Proceedings were after some delay commenced against Romescos, but,—­we trust it was not through collusion with officials-he escaped the merited punishment that would have been inflicted upon him by a New England tribunal.  Again he left the state, and during his absence it is supposed he was engaged in nefarious practices with the notorious Murrel, who carried rapine and death into the unoffending villages of the far west.  However, be this as it may, little was known of him for several years, except in some desperate encounter.  The next step in his career of desperation known, was joining a band of guerillos led by one of the most intrepid captains that infested the borders of Mexico, during the internal warfare by which her Texan provinces struggled for independence.  Freebooters, they espoused the Texan cause because it offered food for their rapacity, and through it they became formidable and desperate foes to the enemy.  They were the terror of the ranchoes, the inhabitants fled at their approach; their pillage, rapine, and slaughtering, would stain the annals of barbarous Africa.  They are buried, let us hope for the name of a great nation, that they may remain beneath the pale of oblivion.

In their incursions, as mounted riflemen, they besieged villages, slaughtered the inhabitants, plundered churches, and burned dwellings; they carried off captive females, drove herds of cattle to distant markets.  Through the auspices of this band, as is now well known, many young females were carried off and sold into slavery, where they and their offspring yet remain.  While pursuing this nefarious course of life, Romescos accumulated more than twenty thousand dollars; and yet,—­though ferocity increased with the daring of his profession,—­there was one impulse of his nature, deeply buried, directing his ambition.  Amid the dangers of war, the tumult of conflict, the passion for daring-this impulse kept alive the associations of home,—­it was love!  In early life he had formed an attachment for a beautiful young lady of his native town; it had ripened with his years; the thoughts of her, and the hope of regaining her love if he gained wealth, so worked upon his mind that he resolved to abandon the life of a guerillo, and return home.  After an absence of fourteen years he found the object of his early love,—­that woman who had refused to requite his affection,—­a widow, having buried her husband, a gentleman of position, some months previous.

Romescos had money,—­the man was not considered; he is not considered where slavery spreads its vices to corrupt social life.  He had been careful to keep his business a profound secret, and pressing his affections, soon found the object of his ambition keenly sensitive to his advances.  Rumour recounted his character with mystery and suspicion; friends remonstrated, but in vain; they were united despite all opposition, all appeals.  For a time he seemed a better man, the business he had followed harassed his mind, seeming to haunt him, and poison his progress.  He purchased a plantation on the banks of the Santee; for once resolved to pursue an honest course, to be a respectable citizen, and enjoy the quiet of home.