i himself had broken a lance in
the cause of the Unitarians. Rivera and other progressive leaders had
fought against him in vain. There were others of the type of Quiroga,
who, brought up in the same school as Rosas, although of lesser
birth--for the family of the Dictator was patrician--joined him for a
while in a species of tentative alliance, and then broke away--usually
to their cost.

This Quiroga was one of the most noted chieftains of the interior of the
distraught Republic. He had swept the western provinces with fire and
sword, executing, burning, and plundering wherever he went. Had he not
fallen foul of Rosas, he might have continued his grim career unchecked
for years. As it was, he came in contact with a master-mind, and, as was
inevitable, perished.

There are many Argentines even to-day who claim that, for all the
tyranny of the Dictator, the country was none the worse for his rule,
and that the regime which he introduced, however bloodthirsty and
horrible, was at all events one of discipline such as the distracted
collection of provinces had never known since the days of the Spanish
rule. There is no doubt whatever concerning the existence of this
discipline. So severe was the phase, and so vague was the slender amount
of liberty left to the private citizens, that many of these latter lived
at periods immured within their houses, lest by sallying forth into the
street they should unwittingly offend the powers and pay the penalty.

The relations of Rosas with the foreign Powers soon grew strained. He
fell foul of the French and British nations, and as a result the allied
fleets arrived off the mouth of the River Plate and blockaded Buenos
Aires. The outcome of this, however, was purely negative. Although the
Republic suffered inconvenience from the cessation of trade, the
community was self-supporting, while it was impossible, of course, for
the European forces to attempt to carry on land operations. Thus, after
a prolonged stay in the waters of the River Plate, the blockade was
raised, and the French and British fleets sailed away, having to all
intents and purposes failed to achieve their object.

The extraordinary force of Rosas's character is best instanced by the
length of his rule. This, as has been said, continued for over twenty
years, until the year 1852. That a Dictator should have continued to
hold the reins of power for this length of time in the face of the
opposition and hatred which, al