e of the Indians who were of the party
that it would be better for him to die than to be the means of
increasing the afflictions of those whom he so dearly loved.

"The grief and despair of Xualla, when she heard of the death of her
betrothed, were so great that even the Spaniards were moved to pity.
For several days she shut herself up in her own dwelling and was not
seen by either the Spaniards or her own people.

"In the meantime the Spaniards were robbing the tombs and temples of
the country, finding great spoil there.

"About a week after the death of the young chief, De Soto told Xualla
she must send another guide with a party of Spaniards to her mother's
habitation. She promptly and decidedly refused to do so, saying she
had been justly punished once for consenting to place her poor mother
in his power, and no fears for herself would ever make her do so
again. She said he had made her as miserable as she could be, and now
she set him at defiance. She wished she had listened to the advice of
her wise counsellors and driven him away from her shores when he first
came with his false and deceitful promises of peace and friendship;
for she would have saved herself from that sorrow and remorse which
now made her life insupportable. 'Why do you still remain in my
country?' she asked. 'Are there no other lands to be robbed, no other
people to be made miserable? Here there is nothing for you to do; you
have taken all we had, and you can add nothing to our wretchedness.
Go, coward as you are! Cease to make war on helpless women; and if you
must be a villain, let your conduct prove that you are a man!'"

"I think she was very brave to talk to him in that way," said Elsie.
"Did he kill her for it?"

"No," replied Lucilla, "he was polite and courteous as usual, but told
her that the King of Spain was the true sovereign and lawful
proprietor of the country over which she claimed to be princess, and
that, in all those matters which had offended her, the Spanish army
had acted under the authority of that great monarch, to whom she
herself was bound to render obedience.

"Next he told her she must accompany the Spaniards on their march as
far as the border of her dominions and that she would be expected to
control her subjects and to make them entirely submissive to the
Spaniards. He promised that she should be treated with the respect and
delicacy due to her rank and sex.

"But the one who tells the story says she did no