Bartolome Mitre (Retold)
THE REAL SAN MARTIN
And what was General San Martin like?
Why did the good folk of Mendoza love him and hasten to do all that he asked?
Why did his troops cheerfully submit to terrible privations, and willingly plunge into danger and death if San Martin was with them?
Why, to-day, do the boys and girls of Argentina wish to be like their great and beloved hero—San Martin?
First, because San Martin never thought of himself. The folk of Mendoza offered him a handsome house to live in. He quietly refused it. He gave up to the cause half of his salary as Governor. He accepted the rank of general with the understanding that he might lay it down as soon as Argentina was free. He steadfastly refused all other promotions from his Government. He sent his wife back to Buenos Aires, so that he might live more simply.
He lived frugally, ate little, and worked hard. And what did he look like, this General so strong yet so simple? He wore the plain uniform of the Mounted Grenadiers, with the white and sky-blue cockade in his hat.
He was fine-looking, tall, and muscular. His complexion was olive, his jaw strong, and his lips firm, his black hair thick. His large, jet black eyes looked out from under bushy eyebrows; eyes now kindly and humorous, now piercingly observant. But when he met treachery or cowardice those eyes could frown terribly, and when he faced dangers or great emergencies, they expressed a fiery determined spirit.
A man nobly unselfish, gentle yet forceful, modest, patient, whimsically humorous at times, but always of few words was San Martin. Even strangers who met him were filled with respect and affection for him.