The Rebel Chief: A Tale of Guerilla Life

"The princess had a brother, at that time a young man of twenty-two at the most, adroit in all manly exercises, brave as his sword, a great favourite with the ladies, whose fond...

We will substitute our narrative for that of the ranchero, who, indeed, was ignorant of many of the details, only knowing the facts which had been related to himself. We will go...

For some minutes after the departure of the guerillero, the melancholy caravan silently continued its journey. The last words uttered by Cuéllar had gone home, however: the coun...

The dining room of the Hacienda del Arenal was a vast, long room lighted by Gothic windows lined with coloured glass. The walls, covered with oak paneling, rendered black by tim...

At the end of an hour, don Jaime left the palace followed by López, went to the house in the suburbs, where he found the count and his friend, who wholly occupied with their lov...

No country in the world offers to the delighted traveller more charming landscapes than Mexico; among them all, that of Las Cumbres or the peak, is, without fear of contradictio...

The few days which had elapsed since his interview with don Jaime, were not wasted by General don Miguel Miramón. Decided on playing a last stake, he had not been willing to ris...

The closing months of 18-- had arrived. Political events were beginning to press on each other with such rapidity that the least enlightened minds already understood that they w...

A profound calm brooded over the country: the night breeze had died away; no other sound but the continual buzzing of the infinitely little creatures, that toil incessantly at t...

On the morrow the sun rose radiantly in floods of gold and purple. Mexico was rejoicing. The city had resumed its festive air; it seemed to have returned to the bright days of c...

When General Miramón arrived in Mexico, the news of his defeat was already public. Then a singular fact occurred. The clergy and the aristocracy, whom President Miramón had alwa...

Immense fields of aloes, the real vineyards of the country, as pulque, that beverage so dear to the Mexicans, is made from this plant, extend beyond the range of vision.

For some seconds there was a silence, pregnant with menace. The two men were standing face to face. This silence don Melchior de la Cruz was the first to break.

Reddish tints were striping the snowy peaks of the Popocatepetl, the last stars were expiring in the heavens, and opaline gleams were tinting the summit of the buildings; day wa...

At the palace gate don Adolfo found his horse held by a soldier; he at once leapt into the saddle, and after throwing a coin to the _asistente_, he again crossed the Plaza Mayor...

The adventurer as we said, left the palace, the Plaza Mayor was deserted, the popular effervescence had calmed down as rapidly as it had risen: by the entreaties of certain infl...

Loïck ended his narrative. The _ranchero's_ story had been a long one. Don Jaime listened, to it from one end to the other without interruption, with a cold and impassive face,...

Dolores and Carmen were alone in the garden. Hidden like two timid turtle doves, in an arbour of orange, lemon, and flowering pomegranate trees, and were eagerly conversing. Doñ...

Cuéllar was carelessly smoking his cigarette, his left hand was laid on his long sabre, the end of the scabbard resting on the floor: there was a charming ease in the way in whi...

"By Jove, gentlemen!" the adventurer said gaily, "Master Raimbaut has had the charming attention to lay covers for three, evidently foreseeing that you would not refuse to keep...

They galloped thus till night without exchanging a word. At sunset they reached a ruined _rancho_, standing like a sentry, on the skirt of the road. The adventurer made a sign a...

Four days had passed since the events recorded in our last chapter. Count Ludovic de la Saulay and Oliver were still riding side by side, but the place of the scene had complete...

At the period when our story takes place, Mexico was going through one of those terrible crises, whose periodical return has gradually brought this hapless country into the extr...

Dominique marched very gently, supporting with a firm hand the wounded man seated in his saddle, watching over him as a mother watches over her child, having only one desire--th...

In the meanwhile political events advanced with a fatal rapidity. The deputation sent to General Ortega returned to Mexico without obtaining any capitulation. The situation was...

In the meanwhile the carriage rolled along the Orizaba road, surrounded by its escort. But at a little distance from that town it turned off and reached by a shortcut the Puebla...

"Immediately he reached home, the count gave orders for his departure. He had completely forgotten the business for which he came to Bruneck: besides, had the business been even...

At the frightful discharge which greeted them, and scattered death in their ranks, the guerilleros fell back with horror; surprised by those whom they calculated on surprising,...

Ever since Count de la Saulay's arrival at the hacienda del Arenal, doña Dolores had treated him with a degree of reserve which the marriage projects made by the two families we...

The first beams of day were beginning to tinge the sky with opaline tints at the moment when the two horsemen reached the garita of San Antonio. For some time past they had chec...

As Miramón had stated to the adventurer, at five o'clock, a.m. precisely, he left Mexico at the head of his troops. His forces were not numerous, they only consisted of three th...

Hidden behind the passage door, the adventurer had not lost a word of what was said. When don Melchior and don Antonio rose, don Jaime, not knowing by what door they would go ou...

Oliver and Dominique, after leaving the rancho, rode for a long time side by side without exchanging a word; the adventurer seemed to be reflecting, while for his part the _vaqu...

Don Melchior de la Cruz resolved to seize at any price the fortune of his father, which his sister's marriage threatened to make him hopelessly lose, had rushed headlong into po...

The small suburban house in which doña Dolores had found such a secure shelter between doña María and doña Carmen, though simple and comparatively unimportant, was a delightful...

This unforeseen victory, so brilliant and, complete, gained by Miramón over veteran troops commanded by renowned officers, restored courage and hope to the terrified partizans o...

It was about two in the afternoon. There was not a breath of air, the country seemed to have fallen asleep under the weight of a leaden sun, whose burning beams fell from heaven...

Going back a little distance, we will relate what had occurred from the day when Miramón so freely disposed of the money of the Convention bonds deposited in the English consula...

where, if you still have a desire to arrest me, and have me shot, you will find me ready to receive you until eight o'clock tomorrow morning; so good-bye for the present."

At the period when our story takes place, one man in Mexico had the privilege of concentrating on himself the curiosity, fears, and, more than all, the sympathy of all.