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THE OLD MARQUIS.

101.

We-that is to say, the Galveston' passengers, and ourselves-met at breakfast in the table-d'hôte room, an apartment of gigantic proportions, and in which two hundred persons might easily have sat down to dinner. I never saw any one appear more thoroughly disgusted with his situation than the old Marquis on that occasion, except perhaps the hapless secretary, whose sensations of misery might almost be said to rival those of his companion. The former took his place near me, looked daggers at a great flat piece of beef, as large and nearly as hard as an ancient shield, and after contriving to swallow an œuf à la coque, confided to me that he felt convinced of the impossibility of longer endurance, and that he had taken his passage back to New Orleans in the Galveston, which gallant ship was to return to that port the same evening. Ma foi,' said he, c'est vraiment trop fort ce Galveston-comment diable! il n'y a rien ici, pas même une cuisine française, rien que la mer, et des messieurs en Poncio Mexicain.' In vain I strove to convince my aged friend, that it was a charming country, and that an excursion into the prairies would fill his mind with new sensations of delight and wonder, and that 'La cuisine Française' was not quite indispensable to existence. It would not do, the aggrieved and disappointed man took a walk round the town, inserted some very fractious notes in his common-place book,

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102

THE PRESIDENT OF TEXAS.

made us some very low bows, and then took his leave of Galveston for ever.

We received a visit soon after our arrival from a very agreeable acquaintance, who had formerly been (during the time that Texas was an independent Republic) Chargé d'Affaires from that power to the Court of the Tuilleries. We received him with much pleasure, not only on account of his universally acknowledged talents, but as one who, from his peculiar position, was enabled to tell us something of the present state of Texan affairs. This country is now in a state of transition, it having been for some months virtually a State of the Union, though the formalities of annexation have not yet been consummated. The President, Mr. Anson Jones, has not yet been dethroned: he is a most excellent, straightforward, talented, and honourable man, and is at present in Galveston, awaiting with perfect composure the course of events, which are to lead to his dismissal into private life. He spent one most pleasant evening with us at the Tremont, as did also our diplomatic friend, and the English minister, whose unexpected arrival we had hailed with great delight. We could boast of but two rush-bottomed chairs in our little apartment, so the President of the country was obliged to content himself with a travelling trunk by way of seat, and I could not help thinking, that if there is a divinity which doth

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REPUBLIC OF TEXAS.

103

hedge a king,' it was hard there should be so little of it for a President: the late honourable Chargé d'Affaires chose the foot of the bed, as the most comfortable seat, and as for England's gallant Representative, he had, of course, the place of honour-namely, a chair with three legs, of a very insecure description. The conversation turned principally on the policy or impolicy of the measure (now nearly concluded) of swamping the Republic of Texas in that of the United States, and a good deal of doubt was expressed as to whether annexation would be likely, permanently, to benefit the interests of the former country. The fact is, however, undeniable, that since the idea has been seriously entertained, the increase of emigration to Texas has been very considerable, and also, that (for the moment at least) the affairs of this country are apparently in a very flourishing condition. How long, under the new order of things, this prosperity may last, remains to be proved; in the meantime, the pride of many of the original contenders for the independent freedom of the young Republic is deeply wounded, and they do not at all seem to be of opinion, that the privilege of living under the protection of Uncle Sam,' can possibly compensate for the mortification of bearing his yoke.

It must not be supposed, that the proceedings of the late President Houston escaped our notice;

104

THE EX-PRESIDENT HOUSTON.

on the contrary, we spent a good deal of time in discussing the merits of the conqueror of Santa Anna, and learned, in the course of conversation, that he is senator-elect for the State of Texas in the American senate. Many interesting anecdotes were told of him-anecdotes which would, I dare say, have impressed me with a greater degree of respect for the dignity of the man, as president of an independent republic, had not the ex-Parisian Chargé d'Affaires allowed us to penetrate a little too far behind the scenes. It was after dinner, otherwise the Diplomatist would not, in all probability, have been thrown so much off his guard ; but after repeating to us some really remarkable expressions used, and opinions delivered, by General Houston, he destroyed the effect of all, by adding 'I shared his bed with him you know, and as he was fond of talking, the president often told me, at night, a good many of his secrets, and kept me awake sometimes for hours, when I wanted to go to sleep.'

A great many changes have taken place since our last visit to Galveston; the number of German emigrants who have poured in, and are still coming in whole ship loads to the country is immense, and they are existing, poor creatures! in wretched, suffering crowds, crammed into temporary wooden houses, built on the damp prairie in the immediate neighbourhood of Galveston, and undergoing

DESTITUTION OF GERMAN EMIGRANTS. 105

all the miseries arising from sickness, and the want of wholesome, and sufficient food. The river steamers take them up the country, with as little delay as possible, but many die where they are landed, and thus escape the prolongation of the misery which would otherwise await them; it is melancholy to reflect that their inability to lay in the necessary supplies of provisions, and their certainty of finding no home prepared to shelter them from the inclemency of the weather, should make their death appear a positive blessing.

Who would not grieve over the sorrowful sight that we daily have to witness! The poor women, still retaining their national costume, bareheaded, and ill-clothed, are most of them surrounded by shivering children, and are almost destitute of the means of subsistence, while the men are always out shooting, endeavouring in this manner to procure some slight repast for their hungry families; but as human beings have increased in the little island, the wild animals have become proportionately scarce, and the daily search of the German emigrants for food, fully accounts to us for the diminution of game on the island. We were wofully disappointed on our first sporting excursion' to find how very little there was left to shoot. Everything has been destroyed, or scared away by the hungry Germans, and no living creature is now to be seen but a pelican or two on the shore,

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