e more to organize dances, and indulge in
"_vivas_." Thus passed the afternoon in festive gayety and carousal,
while the Casina party, gathered in their chief's office, tasted the
bitterness of defeat, making faces of disgust.

And to cap the climax of misfortunes, _El Occidente_, Don Martin's
paper, which happened to be published on the next day, was more than
ever insulting, and made sport of them in a cruel fashion.

Serin boasted of two weekly papers: one, _El Occidente_, in the interest
of the Casona party, and this appeared on Thursdays; and the other, _La
Cronica_, belonging to Don Servando and coming out on Sunday. These were
the two serpents to which we made allusion in our description of the
Paradise of Serin. _La Cronica_ was written almost entirely by an
ex-pilot, and consequently nearly all of his jokes were made up of sea
terms; he used to call Don Martin "Martin the Fishing-smack," and his
wife "The high board Frigate Dona Manuela," which made all his partisans
die with amusement. _El Occidente_ was under the direction of a
school-master who, to find insults, sought out the most eccentric and
extraordinary expressions in the dictionary. That day he called Don
Servando "_tozudo y zorrocloco_," which means stupidly obstinate, and
one who feigns indisposition so as to conceal his indisposition to work,
and he made certain uncomplimentary allusions to Miguel also.

Don Servando took his "_zorrocloco_" philosophically, but Miguel, little
wonted to the coarse personalities of village politics, flushed deeply,
and declared that 'he was resolved to slap the editor of the scurvy
sheet in the face.'

Don Servando's friends looked at him in amazement.

"Gently, gently, my dear sir!" said the latter, with his _inevitable_
coolness.

"I should advise you not to do anything of the sort, for that would be
the greatest pleasure that you could give them. The judge of 'first
claims'[56] is on their side."

"And what have we to do with the judge? The question concerns a matter
of honor, which is settled by this person and me fighting with swords or
pistols."

The men present looked at him with greater amazement than ever. In Serin
there was an absolute lack of knowledge of such proceedings, and
consequently it had never entered into their heads that there was to be
any fighting. Had Miguel carried out his threat, he would have run a
strong risk of being put in jail, and still further incapacitated. He
was at last