Yet Here He Was, With His Passage Given Him,
(As I Afterwards Learned,) For He Had Not The Means Of Paying
For It, And Living Upon The Charity Of Our Agent.
He was polite
to every one, spoke to the sailors, and gave four reáls - I dare
say the last he had in his pocket - to the steward, who waited
upon him.
I could not but feel a pity for him, especially when I
saw him by the side of his fellow-passenger and townsman, a fat,
coarse, vulgar, pretending fellow of a Yankee trader, who had
made money in San Diego, and was eating out the very vitals of
the Bandinis, fattening upon their extravagance, grinding them in
their poverty; having mortgages on their lands, forestalling their
cattle, and already making an inroad upon their jewels, which were
their last hope.
Don Juan had with him a retainer, who was as much like many of
the characters in Gil Blas as his master. He called himself a
private secretary, though there was no writing for him to do,
and he lived in the steerage with the carpenter and sailmaker.
He was certainly a character; could read and write extremely well;
spoke good Spanish; had been all over Spanish America, and lived in
every possible situation, and served in every conceivable capacity,
though generally in that of confidential servant to some man
of figure. I cultivated this man's acquaintance, and during
the five weeks that he was with us, - for he remained on board
until we arrived at San Diego, - I gained a greater knowledge
of the state of political parties in Mexico, and the habits
and affairs of the different classes of society, than I could
have learned from almost any one else.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 353 of 618
Words from 96598 to 96892
of 170236
