It could not be worse than that, which had befallen me in the City of the Angels! CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. AN ANTIPATHY TO ROBBERS. After the storming of Chapultepec--the "summer palace of the Moctezumas;" in which I had the honour of leading the forlorn hope--do not mistake a plain statement of fact for a baseless boast--after a seclusion of three months within the walls of a sick chamber, caused by wounds in that action received; I stepped forth upon the streets of the Mexican capital fully restored to health. Three months more were spent in partaking of those joys--the reward of the victorious soldier, who has completed a campaign. As in the "City of the Angels," so was it in that of the Moctezumas. The officers of the invading army were excluded from the "interiors"-- such of them as were worth entering. But as it was no longer an army of invaders, but _conquerors_, the exclusion was neither so strict nor general. There were exceptions on both sides--extending to a limited number of courageous hosts and welcome guests. It was my fortune to be among the favoured few. One or two incidents had occurred along the route--one more especially during the march upon Mexico--in which I had the opportunity of bestowing favour and protection. They were reciprocated tenfold by _proteges_--who chanced to be of the _familias principales_ of Mexico. During the three months that I lay upon the couch of convalescence, I was surrounded by luxuries brought me by grateful brothers. In the three months that followed I was overwhelmed by the caresses of their sweet sisters; all, of course, in an honest way. It was a pleasant time; and, if anything could have made me forget Dolores Villa-Senor, this should have done it. It did not. The sweetest smile I received in the Valley of Tenochtitlan did not, and could not, stifle within my breast the bitter souvenir I had brought with me from the other side of the Cordillera. Six months after the capture of the Summer Palace, my life in the city of the Moctezumas became dull indeed. The theatres, slimly attended by the feminine _elite_ of the place; the balls not attended at all, or only by questionable _poblanas_, and the plain wives and daughters of the foreign residents (why are they always plain in such places?) soon became unbearable. Even dissipation could not redeem the dulness of the times. For me the _monte_ table had no longer an attraction. The green cloth was spread out in vain; and I could stand by and hear, without the slightest emotion, "_Cavallo mozo_!" "_Soto en la puerta_!" In truth my interest in all things appeared gone--all upon earth, with the exception of Dolores Villa-Senor; and she I could scarce think a thing of earth. Just at this crisis there came a chance of distraction. I hailed it with a feeling of gladness.