might throw some
light upon the early history of the country, but found only
musty records of no interest or value.

[Illustration: INDIAN HOUSE, SUBTIABA, NICARAGUA.]

"My attempts to fill out the blank vocabulary with which I
was provided created a great deal of merriment. I enjoyed it
quite as much as any of them, for nothing could be more
amusing than the discussions between the old men in respect
to certain doubtful words and phrases. They sometimes quite
forgot my presence, and rated each other soundly as
ignoramuses, whereat Simon was greatly scandalized, and
threatened to put them all in the stocks as "hombres sin
verguenza" (men destitute of shame). 'Ah!' said he, 'these
old sinners give me more trouble than the young ones'--a
remark which created great mirth amongst the outsiders, and
especially amongst the young vagabonds who clung like
monkeys to the window bars. The group of swarthy, earnest
faces, gathered round the little table, upon which was
heaped a confused mass of ancient, time-stained papers,
would have furnished a study for a painter. It was quite
dark when I had concluded my inquiries, but I was not
permitted to leave without listening to a little poem, 'Una
Decima,' written by one of the school-masters, who read it
to me by the light of a huge wax candle, borrowed, I am
sure, from the church for the occasion. My modesty forbids
my attempting a translation, and so I compromise matters by
submitting the original:

DECIMA.

Nicaragua, ve harta cuando
Cesara vuestro desvelo,
Ya levantara el vuelo
Hermoso, alegre, y triunfante;
Al mismo tiempo mirando
De este personage el porte,
Y mas sera cuando corte
Todos los gradeciamentos:
Diremos todos contentos
Viva el Gobierno del Norte.

D. S.

"As I mounted my horse, Don Simon led off with three cheers for 'El
Ministro del Norte,' and followed it with three more for 'El Amigo de
los Indios' (the friend of the Indians), all of which was afterwards
paraded by a dingy little Anglo-servile paper published in Costa Rica,
as evidence that I was tampering with the Indians, and exciting them to
undertake the utter destruction of the white population!"

THE CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC.

_A Hist