THE GREEN BAG ment in this country. But what was more unusual was the protest entered by Pedro, the brother of Juana, against such proceed ing. It appears that the parties were re lated. Pedro urged his sister to sever her illicit relations with Aniceto, as it disgraced the good name of the family and was worse owing to the relationship existing between them. Finally, yielding to his entreaties, Juana left Aniceto and took up her abode under the roof of her brother, who had offered her a home if she would abandon her para mour. Aniceto endeavored to persuade Juana to return to him. The girl steadfastly per sisted in remaining under the shelter of her brother's house and refused to resume her relations with him. One evening, about the hour of angelus, Aniceto repaired to the home of Pedro. The master of the house was reclining in a chair. His sister and other women were present; I believe his wife or mother was among them, there being sev eral persons in the room. Aniceto said good evening and took a seat. Some words were spoken relative to ordinary matters, reference being made to some clothes that Aniceto had washed and that were handed to him. Shortly after his entrance the women retired to one side to offer their prayer at angelus. Almost immediately after the prayers were said Aniceto drew his bolo and attacked Pedro, inflicting a mortal wound, from the effects of which he shortly after died. He then made an assault upon Juana, and notwithstanding the attempted interposition of the bystanders reached and killed her with his bolo. Thus died brother and sister by the hand of an assassin, promp ted by mingled sentiments of revenge and disappointed lust. One significant circum stance is that the murderer refrained his hand during the hour of prayer. He would slay his former mistress and her brother, because the former would not live with him in sin, and the latter because he succeeded in leading his sister to forsake her evil life. He would commit cold-blooded murder, but
would not by its commission violate the holy period of angelus. He tarried till the woman had finished her orisons before he slew her. "Now might I do it pat, now he is praying; And so he goes to heaven, and so am I revenged. That should be scanned; a villain kills my father, And for that, I this same villain send to heaven."
It was not that he would send his victims to heaven, but that he would not sully his own soul by violating the hour of prayer, that this brutal assassin waited till the prayer was completed before his foul deed. There was in those days following the insurrection against Spain, and before the establishment of a settled government by the United States, a Spaniard whose name was Echeverria, who lived with his family in one of the Visayan Islands. Seftor Eche verria was an elderly man, a merchant who had conducted his business for many years in the community where he resided at the time referred to. One night the Echeverria dwelling house was assaulted by a large number of men. armed with the divers weapons of the coun try. At the time, the inmates of the house were the family, consisting of Senor Eche verria, his wife, daughter, and four sons, besides a guest, who, unfortunately for him self, was visiting the family, and a Spaniard who was living with him, as a friend. John, the oldest son, was living with his wife and two children in a house adjacent to the fam ily mansion. One of the leaders of the gang of perhaps eighty men was one Ciriaco de la Cruz. He was tried for the offense, and his trial developed the following circum stances: The gang surrounded the Eche verria mansion and summoned the inmates to descend and give up their weapons. In an evil hour they obeyed the summons, de livering to the malefactors several firearms with which they should have defended the house and themselves. The gang took the weapons and immediately secured each individual by tying his arms behind his back
