of the monks towards this unfortunate young man who must
have experienced such mortal anguish; but, alas! after having been so
miraculously spared, at the moment the black veil was about to cover
him, an officer informed the commander that a guilty man had escaped
being punished; the monks were arrested in their pious ministry, and
two soldiers received orders to approach and fire upon the poor fellow.

I was indignant at this. I advanced towards the informer and reproached
him for his cruelty; he wished to reply; I treated him as a coward,
and turned my back to him. Express orders from my colonel compelled
me to leave my house, to assist at this frightful execution; still,
deep anxiety ought to have prevented me from so doing, as I will
explain. On the eve when the battle was over, and the insurgents
routed, the distress of my dear Anna came across my mind. It was now
one o'clock in the afternoon, and she had received no tidings from
me since three in the morning; might she not think me dead, or in the
midst of the rebellion? Ah! if duty could make me forget for a moment
she whom I loved more than life, now all danger was over her charming
image returned to my mind. Dearest Anna! I beheld her pale, agitated;
asking herself at each report of the cannon whether it rendered her
a widow; when my mind became so agitated that I ran home to calm her
fears. Having reached my house I went quickly up stairs, my heart
beating violently; I paused for a moment at her door, then summoning
a little courage I entered. Anna was kneeling down praying; hearing my
footsteps she raised her head, and threw herself into my arms without
uttering a word. At first I attributed this silence to emotion, but,
alas! upon examining her lovely face, I saw her eyes looked wild,
her features contracted: I started back. I discovered in her all the
symptoms of congestion of the brain. I dreaded lest my wife had lost
her senses, and this fear alarmed me greatly. How fortunate it was
that it lay in my power to relieve her. I had her placed in bed, and
ministered myself to her wants. She was tolerably composed; the few
words she uttered were inconsistent; she seemed to think that somebody
was going to poison or kill her. All her confidence was placed in
me. During three days the remedies I prescribed and administered
were useless; the poor creature derived no benefit from them. I
therefore determined to consult the doctors in Manilla, although I
had no grea