But his wealth, his confidence in the law, and his hatred of everything that was not legal and just, wrought his undoing.

In spite of my repugnance to asking for mercy from any one, I applied personally to the Captain-General--the predecessor of our present one--and urged upon him that there could not be anything of the filibuster about a man who took up with all the Spaniards, even the poor emigrants, and gave them food and shelter, and in whose veins yet flowed the generous blood of Spain.

It was in vain that I pledged my life and swore by my poverty and my military honor.

I succeeded only in being coldly listened to and roughly sent away with the epithet of _chiflado_." [31] The old man paused to take a deep breath, and after noticing the silence of his companion, who was listening with averted face, continued: "At your father's request I prepared the defense in the case.

I went first to the celebrated Filipino lawyer, young A----, but he refused to take the case.