Blundering onward and blinded by passion, this unfortunate nation reminds us of that passage in the Ænead wherein the sightless giant is described:-- "Summo quum monte videmus Ipsum inter pecudes vastâ se mole moventem Pastorem Polypheum, et littera nota petentem; _Monstrum horrendum, informe, ingens, cui lumen ademptum!_ Ænead, B. 3, v. 655. FOOTNOTES: [64] Mexico as it was and as it is--see original letter in 4th ed. p. 387. [65] See Mexico as it was and is, 4th ed. p. 396--and Slidell's correspondence with our government. Senate doc. No. 337, 29th cong. 1st sess. [66] See Mexico as it was and as it is, p. 400. [67] Tributo á la verdad, Vera Cruz, p. 3. [68] See Wheaton's Elements of international law. ed. of 1836, part 2d chap. 1, pp. 88, 89, 90, 91. On the right of interference of governments for the pacification of belligerent nations. [69] Mr. Slidell was fully empowered to negotiate on liberal terms. BOOK SECOND: MILITARY OPERATIONS IN TEXAS AND ON THE RIO GRANDE. BOOK II. MILITARY OPERATIONS IN TEXAS AND ON THE RIO GRANDE. CHAPTER I. Boundary of Texas defined by Almonté--Description of Texas--Rivers of Texas--Army of observation--General Taylor--Army of occupation--How formed--Difficulty of landing in Texas--Aransas bay--Army lands at St. Joseph's island--Kinney's rancho--Corpus Christi--State of the army during the winter--Sufferings of the troops--Alarms of war-- General Gaines's views--Necessity of ample preparation--Our first aggressive war. The scene of our observation is now about to change from the cabinet to the field. The theatre of war properly attracts our attention, and the spot of earth which was the chief cause of dispute between Mexico and the United States, and where our armies assembled, justly demands our first notice. Texas, until she attained the rank of an independent State, seems to have been almost an unknown country even to the Mexicans. This was natural for a people who are not essentially agriculturists, but pass their lives as herdsmen, miners, or merchants, and whose central government is far removed from its outposts.