The Old Man I Had Seen, He Told Me, Was Admiral Brown, An Englishman Who Many Years Before Had Taken Service With The Dictator Rosas At The Time When Rosas Was At War With The Neighbouring Republic Of Uruguay, And Had Laid Siege To The City Of Montevideo.

Garibaldi, who was spending the years of his exile from Italy in South America, fighting as usual wherever there

Was any fighting to be had, flew to the help of Uruguay, and having acquired great fame as a sea-fighter was placed in command of the naval forces, such as they were, of the little Republic. But Brown was a better fighter, and he soon captured and destroyed his enemies' ships, Garibaldi himself escaping shortly afterwards to come back to the old world to renew the old fight against Austria.

When old Admiral Brown retired he built this house, or had it given to him by Rosas who, I was told, had a great affection for him, and he then had the two cannons he had taken from one of the captured ships planted at his front gate.

Shortly after that one glimpse I had had of the old Admiral, he died. And I think that when I saw him standing at his gate gazing past me at the distance, he was looking out for an expected messenger - a figure in black moving swiftly towards him with a drawn sword in his hand.

Oddly enough it was but a short time after seeing the old man at his gate that I had my first sight of an inmate of Dovecot House.

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