the cause. Finally, at Tezmalaca, he lays down for it his life in willing sacrifice.
scruples about correctness of dates or facts, or completeness of narrative, and thus he can soon point triumphantly at seven bulky volumes for a period covered by prolix Bustamante in only half as many. At the close of the seventh, however, he suddenly awakes to find so large a surplus of neglected material by his side that he resolves with conscientious integrity to write a second work on the same period under the slightly changed title of Historia Militar de Mexico en el Siglo XIX, which shall cover a portion at least of his many omissions. And so he starts anew, consoling his subscribers with the assurance that no nation possesses so complete a military history as he offers, for he has seen the Commentaries of Cæsar, and similar later books, and found them circumscribed and of little use to him. The present work is to comprise six great episodes, the first to cover the war of independence, the rest foreign invasions and civil war. As the first volume does not exhaust even the opening campaign of Hidalgo, there is a prospect of a whole series for the revolution alone. Meanwhile the former work is still pending, with its pretension to more connected narrative of political, social, as well as military matter. Castillo divides his pages into numbered paragraphs, a method which affords a certain relief to wearied and perplexed readers. It would have been still better had he consigned most of his text to foot-notes.
