful scene in "Romeo and Juliet ;" and half an hour after he was at the helm of his little bark, in one of the most dreadful hurricanes I have ever seen, calmly and collectedly giving forth his orders, in

a voice which rose above even the roar of the tempest, and with a skill and coolness which alone could have encouraged the terrified seamen, and saved us from certain destruction. Such was the gallant youth for whom was reserved one of the darkest destinies which the weird sisters ever wove for man.

Some time after the adventure I have related, Ord, having shipped a quantity of red cloth for ponchos, bridle-bits, spurs, &c., in a Spanish bottom for Buenos Ayres, suddenly determined on accompanying the vessel himself, in order, as he said, "to have a gallop across the Pampas, and see how the Indians rode." He persuaded my father to allow me to accompany him, and, after a quick and delightful run down the coast of South America, we found ourselves, early one delicious morning, swinging at anchor in the Rio de la Plata, with the dome of the cathedral, and the tops of the houses of Buenos Ayres rising above the faint, treeless, and ill-defined shores,―for banks they cannot be called,—of the ample river.

Among those gentlemen to whom Ord brought letters of introduction, was a rich, old Spanish merchant, who possessed all the dignified hospitality and politeness of his countrymen, while the grave pomposity and solemn pride, which is no less characteristic of the Spaniards, had been in him in a great measure destroyed by his intercourse with strangers and the influence of his commercial pursuits.

From the very first he seemed to have a partiality for my friend, and every day we spent some hours at his house. But it was not that his balcony was the coolest, that his patio was shaded best from the heat of the noon, or that his roof received the freshest breeze from the far-stretching Plata; far less was it the excellence of his never-ending dinners, the flavour of his divine claret, or foam-springing champagne, which attracted Ord to the casa of Don José Maria Echivera; there was another motive, more irresistible than any of these, which, in the shape of Donna Louisa, the merchant's only daughter, offered as lovely and as powerful an attraction to an enthusiastic cavalier, as ever youth, beauty, and innocence displayed to mortal man.

From the first time that he breathed the usual devoted address to her of "A los pies de usted, Señora !" I saw that he was stricken by her surpassing loveliness; and she was a creature of grace, simplicity, and witchery, well fitted to strengthen and render indelible such a first impression. She was about sixteen years of age; but sixteen summers kindle a different degree of thought and feeling in the mind and heart, and a different degree of loveliness and grace in the form of a Spaniard, more especially a South American Spaniard, from those created in an inhabitant of these colder countries. Donna Louisa had already, by nature, the deep-black melancholy eye, full of feeling and slumbering passion, the exquisitely-rounded form, and the voluptuous grace of matured loveliness,-while her early age, and the retired mode of life which she had led, gave a piquancy and naïveté to her manners which early youth, among Spaniards at least, alone possesses. The flexibility and unstudied elegance of her gestures and motions seemed (to use a fanciful expression) like the acted language of the soul, whose impulses gave birth to them; in fact, I never saw a creature so perfectly fascinating. Nor did this admiration become in the least diminished, as is too often the case with beauties, on longer acquaintance with Donna Louisa. Not that she was a whit more learned, or accomplished, according to our meaning of the terms, than the rest of her fair countrywomen, who have as little book-learning, or systematic accomplishments, as possible. A beautiful Spanish girl, indeed, needs none of these things: her eye is a soul of itself, and speaks, as it were, by divine inspiration all the living and dead languages; she can utter the most beautiful sentiments without dividing her lips, merely with her fan, wrist, and fingers, while the slightest perceptible elevation of her smooth, symmetrical shoulders is more convincing than a syllogism. Her walk is the very music of motion; and

Donna Louisa so far excelled in this silent harmony, that I remember Ord whispering to me, as she crossed the patio to meet us," Milton, in a vision, must have seen her when he wrote,

"Grace was in all her steps, heaven in her eye,

In every gesture, dignity and love!"

I think it is a proverb, that no woman talks or walks like a Spaniard. Certainly I never knew any whose conversation was so bewitching,-who took me so much out of myself, as Donna Louisa. From her father and mother she had caught the pure Castilian accent, and her graceful utterance of that rich language, the earnestness of passion which she threw into all she said, and the quick, dark glance of her eye, whose expression gave proof of the sincerity of her words, altogether created an effect like magic. Then she seemed all spirit. What were the wisdom, or the learning, of other times before the untutored pleadings of that artless, but impassioned girl's heart? To me, at least, they seemed useless and vain pedantry. But I am dwelling too long upon my recollections of this fair creature, such as I beheld her in the lap of luxury and love, fearful to proceed to the dreadful events which have hurried her from those scenes whose chief ornament she was, into the arms of a wild Indian, if already Death has not stepped in to her relief. Ah! it is sacrilege even to think that the treasures of that exquisitely delicate and not yet fully unfolded bosom have long ere now, if not buried in the grave, been rifled by a rude savage; that the lovely hand and arm, which to gaze on alone was heaven,So soft, so fair, so delicate, so sleek,

As she had worn a lily for her glove!"

instead of arranging the folds of the graceful mantila, is now, if not powerless, familiar with the meanest household offices; and that the countenance, whose every lineament spoke of "the melting thought, the kiss ambrosial, and the yielding smile,"-O God! is it not madness to think that this being, if not now livid with corruption, is obliged to turn with a forced smile of fondness upon an uncouth being, whose love is lust, or to feel her maternal emotions for the offspring of their unnatural union checked by inextinguishable horror and hate? Madness!-ay, the memory of her fate has quenched one noble intellect; and it is now even consolatory to reflect that long ere this the lances of hostile Indians, toil, exposure, or sorrow, must have levelled her mind with that of her lover, or left her bones to bleach upon the trackless plains of the Pampas.

The absurd jealousy which characterized the government of Spain towards her South American colonies had hitherto not only excluded from their ports all foreign merchandize, except such as came in Spanish bottoms, and was consigned to a Spanish merchant, but had, by preventing foreigners from visiting the country, kept the world as ignorant of the aspect of that immense continent, and the manners of its inhabitants, as they themselves were respecting the affairs of the Old World. This extreme jealousy in the government brought my friend Ord and myself into a dilemma from which we should have found it difficult to extricate ourselves without the friendly interference of the rich old Spanish merchant. The goods which Ord had brought to Buenos Ayres, though shipped in a Spanish vessel, and consigned to Don José himself, were seized by some of the officers of the customs, as belonging to a foreigner, who thus became liable to the punishment due to a defrauder of the revenue. It is well known that crews of ships driven by distress of weather into any of the ports of South America have formerly been seized and sent to the mines, and that persons in the same situation as Ord and myself had unwittingly placed ourselves, have had their goods confiscated, and have been themselves executed as contrabandists. I have little doubt that such would have been our fate, as the rich cargo of cloths and other articles was a temptation strong enough

to have caused the avarice of the government to quell any qualms of conscience as to the injustice of hanging us up to dry in a South American sun. Fortunately, however, the information had not been laid until we had been some time in Buenos Ayres, and until Ord had raised up to himself a powerful friend in Don José. By what political or commercial manœuvres we were relieved from all apprehension I never exactly understood; but the conditions seemed to involve in them the necessity of certain conferences taking place between Don José and my friend,—at least, such I understood to be the cause of their long and secret discussions.

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One afternoon we were seated under the awning of the patio of our hotel, with more than usual silence discussing our cigars and coffee, when I noticed that Ord began to fidget about on the sofa, and knock the ashes off his cigar with unusual frequency and vehemence. I saw that he was about to speak of something embarrassing; but, knowing his frank and decided disposition, and perhaps enjoying his uneasiness, though unconscious of its cause, I applied myself to a careful search for a fresh Woodville, out of a heap of real Havannahs lying before me. At last, after puffing away till his cigar was red hot, he knocked the ashes from it hastily, and thrust the fiery end into his mouth. He sprang to his feet with a common Spanish exclamation-" By the Holy Virgin!" cried he. "Donna Louisa Echivera?" said I, finishing his oath in my own way. "The sweetest saint out of the skies," continued Ord, laughing good-naturedly; "I wanted to speak of her.' "I have been thinking so this half hour," said I. You are in love with her beyond redemption, Ord." "And I have told her so too, old fellow," cried he, chuckling, and flinging a handful of cents to a parcel of black urchins, who were playing before the gate of the patio. "Well, and what did she say?" said I. "And I have told her father so, too," continued Ord, without answering my question. "The devil you have!" cried I. "No, it is an angel I have," answered he, "or will have; for I'm to be married in a month, and then, hie for England!" I gave a long whistle, and shook his hand cordially. "But before I give up my liberty into Louisa's hands," said he, "I intend, for the last time, to enjoy the full dignity of freedom in a gallop over the plains, to see how the Indians ride; to live on beef and water, and sleep on my saddle; to climb the heights and cross the torrents of the Cordilleras; and to look down from the summit of the Andes upon the wide Pacific. I have persuaded Don José to procure me permission to cross the country; so that, if you will accompany me, we will be off in a few days."

I assented with delight; and from that day we began to prepare for our journey, by spending as much time as possible in the saddle, in order to make us able to bear the daily gallops of a hundred and fifty or sixty miles, with which we intended to cross the Pampas.

A few evenings after this conversation, it chanced that Ord was walking in the Alameida with Donna Louisa and the old merchant, when a drunken Gaucho from the plains happened to meet them, and, in passing, ran rudely against the young lady. Thinking that the insult had been intentional, Ord felled the inebriated ruffian to the earth with one blow of his fist. With the rapidity of thought, the Gaucho sprang to his feet, drew out his long knife from his horse-skin boot, passed it twice or thrice across the heel, as if to improve its edge, and then, drawing the back of it fiercely against his clenched teeth, rushed upon Ord with the exclamation, "Ha! you want the knife, Señor!" My friend was completely unprepared for the stroke, so sudden had been the movements of the Gaucho; but Don José, with a presence of mind and courage which his age and usual habits scarcely would have warranted any one in believing he possessed, closed with the assassin, and struck up his hand with a smart blow of his walking-cane. Thus foiled, the Gaucho glared for an instant on his fresh assailant, again raised his long knife into the air, as if to sheath it in the heart of Don José; but suddenly dropping the point, and drawing a full inspiration,

while his whole frame underwent a strong convulsion, he uttered, in a hoarse tone," Don José, you are your father's son, and a second time I spare your blood; but the blow shall come heavier, because unseen. Remember Leonardo! and let this springald, too, remember! Adieu, Señors ;` and, lifting his hat with the punctilious politeness of a true Spaniard, he moved away as if unconcerned. Ord was fully occupied with Donna Louisa, who had fainted away; and Don José, instead of calling for any one to pursue the man, seemed struck with some strange terror, and followed him with eyes which appeared fixed by fascination to his movements. The Gaucho seemed completely sobered by his rencontre; for, changing his staggering gait for a firm and proud one, and throwing a piece of scarlet cloth over his poncho, with a hand that seemed to have been familiar with the long, graceful Spanish cloak, he strode forward through the recoiling groups of people, slapping his elbow with the flat part of his knife.

It was not till the party returned home that I received an account of this assault from Ord and Don José, the latter of whom, on my expressing my surprise at the conduct of the Gaucho, gave us the following information :"The Gauchos," said he, "who are scattered up and down the Pampas, and who support themselves by catching and breaking the wild horses, and by slaughtering the cattle of the plains for their hides and tallow, are, in many instances, descended from the best families in Spain, their ancestors having been driven to this mode of life by poverty, arising sometimes from extravagance or gaming, sometimes from having been expelled from their patrimonies for capital offences, which have, in many instances, been of a political nature. Thus their pride and touchiness (as I believe you English call it) on points of honour, for which they are proverbial even among Spaniards, may often be traced to their consciousness of superior birth; while their revengeful and fierce tempers, as well as their hospitality and politeness, for which they are equally proverbial, may perhaps be, with the same justice, ascribed to this sentiment, grafted upon the principles which their wild and unfettered mode of life naturally create.

"Whatever be the cause, however, nothing is more true than that a Gaucho of the Pampas is, according to circumstances, the most proud, polite, revengeful, or hospitable of all men. He may be bloodthirsty, but he is never treacherous; he will perhaps cut your throat for a dollar, but he will die sooner than allow you to be deprived of a single cent while in his hut. Accustomed to what the inhabitants of cities consider the meanest offices, he still retains all the dignity, and, if necessary, the hauteur, of a nobleman; and though, when scouring the plains with his lasso, he would drag you from your horse and rifle your pockets, yet enter but his cottage, utter once beneath his roof Buenos dias, Señor,' and you will find his answer to your salutation, Soy todo suyo'-' I am wholly yours,' fully interpreted in his kind and hospitable conduct to you.

"This general character of the Gauchos, then," continued Don José, addressing me, "though of course not extending to every individual of them, will explain to you the probable cause of the peculiar mixture of ferocity and politeness at which you were so much surprised in the man who attacked us to-day."

"But his sudden change of countenance and action, and his mysterious words! You will excuse me, my dear Señor, but my curiosity is on the rack to know what is to be known of that man," said Ord.

Don José went on making a paper cigarillo, but I could see that his countenance was working with feelings which he was attempting to suppress. When he had finished his little cigar, struck a light solemnly with his flint and tinder, applied it to the weed, and puffed a few times, he looked up to us both with a grave aspect. Señors," said he, "you will excuse me that I have felt some hesitation in explaining the words of the wretch who assaulted us, since such explanation involves the disclosure of matters relating to my own family which I naturally feel some reluctance

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