From his father, the magistrate of the town, a stubborn and incorruptible patriot, he received an education well calculated to develop the independence of mind and strength of body for which he was remarkable all his life.
His inquiries, combined with the restless temper which always made official life distasteful to him, led him to adopt advanced democratic opinions, which, freely manifested during the Revolutions of 1848, cost him his post in the civil service upon the triumph of the reaction.
He caught yellow fever on the passage out, was robbed, while unconscious, of all his property, arrived at San Francisco half dead, and owed his life to the charity of a woman.
[1] He speedily manifested the most remarkable talent as a decipherer, interpreting more than twelve ciphers of exceeding difficulty, with which the Spanish archivists were themselves unacquainted, or the keys to which they withheld from him.
[2] This calendar was introduced by a fascinating preface, describing his difficulties and successes as a decipherer, and including a brilliant review of the relations between England and Spain during the period.