for freedom by giving them a share in their own government. Unyielding alike in his justice and his vindictiveness, he had been known to come forward to defend his personal enemy against oppression, and yet, when the cause was gained, refuse to be reconciled with the man he had served. He had equally refused a reconciliation with his own father, when the old man prayed for it on his dying bed. The only weaknesses that he seemed to have were those of vicious indulgence; but these he had suppressed with iron firmness when the possession of power opened to him a higher career. A just judge where his own authority was not questioned, he was harsh, even to cruelty, against any who resisted his will; and the soldiers, by whose aid he lorded it over the people, were permitted by him to lord it in their turn. Educated originally for the priesthood, he took no pains to conceal his contempt for superstition, if not for religion itself. He cut off Paraguay from intercourse with other countries, with a jealousy equal to that of the Chinese in former days. Thus those branches of industry that are connected with foreign traffic languished under his government; and even agriculture, with the raising of cattle, and the gathering of maté, or Paraguay tea, though encouraged at first, received a check at length, as no outlet was allowed to the productions of the country. After he had passed away, the Paraguayans would cast uneasy glances around if reference was made to Francia; and, still habitually dreading to pronounce his name, would designate him as el defunto, "the dead," instead of el supremo, as they had been used to style him.

It is not difficult to perceive Francia's political errors, and the despotism of his government awakens just indignation; and yet when we look at his country as presenting for so long a period a solitary exception to the scenes of violence which were witnessed among the South American republics, we are compelled to own the intellectual greatness, and even, to some extent, the usefulness of this singular man.

Among the books before us, the narrative of Dr. Rengger gives the most distinct information respecting the character of the first Dictator and his government. In the year 1819, this gentleman, with his companion, M. Longchamps, arrived in Paraguay, for purposes of scientific research. They were well

received by the Dictator, and appear to have suffered no other injury from him, during their six years' residence in his dominions, than that of not being permitted to leave them. Francia would probably have used with regard to them the excuse which he made in another similar case, that the persons detained had only shared the fate of all the inhabitants of Paraguay. Whether the complete isolation to which he condemned his country was necessary for its good may indeed be questioned, but there is no doubt that it was necessary for such a government as he had established. If he had allowed his tractable subjects to have free intercourse with the restless spirits with whom the other countries of South America were swarming, there would have been a speedy end to his despotism. In 1825, however, he received information of the recognition of the South American states by England, and at the same time was requested to permit the departure of certain English merchants. Gratified by the recognition, he acceded to the request; and gave similar permission to Messrs. Rengger and Longchamps.

Whether the rule of the Dictator became more wise and gentle in his old age, or whether the hope that his sway would soon end by the course of nature prevented violent efforts for its termination, it was only at his death, in 1840, that a change in the government took place. After the short dictatorship of Vibal, Carlos Antonio Lopez and Mariano Roque Alonzo were proclaimed consuls in 1841, and in 1844 Lopez was chosen President for ten years. He was re-elected for three, and afterwards for seven years; but before the expiration of the last of these terms, the President died, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Don Francisco Solano Lopez, already in command of the army of the so-called republic.

Don Carlos Lopez relaxed in some degree the restrictions which Francia had established upon intercourse with other nations. The government, however, monopolized the foreign commerce, its agents purchasing from the people their cattle, tobacco, and maté, or Paraguay tea. In Paraguay there still remains much of the spirit of the old Jesuit times. There is the same unhesitating obedience to superiors, and something of the same community of goods. The services and the prop

erty of the citizen are taken without hesitation and without compensation when needed for the use of the state. Thus Francia, when he determined, with very questionable judgment, to straighten the streets of Assumption, ordered whom he pleased to demolish their houses, and none dared to disobey, or to claim damages for the loss. In the present war, the army of Francisco Lopez, which includes all the males above childhood, receives no pay. Two thirds of the land, we are told, belong directly to the state. The President, by the seventh article of the Constitution, exercises unlimited authority, not only in case of war, but whenever he shall deem it necessary for the maintenance of peace and public order. He has also, since 1856, the power of appointing by secret will his successor. The Congress meets once in five years, its session lasting not more than five days. The government sends to the constituencies the names of the persons whom they are to choose, and its orders are implicitly obeyed. The degree of freedom in discussion which is enjoyed may be estimated from the following statement concerning the change which gave the President power to appoint his successor: "A candid member, who had played a part in this farce, turned to one of his colleagues and remarked that he did not think it was worth while to come from so far on account of such a trifle as the reform of the Constitution. The Dictator, who was at the time presiding over the session, heard the remark, and, rising from his seat, addressed the imprudent legislator in the following terms: 'You are an insolent man and a beast; leave the room at once.' It is needless to say that the offender availed himself of the advice, and hurried away, terribly frightened."*

Such, according to authority which, though hostile, we can hardly question, is the "Republic" of Paraguay. But it is the right of an independent nation to choose and to keep the form of government it prefers, even though it be a despotism; and there is a stage of national development, such as that of Russia in the time of Peter the Great, to which many still think that despotism is the form best adapted. The want of liberty in Paraguay, therefore, would not alone justify the war in which the neighboring states have combined against it. They plead

* Paraguay and the Alliance, p. 8.

far different reasons for the course they have pursued. To judge of the validity of these, we must take a view of the history of the present ruler.

Francisco Lopez was born in 1827. At the age of eighteen he was appointed General by his father. In 1852 he was sent to Europe as Minister to the courts of England, France, and Spain, but with a view also to the purchase of war materials, and still more to the completion of the young man's education as a statesman. One result of this mission appeared in the arrival in Paraguay of foreign engineers, and the erection of important works for the defence of the country. The most formidable of these was the strong fortress of Humaitá, on the Paraguay, which defended the approach to Assumption, and threatened to control the intercourse of the Argentine Republic and other nations, not only with Paraguay, but with the regions west of the river, including Bolivia and Peru. In the pamphlet to which we have referred, the elder as well as the younger Lopez is accused of ambitious designs, looking to the establishment of an empire of the La Plata.

In the same year that the younger Lopez went to Europe, the independence of Paraguay was acknowledged by Urquiza, then in power at Buenos Ayres; and subsequently by England. Soon after occurred the first intercourse of which we are informed, between our own country and Paraguay. Lieutenant Thomas J. Page, with his vessel, the "Water Witch," was sent to the La Plata and its branches for the purpose of scientific survey. He was well received by President Lopez; but afterwards, in 1855, during the exploration, the vessel was fired on by the fort at Itapiru, and a man killed by the shot. This led to an expedition from the United States to demand satisfaction, which was promptly rendered.

We have now to trace the circumstances which led to the present war. This arose from political complications connected with the affairs of a region not in immediate contact with the Paraguayan territory, from questions of boundary which had been long unsettled, and especially from the ambition of the new ruler of Paraguay, at that time in the flower of his age, with a full treasury and a devoted people.

Opposite the city and state of Buenos Ayres lies a country

now known as Uruguay, but often spoken of as the Banda Oriental, Eastern Bank, with reference to its position on

the La Plata. This region, of which the capital is Montevideo, though settled mostly by Spaniards, is connected by a part of its population with Brazil, which bounds it on the northeast. The position of this province fitted it to be the cause and the theatre of war between the powers by which it was bounded. In 1821, Brazil took possession of it, under the plea of protecting it from the civil commotions which followed the Declaration of Independence by Buenos Ayres. This act led, in 1826, to war between the two neighboring powers, which was ended in 1828 by a treaty, dividing the country. The northern part, called the Seven Missions, was thenceforth permanently annexed to Brazil.

In the other portion revolution succeeded revolution. A disappointed aspirant for power, Oribe, called in the aid of Rosas, the despot of Buenos Ayres. Brazil, aided by French and English vessels, took the opposite side. Oribe was defeated in 1849, his protector shortly after deposed, and the harassed land at length seemed to have found peace. This proved of short duration; but we shall pass over its intervening troubles, and come to the year 1863, when General Flores left Buenos Ayres with only three companions, boldly entered the land from which he had been expelled, like Napoleon on his return from Elba, and excited his partisans to successful revolt. On the 30th of August, 1864, while the government of Uruguay was engaged in strife with this internal foe, Brazil, by its admiral, Baron Tamandaré, called it to account for various wrongs committed in the stormy period which had preceded, as well as in the war then in progress. The Uruguayans presented counter-claims, and rejected, with more spirit than prudence, the Brazilian ultimatum. Brazil proceeded to acts of war.

The President of Uruguay sought the assistance of Francisco Lopez, who had but recently succeeded to the government of Paraguay. He offered, in return, his aid in securing to Lopez possession of the island of Martin Garcia, commanding the entrance to the branches of the La Plata. The earnest desire of Lopez to obtain this island, and his subsequent course, betray his purpose of combining into one monarchy the whole