was his first exclamation; but at the thought of the gloomy dungeons of San Juan de Ulloa which stared him in the face, he burst forth into a roaring cry. The tears rolled swiftly down his fat face and fell upon his still fatter belly, which laboured like a bellows, to the no small amusement of the Republicans, who wellnigh split theirs with laughter. Had Heraclitus been a prisoner, one peep at Guts would have made him laugh.9

The whole castle was instantly in an uproar. The governor came around to assure himself of a work which all said the devil had a hand in. When he saw it, he exclaimed, "Macho trabajo" - much work, and consoled himself by saying that "they had a finished engineer to conduct it."

The remainder of our men were put upon their examination as to the time they were at work upon it, and testified that they were forty nights in [377] completing it. These forty nights were rendered to the government as three nights, for the longer time would have procured both the governor and all the other officers quarters in the dungeons of San Juan. As feasibly as this escape was accounted for to the President Santa Anna, some one had to atone for it; and Captain Peneder, one of their most humane officers, was sent prisoner to San Juan, where he soon fell a victim to the vomita.10

It was this escape which Santa Anna, in his letter to the United States' minister, called "abusing the generous confidence of my government."11 Thus casting from their limbs, each, twenty pounds of iron, eluding the vigilance of multiplied guards, and escaping through the walls of the strongest fortification in his empire, from the menial service of slaves and brutes, was abusing the "generous confidence" of his government! Was such a perversion of truth ever perpetrated by the head of any other nation?

Time rolled heavily on, and our remaining prisoners were treated with increased cruelties, when a ray of hope beamed in upon them. This was the reported annexation of Texas with their father-land. This news caused great joy, and it was manifested in more ways than one. Our charcoal sketchers drew upon their prison walls the "lone star" of Texas surrounded by the constellation of the northern republics. This put the Mexican officers in the greatest rage. With true Quixotic boldness, they charged this mighty galaxy sword in hand, and after [378] cruelly belabouring the plastering, had it whitewashed over. No sooner had these bold caballeros turned their backs, than another and another flag sprung from the deathblows of the last, until they found it worse than useless to war upon this Phoenix-like spirit.

Heavy time brought with it another disappointment, but hope revived with the return of Santa Anna's birthday, which was succeeded by disappointment still worse.

The United States minister, General Thompson, was upon his return home, and Santa Anna, in parting courtesy, placed the Bexar prisoners at his disposition,