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Volume 3 (1858-1859) (592 pages)
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Page: of 592
THE COUNTESS OF SAN DIEGO. 29
“Yes, my daughter,” said the General,
“this place seems to have had a terrible
overhauling for some cause, and I am
afraid that we will have difficulty in finding the entrance to the underground
rooms that contain the objects of our
mission; piles of rubbish lay in tangled
masses over the torn up floor.”
Ella walked through the ruins some
time before she could find the remains of
the chapel. _At length, coming to a broken cross covered with the remnants of
the shattered chapel, she said:
“Here, father, I believe this is the
place where the trap-door to the underground rooms is. Here, men, remove
this rubbish.” :
After some difficulty the trap-door was
plainly visible. Ella remembered the
way in which the door could be easily
opened. _ A few choice men and the General, and the priest and his Majesty’s
agent, with Edward and Ella at their
head, descended the narrow passage ; the
‘torches cast a gloomy glaze over. this underground fastness. At length they arrived at the room where Desmonde had
the dead robbers thrown. Many bloody
spots were plainly visible on'the floor and
passage. A chill of horror passed over
every face as they surveyed this once
horrid bloody field. Proceeding further
a door stood open; here a little cross on
a rude chapel, a vase for holy water, and
some withering. cedar, met their inquiring gaze.
This is a curious place for devotion,”
said Edvard.
"Another long dark passage brought
them to the treasure-room. Here Ella
opened the door with her own hand.
Everything was as she left it. The venerable remains were undisturbed. A solemn silence pervaded the crowd for the
space of a few minutes. The priest, after some ceremony, commanded the men
to remove the remains of Desmonde above.
Ella lifted the little diamond cross from
her grandfather’s decaying head.. The
men carried him above, while the General divided the gold according to the old
General’s will—reading the will to all
present. Soon as possible all retraced
their steps to pure air.
The house and once beautiful ranch
had now such a forlorn look, that all
were glad when the word was given to
return to the city of Mexico. Nothing
worth recording transpired during their
tedious journey to the city.
Once more in the city, specimens of
the gold were shown to many in all
shapes and sizes. Many were the conjectures where it came from. It was
generally believed to be found in Mexico.
Ella preserved the little cross, so precious
in her grandfather’s eyes. Edward often
laughed at the history of the ring. The
dagger with which Desmonde conquered
the robbers,.she also preserved as a
relic of that memorable night, when she
stood in the gate to face the robbers.
Their stay was short as possible in Mexico. Soon as practicable, they sailed for
Spain.
Here they had long been expected, and
as the boom of cannon sounded their welcome to Madrid, they also rejoiced to be
stow the remains of one of Spain’s most
faithful officers. They arrived on All
Saints’ Day. Processions of nuns, and
priests, and people, were marching in solemn order through the city. Images of
favored saints were carried in reverence,
decorated in the most beautiful style.
The tokens of high honor were received
by the young Countess. It was her
mother’s home—it was hers.
The funeral of Don Desmonde and his
daughter, who had died in strange lands,
was an unusual occurrence, and drew a
large crowd of people. The illumination
of the Castile of San Diego, the ostentatious burial, was a great contrast to their
felon burial in other Jands. It would be
tedious to attempt to describe the impos-