g to Asuncion, M. Forgues had taken on himself a commission far
more troublesome than that of collecting the money due to the commercial
house with which he was connected; and this was to deliver into the
hands of the French _charge d'affaires_ at Buenos Ayres, the comte A. de
C----, who happened to be at the time in Asuncion, the despatch-bag of
the legation, which had been consigned to his care by the French consul
in the former city. Behold, then, our traveler, as, accompanied by the
captain of the Republica, he sets foot on the quay, intent on relieving
himself of his precious valise, the possession of which is doubly
embarrassing because of its very preciousness. He has a hope that he may
meet the _charge_ at the Progreso Club, whither he is going, but whether
he is to be met or not, he does not dare to leave behind him the valise,
which to him is a veritable Old Man of the Sea. Night has fallen when
they leave the steamer. The dark, sandy streets are badly graded, and he
stumbles repeatedly on the uneven brick pavements which line them, at
every step anathematizing the valise, which is far from being a light
burden. The club-house was the residence of Lopez before the allied
armies occupied the city. From its seclusion he went forth to meet his
death at Cerro Cora. In the parlor is a large mirror with gilded
mouldings, and the dining-room walls are hung with painted paper
representing in vivid colors, and with much gilding and silvering,
scenes from French history, in which musqueteers, courtiers and the
cardinal de Richelieu figure. A large and notable company is present,
among them many high civil functionaries, but the _charge d'affaires_ is
not there. In the billiard-room the honorable minister of finance plays
a game with the honorable minister of the interior. They are both of
unpretending manners, polite and affable, and during the pauses of the
game they call for and drink their beer in true democratic fashion. M.
Forgues learns that his _charge_ lives two leagues out of town, and,
hugging his exasperating valise--which, we may here remark, was
delivered safely to the _charge_ next day--he returns in company with
the captain to the steamer, where, seated on the deck, he listens with
horror to the stories told by a citizen of divers murders committed in
the town and vicinity, one of the victims, a French pioneer, having been
slain lately at his _quinta_, or small farm, just on the other side of
the river, by