hough they would not take effect so abruptly.
The governor received them, and himself had them publicly proclaimed
throughout the island; with prodigious effect. The whole island rose
against them. Municipal councils and others officials, as well as
planters and gold miners, protested against them, and pleaded for at
least postponement of their enforcement until they could have an
opportunity to appeal to the crown and to the Council for the Indies
against them. To this plea for delay, De Avila acceded; to his own
subsequent undoing, as we shall presently see. His own brother, Alfonso
de Avila, turned against him, and went to Spain as the chief spokesman
of the opponents of the new rules.

While the question of the Indians was thus held in suspension, De Avila
turned his attention to other matters, largely matrimonial and domestic.
On coming to Cuba, a young bachelor, he made his home in the house of
the wealthy widow of Pedro de Paz. This lady, who had otherwise been
much married, and who was by birth a member of the formidable Guzman
family, whose name she now bore, was past fifty years old, or about
twice the age of the young governor. Indeed, she had sons and daughters
of about De Avila's age. It was therefore assumed to be quite
permissible for the governor to live in her house. The arrangement
proved in the end, however, to be disastrous. It was probably the lady's
intention from the beginning to take the young man for her husband--her
fourth or fifth. At any rate, his domestic association with her, while
it could not compromise her reputation, did so compromise his that he
could get none of the eligible young women of Cuba to marry him,
although he sought the hands of several of them. So after a time,
despairing of any other bride, and doubtless much impressed by the
wealth of his mature hostess, he married her; and thereafter was her
slave.

[Illustration: SAN LAZARO WATCH TOWER, HAVANA

Built 1536]

For the remainder of the ill-starred administration the lady was the
real governor. A large part of her fortune was in Indian slaves, or in
enterprises dependent upon their labor. Therefore it was she who was
foremost in opposing the enforcement of the decrees for their
emancipation. It was owing to her influence that De Avila acquiesced in
their suspension. Then, when the matter was being appealed, it was she
who constrained De Avila to leave Santiago for a tour of the island,
ostensibly for inspection, but in